*Credit given to Daniels Run Elementary PTA President, Katy Malesky for this wonderful idea! Amazon Smile Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases. Amazon Smile is the same as Amazon.com products with the same prices and service. It is quick to sign up. Visit smile.amazon.com, select Southwestern Elem PTA as your charity and start shopping. Whenever you want to make a purchase through Amazon with donations to our PTA, you must log onto smile.amazon.com for all transactions not amazon.com. https://smile.amazon.com/ch/54-1257309 Bingo Night SWE staff members will entertain you with number-calling skills. Join us in the SWE cafeteria for the BINGO session. Game cards are available for presale and at the door. Dinner is included in the ticket price. Box Tops for Education Earn merchandise for our school by clipping and collecting box tops from eligible items. Send them to school with your student to drop them in the marked bin in the school s lobby. Information will be sent home in Thursday folders (description noted below) announcing upcoming Box Top contests and deadlines. To participate in the contests, bags must be marked with the classroom teacher s name by the contest date. The three classes that collect the most box tops earn a classroom reward. Box Tops are found on many products. A full list of eligible items can be found at boxtops4educatoin/com/earn/participating-products 1
CHROME Community Day CHROME stands for Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering, Inc. At the elementary school level, students are provided with enriching experiences in math and science, and are encouraged to begin course selection in math and science that will enable them to complete the more advanced classes in high school. While good grades are encouraged, CHROME views the intermediate grades as the time to lessen the fear of math and science, with less focus on grades. Students are exposed to career options in engineering, mathematics, science and technology through guest speakers, videos and field trips. The PTA provides the awards for the CHROME winners. This family friendly event is held over a weekend in the Spring. Community Day consists of local vendors as well as the Chesapeake Police and Fire Department. Dances Students in grades 3-5, who have earned all Ss in work habits on their report card, will be invited to an SWE dance each 9 weeks. The PTA will sell concessions. This event will be held on Fridays after school. Email SWE PTA has an email account. Please send us messages at swepta1@yahoo.com. 2
Facebook Page SWE PTA has a facebook page. Please Like it at https://www.facebook.com/southwestern.pta/ Family Fitness and Parent Information Night This event combines SWE s Open House, family fitness activities, and parent information sessions together in one event at the start of each new school year. By attending, parents will meet their students teachers, participate in fun fitness activities as a family, learn about instructional programs at SWE, and find out ways to support our students in school through the PTA. Farm Fresh Key Tags We are excited to inform you that we are participating in an incredible program that allows us to earn FREE educational equipment. From September to May we will be able to earn points from Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy for valuable educational equipment that we otherwise would only dream of getting. Please shop at Farm Fresh and scan our school s key tag to earn points for our school. Key tags are available in SWE s office. Field Day Field day is at the end of the school year and devoted to having fun outside of the classroom environment. The focus is on team/classroom cooperation, practical Physical Education, and good old fashioned fun in the sun! 3
Fifth Grade Cookout To celebrate Fifth Grade students promotion, the PTA sponsors a cook out for them during school hours. They enjoy socializing with their friends and being treated. Food Lion Math Night The goal of the Food Lion Math Night event is for Preschool through 5 th grade students to be able to take the math skills they're learning in the classroom and apply them to grocery shopping. Hopefully, the children will learn not only to hone their math skills, but also to apply these skills to a real world experience. Students do not actually purchase the groceries, but complete activities on a worksheet. 4
Fundraising The PTA holds traditional Fall and Spring Fundraisers during the school year. The fundraisers are our primary funding sources for our PTA programs. Therefore, we encourage all families to participate. The PTA offers class incentives to sell the most items. This provides friendly competition amongst the classes. They get very excited to meet their class goals in anticipation of receiving special prizes. Depending on how many items they sell, students will also receive company prizes as well. This year, we will also provide a non-traditional fundraiser as well, in which the parent or guardian can opt to make a donation to the PTA rather than to participate in the traditional fundraiser. 100% of the proceeds from the donation will benefit our PTA programs. Holiday Gift Shop The Holiday Shoppe is an event held at the school before the winter break that provides students an opportunity to purchase inexpensive gifts for parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends for the holidays. Prices range from 10 cents to $15. The Holiday Shoppe offers a variety of items for parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. The shop even has gifts items for pets! This gift shop is held during school hours from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. The children shop with the assistance of volunteers. This enables the children to purchase small gifts to give to loved ones while maintaining the element of surprise. Movie Night This is a student-friendly after-school event at Southwestern Elementary. This event costs a small fee. The ticket price includes a snack and a drink. 5
Moving Forward Project This program grants two (2) graduating Fifth Graders with backpacks filled with school supplies and pays for their locker fees for their first year at middle school. To earn this award, each Fifth Grader must write an essay on a given topic. Winners are selected by certain criteria. At their promotion ceremony, the selected students read their wonderful essays to the entire Fifth Grade class. Paint Night This family-friendly event will take place after school on a Thursday. Enjoy painting your masterpiece while fellowshipping with your student, other parents, staff, and administrators. Paint night will cost $10. Canvas, paint and brushes are included in the price. Parent Workshops SWE is offering parent workshops: September A Family Fitness and Information Night. October Reading Workshop, November Communicating You re your Child s Teacher, January Supporting Learning at Home April R U Ready for Kindergarten Night These parent workshops are committed to creating a stronger home/school partnership where parents and families become contributing members of our school community. The goal of the parent workshops is to meet the needs of our families by providing resources, programs and services so adults can better support their children. The PTA will strive to combine our programs with the parent workshop dates. Peach Jar This electronic notification system provides pertinent information to SWE parents. Please be sure to register your email with SWE s office to stay informed. The office can be reached by calling 757-465-6310. 6
PTA Meetings The PTA hosts meetings for parents and teachers in order to communicate information regarding past and future PTA events and business. School updates are provided by administration, teachers, PTA committee chairs and PTA Officers. Meetings take place before other school programs and are often only 15 minutes. PTA Membership PTA Mission No required meetings to attend! No volunteer hours required! (but help is always appreciated!) Membership only costs $5! Out of the $5, our PTA keeps $1.25 after dues are paid. That $1.25 is used to facilitate our programs through the school year. Becoming an official member also gives you a membership card, which you can use for discounts at local businesses. We encourage your entire family to join parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, godparents, etc The more, the merrier! The overall purpose of the PTA is to make every child s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. PTA Programming Parent-Education programs on various topics of interest for our school and parent community are offered. Check our Facebook page for dates and times. 7
Reflections This program combines art and your student s creativity to make something beautiful. This year, the theme is Within Reach. Students can bring this theme to life in song, dance, photography, poetry, art drawing, etc. The sky is the limit! There is also a Special Needs category. Awards are given for top place finishers! Your student may even advance to the district level! Room Parents Room Parents exist to provide students and teachers with fun, organized classroom parties as well as additional support for projects throughout the year. The Room Parents also partner with the PTA during Staff Appreciation Week in early May to plan and coordinate appreciation events. Scholarships Each year, we ask graduating high school seniors who were former SWE students to apply for two (2) scholarships. One is the Joan Smith Scholarship for $750. This scholarship honors a woman who is still an integral part of our SWE PTA since the early 1990s. Over the years, she has held all officer positions on the local, council and district PTA levels. She has helped shape SWE PTA to what it is today and shows a spirit of excellence in all she does. The second Scholarship is the Omon Graham Scholarship for $750. This scholarship honors the family of a former 9-year-old SWE student who lost his life in a tragic accident in 2007. This scholarship is a legacy to his family. 8
Scholastic Book Fair This event is held in SWE s library. It is an event where children, families and teachers are able to purchase scholastic books at our school. Scholastic sends a wide range of books for every grade level and interest to our school. Each classroom visits the fair during the school day at the beginning of the week. Parents can send in money with their students to purchase books. Parents are also welcomed to come in and browse the selections themselves. The Book Fair is held both in the Fall and the Spring. Although this is NOT a PTA event, it is an excellent volunteering opportunity for parents. School Supply Drop Off Day This event is an opportunity for parents and students to informally meet their new teacher and drop off school supplies before the first day of school begins. SWE s Open House is scheduled later in September and is part of our Family Fitness and Parent Information Night. School Store This student-friendly store is held within school hours three days a week (M,W & F from 10:00 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.). Your student can shop during the lunch period for whimsical school items at affordable prices. Our school store is ran by a PTA parent. All proceeds benefit the PTA and it s programs. 9
School of Excellence SWE is endeavoring to become a SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE. This is a recognition program that supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being for all students. We plan on enrolling in this program this academic year. By enrolling in this program, our PTA and school administrators are making a yearlong commitment in identifying and implementing an action plan for school improvement based on PTA's National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. Becoming a SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE will hopefully provide SWE PTA with a $2000 grant, which can support our scholarship and other programs. Staff and Teacher Appreciation A designated week is assigned during the year to show gratitude for those that help our kids each day. This recognition includes our teachers, nurse, support staff, custodians and administrative staff. During this time, the PTA recognizes and shows gratitude to these staff members on behalf of the parents at SWE. During this week, students are encouraged to provided recognition and appreciation to these staff members as well. The PTA will strive to include room parents in this endeavor to honor them. The designated week is forthcoming and typically occurs in the month of May. SWE Banquet At the end of the school year, students in grades 3-5 will who have all Ss for all 4 quarters for their work habits on their report cards will be invited to attend the banquet. Students are treated as VIPs. This event occurs right after school and includes a hot meal at no cost. 10
Talent Show This family-friendly event is held after school on a Thursday. Our very own SWE faculty and staff let their talents shine by dancing, singing, reciting poetry, playing instruments, etc Ticket sales are available before the event and at the door. Teacher of the Year/Reading Teacher of the Year The PTA honors both the Teacher of the Year and Reading Teacher of the Year with a gift. All of our SWE teachers are special and talented but we especially want to give credit to those who receive this distinguished recognition. 11
Thursday Folders Each child will bring a folder home each Thursday. This folder contains important information from the school, teachers, PTA and community to communicate important dates, events, and information. Please make sure to check your child s backpack every Thursday. This folder is a very important means of communication from our school to each family. SOL Treat Cart The PTA provides treats to the 3 rd, 4 th and 5 th graders who are taking their SOLS. Volunteer Appreciation Meal As appreciation for our many PTA volunteers, the PTA honors them with a meal and a special gift. The volunteers are given a certificate as well. 12
Volunteering The PTA survives off it s volunteers. You are valuable and everyone has a talent and gift! We appreciate each and everyone who makes a commitment to serve our students. You can volunteer in any of our programs by setting up, cleaning up, donating items, driving to pick up supplies/food/beverages for our events, decorating for events, being on an actual committee, making crafts, chaperoning events, etc Programs where we will need assistance: Bingo Night Holiday Gift Shop Community Day Movie Nights Talent Show Field Day (This is an SWE event that the PTA is part of) Staff Appreciation Teacher Appreciation SWE Banquet Watch D.O.G.S. Watch DOGS are Dads of Great Students. This is a wonderful program at SWE that encourages fathers and father-figures to visit the SWE campus and volunteer. The goal of the program is to improve the well being of our children by inspiring and equipping men to be more effectively involved in the lives of children. 13