The Beacon
Olive Chapel Elementary PTA News & Information
~ March 18 - March 22, 2019 ~
CALENDAR
March 25 - April 5 - Spring Book Fair
March 26 - Spring & Class Pictures, Tracks 2 & 4
March 28 - Grandparents Breakfast Tracks 2 & 4 (rescheduled from fall)
April 3 - Walk to School Wednesday
April 9 - Spring & Class Pictures, Tracks 1 & 3
April 11 - PTA Meeting, 6:00 p.m. (All parents welcome)
April 19 - HOLIDAY, NO SCHOOL
April 26 - School Spirit Day: Grade Color Wars
April 29 - SchoolKits (School Supplies for 2019-2020 school year) orders DUE (details below)
May 6 - Field Day, Tracks 1 & 2
May 9 - Kindergarten Orientation, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
May 10 - Spring Carnival! Detail to come!
May 13 - Field Day, Tracks 3 & 4
Carpool Update
Dr. Steidinger has been working closely with Apex PD, Mayor Lance Olive, WCPSS Security and the town manager. Unfortunately, a solution has not been forthcoming. Our PTA Vice President also independently met with Apex Police Chief John Letteney and Captain Ann Stephens to discuss her personal concerns.
After both meetings, here is what we can report:
- A police officer will not be assigned to help with the flow of traffic
- Officer Patel, our OCE SRO, shares responsibilities with other schools and therefore is unavailable to direct traffic
- Parents, administrators, etc, are not able to be trained to be official traffic directors and directing traffic without the proper training is not allowed
- The NCDOT did extend the timing of the Kelly Road through light to allow more cars through the light each time
- OCE could hire an off-duty police officer to direct traffic, there is a 3-hour/day minimum and would cost OCE $3,000/month
- Afternoon staggered pick-up is working well to alleviate issues on Kelly Road and in the carpool lanes
- In the near future, left turns during carpool will not be allowed from campus and signs will be installed indicating the change
At this week's PTA meeting, several options were suggested for our OCE parent/guardian community and we ask that if you are a carpooler and impacted by this issue, to please consider one of the following personal solutions:
- Take the bus in the morning - if you are not already registered for a Wake County Public Schools bus stop, here is the link to facilitate that process.
- Walking isn't just for Wednesday - As the spring weather gets nicer, consider walking to school from your neighborhood or driving and parking at Kelly Road Park (NOT THE PUBLIX SHOPPING CENTER OR THE PHYSICAL THERAPY OFFICE ACROSS KELLY ROAD) and walk from Kelly Road Park.
- Share the Ride - Coordinate with your neighbors and fill the available seats in your vehicle to cut down on the number of cars using carpool.
The possibility of an evening meeting on this topic that includes inviting pertinent stakeholders (Apex Police Department, Mayor Olive, the Town Manager, and the neighboring community at large) was proposed. Please click this link to take a quick 3 question survey about whether you would be interested in attending such a meeting.
Thank you for your support and stand by for more information.
Please continue to direct ideas and/or questions about this carpool issue to oce.pta@gmail.com.
Rising LRMS 6th Graders: Europe Opportunity
Rising 6th Graders:
The Lufkin Middle School art teacher and art club adviser is hosting an upcoming meeting about a unique travel opportunity you and your family may wish to attend!
Ms. Barlow will be leading a middle-school EF Tour to Rome and Pompeii in April of 2020 and will be discussing all of the details of the travel package on Thursday, March 21st at 5:30pm in the media center at Lufkin Road Middle School.
Rising LRMS 6th-grade families are eligible to take advantage of this discounted group offer to join art club families who have signed up to travel to Rome and Pompeii in April of 2020. Space is limited, so if you have ever thought about your child or family adventuring to Europe, now is the best time to check it out at the meeting!
Please rsvp: https://rsvp.eftours.com/erg7afx
Feel free to contact Ms. Barlow directly at: ebarlow@wcpss.net.
*This is not an LRMS or Wake County sponsored trip. More information is included in the flyer below.
ALL HANDS ON DECK
Grandparents' Breakfast Help Needed
The Grandparents' Breakfast for Tracks 2 & 4 is coming up. This event was rescheduled due to the hurricane in the fall. Many hands make fast set-up the night before and morning of. If you can help the evening of March 27th or the morning of the breakfast on March 28th, please email Rachel at Rachael@parlezvous.org.
Thank you!
TREASURE CHEST
The Spring Book Fair is DINO-MITE!
- We can't make the Book Fair a success without parent help. Please volunteer for a shift to help set up and and at the Book Fair to help our Clippers purchase books. Sign up HERE!
- The All For Books Coin Drive will be March 18 - 22. Send in coins to help purchase books for students in need as well as for teacher classroom needs. We will have a competition to see which local team has the most "cents!" Students will drop their change in their favorite teams' container: UNC, NC State, Duke, and ECU! The winning team will be announced March 22 and students and staff are encouraged to wear the winning team's color/logo on Friday, March 29th!
- Grandparents Breakfast is on Thursday, March 28th for Tracks 2 & 4. The Book Fair will be open during this time!!
- We will also host a Family Book Fair event on Thursday, March 28th from 4:30-6:00 p.m. All tracks are welcome! This will be a great time to visit the Book Fair as a family!
All proceeds from the Book Fair go straight back into our media center for the purchase of books and materials. Thank you for your continued support and stay tuned for more Book Fair updates!
CREW NEWS
Spring Cleaning Colorcycle Collection
Crayola ColorCycle is an amazing program devised to repurpose used markers rather than sending them to landfills! The ColorCycle program has repurposed more than 70 tons of expended markers in the United States and Canada since 2013, and uses the most advanced plastic conversion technologies available today to make wax compounds for asphalt and roofing shingles as well as to generate electricity that can be used to heat homes, cook food, and power vehicles.
So let those old markers spark joy in a new way - donate them to Crayola ColorCycle!
Order School Supply Kits NOW!
Would you rather spend a summer day driving from store to store to purchase school supplies or get everything you need in one easy box? Great news, our supply kit program is back and the link to Order is LIVE!
Kits include the exact colors, quantities, and brands of school supplies your teachers have approved for class. Get your back-to-school shopping out of the way early and enjoy your summer track out days!
Simply place your order by April 29, 2019.
Order online at www.shopttkits.com.
Enter our school’s account number 38010.
Questions? Contact Whitney Ludlow at whitneyludlow@gmail.com.
Food 4 Kids & Publix
Check out this display at our neighboring Publix store on Food 4 Kids BOGO (buy one get one) items! The sale is going on NOW! (Items are located just before the bakery in front of aisle 2).
Please consider picking up a few items for the Food 4 Kids pantry run by our KidsCorps Club. Their goal is to send backpacks of nutritious food home for our Clippers in need EVERY weekend and they can't do it without your help!
This month's sale will run 3/13-3/19 and includes:
- Kellogg’s Nutri Grain cereal bars
- Hormel canned chicken breast
- Green Giant assorted canned vegetables
- Kraft Velveeta macaroni and cheese
- Capri-Sun juice pouches
Don't forget to link OCE as your Publix Partner! Set up an account online, choose OCE under "My Publix Partners" and all those great BOGO items will fill the Kids Corps Food 4 Kids pantry as well as send a little extra change to OCE. It's a win-win for our school and community.
For more information or questions, please contact parent coordinator Whitney Ludlow at whitneyludlow@gmail.com.
TGA Golf & Tennis
Attached below is the spring flyer and you can register here.
CREW BIRTHDAYS
3/21 - Margot Henson
3/22 - Maile Logelin
3/23 - Katie Donaldson
3/26 - Teresa McCotter
SAFETY PATROL
Track 4 - March 4 - March 22
Track 3 - March 25 - April 12
Track 2 - April 15 - May 3
Track 1 - May 6 - May 24
THANK YOU TO OUR 2018-19 PLATINUM LEVEL SPONSORS:
To submit to the Beacon, please email oce.communications@gmail.com
Olive Chapel Elementary PTA
Website: https://www.ocepta.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Olive-Chapel-PTA-1834721613423092/
Twitter: @olivechapelelem