McKinley PTO Newsletter
Where Every Parent Is A Member
February 12, 2018
President's Update
Happy Monday,
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend!
Please join us in showing support for Angelman Awareness Day by wearing blue this Thursday, February 15th.
Kick off your weekend by joining us for an event the whole family will love! Family Fun Night is this Friday, February 16th, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Another great way to be involved in Friday's festivities is to donate baked goods to the always popular Family Fun Night Cake Walk. Money raised by the Cake Walk will go to support the McKinley Emergency Lunch Fund. See the article below for more information.
Have a great week!
PTO Dates to Remember
Make sure to put the following dates on your calendar!
- February 12th - No School; Staff Development
- February 15th - Angelman Awareness Day - Wear Blue!
- February 15th & 20th - Elementary Conferences
- February 16th - Family Fun Night, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
- February 23rd - Winter Walk to School Day
- February 24th - Destination Imagination Tournament
- February 27th - Chick-fil-A Dine Out Fundraiser, 5-8 p.m.
- March 3rd - Adult Social Fundraiser, 7-11 p.m.
- March 6th - Hoops for Heart (grades 3-5), 3:20-4:45 p.m.
- March 8th - PTO Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Upcoming Spirit Days:
Every Friday is McKinley Spirit Wear Day (wearing McKinley red counts too)!
Below are a list of specially themed spirit wear days for the year:
- March 2nd - March Madness/Sports Wear
- March 21th - World Down Syndrome Day - Wear Crazy Socks!
- May 4th - Tie-Dye
Family Fun Night This Friday!
Join us for a night of family fun with tons of carnival games, bounce house and obstacle course, the famous McKinley Messenger Cake Walk, and more! Volunteers make this event possible. More details and sign-up for volunteering can be done online through SignUpGenius HERE.
For food and game ticket pre-orders, please print the Family Fun Night flyer (HERE) and send back to school with payment. Food must be pre-ordered. Game tickets will be on sale the night of the event too.
Family Fun Night Cake Walk Donations
The McKinley Messengers will be running the Family Fun Night cakewalk to benefit the McKinley Emergency Lunch Fund. Click HERE for more information and to volunteer your baking talents, we will need a lot of baked goods because this is a very popular event at McKinley!
There will be a prize awarded again this year for BEST overall cake walk donation!
Teacher Dinner Donations
On Tuesday, February 20th, the PTO will be providing dinner for our wonderful teachers during conferences. Please consider helping out by donating a dessert or drinks by signing up HERE.
Thank you!
Lindsay Krumsee & Robin Lane
Snow Pants and Winter Boots Needed!
Do you have any clean, gently-used snow pants or winter boots laying around that your children have outgrown or no longer use? If yes, please consider donating them to Rachel Kumferman, School Social Worker. There seems to be a greater need for these items at McKinley, and we also share items between elementary schools when a student is in need. Please have your child drop them off with his/her teacher or to Ms. Kumferman.
Thank you so much for helping to meet the needs of all students!!
Chick-fil-A Dine Out Fundraiser Save the Date!
The Adult Social Tickets On Sale Now!
Tickets are on sale for the Adult Social!! Get them before they sell out!! We have some amazing silent auction and raffle items that you won’t want to miss out on. Plus, there will be an onsite hula hoop and limbo contest. The ticket order form is below if you missed it.
Saturday, March 3rd - 7pm-11pm - Mount Mary University North Dining Hall
Also, if you happen to have any spare gift cards laying around that you won’t be using, the Adult Social Committee could use them. We are also in need of about 6 more bottles of wine for the wine pull. Contact Erin Kell if you are able to help or if you have any questions on the event. (febz99@hotmail.com, 262-751-6924) Thank you to all who have already donated!
Destination Imagination Tournament
On Saturday February 24, McKinley's five DI teams will be participating in the regional tournament at Muskego High School. Both kids and managers have been working VERY hard these past four months to solve their Scientific, Technical, Service Learning, and Rising Stars/Early Learners challenges. Let's show them how proud we are of all they've accomplished! One and all are welcome to come watch these students show off all their hard work at the tournament. Have your child come support his/her classmates! Feel free to contact Monica Deluhery (Monica.deluhery@gmail.com) for times and further tournament information.
Service Learning - Team #flyingwonders (managers: Megan Hambrook and Shana Callahan) Ceili Callahan, Molly Hambrook, Claudia Rahn, Addison Scharlau, Ava Schwantes, Abbey Tank, and Brielle Willems
Technical - Team WILD Expedition (managers: Brian Kuhn and Rebecca Millenbach)
Ana Byrne, Max Kuhn, Mary Ellen Millenbach, Ella Yoder, and Braeden Young.
Scientific - Team Funky Chickens in a Bubble (manager: Lindsay DesPlaines)
Charlie Desplaines, John Desplaines, Laney DiCastri, Brynn Jensen, Lilly Schauer, Louie Schauer, and Addy Russell
Rising Stars - Team Sunshine Horse Girls (managers: Bryan Shaw and Sam Petre)
Seren Carrion, Patricia Petre, Eliza Shaw, and Anna Theis
Rising Stars - Team Phyrecrackers (managers: James Czukas and Monica Deluhery)
Jessica Bradach, Ellie Brown, Frankie Brown, Sammie Czukas, Maleah Deluhery, Will Myers, Lila Welch, and Mallory Zipp
Support Our Schools (S.O.S) Update
I Love My Public Schools Week: February 12 - 16
We hope you’ll join SOS Wauwatosa and public school advocacy groups all across Wisconsin in celebrating “I Love My Public Schools” Week February 12 - 16. Last year, SOS assembled and distributed goodie baskets for the teachers and staff (about 1,000 people!) in every school in our district.
This year, we will be delivering goodie baskets again, as well as collecting messages of love and support for our schools on giant Valentine’s cards that will be delivered to the State Capitol in Madison on Friday, February 16. If you’re interested in helping with either of these projects, please send an email toinfo@soswauwatosa.org. Don’t have time? Donations via our website will help cover the costs.
Make a Plan to Vote
The Spring Primary Election for State Supreme Court and City Council (District 1 only) is coming up. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin has produced a candidate guide for the Supreme Court that can be found here.
Feb 5 – 16 (Mon-Fri, 8 am – 4:30 pm): In-Person Absentee Voting is available ahead of time.
Location: City Clerk’s Office (7725 W. North Ave.)
Tuesday, February 20 (7 am – 8 pm): In-Person Voting at your local polling station.
Several polling sites have changed in Wauwatosa recently, so we encourage you to visit this website or call the City Clerk’s office (414-479-8921) to confirm your voting location.
Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding – Opportunity for Action
Senator Luther Olsen of Ripon and Rep. Joel Kitchens of Sturgeon Bay have convened the “Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding” to review state funding for schools in the State of Wisconsin. There are 16 people on the Commission, including State Legislators, representatives from statewide organizations, public school Superintendents, and representatives from several private schools.
The Commission first met in Madison on December 13, 2017, where it heard from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. This past Friday, February 2, the Commission held a public hearing in Milwaukee, where SOS Wauwatosa President Stacy Racine Lynch delivered verbal and written testimony in support of equitable and increased funding for public schools. Several other friends of SOS Wauwatosa gave testimony and registered their support as well. Additional public hearings will be held around the state in the coming months; the Commission is expected to write a Report later in the year with recommendations for the 2019-2021 state budget. Wisconsin recently dropped below the national average in terms of per-pupil spending. If you think this trend needs to be reversed, please consider sending an email in support of public schools. Share a story or example of the changes you have seen due to reduced funding and tight budgets, and ask the Commission to reform school funding. You can send the email to Senator Olsen at Sen.Olsen@legis.wisconsin.gov and Representative Kitchens at Rep.Kitchens@legis.wisconsin.gov . We’d love to see a copy of it too! You can email us at info@soswauwatosa.org.
SOS will continue to follow the Commission’s activities and provide updates on our website and Facebook page. Additional information can be found at the official Blue Ribbon Commission website as well as Wisconsin Public Education Network’s Blue Ribbon Commission Headquarters.
SOS “Members” are now “Friends”
When SOS was formed in 2015, we set up the organization to include what we called “members.” People “joined” SOS Wauwatosa, and shared financial and word-of-mouth support so we could conduct outreach.
As the organization has matured, leaders realized we aren’t really a membership group—with member benefits, for example—but more of an advocacy group with a wide-reaching group of interested people who share our values and concerns.
In the past, “members” have paid “dues” and made donations to SOS Wauwatosa. Although we are moving away from a model that asks for “dues” on an annual basis, we are confident that the generous financial support of our community will continue.
And so, in the interest of accuracy, and to serve those who support the group in the most effective way, we’ve changed our model to call our network “Friends of SOS Wauwatosa.” It probably seems like a semantic technicality. But seeing our audience as a group of friends helps us with communication and governance.
And, so, Friends of SOS Wauwatosa, we look forward to continuing to advocate on behalf of the children of Wauwatosa, and Wisconsin, for the quality education they and the citizens of our state deserve. If you are interested in making a donation to our cause – to help pay for our website, Facebook boosts, printing, etc. -- please visit our website at www.soswauwatosa.org. Thank you!
Show Your McKinley Elementary Pride Wherever You Go!
McKinley Elementary Bumper Magnets Only $5!
Proceeds of the sale go support McKinley programs and projects.
McKinley Elementary PTO
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.
For more information about how you can become involved in PTO efforts, contact Lindsay Stadler lindsaystadler@gmail.com
Office Max / Office Depot Fundraising
This year Office Max/Office Depot stores are offering local schools the opportunity to partner in a fundraising activity. 5% of all qualifying purchases made by parents or teachers for the entire year will be donated to the school in the form of a merchandise credit. McKinley's master ID # is 70113794. For more information, visit http://www.officedepot.com/a/content/back-to-school/5percent/