Weekly Update
Week One
Our first full week of school is coming to a close and we hope everyone has started to feel a little more settled in. The Book Fair is now open, Open House is next week and there are two days off at the end of the month.
Book Fair
The Book Fair has begun! The kids are having so much fun browsing for amazing books and filling out their wish lists!
Please support McKinley by purchasing books in the McKinley Library, today through Sept 18, 2:45 – 3:30 p.m., OR on Back to School Night, Sept 16, 2:45 – 7:30 p.m. Download the flyer for more information.
Avoid the chaos by PRE-ORDERING!
Here's how to PRE-ORDER: By Friday, September 13, email your book choices to elenaloughney1@hotmail.com OR send in order forms/payment with your child in an envelope addressed to “Book Fair PTO.” We’ll have orders bagged and ready for a quick pick up during Back to School Night, right outside the library.
No need to send in cash, checks, or credit card info! Create an eWallet account at www.scholastic.com/fair and add funds. Print out a bar code at home, send it to school, and it will be scanned at the register when you purchase your books. Safe and easy payment option!
The first 100 families that pre-order OR use eWallet receive this reusable Scholastic Book Fair tote bag.
Thank you for supporting this important McKinley fundraiser!
Open House
Open House is scheduled for next week, Monday, September 16. The evening will consist of an overview of the curriculum and school procedures along with a classroom visit to review your student or students classroom routine and schedule. There are two sessions to visit classrooms. Parents and guardians only need to attend one session per class.
Tables will be setup in the gymnasium with information and representatives from PTO Committees. McKinley Elementary t-shirts and swag will be sold as well. We accept cash or check, but no credit cards. Please come visit!
In order to prevent distractions, this is a parents/guardian-only event. Also, these are the following options for parking: school parking lots (front of the building, both sides of the building and back of the building), neighborhood street parking and the Cedar Tree Child Care parking lot.
The following is the itinerary for the evening:
2:45pm-7:30pm
Book Fair in the library
5:30pm-7:30pm
Main Hallway and Gym Meet and Greet
Principal, Assistant Principal, Elementary Curriculum Specialist
Art, Music, PE, Library and Reading Teachers
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
Abington Education Foundation (AEF)
Sixth Grade Bake Sale
6:00pm-6:25pm
K-3 Classroom Visit
6:30pm-6:55pm
K-3 Classroom Visit (for parents who have students in multiple classes for K-3)
4-6 Classroom Visit
7:00pm-7:25pm
4-6 Classroom Visit (for parents who have students in multiple classes for 4-6)
A letter from the principal and diagram for parking can also be downloaded here.
The 6th Grade Committee will also be at Open House selling baked goodies to raise money for the 6th Grade activities. If you are able to donate an item to the bake sale or are interested in helping out that night, please contact Michele Metzgar (michele.metzgar@gmail.com) or Kelly Moore (kellysteve00@comcast.net).
Art to Remember
Is your child an aspiring artist or do you just love seeing their creativity come to life? Art to Remember gives you the opportunity to take your child's art and turn them into keepsakes like keychains, coffee mugs and ornaments.
The required art paper and information will be sent home on Monday, September 16. If you would like to participate, please follow the provided instructions and return the art to the school by the due date. Once all artwork is submitted to ART TO REMEMBER, families will receive information on how to order a variety of keepsakes featuring their child's art.
Questions? Contact Kelly Moore (kellysteve00@comcast.net).
McKinley Garden
Volunteers needed every Thursday during recess (11 am - 1 pm) to help the students enjoy the McKinley garden. No gardening experience necessary, just a willingness to supervise. Grandparents and community members are welcome to volunteer; all volunteers do need their badge.
The garden also needs some co-chairs to assist with volunteer organization & communication. Please consider volunteering for a few Thursdays this fall to keep the garden running.
Sign-ups here, or contact Meghan Zamborsky at mzamborsky@gmail.com
Drama Club
Drama Club proudly presents Fiddler on the Roof, Jr! The play is open to all 4th, 5th, and 6th graders and any parents with their district clearances are welcome to volunteer. We will have our Parents Meeting on Thursday, October 3 at 6:30pm (prior to the PTO meeting, 7:00pm). This meeting is for any parents who want to hear more about the play, have questions, or are interested in volunteering. Additionally, we will be handing out important forms for participating in the play to 4th, 5th, and 6th graders during school on Tuesday, September 23. Be on the lookout for the Play Packet and talk to your 4-6th graders to see if they are interested in being a part of the play!
Thank you,
Ann-Marie Delaney
Lynne Bruskin
Lori Gallelli
DRAMA CLUB CHAIRS
STEAM Club
STEAM after school clubs will be back again this year! We are looking for parent volunteers to run clubs for K-1 students and/or 2-3 students. Clubs should focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/Athletics and/or Math Enrichment. We also have plenty of ideas if you would like to run a club but don't know what to do! Dates and times of clubs are still to be determined but if you're interested in volunteering, please fill out the below form and return to the PTO mailbox. Contact Natasha Hatton at natasha.hatton@gmail.com with any questions and learn more here.
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.
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.