PTA Sponsored Programs

Dance Club Multicultural

This event will bring all of Matsumoto community cultures together to provide a strong sense of unity. This event will allow all cultures to be represented and provide a learning experience for our students and families about one another’s cultures, ideas and beliefs. All cultures are welcome to share their food, clothing, language, music, dance, story telling and tradition with our community. This event will also provide our Tom Matsumoto families with the opportunities to build social connection with our school and community. A lot of volunteers are needed so we can represent the many cultures which make Tom Matsumoto community.

Stage Presence

Students in grades 1-6 have the opportunity to participate in theater arts through our school play. The after school drama program allows students to fully experience being a part of a theater production from auditions, to rehearsals, to the excitement of the performance, and finally, the reward of applause for a job well done. Every student who auditions is guaranteed a part in the play. Students work hard to hone their acting, singing and dancing skills over the course of a 3 month period. In recent years, we have had the benefit of the directional talent of “Starting Arts”, a nonprofit organization whose mission is the promotion and preservation of quality arts education in public schools. (Visit Stage Presence ) The program also relies heavily on parent volunteers in order to run smoothly

Math Olympiad

Tom Matsumoto Math Olympiad club is a parent-run club for Matsumoto students to learn mathematical problem solving techniques. This is a club which will provide the opportunity for the students to learn math problem solving from fellow schoolmates. This helps to stimulate enthusiasm and to instill love for Mathematics for the students. This club is open for 4th, 5th and 6th graders only. The club meets every Wednesday mornings before school for an hour. We need volunteers to run this program. Volunteers will help to develop the topics for classwork and homework. This club was started in 2010 and for many years students have won top awards at MOEMS and other competition.

Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving competitions for students and community group members. The goal is for a team of students to select a problem, create a solution, and then present their solution in a competition against other teams in the same problems and divisions. Students work in teams under the guidance of an adult coach. Teams spend time working together to come up with solutions and solve the problems on their own, while their coaches may help teach skills and educate the team on ways of approaching the problem and how to analyze the final solution. This afterschool program provides a time where PTA parents can volunteer to help students achieve this goal.

Project Cornerstone

PTA works with YMCA to bring Project Cornerstone to our school. This program helps foster the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) of our students. Parents or caring adults are able to volunteer once a month in their child’s classroom. Parents will read a book of the month and do activities with the class that support the SEL goal. Parents are provided with tools they need to lead a meaningful discussion and learning activity. The focus of Project Cornerstone is to provide support so each child can have positive relationship at home, school and community.

For more information about project Cornerstone at Matsumoto, contact sandhya.mahadevan@gmail.com

Scholastic Book Fair

One of Tom Matsumoto’s exciting fundraisers is the annual PTA Scholastic Book Fair which is hosted in the Spring. This reading event not only raises money for the Matsumoto Library and reading programs, but it also unites kids with literature and brings the community together in honor of that mission. Scholastic offers a wide selection of books to choose from which keep children motivated to read, connects kids with books, and gives a chance to instill a love of reading that lasts a lifetime. In addition, Book Fairs provide you with the opportunity to engage in reading with your kids and tune in to their passions.
Volunteers are always needed and welcomed in planning and exciting this fun event.

Reflection Contests

Each year the National PTA gives students of arts to provide a chance for them to show their talent. Students can submit their completed works of art in one or all of the available arts categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts. Each year the theme changes and students are allowed to demonstrate their art of their choice with the theme. Student winners from the local level have the opportunity to move up through their district, region, council and state PTA programs to the national level. This event does need a PTA committee to organize and promote this event at the school level so it can move on to our Evergreen PTA Council.

Yearbook

To capture the memories of the year, a yearbook is created for the students. Each year the yearbook is put together by parent volunteers. At each of our school events pictures are needed and throughout the year they are needed to be organized into the pages of the yearbook. After pictures are organized, it is submitted to the yearbook company and they are printed for the students by the end of the year. This is a time where students can hold onto their memories from their time at Tom Matsumoto Elementary.