Welcome to the 2015-2016 School Year!

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! I hope everyone is off to a great start.

We’d like to say a big Thank You to all of the volunteers that took the time to weed and harvest in the Community Garden this summer and take the donations to the South Coventry Food Pantry. You have really helped our community!

If you haven’t already done so, please fill out your information so that you can be included in our Family Directory! The PTA sponsors and publishes this directory annually. Our hope is that every family in the school will participate to make this a very useful tool. Please click here or visit our homepage to fill out your information. The deadline to submit your information is September 18th!

Our PTA is so successful because of its members. Everyone can join the PTA; it is a great way to put your skills and hobbies to use for a noble cause: your child and all children in the community. It is also a great way to meet other parents and teachers and discuss issues that are on your mind. You can join the PTA here - $7.50 for an individual membership or $15 for a couples membership.

Our Unfundraiser Campaign is ongoing. The Unfundraiser is our PTA’s non-selling approach to fundraising and it allows 100% of your contribution to go directly to the West Vincent PTA. We will not ask your child to sell gift wrap, magazines or coupon books, but rather have received favorable feedback to the Unfundraiser approach! When you fill out the form for your PTA Membership, you can make a contribution to the Unfundraiser from the same page! Or you can go to our website and donate there. Your donations go directly towards making an impact on every child in West Vincent Elementary.

Beginning next week, there are a few dates to add to your calendar…

Tuesday, September 8th is the first PTA Meeting of the year. Please join us to hear what we have planned for the year and to offer up new ideas. The meeting will take place at the school in the library at 6:30 pm. Meetings generally take place on the second Tuesday of each month. The time alternates each month from an evening meeting to a morning meeting (9:30 at the Hankin Library) to accommodate different schedules. You can see our full list of meeting dates/times here.

On Friday, September 11th please come out to the school for our annual Back To School Bash. The Bash is a fun time for the whole family to meet new friends and catch up with those you haven’t seen all summer. There is food available for purchase, Spirit Wear for sale, a DJ for dancing, and just a general good time to be had by all!

Remember to keep collecting those Box Tops - they are worth 10 cents each and add up to real CASH for our school. Attached you will find a list of all the many, many variety of products that will have Box Tops on their packaging.  They are all different sizes depending on the product - so be sure to look at every package before throwing it away.  Simply clip the Box Top and put it in a bag - when the bag is full send it into school with your child.  It couldn't be any easier to earn real CASH for our school.

Each year, the National PTA runs the Reflections Art Contest, which gives students a chance to create original artwork based on a specific theme. Categories to enter include Visual Arts, Photography, Dance Choreography, Literature, Music Composition and Film Production. This year’s theme is Let Your Imagination Fly. The student entry form and rules for each category can be found on our website here. Entries must be turned in to the front office no later than October 7, 2015. That date really sneaks up fast, so if your child has an interest in participating they should get started now. If you have any questions regarding Reflections, please contact Lyn Noon.

The PTA hosts a Reading Incentive Program in which students who read at least 20 minutes a day for at least 20 days a month can receive a fun reward! There is a calendar to print out, fill out and turn in to the front office at the end of each month. Your reward will be delivered to you shortly after! The monthly calendars can be found here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this first, lengthy (and hopefully informative) email!

Lyn Noon