Welcome Back to School!

Our PTO is so excited to start another school year with the staff and students at Laramie Montessori. We're holding our annual Halloween Carnival fundraiser again in October. If you're interested in helping, please send us an email at LaramieMontessoriPTO@gmail.com.

Our PTO is also looking for a new Vice-President! Serving as a PTO officer is a great way to get involved in your child's school, and a meaningful way to help the teachers and staff who give so much of their time and energy to the school. If you'd like to throw your hat in the ring for the position, email us (LaramieMontessoriPTO@gmail.com) a little information about yourself, including why you'd be interested in the position. Any questions about PTO can be directed to the same email address.

Candidate for PTO Treasurer: Kristi Hansen

We have a candidate for our Treasurer position! Here's what you need to know about Kristi Hansen:

Hello PTO members,

I would like to run for Treasurer of the PTO. I would like to make a positive contribution to a place that has been such an important part of my kids’ lives for these past two years. My husband Tyrrell and I have lived in Laramie for about ten years. We both teach at the university. Our twins, Tristan and Owen, age 7, are in the first grade. We have loved raising our two kids here. We chose Montessori school because the educational philosophy appeals to us and because we believe that a small school environment helps our two kids develop into the people they are going to become.

A big part of why I am running for PTO is because my son Tristan asked me to get more involved at Montessori. He senses the importance of parent involvement in his school and how critical it is to have good communication between parents and teachers. I would like to do what I can to help the PTO run smoothly, and also to make a bigger contribution to the community of learners and teachers who have had such a positive influence on my kids.

Thank you for considering me for the position of PTO Treasurer.

We hope to see you for our election meeting! April 30th, 6pm at Laramie Montessori School. Kids are welcome if you need to bring them!

PTO Officer Elections 2019

It's time to elect new officers for Laramie Montessori School's Parent-Teacher Organization!

The positions of President and Treasurer are up for election this year. Officers are elected for a two-year term that begins on June 30th. They are responsible for attending all Executive Board and Regular meetings. Executive Board meetings are held monthly; Regular meetings are held 3-5 times a year. Any parent or legal guardian of a LMS student is welcome to run for office, including parents of students who will be new to the school!

Specific duties (from the PTO bylaws):

President: 

Serve as the principal executive officer of the organization and, in general, supervise and control all of the activities of the organization. In executing these duties, the President shall be subject to the control of the Executive Board and general membership. Serve as a member of the Executive Board and preside at and fully participate in all meetings of the Executive Board and all meetings of the membership.

Treasurer:

Serve as a member of the Executive Board. Have charge of and be responsible for all funds of the organization. Receive and give receipts for monies due and payable to the organization from all sources. Deposit such funds to Laramie Montessori School or other such organizations as are selected by the Executive Board. Make disbursements as authorized by the President, Executive Board, or membership in accordance with the budget adopted by the membership. Present a written financial report at each Regular Meeting of the membership, during Executive Board meetings and at other times as requested by the Executive Board.

If you'd like to serve as an officer in one of these positions, please send an e-mail to laramiemontessoripto@gmail.com and indicate which position you'd like to run for. Include a short bio that can be displayed for parents and teachers as they consider who they'll be voting for. Please have the bio sent in by April 23rd. If you have more questions about what it's like to serve with our PTO, please e-mail us!

Voting will take place at our next regular meeting, April 30th at 6pm at Laramie Montessori School. If you are unable to attend that meeting, and would like to vote, a vote may be submitted in writing to the LMS front office staff no earlier than April 24th, and no later than 5:30pm on April 30th.

Read-a-Thon Fundraiser Help!

The PTO is in charge of the Read-a-Thon fundraiser assembly from 8:30-11am on Tuesday the 26th. We're serving fruit kabobs and fruit punch to the kids, and playing some book-themed games. If you'd like to get involved, please consider attending the assembly for all or part of the time to help pass out snacks and run the games. If that doesn't work for your schedule, you could donate fruit for kabobs (please drop them off at the front office the day before the assembly), or join our kabob-assembly party on the 25th at 6pm at the school. Bring a cutting board and a knife!

Read-a-thon Fundraiser

The school is hosting their 2nd annual Read-a-thon Fundraiser in March. The PTO has been asked to help with the kick-off party for the kids. We'll have more details on how parents can help after our next executive board meeting on February 12th.

Halloween Carnival Fundraiser Update

Our Halloween Carnival was a ton of fun, and a fundraising success! We raised $2071 to fund the awesome field trips our school takes. We want to thank everyone that helped run games, secured donations, and baked treats. We're thankful to everyone who joined us for the fun and donated to our school.

THANK YOU!!!!

New school year!

We are so excited to be back to school! The officers of the PTO look forward to serving as a bridge between the parents and staff of Laramie Montessori School for another school year. We hope you'll join us after Back to School Night on October 4th, and learn how you can get involved with our school. Anyone is welcome at that meeting, and our organization does not charge dues.

See you then!

PTO Officer Elections 2018

It's time to elect new officers for Laramie Montessori School's Parent-Teacher Organization!

The positions of Vice-President and Secretary are up for election this year. Officers are elected for a two-year term. They are responsible for attending all Executive Board and Regular meetings. Executive Board meetings are held monthly; Regular meetings are held 3-5 times a year.

Specific duties (from the PTO bylaws):

Vice-President:

Serve as an ex­ officio member of their respective committees and fully participate in all meetings of the Executive Board and all meetings of the membership;
Coordinate the work of their respective committees in order that the purposes may be promoted.
Keep the official copy of the organization’s Bylaws in PTO files;
Conduct delegated correspondence. (this includes attending monthly school board meetings to give a PTO update)

Secretary:

Keep the minutes of the proceedings of the membership and the Executive Board and post these minutes and referenced attachments to the PTO Facebook page and website;
Maintain the Montessori PTO newsletter and other PTO social media accounts;
Establish style guide and approve flyers (virtual and print) that will be disseminated to Voting Members;
Prepare agendas for upcoming Regular meetings and Executive Board meetings.

If you'd like to serve as an officer in one of these positions, please send an e-mail to laramiemontessoripto@gmail.com and indicate which position you'd like to run for. Include a short bio that can be displayed for parents and teachers as they consider who they'll be voting for.

Voting will take place at our next regular meeting, May 17th at 5:30pm. This will be part of the school end-of-year potluck and talent show. If you are unable to attend that meeting, and would like to vote, a vote may be submitted in writing to the LMS front office staff no earlier than May 10th, and no later than 5pm on May 17th.

Decision reached on fundraiser money

We would like to thank everyone who gave us their feedback about what we should do with the money from the fundraiser carnival. Many excellent suggestions were given. Based on the feedback received, the executive board has decided to give the money raised to the Hapi-ness 5K Run fundraiser held annually by Laramie Junior High School.

The money raised at our carnival was given to help a local family with their medical bills. As that family has decided not to accept the money, we believe the next best solution is to give the money to another local family to help with their medical bills. That is the aim of the Hapi-ness 5K Run fundraiser every year, and we're proud to be able to support them.

Again, we're thankful for the generosity of the Laramie Montessori community. We're sorry that our fundraiser didn't have the outcome we hoped for, but all the same we're proud of what we accomplished with your help and donations. Thank you all so much.

We Care About Our Mayor Fundraiser Update

This fall, our PTO learned that one of our fellow Laramie Montessori School families was going through a rough time: mounting medical bills, and the possible loss of their home because of them. Our hearts went out to them, and we wanted to help. We thought that because the mother of this family is also the mayor of Laramie that perhaps others in our community would also want to help. So we put on the We Care About Our Mayor fundraiser carnival. Thanks to the help of so many of you, the carnival was a wild success, and we raised about $5,000 to help the Summerville family.

However, for a variety of reasons, the Summerville family has decided that they cannot accept the money that was raised for them. We respect their decision and are not going to try to pressure them otherwise. Because of the nature of the way donations were made at the carnival, it's impossible to get money back to the people that donated it, so that $5,000 is coming back to the PTO.

Before we make a decision about what to do with the money, we would like to get the input of those who attended the carnival and made donations. If you would like to weigh in on what the PTO does with the money raised, please fill out the form below. All answers are anonymous. A decision will be made by the PTO executive board at our meeting on February 14th.

We are considering several options. One, of course, is just to keep all the money at the school to benefit our students and teachers. The money would be used for field trips, teacher trainings, and classroom supplies. We're also considering giving the money to the school district to help with programs that benefit students district-wide, such as the program that sends backpacks with food home over the weekends. We could give the money to a community non-profit organization, such as the Interfaith food pantry. Finally, because the money raised was given to help with medical bills, we are considering giving it to Laramie Junior High's Hapi-ness 5K fundraiser, which raises money every year for a local family dealing with expensive medical issues.

Next regular meeting

Our next regular meeting for all PTO members will be held at 7:00pm on January 31st in the north conference room at LMS. Children are welcome! We will begin making plans for our Night On the Town fundraiser, to be held on April 20th. This fundraiser was a huge success last year, and with your help we hope to have even more fun this year!

Fundraiser Update

We would like to thank everyone that came out to our Halloween carnival. We raised $5000 for the Summerville family! It was a fun night, and we couldn't have done it without you!

We Care About Our Mayor Fundraiser

We hope this fundraiser will help ease the burden for one of our Montessori families. Feel free to share this flyer at work or in your neighborhood. Tell all your local friends and family! You can share our Facebook event using this link. If you'd like to help with the event, fill out the form under the Upcoming Events tab.

Our 1st Regular Meeting was a success!

Many thanks to all who attended our first Regular Meeting! We have a lot of exciting things in the works! If you would like to read the minutes of the meeting, please visit the Files tab. For information about our upcoming fundraiser event and how you can help, check out the Upcoming Events tab.

Any questions or comments? Send them to LaramieMontessoriPTO@gmail.com!

New website!

Welcome! We are excited for a new school year! Our Parent Teacher Organization has created this website to help parents find information about PTO meetings and activities.

To find summaries of previous PTO meetings (called "minutes"), or read the bylaws, choose the Files tab.

For more information about the members of the PTO Executive Board, choose the Executive Board tab.

We hope to see everyone at our first Regular Meeting. It will be held on September 28th at 3:15pm in the conference room on the north side of the school. Your kids can run around the gym or playground. Younger siblings are welcome to join, too--we'll have crayons and paper for them. No registration is necessary to attend, and our PTO does not collect dues from members.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact us: LaramieMontessoriPTO@gmail.com