February 19, 2010
Race for Education
PMCA’s 4th Annual Race for Education fundraiser
is coming up on April 23. This is one of our most important fundraisers of the year,
not just because of the donations which help support ongoing educational
program needs, but also because of the lessons it teaches the students.
T he
Race allows students the opportunity to establish personal goals as they seek
to maintain or improve
upon their prior performance both as runners and as
fundraisers. They can begin to understand how their individual
achievement positively impacts important programs and community at PMCA. A day of fun and
fellowship, running, walking and picnicking together, can make a real financial
difference to their educational experience.
Today each student will be bringing home a bright blue
envelope containing information about the Race. We are asking parents to read
carefully the contents of these envelopes and the instructions they contain,
then return the sponsor sheets no later
than Monday, March 1. Thank you for your help and support of this event.
Piano Recital
Classical
pianist John Silva will present a recital next Friday, February 26
at 7 pm in the Hamel Auditorium. The program will include works by
Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy. Bring your friends for an evening of
wonderful music. Admission is free; an offering will be taken to support financial aid for PMCA students.
Event Reminders
The PMCA Board of Trustees is holding Town Meetings next
Wednesday and Thursday at 7 pm to gain input from parents in evaluating and assessing PMCA. If you have not yet contacted Michelle Orr with your rsvp, please do so as soon as possible.
Animal Farm tickets
a re on sale Monday for shows on March 4-6. Cost is $9 for adults, $7 for students.
Parking Reminder
In
order to ensure the safety of our students and to maintain good
relations with our neighbors, we are reminding parents once again that
parking on Hillcrest Avenue is not permitted. Students may not be picked up or dropped off on the street.
Senior
Lindsey Jackson spent last Saturday in New York City attending a
fashion show presented by the Academy of Art University of San
Francisco as part of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion week. Lindsey, who hopes
to pursue a career in Fashion merchandising, was awarded the
opportunity to attend the show on the basis a prize-winning essay. 
Senior Class Mission Trip - Fry Bread & Movie Night
On Friday evening, March 19, the Senior Class Mission Team will host
a fry bread and movie night fundraiser at the school. What’s
fry bread? Fry bread is a traditional Native American staple found on
reservations all across the country. It can be eaten plain, but quite often
it is  found at fairs and pow-wows across the west made into Indian tacos. Come
out and experience some ethnic cuisine and enjoy a movie about modern Native
American life on the reservation. What movie? Smoke Signals! Smoke Signals,
an award-winning film produced in 1998, was the first feature length motion
picture written, produced, directed and acted entirely by Native Americans – a
landmark to be sure! The film is set on the modern day Coeur d'Alene Indian
Reservation in Idaho and follows the lives and journey of two young friends
linked by a tragic incident in their past. The drama also has some great humor which helps dispel Native American
stereotypes. Despite its cultural setting, a bit offbeat for most Americans,
the story focuses on human experiences of tragedy, grief, anger and brokenness
but ultimately forgiveness – experiences common to all mankind. Tom Sorkness
will introduce the film and Dan Kunkle will make some comments and lead a brief
discussion after the film. A collection will be taken at the end of the evening
to help offset the costs of the mission trip. Please come out for the evening.
Invite family, church friends and neighbors. Dinner will be in the school
cafeteria starting at 5:30 and the movie will be in the auditorium starting at
7:00. The evening will end by 9:00. Hope to see you there!
Smoke Signals is primarily a story for adults
and older students. There is some language in it, but is nothing excessive. There
is minimal violence in the film and does not contain any sex. Some scenes would
probably be too intense for younger children.
Tinikling Fun
Right before our massive snowfall and subsequent "extra vacation", nine 5th
graders put on quite a show for fans watching Middle School basketball games. Caitlin
Orr, Hope Blackburn, Mikayla Centeno, Gabriella Belmonte, Ethan Steiger, James
DeHeer, Lauren Tipton, Rebekah Dolton and Madison Rennix logged many hours of
lunch recess practice to perfect their Philippine Folk Dance footwork in
preparation for the event. The crowd was in awe as the students displayed both
their individual skill and "group choreography". We are hoping to repeat the
performance in the spring at the Fine Arts Festival, so keep your eyes and
ears peeled!
Pennies for Patients
 Once again this year, PMCA is
joining more than 20,000 schools nationwide participating in The Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society’s School and Youth programs. For the next 3 weeks, from February 22 until March 12, PMCA will be helping people who are sick with blood cancers
like leukemia through the Pennies for Patients program. All you have to do is collect coins and send them in
to your child's classroom collection box. The homeroom that raises the most
money will be served a luncheon from Olive Garden. Please support this cause by
collecting your loose change. Every cent counts!
Math Counts
The
Middle School Math Counts team has had a busy week. On Wednesday, the
school competition was held. Seventh grader Nathan Bierema was awarded
first place, with sixth graders Rachael Sorkness, Chrissie Shin and
Isaac Stemler taking second through fourth places. Tomorrow, the local
team competition will be held at William Tennent High School. PMCA will be
represented by our Math Counts team, consisting of Nathan Bierema,
Rachael Sorkness, Isaac Stemler and alternates Kai
Thomas-Robertson and Daniel Wood.
Dates to Remember
2/19 Race for Education packets sent home
Senior Athlete Recognition, 7:30 pm
2/20 BAL Wrestling Tournament
2/22 Literary Forum, the Poetry of
Langston Hughes, 7 pm
2/23 PIAA Basketball Playoffs - Boys vs
Morrisville at PMCA, 7 pm, $5
2/24 Animal Farm Seminar: Dan Kunkle
Snowball Goes to the Mall:
The Hegemony of Marxist
Ideology in Culture Studies
and a Christian Critique, 3:15 pm
Town Meeting, 7 pm
PIAA
Basketball Playoffs - Girls
at Friends
Select, 7 pm
2/25 Town Meeting, 7 pm
2/26 John Silva Concert, 7 pm
Week of March 1 Iowa Tests, grades 1-9
3/1 Race For Education
Sponsor sheets due
3/4-3/6
Animal Farm, 7:30 pm
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