Panda Pulse
October 2, 2020
Dates to know
Wednesday October 21st - Dance Fit!
Friday October 23rd - Teacher Work Day
A note from out PTA President
Greetings fellow Pandas! The Penny Road Elementary School PTA is eager and excited to work alongside each of you as we team up with our teachers and administrators to tackle this ever-changing year together! We know that this is not quite how any of us anticipated a new year to start, but 2020 has been filled with its share of unique opportunities for growth and adaptability for us all. With that, we hope that you and your child(ren) are settling into the 2020-2021 school year. We would like to extend a special welcome to our newest Pandas, our kindergarten students and all of our new students and families! We are happy you are here!
We have a wonderful community of students {and their families} and we have the most dedicated and caring staff. They work tirelessly to meet the needs of all of our students. By partnering with our staff and collaborating with them, we, as families, can make Penny Road even better than it already is! Most of these experiences would not be possible without the help of many parents, grandparents and Penny Road friends. So thank you in advance for being part of our school community!
This year the PTA is unable to be on campus (this could change at any time), therefore, we will pivot as best we can. Our goal is to turn our opportunities for programs and fundraising into engaging virtual opportunities with the goal of being able to purchase Lexia for our school and other technology needs as they arise this year through our VIrtual DANCEFIT from October 12-21!
Make sure to stay connected with the Penny Road PTA throughout the year, as our community is always better together. Below you will find important information outlining all of the opportunities to find out what’s happening with our PTA. Please join us on Facebook at: Penny Road Elementary PTA. Also be sure to check us out on our website at: www.pennyroadpta.com. Be on the lookout for our weekly digital newsletter the Panda Pulse which is sent directly to you by Mrs. Hoke via School Messenger which is a Wake County Public School messaging service. The Panda Pulse will come to the inbox of the email you have registered at Penny Road, or it may come to your cell phone via text message. You will not only get PTA information but all county and Principal information, too.
Our PTA Board looks forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to email us at preptaofficer@gmail.com. We can’t wait to hear from you as we work together to make this a terrific, albeit unique year for our students!
Best wishes,
Andrea Finucane
PTA president
a quick note about comunications
Communication
Communication is always important but this year it is even more important than ever! We must stay connected online. There are various ways our PTA communicates throughout the year. In an effort to get information in a timely and convenient way:
Be on the lookout for our weekly newsletter the Panda Pulse which is sent directly to you by Mrs. Hoke. This digital newsletter will be sent to you via School Messenger which is a Wake County Public School messaging service. The Panda Pulse will come to the inbox of the email you have registered at Penny Road, or it may come to your cell phone via text message. You will not only get PTA information but all county and Principal information, too.
If you have not been receiving information from Principal Hoke, please connect with our school database manager, Mrs. Steffee Bowden at: sbowden@wcpss.net to make sure your contact information is up-to-date.
Visit our PTA website at: www.pennyroadpta.com. Here you will quickly find the Panda Pulse, updates on upcoming fundraising opportunities, links to PTA forms and other information.
Like us on Facebook: Penny Road Elementary PTA
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 Join to prepta@rcityrocks.com to join R City Rocks. PRE will receive 5% back when you text receipts from purchases made at listed 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 select Penny Road Elementary School PTA. 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 at https://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.
Dance Fit Fundraiser
We’re only 2 weeks away from kicking off our Penny Road Virtual DanceFit, and
donating is now open on funrun.com ! We’ll officially kickoff the program on Monday,
10/12, with the Big Event being on Wednesday, 10/21. Our goal is to
raise $12,000 for Technology-based platforms such as Lexia We’re excited to see our
school come together in this fundraising program that will give us an extra boost of
energy and much needed funds, too! Check out a quick overview of our fundraising
program
Wake PTA Smaller Candidate Forums Details – Districts 8/9
Date: October 14 at 7p,
Moderator: Hardin Englehart, past president of WakePTA and VP of Play at Marbles
Format:
5 questions will be asked from the following categories, but not necessarily in this particular order. All questions were submitted by the public.
Special Education
Reassignment
Parent Communication
Diversity & Inclusion
Curriculum
Each candidate will have the chance for 1 minute introduction, then 2 minutes and 30 seconds to reply to each question, and a 5 minute closing statement which can include any rebuttals. The total timing estimate is 57 minutes. Candidates will be responsible for the time used, a timer (person) will be muting after a warning that time is ending. We will not be using red and green cards in this smaller format.
The forum will be recorded but not live and uploaded to social media and YouTube immediately
afterward. Candidates may share links to the forum in its entirety, but not use individual pieces of video clip, as voted on by the WakePTA Board.
Hosting PTA’s are from the following D8/9 schools as of today- subject to be updated: Turner Creek Elementary, Kingswood Elementary, Holly Springs Elementary, Mills Park Elementary, Farmington Woods Elementary, Apex Middle School, Briarcliff Elementary, Highcroft Elementary, Penny Road Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary. All PTA units in D8/9 were invited.
ZOOM CALL INFO
Wake County PTA Council is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. This information is
confidential, as only the candidates, school representatives, and hosts are invited.
Topic: District 8/9 Candidate Forum
Time: Oct 14, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6224429399?pwd=U3NIa1A3NjI2ajAvbVNYTHRoU2hnQT09
Meeting ID: 622 442 9399
Passcode: 2020
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,6224429399#,,,,,,0#,,2020# US (Chicago)
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How to contact your Penny Road PTA
Email: preptaofficer@gmail.com
Facebook: Penny Road Elementary PTA
Website: http://www.pennyroadpta.com/