Panda Pulse
October 5, 2018
Important Dates to Remember
- Scholastic Book Fair Monday, October 8th - Friday, October 12th
- Walk to School Day Wednesday, October 10th
- Book Fair Family Night Thursday, October 11th, 6-8pm
- BoxTops Contest October 1st - 26th
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
- The Positivity Project - Weekly Character Trait
- Fall Book Fair
- Book Fair Volunteer Opportunity
- Walk to School Day
- Penny Road Variety Show
- Box Tops Contest
- Fun Run Wrap-up
- PTA Advocacy Update
- Reflections Art Competition
- Odyssey of the Mind
- Books and Beyond Report
- Carnival Committee Needs YOU!
- PTA Volunteer Opening - Media & Technology Parent Rep
- Penny Road YOGA is BACK!
- Spirit Wear FLASH SALE!
- Readvolution
- All About Me binder
- Child Nutrition Services
CHARACTER STRENGTH: OPEN-MINDEDNESS
You like to consider new ideas and try things.You examine things from all sides and don't jump to conclusions.
Open-mindedness is the willingness to actively search for evidence that goes against one's favored beliefs, plans, or goals. Open-minded individuals are able to weigh all evidence fairly, when it is available. They see the other side and fight the tendency to have a bias for their own views. Open-minded people do not jump to conclusions. They seek out and examine all available evidence before forming an opinion. Individuals with this strength might be described as reasonable, logical, rational or impartial.
Fall Book Fair is HERE!
Scholastic Book Fair packets go home today! Read up on the details this weekend. We are using EWallet this fair. EWallet is easy to set up and allows you to add funds to your child's Scholastic account - no more sending in (or losing) cash or checks! Follow the link below to our homepage and then click Ewallet. Any funds not used at the end of the fair are credited back to your card. If you have any questions, please contact Sherri Stecher at sestecher@gmail.com.
EWallet Link: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=pennyroadelementaryschool
BOOK FAIR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We need Volunteers for the Fall Book Fair October 5th–12th. Please see signup on Konstella or contact Sherri Stecher at sestecher@gmail.com to sign up to help. (All volunteers receive a discount!).
Konstella sign-up: http://tiny.cc/5hr8yy
Walk to School Day is October 10th!
Join us for Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 10! This is a fun way for families to get their day started in a healthy way! The Cary Police Department will join us at two locations to make sure our walkers arrive to school safely!
When: Wednesday, October 10 at 8:20 am. We will begin walking at 8:30 am.
Where: Cambridge Pool parking lot (in the Regency neighborhood 0.5 miles towards Apex off of Penny Road) and the Glenridge pool parking lot (at the corner of Autumngate Drive and Kildaire Farm Rd).
You do not need to live in these neighborhoods to participate. Simply park your car in the neighborhood's pool parking lot, walk to school and then walk back to your car. Students are encouraged to wear their Penny Road Spirit wear and make a poster to show their PRE pride!
Special Notes: When walking from Glenridge, the Cary Police will help families cross Kildaire Farm Road and enter the Windsor Oaks neighborhood. Walkers will then exit onto Penny Road, with the help of the Cary Police, at Magnolia Woods and continue on to school!
The Penny Road Variety Show is coming! Thursday, November 15th
So many people have asked about, and have missed, the Talent Show that we decided to bring it back as a Variety Show! This is a non-competitive talent event open to all students and staff. Acts of all kinds are welcome. Including:
· Vocal performances (Must be karaoke style. Performers should not be singing along with an artist).
· Instrumental performances such as piano, guitar, etc.
· Dance routines, gymnastics or sports skills, jump rope routines
· Comedy or magic acts, skits, etc.
Acts should be no longer than 2.5 minutes and will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Acceptance is based on the submission of the application, as well as, the permission slip signed by a parent or guardian. Duplicate acts may not be permitted. Participants will need to provide their own props, instruments (other than a piano) and any musical accompaniment. All performers must attend a dress rehearsal the week of the event (details to follow). Download an application HERE. Please email pretalentshow@gmail.com with any questions.
BOX TOPS CONTEST IS UNDERWAY!
Attention Parents...SAVE THOSE BOXTOPS!!! We will be having a school wide contest that will run Oct. 1st through October 26th. The winning class from each grade level will receive extra recess and an extra treat! It really does add up and it's an easy way to support what we do here at Penny Road. Be sure to check out our new and improved Box Tops Sheet: http://www.pennyroadpta.com/consumer-rewards.html Thank you so very much!
Our Fun Run was a huge success!
Thank you so much to everyone who supported this year’s Boosterthon Fun Run. Our goal was to raise $20,000 for our school and we surpassed that! We raised $22,867! Way to go Penny Road! Some fun facts about our Fun Run pledges:
- 45% of pledges came from parents
- 55% of pledges came from grandparents, businesses, friends and neighbors
- Penny Road students received pledges from 39 states and 3 different countries
As a result of our students success, Mrs. Hoke has agreed to be SLIMED in front of the entire school! The top fundraiser in each grade level will SLIME Mrs. Hoke on Halloween as their classmates cheer them on!
Thank you EVERYONE for your continued support of our TERRIFIC school!
PTA Advocacy Update
Reflections National PTA Art Competition
PRE is participating in the National PTA Reflections art competition. This year, the theme is “Heroes Around Me.” The Reflections Program encourages creativity and lifelong learning while offering recognition for artistic endeavors. The PTA Reflections Program is designed to enhance quality arts education for students in preschool through grade 12. Students can enter works in the following categories: visual arts, photography, film, literature, music composition, and dance choreography. Rules and requirements will be sent home in Friday folders and can be downloaded with the entry form at the link below. The link below contains a fillable form, which may be easier for those who wish to enter multiple categories or multiple entries in a single category. Students may enter up to 6 works.
To enter:
Create a work of art reflecting the theme “Heroes Around Me”
Make sure your artwork meets the requirements for format, size, and theme, and fill out the entry form here: http://bit.ly/PRE_reflect
Bring your artwork and entry form to the front office by November 16th. Digital submissions for photography, literature, music, dance, and film can be emailed to: pennyroadreflections@gmail.com (Please include your entry form in your submission)
Artwork should not be signed where it can be viewed by the judges. Please do make sure your child’s name is on the artwork (on the back or bottom), so that we can make sure we return it. Judging will occur the last week of November, and the top 14 works from PRE will go on to the Wake County competition. We will have an awards ceremony and celebration after the holidays for participants. Questions about the program, entries, or process can be sent to Colleen Kiley at pennyroadreflections@gmail.com.
Odyssey of the Mind Information Session
A parent and student information for Odyssey of the Mind will be held on Thursday, October 18 from 5:30 - 6:30 pm in the Media Center. Odyssey of the Mind is an international program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities in a team environment. This year, Odyssey of the Mind is open to all Fourth and Fifth graders. Third graders may also participate if they have a parent that is willing to be a coach. For questions, contact either Emily Thompson (emily.thompson@crbusa.com) or Kira Hamilton (khamilton4@wcpss.net).
Books & Beyond Report
Our kindergarten and first grade students are off to a great start on their reading journey! The kids together turned in 150 sheets for the month of September! We will have classroom winner announcements next week!
Please congratulate your reader and continue to encourage their reading habits!
Click HERE for more reporting sheets!
Thank you for your continued support of this program!
Carnival Committee Needs YOU!
We are so excited about the Spring Carnival (scheduled for April 26, 2019) and we are still seeking volunteers who would like to join the planning committee. Click here to sign onto the team. We will be announcing our first planning meeting (in late October) very soon. Our biggest needs are in donations support and volunteer coordinating. If you have questions about or suggestions for the 2019 Spring Carnival, please contact Lindsay Tremelling at ltremelling83@gmail.com. THANK YOU!!
Media & Technology Parent Rep Needed
We are in need of a parent representative to serve on our school's Media and Technology committee! This committee meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month in the Media Center at 8 am. If you are able to help on this committee serving alongside PRE teachers, please email Mrs. Platts (our Media Center specialist) at mplatts@wcpss.net.
Penny Road Yoga is back!
Spirit Wear Flash Sale Continues
We are clearing out inventory to try and make room for some new Spirit Wear items! For the next two weeks, all Penny Road TIE DYE shirts are now on sale for $5.00. Quantities are limited and sales are based on availability. We have the following sizes available: Youth M, Youth L and Youth XL, as well as, Adult Small, Adult Medium, Adult Large, Adult XXL and Adult XXXL. http://www.pennyroadpta.com/store/c3/School_Store.html
READvolution
For the second consecutive year, WCPSS has partnered with the Carolina Hurricanes to bring READvolution to its’ elementary schools. This partnership supports a community-wide literacy campaign around daily reading outside of the classroom. Plus, it allows students the chance to attend a Hurricanes game. This year the READvolution time frame will be between Monday, September 24th and Friday, November 16th. Your child will be able to be part of this event by reading daily for 20 minutes. Through an online tracking system, students provide their name and the number of minutes read each day. Students who achieve the goal of reading 20 minutes per day throughout the allotted time frame (for a total of 800 minutes) will receive two complimentary ticket vouchers to a Hurricanes game! Schools that collectively read 2,020 books between September 24th and November 16th will be entered into a drawing to participate in a “Cool School Field Trip” at the PNC arena in February. If our school is selected, students will have the opportunity to see a Hurricanes practice, participate in fun activities and hear from Hurricanes players. More information about the program can be found here. To begin logging books and time spent reading, click LOGIN in the top right hand corner of this screen. Students will need their WCPSS ID number to register themselves.
Our new ALL ABOUT ME book!
Information from Child Nutrition Services! OCTOBER 9th deadline!
Wake County Public School System Child Nutrition Services wants to remind families that they may apply for free and reduced priced school meals online. We want all children to receive nutritious meals meeting the federal nutrition standards that school meals must meet.
Applying online makes that even easier!
Families can go to www.wcpss.net/meals to determine if a student qualifies for meal benefits and complete the online application. Families will get an estimate of their school meals benefit once they complete the online application. Child Nutrition Services will review the submitted information and finalize benefits. For those families that prefer, they may also visit their school and complete a paper application.
Be sure to apply before Tuesday, October 9th for 2018-2019 benefits!
Penny Road Elementary School
Email: preptaofficer@gmail.com
Website: https://www.wcpss.net/pennyroades
Location: 10900 Penny Road, Cary, NC, USA
Phone: 919-367-2136
Facebook: Facebook.com/PennyRoadPTA
Twitter: @PennyRoadES