The Anthony School

To The Anthony School Community

What a year! Our school is in fantastic shape, with great volunteers, great enrollment
and very exciting plans for short and long term projects. This is a wonderful time to be
at Anthony! Parentcrew has benefited greatly this fall with lots of volunteers for big and
small activities. We are continuing some traditional Parentcrew projects and adding
some new ones.

As President of Parentcrew, my goals for the year are to increase the community’s
understanding of Parentcrew and its purposes, and to increase individual involvement in
Parentcrew planning, committees and events. The Anthony School Parentcrew is a nonprofit, student-centered organization whose mission is to enrich the academic, social, and physical experience of each student and family at the Anthony School. The Parentcrew is dedicated to the continued support of the school’s academic excellence and to building and sustaining a supportive and active school community. The Parentcrew is comprised of all Anthony School parents, teachers, and students. The Parentcrew board is
responsible for overseeing and directing Parentcrew business on behalf of and in the
interests of its members.

The 2007-2008 Parentcrew has already accomplished much for The Anthony School
community. Based upon planning in 2006-2007 and over the summer, a strategic plan
was developed to guide us through the year. In August, we organized and operated
registration, Early Childhood Back to School parties, the Anthony 101 function for new
parents, as well as the Anthony Ambassador program. We conducted the Innisbrook
Paper Sale, as well as kicking off the year-round fundraisers, Kroger Card and label
collecting. We have given money for a poetry program, an anti-tobacco program, a video
camera, and a new mailbox system for the office. We have produced the directory and a
weekly newsletter. We are feeding teachers regularly with snacks or lunches in the
teachers lounge and during in-service days. We have supported each homeroom directly
with Homeroom Parents. We volunteer in the library and in early childhood art. We had
the most successful book fair ever, and a new event, the Family Fall Fun Festival. We
have supported Student Council, administration and other community groups with
communications and publicity. We supported the Open House with volunteers and
snacks.
We are actively planning community events, like the upcoming Learning Rx program
(December 3) and the multicultural event (date to be announced). We will plan and
conduct the Read-A-Thon in February with our Librarian Extraordinaire, Amanda Taylor.
We will support Homecoming week. We are actively planning the Spring Fundraiser, A
Parentcruise, which will be held at Chenal Country Club, on Friday April 11, 2008. The
Spring Carnival will be held on the last day of school, as the end of the year party for the
whole school.

We are also looking into ways to support our clubs and after-school activities, as well as
our participants in bees and other academic competitions. Another focus is
communication and volunteer recruiting. We are developing plans for next year, so that
our calendar will be set and publicized with the school calendar (ideas under exploration
include a Parenting Fair and a Holiday Bazaar).

Importantly, we will be supporting The Anthony School Board of Trustees and the
Administration in the planning and implementation of Panther Properties Phase I and
subsequent planning and focus groups. This is a process that Parentcrew has been
actively supporting since the school began preparing for the ISACS accreditation process
several years ago, through participation in focus groups, answering questionnaires,
committee participation and other support. The Anthony School community can be sure
that the Panther Properties Phase I plans presented by Sharon Morgan and the Board are
the direct result of parent, faculty, administration and board collaboration and that our
future planning will also be examples of community cooperation. Our efforts should
stand as a guide to other schools.

What does all this mean to you? You should be confident in Parentcrew’s commitment
to The Anthony School and its mission. Hopefully, you will be excited about the
opportunities offered by Parentcrew to your children, their teachers, and your whole
family. Hopefully, you will be SO excited that you will jump up right now and volunteer
to be on a committee or to take on a shift of volunteer work or to contribute financial
support or to help in some other way!

I want to emphasize to you the value of your participation. When you support the school,
by driving carpool, attending events, contributing to Annual Fund, being a homeroom
parent, being a committee member, chair or Parentcrew officer, or being a volunteer at an
event or project, not only have you enriched the experience of your child and the whole
school, you have become more connected to the community. You have come to know
more people – parents, teachers and students – who directly impact your child every day.
Your child sees that you value him or her, as well as the school and the education your
child receives. You model behavior to your children that a good member of society
exhibits – community involvement and awareness. You become a more effective parent
of an Anthony student!

Lastly, thank you. It is your time, your talent and your dollars that make Parentcrew run.
What would we do if you didn’t help plan and man events, if you didn’t attend and bring
your children, if you didn’t support Parentcrew financially? We would not be able to
fulfill our mission. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You ARE Parentcrew, and
Parentcrew IS The Anthony School community. We are a strong community, and we are
strong in the community. I could not be prouder!

Thank you -
Jennifer Rogers
2007-2008 Parentcrew President