It may be gloomy outside these days with all this rain but it is a happy place inside Madonna!!! Katie O. has returned following her tonsillectomy and Hunter came by for a visit last Friday to show us how tall he has gotten since his surgery!

This is also STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK AND ON BEHALF OF ALL OF OUR STAFF, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE FAMILIES WHO ARE PROVIDING US WITH DELICIOUS LUNCHES AND WONDERFUL OTHER SURPRISES. We are most grateful!

Next week (Tuesday and Thursday) are IEP conference days…your child’s teacher will be sending home appointment times for these important meetings. Please watch for this communication. These are full school days for the students even though conferences begin after lunch

JoClaire also is enclosing a May calendar…as you can see it is a very busy (as usual) month! Keep it handy so you will know what is happening at 7007 Poplar!

We do have a special fundraising event coming up on May 16^th…and invite you to come, and even join in the fun, if you like. We will be holding a craft sale (of the products that the students make in woodworking class) and will couple this with a huge rummage sale. See the enclosed one-pager for information.

I again want to thank all of you for your support last week on Thursday when we closed school so most of our staff could travel over for very specialized training in Murfreesboro. The training was incredible and so worth all the time and effort it took to make it happen. We rarely close down for anything but weather and emergencies because we know how important being here at Madonna is for your son or daughter…but this was an exceptional opportunity and we are grateful that we could participate.

I know we all are being bombarded with Swine Flu news…but it is a good time to remember and re-initiate good handwashing precautions. We have been using an exceptional anti-bacterial/disinfectant product (from Delta Foremost and Barney!) at Madonna and feel really hopeful that all of our safety measures will keep those germs at bay for our Madonna family. I urge you to take extra steps at home as well and , PLEASE, DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL IF HE OR SHE IS ILL. Thanks.

VERY IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ THE ENCLOSED LETTER TO ALL FAMILIES ON HOW TO REQUEST TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. If you have any questions, please call or e-mail me.

I know she has told her class…but it is time to make it official…Mrs. Ellis is going to have a baby…due at Halloween time! (Please keep Leigh and Andy in your prayers as they prepare for this new arrival to their family).

That is all for today!

Stay dry!