Pinkerton Elementary PTO: Latest News

Please join us as we celebrate and honor Ms. Mimi Baker, who is retiring this year. There will be cookies and punch in the library on Wednesday, May 30th from 3:30-5pm.

The time to order 2012-2013 School Supplies is NOW!

Available to order May 1st thru Aug. 10th
(Prices go up on June 25th, so order NOW!)

• Pay by credit card online thru Aug. 10th
• Pay by check with the order form that came home in your child’s folder thru June 1st.

All supplies ordered by Aug. 10th will be delivered to your child’s classroom for “Meet the Teacher”.

For online ordering, for an order form if paying by check, or for a list of supplies needed, go to www.pinkertonpto.com. Click on Web Store or School Supplies.

If you have any questions, please email debbie@delks.com.

The last Cowpoke Credit Union for this school year will be Friday, May 25th from 7:30 to 7:45 a.m.

Thanks for a great year!

Attention CMSW Incoming 6th Graders:

Coppell Middle School West has begun selling school supplies for the 2012-2013 School Year.

You can order your school supplies now by visiting the following website: http://cmswpto.revtrak.net

Orders will only be available online through June 24, 2012 at this price. School Supplies will be available for pickup during schedule pick up in August.

For Incoming 4th-8th Graders

Join us at the 2nd annual NTH@C Photography and Filmmaking Camp to learn and explore the other side of the camera! The campers will learn how to use industry-grade equipment within two categories, photography and film.

All programs and cameras will be provided to help students excel and learn to love the photography and filmmaking process.

When? June 25-29, 2012

What time? 9-Noon for incoming 4th and 5th graders, and 1-4PM for incoming 6th-8th graders

Cost? $130

Where? NTH@C campus

Go to the Camp Website below for more information and registration:
http://www.wix.com/newtechsummercamp/newtechsummercamp#!home|mainPage

The PTO Spring 2011-2012 survey results may be found at PTO Survey Results.

Thank you to all who responded to the survey. Fundraising decisions made by the PTO for next school year based on these responses, among other factors, will be highlighted in a subsequent newsletter and our May meeting minutes once approved. Please also see our April meeting minutes at April Meeting Minutes for our discussion on fundraising next year.

Spanish on Wheels has just been hired by the PTO to provide Spanish lessons to our K-5th grade students for the 2012-2013 school year. Each Pinkerton class will receive a 30 minute lesson once-a-week during the school day. For more information about the company, go to Spanish On Wheels.

Thank you to all the AllStar Fun Run donors whose contributions have made it possible to bring a Spanish language program to our school!

We are forming a Committee to take an objective look at the Fun Run. How can we change it? Can we do it independently of a “for profit” company? We are looking for 5-8 people that can help create a new look for this fundraiser in 2012-2013. We need your ideas and energy to make this a profitable and beneficial fundraiser for Pinkerton next year. Please email Laurel Ebner at laurel_ebner@yahoo.com if you are interested in sharing your creative ideas and working to develop a new plan for the next school year.

Dear Pinkerton Parents,

Monday morning at the start,
A yummy breakfast warmed our heart.
Our own name on a sassy key chain,
“Thank you” was a common refrain.
Student notes and gifts came our way,
So many grateful words we want to say.
Dickey’s BBQ was an awesome lunch.
Diets were off – (just a hunch).
Willpower left us with Thursday’s sweets.
We appreciate all of the delectable treats!
Salad, pizza, and pasta galore
Ifratelli made our hearts soar!
You share your children and help us through the year,
“Thank you PTO!”, all Pinkerton teachers cheer!

Thanks to ALL of the volunteers who participated in ladybug releases this week. The children had a blast, and our Pinkerton Patch will hopefully be free of garden pests with the help of the ladybugs!

We have a recycling winner! 1A did a great job recycling their greeting cards to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Ranch. As a thank you, they received a Earth Day themed bag tag. Congratulations! Although our recycling initiative for Earth Day has come to a close, please keep in mind that cards are collected by St Jude’s Children’s Ranch year round. For more information, contact the Texas Campus Community Relations Department at 830-629-0659 ext. 109 or stjudesranch.org.

Michelle Zenici
Health and Welfare
zenici3@gmail.com

ACES (All Children Exercising Simultaneously) took place throughout the district for the first time today. This nationwide initiative to get kids moving was brought to our district by the SHAC (Student Health Advisory Committee). This morning, Pinkerton rocked!! Music played, and everyone got up and got their blood flowing. It was a fun break that got their minds moving too! Thanks to all the volunteers who helped motivate the kids today.

For more information about SHAC, please contact Michelle Zenici zenici3@gmail.com.

Run To Fund is Saturday, May 5th and registration is going on NOW!!! Come out and run/walk beginning at CHS Stadium on the track. The 1 mile fun run/walk begins at 8:30 am. To register log onto: www.coppellisdef.com!

Don’t miss the fun … runners’ faces on the Big Screen at Cowboys Stadium, t-shirts, vendor booths, pancakes, coffee, bounce houses, snow cones, music, freebies and lots more!

Did you know?

Coppell High School opened a food bank for students and families in Coppell ISD who are in need. It is a valuable service for many of our students and their families who are experiencing financial difficulties, due to loss of employment or other financial setbacks. It is stocked with donations of groceries and grocery store giftcards from students and parents within our district.

Pinkerton students and parents, let’s help CHS keep the food bank stocked! Donations of non-perishable food items as well as personal care items are greatly appreciated. Listed below are some desired items:

• Canned meats (chicken, tuna, salmon)
• Hamburger, Tuna and Chicken Helper
• Beans, rice, noodle mixes
• Quick and easy lunch items
• Cereal
• Canned fruits and vegetables
• Shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, shaving cream, razor blades

A box for donations will be located in the front hallway, near the Citizens of the Month bulletin board. If you have any questions about the food bank, please call or email me at 214-496-6876 or kkirkley@coppellisd.com.

Thank you!

The 2012-2013 Texas Bluebonnet Reading Program has begun! Interested students may pick up the blue reading packet in the library this month. Mrs. Sine is explaining the program to next year’s third, fourth, and fifth graders as they come through for checkout time this week. Participants need to read at least five books from the current list of 20 Bluebonnet books, and then they can read any other Bluebonnet books (that they have never read before) from previous years so that they read a total of 20 books before January 18, 2013. Then, they summarize the books with parents and turn in the form attached to the guideline page. Questions can be directed to Mrs. Sine in the library. It’s a wonderful program, and students get to sample books of all kinds: fiction, nonfiction, biographies, and poetry! Plus, students who complete the program will enjoy a celebration next Spring.

If your student read the 20 Bluebonnet books from this year’s program, we will celebrate their reading goal on Thursday, May 10, in the library with pizza and a movie. Permission forms are being sent home this week for those participants. Congratulations to these students for their extra effort in reading this year. We hope to have even more participants next year!

All library books are due back Friday, May 18. That gives us nine days to collect payment for lost books, conduct inventory for books and equipment, repair all the “injured” books, begin a new book order, and generally prepare for next year. Thank you for your help in returning all the library books that are missing. Those books need to be replaced if not found. A print-out will be given to your child if they have any late books.

Many, many thanks to you all!
Mrs. Sine

Please join us next Thursday, May 10th from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for the last CiCi’s spirit night for the school year. Dine-in or take-out but please drop your receipt in the Pinkerton box so your contribution gets counted. Show your school spirit by wearing your Pinkerton t-shirt or a red shirt! CiCi’s is located on Denton Tap in Coppell.

Attached is a flyer Cyberbullying to promote the Cyberbullying Program on May 10 @ 6:30 p.m. in the CMSW Auditorium. Both students and parents are invited to attend. The content is probably most appropriate for 5th-12th graders, but all parents and staff members should hear this important information.

There is a grassroots effort underway nationwide against standardized, high stakes testing, and Texas is leading the charge. From the Education Commissioner’s public statement in January that this kind of testing has become a “…perversion…” of its original intent, to a February letter authored by Coppell ISD and the eight other school districts belonging to the North Texas Regional Consortium (NTRC), resolutions of support have been signed from the east to the west coast. To date, over 400 school districts representing more than 2 million public school children across the state have passed the Resolution Concerning High Stakes Testing, Standardized Testing of Texas Public School Students.

A petition to pass this national resolution to reduce standardized test mandates and base school accountability on multiple forms of measurement may be found at Petition. The resolution is led by FairTest;The Advancement Project; The National Education Association; Diane Ravich, the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education; “Race to Nowhere”; and other educational agencies.

If you would like to better understand the issue, here are some of the most recent articles on it, including “When Pineapple Races Hare, Students Lose, Critics of Standardized Tests Say” (The New York Times), “In Texas, a Revolt Brews Against Standardized Testing” (The Washington Post), “Stalking the Vampire in Texas” and “The Problem is Bigger Than a Pineapple” (Education Week).

Tonight, Thursday, May 3rd is the last Chick-fil-A Spirit Night for the school year. Please remember to drop your receipt in the Pinkerton collection box. We hope to see you at the Chick-fil-A across from Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville!

As a reminder, tomorrow is the last day to bring in your used greeting cards to help benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Ranch. Donation boxes are clearly marked in each class and will be collected tomorrow before lunch. Thanks for recycling your cards for this worthwhile program.

Michelle Zenici
Health and Welfare
zenici3@gmail.com

Teacher Appreciation Week is April 30 – May 4. Below is what is planned each day for the Pinkerton staff. Please see attached flyer Teacher Appreciation for more details.

Monday – Breakfast provided

Tuesday – Gifts from students

Wednesday – Lunch from Dickey’s

Thursday – Dessert in the afternoon

Friday – Lunch from iFratelli

Earth Day events began on campus this week with the children wearing GREEN and bringing in greeting cards for the recycling initiative for St Jude’s Children’s Ranch. Card collection boxes are located in each class thru May 3.

Volunteers are still needed next week for the ladybug releases in the garden for grades K-2. Volunteers will help wet hands, distribute the ladybugs, and dry hands. Parents from all grade levels are invited to help out for about 30 minutes on May 1 and May 3 beginning at 8:15 and May 2 beginning at 8:30.

If you have a background check on file and can volunteer, please contact zenici3@gmail.com.

Michelle Zenici
Health and Welfare

Calling all students entering kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year! Want to meet your classmates and new teachers?

Where: Pinkerton Cafeteria

When: May 3rd, 5:30-6:30 pm

Parents and guardians, please bring your kindergartner and join us for an informational and fun evening.

No siblings, please!

Project ACES (All Children Exercising Simultaneously) will take place district wide on Friday, May 4. Children will hear music and get up and dance for 15 minutes that morning in an effort to show how physical activity can get the blood pumping and minds active!

Volunteers are needed for this event to help motivate the children to get on their feet! If you have a background check on file and can help, please contact zenici3@gmail.com.

Michelle Zenici
Health and Welfare
SHAC Project ACES Campus Contact

There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, May 8 at 5:30 pm for the new Pinkerton Patch outdoor classroom. Please see the flyer Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for more details.

Next Thursday, May 3rd will be the last Chick-fil-A Spirit Night for the school year. It will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and drive-thru and to-go orders count towards our total sales. Please remember to drop your receipt or duplicate receipt in the Pinkerton collection box. Show your school spirit by wearing a red shirt or your Pinkerton t-shirt. Chick-fil-A is located at 483 E. Round Grove Road, across from Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville. We hope to see you there!

Pinkerton Family Math Night has been rescheduled. Please see the attached flyer Math Night for details about the upcoming event on May 8.

The two final Cowpoke Credit Union dates for this year are:

• 4/27/12
• 5/25/12

See you in the cafeteria at 7:30 am!

Today is the last day to register for the PTO’s Parents’ Night Out without having to pay an extra $5. Walk-ins are welcomed Saturday, but it will be $5 more per participant. Early registration also helps NTA to better plan for staffing. Parents’ Night Out is tomorrow, Saturday, April 21st, 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm and will include pizza, dessert, drink and fun activities including a bounce house! Please call NTA Taekwondo at 972-471-2333 to register your children and their siblings. NTA is located at 989 W. Sandy Lake Road, Suite 700 in Coppell. If you have any questions, please contact Kim Henley at kimberly.henley@verizon.net.

All 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students across the state of Texas will be participating in the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) on Tuesday, 4/24, Wednesday, 4/25 and Thursday, 4/26. Please see the testing schedule below:

• Tuesday, 4/24/12 – 3rd and 4th Grade Math

• Wednesday, 4/25/12 – 3rd and 4th Grade Reading

• Thursday, 4/26/12 – 5th Grade Science

Please make note of these important dates! Due to the need for a secure test environment, visitors may not go beyond the office on these days. There will be no volunteers for recess duty, helping teachers, helping in the library, helping in the office or tutoring students. In addition, there will be no visitors allowed during lunch. It is important that we maintain an environment that is free of interruptions.

Thank you for your cooperation! We look forward to having our wonderful volunteers back on Friday, 4/27/12.