Register
Parents
Parents of current McDonogh students may sign up for website accounts. Signing up for an account allows a parent to access the online directory, DASH, and your customized parent Personal Page.
Alumni
Alumni can create an account in order to take advantage of McDonogh Connect or Pledgemail.
Login
News & Photos
MPA President's Reflection: The Joy of Volunteering
Laurie Kelly, McDonogh Parents Association president, delivered the following remarks at the MPA volunteer brunch last week:
Wow! This is the last parents association meeting of my life! I've been volunteering for my kids' schools for 19 years now.
All along the way, I never really questioned why I chose to be a class parent, or why I offered to help with a faculty breakfast, or become involved with a parent association committee. I just did it.
Once I started analyzing my role in the MPA, I then began to question the purpose of a parents organization. What is the point of it? Do we really make a difference? How do we make a difference?
Our mission statement says that our purpose is to serve the McDonogh community and to create the greatest amount of good in our children's school. I think we all know that our role is to help make this community strong, interesting, safe, and fun. I know that the little and big things we do for this school create an atmosphere at McDonogh that is unique.
Our mission statement also mentions the geographic and cultural diversity of this community, and how our goal is to make McDonogh a warm, welcoming, and inclusive group of people. This is a huge challenge for us because we are not a neighborhood school. By having activities like the holiday bazaar, a Race for the Cure team, and parent get-togethers, we are helping to make people feel connected to McDonogh.
How does making people feel connected to McDonogh make a difference? Well, I believe that when people feel connected, they are more likely to contribute to the school financially, because they want the institution to perpetuate. Last year, one of our volunteers told me she gave money to the Annual Fund for the first time because through her involvement with the MPA, she felt more connected. We can make a difference, not only in terms of goodwill, but in terms of helping our school sustain itself.
Why would I stick with it for so many years, especially in the Upper School, when my kids cringed at the sight of me? What kept popping into my brain was the title of the book It Takes A Village to Raise a Child. Clearly, each school my children have attended has been a village, where parents, teachers, administrators, and staff all contributed to their well-being and growth.
Volunteering for these parents associations has helped me to feel a part of those villages. All these people become part of our extended family and have been a huge support in our lives.
And, let's face it, in today's world, we parents need a lot of support to raise our kids. The sense of community I've felt from volunteering has enabled me to enjoy parenting more, and, in turn I believe, has made me a better parent.
This has been especially true in the Upper School at McDonogh, where all three of my children spent their teenage years. The parent education programs I have been involved with and have attended over the years helped me wade through the murky waters of teen behavior. The knowledge I gained from speakers and books, but more importantly from conversations with fellow parents, has kept me afloat as I have patiently awaited the closing of my children's frontal lobes.
So it wasn't really until I began to write this speech that I truly understood how much this organization has given me over the past eight years. I have received much more than I ever expected. The good friendships, great support, and fun times I have had here have made raising my children a richer experience.
Thank you for working with me to make the McDonogh Parents Association a strong, dynamic organization--one that makes McDonogh a safe a stimulating village in which to raise our children.
Wow! This is the last parents association meeting of my life! I've been volunteering for my kids' schools for 19 years now.
All along the way, I never really questioned why I chose to be a class parent, or why I offered to help with a faculty breakfast, or become involved with a parent association committee. I just did it.
Once I started analyzing my role in the MPA, I then began to question the purpose of a parents organization. What is the point of it? Do we really make a difference? How do we make a difference?
Our mission statement says that our purpose is to serve the McDonogh community and to create the greatest amount of good in our children's school. I think we all know that our role is to help make this community strong, interesting, safe, and fun. I know that the little and big things we do for this school create an atmosphere at McDonogh that is unique.
Our mission statement also mentions the geographic and cultural diversity of this community, and how our goal is to make McDonogh a warm, welcoming, and inclusive group of people. This is a huge challenge for us because we are not a neighborhood school. By having activities like the holiday bazaar, a Race for the Cure team, and parent get-togethers, we are helping to make people feel connected to McDonogh.
How does making people feel connected to McDonogh make a difference? Well, I believe that when people feel connected, they are more likely to contribute to the school financially, because they want the institution to perpetuate. Last year, one of our volunteers told me she gave money to the Annual Fund for the first time because through her involvement with the MPA, she felt more connected. We can make a difference, not only in terms of goodwill, but in terms of helping our school sustain itself.
Why would I stick with it for so many years, especially in the Upper School, when my kids cringed at the sight of me? What kept popping into my brain was the title of the book It Takes A Village to Raise a Child. Clearly, each school my children have attended has been a village, where parents, teachers, administrators, and staff all contributed to their well-being and growth.
Volunteering for these parents associations has helped me to feel a part of those villages. All these people become part of our extended family and have been a huge support in our lives.
And, let's face it, in today's world, we parents need a lot of support to raise our kids. The sense of community I've felt from volunteering has enabled me to enjoy parenting more, and, in turn I believe, has made me a better parent.
This has been especially true in the Upper School at McDonogh, where all three of my children spent their teenage years. The parent education programs I have been involved with and have attended over the years helped me wade through the murky waters of teen behavior. The knowledge I gained from speakers and books, but more importantly from conversations with fellow parents, has kept me afloat as I have patiently awaited the closing of my children's frontal lobes.
So it wasn't really until I began to write this speech that I truly understood how much this organization has given me over the past eight years. I have received much more than I ever expected. The good friendships, great support, and fun times I have had here have made raising my children a richer experience.
Thank you for working with me to make the McDonogh Parents Association a strong, dynamic organization--one that makes McDonogh a safe a stimulating village in which to raise our children.