FISD Council of PTAs Communicator Frisco Independent School …€¦ · results of the contest!...
14
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1 1 COMMUNICATOR Frisco Independent School District Council of PTAs October 2011 Volume 9 ▪ Issue 2 President’s Message Kindra Strachan, Council President In this issue... Meeng/Luncheon Schedules 2 Coming up soon... 2 Texas PTA News 2 PTA Links 3 Area 15 PTA News 3 Council Goals 3 Programs 3 Training 3 Membership 4 Fundraising/Finance 4 Technology 4 Treasurer’s Report 4 Environmental 5 ECS True Colors Program 5 Cultural Arts 6 SAGE 6 RoughRiders Foundaon Contest 7 Frisco Educaon Foundaon 7 FISD Superintendent’s Message 8 Local PTA News 9 Execuve Board Roster 14 The 2011-2012 school year is in full swing and with fall upon us, the Frisco ISD Council of PTAs has an exciting and busy year ahead. From Barktoberfest to Reflections and the many FISD community events such as the Gary Burns Fun Run, the Community Parade and your local PTA programs, there is something for everyone. As you begin to wrap up your fall membership drives, never forget to continue promoting your PTA and the importance of volunteering. Volunteers are the basic building block of your local PTAs as well as Texas PTA. The one volunteer is as valuable as the many. Texas PTA is strong due to its membership and advocacy for the children of Texas. Over the past many years, Texas PTA has been instrumental in the development of many programs: the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPS), school-based health clinics, seat belts for children under age 18, early childhood education, hot lunches in schools, prohibition of narcotics sales to children, school finance and accountability, and many more too numerous to name. In short, Texas PTA is a family; a network of volunteers and officials with only one goal: making every child’s potential a reality! The Frisco ISD Council of PTAs is grateful for the support of the Frisco Independent School District and our local PTAs. We look forward to continuing to fulfill the mission of the Texas PTA.
Transcript of FISD Council of PTAs Communicator Frisco Independent School …€¦ · results of the contest!...
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
1
COMMUNICATORFr isco Independent School Distr ict Council of PTAs
October 2011 Volume 9 ▪ Issue 2
President’s MessageKindra Strachan, Council President In this issue...
Meeting/Luncheon Schedules 2
Coming up soon... 2
Texas PTA News 2
PTA Links 3
Area 15 PTA News 3
Council Goals 3
Programs 3
Training 3
Membership 4
Fundraising/Finance 4
Technology 4
Treasurer’s Report 4
Environmental 5
ECS True Colors Program 5
Cultural Arts 6
SAGE 6
RoughRiders Foundation Contest 7
Frisco Education Foundation 7
FISD Superintendent’s Message 8
Local PTA News 9
Executive Board Roster 14
The 2011-2012 school year is in full swing and with fall upon us, the Frisco ISD Council of PTAs has an exciting and busy year ahead. From Barktoberfest to Reflections and the many FISD community events such as the Gary Burns Fun Run, the Community Parade and your local PTA programs, there is something for everyone.
As you begin to wrap up your fall membership drives, never forget to continue promoting your PTA and the importance of volunteering. Volunteers are the basic building block of your local PTAs as well as Texas PTA. The one volunteer is as valuable as the many. Texas PTA is strong due to its membership and advocacy for the children of Texas.
Over the past many years, Texas PTA has been instrumental in the development of many programs: the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPS), school-based health clinics, seat belts for children under age 18, early childhood education, hot lunches in schools, prohibition of narcotics sales to children, school finance and accountability, and many more too numerous to name. In short, Texas PTA is a family; a network of volunteers and officials with only one goal: making every child’s potential a reality!
The Frisco ISD Council of PTAs is grateful for the support of the Frisco Independent School District and our local PTAs. We look forward to continuing to fulfill the mission of the Texas PTA.
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
2
Events & Meetings
Council Regular Meetings
Sep. 20th (CTE Center)Oct. 18thJan. 17thMar. 20thMay 22nd
Maple Street Admin Building, 10:00 a.m.
President’s MeetingsMaple Street Admin Building, Time TBD
Sep. 20th (luncheon)Nov. 15thFeb. 21stApr. 17thMay 15th (luncheon)
FISD School Board MeetingsMaple Street Admin Building, 7:30 p.m.
2011-2012 Texas PTA News
Coming up soon...Oct. 17th Texas PTA extended
membership deadlineOct. 18th Council Regular MeetingOct 20th ECS True Colors ProgramOct 24-28th Red Ribbon WeekOct 29th Gary Burns Frisco Fun Run/
Walk and 5K RaceNov 7-18th Recycle BATTERIES!!Nov 12th Community ParadeNov 15th IRS 990 tax return dueDec 8th Council PTA Reflections
DeadlineJan 17th Council Regular Meeting
Basics Webinars Now Available!
Oct. 10thNov. 14thDec. 12thJan. 9thFeb. 13th
Mar. 5thApr. 9thMay 14thJun. 18th
Registration for the Texas PTA Basics Series via webinar is now open! The online workshops are available during the month of October, so click here to register for the workshop matching your position and the time that is convenient for you. Many classes have already taken place, so register today!
Food For Thought: School Nutrition In TexasTexas Action For Healthy Kids SummitFriday, November 4 - Austin
Are you passionate about improving nutrition in our schools? Join keynote speaker Gracie Cavnar for her “Recipe For Success.”
Gracie will share insights into school nutrition and how her programs empower over 4,000 kids each and every month to change
the way they understand, appreciate and eat their food.
Find out the latest policy changes and standards for school meals and hear about a new program for schools called Nutrigram.
Learn from the experts about the reality of school lunches cooked on site AND those brought in from a remote location.
Get hands-on information on school gardens, farm-to-school, family fitness fun nights, lunch without a la carte and more!
Space is limited! Registration will be limited to first 150!
Register at tahksummit.eventbrite.com.
•
•
•
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
3
PTA Links
Area 15 PTA News
Date:April 19, 2012
Location:Plano ISD Admin Building2700 West 15th StreetPlano, TX 75070469-752-8100
Time:TBD
Nominating Committee:Gretchen Abner (Plano)Kelly Litchenburg (Lovejoy)Katheryn Lewis (McKinney) Lynette Weisheit (Richardson) - Alternate
Annual Meeting: Save the Date
ProgramsKathryn Carter, Programs Chair
There will be a Roundtable Discussion for all Programs Chairs on Thursday, October 20th, from 10-11am in the Board Room (just off the training room) in the FISD Maple Street Complex.
RSVP to Kathryn Carter at [email protected] if you will be attending.
Training
Council will be hosting a Middle School and High School PTA Presidents training and roundtable. Training date to be determined upon securing a training facility. If you’re interested please contact Susan Thomas at [email protected].
Are you a Middle or High School PTA/PTSA President? We’ve got a
training just for you!
National PTA News
AXA Foundation to Sponsor National PTA and Take Your Family to School Week for the Seventh Year
National PTA President Releases Statement on No Child Left Behind Flexibility Package
Tony and Lauren Dungy to Announce Partnership Between National PTA and Family First at Oak Grove Elementary in Tampa
•
•
•
Get LINKED to National PTA...
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
4
MembershipAmy Kreins, Membership Chair
Team Up!
Fundraising/FinanceKaren Adolff, Fundraising Chair
Just a reminder that all PTAs’ membership rosters and membership dues payments should already be sent to Austin. TXPTA extended the due date from October 15th to October 17th because the 15th was on a weekend. Hopefully, your membership information was postmarked on or before October 17th.
If you need extra membership cards please contact Amy Kreins, our new membership chair, at [email protected].
Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 2 p.m.Frisco ISD School Spirit Day with the RoughRiders
Hosted by Frisco ISD Council of PTAs
This year, we are proud to announce that we will be honoring all Frisco ISD School Counselors. Our school counselors are always working hard for
students and parents. This is our way to say “Thank You.” Don’t forget the stakes are high! The school with the most tickets sold will have their school counselor throw the first pitch at the game! We are working on some exciting surprises, so mark your calendars NOW: April 29, 2012 School Spirit Day!!!!
SAVE THE DATE!
Your Frisco ISD Council of PTAs is in the process of building a new site page just for you! This page will list the handouts from the recent Chairperson Trainings in the event that you were unable to attend. For instance, the Power Point presentation from the Newsletter/Publicity/Website training can be found there.
We have also listed example POWs by position. Please remember that they are only examples and will vary from school to school based on your needs.
To view this information, you will need to log in to the site using the ID and password found on the back of your PTA Membership card. Once you have logged in, then select the site page “Chairperson Tools.”
Got other needs? Then, please email Kristan at [email protected] today!
TechnologyKristan Olfers, Technology Chair
www.friscopta.org
Treasurer’s ReportMelanie Crosby, Treasurer
IMPORTANT DUE DATES FOR TREASURERS:
November 15, 2011: IRS Form 990
January 20, 2012: Annual sales tax report
January 20, 2012: Quarterly sales tax reports
April 20, 2012: Quarterly sales tax reports
July 20, 2012: Quarterly sales tax reports
October 20, 2012: Quarterly sales tax reports
Sales tax reports are due to the Texas Comptroller.
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
5
TechnologyKristan Olfers, Technology Chair
Barktoberfest, the yearly “reduce” collection, ended on October 14th, and we are awaiting the results of the contest! Thank you so much to all of the schools who participated, and thank you for all of the work that was done to make this collection a success! All donations will be given to the Frisco Humane Society to support their efforts. Schools that still need to drop off their donations can do so on October 22nd from 12:00-2:00 at the Advantage Storage at 3540 Legacy Drive, Frisco, TX 75034.
Our next environmental project is the yearly “recycle” collection competition. This year the items being collected are…BATTERIES!!! The dates of the recycling collection are November 7th – November
18th. All schools at each level will be competing with each other to collect the most batteries, and the winning schools will get prizes from the City of Frisco! Remember, all campuses recycle batteries year round, and this is a great way of advertising this opportunity for families.
Another important date is November 15th – Texas Recycles Day.
5 Tips for Going Green during the holidays:
Use reusable bags instead of gift bags or wrapping paper. Reuse boxes, bows, and gift bags. Make your own recycled bows: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html
Use E-cards for the holidays in place of paper cards. Cut up greeting cards you receive into smaller pieces that can be used for gift tags or gift decorations.
Buy artificial trees to reuse for Christmas. Dead trees accumulate in landfills.
Reduce energy consumption by turning off holiday lights for large portions of the day. Use timers, so you don’t have to monitor this.
Buy recycled or earth-friendly products for gifts.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Check out Pink Elementary encouraging students to ride their bikes to school!
EnvironmentalAndrea Williams, Environmental Chair
Do You Know Your TRUE COLORS???
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
�
SAGECindy Badon, SAGE Chair
Cultural ArtsSara Kimmich, Cultural Arts Chair
PTA REFLECTIONS:
Express YOUR ARTISTIC TALENTS!
Dance Choreography
PhotographyVisual Arts
Musical Composition
Film Production Literature
REFLECT ON THE THEME. CREATE AN ORIGINAL WORK.BE RECOGNIZED.
2011-2012 Theme:
LOCAL PTAs MUST BE IN GOOD STANDING WITH TEXAS PTA ON OCTOBER 15, 2011 TO HAVE THEIR ENTRIES ELIGIBLE FOR
STATE-LEVEL JUDGING.
ENTRY DEADLINES:Local PTA - Local PTA’s Reflections deadline, for students to submit their entries, will be set by the school’s PTA, leaving time to judge and organize entries prior to Council deadline.Council or Area PTA- The Council PTA’s Reflections deadline is December 8, 2011. The Council and Area PTAs will advance 10% of their entries to the State level.Texas PTA - The Texas PTA Reflections deadline is January 18, 2012. All advancing entries must be received by the deadline. Texas PTA will advance 24 entries to the National level. There will be one entry advanced from each age group in each arts area. State results will be posted on the Texas PTA Web site in March.
For guidelines and promotional materials, visit the Reflections page on the Texas PTA website. Email [email protected] with any questions.
•
•
•
SAGE stands for Special and Gifted Education. We endeavor to promote a close alliance between parents and educators of diverse learners in hopes of benefiting all children.
If you would like to sign up to receive direct updates regarding upcoming parent workshops and student events, please send us an e-mail to [email protected]. Let us know if you are interested in receiving Special Ed. updates, Gifted & Talented updates or both.
Upcoming EventsADHD Parent Connections Support Meeting October 17, 2011, 6:30 PM Frisco ISD CATE Center, 9889 Wade Boulevard, Frisco
Join a round-table discussion with parents on the topic of ADHD and social issues. Connect with other parents, ask questions of others and share what works for you and your child! Please RSVP to Phyllis McGahey, Meeting Facilitator at [email protected].
Collaboration in the IEP MeetingOctober 18, 2011, 7:00 PMFrisco ISD CATE Center, 9889 Wade Boulevard, Frisco
Every person at the IEP meeting comes to the table with different backgrounds, different expectations and different ideas on how to best meet the needs of the student. How do you make sure your ideas are effectively expressed and considered? For more information or to RSVP, contact Julia Zaman at [email protected].
How to Teach Communication in the Home & Sibshops for Siblings of Special Needs ChildrenOctober 27, 2011, 6:00 PMParent Trainings and Sibshops are all held at the Early Childhood School located at 10330 Red Cedar Drive.
Contact Colleen Kugler at [email protected] or Kristin Foster at [email protected] or 469-633-6919. RSVP is needed for childcare.
For other dates not sponsored by SAGE or for more information, please visit our website at www.friscosage.com or our Frisco ISD Council of PTA’s webpage at www.friscopta.org/home/sage.
You may also contact the Frisco ISD Council of PTA’s SAGE Chair at [email protected].
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
7
The Gary Burns Frisco Fun Run is a 5K run/walk and 1 mile walk through Frisco Square. Proceeds from the Frisco Fun Run go to the Frisco Education Foundation to build scholarship opportunities for our Frisco ISD students, including the Gary Burns Memorial Scholarship Fund.
If you have any questions about the Fun Run or Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact the Frisco Education Foundation at: (469) 633-6860 or [email protected].
October 29, 2011, 8:00 a.m. 6235 Frisco Square Blvd.
Click here to register or make a donation online.
Frisco Education FoundationAllison Miller, Foundation Director
Frisco RoughRiders Foundation2012 Father of the Year Essay Contest
To nominate your father or father figure for the Father of the Year Essay Contest, youmust be between the ages of 10 and 17 and live in one of the following Texas counties:Collin, Denton, Tarrant, Rockwall, Dallas, or Grayson County.
Please fill out the application and mail it with your personal essay to:
Frisco RoughRiders Father of the Year Review BoardFrisco RoughRiders Foundation7300 RoughRiders Trail, Frisco, TX 75034
Parent or legal guardian of nominator must sign, date, and approve the publicity release and certificate of eligibility on the second page of the application.
All materials must be received together in one envelope for consideration. Only one nomination per student. Essay must be typed and less than 250 words.
Application deadline is Friday, February 10, 2012. Any applications postmarked after February 10, 2012 will not be accepted. Winner will be notified during the month of May, 2012.
•
•
•
•
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
8
Superintendent’s MessageDr. Rick Reedy, FISD Superintendent
Dear PTA Council,
The hustle and bustle of autumn is here and Frisco ISD is busy as athletic events, fall dances, the annual FEF Chili Challenge and Frisco Nation, and the Gary Burns Fun Run at Frisco Square consume our extra-curricular time. I enjoy all these activities because I see Frisco ISD as a big family – sometimes we each compete for attention and other times we come together for a common good.
Here at the Administration office we are already looking ahead to next year. Those of you who have children who live in attendance zones that may be changed due to the opening of four new schools next year, may also be looking ahead with some trepidation.
Next year we will open three elementary schools and one middle school. Comstock will relieve the very crowded Elliott and Ogle Elementary Schools. Phillips will relieve Robertson, Boals, Pink and some of Car-roll. Nichols will relieve Sparks, Bledsoe and Allen. Vandeventer Middle School will relieve Fowler and Scoggins. In addition to the new schools, the board and administration team is looking at adjusting zones to relieve crowding at Riddle and Mooneyham.
Based on updated enrollment projections, options developed for rezoning will be at the November school board meeting. In December, we invite citizens to address the board on this topic. The board moves toward making its final zoning decisions in January.
I would like to take the time to address some common concerns that have arisen during previous rezoning issues.
The criteria we look at when rezoning are: student stability; effective utilization of space; proximity to the school; diversity of student body; and unity in the community. No one factor is more important than the oth-ers. In these times, however, utilization of space is crucial and we do allow schools to get full and beyond capacity prior to opening a new school.
Splitting elementary school student bodies to attend different middle schools is always a concern for par-ents. It is not a desirable situation, but in a fast-growth area trying to balance enrollments, it is sometimes the case that students in one elementary school will be zoned to different middle schools. It is also possible that students at a middle school will be zoned to different high schools.
Our parents always hope their student will not be rezoned multiple times. Some areas of the district are now built out and stable, however, as the school district continues to grow, active growth areas may see the need for more new schools.
Staffing of the new schools is always a big topic of conversation. New principals are usually announced in March/April before new schools open. They will then begin assembling their faculty and staff. There are procedures that allow teachers to request transfers and the district attempts to make sure that some expe-rienced FISD teachers are assigned to any new schools.
Remember, not everyone will be happy with changes. Changing schools is an emotional issue for all involved. We try to make the best, most well thought-out decisions possible. Our guiding principle, as always, is to provide the best and most equitable opportunities for all students.
For those of you who want to follow the upcoming rezoning issues closely, the Board of Trustees meetings are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. November 14th, December 12th, and January 9th. The November meeting will be at 6928 Maple Street, and the December and January meetings will be at our new administration building/board complex at 5515 Ohio Drive. We will be sending out more information and contacts for parents in the coming months.
Sincerely, Rick Reedy
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
9
Local PTA News
Allen ElementaryOn September 30th we kicked off our major fundraiser, Run for the Gold, where the children collect pledges and gather to run/walk laps to earn money. Our goal is to raise enough money to buy a mobile iPad lab for classroom use! If we meet our goal, Mrs. Wilkinson will kiss a pig at GMA!!!
Allen Top Dog, Brian Ansay, has done a fantastic job spreading the word about Watch D.O.G.S. and the positive involvement and influence of our Dads, Brothers, Grandfathers, Uncles, etc! We are also thrilled with the turnout we had for our Kick-Off pizza party - 260 dads and kids attended this event.
“Out of This World Allen Book Fair” is running from Oct. 17-21st. We are participating in Scholastic’s One for Books program to raise money for the Allen Guided Reading Program. We have had lots of fun and activities with our “alien” theme this year. Other events include “STARBURST WITH DADS” on October 14th and lunch with loved ones on Tuesday, October 18th and Wednesday, October 19th.
During October we are practicing Citizenship, one of our 6 Pillars of Character.
On September 15th our Spirit Night at Mooyah was well attended and we wish to thank them for their generosity in supporting our school with a percentage of proceeds from the sales.
Our PTA is happy to serve our wonderful teachers and staff at Allen and we are lucky to have a great group of volunteers!!! Thank you!
Other October and November events will include Teacher Appreciation Luncheon, Red Ribbon Week, Barktoberfest and Gary Burns Fun Run! Here’s to a fantastic year ahead and making it great for our students.
Ashley ElementaryOn September 29th, Ashley PTA put on the First Annual Ashley DASH. It was a warm and sunny day
filled with lots of excitement. We were able to gather over 60 parent volunteers to help with the busy day from set up to marking laps, passing out water and clean up. We had a couple of fun and brave dads step up to emcee the event and make it fun and unique for our students. There were a lot of parents and grandparents on hand to watch and cheer the children on.
Students had a nine-day period to secure pledges from their family and friends. On DASH day, laps were tallied and collection envelopes were sent home. In just two short weeks, the PTA has collected 90% of the pledges made. Students pledged a total of $23,706.85 and we have brought in $21,224.41. For our first event completely on our own, this is fantastic news!
We appreciate all the Ashley PTA power it took to put on this very successful, fun and memorable event! We look forward to next year’s event and surpassing what we did this year!
Bledsoe ElementaryWe are very grateful for the participation and support we have received from our Bledsoe families as we begin the new school year. Over 200 students and their families came to our 1st PTA meeting to “Get the Scoop” on all of the upcoming events planned for this school year. Students enjoyed Dippin Dots ice cream and a performance by
magician Todd McKinney.
Our 1st Spirit Night at Spring Creek BBQ was a huge success. We appreciate our teachers and staff that volunteered at the event. We would
also like to extend a big thank you to all of the
continued on Page 10 ...
Click on a school’s name to connect to its PTA website
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
10
Local PTA News
families that came out to show their Bledsoe spirit.
On October 4th, we had a very well-attended parents only program; The ABCs of the Birds and Bees. Founder and President of Aim for Success, Marilyn Morris, spoke to parents about easy, creative ways to discuss this sensitive subject with our children.
Bledsoe students love the environment! Over 500 students and their families joined us for National Walk to School Day on October 5th. Rufus came out to give everyone a high-five as they headed to class.
On October 12th, the Frisco Fire Clowns entertained our children while delivering an important safety message using unique skits and humor.
There are many exciting events coming this fall. They include a visit from The Rope Warrior during Red Ribbon Week, and our Fall Book Fair November 9th – 17th. Our fall family event, the Bledsoe Buckaroo Bash, is November 4th. Families can enjoy western music, dancing, games, snacks, face painting and a mechanical bull! We will be having a Bledsoe family vendor fair as part of this event and we are excited about this opportunity for Bledsoe families to get together and have some fun!
Boals Elementary669 students from Boals Elementary joined schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day on October 5, 2011.
The event began at 7:00 a.m. with kids, parents and teachers walking from their homes along safe routes patrolled by the PTA’s Watch D.O.G.S program and other volunteers. Other special activities associated with the walk included a visit from Rufus, the ambassador of Frisco Environmental Services, on October 4th to help kick off National Walk to School Day. Cheerleaders from Lone Star High School cheered the students on and welcomed them as they arrived at school.
The event was organized by the Boals PTA and
kicked off their Walk to School Wednesday initiative that encourages students and parents to walk to school every Wednesday throughout the school year. This is part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Program.
Corbell ElementaryCorbell PTA held its 6th annual Wild Walk fundraiser on October 4th with a “Surfin’ USA” theme, and it was a huge success! Mayor Maso helped kick off the event, and FISD School Board members showed up to support our walk-a-thon as well. Each grade participated during their specials time, and Wild
Walk sponsors, including Jeff Cheney of Frisco City Council, called out the start for each grade. Parents came out in force to help with the event and to support
their runners. The kids had a blast running and rocking out to tunes and commentary provided by “Piper Pipeline,” a character performed by a parent volunteer. In the end, it was a great event, and our students will benefit greatly from it because every cent raised from the Wild Walk goes directly to the school.
Several new environmental initiatives are underway at Corbell. Students are currently collecting gently used pet items for Barktoberfest which benefits the Frisco Humane Society. Corbell is also participating in the Terracycling program which takes hard-to-recycle items, such as candy wrappers, chip bags, and drink pouches, and recycles them into usable items. Finally, we are getting ready to launch an anti-idling campaign to encourage parents to turn off their engines while waiting in the carpool lane.
As we head into November and December, we are looking forward to White Ribbon Week, Diverse Abilities Day, and a visit from Critterman. We are also gearing up for our fall book fair to be
...continued from Page 9
continued on Page 11 ...
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
11
held November 2-11. Combined with our ongoing programs, it looks to be a very fun and busy holiday season at Corbell!
Cobb MiddleOur colors may be blue and orange, but this month we’ve been really “green!” Cheerleaders and pop music greeted the many children who walked or cycled to school on National Walk to School Day, Wednesday, October 15th. It was a great effort by all staff and children to support this environmental initiative.
In the spirit of “Going Green,” Cyclones collected computers for recycling. In all, we recycled five fully-loaded pallets, including several large TVs and computer monitors, totaling approximately several hundred. They will now all be safely disposed of without impact to the environment and without risk of data theft.
Early Childhood SchoolOctober is Fire Safety Month. On October 6th, the Frisco Early Childhood School had a fireman come to school and talk about some very important information: STOP-DROP-and-ROLL, 911, and what a fireman looks like in his uniform.
The fireman was very friendly, and best of all he brought a fire truck with him! The kids got a chance to look at the truck, to see the lights, to hear the sirens, and to ring the bell!!
To find out more about the Frisco ECS PTA, visit http://wurr.org/friscoecspta.
Elliott ElementaryElliott Elementary PTA has been busy in October! At the beginning of the month, students enjoyed a visit from Rufus, the recycling dog, at Elliott Live. Rufus
shared some valuable lessons about how to recycle on our campus and at home. The Scholastic Book Fair is always a fall favorite at Elliott. Students, teachers and parents are enjoying all the wonderful books and gadgets at the Book Fair. It has been fun having our library transformed into a mini version of N.A.S.A. and space aliens!! On October 21, the PTA will host the annual Movie Night at Elliott. Students will enjoy popcorn, snow cones and an outdoor movie viewing. This year the PTA will show “Despicable Me” for the crowd to watch. This is always a great time for students and parents to enjoy a night with their classmates! Our hospitality committee will be hosting “Trick Your Treat” again this year also. The teachers at Elliott really love getting to browse and pick their own treats from the PTA and parent volunteers. The hospitality committee provided lunch this month during the teacher in-service day and a salsa and chips snack in the teachers lounge earlier this month. Last, but certainly not least, the Boosterthon Committee is geared up for a fantastic fundraiser! The Fun Run Pep Rally was held on October 11th at Elliott. The kids have had a blast watching the committee perform at Elliott Live the last few weeks and we are looking forward to another spectacular Fun Run!
Frisco Trails MontessoriFrisco Trails Montessori hosted a Grandparent’s Luncheon on September 16th. It was a huge success, with over 100 children and grandparents in attendance! The grandparents were treated to lunch, a flower and a special photo of them and their grandchild.
Gunstream ElementaryFall always brings up images of cooler temperatures, football games, family, comfort food, pumpkins, and the upcoming holidays! For our Gunstream family, many of those same images come to mind. The cooler temperatures are here, and that means our major fundraising opportunity - comfort food in the form of cookies! The money made from the cookie dough sales will provide many opportunities for our
Local PTA News...continued from Page 10
continued on Page 12 ...
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
12
children and families to participate in this year.
Gunstream has our 10th anniversary celebration coming up on November 4th. We’ll celebrate with live music, bounce houses, a silent auction, concessions, and much more! Also during that time we will be having our fall book fair!
On October 24th, our students will see a great program regarding drug prevention during Red Ribbon Week. Parents will also get an opportunityto hear a presentation on how to “Stop Bullying” onNovember 17th. Meanwhile, we are allotting PTA funds to give back to our teachers for itemsneeded in the classroom. Every dollar earned,whether from membership or cookie dough or spirit nights, goes straight back to our students at Gunstream. Our PTA loves our school, students,and staff!
Riddle ElementaryThe Riddle PTA was hard at work this summer planning fun and educational activities for our students, parents, and teachers. We started our school year with a very exciting BMX Bike Stunt Show. We cooled off by enjoying some yummy snowcones while we watched the thrilling bike stunts. We also kicked off our 2nd year of Watch D.O.G.S. with a Dads & Kids Pizza Night in September. We had over 200 dads at the event. Our students and staff love having the Watch Dog Dads on campus. This is an amazing program. September was a busy month for our Riddle PTA. We also hosted Donuts With Dad. It was an incredible turnout. So many fathers and father figures enjoying a light breakfast with their child before school. We even signed up some more dads for our Watch D.O.G.S. program.
Our Write A Check campaign is still in full force. We are over half way to meeting our goal set for the year! Thank you parents for all your donations. Your generous contributions have funded wonderful programs like High Touch High Tech, The BMX Bike Show, Fall Festival, Movie Night, and other programs and school events.
We have a super busy month for October. Our Book Fair starts October 17th and Fall Festival is October 22nd. Fall Festival is awesome. We have games,
a bounce house, food, tattoos, cake walk. These are some of our favorite events we have during the year.
The Riddle PTA is anticipating a great school year and with such wonderful, involved parents that we have, it will be a memorable one.
Roach MiddleThe 1st Annual Roach Rams Dodgeball Tournament was held on October 8th, 2011. The tournament was organized by the PTA as the major fundraiser for the fall semester. It proved not only to be successful, but wildly entertaining for players, spectators and the Roach faculty. Approximately 25 teams arrived to battle-it-out to become champions within their division and take home prizes from AMC Theaters and Chick-Fil-A. The PTA Dodgeball Committee was very happy to have doubled last year’s fundraising efforts by bringing in approximately $4,000. The fundraiser went on despite the fact that earlier in the week the Roach Ram community lost a beloved friend and student. However, spirits were lifted when those attending wore memorial pins, hung inspirational signs and made donations in remembrance of the 8th grade student. Ultimately, the excitement level of the tournament continued to grow until the last ball was thrown, which proves that a 2nd Annual Dodgeball Tournament shows promise of even greater success for Roach Middle School PTA in 2012.
Scoggins MiddleThe Scoggins Middle School PTA is partnering again this fall with the school staff and administrators to teach our children the value of helping others. We are accepting donations of trial-size toothpaste and toothbrushes to be shipped to our troops overseas
Local PTA News...continued from Page 11
continued on Page 13 ...
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
13
via the Soldiers’ Angels program, raising funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation with our fall “Got Pink?” dance, and supporting the Frisco Education Foundation by contributing to the annual Chili Challenge. Our Reflections program recognizes and celebrates diversity this fall as we hope to advance several students to the state competition level and beyond! Students will be able to honor a military veteran in November by inviting them to the school for lunch and by creating and collecting blankets and pillows to ship overseas. In the meantime, the English Department will be honoring veterans by asking students to write poems for our military heroes. The Scoggins PTA is proud to support our school and its efforts to grow our students into successful and compassionate adults.
Sparks ElementaryFall has been busy at Sparks Elementary. We changed things up a bit this year with our “Fund Our Future” fundraiser. This was our first year to have a ‘write a check’ campaign, and it was a success! We are so grateful to our generous Sparks parents.
This week we kicked off our 2011 Book Fair. Clifford the Big Red Dog got us off to a great start with a visit on Friday. Our theme, ‘Blast Off to the Book Fair, And Beyond!’ has our students excited about the SPACE theme! Jill Johnson, our Book Fair Chair, has done a fabulous job decorating our hallways and library. Last year, Sparks won the
President’s Award for the best decorations for book fair!
We hit a new record this year with membership, with 626 members! This surpasses the number of student families we serve. We’ve had a great response to our call for Sparks families to ‘Team Up’ with our PTA!
Other activities have included a Shoe Drive, Barktoberfest to collect supplies for the Frisco
Humane Society, we celebrated National Walk to School Day, and are looking forward to our first Spirit Night with Spring Creek Barbeque, and High Flying Excitement’s ‘Being Buddies Not Bullies’ student presentation in November.
Sparks is also celebrating its 10 year anniversary! We know this will be an awesome and awe-inspiring year, and are looking forward to great things to come!
Staley MiddleIt is my honor to serve as Staley PTA President for 2011-2012. Staley PTA Board has been hard at work since July. We started the school year strong with our membership drive. Our membership chair has increased Staley’s PTA membership by 25% with a membership number of 260. Outstanding!!! We were able to claim the Early Bird Award, Golden Apple Award and 10% Increase Award from Texas PTA.
Our hospitality chair just held our very successful teacher luncheon on Monday, October 10th during Parent Teacher Conference Day. Our great parent volunteers cooked up 8 different soups and many desserts to keep our teachers going thoughout the day. We are now preparing for 2 big events!! On Friday, October 21st, Staley PTA will hold our annual “Mustangs Unmasked” Dance. Our students are allowed to wear their costumes to school (following the FISD dress code guidelines) and then attend the dance immediately after school. Our PTA board, administrators, teachers, staff and parent volunteers dress up too! Our dance has an attendance of 300 plus students! It is a great event and a very successful fundraiser for our PTA!! Our next big event will be Red Ribbon Week, October 23 - 28. Our theme is “Text Me....Drug Free.” Our Junior Society will be tying red ribbons around the trees to kick off the week. We will host Keith Davis as he addresses our Mustangs. Mr. Davis will be talking to our students about staying drug free with an anti-bully message. It will be an inspiring and important week to remind our students of the harm of drugs and bullying.
Our last announcement is that in January 2012, Mr.
Local PTA News...continued from Page 12
continued on Page 14 ...
FISD Council of PTAs ▪ Communicator ▪ Volume 9 ▪ Issue 1
14
Local PTA News...continued from Page 13
Hellenberger, Assistant Principal, and a Staley Dad, Bob Durant will be introducing and rolling out the Watch D.O.G.S. program on our campus. It is an exciting time to be part of Staley!
Tadlock ElementaryTadlock Elementary kicked off our year with our first Boosterthon Fun Run. Our fun run was so successful that we were able to give the gift of technology to our students. The Boosterthon proceeds will purchase an iPad and an iTouch for all 29 classrooms at Tadlock. In addition, we will begin a recycle program for parents to donate their late generation iTouch’s to add to the classroom capability. With other funds from our fun run, we were able to purchase interactive reading and writing kits for each grade and fund our annual programs budget. Some of the programs include Dennis Lee, High Touch High Tech, and Critterman. Our children did a great job with the Boosterthon run but our parents and teachers have really shown our school pride by signing up as PTA members. Our membership has grown nearly 15% since last year. Our membership drive will end with a popcorn party. Each grade
level classroom competed for most memberships and will celebrate with popcorn for the classroom. Our parents are also showing us their involvement. We are using Volunteer Spot to coordinate our volunteers with great success. In addition, our Watch D.O.G.S program was such a success last year that our kickoff this year was at capacity and we have dads on our campus daily to help assist teachers and staff.
We are still a growing PTA and trying new programs and activities to grow the minds and bodies of our children. This year we had over 350 children participate in our first Walk to School Day. Each child was greeted by our principal dressed as a frog and each child entered their name into a drawing for spirit wear items which were given away during our Friday Celebration. Our reflections program also started the year with a bang coordinating our first Reflections workshop. Over 50 children participated in an after school session to create art pieces and literature works for our reflections contest.
We have a wonderful group of parents working for the success of our children and we are well on our way to a great year.
Council Executive Board
President Kindra Strachan [email protected] Aide to the President Susan Thomas [email protected] Secretary Ginger Target [email protected] Treasurer Melanie Crosby [email protected] Parliamentarian Anne McCausland [email protected] Historian Mandy Richards [email protected] Fundraising Karen Adolff [email protected] Cultural Arts Sara Kimmich [email protected] Membership Amy Kreins [email protected] Programs Kathryn Carter [email protected] Environmental Andrea Williams [email protected] Legislative Mary Barisa [email protected] Hospitality Debbie Pasha [email protected] SAGE Cindy Badon [email protected] Training Terri West [email protected] Newsletter/Publicity Kathy Mecom [email protected] Volunteers Shelley Kesel [email protected] Technology Kristan Olfers [email protected] Watch D.O.G.S. Gavin Copeland [email protected]
