Carol Morgan School was established in 1933, and for the first few years it was called "Little School" or "Santo Domingo Calvert School." Its first location was "an old abandoned chapel" in the garden of the Episcopal Church. The five children enrolled in the school attended kindergarten, and grades 1st and 5th.
Mrs. Carol Morgan, as one of the school founders and teachers, worked tirelessly to keep the nascent school going. Parent involvement in the school began early on in the school's history. In 1937-1938, the parents formally organized into the "Parents Group", with a Board of Directors to take care of school business details.
The first Parent Teacher Organization was established in 1947, under the name of "Mother's Committee". Its main purpose was to raise money to take care of extra improvements in the school. This group of mothers started a library and installed an electric water cooler, as well as provided paper towels and paper cups for the children. Previously, each child brought their own glass from home and volunteer mothers took the towels home and washed them over the weekend so the children could have clean towels on Monday. Mother's also took turns bringing jugs of boiled water for drinking.
With the growth of the school, expenses also increased. In order to meet the extra demands, carnivals were held each year, with each father being responsible for a booth. The event quickly became a success, with everyone looking forward to participating.
In 1954, the Mother Club organized the first evening Halloween celebration. Everybody wore costumes. There were different games and a piñata full of candies and bubble gum.
The Mother's Committee was in charge of refreshments, as well as the decorations and games.
Other activities sponsored by the Mother's Club during those early years were Bake Sales, Costumes for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Programs, Candy and Fruits for the Christmas Stockings, A Bridge- Canasta Dessert Party to raise money for books for the library, and an Easter Egg Hunt at the US Embassy.
The Mother's Group, later called the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), continues to be active and an integral part of the CMS community. This dedicated group of parents is in charge of organizing Ice Breakers for teachers and staff, the Halloween Frolic, Welcome Back to Students events, participating also in Staff Appreciation Week, in Spring Fair, and organizing School Supplies Boxes, lectures, movies, Read Me a Story Nights, and many other activities throughout the school year.
Through the Years with the PTO at CMS...
