Hickory PTA Roundup
December 2023
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From the PTA President
Hello Hickory Families and Friends!
As we count down to the last few school days of 2023, I wanted to take a moment to extend my best wishes for a sparkling holiday season to you and yours. I hope your school days are merry and bright. I hope your winter break is full of joy and cheer. I also hope there's a little peace and calm when you need it most.
Warm and Cozy Wishes,
Amy Brownstone
Calendar at a Glance
December 4-8, 2023: Book Fair
December 7, 2023, 6:30pm: PTA Association Meeting in Cafeteria
December 7, 2023, 5:30-7pm: Family Reading Night & Reflections Awards Distribution
December 22, 2023: No School
December 25, 2023-Jan 5, 2024: No School
January 26, 2024: PTA Winter Fest
Book Fair is Here! Dec 4-8, 2023
The Book Fair is here, December 4-8th! The shop times are:
1) During each class' scheduled library visits
2) During lunch time
3) After school until 4:30pm
Digital gift cards can be purchased at https://efairs.literati.com/product/gift-card/. There will also be a coin challenge with a prize for the winning class.
Direct Donation Campaign
Wow! We are blown away by the donations that came in for our first ever Giving Tuesday campaign. The Hickory PTA has reached $18,371 of our $19,000 Fall fundraising goal. Because of your generosity we're able to offer supportive and enriching programs to all of our Hickory Hounds. If you didn't get a chance to make a donation, and want to support our students, staff, and community, there's still time to make your tax-deductible donations before the end of the year. Please visit our website for more information: https://www.hickorypta.net/donations.
Reflections Contest Winners 2023
We had another great year and 65 entries overall in all 6 categories! Our Hounds really did an amazing job interpreting the 2023-24 theme: "I am Hopeful Because...". Below are the winners for this year. Congratulations and thank you to all the students who participated in the PTA Reflections contest!
Project Hope Food & Personal Care Item Drive 11/27/23 - 12/7/23
Just a reminder, we have an opportunity to join forces with Project HOPE to help our Homeless/Foster Care students and TUSD Families in need. The following items can be donated now through 12/7/23 by dropping them off to a cart outside of the Hickory office by the front gate.
Food Items:
Cereal boxes
Granola Bars boxes
Canned Tuna
Mac N Cheese (no easy mac please)
Spaghetti Sauce
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Chef Boy R Dee
SpaghettiOs
Personal Care Items:
Shampoo
Bodywash
Deodorant
Toothbrushes
More information about Project HOPE, a Torrance Council of PTAs program, can be found here.
Honorary Service Awards
Every year the Hickory PTA honors and recognizes individuals for outstanding service to our community. We are currently accepting nominations for Honorary Service Awards through the end of December. You can submit your nominations to president@hickorypta.net or fill out a Google Survey: https://forms.gle/VUeJfYCN5YBD4q7n9.
If you are interested in serving on the Honorary Service Award committee, please email president@hickorypta.net. We are looking for 2 - 4 more members to help us with choosing awardees and planning the presentation of awards.
Nominating Committee
Nominating Committee: It's the time of the year when we start looking for members of our community that are willing to step up and serve on the Hickory PTA Board. At this time we're looking for 1-3 PTA Members to serve on our Nominating Committee. The purpose of the committee is to seek qualified nominees for the PTA Board.
You must be a current member of the Hickory PTA to serve on the committee. You are not required to be on the Board this year or next. If you are interested, please email president@hickorypta.net.
Winter Fest 2024
We will be holding Hickory’s Winter Festival on January 26, 2024 from 4-7 pm. This fun-filled event will include games, crafts, entertainment, food, a silent auction, raffles, children’s activity companies, and a snow play area.
Games and Prizes Coordinator
If you would like to be involved in the planning process, we are seeking a coordinator for the games and prizes. The games are one of the most popular activities among the students. If you are interested, please email Stacey Wong at events@hickorypta.net.
In-Kind Donations
Interested in supporting Hickory PTA through in-kind donations? These are any material goods or services that you can donate, such as movie tickets, amusement park passes, gift cards, iPads, Kindles, toys, spa services, hotel stays, etc that could be auctioned or raffled off at our upcoming winter festival. If you would like to contribute a donation, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/DvcXiAAvDcJUGsVv5. For more information you can also contact Sunny Joo at sunnyhickorypta@gmail.com
Entertainment
Does your student participate in an activity or group that does performances? We are seeking groups to perform at the Winter Festival. Please contact Lina Awshee at store@hickorypta.net.
Lost and Found
Lost and Found is located in Room 31 at the front of campus. Volunteers are working hard to reunite lost items with their owners but we need your help. Please write your child's name and room number on items brought to school. This will allow our volunteers to bring lost items to the classroom instead of into Room 31.
Please see the Hickory PTA Calendar for the Lost and Found cart rollout dates at the Front and Park Gates.
Program Updates
Spiritwear
Just a reminder that our online store will be closed for the winter while our volunteers get our inventory organized and ready for the new year. Open orders will still be fulfilled.
Adventures in Art
Our volunteer docents attended their second Workshop and will start teaching Project #2, The Colors of Snow, to all of our students this month. If you are interested in volunteering as an AIA helper for one of our amazing Docents, please contact your child's teacher for more information.
Healthy Ever After
Healthy Ever After is a program sponsored by Torrance Memorial Medical Center and was created for the Torrance Unified School District's Elementary Schools to promote healthy eating and lifestyles. This month all students will be trying satsumas. Yummy!
Membership
Our PTA is now 301 Members strong! Let's keep the momentum going and get us closer to our goal of 400 members. Joining the PTA is a small but meaningful way to not only support the Hickory PTA, but also all of the programs we fund for the school. We will also offer at least one more front of the line entry to another Hickory event for our PTA members this year.
Remember, becoming a member does not mean you are obligated to volunteer. So become a member and encourage grandparents, aunts, uncles, and local business and neighbors to join the Hickory PTA today! https://jointotem.com/ca/torrance/hickory-pta
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