| Oct 28, 2024 | Preston Elementary PTA | Volume 8 Issue 06 |
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Information from Mrs. Wendland |
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Greetings, Preston Families! Thanks to all who participated in fall parent-teacher conferences. A strong partnership with our families is essential to the success of our campus. If you were unable to attend during the October 18th "official day", but would still like a conference with your child's teacher, please reach out to schedule your appointment. Costumes and Cones at Handel's last week was oh so fun! Thanks to everyone who was able to come out and support our PTA while enjoying a yummy treat. Our 5th grade staff and students will be attending camp this week at Allaso Ranch, October 28 - 30. Please keep our campers, staff, and chaperones in your thoughts as they travel and soak up all things science! 2nd grade will also be at the Dallas Arboretum this week...should be a beautiful setting for making some memories. Thanks to all who have agreed to chaperone. Students and staff are invited to participate in costume dress-up day on Thursday, October 31. Please follow the guidelines outlined below when selecting a costume. I can't wait to see all the fun, creative characters at school that day! Don't forget that there is NO SCHOOL on November 4 or 5. November 5 is Election Day, and Preston will be a polling place! How easy and convenient is that? We wouldn't have the privilege of voting if it weren't for the brave men and women who have served and are currently serving in our armed forces. We look forward to a beautiful tribute in their honor on Friday, November 8. Remember that a background check is FREE, EASY, and REQUIRED to attend class functions this year - including the winter parties! Get yours TODAY! As always, thank you for trusting us with those who matter most to you! Warm regards, Mrs. Wendland
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Costume Dress-up Day!! Thursday, October 31 The whole campus is joining in on the costume fun! Please adhere to the following guidelines when choosing/designing a costume:
Characters/costumes must be elementary age-appropriate Costumes may not involve blood, other horror type elements or anything else that may frighten other children. They also cannot be a distraction to our learning environment. No weapons whatsoever. Color in the hair, face paint, and hats may be worn; however, masks will not be allowed. **Keep in mind that face paint can become very itchy when it is worn all day through recess, PE, etc. Please plan accordingly.** Costumes may not be revealing in nature…may not be see-through material, low cut or tight fitting. Tights and leotards are acceptable if covered with tutu, skirt, or shorts. Costumes must allow students to take care of personal needs, sit in desks, and participate in school and classroom activities throughout the day.
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PES Science Fair Info Sign up by Nov. 8, 2024 Email jamie.qureshi@allenisd.org with questions This year's Preston Science Fair is underway! Science Fair is an at-home experiment that students may complete. Students may work individually or in pairs. Science Fair projects are due Jan. 9 at 8:30AM.
The project is in one of four categories Life Science- testing or having an effect on a living organism (prior Science Admin approval required) Earth Science- testing or having an effect on naturally occurring land, water, or air Physical Science- testing or having an effect on natural or man-made materials Engineering- solving a problem by developing or improving a technology
Project Guidelines: In the Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science categories, students are designing, conducting, and reporting the results of an experiment. The experiment must have a hypothesis. (Example of steps found on pg. 8 of the handbook) In the Engineering Category, students are designing and building something to solve a problem. (Example of steps found on pg. 8 of the handbook) Students may complete a physical tri-fold board for their presentation, or complete a digital version. The digital option should follow this format. (Make a copy) The format and order of the slides may be modified, but it may not be more than ten slides.
There are three age divisions: K-3, 4-5, 6. Grand prize winners from each age division will represent Preston in the Elementary Regional Fair in early February (Note that winners must provide a physical display for this fair, even if they competed with a digital entry in the PES fair.)
There are many specific requirements, the student handbook is found here. The three main things that you need to remember: No student names or identifying photos may be shown. Each student will be given a SID (Science ID) number to put on the back of their display. Display boards must not exceed size requirements of 30 inches deep, 32 inches wide, 80 inches high. Students should complete the work themselves, and projects are due 8:30 AM Thursday, January 9.
To enter the Science Fair, complete the entry form by November 8. Students may work individually or in pairs. (Submit only one entry for pairs.) After the signup deadline, you will be emailed additional details. Preston Grand Prize winners in each age division will be announced January 15 and winners will move on to the District fair in February.
If you have any questions, please contact Jamie.Qureshi@allenisd.org |
Get Your Volunteer Background Check Done TODAY!!! All class party guests will be required to have a cleared background check before being admitted this year. This is a change from previous years. Don't let this catch you by surprise! There will be no exceptions to this rule. Click HERE to get started today! |
Lunch News Parents and special guests may start visiting for lunch on Monday, September 9. Guests are limited to 2 per student, per day. We can only accommodate 8 guests per grade level. Please plan to visit only ONE time per week, as lunch time with friends is an important opportunity for students to practice age-appropriate social skills. Use this link to sign up so that our front office will know you're coming! Sign-up for lunch is something new this year and we thank you in advance for honoring this request. This will give our office staff time to print your visitors badge in advance, check that the visitors signed up are authorized to be with your child, and make sure that we have enough seating a space for your visit. Don't forget to bring your photo ID when you come. Just a few lunchtime guidelines to keep in mind:
- Parents and guests will sign in at the front office
Parents and guests will meet their student on the stage at the designated lunch time. Students and parents must remain seated on the stage throughout the lunch period - no one is permitted to leave the stage and mingle with students or teachers in the cafeteria. - Parents and guests are not permitted in other areas of the building.
- Students will rejoin their class in the cafeteria at the end of the lunch period.
Please use trash receptacles provided and keep the area clean for the remaining guests.
The lunch visitor sign-up for the fall semester can be accessed HERE. You will also find it linked on the Preston website. |
| Holly Jolly Run Information The Holly Jolly Run will be taking place in downtown Allen on Saturday, December 7th. $5 from every registration connected to Preston Elementary will come back to our PE program. All family members and friends count towards Preston’s entries. Come on out and join me in participating! See the attachment for additional information and registration details.
Should you have any questions, please contact Coach Hall at jamye.hall@allenisd.org
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Afterschool Enrichment Programs |
| Preston Elementary’s Spelling Bee Registration is now open for PES’ spelling bee! The bee is for current 3rd - 6th graders at Preston.
Click Here to find out more information and how to sign up your student.
Questions? Please contact programsvp@preston.org |
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Community Feedback Survey Update Thank you to everyone who filled out a survey, your feedback is much appreciated and very valuable to our committee! 178 people participated and Damarys K. was the winner for the Rosa's Café gift card. The School of Excellence committee will be meeting in the next few weeks to make an action plan based on your feedback. Stay tuned for more info. |
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| Your Child Can Be An Author With Preston Publishers! Did you know we have an entire section in our library full of books that have been published by Preston students?! The PTA's Preston Publishers program is an amazing way to support literacy and a love of reading by turning your child's stories into a published book! You can find more information about the program here. The deadline to order a kit is Friday, November 8. Kits can be ordered here. We can't wait to see what new books will be coming to the library. Happy writing! |
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SPIRIT WEEK - NOVEMBER 4th - 9th Pre-order those Thanksgiving pies and cakes NOVEMBER 4th - 9th and help our PTA raise money to support our school programs!
You can order online HERE and choose to pick up the week of Thanksgiving. Be sure to type Preston Elementary in the "Add a Comment for Seller" section on the payment page. You can also call in your order - be sure to mention Preston Elementary. |
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SAVE THE DATE - NOVEMBER 12th Preston Elementary will be having a Spirit Night at the Chipotle at Stacy Rd & 75 on NOVEMBER 12th from 5 pm - 9 pm. Online ordering will be available for pick-up using code A8GKMJC in the Chipotle app. Stayed tuned to our PTA Facebook page for more details. |
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| Watch DOGS Reminder One of the new changes to the program this year is that participants can sign up for a second Watch DOGS date starting on November 1st. Visit the volunteer section of the website to sign up for your second (or first) time! |
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| Fall Book Fair Summary By the Numbers $2000 profit in cash $5,346 profit in Scholastic Dollars 5 teachers won a $20 Share the Fair coupon ($100 total) 27 staff members used their $5 discount coupon from Scholastic. 1 student won a free book value $19 from the guessing jar game - 139 pieces of gold! 6 students chosen by the school counselor were given one book each using Share the Fair contributions, total of $189.10 $139.92 for books selected by Mrs. Armentrout went straight from the fair and onto the library shelves using Scholastic Dollars 5 copies of the new released Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess were purchased for our library using Scholastic dollars. The kids asked and we answered! Around 2,500 books were sold and are in the hands of excited readers. The PTA will be using the cash profits to renew educational software subscriptions for our school and the Scholastic Dollars to purchase books for the library. Again, we would like to thank everyone who volunteered, shopped, helped and showed up to make our Fall Wild West Book Fair a big success! It takes a village and we couldn’t have done without you all. 160 days until our Spring Book Fair! See you! |
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The 1st quarter visit from the ArtSparks volunteers was fantastic! The students had a great time learning about weather (K), the 5 senses (1), emotions (2), radial symmetry (3), Native Americans (4), principles of design (5), and Ancient Egypt (6) and then creating an art project. Thank you to our volunteers for their time & enthusiasm and to our teachers for sharing their classrooms to support this program.
We hope you had as much fun at the Handel's spirt night as we did. It was terrific seeing our Preston community come together for a fun evening. |
Information from Allen ISD |
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Preston & Lindsey Counselors Earn Foundation Grant to Build Leadership Skills for Sixth Graders Sixth graders are unique animals! They all have different maturity levels. They are struggling with pressure from peer groups and parents, and they are trying to learn to be leaders. Then, they have to think about and make choices for middle and high school. Calli Smith, a counselor at Preston Elementary, and Jason Sharp, a counselor at Lindsey Elementary, had an idea to help ease some of this stress. And they turned it into a grant application that will impact every Allen ISD elementary campus. "Allen 6th Grade Leadership" is a grant for 2024-2025 that will provide all sixth graders a visit to both Allen High School and Lowery Freshman Center this fall. The entire sixth grade from each campus will visit the "big schools" between October 11 and December 10. They will break into small groups and have a campus tour plus activities for part of the day; all of this will be led by the PALs students at Allen High School and Lowery Freshman Center. "Our sixth graders begin figuring out their middle school schedules in January. We hope that with this grant they have an opportunity to physically experience AHS and LFC, to see some of the electives and special activities, to see the possibilities," Calli said. Both Smith and Sharp had taken their respective sixth graders before and the impact was so positive that they wanted every sixth grader to have the experience. |
| So, they wrote a grant to the Foundation to cover the transportation expense, and it was funded for $4,680. With nearly 1,600 Allen ISD sixth graders impacted by the grant, that is a cost of less than $3 per student. "Our sixth graders get to see the CTE classes, the gym, the PAC, so many amazing opportunities," Calli said. "The key is that the high school PALs are in charge and the two student groups can relate to one another.” ALs also conducts team building and leadership activities with the sixth graders. "When we returned from taking our Lindsey students last year, they were so noisy about it – in a good way," said Sharp. "They were so enthusiastic and had questions, and many wanted to know how to become a PAL. We wanted this experience to benefit all our Allen 6th graders." The trips will occur right before the sixth graders meet with counselors to create plans for seventh and eighth grade and beyond. |
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Are you wondering how the 2024 bond proposal will impact your child's school, or the schools they will attend in the future? Allen ISD's bond website now features a Campus Proposals page to highlight the specific capital improvement projects at each campus. From shade structures over playground equipment at each elementary school, to technology enhancements and safety and security upgrades, visit this new page to learn about the 2024 bond projects for your school.
Visit the page now at www.allenisdbond.com/o/bond/page/2024-bond-schools.
Every campus will be impacted by this bond proposal if it is approved by voters. Specific projects include, but are not limited to, the following items: Safety and security updates at our campuses Maintenance and efficiency upgrades at various campuses Updates to learning spaces at various campuses Technology improvements for devices and infrastructure Transportation updates, including replacement of buses reaching the end of their useful lifespan
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| | Thursday, November 7 | | | Friday, November 8 | | | Tuesday, November 12 | | |
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Subscribe to Our Calendars Stay up to date on all things coming to Preston! Use this link to manage your calendar subscriptions including PTA Meetings, PTA Programs & Events, Allen ISD Academic Calendar and the Preston Elementary Calendar.
Navigate to your subscriptions on the PrestonPTA.org website under Account / Calendar Subscriptions. |
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