Panda Pulse
October 8, 2021
Principal Notes
Attention All ‘DADS’ of Penny Road Students!
PIZZA NIGHT INVITE
Dear Fathers and Father-figures,
On October 19, 2021 from 5:30 - 6:30 pm we will be having our 1st annual ‘Dads and Kids’ Pizza Night at our school and YOU ARE INVITED!
We will meet here in our Media Center at 5:30 pm for FREE pizza and drinks.
At 6:00 pm we will have a presentation about our WATCH D.O.G.S.® (Dads Of Great Students) Program.
WATCH D.O.G.S.® is an innovative program being used by schools across America. This program helps schools to be positively impacted by the committed involvement of fathers and father-figures. Our goal is to have you spend at least one day, or however much time you can give this year at Penny Road, to be a positive male role model as well as, to provide an extra set of eyes and ears on our campus.
Dads, granddads, uncles, step-dads and adult brothers . . . this is your chance to impact the community within your child’s school. You also will have the opportunity to have a night out alone with your student(s) in a fun atmosphere, here at Penny Road.
In order to participate, you need to do two things:
1. Fill out the Sign-Up Genius to RSVP by October 15th, saying that you will attend the pizza night. This will help prepare us to have an accurate headcount for food. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080f4daea728a6f49-watch
2. Mark your calendars, and we will see you on Tuesday, October 19th from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm here on campus.
3. Start the process to volunteer by emailing Michele Valvano at mvalvano@wcpss.net
Sincerely,
Mrs. Hoke, Principal
Student Services
Dear PRE Families,
Our Student Support Services team is requesting that each family complete a short survey. Our goal is to assess your family's individual needs and consider the needs within our whole school community. The information will be kept confidential within {PRE's Student Support Services. Please know that all needs may not be able to be met, but we will work to help connect you with resources. We are honored to serve and support this wonderful school community. Thank you!
If you would prefer to speak to us directly
with any questions or concerns please call:
Stacie Dababnah, School Social Worker: (984)-377-3488
Jeanna Leauma, School Counselor: (919) 387-2136 ext. 26177
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qh77vq4pKhsSsTT2IKVdwob_1xNP4k3hHYk3htvamHM/edit
Thank you, Parents~
Hepa Filters Update
Thank you so much for contributing to the HEPA filter fundraiser! With your help, we were able to raise over $7,000, and we will be able to add at least one HEPA Air purifier (Whirlpool WP500) to each classroom that does not currently have one, including some common areas in the school, such as Specials, Gym, Cafeteria and Media Center. Each device is enough to provide 5 air exchanges per hour (ACH) to an area of 550 sq. feet.
Your care and commitment to preventing COVID-19 spread within the school helps to make all students, teachers and staff safer! Your help is truly appreciated. We will be ordering the units asap, and they should be in each classroom soon.
Please contact me if you have any questions (adriana@souzaesilva.com)
Adriana de Souza e Silva
Outdoor Café
The Outdoor Cafe is shaping up to be a success! Thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped make this happen. In order to keep it going, we need four parent volunteers for each lunch. We've divided the lunches up into two shifts. The first shift is 10:45am - 12:30pm and the second shift is 12:30pm - 2:15pm. If you can help us out here and there that would be great! In order to volunteer, you MUST be registered as a WCPSS volunteer. In order to do this, just email Ms. Valvano at mvalvano@wcpss.net and ask her to send you the volunteer registration link. It takes about 2-5 days after filling out the information to be approved. Once you're approved, you can sign up for a time slot to help out at https://signup.com/go/uWnpNcm .
Volunteers information:
- All volunteers are required to wear a mask over their mouth and nose at all times, regardless of vaccination status.
- Each volunteer MUST be a registered WCPPS volunteer. You will receive a completed background check from CastleBranch once it is complete.
- Volunteers will help set up the picnic blankets outside the cafeteria, wipe them down between classes, fold them, and put them away after the last lunch. (Instructions will be provided onsite!) You'll help to ensure students put their masks on when finished eating and before entering the building and throw away any trash left behind.”
PTA Notes
Important Upcoming Dates
October 11th - No School
October 26th - Fun Run Kick Off
October 27th - No School
November 5th - Fun Run
A note from the Advocacy Committee
On September 8th, the court ordered the state legislature to provide full funding for the Leandro Plan by the next hearing on October 18th, 2021.
Failure to comply will trigger the court to take action to ensure the state meets its constitutional obligation.
CALL TO ACTION
Tell North Carolina lawmakers: deliver the budget our students are owed!
The state legislature must comply with the decision for Leandro v. State of North Carolina by providing policy and budgetary support for the Leandro Remedial Plan.
Anything less prevents the public school system from providing the minimum standard of education.
Take Action Now (less than 1 minute):
https://p2a.co/QqUq7ES?fbclid=IwAR26R19SsqWmnHIO_ebNFKMPdCzQkqt5oMStELZQU4ohUioCgxu1oOFuHto
A Message From Mrs. Hoke
Dear Penny Road Families,
In a few weeks, we’ll kick off our Penny Road Fun Run on 10/26! Our goal is to raise Funds for Lexia and other needs around PRE and to strengthen our school community. Just as we worked to safely return to school this year, we are also safely hosting this essential fundraiser based on our school’s current guidelines. We’ll send more details, as we get closer to our kick-off. We are grateful for your support!
Mrs. Hoke
Consumer Rewards
There are many easy ways to earn money for Penny Road Elementary through
consumer rewards programs! Please consider signing up for some or all of the below-listed
programs. If you have any questions, please e-mail Joy Mega at joybmega@yahoo.com.
Thank you!
Harris Teeter – Together in Education
You must re-link your card every year. PRE earns a percentage of qualifying
purchases of Harris Teeter products as a cash contribution to our school. To participate, link
your Harris Teeter VIC card to PRE at https://www.harristeeter.com/together-in-education.
R City Rocks
Text prepta@rcityrocks.com to join R City Rocks. PRE will receive 5% back when you
text receipts from purchases made at area businesses. To read more about this program
and see participating businesses, go to http://www.pennyroadpta.com/r-city-rocks.html.
Amazon Smile
Link your Amazon account to Amazon Smile and PRE receives a percentage of
qualifying purchases. Please log in to smile.amazon.com every time for PRE to receive this.
Publix
Sign up at http://corporate.publix.com/community/corporate-campaigns/publix-
partners.
BoxTops
BoxTops are digital; go to https://www.boxtops4education.com/ to download the app to
help PRE. Many of us cut out and collect Box Tops, and information about how these will be
collected will be forthcoming.
Lowes Foods
PRE earns a percentage of qualifying purchases of Lowes Foods products as a cash
contribution to our school. To participate, link your Lowes Foods reward card to PRE athttps://www.lowesfoods.com/Community/Cart-To-Class.
Coke Rewards
Collected points can be redeemed for various school supplies. Sign up for an account
at https://us.coca-cola.com/give/schools/. Collect and enter codes from Coke products,
including Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid, and Powerade, and donate your points to PRE.
New PTA Committee!
We are excited to announce that we are in the process of forming a Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee for the 2021-2022 school year! Throughout last school year, Tisha Shah, Theresa Vonder Haar, and Stephanie Hall have attended monthly meetings run by the Wake County PTA DEI Committee with the goal of forming our own at PRE.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a term used to describe programs and policies that encourage representation and participation of diverse groups of people, including people of different genders, races and ethnicities, abilities and disabilities, religions, cultures, ages, and sexual orientations and people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills and expertise.
Agenda for the next several school years:
- Ensure PTA membership and leadership reflects the diversity of our community
- Establish guidelines to having open/considerate/thoughtful conversations where all voices are heard and valued
- Community focus group discussions
- Identify explicit and implicit biases that may be barriers, areas of immediate need, and set goals
- Identify community supports
- Plan ways to provide support and resources through a DEI lens for upcoming school year
- Assess if PTA events are planned through a DEI lens
- Community book club or movie viewing
- Staff/Family check-ins
- Ensure Strong Family Engagement & Support
If you are interested in helping to shape the new DEI Committee in the 2021-2022 school year, please contact Stephanie Hall at snb413@yahoo.com.
Why join the PTA?
*By officially joining, you become a voting member in our PTA budget - helping us make decisions about how to spend the money to benefit all students
*It's now easier than ever to participate as we will be having virtual meetings, using Google meet. You can attend a meeting from anywhere that you have a device and internet access!
You can join the PTA here: http://www.pennyroadpta.com/pub.html
In just over a week, October 5th, we will be holding our first PTA meeting this year and everyone is invited! Those who have joined as members prior to the meeting will be invited to weigh in and vote on our PTA budget for the 2021-2022 school year. The budget will be available prior to the meeting. We welcome all thoughts on how we can best serve the students at Penny Road Elementary! We will send out a link for the virtual meeting closer to the event.
Media Center Volunteer Opportunities
The Penny Road Elementary Media Center needs volunteers to assist with shelving books, housekeeping, and processing materials for VA students. The tasks are easy to learn, and training will be provided.
Please consider donating your time each week, during a time that works best for you. If you are interested, please reach out to Mrs. Platts at mplatts@wcpss.net.
Stay Connected
- Make sure to Like and Follow the Penny Road Elementary PTA Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/PennyRoadPTA. We will primarily be using the Panda Pulse and the PRE PTA Facebook page to communicate with you this upcoming school year.
How to contact your Penny Road PTA
Email: preptaofficer@gmail.com
Facebook: Penny Road Elementary PTA
Website: http://www.pennyroadpta.com/