Weekly Update
Happy Day Before Thanksgiving! We hope everyone enjoys time with family and friends. See you in December!
Girls on the Run is Now Open!
Space is limited, so please register quickly. Please see flier for registration details.
The Girls on the Run 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. Parents who are interested in volunteering to coach are encouraged to visit the Girls on the Run website (https://www.gotrpa.org/) or speak to McKinley parent, Lenka Doogan (lenkadoogan@gmail.com or 215-806-9684). The more coaches we have, the more girls can be accepted into the program.
December 5th - Final Day for McKinley Garden
Thank you to all of the garden volunteers this spring season! The last open recess garden for the year will take place Thursday, December 5th (weather permitting). The students will make pinecone bird feeders to take home or to hang in the garden. This activity requires lots of assistance and supervision, so we'd love to see all of our volunteers for one last visit. Please use the sign-up link to add your name - even just a small window of time helps! Ms. Fullen's kindergarten class will be visiting.
Planned Activity: Either pinecone birdfeeders or clean-up day
Drama Club: Rehearsals for December 2 - 5
PLEASE SEE DRAMA CLUB SUNDAY EMAIL FOR ANY CHANGES
Monday 12/2
3:20-5:00pm: SET CREW
Tuesday 12/3
3:20-5:00 pm: Scenes 14 and 15
Wednesday 12/4
3:20-5:00 pm: Scenes 14 and 15
Thursday 12/5
3:20-5:00 pm: Scenes 9-13, Prologue and Scene 14 “Tradition” & “Anatevka” (Music Room)
Please be considerate of our volunteers and arrive on time for pick-up! Thank you! We can still use some volunteers to help during rehearsals! Even if you can only offer 30 minutes we’ll take it! Please see signup genius link below!
Holiday Shop Volunteers
This December 9-12, McKinley will be hosting our annual PTO Holiday Shop and letting our students shop for friends and family. While the Holiday Shop makes a small profit for the PTO, this event is held primarily for the students to be able to experience the joy of giving.
Calling all Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles!!
We need volunteers to help children shop (and choose items within their budget), ring out purchases, and restock during the Holiday Shop. Shifts are only a 1/2 hour long. Please consider signing up for one (or as many) shift/s as you are able to do. Volunteers MUST have their clearances in order to help with this this great event.
If you would like to help out please use the SignupGenius and choose your time slots! Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have regarding the holiday shop. mckinleypto@gmail.com
Blood Drive at Reformed Presbyterian Church of Elkins Park
A blood drive will be held the Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Elkins Park. Times and more information can be found in the flyer.
Odyssey of the Mind Advisor Needed
Advisors are needed for Odyssey of the Mind. Advisors must have their volunteer badges and must attend training with the participating organizations. More information can be found on the organization websites.
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/) or email our Assistant Principal (RobertHowe@Abington.k12.pa.us).
Request from Nurse
While you're cleaning out your closets, put aside any elastic waist pants and shorts for the nurse and send them in with your student/s.
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.
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!
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 (see link below). Expiration dates still matter for the clipped Tops but the new electronic Box Tops will not have an expiration date. The flyer in the link below provides 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!
Abington Parent Council Meetings
The Abington Parent Council holds meetings throughout the year with each meeting having a focused topic.
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.
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.