District 37 Parent Teacher Council
What is the Parent Teacher Council (PTC)?
The Avoca PTC transforms your school into a community. We are proud to be a resource for teachers, students and families and to offer a variety of opportunities for you to get to know your school community. The Avoca PTC includes families and staff at both Avoca District 37 schools: Avoca West Elementary School (AW) and Marie Murphy Jr. High School (MM). We encourage you to join the Avoca PTC and contact us at any time to share your thoughts, concerns and questions.
PTC Mission Statement
Avoca District 37 Parent Teacher Council (PTC) is a membership* of parents, teachers, and staff who are dedicated to fostering the educational, social, and overall well-being of each student at Avoca Community Preschool, Avoca West School, and Marie Murphy School. We serve these students by promoting a closer working relationship among district families, the school, and the community at large.
The purpose of the PTC is to:
Offer a forum for ideas, concerns, and information
Promote parent involvement
Provide assistance to teachers through volunteerism
Assist administration in communicating school information
Sponsor social and educational events for students, families, and the community
Fund special school programs through a variety of fund-raising events throughout the school year.
PTC News You Can Use
ART IN ACTION DAY – THANK YOU!
The gym at Avoca West was buzzing with creative energy on February 27th during the PTC-sponsored Art in Action Day! This year's 10 stations included hands-on experience with watercolors, jewelry making, color spinners, magnet creation, soft pastel drawings, fashion illustration and car designs, dance, yarn weaving, spirograph designs, and loom band bracelet making.
Thank you to the Avoca administration, staff and PTC for supporting and accommodating this event. Thank you to the instrumental and PE departments for giving up their spaces for a day.
Special thanks to these local artists and studios for partnering with Art in Action this year:
Glenview School of Arts
Summer camps and year-round art classes available. Please visit www.GlenviewSchoolofArts.com for more information and how to enroll.
Mary Gaspar Mary Gaspar is a local Wilmette fine artist and proud Avoca mom who creates original watercolor and acrylic paintings from her home art studio. She likes to paint abstract art and modern watercolor botanicals. You can view her beautiful work and learn more at www.MaryGasparArt.com.
tastyColor: Jiali Yu
Our very own Avoca parent, Jiali Yu, runs tastyColor, an online art education platform for children with in-person classes at their studio in Wilmette. As a visual artist, Jiali’s philosophy is for students to make drawing a daily habit and express their voice through visual art media. To learn more about art classes, please visit www.tastyColor.com. Her artist website is www.JialiYu.com.
Thank you to the following parents and staff who ran a station this year:
Kelly Eggleston
Maggie Risi
Lauren Rivera-Haire
Sara Shepard
Lauren Tromp
Carl Prouty
Barbara Vogelstein
And a great big thank you to the following school staff and volunteers who also helped make this event possible:
Eva Rios, Tyler Bell, Dawn Zigmond, Emily Davoren, Nieves Fernandez, Kristina Firestine, Lisa Friedland, Ellen Gradman, Erin Loder, Jess Lue-Lai, Saira Majid, Shoshanna Reynolds, Joanne Rousseau, Alina Sharon, Erinn Smith, Caroline Sylvestre, Marina Tarasova, Liubou Tochka and Jenn Prouty.
✴😋✴ You are invited to D37's BEST NIGHT of FOOD and FUN! 🥘🍲🥙😋 Join us for our 9th Annual Intercultural Dinner and Talent Show on Friday, 12/13/24 at Marie Murphy School. ✴😋✴
HOW: Register to attend at: https://bit.ly/40aB1zQ - RSVP by this Friday, 11/22/24 (Details are in this link/Google Form).
If you are contributing food: Cost is FREE for a Family (maximum 6 people - 2 adults, 4 children). For additional guests, the cost is $10 per guest.
If you are not contributing food: The cost is $10/Individual, or up to $40/Family (maximum 6 people - 2 adults, 4 children). Don't miss out on this very popular and fun event!
Our schools thrive thanks to the dedication and generosity of our community. As parents, we also want what is best for our children. As we plan for events that support our schools and students, we need your help to ensure their success. These events provide crucial resources and opportunities, but they can't happen without the support of volunteers like you.
We have some new and exciting ideas for fundraising events that we are excited to announce, but we also need your help with to make them happen!
1. Inaugural D37 Adult Trivia Night. We want to bring parents together for some mingling and a little friendly competition!
2. Family Ice Skating Night at Centennial. A fun opportunity for both kids and parents!
3. Other Fun Events. We are trying to find ways to bring the community together to connect. We have many more ideas including both family and adult only events. We are also open to your ideas!
Whether you can lend a hand with planning, set-up, or day-of activities, your contribution will make a big difference! Volunteering is a wonderful way to connect with other parents, teachers, and community members, all while supporting our schools and the future of our students.
If you’re able to help, please either complete the form at https://www.avocaptc.org/getting-involved or you can email avocaptc@gmail.com. Any time or resources you can give, no matter how small, will go a long way in making these events a success.
Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a positive impact on our schools!
