February 2008 Archives

Beginning Tuesday Feb. 26th Cut and Chat will be moved from Wed. morning to Tuesdays, same time, same place, every week there is school.   We meet in the Parent Center from 8:45-11 a.m. and work on projects for both the teachers and office staff, sometimes cutting out projects for the Kindergarteners, putting together small books for primary grades, making copies for teachers so they don’t have to do this on their own time, or stapling and distributing newsletters for the office.

The teachers really need and rely on this service from the PTA and it’s a great opportunity to volunteer!  You can drop in for half an hour or stay for an hour or two, whatever time you can spare, whenever you can spare it either occasionally or weekly Tuesdays. There are toys in the room if you have younger kids with you; they can play while you visit. We have fun and it’s nice to feel useful!

Any questions, please call Jan Avotins, 206  363-7370.

The PTA honored the teachers and staff of Parkwood on Valentine’s Day with gifts of roses and CDs to show their appreciation for all that they do for our children.

If you’d like to be a part of the dynamic Teacher and Staff Appreciation committee, please email the Teacher/Staff Appreciation Committee to get on the mailing list for future activities.

Parkwood PTA
Board of Directors Meeting
Feb 11, 2008

7:00 Board Meeting Starts

Agenda

1. Approve Minutes from 1/14 - Heather Petersen
2. Treasurer Update - Gordon McPherson
3. Update on PTA website- Michelle Manis
4. Teacher Appreciation update - Michelle Manis
5. The Works - Natalie W.
6. Volunteering in April - Natalie W.
7. Clothing drive - Natalie W.
8. Update on the following initiatives discussed in the last meeting:
   
   • PTA funding for tuning 3 pianos
   • Nomination committee
   • Talent Show
   • Family Heritage Night

Your donations and fund-raising support directly funds these Parkwood activities:

• Homework Club,
• guest artist visits,
• field trips,
• talent show,
• photography art walk,
• Parkfest,
• Family Heritage Night,
• Holiday Food Drive,
• classroom grants,
• enrichment grants,
• classroom emergency kits,
• student phonebook directory,
• Reflections art program,
• Back-to-School BBQ,
• game nights,
• Fall Harvest Festival,
• Staff Appreciation,

and many more.

There are many ways that you can support Parkwood PTA’s fundraising efforts. Parkwood PTA is a non-profit organization that accepts donations at any time of the year.

We’ve raised $130 this year from General Mills box tops. Way to go!

Clip box tops from hundreds of your favorite General Mills products and send them in to school. Each box top is worth 10¢, and it all adds up!

Eligible box top products.

Thank YOU!

WaMoola for Schools is a smart, simple way to make a difference every day.

For families with Washington Mutual Visa Check/Debit Cards, enroll in the WaMoola For Schools program at your branch or online. Choose Parkwood as your school to support. Every time you make a purchase, points are earned and at the end of the year, points are converted to money and donated directly to Parkwood by WaMu.

It’s easy to help! Visit http://www.wamoolaforschools.com or call toll free- 1-866-WAMOOLA for more information.

For more than 30 years, Labels for Education has been giving schools free educational equipment in exchange for labels from the Campbell family of brands. It’s a fun, easy program where students, families, and members of the community work together for a common goal.

Bring your soup labels to the collection box outside the Parent Center at Parkwood.

Review the list of eligible Campbell products for you to refer to as Parkwood collects labels and proofs of purchase to redeem for free merchandise.

Target’s Take Charge of Education Program.

We’ve discovered a terrific way to raise funds for our school. Parkwood will receive up to 1% of each purchase when you use your Target Visa or Target Card.

Just visit target.com or call 1-800-316-6142 to designate Parkwood your school of choice. You can even ask a cashier at Target to enroll Parkwood as your school of choice.

Parkwood’s number is: 10652.

So if you’re going to Target anyway, please consider using your Target Visa or Target Card. Big thanks to those who are already doing their part to make a great school even better.

Office Depot is proud to support our schools and communities through the 5% Back to Schools program. This program give you an opportunity to help local schools receive credits for FREE supplies when you shop at Office Depot for student school supplies. It’s easy!

• Buy qualifying student school supplies at Office Depot
• Designate Parkwood PTA to receive 5% of your qualifying purchase
• Office Depot will tally the qualifying purchases made during the program period
• Office Depot will award Parkwood 5% of the qualifying purchases in credits the school can use for FREE SUPPLIES!

To designate Parkwood to receive 5% of your next school supply purchase, visit your local Office Depot store or click here to designate the school of your choice. You will need to know your Office Depot order number. Parkwood’s number is: 70107423.

Find the store nearest you.

For a list of qualifying student school supply items, please visit the Office Depot Store nearest you or contact Customer Service at 1-800-GO-DEPOT. Office Depot has teamed up with National PTA

Office Depot has teamed up with National PTA to promote the importance of parent and community participation in schools nationwide. As a Proud Community Partner of National PTA, Office Depot is committed to joining PTA leaders across the country in strengthening parent and public involvement. One of the many ways Office Depot is providing support is by offering PTAs the opportunity to host special events, such as Back-to-school, membership drives, Teacher Appreciation Week, and other PTA activities at our 1,000+ retail stores. To learn more about the National PTA, visit their website at www.pta.org. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the National PTA’s customer service department at (800)307-4PTA (4782), or email Office Depot at PTAsupport@officedepot.com.

Link your Albertsons Preferred card on-line or at the cashier with Parkwood’s Community Partner Number: 49001004932. Every time you use your Preferred card, Parkwood PTA will recieve up to 2% of your grocery dollars. Schools can earn up to 10K a year. Tell you friends and family so they can support Parkwood as well. To link online go to Albertsons.com, enter your zip code and then click on “In the Community” at the bottom of the page.

Parkwood PTA has several open committee positions available. Whether you lend a hand on a committee, or lead one, we would love your input!

Contact the PTA Presidents for current information: president@parkwoodpta.org.

Looking for a great way to make some friends with other parents? Join the Membership Committee! Enrollment is year-round so we’ll be brainstorming ideas for increasing membership, spreading the word on PTA, implementing fun incentive programs, identifying creative incentives, and maybe even some party planning.

You can join us for the year or just participate on individual projects to accommodate your time. No skills needed, just interest.

8:30-11:00am every Wednesday in the Parent’s Center at Parkwood Elementary.

Provides parents and community volunteers the opportunity to help teachers prepare classroom materials, while getting to know each other. There are toys available for younger siblings, who are always welcome to come with you.

Parkwood PTA was recognized from the Shoreline PTA Council for our Cut-n-Chat program. I think this would be a great time to give you all a little bit of background about the Parkwood PTA Cut-n-Chat program.

It first started about 11 years ago. There were some Mom’s that had children in the school and younger ones at home. They wanted to help out in many ways. Though their time was limited with the younger ones. With the encouragement from the Family advocate and Principal, the Family Advocate decided to share her office space with these moms so that they too could help out in the school. They brought in toys to keep the little ones busy and the moms, dads, grandparents, and all that started coming started the weekly Cut-n-Chat. The teachers loved it as it freed up lots time for them.

The District has always shown there support also. We are still going strong with it now. We love it when we get a room full of helpers or just a few.There is always something to do.

I want to say THANK YOU to all of you for helping out. It is a great program. I am thankful for it, as it helped me feel more a part of my children’s school, so that I could help out and still bring my littlest ones in too, and not interrupt the learning’s in the classroom.

If you have any questions about Cut-n-Chat please feel free to come by on any Wednesday Morning 8:45-11:00, or contact Joan Desrosier. Any helping hands are always appreciated!

        <p>Did you know you can help financially support Parkwood PTA every time you shop online?</p>

Did you ever want to give us a donation but you could not afford to do it? Now there is as easy way for you to financially support us without having to donate one cent.

We have joined a fundraising program where every time you shop on the Internet a percentage of your sale will automatically be given to us. The way the new fundraising program works is very simple. All you have to do is come here to our website and click on our shopping button. After you click on our shopping button, you will be taken to a web page that lists thousands of different companies including:

• Starbucks,
• Hallmark,
• Office Depot,
• Dell,
• Circuit City,
• Land’s End,
• Wal-mart,
• Barnes & Noble, and
• Florist .com

just to name a few.

Every time you make a purchase from one of these fine companies, a percentage of the sale will automatically be given to the Parkwood PTA - and that really helps!

Volunteer now!

To volunteer your time, simply e-mail us your name, child’s name, and their teacher’s name.

Browse the volunteer opportunities to see if there something that interests you, but don’t be shy about contacting us. We can always use some help!

Why volunteer?

Because it’s fun!

But also because excellent schools don’t just happen, they are created. Schools with strong parent involvement programs experience profound benefits for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Research shows that when parents are involved in students’ education, those students generally have higher grades and test scores, better attendance, and more consistently completed homework.

Every day offers a fresh opportunity to get involved with your child.

Support our kids! Join the Parkwood PTA!

If you would like to join the PTA, just complete and return the Volunteer Form (pdf) with your fee to the school office or send it back via your child’s teacher. Membership envelopes are available in the main office or from the PTA bulletin board.

You are all warmly invited to join Parkwood PTA. Why join? Study after study has shown that parent involvement is key to student success in education.

By joining Parkwood PTA, you are helping support many great programs including: field trips, fall harvest festival, library grants, classroom grants, back-to-school BBQ, talent show, student phone directory, and emergency kits. Your support and involvement is needed to make it all happen.

Being a member does not require going to meetings or volunteering for events, being a member means you support what PTA does. And PTA annual membership dues are tax deductible.

For information on membership benefits and discounts please visit the national PTA website.

Talk to us!

Parkwood PTA
C/O Parkwood Elementary School
1815 North 155th Street
Shoreline, WA
98133

(206) 368-4150

president@parkwoodpta.org
fundraising@parkwoodpta.org
membership@parkwoodpta.org
secretary@parkwoodpta.org
treasurer@parkwoodpta.org
waysandmeans@parkwoodpta.org
webmaster@parkwoodpta.org