MEETINGS & EVENTS

Meetings
Tues, June 9, 2009 @ 9 am

The Hale PSG meets once a month at 9 am in the Hale conference room. We alternate between Monday and Tuesday each month to accommodate members with different schedules. Our meetings are short and efficient. Your time commitment is only one hour a month. Every parent is automatically part of the Hale PSG, so there's nothing to "join" and you don't need to commit to attend all meetings. Newcomers always welcome at every meeting! Parents of rising 6th graders: we especially need you!

Meetings Calendar 08-09
September 8
Oct 7
Nov 10
Dec 09
Jan 12
Feb 9
Mar 9
Apr 14
May 11
Jun 9

Upcoming Events

Hidden Hale Night - June 3rd

WHAT WE DO

Newsletter
We publish a monthly newsletter for the Hale community. It is usually posted to the Hale website on the last Friday of each month as a PDF document, and is available all month long as a paper newsletter which can be picked up from the Hale office by you or your student. Back issues are archived on the Hale website for your convenience. Deadline for submission is the 20th of each month. Email the newsletter editor, Nancy Dodge, at halenewsletter (at) yahoo.com.

Our Spending 2007-2008


62% Arts & Cultural (turquoise)
12% Support of Extracurricular Clubs (lime)
12% Scholarships & Student Recognitions (orange)
7% Administrative/Non-Profit Filing Fees (yellow)
5% New School Equipment - Portable PA System (pink)
2% Library Requests - Learning Modules (blue)

Arts & Cultural Enrichment
We provide funds for special events, assemblies, guest speakers & performers to enrich the curriculum. We can provide funds to help with the cost of field trips. In 2007-2008 we allocated close to $5000 for arts and cultural events, including:

• Museum of Science on "matter" for the 6th grade.
• Fall 2007 8th grade field trips to the Museum of Science and a French restaurant.
• Animal Adventures brought their exotic wildlife to Hale in March 2008.
• "Three Mill Girls" performance for the 7th grade in May 2008.
• "Eyes on Owls" for the 6th grade in June 2008.
• Swing dance instruction for all the Hale students.
• Materials for the 8th Grade "Periodic Table" art & science project - the kids designed tiles to represent each element in the periodic table and these will go into a wall display in the main hall.

Special Allocations
The Hale PSG also pays for other needs within the school as they arise. We actively seek requests from staff and teachers for any special needs. Some of our recent disbursements include:

• Staff Teacher Appreciation Luncheon each May.
• Snacks for the staff during Parent-Teacher conferences.
• Prizes for the winning cover artwork for the SPTO/PSG Phone Directory.
• Compensation for club advisors whose club stipend isn't budgeted by the district. In past years we have provided stipends for the faculty advisors to the School Store, the Video Club and Art Club. In 2007-2008 we funded stipends to the faculty advisors for the Newspaper Club (the by-students-for-students newspaper) and the Environmental Club. This year we are funding the stipend for the Math Counts club.
• Two $500 scholarships for outstanding Hale alumni in the Nashoba Regional HS graduating class.
• Funding an annual prize, the Bill Kelly Memorial Prize, to several outstanding 8th graders.

How we Raise Money
We run several fundraisers throughout the year. All money collected directly benefits the students through PSG allocations.

• Magazine Drive: The magazine drive this year was a success! Our kids sold over $15,000 worth of magazines! Thanks for all their hard work. Also, thank you so much to all the parent and staff volunteers who helped make this fundraiser a success! We couldn't have done it without you. And don't forget, you can order/renew your magazines year-round, and Hale Middle School will receive 40% of your order. Just register on qsp.com, and input our School Account No. 425005639. It's that simple! Thanks for the support!
• Flower Sales: Our spring '09 fundraiser will be selling Dutch Garden bulbs & bare-root plants, through "Flower Power." Watch for news & information coming in March.
• Direct Contributions: You don't have to buy a magazine or a garden plant to support the Hale PSG. Checks are always welcome, made out to Hale PSG and sent to: Hale PSG, c/o Hale Middle School, 55 Hartley Rd, Stow 01775. Your contribution is fully tax-deductible.
• Box Tops for Education: We collect box tops, those little coupons found on cereal and other groceries. Each coupon is worth about 10 cents to us, so bring them in! We earn literally hundreds of dollars from Box Tops each year. Collection boxes are located at Hale and around town.
• Target: When you shop at Target and use your Red Card, you can earn money for Hale Middle School. Go to Target Red Card "Take Charge of Education" and enter our School ID: 59680 to begin earning money for Hale.
• One Cause (formerly SchoolPop): If you shop online, you can go through OneCause.com and log on through Hale Middle School, Stow. Money earned through One Cause goes straight into Hale school programs and scholarships.
• Cartridge Recycling: We collect and recycle the ink cartridges for the school, and welcome them from the community, with all proceeds going back to the school.
• Paper Recycling: New in 06-07, we now accept recycling of any household paper, including paperback books (almost anything except cardboard or phonebooks), with proceeds going into the general fund of the district to benefit all the schools.

A Note about the Hale Play: The Hale Play is an independent operation within the Hale PSG. The play conducts its own fundraising. The Play Finance Committee utilizes the PSG account for its transactions, but funds collected for the play do not support other Hale PSG activities.