Newsletter from VFES PTO

The Falcon
Valley Forge Elementary School's PTO Newsletter

Issue 6

November 11, 2016

Message from the PTO President

Dear VFES Families:

I hope you have had a good couple of weeks! I would like to invite you to our third PTO meeting of the year. It's today at 9:00am in the Large Group Room. We love seeing you and hearing your opinions and suggetions. I urge you to attend.

I would like to thank Tracy Simpson for her hard work on getting the Directory ready. It takes a lot of time, patience and energy to ensure all the information is collected, added and proofread. Thanks, Tracy!

Many, many thanks to Bridgid Burkert for managing and handling Scary Gym! Special thanks also to Kevin Burkert, Tarin Cataldo and Joe Pizzio. Huge thank you to Angel McAveney and Alison Murray (Co-VPs for Socials) for overseeing the event.

The Cultural Arts Committee, Emily Brunner and Jamie Lynch, brought in ComedySportz to VFES for an assembly and the children loved it! Thank you, Emily and Jamie! The show is open to public today and I hope you have already bought your tickets and are very excited to watch the show. If you haven't, please check out the PTO website for more information.

We are looking for creative ideas and parent-run clubs. If you are interested in running a club, please email me.

As always, your questions, suggestions and concerns are important to us. Please feel free to email me at ptopres@vfespto.org.

Much love,

Rujuta Mandelia

PTO News

ComedySportz DELTA Performance

Friday, November 11, 2016 at 7:00 PM

Following their fabulous all school assemblies earlier this week, ComedySportz will perform live for the community at Valley Forge Middle School on Friday, November 11th at 7:00 PM. A sense of humor and a sense of self are important parts of a young person's development. For over 20 years, ComedySportz has been entertaining fans with improvisational theater as well as teaching students of all ages and backgrounds the art of improvisation. The audience is always a part of the interactive show; some lucky fans will even wind up on stage. And because everything is improvised, it's never the same show twice. Students will learn the basics of improvisation, the power of saying "Yes, and..." the joy of connecting through collaboration and the freedom of being silly.

Tickets for this DELTA sponsored performance are $10 and on sale at www.artsdelta.net or at the door. To inquire about reduced rates and reserved seating available to groups of 10 or more, send e-mail to artsdelta@hotmail.com .

For more information on DELTA, please visit www.artsdelta.net. For more information on ComedySportz Philadelphia, please visit http://www.comedysportzphilly.com/

FINAL WEEK OF VFES SPIRIT WEAR SALE!

Don't miss out! The VFES Spirit Wear Sale ends Thursday, November 17th at midnight! Show your school pride, support your PTO, and get your holiday shopping done early! All clothes feature our NEW falcon logo and

are available in Youth and Adult sizes. There's something for everyone!

Go to http://www.vfespto.org/spirit-wear-store-now-open/ for details on how to order. If you have questions, please contact Emily Carteen at vpfundraising@vfespto.org .

Book Fair Update

Thank you again for your support of the VFES Book Fair. Our final numbers have been calculated and the VFES PTO will receive $2400 from book sales this year!!! We greatly appreciate all of your purchases made this year. These funds will be used to support PTO activities and events throughout the school year.

Box Tops Update

Thank you for saving all the Box Tops during the past few months. Our Fall Box Tops have been submitted and VFES will receive $448!!! This is amazing! Please continue collecting Box Tops for our next collection in the new year.

School News

TESD Traffic Study

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District has contracted with an outside consultant to conduct a District-wide traffic study that will begin in the Fall of 2016. The first phase of the study will include Conestoga High School, Tredyffrin/Easttown Middle School, Valley Forge Middle School and Valley Forge Elementary School. As part of the study, the consultant is seeking community input. This survey will collect information that the consultant will use in the performance of the study. Click here to access the traffic study.

Community News

UMLY Presents Mary Poppins

Come and see the Upper Main Line YMCA of the Greater Brandywine performance of Mary Poppins. The mix of catchy tunes, stellar dan ce numbers and bewitching moments will be sure to draw plenty of smiles. Performances are scheduled for November 11,12, 18 and 19. Click here for performance and ticket information.

2016 Holiday Drive for T&E Care

Once again the holidays are looming and some people right in our communities struggle to afford gifts for the kids or the food needed for a special holiday meal. Tredyffrin & Easttown Care is a local non-profit that helps local families throughout the year with emergency situations, as well as offering assistance at the holidays. The T&E Care annual Holiday Drive runs from November 14 - December 3. Around 100 local families are on the list this year. Donations of gifts, food baskets, cleaning supplies, gift cards, and other items are needed. Drop-offs should come to St. John's Presbyterian Church in Devon on either December 4 (Sunday) or 5 (Monday). Help is also needed with wrapping and sorting Dec 5-8. Please check our website, www.tecare.org to see if there is anything you could offer in terms of time or donations. This is truly a neighbor helping neighbor event!

Support FLITE by Shopping at Whole Foods

Do you shop at Devon Whole Foods? Did you know you could opt to S upport Kids in T/E? The Foundation for Learning In Tredyffrin/Easttown has been selected as Devon Whole Foods Market's Nickels for N on -Profits beneficiary for the upcoming quarter now thru mid-January. When shopping at the Devon Whole Foods Market, consider bringing your own shopping bag, and when checking out select the option to donate the $.05 savings from your bill to FLITE!

Gratitude Corner

Thank you to Tiffany Leong for sorting, counting and submitting our Fall Box Tops to benefit the VFES PTO!

Thank you to Tracy Simpson for her time and energy to help publish the VFES School Directory. Thank you to Emily Carteen and Agnes Kent

for organizing the sponsors in the directory. Thank you as well to Heather McConnell for proofreading the directory.

This year's Book Fair was a huge success thanks to many, many people! Thank you to our coordinators Heather Bittenbender and Amanda Ivory. Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted with set-up and tear down, helping children create wish lists during class visits, and assisting during the morning rush and snack time with book purchases. Thank you for all of your book purchases and most importantly, for purchasing gift books for our teachers and library! We are still working on the totals and will share them in the next Falcon!

Thank you to Mrs. Swetkowski for organizing the fun lunch for Mix It Up Day on Tuesday! Thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped during lunches for Mix It Up Day! The kids had a great time talking with new friends and friends that might not normally get to each lunch together.