J.F. Cooper School PTA
A message for our Cooper Families...
October 4, 2023
Dear Cooper Families & Friends,
Happy Fall! We hope your family had a wonderful first month of school! To those of you who made it out to our Water Ice Night, we hope you enjoyed the evening! In case you missed our presentation about the PTA on Back to School Night, you can view our video here.
September Fundraiser Update
Thank you to those of you who were able to stop by MOD Pizza. We raised $370.93! We also raised $931.60 in our Mum Sale! Thank you so much for your support!
PTA Meeting on 10/4
Join us at our first PTA meeting on 10/4 from 6:30pm - 7:30pm in-person and over Zoom. Here is the agenda and link. It is also posted on our website and e-mailed to all current PTA members. Meet fellow parents and learn more about what's happening at school. All are welcome to attend as always. You must be a current PTA member to vote on the proposed budget, approve minutes, and approve the standing rules.
Jaguar Basketball Interest Survey
Fellow Cooper parent, Jon Rossman, is organizing this year’s Jaguar Basketball program. If you are interested in learning more, see this link and complete the interest survey to help with planning!
Family Bowling Night
Please take a moment to take our PTA Bowling Night Pre-Event Survey to help us plan accordingly.
PTA Volunteering
Please fill the 2023-2024 Volunteer Form out if you're interested in helping in any way. We will reach out to you as opportunities arise. Not sure what each volunteer does? See a list of volunteer descriptions here.
September Volunteer Gratitude
Thank you to…
Partha Sarathi, Amanda LeeMasci, and Lindsay Emple for reviewing records and helping us complete our Financial Review for the 2022-2023 school year!
Diane Sharple for decorating the display case!
Jeanine Lieber, Ramona Hamill, Kristin Podolsky, and Diane Sharple for assisting with the Welcome Back Breakfast for Staff.
Ramona Hamill and Kristin Podolsky for helping scoop Primo’s water ice!
Michelle Pacitti for taking care of the marquee last week!
Patricia Villano, Kristin Podolsky, and Elisabeth Paredes-Buckley, and Amanda LeeMasci for helping with Mum Sale pick up and delivery!
All who support us and send positive vibes, smiles, and thumbs ups our way :)
Anyone else that was inadvertently missed but already thanked in person :) We appreciate you!
Room Parents & Assistants
Thank you to all parents who expressed interest in being a room parent or assistant. Reminder: There is a Volunteer & Room Parent Orientation meeting on Friday, 10/6 starting at 10am.
We are still in need of a ROOM PARENT for the following classes:
Ms. Degen, Mr. Kleftogiannis, Mrs. Aviad, Mrs. Klifto
We are still in need of ROOM PARENT ASSISTANTS for the following classes:
Miss Fortescue & Mrs. Lancos, Mrs. Cabnet, Ms. Degen, Mrs. Aviad, Mrs. Klifto
If you are interested, please contact shazia.ansari@jfcooperpta.org.
PTA Volunteers for Committees
Thanks to all who filled out our volunteer form. Please know that all messages and forms have been read. It just takes some time to get back to everyone :) It has been very busy for the board since the start of the school year as we have a jam packed October coming up. All committees are in the process of being contacted. Please make sure PTA e-mails aren’t going into your SPAM folder.
Thank you for becoming a part of our PTA TEAM! We have a short volunteer meeting from 10-10:20am on Friday, 10/6 before the Room Parent meeting. Please join us at school or virtually. If you are a volunteer but not a room parent, we’d still like you to join this 20 minute meeting before the room parent meeting if you are available either virtually or in person.
Dine Out at CHOPT - 10/18
Take a cooking break on our second Dine Out Day of the school year at CHOPT in Marlton. Our school will receive 20% back! See the flyer for details.
Trunk or Treat - 10/21 from 4-6pm
Here is the Flyer Packet and Order Form (students received on blue paper). Interested in decorating your car? We’re looking to add some more trunks! Here is the Trunk Host Information and Sign Up Form. Feel free to order Trunk or Treat tickets in the PTA Store if you prefer to use a credit card. Send your questions to kristin.podolsky@jfcooperpta.org.
Book Fair - Week of October 23rd
Our Fall Scholastic Book Fair will be open for students the week of October 23rd. Family Night will be on Thursday, 10/26 from 6-7:30pm. A Book Fair information sheet, flyer, and volunteer sign up forms will be available soon. It’s not too early to set up your child's e-wallet!
Yearbook - First Day Photos
Thanks to everyone for sending in some wonderful photos of their kids! We are still searching for more back to school photos for this year’s yearbook from students in K-5. E-mail them to yearbook@jfcooperpta.org by October 10th or upload them into the TreeRing app for us.
Yearbook - Planting Trees and Pre-Order Discounts
- Did you know TreeRing plants one tree for every yearbook sold? Let’s plant as many trees as possible while preserving memories at Cooper!
- Our discount from TreeRing has extended into October! Pre-order the 2023-2024 yearbook for $18. If you do not have a TreeRing account yet, go to https://tr5.treering.com/validate and use passcode: 1014806030344299 to place your order. Re-print the Yearbook Pre-Order Form if you can’t find your back to school packet.
- Our yearbooks are designed for all K-5 students that you can customize with 2 free pages and extra paid pages that won’t be in anyone else’s book! Visit https://jfcooperpta.blogspot.com/p/2023-2024-yearbook.html for more info.
The Food Book is a coupon book the PTA is selling for $10 until November 15th. A list of participating local businesses is on this flyer. Please send your payment (check made payable to J.F. Cooper PTA) in an envelope marked “PTA - Food Book” with your child’s name and teacher. Cooper will receive 60% of the proceeds from the company! It is also available in the PTA store. Please contact Bridget at bridget.moore@jfcooperpta.org with any questions.
Spirit Wear Orders
Orders will be delivered this month as soon as they arrive. If you have any questions, reach out to bmoore@publicsafetyunlimited.com
Cooper Car Magnets
Two designs of car magnets are now available in the PTA store for $4 each. Get our brand new magnets that feature the Cooper Jaguar! They will be delivered to your child within 1-2 days of placing your order.
Box Tops
Every little bit helps! Keep earning Box Tops while you shop for groceries and by donating clothes and shoes in the recycling bin in the parking lot at school.
Clothing Bin
The clothing bin in the parking lot gets emptied on Tuesdays. We receive proceeds every month for donations. If you see that the bin is full, please do not leave anything outside of it. Please help us keep the area clean and save your items until the bin is emptied. Thank you for helping us earn funds through your unwanted shoes and clothes!
RaiseRight
You can easily support us without donating any money by using the RaiseRight app. Read more about RaiseRight here. This is our most successful fundraiser to fund activities and actually requires the least $ out of anyone’s pocket. If you have any questions on how to easily get started, reach out to bridget.moore@jfcooperpta.org.
Book Smiles
Our Book Smiles bin is located in the foyer for students to drop off books any time. Can you help us fill the bin up with books that are no longer needed? We’d like to “help irrigate book deserts!” We will accept new and gently used children's books.
Ages infant through high school
Fiction and Nonfiction (please, no encyclopedia, reference books, or religiously themed books)
Donate children's books that you would be proud to give to a child.
Please, no old books that smell musty, have been scribbled in, or that have yellowed over time.
Please, no torn covers/pages or weeded library books/library discards.
Membership Drive
Don’t forget to sign up for PTA Membership! You don’t have to be a volunteer to be a member and we would love everyone’s support! We are looking for 100% membership from families and staff members! So far we have 113 members! Please contact ramona.hamill@jfcooperpta.org if you have any questions.
PTA Finances
As a non-profit organization, we keep detailed records of all transactions for our PTA and aim to comply with all state requirements. If you’re ever curious about anything, please do not feel shy to ask about income, expenses, insurance, registration, licenses, permits, etc. As a PTA Member, you are entitled to this information and should feel comfortable asking. Our intention is to be transparent. If you have any questions about these topics, please reach out to diane.sharple@jfcooperpta.org.
Bond Update
Visit https://www.cherryhilltomorrow.com/ for more information about bond funded projects happening throughout the district. This information is important for all Cherry Hill families and community members. See photos of how things are going here!
Stay in the Know
Visit and bookmark http://jfcooperpta.blogspot.com for all things PTA!
See the Cooper School Calendar for important school dates and PTA events.
Add the Cooper Family Calendar directly to your Google Calendar!
Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jamesfcooperpta
Double check your SPAM folder so you are not missing messages from the PTA.
Questions/Comments/Concerns
Please don't hesitate to reach out! We do not mind answering your questions!
Thank you for your attention and support, as always! Have a great week and a happy and healthy October!
Shazia Ansari
President, J.F. Cooper PTA
1960 Greentree Rd
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003