Recent changes to NPS guidelines mean that PTO-sponsored gatherings can now take place inside Mason-Rice. Please keep your eye out for upcoming social and community events (both inside and outside!). The PTO calendar also contains the dates for these events and you can view it by clicking here. We are looking forward to a great spring!

Information about school-sponsored events (such as musical concerts and field day) will be forthcoming when more information is known. 

To add the PTO calendar to your Google calendar, follow these steps:

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. On the left, next to “Other calendars,” click “Add other calendars” and then “From URL”.
3. Enter the calendar’s address: (use this URL)  
4. Click “Add calendar”. The calendar appears on the left, under “Other calendars.”

Note: It might take up to 12 hours for changes to show in your Google Calendar.

You can add it to other calendars with this iCal link.

On March 14th, M-R students will be reading The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson in a shared reading experience across the school. In addition, join the following Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ)-sponsored parent events to meet other parents, discuss The Year We Learned to Fly, learn about FORJ and brainstorm future community events. We will have copies of the book available.

• Monday, 3/14: All students will be listening to the book as a read-aloud in their classroom, followed by a guided discussion.
• Monday, 3/14, 7PM: Virtual reading for students/families led by Jake Bultema, Lisa Addleman, and Jennifer Reed. Join via Zoom by clicking here (or Meeting ID: 884 9677 5300 | Meeting Passcode: [see e-mailed PTO Notes])
• Wednesday, 3/16, 7:30-9:00PM: Fireside S’mores (Location: 23 Chapin Road backyard- please RSVP here.)
• Thursday, 3/17 after drop-off: Parent Coffee in front of M-R

Questions? Email Janelle Phillips or Molly Perencevich

Returning this year is the Mason-Rice STEAM Playground, a hands-on celebration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. On April 6th (for grades K-2) and April 13th (for grades 3-5) from 9am-12pm, our students will be working together to complete design challenges and participate in STEAM activities! Each class will have 1 hour to complete 3 activities, so we’d love your help to keep things moving smoothly. We are looking for parent volunteers on each day to fulfill two roles: Activity Leaders and Assistants.

– Activity Leaders: Parents who feel comfortable leading an activity (the STEAM team will help plan and prepare the activity). Would ideally participate from 8:30am – 12:30pm, but if you are not available the entire time let us know in the comments.

– Assistants: Parents who assist with setup/cleanup and help the leaders run the activity. There are 3 time slots each morning. 

Sign up here: 

Feel free to sign up for time slots when your child’s class is at the “Playground.” This is a great way to interact with your child’s class!

Please contact Sharon Topper, Molly Perencevich, and Michael Ewins with questions.

Enthusiasm For Origami!

Jokes On Display

Our webteam is in need for some volunteers next year! Ideally someone who has experience with WordPress. Light workload — mainly updating website software 2x/month and helping to upload information to the PTO website. Anyone curious or interested, please contact Gina Rhee ASAP.

Your usual shopping can support PTO-funded activities (such as teacher classroom allowances, appreciation lunches, and curriculum-enhancing programming for all our students). Last year, the Mason-Rice community shopped with our partners and raised nearly $1500 while participation in our Spring '21 Restaurant Series raised an additional $1100! 

Note that these programs/partnerships, below, run year-round!

Enjoy 20% off Minted cards & gifts with promo code [see e-mailed PTO Notes]. 15% of each order will be donated back to the PTO.