The Horseshoe Review
The Copeland PTO Newsletter
President's Corner by Karen Thomas
Welcome back to an exciting 2018-2019 school year. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped on the first day of school. Everything went very smoothly. I would like to welcome all our returning and new Copeland families as well as our wonderful teachers/staff and administrators. I am looking forward to serving as your PTO President this school year.
This is the first edition of the PTO Newsletter, “The Horseshoe Review” for 2018-2019. This newsletter is published every other Thursday online and the PTO website. Please be sure to read through the Newsletter to find out important news and information regarding upcoming events, programs and volunteer opportunities. We will also utilize our PTO website www.copelandpto.org,our Facebook page @copelandelementarypto, and Remind to communicate with everyone in our volunteer database.
A big thank you to all the Volunteers who stepped forward to fill Committee Chairman positions and Homeroom Coordinator positions. The families, teachers and staff of Copeland appreciate all your energy and efforts. The programs offered at Copeland would not be possible without your contribution.
A Volunteer Form is included with today’s Horseshoe Review. Please take a moment and fill it out indicating your areas of interest. In addition, we are holding a Volunteer Fair on Thursday, September 27th at 9:00 am in the school cafeteria. This brunch will provide an opportunity to learn more about our volunteer program and the different committees at Copeland. The Chairmen from each committee will be available and can answer any questions you may have regarding volunteer opportunities. This will be our only formal volunteer meeting for the semester. We will have another volunteer meeting to kick of the second semester in January. These meetings are open to all volunteers and I encourage everyone to attend.
A PTO membership form is also included with today’s Horseshoe Review. You will access to the student directory online as one of the benefits of joining the PTO. All parents will have the option to include their child in the online directory.
We will be kicking off our major fundraiser on Friday, September 14th. Your child will be bringing home all the information concerning the Big Kahuna catalogsales. Please read the material for details. The PTO relies on your support to provide Copeland students with fieldtrips, cultural arts events, recess equipment, library books, supplemental learning tools for the classroom and many other programs that would not be possible without a successful fundraiser. Participation in this fundraiser, or any of our other minor fundraisers is optional. Our goal this year is $35,000. All Copeland students benefit from the funds we raise.
Reminders when visiting the school:
• Please do not park along a red curb, even if running in for a few minutes.
• Observe the ‘no parking’ signs along Forest Heights Drive. (ticketing will be enforced)
• Please do not park behind other vehicles in the parking lot.
• Always sign in at the front desk and obtain a visitor nametag.
• Children are not allowed in the workroom at any time.
• Siblings are not allowed in the instructional areas; however, they are welcome in the cafeteria.
• Please dress appropriately when volunteering at the school. We must adhere to the same dress code as the students.
If anyone has any comments, suggestions or questions about the Copeland PTO, or volunteering at the school, please feel free to contact anyone on the PTO Executive Board. Their phone numbers are included below. We all look forward to working with you.
Sign up now and be part of the team!
Sign-up for your 2018-2019 Copeland PTO Membership. It’s only $12 but this helps us all provide so much more for our Copeland Colts.
PTO Executive Board
President Karen Thomas 832-594-3720 copelandptopresident@gmail.com
Vice President Amanda Ball 713-557-0316 copelandvicepresident@gmail.com
VIPS Coordinator Alya Hidayatallah 281-908-7674 copelandptovips@gmail.com
Cultural Arts Cree Sanford 713-304-7016 copelandptoculturalarts@gmail.com
Social Media Coordinator LaKishia Edwards 409-338-7667 copelandptosocialmedia@gmail.com
Fundraising Donna Schulze 281-851-4349 copelandptofundraising@gmail.com
Secretary Cynthia Miller 832-326-1545 coplandptosecretary@gmail.com
Treasurer Hollie Tanguay 734-308-3119 copelandptotresurer@gmail.com
The Birthday Marquee
Support your Copeland PTO and wish your Copeland Colt a HAPPY BIRTHDAY by featuring them on the Copeland Elementary Marquee the week of their birthday.
It's Simple and Easy...
- Choose the week you want to feature your Copeland Colt
- Complete the Birthday Marquee Form
- Submit the $20 Birthday Marquee Fee
- Watch the look on their face when they see their name
Spots are limited to 5 listings per week. You must submit the form and payment by noon on the Friday prior to the week selected. So sign up your Copeland Colt TODAY!
Does your student have a summer birthday or is the week of their birthday already filled up? You can choose any week that is still available. Due to processing, payments must be made online or by cash to guarantee your spot on the birthday marquee.
If you are paying by cash; complete this online form, choose the "pay later" option then submit the payment within two business days to the school front office or send it in with your student.
The Garden by Tracy Reynolds
Thank you so very much Sarah Nelson and boy scout den#3 for watering the garden this summer. Last year's 3 Rd graders planted sweet potatoes for the current 3 Rd grade to harvest. Thank you Paneer Sagger and family for coming out in the rain to help clean up the garden on labor day. The first garden day is September 6 th. The garden is always on need of help with watering. In future weeks a sign up genius will go out for needed supplies for the garden. The kids really love growing crops in the garden.
Logging in as a Voluteer
Working for our kids as a volunteer is both rewarding and important. Below is information on logging your hours in our Raptor Portal and a few reasons why documenting your hours is so important.
To Log Volunteer Hours:
https://apps.raptortech.com/Volunteer/Login/MzYxOlZvbHVudGVlcjplbi1VUw==
This free program will allow you to track your volunteer hours, sign up for events, and communicate with the district Volunteer Coordinator and fellow volunteers. Your Volunteer Portal user account information will be emailed to you.
If you are new to the Volunteer Portal, you can download a Help Sheet by clicking the link below.
http://storage.raptortech.com/helpcontent/VolunteerPortalHelpSheet.pdf
If this is your first time to use the Volunteer Portal, select the link below to create a new password.
https://apps.raptortech.com//Portal/PasswordReset/Confirm?portalKey=MzYxOlZvbHVudGVlcjplbi1VUw==&uid=01cc3ede-82af-4338-be64-e2811c55e236&clientId=361
Returning Volunteer Portal users can select the link below and sign in.
https://apps.raptortech.com/Volunteer/Login/MzYxOlZvbHVudGVlcjplbi1VUw==
Volunteer of the month
Volunteer Opportunities by Alya Hidayatallah
Welcome back and welcome to Copeland for all of our new teachers, students and parents! My name is Alya Hidayatallah (mother of Nyla Cottingham in Grade 4) and I will be serving as the VIPS (Volunteers in Public Schools) coordinator for the 2018-2019 academic year. I am really excited for a fantastic school year ahead!
There will be many opportunities to volunteer throughout the year ranging from managing sign-ups for events to helping students learn lines for performances. Volunteering also includes activities like submitting pictures for yearbook and donating items for dances, parties, field day, etc. Volunteering doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment – we will take all the help we can get – even if it is just for an hour or two.
For those who have more time, we have ongoing volunteer opportunities that include getting involved with the SRC (Science Resource Center), working with the art and music teachers, being a parent reader (grades K-2), working at Spirit Cart, and the list goes on. And, for those of you who are ready to get started immediately, we are currently seeking volunteers to assist in the library. If you are interested, please contact Valerie Effinger at valerie.effinger@gmail.com.
Within the next week, the HRC (Homeroom Coordinator) specific to your class will be contacting you to introduce himself/herself. Throughout the year, you will receive e-mails from your HRC and our PTO board members (who can be identified by e-mail addresses containing “CopelandPTO…@gmail.com”). These communications will have lots of important information - including volunteer activities. Reading this newsletter is another great way to stay informed on everything that is happening at Copeland.
Thank you to all of the parents who have volunteered their time already this school year – especially on the first day of school.
If you have any questions or comments regarding our VIPS program or would like to volunteer, please contact me at 281-908-7674 or copelandptovips@gmail.com.
We are all looking forward to an exciting year!