• President: Kelly Holmberg
• Co Vice Presidents: Tracy Matley and Kaitlan Benedict
• Treasurer: Tyrenda Reed
• Secretary: Jessica Murphy
• Director of Sponsorship: Natalie Zellers
• Director of Events: Kate Edwards 
• Director of Correspondence:  Jennifer Schmidt 

• VICE PRESIDENT: The Vice President is an aide to the President and also organizes and oversees our Fall and Spring fundraisers. 

• TREASURER:  The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the organization; keep accurate record of receipts and expenditures; and pay out local funds in accordance with the Executive Board.                                                        
• SECRETARY: The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of all meetings of the organization and shall perform other duties as may be delegated to him/her. available for 2023-2024
                                                
• DIRECTOR of SPONSORSHIP: The Director of Sponsorship manages our Sea Horse Partners Program (business sponsors, carline banners)

• DIRECTOR of EVENTS: The Director of Events acts as a liaison to outside business owners who want to host SGE spirit events and helps coordinate/oversee SGE school events. available for 2023-2024

• DIRECTOR of CORRESPONDENCE:  The director of correspondence manages copying and distributing PTO flyer and information to the parents and staff. Also updates all social media accounts. available 2023-2024

PTO board members usually serve a 2-3 year term but it isn't required.  The board meets the first Thursday each month at 9am and also attends the general PTO meeting on the 2nd Thursday at 9am each month.  There will be several board positions available next year.  Please reach out to any of us if you are interested in being on the PTO board and would like more explanation on the volunteer job.  

• Seahorse Sponsors (business carline banners)
• Build a Reef (family carline banners, click to donate)
• Walk-a-Thon
• Spirit Store
• Square 1 Art
• Community Events that give back %

click here to view our sponsor pages

It's time to start planning our 2nd fundraiser of the year already.  The walk a thon will take place during your child's related arts time on February 10, 2023. This was a huge success last year and I expect more kids wanting to raise money to earn a ticket to the famous Glow Party.  If you would like to help with planning this event please join us at any of the meetings listed below or join our email list if you can't attend in person.  We will find a job that works for you.  This Monday will be our first meeting where we will be picking the prizes and dividing up the tasks.

• 1-9-2023 9:30am SGE PTO Room: 3^rd walk-a-thon planning meeting
• 2-10-2023 8am-3pm SGE PE Field: Walk-a-thon taking place during grade level related arts times
• 2-27-2023 9:30am SGE PTO Room: 4^th walk a thon recap meeting and organizing the prizes and parties

Click here to volunteer or email kellyholmberg@hotmail.com

Holiday greetings, friends of the garden!

Thank you to those who joined us for a rainy, cool afternoon for the Family Activity in December. We had fun learning about birds with a variety of activities, and seeing how the garden is growing and changing. 

Our northern friends are stuck in the thick of winter now, but our tropical environment is thriving! Come visit our garden this month, and you’ll see what we mean. Our little baby plants are sprouting, and classrooms will soon see their efforts paying off. Check out this SWFL Planting guide to see what grows here in January. Each week we learn something new about our garden and how to help it grow. Join in! 

“I think the more unexpected something is, the more there is to learn from it.” —Michael J. Fox

1) Upcoming Workdays 

• Wednesday Jan. 4, 8:30-10* 
• Wednesday Jan. 11, 8:30-10
• Saturday Jan. 14, 9:00-10 
• Wednesday Jan. 18, 8:30-10 
• Wednesday Jan. 25, 8:30-10
• Wednesday Feb. 1, 8:30-10  

*On Jan 4th, there may not be others present. You’re welcome to come and weed in the garden if you are able! 

**If you plan to attend any of these days, send me a note and let me know you’re coming, especially if you haven’t been on a weekend so I can let you know how to get in! Does another day suit you better? Reply and let us know! 

Workdays during school hours are for registered CCPS Volunteers. (You are welcome to come visit the garden other than Workdays!) Please check in/out with the front office. Children welcome on Saturdays & days off school, but guardians are responsible for them at all times. All help is wonderful! 

2) Friday January 20th: Garden Club Family Activity 

Join us after school on the 20th, from 3-5pm. Please RSVP by Tuesday the 17th. We’ve been enjoying time with our children and their friends, being outside, doing projects, and checking on the progress of the garden. Please join us and RSVP today.

P.S. We still need some creative minds to lead us in activities for the rest of the year. Follow this link to claim a date.

3) Classroom Engagement Update

Please look at the list of classrooms below. We’re looking for parents to assist helping the classes care for their garden, along with the teacher and the Garden Club help. You don’t need to be an expert on gardening- we will help with all the details and supplies. Just be willing to work with the classrooms to help their garden grow over the year (or even just a few months if that’s all you have). Time commitment is only about an hour per week. (For registered CCPS volunteers) 

Please reply to this email if this activity sounds appealing to you! No big commitment necessary. 

• Viera (K) - ?
• Beckman (K) - Janice is helping
• Hierro (2nd) - ?
• Marino (2nd) - ?
• Brady (2nd) - Hannah is helping
• Verborn (3rd) - ?
• Mills (3rd) - ?
• Sobel (3rd) - ?
• Dodd (3rd) - ?
• Fitzgerald (3rd) - ?
• Barr (Library) - ?

4) Know some orphaned plants? Do you have poinsettia plants past the holidays? Amaryllis gifts that have finished flowering? Orchids you don’t know what do to with? Save them all and bring them to the garden. Most likely, they just need time and space to keep growing in our warm climate. Bring them over, or reply and we’ll try to arrange a pick up! 

Thank you for supporting this labor of love for the environment and our children. 

Carla Solis

Garden Chair

Ordering is easy! You may pay online 

Code: 708308

We will not be doing any paper orders this year, it will all be online.  If you are having trouble make sure that you try using google chrome.

***5TH GRADE STUDENTS: THERE IS NO NEED TO ORDER A BOOK. PTO WILL GIVE YOU A COMPLIMENTARY YEARBOOK AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

5th grade parents, do not forget to place your ad order the Deadline for 5th grade Ads is January 13th!  https://buytheyearbook.pictavo.com/Catalog/HomepageCategorya

Contact Susan Brown at sgeyearbook@gmail.com for any questions.

• Hurricane Ian Relief
• Thanksgiving dinners---25 dinners were delivered
• Angel tree---28 families were able to put presents under their tree.
• Family Gift cards--PTO donated 28 $100 gift cards to our families
• book drive---2nd semester

**We are looking for a new community outreach chair, now is a great time to help Jodi organize the book drive so you can see what the job is all about.  It is one of the most rewarding committees at Sea Gate.

January 19 at 9am in the SGE Cafeteria

Topics: Walk-a-Thon, Souper Staff Day, Grandparent's Week/Book Fair, Open Board and Chair Positions for 2023-2024

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH 

What to Bring: Soup or Salad All types welcome; gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, nut free, etc. Please bring soup in crockpot. Drop off items by 9:00 am to the SGE office. Label all items you would like returned, they will be ready for pick up on Friday. 

**We desperately need a chair person for this event.  It is super fun and requires all day Feb 10th commitment with a few hours of prep leading up to the event like creating a flyer and organizing your general volunteers.

Please click the link to sign up for a time slot to be a general volunteer on the day of the event.  The job will require you to serve, refill, and clean up between grade levels.

The book fair and Grandparent' s week will be running at the same time.  We need a lot of parent volunteers this week to make everything run smoothly. Please click the link to sign up to volunteer for a book fair time slot. Book Fair Volunteer

Please do not forget to pay your membership dues and update your family's contact information.  Sharing is caring, please invite a friend to join as well.