Arrowhead Elementary PTA 6.10.5

Newcomers' Inside Tips!

Provided by your New Family PTA Chairs

Cindy Jensen (cindyj@microsoft.com) and Jackie Suarez (jackie.suarez@comcast.net)

Happy March!

Pancake Breakfast - Saturday, March 6th starting at 8am.

This is an all you can eat breakfast ($2 for a child, $3 for an adult and $10 for a family).  It's a fun event and the teachers cook the breakfast!   

Science Fair

Tuesday, March 16th from 6:30pm - 8:30pm.  Kids of all grade participate, even kindergarteners.  Your child can have an exhibit, or participate in the egg drop or just come to the event.  There are hands on stations and the kid exhibits are awesome!

TAKE ADVANTAGE!!

Arrowhead PTA was honored by receiving the 2009 Outstanding Local Unit of the Year award from the Washington State PTA in large part due to the devotion and hard work of Arrowhead PTA volunteers helping to enrich our students and strengthen our school community.  The PTA sponsors many programs that have become longstanding traditions at Arrowhead.  This year the PTA has added several new activities such as skating night and knitting class.  This is not a comprehensive list of all PTA committees but is intended to provide you with an overview of many of the events and programs that are available to students and their families.  Read all about the offerings and be sure to TAKE ADVANTAGE!

Recurring Activities

• Every Tuesday, your youngest child will come home with “kid mail” including informational flyers from the PTA.  You will receive this weekly PTA one-page newsletter detailing upcoming events and registration deadlines.
• Your child will come home with this monthly comprehensive newsletter detailing more information about upcoming activities, PTA meeting details, legislative issues, PTA volunteer thanks and other information.

• Once a month (usually on the first Friday), your child may buy a bag of popcorn for 25 cents during recess.

• Through First Mutual bank, students can setup banking accounts and make bi-weekly bank deposits on Banking Days at Arrowhead.  Occasional prizes given by the bank for frequent deposits.

Family Events

• This event offers a chance for the new incoming kindergartners to have a playdate on Arrowhead school grounds just prior to the first day of school. 

• The new family welcome dinner offers new Arrowhead families an opportunity to meet the principal, ask questions and get to know other new families.  Come hear more about the school and the PTA.  Attendees can ask questions and eat free food prior to joining the rest of the school community at the ice cream social.  Sept 3 @ 6:00 in the Library.

• Enjoy ice cream served to you by the teachers of Arrowhead and while you’re at it, learn about and register for some of the great PTA programs that will be offered this year.  Sept 3 @ 6:30pm in Gym.

• The PTA offers two coffee socials where parents can come drink coffee, eat tasty baked goods and socialize just after dropping off their children.  Both are at 8:50am on Sept 2 (room 132) and Jan 8 (room TBD)

• Students of all ages are invited to participate in this event (K-6).  Students can classify collections, build models or apparatuses, test a hypothesis by doing an experiment or do a research project and display their findings at the science fair.  Students and family members can participate at different hands-on science experiment stations and participate in yearly fun challenges such as an egg drop contest or a catapult contest.  Every student entering a project in the fair will receive a custom participation certificate and a ribbon.  Everyone is invited to attend the science fair (not just project participants).  A great night for family fun and learning.  Mar 16 @ 6:30 pm in the Gym.

• Throughout the year the PTA sponsors movie nights in the gym.  Kids can dress in their pajamas and bring pillows, blankets, or sleeping bags to watch the chosen film.  Popcorn and candy are for sale.  This is not a drop-off event so a parent must attend.  Movies are family-friendly so good for the younger siblings as well.  Oct 8, Jan 28, and Apr 1 @ 6:30 in the gym.  Note: Jan 28 may become Skating night.

• New!  Details of this event have not been finalized, but there has been interest expressed in a school Skating Night. Stay tuned for more information.  It is tentatively set for Jan 28.

• What father can resist an opportunity to eat donuts and coffee with his kids?  Just before school on Feb 12, Dads, bring your kids and enjoy donuts, coffee, and the chance to chat with other dads.

• This community favorite offers the biggest and best tasting pancakes, ham, and eggs around.  Our pancake flippers are none other than our own beloved Arrowhead staff!  Every child wants pancakes made by their teacher!  Other fun activities include the bike rodeo, my ID club and a chance to climb inside a real fire engine.  You can also offer some time to clean up the Arrowhead grounds and gardens.  Mar 6 @ 8am in the Gym.

• Doing a Spring cleaning of your closet or your kids’ closets?  Bring your clothes to the clothing exchange!  For each article of clothing you bring, you receive a ticket to peruse and exchange for clothes.  Last year kids had the best time shopping for “free” clothes.  All leftover clothing is taken to a local charity.  Feb 25 (tentative)

• Arrowhead families (including younger siblings over 2 years) get treated to a night of good family fun. Mr. Burke incorporates dance moves into the PE curriculum before this dance night.  A hired DJ plays great songs and helps lead the dances the kids have been working on. Don’t miss this fun family night.  Last year, parents voted this night as one of the activities that must continue in years to come.  Mar 26 @ 7:00 – 9:00pm.

• New for Spring 2010.  Come celebrate works of art from every student at Arrowhead, as well as review the submissions to the National PTA reflections program.  The ever-popular school-wide art auction will also be happening during this event.  Watch for a date, probably in early May.

• Show us your best!  Arrowhead Student Talent Show in the Spring.  This is a fun and exciting event to showcase our own talented kids with 3-minutes-or-less routines by groups and individuals.  Free event!

Child Enrichment

The before and after school programs below that use an outside vendor for instruction will be offered at a price set by the vendor.  Partial scholarships are available if needed. 

• Foreign Language for Youth is offering language classes to students in grades 1-6 at Arrowhead Elementary.  Classes begin October 13th and continue until April with 40 lessons following the school calendar.  Classes are offered before school (8:25am-9:05am) on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  This year both Spanish and French will be offered.  This is a great opportunity for your student to learn a foreign language from a teacher who is fluent and eager to share language and culture.  The class sizes are small (10 students) allowing for individual attention.  Students learn through the natural approach where they play games, sing songs and physically respond to fun commands.  They partner with other students to work on problem solving.  The active learning environment accommodates for different learning styles and short attention spans.  Parents are invited to attend two student presentation days.  Ask about scholarships.

•  Are you and your kids interested in the environment? Love growing things? The Green Team, combined with the Garden Committee, might be the perfect fit! We’ve got big plans this year, including an after school program featuring fun, educational projects aimed at increasing Arrowhead students’ eco-awareness, not to mention many exciting combined gardening and green activities!

• Using a local art instruction company, kids can participate in up to 3 sessions (Fall, Winter, Spring).  Each session meets on Tuesdays for 6 weeks.  This year there will be a new and improved curriculum.  This is a wonderful enriching program and appropriate for kids of all ages (K-6).  Sessions start on Sept 29, Feb 23, and Apr 27. 

• If your kids enjoy learning the science behind airplanes, the earth’s atmosphere, magic tricks, toys and more, you will want to sign them up for after school science.  We bring in Mad Science to teach a session in the Winter and in the Spring.  Classes will be held on Wednesdays after school and the first session begins on Feb 24.  Look for registration forms to come home with students after the holidays. 

• For 8 weeks after Winter Break parent volunteers will teach older students (4-6) to knit on Wednesdays after school. The only cost will be for supplies. Space will be limited, in order to ensure enough help for the students.  Currently seeking additional volunteers to assist with this program and allow for more participation.
• PTA sponsors after-school chess using instructors from Chess4Life.  The instructors focus on positively encouraging students at all levels, developing sportsmanship and ''team play'', and providing the opportunities that students need in order to succeed.  Chess is scheduled for Mondays with a Fall session starting on Sept 21 and a Winter start on Jan 11.

•  Each year, Arrowhead hosts Missoula Children’s Theatre, a traveling theatre group, for a week of theater with our students.  Children audition and then rehearsals are held the remainder of that week with two performances on Saturday.  This is a great opportunity for kids to be immersed in an intensive fun-filled musical theater experience.  Lots of roles for boys and girls of all ages and lots of opportunities for parent volunteers.  Feb 1-6

• The National PTA Reflections Program is an arts recognition and achievement program for students. The program provides opportunities for students to express themselves creatively and to receive positive recognition for original works of art inspired by a pre-selected theme, while increasing community awareness on the importance of the arts in education.

• Does your child enjoy reading? Or perhaps needs a little incentive to read? Book Club might be just the thing! Arrowhead PTA Book Club for grades 3rd through 6th are grade level specific & meet at lunch time once a week for 4 to 6 weeks (date of first week TBD).  Books are approved by the district and if mom & dad want to help with the reading that's okay.

For Arrowhead Staff

• On Oct 9, the PTA will host an Arrowhead Staff appreciation lunch. Please help show our gratitude for such a wonderful, hardworking staff.

• During May 3-7, PTA volunteers pamper the Arrowhead staff to show appreciation for the wonderful job they do teaching and helping our children.  Activities include providing lattes in the morning, washing staff cars, providing breakfast, offering lunch, and fun gifts.

PTA Fundraising Events

• New! Through the PACE program, you can raise money for PTA each time you eat out at a PACE restaurant or shop at a PACE retailer, plus you get 20% back on your first purchase at each restaurant.  This simple program requires you to register your current VISA or Mastercard on the secure PACE program website and your savings and PTA earnings are realized each time you buy from participating vendors.  Look for informational packets to be sent home on Sept 15.

• Students challenge themselves to read a set number of minutes each week over the course of three weeks.  A collective school-wide goal for total reading minutes is announced and tracked weekly.  There are fun incentives in store for reaching these goals!  Weekly participation prizes are handed out to students.  This is PTA’s major Fall fundraiser in which students collect sponsorships for their reading efforts in the form of donations and are eligible for additional fundraising prizes.  This year, the read-a-thon begins on Oct 13.

• In June, kids participate in this healthy fundraiser by walking or running laps around the track to the sound of their favorite tunes.  Students collect sponsorships in support of their efforts in the form of donations and are entered into drawings for fabulous prizes donated by local businesses based on the level of donations collected.  All students receive a participation prize.  This is PTA’s major Spring fundraiser and this year will be held on Friday, June 4.

• With the support of amazing PTA art docents, each classroom creates a high quality piece of art for display and auction at the Art Night to be held in the Spring.

If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to contact One of our PTA New Family team members:

Jackie Suarez: jackie.suarez@comcast.net

Cindy Jensen: cindyj@microsoft.com