125 of our supporters attended our meaningful celebration of our First Annual Fundraising event and our first year's accomplishment. We had 20 students of all ages volunteering with every aspect of the event, from hosting, to speaking, to sharing memories. Teachers who attended said they could feel the love everywhere. Authors Tim McLoughlin and Dr. Fernando Espinoza shared stories about Mr. Aymar’s insatiable curiosity and his passion for the language and learning. Mr. Aymar’s impact was themed all over from book centerpieces to the literary artwork for sale. We delivered on our promise for Stories, Memories and Laughter. Incredibly grateful to our supporters.

At our April 30th event, we unveiled a video made by Carlos Neira - a 4th grade student back in 1996 - who is today a videographer. At our launch event in April 2016, these students sat down and shared their heartfelt thoughts of appreciation. Our Foundation intends to share his life lessons with Middle School Students to continue the impact that great teachers have in our lives.

​Our Mission is to continue to help Middle Schoolers with all the lessons that Mr. Aymar provided his students over 22 years. The workshops have proven to be a perfect venue for us to connect his passion, kindness and humor to empower students to have more independent learning habits. We have completed two series of Free Workshops in Partnership with the West Orange Public Library.

We want Middle Schoolers to avoid the 'Summer Slide' — the tendency for students to lose academic skills over the summer. Join us starting July 22nd for our “ TeensSpeak” Workshop on Public Speaking at the West Orange Public Library. Don’t miss it!!! For more details, visit www.wopl.org

We are grateful to Tami Evans, a wonderful parent, who captured our last workshop where we handed Certificates of Ambassador to each participating student.

The MAF Newsletter
                           Issue. 1

We have recently completed our second series of workshops in partnership with the West Orange Public Library. Our record attendance day, we had 21 middle school students accompanied by their parents. Students had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers, most of them educators, cover topics such as public speaking, learning styles, comfort zones, time management, and tips and tools for independent learning. They learned the ways to relieve test taking stress, and were always encouraged to share their “ take-aways,” the pieces of information they found to be most helpful. We had past students of Mr. Aymar share their stories in person and via video, recounting the value in the life lessons he taught them. 

The Summer workshop series, which pick up mid-July, will concentrate on public speaking skills, as requested by the students. 

See what two parents have to say:

Video 1
Video 2
We are now only one month away from our first annual fundraising event. From the early planning stages to the fulfillment of our mission statement, this will be our opportunity to share how our foundation has grown. 
We encourage you to share the invitation with your contacts, as this event promises to be a beautiful celebration in a most perfect venue.  

Click here for more event details

 
Our Lady of the Lake in Verona held a fundraiser to benefit The Michael Aymar Foundation. "Minute to Win It“ was started by the Student Council last year, and this year the students decided to donate the proceeds to the  Michael Aymar Foundation. This beautiful gesture by the students and moderators of the Student Leadership provided us with a heartwarming return to the school where Mr. Aymar taught for 2 years, and is where his son, Peter, attended middle school. Marlly Garcilazo, a member of our Advisory Board, shared lessons and  memories of Mr. Aymar. Students were engaged and curious about the qualities that made Mr. Aymar a special and loved teacher.  We are grateful to Cyndy Zabady, and especially Lisa Berzanskis and Brittany McFarlane, moderators of Student Leadership for displaying an incredible generosity of spirit that speaks volumes about the quality of the education that OLL provides.  We are honored to be back at one of the schools which plays a big part in our story.   ​