April 8, 2024 Dolphin Digest – TPES PTA Weekly Newsletter

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In this issue: 
1. April PTA Meeting New Date: April 9th, 7-8pm
2. Please Submit Your Read-a-thon Pledges
3. Reminder: No School for Students on Wednesday, April 10
4. Volunteers Needed for TPES PTA Book Fair with Bookworm Central: April 15-19
5. Asynchronous Learning Day for Students on April 22
6. SAVE THE DATE-Second Grade Musical Performance: April 25, 7pm
7. Teacher Appreciation Committee Seeking Gifts/Donations for Teacher Raffle
8. Career Day Volunteers Needed: May 29, 2024
9. STEM Night Feedback
10. Kindergarten Enrollment 2024-25 Now Open
11. Cheer on D.C. United and Support TPES PTA: April 27, 7:30pm
12. Incoming Kindergarten Parent Meeting-May 30, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
13. Pedestrian Safety Art Contest
14. Upcoming TPES Events
1. April PTA Meeting New Date: April 9th, 7-8pm
The April PTA meeting will take place tomorrow, April 9th, 7-8pm via Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent the afternoon of the meeting.
2. Please Submit Your Read-a-thon Pledges 
Read-a-thon pledges were due April 8 but we’d never turn away your donations! 🙂 Pledges support all PTA programs, and the Read-a-thon historically has been one of the TPES PTA’s most important fundraisers!
You can submit pledges via PayPal here:  https://tpespta.net/read-a-thon/
Or you can make a check payable to TPES PTA and put it in your child’s Dolphin Folder or mail it to TPES PTA at 7511 Holly Avenue, Takoma Park MD 20912.
3. Reminder: No School for Students on Wednesday, April 10.
 
4. Volunteers Needed for TPES PTA Book Fair with Bookworm Central: April 15-19
The book fair is ONE WEEK away and we still have MANY volunteer openings. Please consider signing up here. This will be our first time supporting Northern Virginia-based Bookworm Central rather than Scholastic and want to make it a huge success! .

Evening Book Fair Hours: The Book Fair will be open for evening shopping hours from 5:00 – 7:00 PM on the following dates:

Tuesday, 4/16:  Pajama Night!  Come dressed in your coziest pajamas for some book shopping.

Thursday, 4/18:  Dress as Your Favorite Book Character!  Celebrate a love of reading by dressing as a favorite book character while you shop (No masks, weapons, etc.).

PTA Donations for Book Purchases: The PTA is committed to ensuring that every child can shop for a book during the book fair.  If you are interested in donating to help the PTA fund books for our TPES community, please donate here and note in the Comments that the donation is toward book fair vouchers.

Teacher Wishlists: Teachers will have a chance to prepare lists of books that they would like for their classroom during Preview Day on 4/12.  Parents can purchase those books for classroom and specials teachers during either the on-site book fair or at our online book fair.

Online Book Fair: Our online book fair will remain open through the school year.  There are books for all ages available at the online fair.  TPES PTA receives 15% of the proceeds for books purchased through the online fair.  https://www.bookwormcentral.com/TakomaPark

Please contact Claire Dean and Lesley Perry at bookfair@tpespta.net.  Happy Reading!
 
5. Asynchronous Learning Day for Students on April 22 

On April 22, students will engage in a day of asynchronous learning. Additional information that is specific to each grade level will be provided soon. Each grade level will provide both a paper copy of the work, as well as an electronic copy that can be completed on the computer.

Teachers will be providing four hours’ worth of student work which is current to what they are doing in class. Your child/children will have 10 days to complete the work, and attendance for April 22 will be dependent on your child’s completion of that work.

 
6. SAVE THE DATE Second Grade Musical Performance: April 25, 7pm
 The second grade musical performance will take place at 7:00 p.m. on April 25th at Takoma Park Middle School. Please use this link to access the flyer.

7. Teacher Appreciation Committee Seeking Gifts/Donations for Teacher Raffle

We are seeking gifts to raffled off to teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6-10. Some ideas include giving time for pet sitting, a homemade casserole, your favorite cookie recipe, gift cards, gift certificates, etc.  Gifts in any amount are appreciated and welcomed! Please reach out to Betsy to let her know what you can contribute: esthergarcete@gmail.com
8. Career Day Volunteers Needed: May 29, 2024

No matter what you do – banker, nurse, architect, dentist, police officer, lawyer, military, computer engineer, bus driver, or doctor – the children can learn about the world of work from you! So, if you, a relative, a neighbor, or a friend has a job that you love to talk about and share with others, being a Career Day speaker would be a perfect fit!

Volunteering does not guarantee that you will be called on to present. We will do our best to make sure we get a wide variety of careers to showcase to our students. If you are selected, you are committing to stay the entire morning session and present to 3 different classes. Each presentation will last 30 minutes (20 minutes of talking, 10 minutes of Q&A with students).

If you are interested in being a Career Day speaker or know someone who might be, please complete the interest form before April 26, 2024!
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Althofer at Max_P_Althofer@mcpsmd.org or Mrs. Ampofo at Charlotte_Ampofo@mcpsmd.org.

9. STEM Night Feedback

Did you come to STEM Night? If so, we’d love your feedback. Please fill out this form to share your thoughts.

10. Kindergarten Enrollment 2024-25 Now Open

Kindergarten online registration is now open. For information regarding kindergarten enrollment for the 2024-25 school year, including important documents needed to register, please visit the MCPS website (https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/enroll/kindergarten/).

If you have any questions or would like more information on how to enroll at Takoma Park Elementary School, please call 240-740-0980 or email Ms. Hottel-Cox at anne_m_hottel-cox@mcpsmd.org.

11. Cheer on D.C. United and Support TPES PTA: April 27, 7:30pm 

Come cheer on D.C. United on MCPS Night as they take on the Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30pm.  Takoma Park Elementary School will have its own section. A portion of the ticket sales go to support the TPES PTA so we can continue to offer support to the school. Tickets for the TPES section can be purchased here:  https://fevo-enterprise.com/Takomapark5  Go D.C. United and TPES Dolphins!

12. Incoming Kindergarten Parent Meeting-May 30, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

The staff of Takoma Park Elementary School will host an incoming kindergarten parent meeting on May 30, 2024. The meeting will be held virtually and will include interpreters for Spanish and Amharic.

13. Pedestrian Safety Art Contest

The Montgomery County Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program has launched our annual Pedestrian Safety Art Contest for all elementary school (private & public) students in Montgomery County. The purpose of the contest is to have students use their creativity to educate themselves and others about the importance of walking safely. Not only is it important for students to go to school, but they MUST get there safely.

14. Upcoming TPES Events 

April 9: PTA Meeting
April 10: No School, Grading and Planning for Teachers/End of Quarter 3
April 15-19: TPES Book Central Book Fair
April 22: Asynchronous Learning/Snow Make Up Day
April 25: 2nd Grade Musical @ TPMS
April 27, 7:30pm: DC United Game Fundraiser
May 6-10: Teacher Appreciation Week
May 29: Career Day
May 30, 7pm: Incoming Kindergarten Parent Meeting
 
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