PTO Updates
Reminder: First PTO Meeting Tonight
The first PTO meeting for the year will be tonight - Thursday, October 8, 7pm. The agenda is:
Welcome New Board Members
Principals Report
Fall Activities
Scarecrow Decorating
Possible online pizza kit sales
McKingo
Money used toward dues or a refund
Spirit Wear - being sold on the PTO website
6th Grade Committee
Garden Update
New Facebook group - establish monthly PTO photo themes
Sending in photos for the yearbook
Items to vote on next meeting:
Budget
Board position terms
5th and 6th grade fee next year
We will vote on budget, board position terms and 5th and 6th grade fee next year at the next board meeting. Just a reminder, only paid PTO members will be permitted to vote. If you are not a member and would like to vote, you can pay your membership dues here.
You can download the agenda here.
You can join us next Thursday at 7pm on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84266817904?pwd=cCs5ZEJRdXl4Sm15emJ5aU9HRnFwdz09
Meeting ID: 842 6681 7904
Passcode: 840379
Scarecrow Decorating and Display
We are excited to announce that scarecrows will continue to be displayed at McKinley this year! We are adapting to the times to stay healthy, safe, and socially distanced. Families are welcome to prepare a scarecrow at home and then drop off their pre-made scarecrow next week, from Monday 10/12 until Thursday 10/15. Please place your scarecrow under the hallway overpass between the Main and Library entrances. A very limited number of volunteers (who will remain masked and socially-distanced) will begin putting up your scarecrows at the end of the week.
Please remember this is a DROP OFF only. Please do not continue to remain on school grounds after you have dropped off your pre-made scarecrow.
Any question, or if you are available Friday evening to help display the scarecrows. please contact Brenda Corey at BrendaAPica@gmail.com
McKinley 6th Grade Mum Fundraiser
Please help in supporting the 6th Grade Class!
We have joined with Kremp Florist again for a mum fundraiser. Vouchers are $10 per mum. Because of the current situation we will be selling them a little differently this year. You can Venmo Lori Gallelli @Lori-Gallelli or Sarina Breen @sarinabreen (please make note that it is for the fundraiser) or we can meet you for purchase. Vouchers can be scanned and emailed to you or we can drop off. You may purchase mums until October 31 st .
If you have any questions or concerns please email Lori Gallelli –lorigallelli@comcast.net.
We thank you for your support!
Kremp Florist is located at 220 Davisville Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090
You can download the flyer here.
McKingo Refunds
We hope this note finds everyone well and settled into our new school year. We are reaching out, as promised to work out McKingo refunds.
If you would like your McKingo payment refunded please email Brenda Corey at McKingoASD@gmail.com. If you paid by cash, please include your PayPal account (if you have one) or mailing address for a check to be mailed to you. If you paid by check, we will shred your check.
If you would like to donate your payment to the PTO you DO NOT need to do anything. Your donation will cover your PTO fees for the 2020-2021 school year. Thank you for all your patience and understanding.
Garden Update
The award-winning McKinley Garden is a great way to get involved with the McKinley community & contribute time to the school, even while learning is virtual. The garden is typically open on Wednesday evenings (until lack of daylight will no longer permit this time frame) and Thursdays from 4 - 6 pm. Additional open times can be made for families during the weekdays, especially on Wednesdays, if there is interest. If you would like more information on the garden, to be kept up to date about weekly openings, or to request an open time, please email Meghan Zamborsky at mzamborsky@gmail.com. Teachers & staff who would like to use the garden during the week can also contact Meghan at the above email address for further information.
McKinley Elementary Amazon Smile Program
The PTO now has an Amazon Smile account. Every time you purchase something on Amazon, a portion of your sale can be donated to McKinley Elementary PTO! Take these three easy steps to start saving for McKinley:
Open the Amazon shopping app on your device.
Go to the main menu and click on Settings.
Click on Amazon Smile and follow the instructions.
If you're using the Amazon app, be sure to have the most up-to-date version.
The PTO is Officially a Non-Profit Organization!
At the end of the last school year, the PTO became a non-profit organization. This means that you can now write off your PTO membership! We are also tax exempt so eventually purchasing things from our store will be less expensive and we will see a cost savings when making purchases for events.
PTO Website
The PTO website has been updated with the new board members, calendar events and a new feature: online payment of PTO dues! Be sure to check in regularly for updates. Later this year, we hope to make McKinley gear available in our online store as well.
Become a PTO Member
Paying your membership dues will help us make this year more fun during our virtual situation. Fundraising in the foreseeable future will be difficult so PTO membership dues will be our main source of fundraising. Funds collected through membership and fundraising events goes directly toward:
supporting our teachers
student events
various school clubs
Dues are being collected online and start at $10. If you have the ability, please consider paying more to help us maintain our typical membership contributions. Remember, dues are now tax deductible and they truly help the PTO plan activities for students and teachers!
McKinley Directory
Interested in connecting with classmates and their families? Classroom rosters are now available in the Directory, Membership Toolkit! If you don't have an account or need to update your account, directions are on our website at https://www.mckinleypto.org/directory-howto.
NEW! PTO Facebook Group
The PTO is gearing up for a different school year ahead and we have been busy working on different ways to support the parents, teachers and students as we all navigate this new way of schooling. The PTO has created a Facebook group to interact with families (look for McKinley Elementary School PTO) and to provide fun activities for students, parents and teachers. This will also be a hub to stay up to date on school information. Please be sure to read and adhere to the page rules. No talk of politics or beliefs. This page is for MCKINLEY FAMILIES to have fun! Anyone not in compliance will be removed from the group.
Weekly Updates
Typically, the PTO sends a weekly update. Since we're not sure what events and activities will look like in the coming months, we may not be reaching out every week. We will, however, send emails when there are updates!
If you have any questions, thoughts or ideas, do not hesitate to reach out to us directly at mckinleypto@gmail.com.