Last weekend, the Wild, Wild West descended on Shaker Road School’s auditorium as part of the Socially Shaker event series. The evening’s festivities were attended by more than 120 parents, teachers, and friends of the school…all in an effort to bring the community together for a fun night of socializing and to raise funds for the PTG.
My involvement with the PTG began this past September because I wanted to be more integrated within the SRS community and give back to the incredible school that my husband and I had selected for our children. Since all three of my children attend SRS, and since my youngest is enrolled in the infant program, I know our tenure at SRS will be lengthy. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what the PTG was all about, or what I was getting myself into, but I knew that I wanted to be more involved and contribute to my children’s education in ways beyond the classroom.
At my first official PTG meeting, I learned about the group’s mission:
To build community, bring families together, and strengthen the relationship between parents, caregivers, and teachers.
I love this mission – an organization that is 100% dedicated to bringing families together and enabling people to get to know each other better.
The PTG offers so many amazing community building events throughout the year including:
- The Welcome Back Picnic
- Grandparents Day
- Movie Nights
- The Polar Express Holiday Event
- Socially Shaker
- The Pancake Breakfast
- The Spring BBQ, and so much more!
When the PTG decided to host Socially Shaker in February (after a 10-year hiatus), I volunteered to co-chair the event. Reviving an event like this was a huge undertaking, but we were thrilled by the amazing support and enthusiasm of the SRS families, teachers, and Concord-area businesses and restaurants. The event’s silent auction and gift basket raffle were a tremendous success with more than 70 items available for bidding, resulting in thousands of dollars raised to support the school. But, Socially Shaker did something even more important than raise money – it brought families together and strengthened our community.
As we approach the spring season, the PTG will review the requests from teachers and students to help enhance the community, classrooms, and overall education at SRS. In the past, the PTG has provided funds to purchase SmartBoards for classrooms, a music recording studio, sports equipment, and more. I am excited to see how the Socially Shaker funds and the work resulting from the PTG’s efforts this year will further enhance our community in the future.
I realize that everyone is busy…but I encourage you to join us for a PTG meeting in the near future. We meet the first Tuesday of every month for one hour – not a huge time commitment. And, the more families that become involved, the more we can accomplish for Shaker Road School and for our children. I hope to see you at the next meeting!
Caitlin Connelly, Admissions and Placement
