With $9,400 raised of the overall $29,000 goal, the Final Push is Here! In the Final 5 Days of the Read-A-Thon, we hope to double the Fundraising Thermometer every day! Students can log reading time through October 25 and collect pledges through October 28!

Pumpkin Chuck game tickets are awarded to every child who turns in a this Google Form with their child's total number of minutes read during the Read-A-Thon. The homeroom with the highest minutes read per student (averaged among the number of students) will win a Pizza Party, and homerooms with 100% participation where every child turns in the Google Form Reading Log will earn a Pajama Day!

• Although we will collect pledges in person between October 26, 27, and 28, here is the website used to collect online pledges: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/hps2022. 

Please visit https://www.hydeparkschoolpto.org/read-a-thon/ for a complete explanation of all things Read-A-Thon!

I won't let the Mother & Father Chuckers steal the headline. Those dedicated moms and dads signed up to launch the pumpkins from the catapult may look glamorous on November 5. And truth be told, they actually are. (We're talking the likes of Brittany Ballard, Kevin VanderMolen, Will Purcell, Frank Ricciardi, John Menninger, and Chuck Hamman-- their glamour is self-evident. I mean Chuck Hamman's name is CHUCK for goodness' sake. So we know we're on point).

BUT the meat and potatoes of this operation (or the seeds and pumpkin goop, in this case) are the Ordinary Event Volunteers, the Set up and Clean up Crew. The people who have signed up for the later shifts in the day when people are Chucking exhausted and long to slide on their Snuggies and one-size-fits-most infinity socks for a nap.

The Tina Huberts, the Josh Schillers, the Harold Lutzes, the Page Lees, the Jennifer Youngs, the Sally Lundgrens, the Iris Sunshines, the Elizabeth Stewart-Pirones, the Keyu Yans, the Rekha Pasares, the Kara & John Twatchmans of this event. They are the true Golden Pumpkins of this legendary day. Join their ranks along with all the other heroic men, women, and children listed here who have volunteered their time as Set up & Clean up Crew and Event Volunteers--particularly in the later shifts. We still need volunteers to make this legendary Hyde Park School event a Smashing Success! Sign up here to volunteer! If I've made it sound like enlisting for the armed forces, it's not! It's an awesome event with fun people. This is time well spent!

The shifts are broken up into hour-long slots so you can help for a bit and then spend the rest of the time chucking your hearts out. Kids are welcome to sign up for a game booth slot with a parent (just indicate parent/child pair in the comments). One small job for you, one giant chuck for HPS!

Game Sponsors ($100)*: Dinner to Doorbells, The Schiller Family, The Godsey Family, The Wetzels, The Loveland Family, The Purcell Family, The Paff Family, and Northwood Cider Company

Chucking Sponsors ($50): The Murray Family, The VanderMolen Family, The McKee Family, The Davis Family, The Dockery Family, The Kirkland Family, The Haynes Family, the Leimbach Family, The Ballard-Reynolds Family, The Shikany Family, and Russell, Pattie, and Jeffrey Hahn

Presale Tickets: Pumpkin Chuck tickets are on sale here! Buy your tickets now and receive them in your child's Tuesday Folder the week before the event.

Follow this link to find volunteer opportunities of all types needed to make this signature HPS event happen. Volunteer opportunities range from Standard Volunteers (operating game booths, ticket sales, the bake sale, or intaking pumpkins); Setup or Cleanup; Chuckers (operating the trebuchet/pumpkin launcher); and Supplies (lending pop-up tents, card tables, wagons, and other necessary supplies to be dropped off on November 4).

To add to the fun and fundraising, Game Sponsorships are available for $100 and Chucking Sponsorships are available for $50. This means individuals or groups can sponsor a game at the surrounding festival for $100 (your name will be added to a game tent), or individuals or groups can have your name(s) added to the fence surrounding the chucking zone for $50. The games are being established by a committee so sponsoring a game does not obligate you to work the game booth or create the game. With each sponsorship, you will receive game tickets and a ticket to chuck your pumpkin! To sign up for a sponsorship, click the following link and follow the prompts: https://www.hydeparkschoolpto.org/pumpkin-chuck-countdown/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgKRMn673rg; and

 https://www.dropbox.com/s/1kb2ct682w513j0/227966795_559129775243753_113357543273837645_n.mp4?dl=0.

You can contact Melissa DeMarcantonio at fundraising@hydeparkschoolpto.org with any questions.

The City still plans to send a worker one morning to count pedestrians and determine if more than 20 people cross Erie Ave. between Madison and Edwards Roads per hour between ~7:00 am and 8:00 am. It is not known on which day this count will take place.  They were slightly delayed due to BLINK. But please be on the lookout; your voice and presence are crucial!

Major fashion statements were made last week as students and staff sported their brand new spirit wear! If you missed the sale, check out the styles here, and place your order by November 15. Orders will be distributed to your student's homeroom before Winter Break.

Parent-Teacher conferences are being held on Thursday, October 27. In appreciation of our teachers, the PTO will cater a lunch for the staff. We are asking volunteers to provide individually packaged light snacks and treats to help our teachers stay energized through the late hours. Please sign-up here to donate a snack, and indicate in the comment section what specific items you will provide so that we can ensure variety.

Items can be dropped off either on the table outside the main office doors or by handing items to the staff in the car line on both Wednesday, October 26th and Thursday, October 27th. Thank you for your support!

Leo says it simply and most eloquently: "We Want You!!" But what's more, We Need You!! Sad but true, reality is setting in: our longstanding leaders of the HPS Athletics Program will be retiring from the ranks as their students near the end of their careers at HPS. The positions of Athletic Director, Head and Assistant Sports Coordinators, Equipment & Uniform Managers, Booster Positions (Presidents, VP, Secretary, Communications Director, and Fundraising Chair) are some of the many volunteers positions held mostly by Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade Parents. The same holds true for coaches. So the time has come for the fresh faces of the K-3 Parents to come forward to learn the ropes. To learn more about the positions and to volunteer, please contact Mike Brugh at michaelbrugh@outlook.com

Lunch time involves a learning curve, and our youngest students are in need of some assistance during lunchtime! Tasks like opening cheese sticks yogurt lids, and even putting straws in drink boxes can be challenging to little hands. If you could spare an hour of your time, please join our lunch and recess period to help make the most of this important hour of their day! Click here to sign up. This signup link will be included in this Newsletter each week for you to access.

*IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION*: To allow for more eating time, Kindergarteners now will be having recess BEFORE lunch. This means if you are the Lunch/Recess Duty Volunteer, you should check-in at the Main Office, then report to the Playground instead of the Cafeteria. Then, following recess, you will help escort the Kindergarteners to the Cafeteria where you will assist them as they eat lunch. Please act as the Caboose for the line, ensuring that the very last students and any stragglers make it safely into the Cafeteria.

*Please note (and, yes, it goes without saying, but) by signing up for this opportunity, you will be signing up to assist ALL Kindergarteners with their lunch and to help monitor ALL students on the playground during recess, not just your child.*

Streamline your life by using this link to upload all HPS Events to your calendar: HPS Events Calendar. Throughout the year, this link will be updated with other events like socials, movie nights, family swims, playground dates, and more!