Make Plans to Dine & Donate This Tuesday
Our next Spirit Dining Night will be at Papa Keno’s in Westport on Tuesday, October 23rd . The great thing about this one, is that you can visit the restaurant at any time on the 23rd and 20% of your purchase will go back to Prairie.

Simply drop your receipt in the “Dine & Donate” box in the front of the store for us to get credit. So stop by on your lunch hour, tell your friends & co-workers or grab a pizza after practice to raise funds for the children! 
Informative State of the School Meeting:
Here’s what to expect!
This Thursday, October 25th from 6:30pm - 7:30pm , our annual State of the School meeting will take place in the MPR. Principal Jones and our Prairie Fund board will be teaming up for this informative night! Principal Jones (with the help of some of our teachers) will help us better understand the accreditation process that we are currently in, review some fall data from our students, and showcase each of the positions funded by our Prairie community.

Following this update from Principal Jones, Prairie Fund will have a short presentation covering its history, purpose, and financial overview. Hope to see you this Thursday!
Each week we will take a moment to thank some of the many volunteers who make Prairie Elementary a wonderful place for our students:
A special thank you to Christine Whetstine-Irish for organizing our
fall movie night!
Sign Up to Be a Special Guest Day Volunteer
Special Guest Day is right around the corner, Friday November 9th ! Your student should have received an invitation to deliver to his/her special guest along with a lunch reservation form. If your special guest will be purchasing school lunch, please return the form with payment by Monday, October 29.

This is such a fun event for the kids. Their guest's get to see what they’ve been up to in the classroom and can even be invited for a special lunch date.
Please consider volunteering for this special event.
Annual United Way Campaign - This Week!

Celebrate United Way this week at Prairie! United Way helps provide programs and care for those less fortunate in our community. Prairie’s Student Council has set a goal of $300 . This year, Student Council is offering two fundraising activities for United Way:

  • Leather Panther Paw Spirit Bracelets will be sold in the lobby from 7:45-8:00 and 3:10-3:20. Each bracelet will be $3.
  • “Quarter Drop” Will be done in the gym at any time throughout the school day. Students may try their luck and drop quarters into a fish tank. If a quarter lands in the jar, you’re a winner! “Change a Life!” Bring your quarters, have fun while donating to others in need of assistance!
An Enchanted Book Fair Experience
is Coming to Prairie
Come to our enchanted forest on November 8th and 9th to find the newest books from Scholastic. Don’t miss out on The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Meltdown . Plenty of copies will be available at the fair.

Would you like to volunteer? Click below and pick a time that works for you!
Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) Needs You!
Are you a Prairie dad, uncle, father-figure? We need you! We still have plenty of opportunities to sign-up this year. Your kids love seeing their male role models at school!

Our goal is to see everyone sign up for at least one day of volunteering throughout the school year (2 half-day sessions or 1 full-day session). Please consider volunteering! If you have any questions, contact Dan Moon at danmoon.esq@gmail.com.
Class Auction Parties - Last Chance to Donate!

We are so amazed by the incredibly generous donations received from every single class auction party this year. Thank you Prairie parents for supporting our 2018-2019 auction in this way!

We wanted to give you one last chance to donate in case you haven’t had a chance to do so yet. Click here and select your grade level from the drop down box. We’ll have final totals ready to share in next week’s newsletter!
Every Vote Counts...We Need Yours!

Think you might be busy on Election Day, November 6th? Johnson County voters have advance voting
options, in person and by mail.
No excuses—VOTE!
October 22-26
  • United Way Campaign

Tuesday, October 23
  • Spirit Dining Day @ Papa Keno's Westport

Thursday, October 25
  • State of the School Address 6:30 PM @ Prairie

Friday, October 26
  • Picture Retake Day
 
Visit the  PTA website  and enter your email address under "follow our blog" on the right side of the page.
 
Read this weekly newsletter, published each Sunday throughout the school year for the most up-to-date info that you need for the week ahead.
Prairie Life: Cool Stuff You May Not Know!
(Formerly known as “President’s Corner”)
Hello Prairie Families!

It’s been a busy month at Prairie since our last update. It’s amazing how many parent volunteers show up at Prairie and our PTA events every single day. From our vantage point, Prairie is like a machine with many moving parts that make it run so well. One of the key parts is you . Thank you! Check out some of the many things that happened in the past month (in no particular order)…

  • We had an incredibly successful Prairie 5k and Art in the Garden. 
  • The Chinese Acrobats came for an assembly (huge hit with all of our kids and teachers!). 
  • Junior Master Gardeners made pizzas in our garden using Prairie produce. 
  • Our new sign was installed but wait. It was installed facing the WRONG direction. Yikes! So that you can read the words without craning your neck while driving, it will be fixed. 
  • Prairie’s first annual Mom/Son Throw Down was a success! Look to purchase tickets to this event at our auction on February 23rd, 2019!
  • Our first Spirit Dining Night at Chipotle brought in $352!!! That’s a lot of burritos… “Guac On!” Thank you Prairie families. The next dining fundraiser is an all-day event at Papa Keno’s in Westport on October 23rd.
  • Our 2018-2019 PTA budget was approved at our General Membership meeting opening up more grant money for teachers, staff and students. Our first grant submission date is October 15th. Students wanting to apply for a grant should reach out to a teacher or staff member.
  • Our Prairie PTA is partnering with Chick-fil-A this year to help us boost our fundraising! If you are hosting a Prairie fundraising event, you can get 10% off any Chick-fil-A catering item. Please contact Jessica Brown at prairieelementary@gmail.com if you are interested.

Please remember you can always reach us at prairieelementary@gmail.com if you have any questions. Thanks so much!

Jessica and Tricia
2018-2019 PTA Co-Presidents
HELP WANTED:
Audio/Visual DJ
It’s time to release your inner DJ! For quite some time, we have been lucky to have a Prairie parent running any and all Audio Visual and DJ needs at Prairie PTA events and parties. This amazing parent volunteer will be graduating from Prairie after this year, so we need someone to take his place soon!
Contact Jessica Brown at jayhawkjc@me.com if you are interested. All equipment is provided!

To buy a PTA Membership, Volunteer at school, Pre-order a Yearbook, Snag some new Spirit Wear, and many more options:
sign in to the
Prairie Elementary PTA | c/o Prairie Elementary School
6642 Mission Rd • Prairie Village, Kansas 66208
(913) 993- 4400 | http://prairiepta.org/