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The First Tuesday of the Bugle starts now! |
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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National PTA School of Excellence Survey
- Letter from the President
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General Membership Meeting - Note time is 6PM
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Unity Day
- Membership Drive
- Yearbook -lots of info here!
- Reflections program (Updated)
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Membership information
- Math Challenge #2 (repeat)
- PTA October Events!
- Dine Out Volunteer Needed
IMPORTANT DATES:
- October 21 - Unity Day!
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October 22 - PTA General Membership Meeting 6-8PM
- October 24 - Saturday- Virtual Pumpkin Carving party
- October 30 - Monster Mash Dance Party - Virtual
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Dear Families, Administrators and Teachers:
The Norman Rockwell PTA knows that a strong partnership among our families, school leaders and community members is important to the success of our students and school. That’s why we are participating in the National PTA School of Excellence program, which grows partnerships between PTAs and schools to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being of all students.
At a National PTA School of Excellence, families feel welcomed and empowered to support student success, and PTA is a key partner for continuous school improvement. We feel Norman Rockwell Elementary and Norman Rockwell PTA can achieve that together—and the result will be national, state and community-wide visibility for the positive impact we are making together at Norman Rockwell Elementary.
We need your help! As part of the process, National PTA requests feedback from families, administrators and teachers at two points in the school year—the beginning and the end. Your feedback will help us improve our family-school partnership and achieve excellence.
Please take 5-10 minutes to reflect on your experience at our school and complete this survey. Select the answer that most accurately expresses how you feel about your experience. This survey is completely anonymous.
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Hello Rockwell Beagle Parents!
I hope this message finds you all well, and that you are settling in to remote learning. I have always been proud to be a Rockwell Beagle, but this year, I am wearing our colors with even more pride, as I see the amazing amount of work and dedication our teachers and staff are pouring into our kids. I feel blessed to be part of this amazing community.
Fundraising:
First, let me answer the question you may be asking: “Why are you fundraising if school is remote?” While we recognize that we are all living in difficult times, the PTA is still servicing our school and our Rockwell community. We are committed to fully funding our academic grants for our teachers and specialists. These grants typically cover things like math manipulatives and games, magazine subscriptions, field trips, Toymaker, etc. While the types of items may change this year, the need has not changed, even though we are remote. Seventy percent of our fundraising this year will go toward these academic grants. We also have families in our Rockwell community that are experiencing hardship and are in need. Twenty percent of funds raised will go toward our scholarship fund. The remaining ten percent of funds will go toward administrative costs and unforeseen needs. If your are able, we ask that you please contribute to the PTA this year, even though school is remote.
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Annual Beagle Contribution – This is the time of year when the PTA typically holds our annual fundraising campaign, the Annual Beagle Contribution (ABC). We have lowered our ‘standard’ request this year and are asking all families that are able to please contribute $50 per student to the PTA. If your company matches giving contributions, please consider submitting a request, as these matching funds will be incredibly important for us this year. Donations may be made online. If you would like to give, but prefer to make the donation via check, please reach out to our PTA President, Elaine Bentzinger for details. I want to be very clear, if your family is unable to give this year, we completely understand. There are additional ways you can help financially, even if you are unable to participate in the ABC fundraising campaign this year.
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Corporate Matching – This is quite possibly one of the easiest ways to provide extra funds to our school's PTA. Our programs rely on your donations as well as your corporate matching! Many local companies match donations to non-profit organizations so you can get your Annual Beagle Contribution donations matched. Please check with your employer to find out if the money you donate to the Norman Rockwell Elementary PTA can be matched. More information is available on our website here.
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Amazon Smile - Select Norman Rockwell PTA as your charity of choice at https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/homepage?orig=%2F. Also be sure to turn Smile on in your Amazon app. See how to activate here.
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Give with Bing – Please join “Give with Bing” (it’s free)! Once you navigate to the site, turn Give mode “on” and then search for and select “Norman Rockwell Elementary PTA” as your non-profit of choice. After that, simply use Bing for all your searching needs. The more you search on Bing, the more points you’ll earn—and each month Norman Rockwell PTA will receive a donation. If you sign up for Give with Bing before Sept. 30, 2020, Microsoft will give you 1,000 points to donate towards the PTA, so start telling your friends and family about this as well! And if you have existing points, you can donate those as well!
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Box Tops – Did you hit the grocery store today? Costco? Please download the latest Box Tops app on your phone, scan your receipt, and submit. Our Box Tops funds are down considerably since the move to a digital platform, so please do what you can to assist.
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Microsoft Alumni Giving – Are you a Microsoft Alumni? If you are, did you know that every hour you donate to the PTA can be matched with a $10 donation? These funds add up quickly, so please reach out to our PTA President, Elaine Bentzinger for more information.
Elaine Bentzinger
PTA President
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General Membership Meeting!
You're Invited to Our Virtual General Membership Meeting on October 22nd from 6:00 - 8:00 PM!Please join us for our first virtual General Membership Meeting of the school year on October 22 from 6pm-8pm. I am very happy to announce we will have a fantastic group of experts who will be presenting to us on equitable and inclusive schools, and the work they are doing with Rockwell this year. Their presentation starts at 6pm, so don’t be late!
Here is information on their presentation:
Equitable and Inclusive Schools: Working Together to Support the Membership,
Active Participation, and Learning of Each Rockwell Beagle
Mr. Clark introduced the collaborative work that our school community is engaged in to ensure the success of every Rockwell student in his September 18th newsletter. We will have an opportunity to learn more about and discuss this work during our October 22nd PTA General Membership meeting. The presentation team for the evening will include: Mr. Clark, Michelle Tiegs (the Director of Special Education that works with Rockwell), Jamie Kivela (our own Disability Awareness Chair), members of the Rockwell Inclusion Team, the University of Minnesota TIES Center, and the University of Washington Haring Center. The presentation will cover the focus of the work, activities underway, the rationale for the work, and ways that families can support the work via conversations with their children. This important work in supporting membership, active participation, and learning of each Rockwell beagle has the potential to result in positive benefits for each child, educator, and family member who are a part of Rockwell Elementary. Please encourage other Rockwell family members that you know to join you in attending this meeting!
After the presentation, we will cover our important Fall business and provide updates on some of our programs. This will include:
- Reviewing and Voting in the Budget
- Standing Rules/Bylaws
- Grants
- Heritage Night
- School of Excellence
We hope to see you there!
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October 21st Is Unity Day!
Wednesday, October 21 is Unity Day! Unity Day is a nation wide event where people wear and share the color orange to show that we are united against bulling and instead promote kindness, inclusion and acceptance. This year, elementary students all over the district will be participating in a “Share Your Heart” Unity Day project. Students will be asked to create an orange colored heart to hang in the window of their home. Our hope is to fill our neighborhoods and communities with orange hearts as reminders to treat one another with care and kindness. Don’t forget to wear orange on Wednesday and share a picture of your heart on our PTSA Facebook page!
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Please support our school, Rockwell students and parents!
It was hard for us not to be able to meet and greet everyone at the PTA table on the Dog Day. However, Rockwell PTA is still here to support parents and students of Rockwell. We’d love to meet everyone at the General Membership Meeting.
Now more than ever, parents need to stay connected to help support children in any way we possibly can. With remote learning, activities and events are not the same, but our membership remains strong. We ask all parents to join our membership to be part of Rockwell PTA.
Parents Belong in PTA:
PTA stands for Parent Teacher Association. Every parents, teachers, even students are part of PTA. For only $18/person, you can become a PTA member, joining more than 4 million other people who share your interest in issues affecting children. Everyone—parents, educators, students and other citizens active in their schools and communities—is invited to join our not-for-profit parent association. The number one reason to join the Parent Teacher Association is to benefit your child. In doing so, you also help your school.
Advantages of PTA Membership:
- Get Connected — There’s no better way to know what’s happening in your school. - Discover Great Resources —The PTA offers a variety of programs designed for students as well as parents.
- Tap into a Network — PTA functions are opportunities to meet other parents and teachers, building rapport and discussing issues that are on your mind. You can share ideas, concerns, and experiences.
- Speak Up —PTA can be a way for you to more effectively suggest change at your child’s school.
- Be a Role Model —By becoming a PTA member, you’ll be demonstrating to your child the importance you place on education.
- Enjoy Substantial Benefits — Individuals and local units can take advantage of a host of benefits from PTA membership including discounts and offers from member benefits providers and sponsors, magazine subscriptions, leadership training, e-newsletters and much more.
Join Rockwell PTA now. Click here. To learn more about Rockwell PTA visit our website at www.normanrockwellpta.org. If you have any questions, please contact me at member-ship@normanrockwellpta.org
Thank you and hope to see you soon,
Juju Ratanaprateepporn
Membership Chair/ Parent Volunteer
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2019-2020 Yearbook Distribution: Last Call!
If you haven't had a chance to pick up last year's yearbook, we will be distributing them again at the next Fetch Day (Nov 6) from 1pm -3pm. If you are unsure if you ordered one or need to make other pick-up arrangements, please email yearbook@normanrockwellpta.org.
- Still looking for Back To School Photos!
We were unable to celebrate our return to school in person this year, but we'd still like to acknowledge the excitement of the first day back to school in our yearbook!
If you have any back to school photos (taken at home/workspace) that you'd like to share with the yearbook team, please feel free to e-mail them to yearbookphotos@normanrockwellpta.org.
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2020-2021 Yearbook Available for Pre-Order!
Softcover Yearbooks are $25
Hardcover Yearbooks are $30
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Math Challenge #2 Due by Thursday, October 22nd. Math Challenge #2 is now available here.
Please feel free to try more questions than the minimum required for your grade level in order to qualify. Grab some friends and family and work on the challenges together! Once your student completes the challenge, email their paper by the due date to mathchallenge@normanrockwellpta.org
The due date for Math Challenge #2 is Thursday, Oct. 22nd by 3:20pm.
Please contact us if you have any question or if you need additional information about this program.
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The PTA is excited to host a virtual pumpkin carving party! Please join us for an hour-long grade level pumpkin carving party on Saturday, October 24th. Families will need to gather a pumpkin and kid-friendly carving tools. Kiddos, bring your imaginations! Join on Teams and the kiddos can socialize and be silly together as they carve fun faces or designs on their fall pumpkins. Adult supervision will of course be needed. Join us through Teams with the following links:
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Rockwell Families - the PTA is pleased to announce our first ever virtual Halloween costume contest! On Monday, October 26th please check Norman Rockwell PTA's facebook page for details. We'll have a costume contest for each grade level (ie, a kindergarten contest, 1st grade contest, etc.). Post a picture of your kiddo all dressed up in their Halloween costume. The costume in each grade level that gets the most likes/reactions will be crowned the winner. Each grade level winner will win a bucket full of Halloween candy. Keep in mind that our facebook page is not private, so be mindful not to include any photographs that reveal things like your home address. Happy hauntings from the PTA!
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Ongoing through the month of October: If you and your family would like to share photos of your Halloween or Fall decorations at your house, please send a picture to events@normanrockwellpta.org. We will then post the picture of your festive decorations on the PTA's Facebook page. For safety reasons, please be mindful of sending pictures that have your house number listed. We do not have editing capabilities, and will share any photos that you send, exactly as is.
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Looking for a volunteer to run Dine Outs
Are you used to volunteering for spelling or reading? Are you missing out on planning that Halloween party? Well, the PTA is looking for a volunteer to run this year’s “Dine-Outs” (or take-outs as the case may be). We do not have a VP of Fundraising this year, and we could really use some assistance with this program. It is a relatively simple program, and time commitment is low. If you are interested, please reach out to president@normanrockwellpta.org.
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STAY INFORMED
You might find the following additional resources useful:
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