REGION 15 NAMES ITS 2007-2008 SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

  The Region 15 staff and school administrators have selected its 2007-2008 Volunteers of the Year. The ten men and women will be honored at the April 28th Region 15 Board of Education meeting.

  Pomperaug Elementary School Principal Mrs. Carissa Keepin named Cathy Kleros as her Volunteer of the Year due to her valuable and dedicated contributions to PES. “Cathy is a generous and supportive Region 15 parent, who has contributed to PES and Region 15 in a multitude of important ways.  She has been the PES PTO President, PTO Vice President, Art Room and Art Show helper for five years, Perpetual Fund representative, Mother’s Day Plant sale Co-Chair, Spirit Wear Co-Chair, Volunteer Coordinator for kindergarten, a Room Parent for two years, Media Center Assistant, Bake Sale Fund-raiser Chair, Teacher Grant Committee, and Hospitality Co- Chair.”

  Tony Pitetti was chosen as the Volunteer of the Year at Middlebury Elementary School for his generosity of time serving children in the computer lab.  “It is a pleasure to watch Tony work with students,” said MES Principal Jack Zamary. “He approaches each child as if they were his own, giving them the dedicated listening and careful attention that they need to be successful students. Students respond well to Tony’s paternal approach.  He is an exceptional father who serves as an excellent model for students and parents alike. Middlebury Elementary School is very fortunate to have Mr. Pitetti as a volunteer on a regular and ongoing basis. “

  Dr. Len Tomasello, Interim Principal at Gainfield Elementary School, was pleased to select three Volunteers of the Year: Stefanie O’Connor, Renee Bogdanffy and Kyle McDarren. Mrs. O’Connor, mother of two Gainfield students, has helped to change the learning experiences for all of our children.  Several months ago, Stefanie volunteered to serve as the PTO Enrichment Chairperson, a new position for the organization.  She has had a positive impact on the Gainfield Elementary School’s culture and students’ learning.   Stefanie collaborated with Dr. Tomasello on an After-School Enrichment Program, mini-courses in world languages, technology, art, science, robotics, and movie-making.  Since January, this program has enrolled nearly 200 students.  This program has been received very positively by students, parents and staff.  Stefanie was instrumental in coordinating the Women in History Celebration held at Gainfield, which featured ten parents portraying famous women in a Living Museum. These women shared their lives, highlighting their contributions to our nation’s history.  Mrs. O’Connor will be coordinating the GES new initiative - a school-wide Celebration of Poetry.  “Through her efforts, Mrs. O’Connor has become an important ‘person of influence’ in the most positive way,” said Dr. Tomasello.  “Her energy, creativity, and desire to make Gainfield a special school have not gone unnoticed.”

  Renee Bogdanffy has served as Treasurer of the Gainfield PTO for the past three years.  She has been responsible for managing all the funds raised from PTO fundraisers. Since she has served in this PTO Executive Board position, Renee has been an efficient, responsible, and effective keeper of our finances, which have exceeded more than $50,000 annually. She has cooperated with the school staff and administration to identify enrichment programs and materials that have benefited all Gainfield children. In this final year as Treasurer, Renee successfully completed an important two-year challenging process of bringing the PTO into compliance with state and federal tax regulations so that this active organization now enjoys a tax-exempt status.

  Kyle McDarren, father of two Gainfield Elementary School students, has been available to volunteer in any grade and for any activity.  Since his children were in kindergarten, he has shared his time and his talents with our students. This year, he took on the added responsibility of being the Room Parent for his daughter’s second grade class.  “No matter what activity he participates in, Mr. McDarren does so with such positive energy and a contagious smile.  He has a wonderful attitude that brings joy and happiness to any room that welcomes his presence,” said Dr. Tomasello.

  At Long Meadow Elementary School, Volunteer of the Year Tracy Berthelson practically lives at the school. Tracey is a very active member of the school’s PTO and volunteers in classrooms throughout the school. She often pops into classrooms to see if a teacher has a need. Over the past several years, Tracy has been the PTO Hospitality Chair, the Staff Appreciation Basket Coordinator and a Room Parent and Parent Volunteer in Grades One, Two, Three, and Four. She has been involved with the Ice Cream Social, PJ Story Hour, the Ten-Year Anniversary Student Book, Muffin Mates, and as a Library Volunteer. “Tracy is a hard working individual who cares deeply about the school and works tirelessly to make it a better place for students and staff,” said LMES Principal Rich Gusenburg.

  At Memorial Middle School, Sue Isaacs has been a quiet force for many years, having been the chair of many committees and activities over the years. She is also the school’s PTO Vice President and Region 15 PTO Advisory Council’s Secretary. Sue has been a dedicated Library Media volunteer for the past six years. Mrs. Isaacs has organized book shelves, prepared report data sheets, and participated in the library conversion data system over the years.  “One of Sue’s greatest attributes is her genuine interest in students, which is focused on doing good and meaningful things for our students,” said John Sieller, Principal at Memorial Middle School.

  For many years Mrs. Isaacs has been a regular and conscientious worker manually collating the many pages of the combined MMS-PTO newsletter.  She is often the first person here on those mornings, and she dives in and starts working on the mountains of pages alone and without hesitation. Sue is an unofficial PTO historian – she helped start the PTO at LMES, and she has a knack for keeping track of information from one year to the next.

  Rochambeau Middle School Principal T.J. Salutari and his staff have named Mrs. Dana Coppola and Mrs. Nancy Walsh as their school’s Volunteers of the Year.  In their shared role as PTO co-presidents, they immediately brought a high energy focused on offering students a variety of positive opportunities as well as supporting the staff.  Nancy and Dana systematically reviewed all previous yearly activities and implemented changes for improvement. PTO meeting times have been changed to the morning and have resulted in higher attendance and participation by parents.  At this time, they are currently drafting plans for next year to improve communication and responsibilities for activity chair people.  Dana and Nancy have attended and assisted every PTO function in support of our many other dedicated volunteers. 

  In support of four RMS second year teachers working on their B.E.S.T. portfolio, Nancy and Dana received training on our video recording equipment, then scheduled times for parent volunteers, including themselves, with teachers, resulting in approximately 25 classes being videotaped for our second year teachers.  This dedication provided our teachers with a great deal of support when working to successfully meet one of the requirements of the B.E.S.T. portfolio. “Nancy and Dana work wonderfully together and are clearly committed to our students.  They are a pleasure to work with and are greatly appreciated by the entire Rochambeau community,” said Mr. Salutari.   

  Melissa “Missy” Ouellette is the Pomperaug High School Volunteer of the Year.  In order to make PHS a better place, Ms. Ouellette has been the PTO Office Greeter for two years, is currently President of the Boys’ Lacrosse Booster Club, and served as Vice President last year. “As Staffing Chair for GradNite 2008, she is responsible for staffing over 200 volunteers and she also helps on the Memorabilia Committee creating beautiful collage keepsakes for our graduates,” said PHS Principal Dr. Jay Smith. 

  Mrs. Ouellette has volunteered at every home football game to work in the Snack Shack for our GradNite fundraiser. She has agreed to co-chair the Snack Shack GradNite fund-raiser for next year.  This is a vital way for the committee to fund GradNite instead of going to local businesses.

  Mr. Joseph Drauss, chairman of the Region 15 Board of Education presented each Volunteer of the Year with a gift on the behalf of the entire Board.

  The 2007-2008 Volunteers of the Year will again be honored, with the other school volunteers, at the annual PTO dinner at the Heritage on April 29^th.