november rain bringing changes

Many changes! We have completed the biennual audit (required by our mortgage grantor). An extensive and exhausting process, but good practice for any non-profit. The process also enabled me to ferret out a great deal of financial history of the organization in a relatively short period of time. The really good news is that my predecessor, Kim Guziel, left wonderful records in place and did a great job with bookkeeping! Thank you, Kim!

Our annual 990 non-profit tax return is also filed and shortly will be available for viewing (along with past years' reports) on http://www2.guidestar.org which is a great site for all non-profits. If you have any questions about the 990 information, please feel free to ask, and we will be happy to provide answers.

The NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) financial application site is up and running for parents to input their information for next year. For new or prospective parents, this is the vehicle we use for making financial aid decisions.

The Parents' Financial statement Online is available at http://sss.nais.org/parents. All information is handled with strict confidentiality guidelines and systems. There is a Parent Workbook on the site as well as a significant amount of additional information. Please contact me for any questions about the process. Financial aid is awarded on a rolling basis, upon application for the (coming) school year.

Thanksgiving next week. I have much appreciation to give for the opportunity to become part of the Summers-Knoll Community. A good holiday to all, and wishes for good times with family and friends.

Renaissance Feast - Oct 10 Sunday 4-7 pm

Come one, come all. Invite your friends. A wonderful time and to support the school!

Also payable at the door ~~ RSVP's required ahead of time to ensure the meal!

Save picture or print picture of RSVP form and send in to us.
Any questions, feel free to call!

~ It will be a wonderful event ~

first day of school

How exciting - the renewing of friendships, the shyness, the newness. And for me, too, meeting all the parents and children together, my first time. Here is a classroom awaiting the children, and then the cubbies filled again.







It is wonderful to be here.

for the community - notary services available

Please know that I am a notary public and am happy to provide, gratis, notary services as might be needed by parents, teachers, board members. Give me a heads up a day ahead of time, if possible, so I can be sure to have my kerchunker with me.

for staff - employee handbook

As you may know, in addition to the accounting and business manager tasks, my position also includes human resources. With the Board of Director's and Joanna's assistance, we have updated the employee handbook with regulations and policies of the school, to be distributed to all staff at the beginning of the school year. For any personnel or payroll-related questions, please feel free to contact me.

for parents - tuition payments form

For all parents - If you haven't sent or dropped off your tuition payment forms, please do so, in order that I am able to invoice you correctly. Please email me if you need the form sent to you!
Thank you all, and for your patience, as I continue to put routines into place.

mid august - the beginning of school approaching

Thank you to the parents who have been communicating with me about the tuition and invoicing. It has been helpful as I am preparing for the beginning of school and for meeting many of you for the first time. I have appreciated those of you who have wended your way to my downstairs basement office. I welcome visitors, children and adults alike.

During the last week of August, we are beginning a biennial (once every two years) financial audit. There will be external accountants in the business office verifying all financial reporting aspects of the school. This is required by our funders, and it is also good business practice for a non-profit, to ascertain to the Board of Directors that the accounting books are being handled appropriately and accurately.

Last Friday, the camp children had a delightful math merchants festival, hawking their wares and providing goodies for the end of the week, learning about exchanging their hard work and products for cash and learning what is involved in setting up a store. This coming week, I am looking forward to finding out about the experiences of the children as they learn about wildlife.

In my life at home, I have been putting up preserves -- tomatoes and peach jam last week, blueberry jam this week, along with blanching and freezing some vegetables, relishing the abundance that surrounds us during the summer. I have been a member of the Ann Arbor Community Farm for a long time, am now benefiting from the delicious creations of Harvest Kitchen; I began recently learning wonderful new (old) skills at Preserving Traditions. Would that I spent a little more time in my own quite neglected garden! Nonetheless, I did dig up a few potatoes that I had planted earlier this year, to share with my granddaughter, Emma and my grandson, Nigel. The heat has been exhausting; I'm anticipating the cool of the end-of-summer evenings that heralds the coming fall.

settling in

My second week at Summers-Knoll.

Getting my feet wet in multiple areas including the finance committee meeting, budget planning, first payroll, tuition deposits (thank you parents!), setting up new links and the transfer of contact information, working on the employee handbook, and most particularly, enjoying getting to know the camp children and counselors. I've been delighted to meet those of you who have ventured down into the basement to see me in my evolving office; I try to emerge from time to time, as well. With Kim's able assistance, I have started preparing the invoices for the new school year. Please feel free to contact me for any information if you haven't heard from me by next week, or for any other reasons.

pcorbett@summers-knoll.org

It is delightful to be working and listening to the children playing next to County Farm Park; noontime walks are refreshing in this hot weather. I also am entranced by Joanna's beautiful native plant garden and the children's gardens of summer vegetables and flowers. The bee balm is lovely and useful for bee stings - using resources to the fullest. The echinacea also blooming now (and in my own small home garden seen here).

most happy to introduce myself!

~ First blog from Penny Corbett as new business manager of Summers-Knoll ~

I'm delighted to be starting at Summers-Knoll School, and looking forward to meeting all of you in person. I have been living in Ann Arbor since 1986, although I was born and brought up in the Boston area (I do love and miss the ocean!). I lived in Japan for six years, and, later, I directed two non-profit organizations: Exchange Japan, which brought teachers from Japan to the U.S. and Canada for placement in colleges and universities to teach Japanese language in exchange for graduate study; and a continuing program, Darunee Fund, which provides donor scholarships so that rural children in Thailand, Laos and other Asian nations are able to continue their education in their home villages. I have two grown children, and two grandchildren (ages 4 & 7) all of whom give me much delight. Recent work includes business manager at Shaman Drum Bookshop (wonderful store that it was, it is missed) and business manager at Friends School in Detroit, as well as additional experience with financial management, computer networking and computer accounting applications. I am appreciative of this new opportunity in my life and look forward to meeting the entire Summers-Knoll community. Please feel free to drop in and/or contact me by phone or by email. I hope to use this blog to give you current information about the business matters of the school, and would welcome specific questions or topics to explore.