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Attention PARENTS
A Message from: Tracey Tortora - President – WCL PFA Elizabeth Calderone - President – WCLEF Dear Woodcliff Lake Parents: On behalf of the Woodcliff Lake PFA (Parent-Faculty Association) and the Woodcliff Lake Educational Foundation (WCLEF), we would both like to take this opportunity to thank you for support and to provide some clarification to assist our families in discovering each of our organization’s purpose. Our two organizations have existed and worked together for over 20 years to provide our children and schools with the best educational tools and state of the art facilities. Our organizations have two very different functions and may appeal to different people. The PFA provides much of the day-to-day volunteers and activities in our schools which support our students and teachers. The school lunch program, school-wide and classroom assemblies and programs, after-school enrichment programs, faculty appreciation events and large facility donations are all functions undertaken by the PFA. Fund raising is one component of our organization, and is necessary to ensure the level of services we provide. The Woodcliff Lake Educational Foundation (WCLEF) is a community organization whose purpose is to provide grants for the things not available to faculty through normal budgeting channels. We secure our resources from individuals, corporations and foundations. These resources are distributed to support programs for the benefit of the students in our Woodcliff Lake Public Schools. Improving access to technological frontline material has been a major focus. Both of our organizations support the children and faculty in Woodcliff Lake. The accompanying document explains this in much greater detail. We both strongly encourage all of our parents to volunteer and support both organizations. Remember without YOU we cannot continue to provide all that we do for our children and schools. Please help by sharing your time, talent and resources. Thanks for your attention. Elizabeth and Tracey
Support Our Schools Our school community has a long history of providing opportunities for children above and beyond the level supported by taxpayers of the District. These levels of private funding have allowed children in Woodcliff Lake to benefit from added educational opportunities and programs that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Over the past twenty-five years, millions of dollars have been donated to the schools in the form of grants, special programs and activities and improvements to the District infrastructures. These donations come from two organizations within the District: the PFA (Parent- Faculty Association) and the WCLEF (Woodcliff Lake Educational Foundation). Both are incorporated organizations which have legal status as non-profit organizations. All donations to these organizations are tax deductible. PFA The PFA organizes itself around an Executive Board, led by a President, Vice President and Executive Officers. These community leaders offer opportunities for fund raising which support their annual activities. Some of these annual activities include: § Provides an optional daily lunch service to all students in both schools § Provides 6-10 educational assemblies each year designed around the curricular offerings at each grade level at both Dorchester and Woodcliff Middle school § Produces and distributes a school directory to each family in the District § Provides after-school enrichment opportunities like bowling, Mad Science, chess, cartooning, magic, personalization and, the immensely popular, theater week § Hosts two annual book fairs enabling elementary students to purchase books for their reading pleasure and donate to their classroom libraries § Holds toy, candy, book and food drives throughout the year § Donates over 150 new books to the libraries each year by honoring student birthdays § Arranges 4 teen social events and Career Day in the Woodcliff Middle School § Arranges and coordinates the annual Fun Fair for lower elementary children and their families § Honors faculty and administrators several times per year with appreciation lunches and events § Coordinates volunteer library help in the Dorchester Library Media Center saving the District considerable funds that would be needed to operate the media center § Provides scholarships to high school students for use in offsetting college expenses § Provides funds for families who are financially unable to pay for school trips § Notifies parents and staff of school emergencies, snow closings and other important information by maintaining an automated phone system § Provides funds to the District for the purchasing of playground equipment, electrical/air-conditioning equipment; assisted the District in refurbishing the § Dorchester gym and cafeteria and with the renovation of the WMS cafeteria; provided funds to renovate two cafeteria bathrooms outside the Dorchester Art room § Sent two teachers to China to begin an international dialogue with two sister schools in Zhenjiang Province. § Organizes class parents and class parties at the elementary school Funding Source Our annual fund-raising events include the Gift Wrapping Paper sale, Ladies Night Out, Cake and Pie sales, School Supplies sales, Mother’s Day plant sales, Holiday Boutique and other similar events. Budget $45,000 annually Number of Volunteers Approximately 100 New Members Are Always Welcome and Encouraged The PFA meets on the Second Tuesday of Each Month at 9:30 a.m. in the Board Offices WCLEF The WCLEF has been in operation in the District for 25 years and organizes itself around an Executive Board led by a President and Vice President and Executive Officers. As a 5013 C non-profit organization, all of its funds are donated back to the school in a timely manner; the purpose of the organization is to enhance the educational experience of Woodcliff Lake students by providing educational products and services that cannot be afforded by the District – whether it be basic teaching tools such as math manipulatives or the exciting, state of the art broadcast station at the middle school. Our fund raising activities include the annual Run for Education, a 5k and 10k walk/run attended by hundreds of people from throughout New Jersey and New York each year held in June. Recent fund raisers, such as our Casino Night, and 70’s and 80’s themed dances, offered fun opportunities for parents to get together in support of our schools and raised thousands of dollars. This year, given the economic climate, in lieu of an annual fund raising event, the WCLEF is sponsoring an Opt-In program, which allows families to dedicate their entire donation to educational activities without any funds going to the staging of an event. The Foundation (WCLEF) has provided school students with an extensive amount of educational items for every grade over the years. In total, the Foundation has granted in excess of $1.25 million. A small sampling of donated items over the years includes: · SMARTboards for Many Classes - This newest technology has been made available to many classrooms, including the entire 4th and 5th grades, middle school Math, Science, English and Social Studies classes to name a few. SMARTboards have, without a doubt, changed the way instruction is offered to students. Faculty have been trained and are active users, making all of the rich resources available on the web part of our everyday classes. · Middle School Garden - Our corporate giving committee arranged outreach and made presentations to the international pharmaceutical company Eisai last year who donated $90,000 to establish the middle school contemplative garden, which is used by all Woodcliff students and faculty, as well as Dorchester classes. · Musical Instruments - Xylophones, saxophones, electronic piano and tuba have all been donated making the orchestral sound rich and full. Students could never afford to purchase or rent these types of instruments. · Teacher Grants - Thousands of dollars in teacher grants have been awarded over the years. Everything from t-shirts for special physical education promotional activities to listening stations in elementary primary grades have been awarded. Annually, faculty members apply for the grants and the WCLEF grant committee evaluates the request and awards grants, which touch the majority of students. · Laptops - 10 laptops for the Woodcliff reading program. · TV Studio at Woodcliff Middle School - Students get to experience lights, camera, action in a real working TV studio funded by the Foundation. Ø Magnet study kits for the second grade Ø Math manipulatives for grades 3-5 Ø Art supplies for Dorchester and Woodcliff students Ø Kindergarten butterfly garden Ø Second-grade topographic globes Ø Reading literacy center at Dorchester Ø Kindergarten literacy materials Ø Recorder instruments Ø Digital microscopes Ø First-grade listening centers Ø Life Saving Defibrillators for both schools Ø Musical theater program at Woodcliff Ø State of the Art Digital TV studio equipment at Woodcliff Ø Ninth period co-sponsorship Ø Microphone headsets for world language classes Ø United streaming subscription Ø Flip cameras at Dorchester and Woodcliff Ø Portable projectors and carts Funding Source Run for Education, annual fundraiser, small events/raffles, corporate outreach Annual Grant Goal $45,000 per year Number of Volunteers Approximately 20 – Many more during events. New members are always welcomed and encouraged. WCLEF meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Board office. This allows parents who are working (especially dads) to become involved. We have also started a lunchtime meeting at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every-other month for parents who can’t make the evening meetings. NEW!
Lunch Time Meetings 1pm – 2pm Board Office October 7th, December 8th, February 10th, April 14th & June 9th See you there!
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