By BETH LONGWARE
DUFF
Fairfield County Catholic,
February 24, 2007
From
pencils to paper, notepads to erasers, the Saint
Thomas Aquinas School Store in Fairfield has got its students and
parents covered. And every purchase is not only a learning experience
for the kids, but a financial boost for the school as well.
Established back
in 1999 by parent Helen Bergner, the operation is now managed by Liz
Gilbert DeFeo. A resident of Fairfield and member of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Parish, she is also the owner of Rudy's Flower and Gift Shop, a family
business that's been a fixture on Main Street in Bridgeport since 1961.
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
- Fourth-grader Olivia DeFeo completes a transaction at the school store
at Saint Thomas Aquinas Elementary School in Fairfield, watched by her
Mom and store manager, Liz Gilbert DeFeo (right). Open every Friday
morning, the store generates useful income for Parent-Teacher Organization
activities. (PHOTO BY JOHN GLOVER)
Since taking over
the running of the store a couple years ago, DeFeo has tried to make
it more inviting and fun for the students. "They come down every Friday
morning before school starts, between 7:30 and 8 o'clock," she explains.
"We carry very reasonably priced little items that benefit the PTO."
Seasonal Items
The store is located
in what was once a closet in the basement near the school library. Students
are allowed to walk in and peruse the merchandise before making their
purchase. Along with the basics, DeFeo carries a carefully-chosen selection
of seasonal items as well. "We try to have Valentine's Day pens or Saint
Patrick's Day paper, and special holiday items around Christmas," she
notes.
Parent volunteers
staff the operation, many of them accompanied by their preschoolers.
DeFeo is often assisted by her daughter, Olivia, a fourth-grader at
the school.
When it comes to
stocking the store, DeFeo says the students have made their preferences
known.
"They like the new
white-out pens instead of the old-fashioned kind, and certain types
of folders they're accustomed to using. They don't want the one-subject
notebooks; they want the three-subject," she explains, adding that while
the boys like mechanical pencils, "the girls are always after me for
different types of colorful erasers."
The store also stocks
mugs, water bottles, window decals sporting the school's name, and a
school cookbook. But the biggest seller with parents is a notepad pre-printed
with a variety of afterschool options that sells for $2.50. For example,
if a student is going home with a fellow student, parents can simply
check off that option, write in their child's name and the appropriate
bus number, and send it in to the teacher.
"That, to me, is
the best thing in the school store," mother of four and PTO Co-President
Trish Donelan says enthusiastically. "It's a great moneymaker for the
school, and it's something every single parent needs. You buy a stack
of six at the beginning of the school year and you're set."
Proceeds
A quarter here,
a dollar there, and pretty soon it all adds up. As fundraisers go, the
school store may not be a major contributor to the PTO's coffers, but
every little bit helps.
"The proceeds go
into the PTO's general fund, which we spend on everything from the teachers'
luncheon at the beginning of the year to donations to our library to
school maintenance to field trips - anything that's not in the principal's
operating budget," says Donelan. "Anything we get goes right back to
the kids, so it absolutely adds up."
"And it teaches
the kids about money, too - how much they have, how much they can spend,
what they can and can't get," adds DeFeo.
Principal Patricia
Maury gives the store two thumbs up. "It's a way for us to add a sense
of community and school spirit to the children's day," she says. "Parents
and children are here early; the items are all affordable and very attractive
to the kids; and it has done just what we'd hoped it would."
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