volume11, issue 5 president’s message · programs (face the future panel, sensory parent...

F I S D C o u n c i l o f P T A s . C o m m u n i c a t o r . Vo l u m e 1 1 . I s s u e 3

1 www.friscopta.org/

President’s Message

May 2014 Volume11, Issue 5

Frisco Independent School District Council of PTAs

This time of year is bitter sweet. We take this time to look back at our accomplish-ments over this school year. We review our Plans of Work and check off all that we have done. We count our successes and learn how to make things better. We attend award banquets and receive accolades. But we could not have accomplished it all with out you, our local PTAs, students, staff and commu-nity. Because of you all we had more SAGE programs this year and reached more SAGE families then ever before. Be-cause of you all we had more participation in our Environ-mental programs and activities then ever before. Saving more trees, one program at a time. Because of you all we were recognized statewide and nationally for our part-nership for the “Kids Teaching Kids” Healthy Lifestyles ini-tiative. Because of you all we beautifully honored more deserving people with the TXPTA Life Membership then ever before. Last but definitely not least, because of you all the bond past. Thank you all for showing the power of the PTA and being the voice for our children. On the bitter side of this time of year, we say good-bye. Our Council Board says a sad good-bye to Marisol Randle and wish her good luck as she makes her way over to Al-len ISD Council of PTAs. We will miss you. Allen Council is sure getting a true PTA treasure. Have a wonderful, safe and relaxing Summer vacation! Susan Thomas, President

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

President’s Message 1

Important dates 2

Message from Dr. Lyon

3

Inside Frisco 4

Local PTAs News 5

Local PTAs News contd. 6

Council Board info 16

Frisco ISD Council of PTAs is on Face

book! Like us and be connected to re-

ceive updates and news!

https://www.facebook.com/

FriscoPTA

http://www.friscopta.org/

https://www.facebook.com/FriscoPTA





2013-2014

EVENTS & MEETINGS

Council Regular Meetings

May 20th

FISD Admin Bldg Training

Room, 10:00 a.m..

**********************

School Board Meetings

June 17th

FISD Admin Bldg Board Room,

7:30 p.m.

School Board Meetings

FISD Admin Bldg Board

Room, 7:30 p.m.

TEXAS PTA NEWS

Summer Leadership Seminar provides the greatest opportunity for train-

ing, networking, and resources to help you feel confident in your role as

a PTA volunteer and active parent. At LAUNCH Houston, we offer nearly

150 workshops, 200 exhibits, and the resource of over 3,000 fellow PTA

leaders. Like years past, we also offer several additional opportunities

for training across the state with LAUNCH El Paso, LAUNCH Mid-

land/Odessa, and LAUNCH South Padre. Wherever you are able to join

us, LAUNCH 2014 will energize and prepare you for a successful year!

PTA members and leaders have no better opportunity to ensure the fu-

ture success of their PTA. So join us!

- See more at: http://www.txpta.org/events/sls/#sthash.49lfhISH.dpuf

Our PTAs rock! On May 10

th, the Frisco ISD Bond Proposal was one of 87 Bond Proposals presented to voters

statewide. Because of you:

The 2nd

largest School Bond Proposal in the state passed with the highest approval percentage – 77% approval. Cypress Fairbanks ISD Bond Proposal encompassed $1.2 Billion. Frisco ISD Bond Proposal was $775 million.

The 2

nd highest number of voters voted – 9,500; 8,100 of which participated in early voting!

Voters were informed of the facts, what the Bond included, the risks if it did not pass, that the

Bond did directly benefit our students and teachers.

Voters spoke their voice and did not let outside influences vote their voice.

Voters understood that the success of the Bond Proposal was crucial to the continued prosper-ity of Frisco and its future. We moved here for the schools and the high quality level of edu-cation our children receive. We believe in the small schools promise!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You worked tirelessly to place signs at voting locations, distrib-ute signs to neighbors, answer questions, organize presentations. The passage of this vital pro-posal is directly a result of the power of our PTAs! You were there for our teachers and our stu-dents! This is what we do and no one does it better than Frisco PTAs.




s u P e r i n t e n d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e

Dr. Jeremy Lyon, FISD Super intendent

Dear PTA members,

Never let it be said that Frisco ISD discounts the importance of our

wonderful PTA.

As a group of us waited for the final bond vote tally to come in on the night of May 10, Citizens Bond Committee Co-chair and PTA

leader Debbie Pasha made a comment about never doubting the power of PTA moms. Ron Pigman, another active PTA leader who

also served on the bond committee, echoed her sentiments about PTA dads. A rec-ord number of moms, dads, teachers, grandparents, and folks who just care about

our students showed up at the polls and said Yes to the future of Frisco ISD.

All of us at Frisco ISD are thankful that the Frisco Council of PTA was so willing to educate their members about the bond and then share the news with others. You encouraged folks to get to the polls. PTA members were a vital part of the land-

slide of support (77% YES) for the bond proposal.

Thank you for taking the time to become informed about the bond program. Thank you for registering to vote and exercising your voter rights.

Now that the election is behind us we can all focus on these last few weeks of

school. I know many of you are planning end-of-the year events, planning for grad-uation parties, and counting the days to summer vacation. We are too!

Thanks for everything you have done for our students and teachers this year.

Have a restful, fun summer and we’ll see you back next year – ready to go forward

with another great year. Sincerely,

Dr. Jeremy Lyon

FISD Superintendent




During the year the Special and Gifted Education (SAGE) Committee worked hard in conjunc-tion with the school district Special Education department and Prosperity Place in order to bring more programs and events to our families. In September SAGE kicked off the year with a Meet and Greet. This was held at the Adminis-trative Building for all the school district families. All of them were invited to join us and meet the new Director of the Special Education Services Marcia Shannon, and diverse members of the department from coordinator of services to the speech pathologists, motor team and di-agnosticians. During the year SAGE provided the monthly newsflash to all of the families that have sub-scribed for the free service that provides them with information of services and events for families with special needs around the Frisco/ Dallas area. As part of our integration with the school district SAGE hosted seven (7) special education programs (Face the Future Panel, Sensory Parent Training, Behavior Parent Training and Tak-ing care of you Parent Training); all of these programs were accompanied with Sibshop and Teen Talk, these portions of the program are designed for the siblings of special need or gift-ed children. For the gifted and talented portion of SAGE we hosted six game nights in conjunction with parent trainings programs (Productive Partnership with your child’s teacher, Top tech for bril-liant minds, Failure Life’s Greatest Teacher, Bibliotherapy: 10 books that represent giftedness & how to use them for a fruitful discussion with your child, Yup, that’s my kid! The 10,000-foot view of the wide spectrum learner and if his head weren’t attached: ways to support the disorganized, yet intelligent child). During the month of February we hosted the 4

th Family Resource Fair open to all the families

in the school district, providing useful information on summer camps and diverse therapy and resources available in the area. At the same time our SAGE Diversity and Inclusion t-shirt set their ongoing campaign, where our awesome school district stepped up again once more and helped us reach an unprece-dented sales record, bringing approximate $7,900.00 giving us an average of 70% increase from last year. This will set a platform to start scholarships for students that are seeking col-lege education or any education after high school that have an IEP or a 504 plan during their time at Frisco ISD.

INSIDE FRISCO ISD




ANDERSON ELEMENTARY

Spring 2014 has been filled with activity and Com-munity partnerships to support PTA initiatives. We have held SPIRIT NIGHTS at On the Border, Spring Creek BBQ, Durkin's Pizza and will wrap up with Chick-fil-a. We also held our 2nd annual Healthy Lifestyle Valentines Party, FUN RUN Fall Fundraiser, STAAR Pep-rally with "Pro BMX Perfection" and had STAAR inspired T-shirts for the Students. Another huge accomplishment this year was the execution of the School Garden and further beauti-fication of Nature's Ally, and our 2013/2014 Volunteers are also being honored with the plant-ing of a Tree. Hospitality & Room Parents found all the right ways to get our kids involved over Teacher Appreciation Week AND this Years PTA is overjoyed to support the gift of mini iPads, cases and head-phones to the students with additional funds slated for Classroom Libraries. We are especially proud of the WATCH DOGS presence at Anderson; this years "Donuts with Dads" had record numbers and they could be spotted on Campus EVERY FRIDAY at GMA and at every event opportunity. I would like to also acknowledge our Volunteer Chair, Website & Social Media Members who got the word out for all of our events. We experienced several new activities throughout the year and are now focused on end-ing 2013/2014 with a great blueprint for the new Board to take the PTA into the future.

Anderson Elementary and the PTA honor all Par-ents, Teachers and Volunteers who joined together to make it all possible! THANK YOU!

CORBELL ELEMENTARY

Thanks to the hard work of our Book Fair chairperson and many volunteers, our Fiesta book fair was a huge success. So many stu-dents and teachers have already benefited and will continue to do so as we’re able to purchase more books for our library. We had perfect weather for our Family Movie night in April. The Coney Shop came out to sell hot dogs to the over 400 people who at-tended. “Frozen” was shown and, of course, it turned into one big sing-along! Corbell families have been great at supporting our Spirit Nights with local restaurants. We’ve recently had Mattito’s and Pie Five, with Baha-ma Bucks coming up in May. Deuce, the Rough Rider mascot, was a big hit when he attended an assembly and walked carline in April. Over 130 people from Corbell turned out for the May 3

rd game.

On the academic front, PTA supplied snack packs of carrots and apples during STAAR testing. The teachers and students were so appreciative that PTA will make it a regular event. We’ve been showing our teachers the love recently, especially during Teacher Apprecia-tion Week. Students brought all kinds of treats while PTA provided an ice cream social, snow cones, Mason jar cups and more. As we move through May, our 4

th and 5

th-

graders are looking forward to their High Tech High Touch presentations, while the whole school is getting geared up for the Wacky Olympics Field Day. Our budding superstars will have the chance to show their talents at “Corbell Rocks Live on Broadway” on May 22

nd before the final push

to our summer break.

Local pta news

Click on a School’s name to connect to its PTA website




ASHLEY ELEMENTARY

The Ashley PTA has had two successful Healthy Lifestyles events in the last month. We held a

"Family Fun Fitness Night" on April 29th and had four stations where families could have fun ex-ercising together -- yoga, our very own jump rope team, Camp Gladiator had an outdoor bootcamp, and Texas Family Fitness did a station as well. We had waters donated and lots of raffles. Then on Wednesday, May 7th we had "Bike to School" Day and were amazed at the number of bikes that graced our campus! PTA handed out "smelly" stickers and waters to kids who rode that day. There weren't enough bike racks to hold them!

For our Teacher Appreciation Week we had a western theme and had gifts for the teachers and staff each day based on that -- drink holders dressed up like horses, a popcorn bar, mono-

grammed towels, mason jar soap dispensers, and a barbecue lunch. It was a hit!

Local pta news





COMSTOCK ELEMENTARY

As the year closes, Comstock Elementary PTA is thrilled to look back on a successful spring - and year! This spring, our students have benefitted from programs like Water Safety; a Live Well/Be Well family night in which 22 local wellness-centered businesses offered activities and information to par-ents and students about being healthy; another successful spring book fair in which we were able to donate Scholastic bucks to the Comstock library; and the grade-level specific, science program High Touch-High Tech activities at which presenters worked with students in high-interest and curricu-lum based activities. Students also shined in the Re-flections program participation. We had 36 entries into the Reflections program; eight of those made it to the Council level and one received 3

rd place.

Comstock PTA has also spoiled our teachers with a Superhero themed Teacher Appreciation Week. We also honored one of our own, out-going Treasurer, Julie Carroll, with a Lifetime membership award. As the year comes to a close, Comstock PTA is delight-ed to honor each of our volunteers throughout the year at a Volunteer Appreciation breakfast. But, perhaps we are the most overjoyed to be able to give a monetary gift to Comstock Elementary that will be used to enhance the classroom libraries!

Parents chat with a Live Well/Be Well night pre-

senter - an American Ninja Warrior competitor!

Comstock PTA is proud to present the 2014-

2015 Executive Board: (in order L to R) Presi-

dent: Holly Cannetelli; Secretary: Brandi Tay-

lor; Treasurer: Amy Groves; VP of Fundraising:

Emily King; VP of Membership: D’Anna Clay-

ton; VP of Programs: Kate Bologna.

Students listen to a presentation on Water

Safety.

Local pta news





CARROLL ELEMENTARY

For Carroll families, Family Fun Night always brings an exciting evening of games, raffles, dunk tanks, food and, of course, fellowship among friends. This year, the Carroll Family Fun Night got ROWDY with the Back to Sports program sponsored by the Na-tional Football League (NFL), American Heart Asso-ciation (AHA) and the National Parent Teacher As-sociation (PTA).

Back to Sports is a program designed to edu-cate parents, coaches and other stakeholders about youth wellness, benefits of sport participation and basic injury prevention. The American Heart Associ-ation provided medical experts and volunteers to address topics such as heat and hydration, musculo-skeletal and cardiac injury, in addition to concussion awareness at the interactive Back to Sports X’s and O’s activity station.

Participants moved through each station and gained new knowledge about all of these topics, but that’s not all! Rowdy, the official mascot of the Dallas Cowboys was there for the whole night to enjoy the fun! Carroll Families had the honor of be-ing the only school in Frisco that has hosted the Back to Sports program and loved having Rowdy there to celebrate Family Fun Night with us! It was such a positive and successful example of how col-laboration, such as that between the NFL, AHA and National PTA, benefits our community!

Local pta news





BLEDSOE ELEMENTARY

We love recognizing our teachers and staff for all of their hard work during Teacher Apprecia-tion Week at Bledsoe Elementary! Teachers enjoyed a breakfast bar, Sonic drinks, a luncheon hosted by our fantastic Hospitality committee headed up by Farrah Cox and neck and back massages to fin-ish up the week.

Bledsoe is hosting a Summer Reading Fiesta themed condensed Book Fair this Spring. Lori

Cook and her Book Fair committee have done an amazing job with the decorations and set up and we know that students will love the opportunity to stock up on books for their summer reading list!

Bledsoe will be hosting our annual Multicultural Night on Thursday, May 15. We have 21 countries represented (including Saudi Arabia, Columbia, Sweden, Brazil, Peru), and 4 US States (Hawaii, Oregon, Louisiana, and New Mexico). We will have Korean food from Bull Asian Bistro, hen-na tattoos from India, the chance to sample an edible volcano from Indonesia, the opportunity to have your name written in Chinese, and more! There will be cultural performances with dancing, singing, and even a Tae Kwon Do demonstration. It will be a fun night celebrating our wonderful

diversity at Bledsoe!

Our Bledsoe Carnival was a huge success this Spring. We had over 500 students in attend-ance and everyone enjoyed the cake walk, photo booth, inflatable games, rock climbing wall and much more. Kelly Walker and her Family Fun committee did an amazing job putting on this event. We also want to recognize our outstanding Bledsoe teachers who took a turn in the Beat the Bucket booth and were willing to get soaked on a chilly day. Bledsoe teachers are always so supportive and giving of their time! Some of our Bledsoe students will be leaving us to attend Hosp Elementary next year. We are sad to see them go, but we are certain that they will be in wonderful hands at their new school. We wish

you all the best!

Local pta news





BRIGHT ELEMENTARY

We Rocked Around the Clock at Bright’s 10th

Annual Sock Hop!

Our 10th annual Sock Hop was a huge success! Dancing, karaoke, music, pizza, cotton candy,

cupcake walk, memory photos, basket raffles, silent auction…these were just a few of the things that made the night so much fun. We wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to all of our many volunteers, teachers, and sponsors who made the night possible. From those parents who solicited donations for our silent auction and those who put our baskets together to the staff, parents, high school, and mid-dle school volunteers who served up pizza and ice cream floats – we couldn’t have done it without you! To all of the parents and staff who donated items for our baskets and silent auction – you’re the best! Special thanks to Alex Parker for DJing all of the great music throughout many years of ser-vice!!! To all of our sponsors who gave so much support – we thank you for your generosity. We are keeping our poodle skirts and penny loafers ready for next year’s Sock Hop!

10

th Annual Sock Hop Sponsors:

Allen Limousine, Amazeballs, Andromeda FC, ATA Taekwondo, Autosplash, Boarding Bunga-

low, Bob Lilly - Hall of Famer Dallas Cowboy, Bright Parents, Bright PTA, Cedars Woodfire Grill, Chick-fil-A, CiCi's Pizza, Cinemark Frisco Square, Color Me Mine, Corner Bakery, Costco, Cowboys Nail Bar, Dairy Queen, Dallas Arboretum, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Sidekicks, Dallas Stars, Dallas Zoo, Deanna Arbenowske, Dickies, Distinctively Hers, Eagle Gymnastics Academy, Express Cheer and Dance, FC Dallas, Fort Worth Museum of Science, Fort Worth Zoo, FreeBirds, Frisco Rough Riders, Frito Lay, Fuddruckers, Fuzzy's Taco, GameTruck Dallas, Gattitown, In and Out Burger, Integrated Health Ser-

vices Chiropractic, Jake Batt, Jake's Hamburgers, Julie Lollar, Julie Parker, Karen Samford, Kevin James McCrea Photography, La Hacienda, Lana and Ethan Levy, Liz King - 31 Gifts, Main Event, Mar-del, Massage Envy, Mellow Mushroom, Mooyah Burger, J'Adore Yogurt, Mystic Garden Photography, NRH20, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Papa Murphy's, Paws Dog Barkery, Pei Wei, Perot Museum, Pole Position Raceway, Pop Ins Maid Service, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Rusty and Liz King, Scholastic, School of Rock, Sci-Tech Discovery Center, Scotty P's Hamburgers, Sharkarosa, Sienna Massage, Smoothie King, Starbucks on Preston, Sun and Ski Sports, Strikz, Sylvan Learning Center, Texas Rangers, The Heard Museum, Top Golf-The Colony, Tutor Doctor of Frisco, Urban Air, Wasabi, Wise Orthodontics,

WOGA

Thanks so much to our wonderful Bright families whose support has made a huge difference

for the 2013-2014 school year!

Local pta news





ELLIOTT ELEMENTARY

With the end of school approaching, our PTA

has been keeping busy. We have amazing teachers and staff at Elliott, and we have “showered” them with our appreciation this Spring! We have cele-brated teacher and staff birthdays monthly with Nothing Bundt Cakes, and we provided a pizza din-ner before Elliott’s Open House in April. During Teacher Appreciation Week PTA delivered teachers and staff their favorite Sonic drinks, provided cards for students to fill out with sentiments of apprecia-tion for their teachers, and served a tasty breakfast Yogurt Bar. The highlight of Elliott’s Teacher Appre-ciation Week is the annual Outdoor Cookout for lunch – WatchDOGS dads grilled burgers and hotdogs for teachers and staff while PTA volunteers covered their lunch duty! To show appreciation for our hard-working PTA volunteers our Volunteer Co-ordinator hosted a lovely Volunteer Luncheon in April, serving a fantastic meal from Rosa’s Cafe with Nothing Bundt Cakes for dessert!!

This year we were again able to purchase

clay and supplies for a school-wide art program, as well as owl pellets for a science program. We pur-chased Scoggins Middle School t-shirts for each of our 5

th grade students, which will be presented at

their year-end ceremony. Our April Book Fair was a huge success – we love seeing our students so excit-ed about books, while being able to stock our li-brary with many more books!

Planning for our final Class Parties is now in

full swing. Coming Soon: Elliott’s End of Year Cele-bration…a fun evening of Elliott families picnicking on the school grounds and enjoying bounce hous-es/slides, sno cones, face painting & the ever-popular Soak the Teacher game. We will also enjoy a special performance by the Scoggins Jazz Band!

We are thrilled to have presented our PTA

Life Member Award to our Elliott Principal – Stacy Mills!

COBB MIDDLE SCHOOL ELEMENTARY

With the school year drawing to a close, Cobb PTA has been very busy or-ganizing several spring activities.

On Saturday, April 5th, Cobb PTA

held a Cobb Beautification Day where PTA, families, and staff worked side by side to spruce up school grounds. Fueled by coffee and donuts, mulching and weeding were on the agenda! This year, the project included both the exterior grounds and the interior school courtyard area. Staff and students planted generous-ly donated perennials, providing an array of color. The fruits of their labor can be ap-preciated on a daily basis, especially as students and staff study and eat in the beautified courtyard area. Through this event, our Cobb community came togeth-er to create a big impact on the beauty of our school!

On Tuesday, April 29, Cobb PTA

held its annual Cyclone Celebration! This year's event included games, rides, deli-cious sliders and snow cones, and perfor-mances by all three Cyclone Bands. This annual favorite was a complete success with a great turnout and fun for all. It was a great way to bring our community to-gether to celebrate the end of another great year at Cobb!

Local pta news





NICHOLS ELEMENTARY

Nichols Elementary PTA is celebrating an exciting and successful second year of growth. Our 2nd year PTA membership increased to 470 members, mak-ing us eligible to receive the Early Bird, Membership Increase, MARS, Silver, and other awards.

Our primary fundraiser, The Nichols Dash, raised $34,949.90 for our campaign to purchase a sun shade for our playground and sup port many school programs. We are so thankful for all the energy and

support this event had from our entire school com-munity!

Our Book Fairs were a great success this year, thanks to amazing volunteers, students and parents. Total combined sales for both Book Fairs were $42,645.21 which resulted in $10,298.16 to help build Nichols Library for our students. All for Books raised an additional $724.64 in the fall for Nichols Guided Reading Library

. This was our first year for the Cultural Arts Commit-tee, and we were excited to receive and submit 52

entries in the Reflections program! Our entries rep-resented every single category of the arts- Visual Arts, Film Production, Dance Choreography, Pho-tography, Musical Composition and Literature. We had 12 entries go on to District, 2 going on to state and one as runner up for Nationals. We enjoyed participating in Dess-Art, featuring our artwork and recognizing our talented kids in a slideshow at two Good Morning Nichols assemblies.

Our Technology Committee continued to build on last year’s success. Since Meet the Teacher night, we have had over 13,000 unique visitors to our web-site. We also have almost 300 people following us on Facebook, with our Red Ribbon photo reaching over 3,000 people (with 294 likes).

Technology assisted our Publicity Committee’s re-search and implementation of our new Online Di-rectory this year. With the online program, we were able to save more than $1,600 in costs while bring-ing in more sponsor-generated funds. In addition to the cost benefits, we found wonderful support from our family and faculty for this new directory forum.

The Nichols Elementary School Environmental & Safety Committee is proud to boast that we have two awesome Campus Recycling Coordi-nators in addition to a Green Team comprised of 42 4

th and 5

th grade students who faithfully

serve our campus each week by collecting re-cyclable materials on Wednesday mornings. Through our efforts, we have been able to raise awareness of the importance of recycling items not considered trash on our cam-pus. For a job well-done, the PTA and Green Team members took great pleasure in reward-ing 15 classrooms throughout the school year with special prizes provided by the City of Frisco’s Environmental Services Department!!

During the current school year, Nichols stu-dents, parents, faculty and staff also partici-pated in a variety of events held on our cam-pus including

(1) A year-round cafeteria recycling program for juice boxes, household batteries, plastic bags, cell phones, ink cartridges, and gently used shoes, (2) America Recycles Day 2013, The City of Frisco’s 2013 (3) Reuse for the Rescues Pet Item Drive, 2014 (4) Cell Phone Recycling Drive (5) Clean It & Green It events, and (6) Four hugely-successful walk to school events.

In retrospect, we realize that together we have reduced our carbon footprint by not just a little bit but by a great deal over the course of the school year. Keep up the GREEN work Nichols!! We are always grateful for our generous Hos-pitality Committee who continued to reward and support our amazing faculty and staff throughout the year. Our Hospitality Commit-tee worked with sponsors to offer Dessert Days for our staff and massages donated for Teacher Appreciation Week! They organized themed luncheons and Stock the Pantry days. Hospitality continues to work with our par-ents and community to make our faculty and staff feel appreciated and loved all year.

Local pta news





ROGERS ELEMENTARY

We’ve had a very busy Spring at Rogers!! FISD Night at the Rough Rider game was so much fun! We had lots of families hanging out together and enjoying a beautiful Texas evening! The week of March 5th was Teacher Appreciation Week - we tried to show our teachers how much we love them all week long!! On Thursday, we grilled out hamburg-ers and had a picnic lunch for the teachers-it was a blast!!! Field Day for K-4th was March 9th. It was a gor-geous day and the kids had great time with Belly Bumpers, leaky cup and sponge races!! 2nd-4th grades had some very competitive rounds of tug-of war! We had our final Membership Meeting on May 8th with a Disco Dance for the kids! Everyone en-joyed the last dance of the year!!! Thanks so all the Rogers teachers, staff and all our amazing PTA volunteers that have made this a won-derful school year!

Local pta news





GUNSTREAM ELEMENTARY

The Eagles have landed.... at Gunstream! Gunstream Elementary PTA has partnered with local nine local Boy Scouts representing four different troops to improve the outside areas of our school. Projects included painting games on the playground and bus circle cement, landscaping, building bench-es and picnic tables, painting character traits in the kinder pick up area and more. All the young men have been working on their Eagle service projects.In addition to providing service and fulfilling the part of the Scout Oath, “to help other people at all times,” one of the primary purposes of the Eagle Scout service project is to demonstrate or hone, or to learn and develop, leadership skills. Relat-ed to this are important lessons in project manage-ment and taking responsibility for a significant ac-complishment. Gunstream Elementary PTA provided the funding for each project and the Scouts provided the planning, project management, labor, managed their budgets and more with assistance from leaders, parents and fellow troop members. Each project averaged around $500 each. Kudos to Troops 77, 1188, 7187, 216 for training well mannered, quality individuals! It has truly been a very positive and rewarding opportunity to work with them. Thank you to top notch Scouts Henry Balboa, Cameron Steed, David Egan, John Massey, Justin Goodman, Josh Martin, Isaac Joanidis, Grant Thrasher and Brendan Armstrong! To recruit Boy Scouts to assist with projects at your school, contact committee members or Paul Am-monswith the Iron Horse District of the Circle 10 Council (214) 509-2118.

PUREFOY ELEMENTARY

Purefoy Elementary is finishing up another fabulous year with wonderful teachers and administrators, lots of new friendships, and many successful programs and events —fun run, book fairs, spring carnival, educational programs (High Touch High Tech, Dennis Lee, Orbit Earth, High Flying Excitement), Multi- Cultural Night, class parties, Diversability Days –to name a few.

The PTA was thrilled to be able to give the students at Purefoy an outdoor classroom complete with an interactive sundial and pic-nic tables. We were also able to give Purefoy additional Apple TVs and iPads as well as more books for our classroom libraries and the guided reading library. As we wrap up the school year we reflect on all of the fun we had but also at the growth of our students. The Purefoy PTA is thankful for the support the staff and administrators have given us this year. We are also thankful for the wonderful families at Purefoy. All of our accomplishments would not be possible with-out their support and willingness to volunteer at our events and activities. We are looking forward to another successful year in 2014-2015!

Local pta news





ISBELL ELEMENTARY

Isbell Elementary PTA has had a full year filled with lots of fun and educational PTA activities and events. We celebrated Isbell’s 10th anniversary with a Fair that was a wonderful community event with over 1,100 lbs. of food donated to Frisco Family Services. This year has been so successful for the programs that were brought to the students, we kicked it off with a visit from the fabulous Frisco Fire Safety Clowns then we had Dennis Mitchell come talk to parents about how to make homework painless! Soon after, The Bubble Lady visited Isbell and the kids had an unbelievable good time using just soap, water, & some science concepts! Our favorite motivational speaker Lloyd Bachrach spoke from the heart to our kids about the challenges he overcame by being "differently able." Then Katie Greer blew us all away by informing us of the ever emerging dangers of the In-ternet and how to use it safely. Don't forget to "like" her on Facebook to keep informed! We will be closing out our year with three days of customized programming by grade level from Sci-Tech since it was so well received last year. The science les-son content is all new, no repeats! On the last day of school we have our favor-ite puppet master Dennis Lee (the banana soup creator) to provide us with some new character stories and comic relief!

Wow, now that it’s all done, let's have a relaxing summer so we can do it again next year!

Local pta news





SHAWNEE TRAIL ELEMENTARY

Shawnee Trail PTA leaders believe enhancing the learning environment of our children by develop-ing programs and events for an exciting and productive year, is very important as they are our fu-ture. It takes all of us to ensure this happens! In order to be successful and achieve our goals, we have had the support of parents, teachers and staff, as well as business leaders in our community.

Thank you to everyone that volunteered throughout the year. Our success was truly a team effort!

MARCH - PTA Programs chair Tracy Thomas organized the fabulously successful Spring Family Fun Night. Our own Nurse Larson and other members of the Shawnee Bike Club provided bicycle safety checks. While working toward the completion of his Eagle Scout service project, Spencer Schoen and his fellow scouts did finger printing ID cards for our students. Dessert was provided and served by some of our PTA board members. FUN was had by all with a rock climbing wall, bounce house, bike

riding obstacle course, and food trucks from Tutta’s and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.

APRIL - What an amazing Book Fair! Thank you to our librarian, Mrs. Pearson, Book Fair chairperson, Helena Erickson, and all volunteers that helped make it a success!! A big thank you to the families that came to shop and supported the Spring Fiesta Book Fair featuring the Minions from “Despicable Me” And a special thank you to the businesses that supported us with their generous donations and

food for our Breakfast & Books event.

MAY – Hands Up for the Best Teachers in Town!

During Teacher Appreciation week PTA started off the week by helping our room parents decorate the doors for teachers, staff and specials teachers. There was a fun activity for each day of the week for all to participate in. We feel like we have the best teachers in town – hands down! Thank you to

our school for showing your love and support for the Shawnee Trail Teachers and Staff

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C O U N C I L E X E C U T I V E B O A R D

President Susan Thomas [email protected]

Aide to the President Marisol Randle [email protected]

Secretary Kathy Mecom [email protected]

Treasurer Susan Baker [email protected]

Parliamentarian Kindra Strachan [email protected]

Historian Melanie Crosby [email protected]

Fundraising Cheryl Pembleton [email protected]

Arts In Education Michelle Wilkins [email protected]

Membership Debbie Pasha [email protected]

Programs Liz Watkins [email protected]

Environmental Molly Kinson [email protected]

Legislative Debbie Gillespie [email protected]

Inclusiveness Kristi Schaffer [email protected]

SAGE Lizeth LoCicero [email protected]

Training Anne McCausland [email protected]

Newsletter/Publicity Athirai Baskaran [email protected]

Volunteers Ginger Tarbet [email protected]

Technology Marcy O'Neill [email protected]

Healthy Lifestyles Allison Gutschlag [email protected]

Watch D.O.G.S. J D Tomlin [email protected]

The Communicator is published by the Frisco Independent School District Council

of PTAs. The Communicator is distributed to FISD Principals, FISD PTA

Presidents,

Council Delegates, FISD Council of PTAs Board Members, FISD Administration

and Board of Trustees. The Communicator may be distributed to all FISD PTA

members.


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volume11, issue 5 president’s message · programs (face the future panel, sensory parent...

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