Hi! We’re Patty and Mary Louise (please, NOT Mary Lou!), the room moms for Mrs. Webber’s AWESOME third grade class here at Pleasant Valley Elementary. All you returning parents will probably remember us from our stints as co–room moms in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.

We’re looking forward to a GREAT year with you and your kiddos! With just a little cooperation, dedication, and attention to detail, together all of us moms (and our lone SAHD Todd, of course!!! #notalldads) can make this our precious littles’ BEST year YET!

Here are some KEY reminders:

  • Be SURE to return your contact forms!! We need cell numbers and email addresses of EVERY parent — don’t forget, or you’ll miss the important reminders we send by group text and mass, un-BCCed emails! We’ll send out a LOT of announcements via our class Shutterfly Share site, too, so sign up ASAP to make sure that you’ll keep receiving weekly digest emails from the group MrsWebbersAwesome3rdNerds long after your kids have gone away to college.
  • Volunteer in the classroom! You might have thought since fall is here you could finally get something done without your kids underfoot every day, but it’s really not that hard to prioritize your sweet babies! And seriously, Mrs. Webber needs all the help she can get with these 33 little ones crammed in the classroom, so carve out time in your calendar to volunteer at least one (1) time a week. You can always flex that guilt muscle instead of hitting the gym, are we right?! And no excuses from you ladies with “jobs” — there’s no work more important than your child. (Confidential to Denise, surely you can’t be the ONLY pediatric neurosurgeon in the tri-county region?!) Patty will have the sign-up sheet for classroom hours at pick-up and drop-off every day — if you miss her, don’t worry, she’ll track you down!!!
  • Bring in those school supplies! As you all know the supply list is extensive this year and it’s crucial to follow the brand guidelines. We don’t want to hear about how your Target “ran out” of the 24-pack of Crayolas or the good Ticonderoga pencils. We all know that’s just because you weren’t organized or dedicated enough to also hit Office Max for your child’s sake. Every family should bring in at least three (3) reams of paper — we can’t have too much! As you can see, there are a LOT of flyers and information that needs to come home! By the way: check their backpacks daily — those little ones have a way of shoving important reminders like this one to the bottom of a sack! We can’t recommend highly enough the chapter on how to treat your purse in Marie Kondo’s seminal work The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Adapting her ritual to your child’s backpack and hanging it up daily on a chalkboard-labeled hook will promote peace and mindfulness in your busy home — ask us how we know.
  • Mark your calendars for Fall Jamboree on the 3rd Friday of October! This is a big fundraiser for our school! Us 3rdNerds are traditionally responsible for running the cookie-decorating booth, which puts the FUN in fundraiser and in the past has raised as much as $106. Every penny goes to your fantastic kids’ education! EACH mom is expected to bring in two dozen (24) plain sugar cookies cut into fall shapes such as pumpkins, leaves, acorns, or squirrels. (Please speak with Mary Louise to request approval for other shapes.) Cookies MUST be at least three (3) inches in diameter and be accompanied by a pint jar of frosting in an approved color (check our Pinterest board for specifics), as well as two (2) types of sprinkles. Watch your email for the cookie and frosting recipes!
  • Speaking of food, we wanted to alert you to a few guidelines for items that are to be brought into the classroom. The school district has a new nutritional policy that we urge all parents to review. We’ve found it doesn’t take more than 45 minutes to read it — so worth the time! In addition to all the usual prohibitions on common allergens, we have a few special guidelines for our class. We’re all familiar by now with Kaylyn’s pine-nut allergy, so NO pesto, please. For classroom events, sandwiches MUST be on gluten-free bread and should be cut into four (4) (NOT TWO (2)!!) triangles (no crusts, of course!). If you use condiments, we kindly request mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip!). Don’t worry — we’ll go into more detail about these when we request food (via Volunteer Spot) for specific holiday parties, for which there is absolutely NO processed sugar allowed.
  • If you’ve never signed-up to be a field trip chaperone (we see you, Jen T. — don’t think you can slack just because your husband has cancer and you’re “overwhelmed”!), it’s time to step up and get more involved in your child’s educational enrichment! Simply go to the school district office between 1 and 3 pm on Tuesdays or Thursdays for fingerprinting and a criminal background check. The line begins forming at 11 am, so don’t be late! Cost is $76.17, at your expense. The district accepts money orders, cash (exact change only PLEASE!), or your first-born child — kidding! :) They have your first-born already — just like we have your soul.

Can’t wait to see you all working the cookie booth at the Fall Jamboree!!!! Looking forward to a GREAT school year!

Your 3rdNerd Moms,
Patty
momof3amazingboys@mail.com

Mary Louise
scottandmarylouisefielding@aol.com