Please note this newsletter is for this week and

Please note this newsletter is for this week and
the week after spring break. Have a great break!
A Letter from the President
As many of you know, I have been the PAC President since
the school opened in August, 2010. It has been quite a
journey, and one that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I’m not
sure if anyone (myself included) really knew all that PAC
would or could accomplish in such a short amount of time.
PAC’s mission is to support and enhance the educational
experiences of the school’s students by providing an
organization through which the parents, school and
teachers can work cooperatively, and by providing
financial support for programs funded outside of the
annual school budget.
Since its inception, PAC has supported the school in any
and every way. I think we can all agree that Discovery is a
special place, mostly due to our stellar staff, but also
because of the collaborative efforts of all of the parent
volunteers who have worked tirelessly to create such an
amazing learning environment for our children. Following
is a partial list of PAC’s accomplishments:
Purchased and installed a playground
Purchased and installed benches, wall hooks and cubbies
for classrooms
Maintained school grounds and landscaping
Purchased various technology items, including smart
boards, laptops, printers and a new copier
Supported (financially or organizationally) various after
school clubs (auditorium rentals, uniforms)
Raised funds to purchase additional land for the school
campus (currently ongoing)
Purchased new furniture, computers, and system
scanners for the library
Provided financial assistance to room parents for holiday
parties
Provided teacher assistance and support whenever
possible (coordination of room parents and copy
assistants)
Provided staff appreciation each year (holiday gifts, staff
appreciation day, teacher appreciation week)
Donated funds for the 8th Grade Washington D.C. trip to
decrease trip costs for all of the students
Would you like to help further PAC’s mission? The time
has come for PAC officer elections, which will be held
during the next PAC meeting on Tuesday, April 8th at 7 p.m.
Some of us are stepping down, some of us are staying, and
some of us are stepping down from current positions to
run for new ones. Following are the officer positions and
their current status:
President: open
Vice President: incumbent Jeny Burkhart running for
another 2-year term
Secretary: open (current Secretary Lisa Apato is stepping
down to run for President)
Treasurer: open
If you are interested in running for any of the PAC officer
positions, please submit your name and a brief bio to me by
Friday, April 4th, explaining which position you are
interested in and why. Candidate bios will be distributed
to meeting attendees during the meeting prior to voting. If
there is only one contestant for each officer position, the
slate will be presented at the meeting, and a vote to
approve the slate will be taken by a show of hands of those
present at the meeting. A majority vote of those attending
the meeting will approve the slate. Absentee votes will not
be accepted.
If there is more than one person running for each officer
position, those candidates will have an opportunity to
make a brief presentation explaining why they would like
to run for the position and what attributes they could
provide to PAC. Voting for each contested office will be
done by written ballot. A neutral party will be present to
count ballots. Absentee ballots will not be accepted – you
must be present at the meeting to vote.
If you are not running but still want to further PAC’s
mission, please come to this meeting and show your
support. After this meeting, continue to show your support
by coming to meetings, volunteering in school, and helping
at events. It’s up to each and every parent in this school,
and not just Discovery staff, to ensure that our children
continue to thrive academically.
Thank you all for your support during the last four years,
and for all that you have done to make Discovery such an
amazing school for our children!
March 17 & 31, 2014 | Volume 4, Issue 12
DISCOVER OUR WORLD!
EAT • LAUGH • DANCE
Saturday, April 26th, 6-10 p.m.
$50/person
Marquette Park Pavilion, Gary
Register at: discpac.ejoinme.org/dow
Can’t attend? Consider purchasing a sponsorship or
making a general donation. Think you may be
interested in bidding on auction items? With the
purchase of an event ticket, you can bid by proxy.
Please contact Janine Girzadas at
[email protected] for more details.
Basket donations are due this Friday, March 21st. If you
would rather donate a small monetary amount, please
contact Julie Tegt at [email protected] or
Marianne Easter at [email protected] to
make alternate arrangements.
Upcoming Events
March 19: School Board meeting 7 p.m. (please note the
time change)
March 21: Discover Our World basket donations due
March 22-31: Spring Break; no school
April 8: PAC meeting 7 p.m. – officer elections
April 11-12: Seussical the Musical
April 23: Grandfriends’ Day; School Board meeting 6:30
p.m.
April 24: Eco Night 6:30-8:30 p.m.
April 26: Discover Our World 6-10 p.m. , Marquette Park
Pavilion
SCRIP
Attention Discovery Business Owners!! Let’s highlight
the valuable services and businesses our Discovery
community has to offer by including a "Discovery's
Own" basket for our silent auction! Please consider a
donation of goods, services or discounts to help us raise
money and spread the word to our community about
your business!
Our inaugural dismissal sales event took place on Friday,
March 15th. With your help, our 2-person team sold $1555
in SCRIP gift cards, earning the school an extra $51. We will
be outside for sales again this Friday, March 21st. The sales
crew will be out while the first group of cars is lined up and
waiting for dismissal to begin. Once the cars start moving,
the crew will head to the side parking lot.
Know anyone who might be interested in donating
auction items? Think gift cards, restaurant gift
certificates, and event/sporting tickets. Please contact
Erin Labovitz at [email protected] if you have
possible donations.
Upcoming Order Schedule and Important Notice:
Our Distributor will be closed for a short time in April,
which means there won’t be any deliveries between April
4th-16th. We will have some inventory on hand and
PrestoPay users will still be able to reload and order
ScripNow.
Week of 03/17: Orders due Tuesday, March 18th by
8:30am for delivery on Friday, 03/21
Week of 03/31: No school on Monday, Orders DUE
Tuesday, April 1st by 8:30am for delivery on Friday,
04/04. Orders placed after 8:30am on Tuesday April 1st
may NOT be available until 04/18.
Calling all bakers! We need help with desserts for this
event. If you are interested in donating homemade
baked goods, please contact Jeny Burkhart at
[email protected].
Seussical, Jr.
The Discovery Drama Club will present Seussical, Jr. on
April 11th and 12th at 7 p.m. at the Edison High School in
Lake Station. The Drama Club has been practicing for
weeks and is excited to perform for the Discovery
community. Tickets are now available for purchase – please
see the attached ticket form for more info. The stage bill is
an opportunity for our families to congratulate their
Discovery students or advertise their business or services.
Families can purchase a shout out, quarter, half, or full page
ad before ad space is made available to the general public.
Please see the attached form for more info.
Questions? Email us at [email protected].
Grandfriends’ Day
Grandfriends’ Day will be Wednesday, April 23rd. PAC will
be providing refreshments for our visitors throughout the
day. If you would like to donate fruit or veggie trays,
cheese and crackers, or baked goods please contact Jeny
Burkhart at [email protected]. More
details about specific activities will be sent home soon.
President: Janine Girzadas | [email protected]
Vice President: Jeny Burkhart | [email protected]
Secretary: Lisa Apato | [email protected]
Treasurer: Eric Hull | [email protected]
March 17 & 31, 2014 | Volume 4, Issue 12