Dear University School Families,
First, let me say I hope you and your family are safe and healthy as you read this letter. As we close out the school year, I wanted to thank our parents, teachers, staff, administration, and volunteers for an amazing year. Because of your generosity and volunteer efforts, we were able to offer many events for our families, like our Fall Festival, Barnes & Noble Christmas Event, and monthly family engagement opportunities at our restaurant partners. We had planned an exciting spring fundraiser, "Bluegrass @ The Barn," but regretfully, we had to cancel the event due to COVID19.
While it is easy to see our Foundation in action by highlighting events like those above, it may be difficult to see the day-to-day impact that the Foundation has on University School and our children. I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of those items to help you understand the importance of your continued support. This year our Foundation raised approximately $13,000 from our fall fundraiser, Barnes & Noble Event, Family Engagement Dinners, and T-Shirt Sales. While we raised $13,000, the Foundation spent over $23,000 to support our school. You may have noticed the new office furniture in the main office and the new water fountains on the 2nd and 3rd floor for our middle and high school students. The Foundation, with your generosity, supported our teachers with their requests for classroom items, including a new color printer for the library, supplies for the robotic teams, a new motor for the kiln in Ms. Squibb's art room, sealing and striping of the outdoor basketball court and four-square areas, and many other requests. Each year our Foundation supports our new student orientation program by providing lunch to our new students and their parents. We also support our senior class to provide our students with funding as they participate in various activities throughout their senior year. Also, the University School Foundation supports our student-athletes and coaches throughout the year by providing financial oversight to the team managers and supporting our spring and fall student physical program.
I want to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in the 2020-2021 University School Foundation meetings. The Foundation meets on the first Monday of each month, from 3:30 pm to 5 pm, at University School. I would also like to introduce you to our 2020-21 Board of Directors.
President: Christine Hutchinson VP: Myra Elder
Secretary: Dionne Ganger Treasurer: Tracy Lehrfeld
Athletic Treasurer: Ginger Hare Fund-Raising Chairperson: Open
The Foundation is searching for a Fund-Raising Chairperson, Apparel Chairperson, and multiple parent volunteers for committees to support our Foundations projects. If you have any interest in serving on the University School Foundation as a board member or representative, please contact Myra Elder at melder@embarqmail.com.
Please watch your email for more information regarding Foundation events for the school year 2020-21. The Foundation is working closely with Dr. Partin to plan our events safely. Our Fall Fundraiser Event is tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 23, 2020, and will include many of the same activities as last year's event. Many families made contributions to our “Bluegrass @ The Barn” event through donations for baskets and auction items. The items will be offered for sale at the Fall Foundation Event, more details to come.
Lastly, I want to express my gratitude to our board of directors, our teachers, our staff, and our administration. A special thank you to our board members for their commitment to University School. I have enjoyed my time serving as the President of the Foundation, and I welcome your new President, Christine Hutchinson. Christine previously served as the Fund-Raising Chairperson and will make a great President for the 2020-21 school year.
Our success depended upon you and your families. Please accept our sincerest thank you for all you have done to help the University School Foundation succeed this year. We want to wish all of you a healthy, safe, and happy summer. See you next year!
Sincerely,
John Dixon, University School Foundation President