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The Latin School Parents' Council has been helping parents get involved for
nearly fifty years! If you're a Latin parent, you are a member of the Parents'
Council and are invited to participate in the many activities of this parent-run
volunteer organization. Parents' Council volunteers welcome new families,
organize sports awards banquets, run book sales, and serve The Latin School
in many other ways. In addition to these service activities, Parents' Council
volunteers organize picnics, parents socials, and other fun events that bring
the Latin community together.
Communication among parents, teachers, and administrators is an important
priority of the Parents' Council. Parent volunteers in all divisions write
newsletters to remind everyone of activities both in and outside of the classroom.
In the Lower School, Grade Chairs meet with teachers and work together to
organize parent volunteers for classroom projects. On all grade levels, Parents'
Council representatives present their concerns to appropriate faculty and
administration members. The very vibrant Parents'
Roundtable program presents discussions and speakers on a wide variety
of topics of great interest to parents.
The Parents' Council was founded in 1953 as an outgrowth of similar organizations
in the Girls Latin School of Chicago and the Chicago Latin School for Boys,
which merged to create The Latin School. Throughout the years, the Parents'
Council has made many contributions to the life of the School. From 1971 through
1997, the Parents' Council ran the Finders Keepers resale shop on Lincoln
Avenue where each Latin parent took his or her turn folding clothes, tagging
merchandise, and helping customers. Profits from the merchandise sales and
proceeds from the eventual sale of the property were used to endow a special
scholarship fund and to purchase computers for the classrooms.
Another Parents' Council innovation was Live & Learn.
Nearly thirty years ago, Parents' Council volunteers met in their kitchens
to brainstorm, create classes, and recruit instructors for this popular adult
education program. As a result, eager participants throughout the Chicago
area learn silversmithing, salsa dancing, and conversational Italian! For
many years, Live & Learn was a major fundraising arm of the Parents' Council,
returning money to the School for scholarships and faculty development. Today,
Latin parents continue to organize classes, distribute catalogues, teach courses,
and in other ways help The Latin School share its facilities and talents with
the community.
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