Under new leadership for 2008-09, the St. Anastasia Catholic School's Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) began the school year with several activities. President Jennie Capezza and Vice President Joy Yancy met with several enthusiastic parents in July to kick off the year with a bang.

Even before school started, parents and friends of the school decided to do something just for the teachers. The teacher's workroom had been neglected for many years as administrators, teachers and parents focused their efforts and resources on the children. As a small token of appreciation, members of the PTO worked quickly to create an "extreme teacher workroom makeover!" The final product was a fresher, cleaner, more organized workroom with a new coat of paint, appropriate furnishings and new carpet. And all of this was done in less than one week - faster than Ty Pennington's "Extreme Home Makeover!"

"We wanted to do something just for the teachers and this renovation was something that was desperately needed for the workroom," said Mrs. Capezza. "We think the teachers are happy with the result!"

Amid the chaos created by Tropical Storm Fay, the PTO held its first fundraising event on Monday, August 25th. With the help of Chili's Restaurant in St. Lucie West, parents, teachers, administrators, children and families all came together at the restaurant for dinner and Chili's donated 10% of the receipts to the PTO totaling $264. Not bad considering all the children were excited to see their friends at dinner and the parents didn't have to cook that night!

The PTO's next fundraiser and school-community event is a spaghetti dinner scheduled for Tuesday, October 7th at the school auditorium.

The St. Anastasia Catholic School PTO fosters a positive school atmosphere while promoting strong working relationships among parents, teachers and administrators benefiting the children's learning environment. Located at 401 South 33rd Street in Fort Pierce, the St. Anastasia Catholic School and Church Community believes each student is a unique child of God, called to achieve excellence by nurturing the mind, body and spirit in the image and likeness of God. St. Anastasia Catholic School serves 670 students in grades Pre-K through 8th grade and is one of 21 schools in the Diocese of Palm Beach. For more information about the school, call (772) 461-2232 or visit the website at www.stanna.org. For more information about the PTO or to volunteer, contact Jennie Capezza at (772) 595-3819.