Marcy Open Annual Fund

Please consider a gift to the Marcy Open Parent Council this year...

Now entering my 5th year of teaching Physical Education at Marcy Open school, I have the privilege of working with most, if not all of your students. 

The Parent Council asked me to talk about how their funding (raised by many parents and community members like you) has impacted my teaching here. 

Field Trips. I am one of those crazy teachers that really loves to take students on field trips. I enjoy seeing students experience new things and interacting with them in other environments. I love seeing them learn and grow outside of school. My very first year, I was approached by a group of 8th graders to see if I would organize a ski trip. This is not a cheap trip and I approached the Parent Council to see if they could help with scholarship funds – which they did. Those students who were then able to go had a great experience and the trip has continued all of my years here since. 

The Marcy PC funded climbing wall in the gymnasium. This has been a great addition; it is an activity at which all students can be successful and we use it often. It is always great to have students develop the skills and strength to get across the wall for the first time and to see them develop harder routes and challenges for themselves and their peers. Just a few weeks ago a first grader who was to afraid to try the wall last year navigated it for the first time. The look of pride and accomplishment on her face was priceless!   

Wolf Ridge. Marcy PC contributed over $1500 toward this trip which is open to all 5th graders. It was probably one of the highlights of my 16 years of teaching. This could not have been done without the contribution of the Parent Council. We took 80 students and 12 staff and volunteers on this trip and it was truly one of those times that you know as a teacher that you are changing lives. The team challenges are very impactful. Watching those awesome 5th graders work with their group members and do things like build fires, ice fish, snowshoe and navigate the ropes courses was a sight to see!    Many of the students who went had never been away from home, had never done these kinds of outdoor activities, and had never experienced time like this with their peers before. The funding of the Parent Council made this amazing trip possible. My hope is that this becomes a right of passage for all of our 5th graders as they move into middle school.

And the list goes on, thanks to the Parent Council I have been able to do sustaining “PE” field trips with the 3rd grade (bowling), 4th grade (Base Camp), 5th grade (Wolf Ridge) and 7/8 (Afton Ski trip) – adding 6th grade this year to the field trip will open this up to more students. I have been blessed to teach at Marcy and because of the generosity of the Parent Council I have been lucky enough to see so many students build relationships with staff and peers, develop skills that will help them as they get older, and enjoy new experiences.

We can’t do it without you! Please help me continue to provide these amazing experiences for all of our students by supporting the Marcy Open Parent Council this year.  I look forward to many more years of bowling, Base Camp, skiing, and Wolf Ridge and with the support of our generous community, I know that I will. 

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Tammy Cowan

Marcy PE/Health Teacher