McKinley PTO Newsletter
April 3, 2017
Co-President's Update
Wow! What a fun night at the Adult Social. Thanks to Allison Bardole, Erin Kell, Cara Schwantes, and Ellen Stabelfeldt for co-chairing the fabulous event. Thanks to their dedication, over $11,000 was raised for McKinley! Great job ladies!
Our time as Presidents has come to an end. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support during our almost 3 year tenure as Co-Presidents. We are proud of what we have accomplished during our time as Presidents which include the following highlights:
- Facilitated a change from a PTA to a PTO, allowing for ALL families to be members of the organization without paying dues
- Started a Dining Out program that has raised over $6,435.62 for McKinley in just under two years
- Started a new tradition of a school dance, and hosted three dances
- Started and funded the composting program at McKinley which has diverted over 19,950 pounds of garbage from the landfills, educated our children on how to be better citizens of the Earth, and served as a model for other schools in the district to follow
- Completed the paperwork for the PTO to become a 501 3(C)
- Organized a class art auction which raised money for composting while allowing families the chance to buy one of a kind artwork created by their students class
- Brought Destination Imagination to McKinley
- Brought Battle of the Books to McKinley
- Started a weekly newsletter from the PTO
- Further increased communication with McKinley families through our active Facebook page
- Brought back Open House after it was eliminated from the school calendar
- Transformed the former speech room to a much needed teacher lounge
- Funded additional fieldtrips for the 5th and 3rd grades to the Lynden Sculpture Garden
- Started a new chess club that includes the opportunity for tournaments
- Raised money for a new chrome book cart and 30 new touch screen chrome books
- Given families an opportunity to purchase engraved bricks to pave muddy areas on 90th Street while allowing families to leave their mark at McKinley (and these bricks have arrived and will be installed in the near future!)
- Increased school spirit and spirit wear sales with the implementation of Spirit Wear Fridays
- Increased McKinley’s recycling program through Crayola Color Cycle marker recycling and the collection of pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House
- Established an informational session prior to each PTO meeting called The Mechanics of McKinley and this year began live streaming this information session via our Facebook page to share the information with families unable to attend the meeting
We did not accomplish this impressive list on our own! We have enjoyed working with some amazing volunteers to make all of this happen. In addition to this list, the McKinley PTO has continued to offer McKinley staff, students, and families with its traditional programs such as the annual Adult Social, First Stage Children’s Theater field trips for ALL grades, shoe recycling program, bake sales, Scholastic Book Fair, City Tins fundraiser, Family Fun Night, 5th Grade Career Day, the Fire Safety House, Family Game Night, High Interest Day, Keepsake Art Night, Lego League, McKinley Mile, Publishing Center, Safe Routes to School, Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, teacher meals during fall and spring conferences, the room parent program, teacher treats, and more.
McKinley is lucky to have a community full of involved and motivated parents, who volunteer their time and energy in making each and everything the PTO does a success. Whether you chaired a committee or volunteered at an event, brought in a treat for McKinley staff or purchased goodies at a bake sale, bought a City Tin or shopped at the Scholastic Book Fair, learned something at a Mechanics of McKinley presentation or attended a PTO sponsored event, YOU helped make the McKinley PTO a success! We value the friendships we have gained from these experiences and we are thankful to have been a part of this great community.
Moving forward, Lindsay Stadler and Brian Malloy are the new Co-Presidents of the McKinley PTO. We will continue to work with them for the next couple of weeks to fully transition them into their new roles. We know they will do an excellent job of keeping the McKinley community informed. Please take this opportunity to reach out to them and thank them for taking on the President roles.
Thank you again for being such a supportive community. It has been our honor to have served as co-Presidents.
Sincerely,
Molly Hannan & Chris Riley
PTO Dates to Remember
Make sure to put the following dates on your calendar!
April 7 - McKinley Spiritwear Day (wear McKinley shirt or red)
April 13 - Change to Friday Schedule
April 14-21 - Spring Break; No classes
April 26 - Toppers Pizza Dine Out Fundraiser
April 28 - McKinley Spiritwear Day (wear McKinley shirt or red)
April 28 - High Interest Day
Hats off to...
Save the Date! Toppers Pizza Dine Out Fundraiser
Toppers Pizza at 6810 W. State St., Wauwatosa will donate 20% of sales from every order placed on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 from 4-9pm to McKinley Elementary School,
Click here for the event flyer.
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2017, 04:00 PM
Toppers Pizza, West State Street, Wauwatosa, WI, United States
McKinley Adult Social
Thank you to all of those who attended the Adult Social - Prom Night. Everyone looked great and the night was a HUGE success for McKinley!! Our goal was to at least meet last year’s total of $7,500 and that was exceeded…the event raised over $11,000!!! THANK YOU!!
Pictures are worth 1,000 words - click here to see photos from the event.
Congratulations to Jeff Roznowski!
Friend to McKinley, Jeff Roznowski, will be honored this week as Wauwatosa's 2016 Distinguished Citizen.
Click here to read the full article.
Shoes Wanted
Destination Imagination
McKinley's Engineering Destination Imagination is headed to the State Tournament!!! Congrats to Henry Michel, Henry Rommelfanger, Elliott Engbring, Natalia Byrne, Jackson Myers, and Eliana Idzikowski and team managers Renee Michel and Ann Christiansen. The DI State Tournament is on Saturday April 8, at UW-Stevens Point. As with the regional tournament, we need to supply an appraiser (a kinder, gentler word for 'judges') for the DI State tournament, to help appraise all the teams presenting. The competition begins at 7:30 a.m. and runs till about 5 p.m. Interested? Contact Monica Deluhery ASAP at monica.deluhery@gmail.com.
Publishing Center - FINAL CALL!
Every student in 1st through 5th grade can sign up to create a book. Each student who signs up will receive a book packet with all the information and materials needed to create a one-of-a kind keepsake. Consider having your student create one for a Mother’s/Father’s Day gift or for Grandma or Grandpa’s birthday. You can sign up online or simply return the signup form to the office. Sign up ends on April 14, so don't delay! Click the box below to sign up. Contact Lori Brandenburg at Crashburg@yahoo.com with any questions.
IMPORTANT – If you turned in a form but haven’t received a book kit, it means your form wasn’t received in the office. Please turn in a new form or sign up online. Thank you!
High Interest Day
High Interest Day 2017
This year’s High Interest Day will be April 28th. Registration is now closed. Efforts will be made to track down students who did not hand in a form, but it is possible unregistered students will have classes assigned for them.
Be a part of this fun day. Fill out the yellow volunteer form your student brought home or you can find the form here. There are opportunities for everyone. You can help in the school setting up classrooms after school on April 27th or volunteer any time during the school day on the 28th. Can’t make it during the day? Please sign up below to bring in breakfast goods or treats for volunteers or to donate materials used for classes. Contact Heidi Engbring (hengbring@wi.rr.com) with questions.
SignUp Genius for breakfast goods or treats for volunteers.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4bacaf22abfe3-breakfast1
SignUp Genius for items needed for classes.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4BABA62EA7FB6-high1
Interested in volunteering during HID? Click here for the volunteer sign up form.
EFW Run/Walk
Need Spiritwear?
- Gildan kids shirts in youth sizes XS through XL. Some sizes have very limited quantities. (We are out of XS and S shirts, M is size 10-12, L is size 14-16, and XL is size 18-20). Gildan youth shirts are $10 each.
- Bella womens shirts in womens sizes S through XL. Bella shirts are a more fitted style (S is size 2-4, M is size 6-8, L is size 8-10, and XL is size 10-14). Bella womens shirts are $15 each.
- Bella Canvas shirts in unisex adult sizes S through XL. (S fits chest sizes 34"-37", M fits chest sizes 38"-41", L fits chest sizes 42"-45", and XL fits chest sizes 46"-49"). Bella Canvas shirts are $15 each.
Shirt samples will be displayed on the PTO bulletin board outside the office. Orders can be places by emailing tosamckinleypto@gmail.com and will be filled in the order received. Some sizes are sold out! Shirts will be available for pick up in the office every Friday. Payment is due via cash (exact amount please!) or check at pick up.
Safe Routes to School
Happy Spring! We are looking forward to seeing more families walking and biking to school. If you are driving, please obey traffic signs, be stay off your cell phones, and avoid blocking crosswalks. The police have been patrolling the area around school more and will ticket if you are speeding, not stopping at stop signs, parking in crosswalks or no parking zones.
Do you have questions about drop off or pick up? Watch our video- https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=hmQNxfeMZHw&sns=em1
Volunteers are needed to help plan our 6th Annual Bike to School Day! We are looking for new ideas and input. Please contact Sarah Lerand, sjlerand@yahoo.com if you would be interested in helping in the planning. A separate request will be made next month to get volunteer help for the day of the event. Past activities have included bike helmet fitting, new bike helmets, bike safety checks, bike registration and coloring contest.
S.O.S.
VOTE on Tuesday, April 4th! The State Superintendent of Schools and four Wauwatosa School Board seats will be on the ballot. These are important races for our schools. Please take the time to learn more and vote!
Learn about Tosa School Board Candidates
S.O.S. Wauwatosa recently put together a voter's guide for the upcoming Tosa School Board election on Tuesday, April 4th. A link can be found on their home page: www.soswauwatosa.org or
The direct link is: http://www.soswauwatosa.org/wpcontent/up....
Budget Updates
The Wisconsin budget process is underway and the Joint Finance Committee will hold a regional hearing on Wednesday, April 5 at State Fair Park, West Allis to hear public comment. Our children need you to be their voice in this conversation. Restoring public education funding to ensure thriving communities for all should be the cornerstone of this budget.
The Governor has proposed restoring some funding to our public schools, and delivering funds for much-needed mental health services, rural sparsity aid, and high-cost transportation [more about the budget here]. But many of our partners have concerns. They worry that $200 per pupil isn't nearly enough for struggling districts - and it's well below the minimum $300/pupil minimum our partners have called for. They worry about equity -- the Governor is proposing "per pupil aid" that does not increase revenue limits, and is not subject to the equalization formula. They are worried that the budget as it stands doesn't include a single dollar in new aid for special education - which will have been frozen for a full decade if we don't see a much-needed change here. They also worry that we are perpetuating a system of haves and have nots and that this budget doesn't do nearly enough to address the funding inequities currently facing our students and schools. The stakes are very high for our children and our communities.
But the bottom line is that none of this is a "done deal" and there's no guarantee that even the proposed $200/pupil increase will see its way into classrooms. In previous years, the Joint Finance Committee has made major budget and policy changes impacting our schools by putting them into a hastily-passed, late-night "omnibus package" not subject to public hearing. And now we are hearing reports that prominent lawmakers may wish to reject the Governor's budget, throwing the increases to education out the window, starting from zero with a "base budget" once the bill moves to Executive Committee. Maybe they will increase funding, maybe they won't -- but anything below $200 would be a cut.
The Governor's budget shows us that there is more than enough money to prioritize K-12 funding, and members of the legislature themselves have cited $2 billion available in additional revenue. There is no excuse to deny children the resources that they need.
Please consider attending one of the Joint Finance Committee meetings or contact your state representatives and share your concerns.
Art Room Volunteers
Looking for an opportunity to get involved in your child's classroom? Please consider volunteering to assist in the art room! Sign ups are available through the link below.
For questions, please contact Lisa Kimpler: lkimpler@yahoo.com
Wanted: Pencils
Please save and donate your old regular and colored pencils to be re-purposed. 4th graders will be making art from them. There is a box in the office to collect any you are able to give. Thank you!
Teacher Treats
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/