Weekly Update
We had a wonderful turn out for the first PTO meeting last week! We all hope to continue this momentum with parents and teachers. Minutes have been posted here on the McKinley PTO website. Scarecrow Night is coming up along with Race for Education. We hope everyone is having fun getting their families and friends involved in this year's biggest fundraiser!
Race for Education Fundraiser
The Race for Education fundraiser flyers have been sent home with each student and we've raised $6,300 so far! This is our primary fundraiser for the year and we have made it both easy and fun for everyone. Please return participation forms and register your student/s on the donation site. You can register or login online and share with family and friends or send letters. The School Identifier code is 5d77b1bee56da.
Again, for all the new families, this is how it works:
Each student will be asked to find sponsors to support them in their Race for Education, a fun afternoon of activities and obstacle courses on Friday, October 25.
When a student is sponsored, they are raising money for extra computers in the classroom, fun and educational assemblies, additional books for the library and classrooms, as well as, family free nights, after school clubs, field trips, sporting equipment, indoor recess activities and other educational resources.
A deadline will be set for all donations.
Prizes for classes and individual students will be awarded including a fun surprise incentive for reaching our annual goal.
All families are welcome to attend Race for Education and cheer on their Racers!
We hope to make this year a success and a fun afternoon for all McKinley students!
Some of the prizes we have so far:
A 4pk of tickets to a Temple football game at Lincoln Financial Field
Harlem wizards tickets
$50 amazon gift cards
Our goal is to raise $20,000. We can do that if each student raises $50! The money raised makes all of the events and parties possible. Also, if we reach our goal, Principal Kim and staff will participate in some fun and exciting games! Final prizes will continue to be announced as we get closer to Race day.
Prizes will be given out based on top monetary donations raised by individuals for each grade and top classes. Everyone will receive a participation prize and mystery prizes will be drawn at random as incentives throughout the fundraising period.
A Signup Genius will be set up soon to volunteer! Parents will be needed October 25 (the day of the event) throughout the day. Volunteers will help supervise the students at different activities stations.
Book Fair Update
Thank you for all the purchases and volunteers that helped to make the Scholastic Book Fair a huge success this year! Along with the money raised for the PTO, and in addition to the money raised towards "All for Books", we were able to donate 105 new books to the library and add 95 more books to the teacher/staff's libraries on top of the generosity of parents filling their wishlists as well!!!
Remember the pre-sale books, Dog Man Fetch-22 will be delivered after December 10, 2019 and Diary of a Wimpy Kid Wrecking Ball, will be delivered after November 5, 2019.
If you have any questions about your order, please contact Elena at elenaloughney1@hotmail.com.
Scarecrow Night
Please join us for another FREE night of family fun! Build a scarecrow with your family and/or friends! Light snacks will be available. We can’t wait to see all of our new scarecrow friends! View the flyer for more information on supplies and the sign up form.
Crayola ColorCycle Marker Collection
Do you have dried up or broken markers at home? Don't throw them away. Collect them and have your student/s bring them to school so they can be recycled through Crayola's ColorCycle program. A collection bin will be stationed at the Art Room and you can download the flyer for more background!
McKinley Garden
Thank you for your continued support of the garden! Volunteers (those with badges) are always needed during recess on Thursdays; sign-ups are below. Please note the garden will not be open on Thursday, Oct. 31st due to the Halloween parade and parties that day.
If you would like further information about the garden, please contact Meghan Zamborsky at mzamborsky@gmail.com.
New Box Top Program
The old Box Tops are being phased out! If you have any clipped Box Tops at home, please send them in an envelope noting your child’s class number and teacher. There is a new collection sheet attached below. Expiration dates still matter for the clipped Tops but the new electronic Box Tops will not have an expiration date. Please see the attached flyer for information on how the new program works. It involves getting the new app on your phone and scanning your grocery receipts after the purchase of participating items. McKinley’s ID number is 383838 – you can set up an account and we will get the credit anytime you scan a receipt. There is an additional “Give Credit” option after you scan your receipt- you can enter your child’s class number and teacher. Submissions can be tracked throughout the school year. Instead of doing contests in January and February, an end of year winner will be announced and the winning class will receive a water ice party. Please consider getting the app and helping McKinley with this easy fundraiser. We have raised over $27,000 for McKinley over the years. Thank you!
STEAM Club
STEAM Clubs need your help for the grades 2 & 3 session! We are looking for parent volunteers to assist teachers in the after school clubs that will be starting the week of October 15 and run once a week for 4 weeks. If you have a 2nd or 3rd grader, or even if you don’t and want to help, please let Natasha Hatton know by emailing her at natasha.hatton@gmail.com.
The more volunteers we have to help, the more students we can accept into the clubs! In order to volunteer, please be sure to have all clearances in place and submitted to the District. You can learn more about clearances on the McKinley PTO site here. Thank you in advance!!
6th Grade Mum Sale
The 6th grade class is selling mum vouchers! The vouchers are $10 for 8" mums from Kremp Florist in Willow Grove. You then use the voucher pick out your own beautiful mums for the Fall season! You can purchase the voucher by sending in money or a check (check payable to the McKinley PTO with MUM in the notes section.) Be sure to label the envelope "mums." The sale lasts from 9/27-10/11! Don't forget to tell family & friends!
Drama Club
Thank you to all of the parents who submitted paperwork for the play. We look forward to a successful production! Please look for updates in the Thursday emails. We will also send weekly updates via the email address you provided. We need you help for Auditions next week. Please use the sign up genius for time slots and days needed. Reminder, for students who submitted their paperwork, auditions will take place on the following days:
5th Grade
Tuesday, Oct 15th 3:30-4:30
6th Grade
Wednesday, Oct 16th 3:30-5:00
4th Grade
Thursday, Oct 17th 3:30-4:30
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
Tuesday, Oct 22 ALL cast rehearsal 3:20-4:55
There will be a brief parent meeting with the Director in the gym from 4:55-5pm.
Wednesday, Oct 23 ALL cast rehearsal 3:20-5:00
Parents, we will need volunteers to help with these rehearsals, you can sign up to help here.
Dragon Ticket Volunteers Needed
Looking for volunteers to help at the end of the day to distribute Dragon Tickets to the students. It takes about 15 minutes and you rotate with the other volunteers by coming in once a week, every few weeks. If you are interested or would like to find out more information, please email Elena Loughney at elenaloughney1@hotmail.com.
Abington Parent Council Meetings
The Abington Parent Council holds meetings throughout the year with each meeting having a focused topic. On Wednesday, October 16th, at 7pm, the Parent Council meeting will be held at Copper Beech Elementary School. The topic for this meeting is Bullying Prevention. All Abington parents and guardians are welcome to attend!
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
7:00pm
Copper Beach Elementary
Bullying Prevention
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
7:30pm
Overlook Elementary
Student Services Orientation How to Access Services
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
7:30pm
Highland Elementary
Vaping and Substance Abuse
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
7:30pm
Abington Junior High School
Community Showcase
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
7:30pm
Willow Hill Elementary
Social Media Online Risks
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.
Lost and Found
Our Lost and Found bin, located in the Main Lobby, is filled with lost clothing and items. Please find some time to look through the bin. To avoid an overflow of items, anything left in the bin at the end of each month will be donated to a local organization. This means the first time the Lost and Found bin will be cleared this year will be Friday, September 27.
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.