Thank you so much for your incredible generosity. The first truck left on Wednesday with the gifts to the children's homes in Gdansk and Sopot. Thank you to Universal Express for donating their trucks and drivers for this event. Primary students and teachers and members of our PTA charity team delivered those presents yesterday and today. Photos will be in next week's newsletter. There are two more planned school trips during the next two weeks. Your children wrote Christmas wishes in their native language on a huge Christmas Giving Tree card. We are giving a framed copy of this Christmas card to all 29 children's home or charities that are recipients of your gifts.

We’ve also been celebrating Mikolajki, on this special day, the PTA provided every student with a small chocolate treat.

Santa also visited Dabrowskiego today, bringing all the children gifts.  Santa was very lucky to have the help of our parent volunteers to sort through the gifts and make sure they got to the right children.  Thank you to Santa and our PTA volunteers for making creating such magical moments at Dab.

Christmas Fair

Please come and see us at the Christmas Fair.  We will be running three stalls by the new pe hall: the chocolate tombola, Santa’s Grotto and a refreshment stall.

Along with teas, coffees and soft drinks, at the refreshment still, we will also be selling tickets for the Burns Supper, 25^th January, 2020.  We’re very much looking forward to dancing the night away to a live band and enjoying all the traditions of a Burns Supper.  Tickets cost 125pln / person and we have a limited number of tickets available.  Don’t miss out, buy early.

Please also note, that if you’d like to learn how to do some Scottish Country Dancing, we will be holding a family dance on Friday 10^th January, in the school canteen, from 5pm – 7pm.

Chocolate Tombola

Thank you for your contributions to our chocolate tombola which allow us to run a raffle with chocolate as prizes.  Every chocolate bar you donated will be assigned a number, if the raffle ticket you buy from our stall at the Christmas Fair matches the number on the chocolate, it's yours! 

Santa’s grotto

Come along and meet the big man himself, Santa will be available in his grotto.  He’d love to hear if you’ve been naughty or nice.

Please get in touch if you would like to volunteer to help us run any of these activities.

PTA committee changes

Happily, we welcome Therese back onto the committee.  Although Therese resigned from the post of Secretary before the summer, she has remained a leading light in the charities committee working with the charities group to bring together the Christmas Tree.  Therese will be working with our Petit PTA to see if we can do more with our student volunteers and we are delighted to have her back.

And finally, it is with a heavy heart that we have had to accept Olivia Squyres resignation.  Olivia has been offered a wonderful new opportunity in the world of paid work.  Olivia has worked tirelessly with our communications team to launch our Facebook presence and change the way we communicate with our community.  I know we’ve all benefited from the time, effort and expertise she’s been able to give us, but also the fun she’s brought – who could forget Miss America at the International Fair?

Good luck Olivia & thank you.

The PTA committee

For the PTA Noticeboard, please view below.

Getting to know Olivia Squyres

Where would you call home?

I’m proud to be from the American South! Dallas, Texas is my permanent home of record, but I feel at home anywhere “y’all” and “bless your heart” are used frequently. 

What languages can you speak?

I am almost fluent in English.

What brings you to Warsaw and what was your journey to get here?

My husband is a European-focused Foreign Area Army Officer assigned to the Embassy here in Warsaw. We were in Germany before Poland, and Washington DC before Germany. Where will we be next? Your guess is as good as mine. 

Who have you got at school here?

My older daughter, Lena, is in Year 7, and my younger daughter, Evie, is in Year 4. 

Any other children?

Not that I’m aware of, but the 2000’s were a crazy time. 

Any pets?

No fur pets, but plenty of pet peeves. 

How did you get involved in the PTA?

I asked to be! It was that simple. I started as a Class Friend and then became the Communications Coordinator. 

What do you do with the PTA?

I am on the Communications Committee. I help moderate the Facebook pages and write the weekly blog. At times I can also be found behind the curtain of Pani PTA emails. 

Best thing about volunteering with the PTA?

To be sure, the friendships are invaluable, and the work fulfilling. But what I especially appreciate about our PTA is the freedom and support our volunteers are given to begin their own initiatives and work within their areas of strength. For example, my background is in Public Relations and Communications, but when I first joined the PTA, there were no volunteer opportunities for that. I asked to start the PTA Facebook pages and put together a communications team, and the PTA Committee was incredibly supportive. 

What would you say to somebody thinking about volunteering for the PTA?

Do it! No one ever regrets spending too much time or effort on their children’s lives. If you see a need we’re not meeting or have any special backgrounds or talents you’d like to use, let us know! 

What’s your favourite thing to do with your family in Warsaw?

A typical Squyres Family Fun day includes a little something for each of us- brunch for me, an outdoor activity for Daniel, a bit of shopping for Lena, and for Evie? Early bedtime. 

Can you tell us a joke?

What do you call a blind buck (stag)?       I have no eye deer!