The 2009-10 report is now available online.

It was covered by NYT Local and is also now available on the District’s site. [updated 1/15]

In response to the crises in Haiti, The Parenting Center is planning an evening gathering to support Haitian families who are affected by or concerned about the earthquake.

Our plan is to invite elementary and middle school Haitian families to Clinton School on Thursday, January 21, from 6:00–7:30pm. Parents and students are invited, as well as high school student mentors who are interested in working with the elementary students.

РWe will first have a buffet dinner – pasta, chicken, salad, etc.
– Students and parents will then divide into separate groups in separate areas (lunchroom and gym)
– Maudjah Frances, a past intern and licensed counselor who was born in Haiti and now lives in South Orange, will lead the adult gathering. The goal is to support parents, share experiences and concerns, and provide information on helping children cope with this crises.
– The elementary and middle school students will meet in a group with their high school “buddies”. The group will be led by our building social workers. The goal of this group is to support the elementary and middle school students and discuss any concerns or issues they might have.

We will be sending a flyer home and social work interns will call specific families to invite them to this event. We welcome your feedback; please let us know how we can best reach out to the families at your school and we welcome ideas, suggestions and support.

We welcome your participation and contributions. Karen Hilton has agreed to coordinate the dinner, so, if you’d like to participate, please e-mail her at karenhilton{at}optonline.net Or you can contact Karen Weiland kweiland@somd.k12.nj.us or 973-762-5600 X1850.

Our Storytelling Night (which was to take place on January 21st) has been postponed one week. It is now scheduled for Thursday, January 28th at 6:30 pm.

We rescheduled the event to accommodate an outreach program that the school district’s social work program is having for Haitian families at our school next week. In light of the situation in Haiti and the large number of South Orange Maplewood students who are affected, the program has been designed to offer support to these families and bring them together with school district professionals who can help.

The PTA will be supporting this outreach program in whatever way we can, and we applaud the social work department for organizing the outreach evening, which will benefit many Clinton School families.

Please mark your calendar with the new date for Storytelling Night (Thursday, January 28th at 6:30 pm). We look forward to seeing you there.

As we wrote yesterday morning, many members of the Clinton School community have been affected by the earthquake in Haiti. We have approximately 35 students and staff members with close and immediate family in the country and as you can imagine, today was a very trying day for all of them. Ms. O’Neill, Ms. Bodnar and Ms. Rollo are providing support to these students as they and their families await word.

As a PTA we cannot collect funds for a third party charity organization. However, if you would like to contribute to the relief fund there are many options and we’ve listed a few below.

If there are ways we can help the members of our community directly in the coming days and weeks, we will let you know.

The Red Cross
To help, people can make an unrestricted donation to the International Response Fund at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767). The public can also help by texting “Haiti” to 90999 to send a $10 donation to the Red Cross, through an effort backed by the U.S. State Department. Funds will go to support American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

Doctors Without Borders
A donation to Doctors Without Borders will support emergency medical care for the men, women, and children affected by the earthquake in Haiti.
http://doctorswithoutborders.com/

The Clinton School community includes many families and staff members who have close, even immediate, family members and friends in Haiti. This is a very difficult and emotional time for those families, and for those of us who care about them.

The Clinton PTA cannot collect contributions for a third party organization, but we are investigating the best ways to support the relief effort and to help the families who are so dear to us. As soon as we have further information, we will send another email to let you know where you can directly make a contribution to help.

The Clinton administration, teachers, and staff are creating a nurturing, supportive environment for the students whose families have been affected. As a PTA, we, too, will do whatever we can to assist and support during this very difficult time.

Check out the update from the school nurse.