Dear MEF IS community,

Thank you to everyone whose children joined us for our Monster Movie Night November 1st! We had just over 75 children who had a scary good time. In particular, thank you to our Teacher volunteers who helped us ensure the event ran smoothly!

Through your support we raised 928TL, which will go towards supporting one or more of the following designated charities based on assessed needs towards the end of the school year: Project Lift, Ayazağa School, the Blind Association (Körleri Eğitim ve Kalkındırma Derneği) and the MEFIS Animal Care Club.

Check out our Facebook Group for pictures of our recent and past events!

PTA Collaboration - National and International Schools:

This year, the MEF International School PTA and the MEF National School PTA have begun a collaboration with the primary with the aim of helping the student and parent bodies to integrate. The PTAs will work together to create common events where students and parents can meet. This will help to enhance understanding of and engagement with the Turkish student and parent bodies at MEF.

The first event, Parents Night Out, was held on 20th November at Bebek Local and was attended by over 100 people! Further events include the following:

- December 5th Dialogue Tree: A Dialogue Tree, representing cross-cultural dialogue and understanding, will be erected in the primary school garden. Children from both schools will be invited to decorate the tree with non-religious ornaments. Details and timings TBD.

- December 10th, New Year Party: MEF National School PTA will hold a New Year's Party in the Gym, assisted by the International School PTA. They are kindly holding it early this year in order to ensure the international school can attend.

Parents are requested to bring home-cooked food; food for children will be provided. Cost for one adult and one child = 50TL. The money collected will contribute to the purchase of an electric wheelchair for disabled children. There will also be stalls selling a range of different produce. Any parents interested in hiring a stall should contact the PTA for costs and details.

* * *

A PTA's success is directly linked to the involvement and active participation of the community, so we hope you will join us at our monthly meetings and events. Your feedback and input is important to us, and we want to hear from you!

Several vacancies remain for Parent Members on the Executive Board which we would love to fill, so please feel free to ask any one of us what it entails.

Email us at pta@mefis.k12.tr with any questions / suggestions and join our "MEF IS-Istanbul PTA Community" Group on Facebook, where you can also receive PTA happenings and updates.

Sincerely,

MEF IS PTA