
Photo by V. Kulkarni
Editor’s Note: We’d like to welcome our newest reporter and official PTA Liaison, Nerriza Besabe Manongdo. In an effort to inspire and support parent leaders in the meaningful work they do with Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) across the Milpitas Unified School District, we’ll be featuring occasional stories on the PTA and their events. We hope these stories connect and unify all the schools in our district, while shining a light on all the work being done by those who serve through the PTA.
John Sinnott Elementary PTA kicked off the 2018-2019 school year by encouraging reading among families and building classroom libraries with the annual Scholastic Book Fair. This year’s theme: The Enchanted Book Fair. The fair was led by Book Fair Chair and PTA Historian Theresa Chung. A five-day event, the fair launched on August 31st and ran through the week of back-to-school night. An ambitious initial goal of selling 1,500 books was exceeded, as they reached a whopping 1,800. Chung emphasized, “This would not be possible without all the dedicated parent volunteers, family, and school support.”
The fun and educational week of reading concluded with Milk and Cookies Story Time, a special book reading event with guest readers Mrs. Laurie Armino (Sinnott’s principal) and Mayor Rich Tran. Families, school staff, and Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) Board Member Robert Jung all gathered for a bedtime story, complete with pajamas, blankets, and of course milk and cookies!
Sinnott PTA credits the following tips and tools for their successful book fair week:
- Announce the book fair well in advance
- Sign up plenty of parent volunteers
- Make the book fair accessible to the entire school community (i.e., open after school and on back-to-school night)
- Utilize the online book fair
- Station the book fair in a high-visibility area of the school
- Let your book fair location be spacious and comfortable enough for family shopping
- Implement reward activities such as a raffle
- Create a family event such as Milk and Cookies and encourage both principal and student involvement
- Encourage families to contribute to our children’s class libraries to expand the selection of books available for students

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Photo credits:
Veronica Kulkarni, Sinnott PTA Special Needs Advocate
Nerizza Manongdo, PTA Communications Chair