Weekly Update
Race for Education is tomorrow! Make sure to get all of your last-minute donations in today. Follow the schedule below to know when you can support your child/ren. Please send your child to school with a water bottle to use during Race for Education. We hope everyone enjoyed building their scarecrows last week. Come by to visit all of the impressive creations before they come down next week! Tomorrow is also the last day to get your Spiritwear order in before the online sale closes.
Race for Education Fundraiser
FUNDRAISING UPDATE
We've raised $11,900 so far!
TOP TEACHERS
1st: Teft $1,400
2nd: Fullen $985
3rd: Bedard $860
TOP STUDENTS
Mackenzie Dingel: $1,055
Miles Robinson: $550
Bray Hudson: $260
152 students out of 758 have raised $11,900 currently with at least one donation and we will continue collecting money after the 25th (that is the cut off date for prizes). If you know anyone who hasn’t participated or signed up yet please share.
WHY RACE FOR EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT
This is our primary fundraiser for the year and we have tried to make it both easy and fun for everyone.
If each student raises $50, we will reach our goal and those funds will go directly to the students through computers in the classroom, fun and educational assemblies, additional books for the library and classrooms, as well as, family free nights, after school clubs, field trips, sporting equipment, indoor recess activities and other educational resources.
So, keep sponsoring your student/s, posting to friends in social media, emailing links to family and friends and sending in labels so we can get letters out.
Send in money cash/check to your student's teacher with their child’s name grade and teacher on envelope so they get credit for their donation. You can still register or login online and share with family and friends. Our school identifier is 5d77b1bee56da.
RACE DAY AND PRIZES
A $50 Amazon Gift card will be given to the student in each grade who raises the most money. The Teacher with the most amount raised will win a Chromebook for their classroom. Everyone will receive a participation prize and mystery prizes will be drawn at random as incentives throughout the fundraising period.
Some of the prizes we have so far:
A 4pk of tickets to a Temple football game at Lincoln Financial Field
Harlem wizards tickets
$50 amazon gift cards
JUST ADDED >> A 6pk Reading Phillies ticket package
If we reach our goal, Principal Kim and staff will participate in some fun and exciting games! Final prizes will continue to be announced as we get closer to Race day.
VOLUNTEER
Parents will be needed Friday throughout the day. We will need volunteers to help the kids play games at different stations. All parents are welcome to run/walk/play games and dance with their children on the field!
McKinley Spiritwear Time!
The Fall McKinley Spiritwear event has begun! You have two weeks to place your orders! Final order date is Friday, October 25th. We have some new items and hope you enjoy the selection.
Rest of Season Garden Schedule, Lots of Help Needed
The garden is still in full swing, and weather permitting, will be through early December. Many of our traditional activities like learning about garlic and popping popcorn are coming up - please see the notes with the sign-ups below as to what is schedule for each week. All of the activities need plenty of volunteers in order to happen so please consider signing up to help in the garden.
Please contact mzamborsky@gmail.com if you have any questions about the garden.
Planned Activity: Tasting kohlrabi and carrots
Planned Activity: Popping and eating popcorn, cleaning garlic
Planned Activity: Planting and tasting garlic
Planned Activity: Either pinecone birdfeeders or clean-up day
Drama Club
Please check the Sunday emails for weekly reminders and updates.
Next Week
Tuesday, October 29: Prologue
Wednesday, October 30: Prologue and Scene 4
No rehearsal on October 31 - Happy Halloween!
**All rehearsals are until 5pm***
We need your help, please sign up to volunteer!
Request from Nurse
While you're cleaning out your closets, put aside any elastic waist pants and shorts for the nurse and send them in with your student/s.
6th Grade Election Day Bake Sale
Stop by school on Election Day (Tuesday, November 5) for a 6th grade bake sale. Donations of baked goods are needed as well as volunteers for the day. Kids can sign up to volunteer for service hours! You and/or your child/ren can sign up below. Any questions can be directed to Chrissy McGinn at camcg0174@gmail.com.
Book Fair Update
Thank you for all the purchases and volunteers that helped to make the Scholastic Book Fair a huge success this year! Along with the money raised for the PTO, and in addition to the money raised towards "All for Books", we were able to donate 105 new books to the library and add 95 more books to the teacher/staff's libraries on top of the generosity of parents filling their wishlists as well!!!
Remember the pre-sale books, Dog Man Fetch-22 will be delivered after December 10, 2019 and Diary of a Wimpy Kid Wrecking Ball, will be delivered after November 5, 2019.
If you have any questions about your order, please contact Elena at elenaloughney1@hotmail.com.
Crayola ColorCycle Marker Collection
Do you have dried up or broken markers at home? Don't throw them away. Collect them and have your student/s bring them to school so they can be recycled through Crayola's ColorCycle program. A collection bin will be stationed at the Art Room and you can download the flyer for more background!
New Box Top Program
The old Box Tops are being phased out! If you have any clipped Box Tops at home, please send them in an envelope noting your child’s class number and teacher. There is a new collection sheet (see link below). Expiration dates still matter for the clipped Tops but the new electronic Box Tops will not have an expiration date. The flyer in the link below provides information on how the new program works. It involves getting the new app on your phone and scanning your grocery receipts after the purchase of participating items. McKinley’s ID number is 383838 – you can set up an account and we will get the credit anytime you scan a receipt. There is an additional “Give Credit” option after you scan your receipt- you can enter your child’s class number and teacher. Submissions can be tracked throughout the school year. Instead of doing contests in January and February, an end of year winner will be announced and the winning class will receive a water ice party. Please consider getting the app and helping McKinley with this easy fundraiser. We have raised over $27,000 for McKinley over the years. Thank you!
STEAM Club
STEAM Clubs need your help for the grades 2 & 3 session! We are looking for parent volunteers to assist teachers in the after school clubs that will be starting the week of October 15 and run once a week for 4 weeks. If you have a 2nd or 3rd grader, or even if you don’t and want to help, please let Natasha Hatton know by emailing her at natasha.hatton@gmail.com.
The more volunteers we have to help, the more students we can accept into the clubs! In order to volunteer, please be sure to have all clearances in place and submitted to the District. You can learn more about clearances on the McKinley PTO site here. Thank you in advance!!
6th Grade Mum Sale
The 6th grade class is selling mum vouchers! The vouchers are $10 for 8" mums from Kremp Florist in Willow Grove. You then use the voucher pick out your own beautiful mums for the Fall season! You can purchase the voucher by sending in money or a check (check payable to the McKinley PTO with MUM in the notes section.) Be sure to label the envelope "mums." The sale lasts from 9/27-10/11! Don't forget to tell family & friends!
Dragon Ticket Volunteers Needed
Looking for volunteers to help at the end of the day to distribute Dragon Tickets to the students. It takes about 15 minutes and you rotate with the other volunteers by coming in once a week, every few weeks. If you are interested or would like to find out more information, please email Elena Loughney at elenaloughney1@hotmail.com.
Abington Parent Council Meetings
The Abington Parent Council holds meetings throughout the year with each meeting having a focused topic. On Wednesday, October 16th, at 7pm, the Parent Council meeting will be held at Copper Beech Elementary School. The topic for this meeting is Bullying Prevention. All Abington parents and guardians are welcome to attend!
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
7:00pm
Copper Beach Elementary
Bullying Prevention
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
7:30pm
Overlook Elementary
Student Services Orientation How to Access Services
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
7:30pm
Highland Elementary
Vaping and Substance Abuse
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
7:30pm
Abington Junior High School
Community Showcase
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
7:30pm
Willow Hill Elementary
Social Media Online Risks
Join the New Directory
The My School Anywhere directory has been transferred to a new platform, Membership Toolkit.
We invite you to visit https://mckinleyptoelkinspark.membershiptoolkit.com/ to add or review and confirm your directory record. If you have completed a form at a Kindergarten orientation, your entry has been entered. Once you create a Membership Toolkit Account, you will have access to the Directory.
Here's what you need to do:
Click on the Register/Login button.
If you already had a My School Anywhere account, you can use the same email and password to login. You can then proceed to the numbered steps below.
If you do not have an account with the My School Anywhere system, select "Create Account" and fill in the name, email, and password information.
Click "verify my email" and then check your email for a link to complete the process. The link expires in 2 hours. If you do not receive the email, check your spam or junk folders.
Once you have verified your email address, log back in and finish the registration process.
Complete the Parent/Family and Student Information.
Complete the Directory/Publish Preferences.
Once the Primary Account is set up, the Primary User can "invite" other email addresses to access his/her account. This allows the Secondary User to have their own login information, but still have access to the family account.
Access to My School Anywhere will no longer be available after Monday, September 9.
Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact us at mckinleypto@gmail.com.
Lost and Found
Our Lost and Found bin, located in the Main Lobby, is filled with lost clothing and items. Please find some time to look through the bin. To avoid an overflow of items, anything left in the bin at the end of each month will be donated to a local organization. This means the first time the Lost and Found bin will be cleared this year will be Friday, September 27.
Club Advisors and Coaches
If any parents are interested in becoming an advisor/coach for one of the clubs below, please email our Assistant Principal,RobertHowe@Abington.k12.pa.us. Advisors must have their volunteer badges and must attend training with the participating organizations. More information can be found on the organization websites.
Girls on the Run: This program encourages girls to be involved in athletic activity while working on positive self-esteem and healthy student development. Girls are invited to participate in teams with a coach who trains them for the ultimate goal of participating in a race during the course of the school year. Students meet from March through May. For more information, visit the Girls on the Run website: https://www.gotrpa.org/
Odyssey of the Mind: Odyssey of the Mind is an educational program that involves competitive creative problem solving. Space on the teams is limited, and selection will be made through tryouts. Students meet from October through March and then compete in the Odyssey of the Mind Competition in the Spring. For more information, visit the National Odyssey of the Mind website: http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/
6th Grade Families
We are looking for volunteers to be on this year’s 6th Grade Committee, as well as chair some of these committees. There are lots of activities for the 6th graders and the committee handles the planning and fundraising for these events. The 6th Grade Committee also receives monetary support from the PTO.
We would like those who are interested to please email: michele.metzgar@gmail.com, so we may create a list of people to contact once the 2019-2020 school year begins.
Thank you for your interest!
Michele Metzgar and Kelly Moore
Head 6th Grade Committee Chairs
Fox Chase Gymnastics
Please take a look at the flyer regarding the fall program at Fox Chase Gymnastics.
McKinley PTO Volunteer Opportunities
McKinley PTO is always looking for volunteers. We are currently looking for these specific co-chairs, but would welcome your involvement in any of the activities and committees:
Art to Remember
Build-A-Scarecrow Night
Career Night
Environmental Center (Garden)
Holiday Shoppe
Spring Fair
Teacher Appreciation
Yearbook
Assemblies
For a full list of opportunities and to see who currently chairs committees, visit the PTO website's Committees page or reach out to us at mckinleypto@gmail.com.
McKinley PTO Membership
We ask each family for a $10 dues. Your membership dues help to create an exciting environment where our children learn and grow. Membership also allows you to vote at PTO meetings. We hope to have your support so we can help in giving your children a great school year!
We accept payment of dues anytime during the school year. You can pay your dues by check (payable to "McKinley Elementary PTO") or cash and send them to school with your child in an envelope marked "PTO DUES". You can pay dues electronically if you have a PayPal account. Visit paypal.me/mckinleypto. Please enter your dues amount (PLEASE DO NOT CHECK THE BOX that indicates the payment is for "goods or services") and include PTO Membership Dues in the notes section, along with your child's name, grade, and teacher.
McKinley PTO Website
Please visit the McKinley PTO website to learn more about what the PTO does. These are some of the things you can find on the website:
event listings
subscribe to the Google calendar
find volunteer opportunities
contact the board members
weekly emails
get clearance form information for volunteering
Also, if you have photos to share for the photo gallery, feel free to forward them to mckinleypto@gmail.com.