September 4, 2009
Dear Northgate Community,
Welcome back to school, I hope the first week went well for everyone. A huge thank you to everyone who worked so hard at Walk-Thru Registration. Patty Proctor and Donna Warnken-Brill have prepared all year to make it a smooth process. My thanks to the 150 volunteers and the administrators who stayed late to help get schedules changed. You should also know that our fearless leader, Principal John McMorris, worked all summer for our school - and even took "vacation" to go to a conference at Harvard for high school principals.
Please make sure you check the calendar on our PFC website for all the upcoming events. Here are a few to watch out for:
- September 12th the band has their Marchathon and will be marching through our neighborhood to raise money for their program.
- September 12th Athletic boosters is having a BBQ starting at 11:30 in between the JV and Varsity football games.
- September 26th is Clean up Day.
- October 10th Northgate Pride is hosting a Texas Hold 'Em Party.
- October 15th at 7pm in the library is our next PFC meeting.
I realize I am preaching to the choir when I share with you the issue of funding for public education. California is now last in the nation in per pupil funding. The cuts last year have had a significant impact on our campus, including the loss of funding for sports, a vice principal, librarian, custodian and teachers due to the elimination of class size reduction. I know that at registration, everyone was asked to give more to just about everything; and I understand how difficult it is to give to everything. I respect all our parents give - in time, energy and money.
The PFC did not hit our budget for the Education Fund yet. We rely on this money to help open up additional class sections, so our students have more choices and smaller classes. We have committed to paying for ten sections, and potentially more if we can reach our goal. We are currently about $40,000 short of our protected budget.
We are trying to come up with creative ways to make it easier for parents to donate. You can donate on line at our webstore with your credit card. However, our two volunteer Ed Fund Chairs can also arrange to do installments with you. Contact Karen Cramer cramerx4@astound.net or Kathy Escobar at mcescobar@astound.net . They can automatically charge your credit card at a monthly time that is convenient for you -- $10, $20, $25...whatever dollar amount works in your budget.
Thank you for your consideration. The support and energy in this community continues to amaze me!
Bookmark the PFC and Northgate websites so you can check the calendar and keep informed of all the exciting events our students and community are involved in!
We are also still looking for 2-3 parents to chair the baccalaureate in June. This is one of my favorite events for seniors because is showcases our students and you have plenty of time to take all the pictures you want (graduation gets a little hectic!). Please email Cindy Lentz if you can help.
Please contact me anytime with questions, queries, ideas, or concerns. This is our school, and each one of us has a voice and a responsibility to make sure we live up to the Bronco spirit and provide all of our students with the tools they need to be good stewards of our future.
And, of course, I leave you with a quotation....
Go Broncos!
Monica Fitzgerald
PFC President