McKinley PTO Newsletter
Where Every Parent Is A Member
October 11, 2021
President's Update
Did you know that October is National Principal's month? Principals are visionaries who work hard to build a progressive learning environment. They set the academic foundation to create the best educational framework for students. So it’s important that we celebrate them! Dr. Hoffmann thank you for your support, thank you for caring and most of all thank you for your leadership. Your hard work and dedication to the students, staff and families has been what has helped set our school apart from others.
Last week's Walk to School Day was such an energizing event. The day reminds students and adults alike of the simple joy of walking or bicycling to school. The sunshine and Safety Dance brought smiles to all who participated. Many thanks to Maura Riordan for planning such a great event and leading our Safe Routes to School program.
If you would like to view other videos from Walk to School Day or stay update on McKinley important dates, upcoming events, pictures and videos, please visit the Tosa McKinley PTO Facebook page.
For those that ordered McKinley T-shirts, they were delivered to your child. We do have two orders that we were unable to identify who they should go to. If you happen to not receive your order, please reach out to me directly.
In this edition of the PTO newsletter look for more information about:
- Inaugural Community Outreach Event
- Scholastic Book Fair
- Thanks for Walk to School
- Purchase the 2021/22 Yearbook
- Next Dine Out at Rays in on 10/21
- PTO Meeting is on Thursday, October 14th
- Complete the Google Form for the Directory
See you on Thursday night at the PTO Meeting!
Important Dates to Remember
Oct 14 - PTO Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Oct 18 - JK Conferences (JK students only NO school)
Oct 20-22 - Scholastic Book Fair
Oct 21 - Ray's Wine & Spirits dine out
Oct 21 & 26 - Elementary Conferences 4:30-8 p.m.
Oct 22 - No Classes JK-5; Elementary Conferences
Oct 26 - Make-Up Picture Day
Oct 29 - Character/Costume Parade
Nov 1 - No Classes JK - 12
Inaugural Community Outreach Event
In an effort to raise awareness of and support for the 13,000(!) Afghan refugees at Ft. McCoy here in our own state of Wisconsin, McKinley is organizing a collection drive for the refugees. This collection will be our inaugural McKinley Community Outreach event!
Here is an article to a recent piece from Time magazine about the refugees at Ft. McCoy. Mrs. Smith, our awesome McKinley librarian, has curated a collection of books on refugees. At the school library, she hopes to read to kids during library time or for teacher's to grab books to read to their class to tie in the collection drive with the plight of refugees from all over the world. The drive and books also create a great teachable moment for home discussions as well.
We get it. We all have hectic lives. PTO wants to make this drive as successful and user-friendly as possible. Please consider purchasing an item from this Amazon list. Items range in price from $7 to $60. If an item is purchased off of the list it will automatically be shipped to Monica Deluhery's house. Feel free to purchase elsewhere. If purchased elsewhere, items can be dropped off at the Deluhery's house (email monica.deluhery@gmail.com for address). All collected items will be dropped off at the Oak Creek Salvation Army once the drive ends on Friday November 12.
Again, we know it's a challenging time for everyone, but every little bit helps. As Wisconsinites we know what the upcoming winter looks like, I could only imagine what the potential further shock these refugees will receive experiencing their first long Wisconsin winter. Please do not hesitate to contact Monica, monica.deluhery@gmail.com, with any questions.
Scholastic Book Fair
We excited to announce that the Scholastic Book Fair is back! After months without beloved school traditions, our upcoming Book Fair will be a familiar and welcome celebration. Here's what you need to know about our upcoming fair:
· Every dollar you spend will benefit our school directly
· You can sign up for Book Fair eWallet, a convenient digital payment account, so your child can shop the Fair cash-free. Grandparents, friends, and others can contribute to the eWallet to help build your home library.
· We’re taking precautions to host a safe Fair at our school, focusing on preventive measures.
If you can, please consider volunteering to help run the book fair. You can sign up right on the Book Fair website below!
Save these dates and view our school’s Fair site:
Student Fair Dates: October 20th and 21st
October 20th 2 – 6 pm
October 21st 3 – 8 pm
October 22nd 8 – 12 pm
Online: October 19th thru November 1st
Book Fair Homepage: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/mckinleyelementaryschool54
We can’t wait to see your child at the Fair!
Nachole Zickuhr
McKinley PTO’s, Book Fair Chair
Thanks for Walk to School Day
Thank you kids and guardians for another fantastic Walk to School Day! Thank you to our special guest Walking School Bus Leaders including Mayor McBride, Alderman Allison Byrne, Dr. Hoffmann, Mr. Sperl, Ms. Mottet, Mrs. Osman, Mrs. Petitt, and Dr. Farwell. The weather was beautiful and we greatly enjoyed dancing the Pedestrian Safety Dance lead again by the talented Mrs. Merriman. Thanks also to Mrs. Garder and Mrs. Uden for their support.
We hope you all continue to walk to school throughout the year and we will see you for Winter Walk to School Day on February 18th.
Purchase the McKinley 2021/22 Yearbook
McKinley yearbooks are available to purchase starting now! The yearbooks are $10 each. Click here to order. The sale will end on April 1, 2022.
Next Dine Out is Thursday, October 21st
Thanks to those families who participated in the Dine Out at Dr. Dawg on Mayfair last week! We didn’t have a large turnout but they were good to work with and we may try to do another fundraiser with them in the future. The MOD pizza fundraiser in September generated about $390 for McKinley! We have another chance to earn money through purchases with Ray’s Wine and Spirits on 10/21. Thanks for your support of our school through these fundraising events! -Dana Wurzburger
Thursday, October 21st- Ray’s Wine and Spirits fundraiser day! Any in-store purchase that mentions McKinley on this date or purchases made from this specific link: https://www.rayswine.com/?utm_source=McKinleyElementary will earn 5% back for our school!
Wednesday, November 4th- Saz's State House at 5539 W. State Street, Milwaukee will donate 15% back from the orders between the hours of 11 am - 8 pm that mention McKinley. Dine in or carry out both count, but delivery orders do not count. If you dine in you'd just let your server know that you are there for the McKinley fundraiser (reservations encouraged but not necessary). If you'd rather carry out you can either order by phone and mention the fundraiser when you order or you can place an order at Sazs.com and use the code MSK to designate the fundraiser.
Wednesday, November 17th- Chipotle at 2711 N Mayfair Rd Ste A, Wauwatosa will host a fundraiser between 4 pm - 8 pm that day. This is our best chance to earn some money for our school since they donate the highest percentage (33%) back to our school! In-store orders that show the flyer or mention McKinley count but so do online orders through the website or app. When you are ready to check out, in the Enter A Promo Code section you'd type: XAV4GRQ and then hit "Apply." the pick-up must be scheduled for sometime in the window of 4-8 pm that day. Thanks for participating in the Dine Out fundraisers!
PTO Meeting is Thursday, October 14th at 6:30 PM
Complete the Google Form for the Directory
We need your help...this year the school is unable to provide the family information that we have historically printed in the school directory. So we need your help in providing that information to us. Would you please fill out and submit this Google form?
It would greatly help us out in gathering the information that we need. Thank you! Also, in filling out the form you are authorizing the use of the information to be published in the school directory.
If you have any questions/concerns please reach out to Wendy Von Rueden (wvonrueden@gmail.com)
How Do I Become a Member of the PTO?
You already are! If you are a parent, guardian or teacher at McKinley Elementary School, you are a member of the PTO.
Interested in becoming more involved? The PTO is always looking for help. Volunteer opportunities in areas of marketing, communication, social media coordination, event coordination, website design, merchandising and more! There are volunteer opportunities that fit everyone's schedule - during school hours, after school hours, work from home hours and one time event hours.
Please plan to attend the PTO Meetings at 6:30 p.m. on the followings date:
October 14th
January 13th
March 10th
May 12th
For more information about how you can become involved in PTO efforts, contact Kayla Merker at kaylamerker@gmail.com or 414.399.3319.