The PTO Oversight Board is excited to invite parents to an in-person meeting on Monday, October 24th from 6:30-7:30pm in the Belmont Cafeteria. Please, enter through the side cafeteria door on the west side of the school. Parking is available in both the front and back lots.

We will share the story of the Belmont PTO, by-laws, budget, hopes and dreams. This will be a great time to share your heart for leading and sign up for opportunities throughout the year! Or, if you want to just listen and share, that's okay, too! We have a lot of traditions, but they don't happen by magic! Have new ideas for how to celebrate all Belmont families through inclusive events that we may not have tried yet? Bring those ideas! Do you have questions that the PTO could help to answer by sponsoring guest speakers? Are YOU a guest speaker? Let's talk!

If you would love to join us, but don't have childcare, you may just be in luck! We will have a reading and coloring space set up for children who are able to safely entertain themselves at the back of the cafeteria. This will not be a 'staffed' child's area, but it will be within your sight.

We have so many new families and you have so many connections and talents to share. Let's get to know each other!

Monty's Mentors, Belmont's student leadership team, is proud to sponsor a food drive to benefit the De Soto Food Pantry. Items should be brought to school between October 19th and 28th, although items that show up before or after the drive will certainly find their way to the pantry.

To add to the excitement for participating students, members of Team BE have put their creativity into decorating pumpkins as favorite children's book characters. Every item donated for the food drive will count as a vote and the creator of the winning pumpkin character will win the joy of being appreciated and knowing that their creation was loved by our students! It's all for fun!

The De Soto Food Pantry shared a list of most desired food items and we've shared it below. Thank you so much for helping us to make a positive difference at Belmont and beyond. If every child is able to bring one item, we'll make a positive difference on the shelves.

Peanut butter and jelly

Mac and cheese

Boxed/instant potatoes

Meal helpers (like Hamburger Helper)

Canned fruit

Canned meat

Canned veggies (other than corn and green beans, we have a lot of those two items)

Canned tomatoes

Pasta sauce

Toilet paper

Toothpaste

Laundry soap

Dish soap

Check out a few of our character faces below! Bring in those 'votes' all week!

We are currently looking for TWO paraprofessionals to join our Connections-C program. This is our center-based program for children with significant needs in the area of communication. Our paras support students throughout the school as student needs dictate. This is an incredible opportunity to make a significant difference on the daily. Our children deserve only the best and that's what we're looking for!

NEW: We are looking for a part-time building secretary. The hours are 8:30-12:30 daily. This position will manage attendance, assist in the cafeteria, and welcome visitors. (Plus, a million other things!)

If you, or someone you know, might be interested in joining Team BE, please reach out! I can't wait to talk with you to see if our needs meet your needs and your needs meet our needs...you get the idea! Call Pam at 913-667-1810, email to phargrove@usd232.org, or apply online here.

PTO (that's you) sponsors three classroom parties for our students: Fall, Winter and Valentines Day. First up is our Fall Party Day, scheduled for Monday, October 31st! We are kicking off a new line up and launching new traditions. Wish us luck!

Here's the plan:

• Costumes!
• Party!
• Parade!

Details, details, details....

• Costumes are encouraged for students during the party and parade time, but of course, they are not required. Experience has taught us that it's really not as easy as you'd think for students to manage a costume all day, so costumes should be brought to school in a bag or backpack and should be fairly easy for your kiddo to put on by themselves with minimal assistance. Costumes should be elementary appropriate and not too scary. Please do not include blood, guts, gore or weapons of any kind. Accessories (think..projectiles and things to trip over) should stay at home and be saved for Halloween night trick-or-treating. Masks are fine as long as vision is not impaired for walking in the parade!
• Classroom Party help is encouraged, but will be limited to best accommodate student needs! We would like to invite 2-3 parents from each classroom to plan and lead a craft, game or both for the 2:45-3;15 party in their child's class. These parents will be welcomed into the classroom at 2:30 to set up as well as assist younger students with their costumes if needed. We will NOT be serving food at parties. This helps us to both enjoy more time playing, and alleviate allergy concerns for every child. They'll get PLENTY of candy and treats during trick or treating with your family- and you'll be able to best monitor their safety! If you would like to volunteer to plan and lead your child's classroom party, please contact your child's teacher ASAP. If more parents are interested than we have room for, we'll have a drawing and save names for the next party. Thank you so much for your time!
• Outdoor Parade at 3:!5! YOUR FAMILY is invited for a front row view of all of our little monsters, movie stars, scientists, musicians, scarecrows, animals, super heroes, creators, book characters, princesses, toys, riddles..............oh, my goodness! I can hardly wait! Here's how we think we can best make this happen- when you arrive for the parade, you may either park in an open parking space and walk up to the front lawn (we'll provide guidance for the best view) or just pull right up in the regular pick up loops, turn off your car and leave it in line, and walk up to the viewing area. After the parade (about 3:32ish) just walk right back to your cars and get ready for the loops to move like normal at regular dismissal time. Please, do not come inside to check your kiddos out early- we'll need those precious minutes to make sure our Bulldogs are all packed up and ready to go with all costume parts intact for the big night. Genius!

It's going to BE Spooktacular!! We hope you can join us!

You may see an increased officer presence over the next week or so as Shawnee Police and the Johnson County Sheriff Departments focus on child safety. I've watched many a parent get pulled over and fined for not following Kansas laws regarding children in seat belts. I would hate for that to be you....mostly because it would be an indication that your child is not traveling as safely as possible in a vehicle. Please, make the smart (and law-abiding) choice for your child. Students should remain buckled in their seats (back seat recommended) until you stop at the drop off spot, and then should buckle up immediately at dismissal. Thanks so much!

October 24 No School: Teacher Professional Development

October 24 PTO Pack the House Meeting IN PERSON, 6:30-7:30pm, Cafeteria

October 31 Fall Parties (limited attendance) and Parade (outdoors and open for all families to watch!)

November 2 Belmont Dinner Night @ Papa John's

Visit the BE Online Calendar of Events (by clicking on the button below) for a more complete list of activities!

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