PTO Notes 11-05-21
You can now expect your PTO Notes on Friday mornings!
In This Edition
- NEW & UPCOMING:
- HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED:
- SUPPORT: Fundraising Promotions: Mabel’s Labels, Minted, AmazonSmile
New & Upcoming
Gift of Giving – Sign up TODAY!
The Gift of Giving team is excited to be out in front of the school TODAY(!) helping parents select mittens with details on how to fulfill holiday wishes for a child in need. Look for volunteers at the front entrance of Mason-Rice during drop-off and pick-up times, and select a paper mitten with details on how to shop for a child this holiday season. Please look for additional details sent home in your child’s backpack this week.
Any wishlists that haven’t been taken today will be transferred to a Sign-Up on Membership Toolkit this weekend. Please consider sponsoring a child’s wish list!
We are always in need of a few volunteers to help sort and wrap items, and deliver gifts. If you can help, please contact Jay Wood or Michele Niepel.
The Mason-Rice Book Fair is Coming!!
WHEN: Wednesday Nov. 17th – Sunday, Nov. 21st
- Wed. 11/17- Sun. 11/19 – Classroom visits to the outdoor Book Fair
- Wed. 11/17, 7-8:10pm – Zoom Pajama Party Read Aloud
- Sun. 11/21, 1-4pm – Family event with outdoor Book Fair shopping and more!
- Outdoor (in person!) and online (in pj’s!) shopping options
- Bookmark contest ends on Wed. 11/10.
What can you do today?
- Design and return bookmark template to their teacher by next Wednesday to enter the bookmark design contest.
- Check out the detailed Book Fair Information flyer that was sent home this week.
- Sign up to volunteer in your child’s class at the outdoor fair during school hours or at the Sunday family event!
We cannot wait to celebrate Mason-Rice’s love for literacy this November!
Green Team: Kids Campus Cleanup Series
WHEN:
Monday 11/15, 2:50-4pm (Gr. 3-5)
Tuesday 11/30, 2:50-4pm (Gr. 1-3, with parent/guardian)
WHERE:
Mason-Rice Playground
Have you noticed trash on our playground? Want to help keep our environment clean? Join the M-R Green Team to clean up our playground while having fun! M-R Green Team parents Wendy Sheuand Yvonne Chen are launching a series of after-school outdoor sessions twice a month. Every session will run from 2:50-4pm and comprise of a Mason-Rice campus cleanup and a hands-on activity and/or environmental art project. This program is geared towards M-R students who care about the environment and are interested in making our community greener.
Join us! Find additional details and sign up HERE to join our November session(s). Limited space, first-come first-served!
Here’s What Happened
5th Grade Spooktacular & Bake Sale
A special thanks to the Mason-Rice community for coming out and supporting both the Halloween Spooktacular and the Bake Sale over the past week! The enormous effort put forth by our 5th grade families was met in kind with a great turnout at both events. As a special treat, baskets of bake sale items were donated to our teachers, the after-school staff, and to nursing staff at local hospitals!
At the helm of the 5th grade committee is Karen Flood and Yvonne Chen who worked tirelessly to support both events. Major thanks to the Spooktacular team of Patrick Song, Laurie Mitchell and Aileen Pollard, the Bake sale team of Gabrielle Billeter, Io Cyrus, Anne Marie Oliphant and Dan Zandman as well all of the parents and 5th graders who planned, staffed, baked and volunteered at both events.
In-person CAS presentation: Annawon Weeden visits 5th grade
Thanks to parent donations to the PTO, the Mason Rice Creative Arts & Sciences committee was able to host the first in-person CAS presenter since March 2020! Annawon Weeden, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, visited the fifth grade classes on Monday, November 1. A modern day representative of the Wampanoag people, Annawon provided historical and culture information from a uniquely personal perspective using stories, language, and objects. The 5th graders also helped Annawon either build or take down a tree-branch lean-to! Ask your 5th grader about how the turtle shell represents the geological features of North America!
New Family Buddy Event
The New Family Buddy Event was held on Sunday, October 24th, and the beautiful weather helped to make it a big success! New and old families (63 people in total) mingled on the school grounds and enjoyed a petting zoo (with bunnies, chickens, ducks, and even a goat, … ), some arts and crafts, an animal-themed wordsearch or a simple chat over coffee.
Thank you to all the “old” families for helping our new families feel so welcome at our school and in our community.
Teacher Appreciation
Last Friday, the PTO was able to show our appreciation to the Mason-Rice faculty and staff with a breakfast of coffee and doughnuts. Teachers dedicated time and effort to prepare for and hold parent-teacher conferences and we were happy to give them a little boost to help keep their energy up!
MTK App Tip!
Searching for an older PTO blast? You can find it on your MTK phone app! From the menu (☰), click on Messages. All of your past PTO emails can be found there!
Calendar Reminders
Support the Businesses that Support Us
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!
- Go to Mabel's Labels homepage and click "Support a Fundraiser"
- Type and select "Mason-Rice Elementary School PTO" in the menu
- Shop your order and check-out as usual
- Mabel's Labels will automatically donate 20% of the order back to the PTO
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.
Stay in touch. Stay informed. Get involved!
