Document 1751119

Commanders log
September 2015
UPCOMING EVENTS
Oct/Nov
Oct. 5th9th
Early Release@ 12:50
Parent teacher
conferences
th
Oct 9
Fall Festival 5:008:30
Oct. 12th
No School
Oct. 15th PTA board Meeting @
6:00pm
th
Oct. 16
Spirit assemblies
3-5 @ 8:15 AM
K-2 @ 9:00 AM
Oct. 26thRed Ribbon Week
30th
Look for dress up
days to come soon!
nd
Nov. 2 Fall Book Fair
6th
Nov. 9thSock it to Hunger
20th
Food Drive
President’s two cents!!
Hello McNair Families! Boy did these first 6 weeks just fly by.
Here we are, already in October, which means parent teacher
conferences, cooler weather and Halloween. But, it also means
some great family events are coming to McNair Elementary as
well.
I don’t know what your outside of school life is like, but if it’s
anything like mine, it’s jam packed. Between the art club,
orchestra, math tutoring, teaching my sons to drive as well as all
the everyday necessities we need to complete, there is not a lot
of down time or family time. And you can forget that “proverbial”
weekend. I’m not sure what that is. We are always on the go,
racing to get somewhere or complete a chore or homework that
needs to be completed. That, however, was before I even threw
the President of the PTA into the mix.
I guess my real question is balance….how do you really balance
all the aspects of your life. I have at least 10 balls in the air at
once that I am constantly juggling, hoping one will not fall. How
do you stay up to date on your child’s day? We try having Friday
night dinners together every week. The rest of the week’s dinners
may be hit or miss, but Friday night, you are at that table ready to
give a recap of your week. Is it enough??? I don’t know, but right
now, it’s what I have to give.
Of course, perhaps your first question is then, “Why? Why go
through all this hassle of being in the PTA if it’s just a burden?”
My answer… why not? If not me, then who? This is a way for me
to give back…back to the school, back to the community. I am
able to use my talents or skills, if you will, for a great cause with
immediate results. Yes, it’s hard, exhausting and stressful to put
on these events for our school and our community, but the
rewards are intoxicating. A sweet smile, a ‘thank you’ from the
students, my daughter exclaiming, “yah, my mom did that.” What
more can you ask for?
I realize this newsletter article sort of went off the rails a little
bit, but the main point is a great bunch of parents got together
to bring us an awesome family event on Friday, October 9th.
Yes, that's right...it's Fall Festival. Go! Enjoy the fruit of our
exhausting and stressful labor. Share dinner with your kids and
then ask those all important questions…”what one amazing
thing happened to you in school this week?”
Sincerely,
Judy Weiner
PTA President
Check us out on Facebook!
McNair Elementary PTA
Howdy Commander Parents and Families!
Thank you for your partnership and support. It has been
a wonderful start to the new school year, and we can
hardly believe the first grading period is already “in the
books!”
We have many goals, but a central focus involves
providing parents and students with multiple ways to
access information, assistance, and guidance.
Our Mission Mantras: #iCAN@McNair & Caring in
Technicolor
Class DoJo and Seesaw are taking the McNair campus
by storm! This is the pilot year for both programs, and
we expect a majority of classrooms will integrate the
programs by mid-year. Thank you to our brave and bold
educators for taking a “leap of faith” and embracing a
new way to support student growth and development!
The NEW McNair Campus Facebook page is growing
in views, likes and followers EVERYDAY! Please, take
a moment and “like” our page, and add it to your list of
TOP Facebook (FB) sites to visit. The McNair FB site
will not replace the McNair PTA Facebook page, which
was designed for parents and families who have been
given access to this protected/ closed group. The McNair
Campus FB site will be open so all parents and
community members may access the site for
announcements, highlights, and celebrations.
 Let’s MAKE IT a GREAT Year!
Dr. Debbie Cano
Visit www.pt-avenue.com and use organization code:
COMMANDERS! There you can purchase your PTA
membership, yearbooks, spirit wear, and more!!! All items will
be delivered to your child’s classroom.
Welcome
Our New Assistant Principal
Jason Cheslock, M.Ed.
Jason Cheslock comes to us from Eagle Mountain - Saginaw ISD
where he has been an assistant principal. Jason has experience as a
special education, science, and math teacher. In addition, he served
as a district curriculum writer and facilitator.
Further, Jason coached football, tennis and track. He is an honor
graduate of UT, and holds a superintendent’s certification.
Jason is married to his lovely wife, Misty, and is the proud father of
sons Griffin, who is 9, and Dawson, who is 4.
Jason is thrilled to join the McNair and Denton ISD family!
McNair Elementary Fall Festival
Friday, October 9th from 5-8:30
Come join us for a night of games, food and awesome rides. We will
have something for everyone to enjoy. There will be lots of inflatables, a
rock wall, mechanical bull, train, pony rides, and petting zoo. Don't forget
the many carnival games, including old favorites like the cake walk, as well
as some new ones brought to us by our awesome sponsors, TMA, i9,
Advocare, Smile Magic Dentist and Orthodontist and Thirty-one. So come
one and all to this wonderful community event. Hope to see you there.
We want to thank our many sponsors for their donations to our
auction:
Texas Rangers
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Stars
Frisco Roughriders
Texas A & M
TCU
Texas Tech
Interskate Roller Rink
Main Event
Geppetto's Theatre
Frontiers of Flight Museum
Medieval Times
Dallas Zoo
Trinity Forest Adventure Park
Sea World
Kimbell Art Museum
Fort Worth Museum of Science
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth Zoo
Smoothie King
Twisted Bodies
TMA
Honda/Toyota of Denton
Chuy's
El Fenix
Rosa's Cafe
Frank Buck Zoo
Hank Haney Golf
Natural Bridge Caverns
Sharkarosa
Community Coffee
Grapevine Convention Center
Jumpstreet
Otterbox
FC Dallas
Silver Dollar City
i9 Sports
Sci-Tech Discovery Center
Billy Bob's Texas
The Egg & I
Heard Natural Science Museum
Market Street
Costco
Cookies by Design
Villa Grande
McAllister's Deli
The Ranch Arrangements
Southwest Hair
Amazing Jake's
Denton Gymnastics Academy
Chipotle
Dallas Arboretum
Disneyland
Chick-fil-a
A Style Limousine
Winkids and Avon!!!
Counselor’s Corner
Respect Yourself!
Our character quality for the 2nd 6 weeks will be respect. We are learning about respect,
and what it means to have respect for yourself as well as for others. Respect is showing others
that they are valued for who they are, for their character, instead of what they look like or what
they have. It means treating others the way you want to be treated. Parents can help foster respect
by setting a good example in how they talk about or treat others. Encouraging your children to use
words to solve problems or use polite manners are other ways to promote respect.
October is National Bully Prevention Month!
We will be celebrating with our "Take a Stand against Bullying" Day on Thursday October
th
15 by wearing PINK. Pink day originated when some high school boys organized a protest to
wear pink in sympathy for a 9th grade boy who was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt. They
took a stand against bullying by distributing pink T-shirts to other boys in their school.
October 23rd – 31st we will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week.
The purpose of Red Ribbon Week is to get students involved in drug prevention awareness. We
want our students to show respect for themselves by making a commitment now to stay drug-free
for the future. Please be sure that students bring tennis shoes for P.E. each day.
I hope the students will enjoy participating in the following theme days:
We are “Paws”itively Drug-Free!
Follow your dreams; don’t do drugs!
Color Me Drug-Free!
I “mustache” you not to do drugs!
Superpowers: be a drug free hero!
Orange you glad we’re drug-free!
Bring a Stuffed Animal
Wear Pajamas
Wear Team Color *See below
Wear a Mustache
Dress like a Superhero
Wear Orange
F10/23/15
M10/26/15
T10/27/15
W10/28/15
Th10/29/15
F10/30/15
*On the morning of Tuesday Oct. 27th we will be taking a school-wide rainbow photo right after
morning announcements.
K wears purple.
1st wears blue
2nd wears green
3rd wears
4th wears orange
5th wears red
Teachers and staff will wear white to represent the clouds at the edges.
GREETINGS FROM MCNAIR PE!
PE CORNER
BOX TOPS are coming in every day! Ask your kiddos about all of the new, fun stuff they’ve seen in PE, Art and
Music! Box Tops has a new bulletin board as you exit the cafeteria into the hallway. Check it out!
And RememberTENNIS SHOES EVERY DAY MCNAIR COMMANDERS!!
PE TEACHERS
McNair’s Environmental Learning Area (ELA) is needing volunteers
to help pull weeds. Can you give a little time during your day to
help out? Please contact Mrs. Sardina [email protected]
Brick Pathway Fundraiser
Please help McNair make a beautiful and memorable pathway for our Environment Learning Area
(E.L.A.) by honoring your child, family or teacher with a brick paver. Examples might be: In Honor
of Abby Ty Teeter 2008-2009 or The Hill Family loves McNair. We use the engraved bricks to
border the pathways around the garden. You can purchase the brick for $45. We pay ACME brick
$15 and $30 is used to pay for the garden. Simply fill out the form below and enclose a check to
DPSF (Denton Public School Foundation) or make a payment on-line with a credit card on the
McNair Website under ELA or this link:
http://www.give2schools.org/cat.asp?id=285FFF1F80F24156B531F1A7F746DAC9
For any questions, contact Sheree Sardina 940-369-3600
Customer Name: _______________________________________ Phone: ______________________________
Email: _________________________________________
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Check It Out in the Library
Students in grades K - 2 have been learning how to be good digital citizens. Students are taught
how to be responsible when going online and using devices like computers, ipads, and
smartphones. Some of the key topics for being a good digital citizen are:
● Digital Footprint - Anything you put on the internet lasts forever -- It cannot be erased.
● Information - What is personal information and should not be shared on the internet?
● Give Credit - Give credit to the creator for any pictures, videos, songs, or information you
borrow from the internet.
● Integrity - Do the right thing when noone is watching on your device.
● Think before you post - Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?
● Act Responsibly - Be responsible with your device. Follow the DentonISD AUP
http://www.dentonisd.org/domain/5683
● Learn to stay on task - Stay focused while on devices.
Ask your students about what they have learned. Common Sense media also has some good
parent information for keeping their children and teens safe while using devices. Here is a link
to some parent information
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/connecting_families/tip_sheets_
all.pdf .
Students can check out ebooks from the library. We have over 1400 different ebook titles that
include picture books, chapter books, and information books. To check out an ebook students
need to know their ID number as well as the year they were born. Here is a link to more
information about ebooks http://www.dentonisd.org/Page/43743 .
Mark your calendars -- Book Fair is coming up November 2 - 6. It will be set up in the
library for students and parents to come and shop. Lots of great titles will be available for
students to browse.
BJ's Restaurant here in Denton (3250 S Interstate 35E) is hosting our next restaurant fundraiser
on Tuesday, October 27th from 11 am to 9 pm. Mention McNair Elementary when you order and
McNair will receive 15% of your receipt.
The Holey Donuts restaurant fundraiser will be Saturday, November 14th from 6 am until Noon.
They are located on Teasley, in the new shopping strip across from our Kroger. They are next
door to Smoothie King. Mention McNair when you check out and we will receive 15% of your
receipt.
McNair Yearbook Announcements
This year, the yearbook cover will be created by a student at McNair. Here are the
requirements for the cover art:
1. Must be drawn vertically on an 8 ½” X 11” piece of paper
2. Must be drawn and colored in MARKER
3. Name and teacher must be written ON THE BACK of the drawing
4. Drawing must represent McNair Commanders. Be creative!
5. Turn in your entry to your child’s teacher by October 23rd.
6. Winner will be announced Mid October.
Don’t forget to take LOTS of pictures of all McNair events
this year. Once you have some collected, please burn them to a
CD and label it with the grade level, event, and teacher name if
necessary and send it to your child’s teacher. You may also email
pictures to us!
If you have any questions about the yearbook, please contact Jessie Peterson at
[email protected]
McNair Yearbook Announcements
There is still time to order a McNair Elementary Yearbook! Cost of the yearbook is $25 until November 1, 2015.
You can send cash or check with this order form or you can order online at www.pt-avenue.com to reserve your
child’s copy of the yearbook!
Parent Name: ________________________ Number of Yearbooks ordering: ___
Child Name: ________________________ Grade/Teacher: __________________________
Child Name: ________________________ Grade/Teacher: __________________________
I would like to order a Parent Dedication Ad:
____1/8 page ($40) _____ ¼ page ($60) _____ ½ page ($80) _____ full page ($100)
Parent email address: _________________________
State law requires that anyone who has direct
contact with students, including volunteers,
undergo a criminal background check.
All volunteers are required to reapply each year.
Please visit DentonISD.org and search for
Volunteer
Application
to
complete
the
background check.
WHY VOLUNTEER? Your hours benefit the students,
teachers and staff. YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE and
every minute counts. Annual volunteer hours
factor in funding, the district’s bond rating, district
recognition, and exemplary state ranking.
If you have any questions please contact
Karina Aguirre or Stephanie Oliver at
940-369-3600.
Thank you for volunteering your time!
https://www.applitrack.com/denton/onlinea
pp/_application.aspx?starting=true
All submissions
must be turned
in no later than
October 30,
2015!!
All those who submit
Must be current PTA members
MCNAIR ELEMENTARY
BOOK FAIR
The book fair is coming to McNair
Elementary. Books are great sources of wonder
and joy as they can transport us on grand
adventures. So please, come and join us at the
book fair. We will be open starting Monday, November 2nd and continue until
Friday, November 6th. We will also open during lunch so that you are able
to join your child for a meal and then visit us. Our family event is scheduled
for Thursday evening, November 5th. There will even be chances to win a
basket of books in our raffle. So come on out to the book fair. We look
forward to seeing you. If you have any questions or wish to volunteer for this
awesome event, please contact Judy Weiner at [email protected].
McNair PTA’s Annual “SOCK IT TO HUNGER” Food Drive
Attention Commander Families!! Please join our efforts to help our less fortunate Denton
neighbors. All donations will stay here in Denton benefiting local food pantries. We kick off
our food drive on Monday, November 9th. It will run through Thursday, November 19th.
We will celebrate our drive by wearing cool, goofy or outrageous socks to school on
November 19th! Please use the provided grocery bag to bring back your donations. You
may drop them off anytime between 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. in the front foyer at McNair.
Remember, together we have the ability to “SOCK IT TO HUNGER!” Items most needed
include: Canned Meats, Canned Fruits, Canned Veggies, Beans, Peanut Butter, Boxed
Meals, Rice, Pudding Cups, Pasta and Cereal. (Please remember to only donate items you
would eat and be sure to check the expiration dates.) If you have any questions, please
contact Jenifer Bauer via e-mail at [email protected]. Thank you!
Students Name:___________________________________
Students Teacher:_________________________________
Quantity Ordered:_________________________________
If you would like to advertise your business in
our directory we are happy to have you!
Please include your business card and $10
payment to promote your local business!
Attach your business card here and
Return to the school by
10/30/15
Advertise
Now!!
$10
Tower of Power!!!
Which Grade can get the most??
It's time for the McNair "Tower of Power"! Beginning October 19th until
October 23th have your child bring in newspaper, magazines, flattened cardboard and school/sports
papers—flyers, etc to be dropped off in the AM. We will be measuring the piles of recycling to see which
grade has the tallest pile. So, let's get to recycling, McNair Commanders!
Terracycle: We are still collecting used cell phones, inkjet and toner cartridges and paired shoes to recycle.
If you have any of these items, please drop off in the blue bins in the front of the school.
Have questions or want to help the Go Green committee? Contact Cynthia Starnes, our Go Green Chair at
[email protected]
DENTON ISD PTA DAY AT NORTH TEXAS FOOTBALL
Welcome to North Texas! Enjoy a family-friendly experience at Apogee Stadium on October 10 at 4 p.m.
when North Texas football hosts Portland State. Support your PTA by purchasing discounted tickets to
North Texas football. Two dollars from each ticket purchased will be donated to support your PTA. Visit
http://www.MeanGreenSports.com/promotions to access the Denton ISD PTA-day link. Thirty-one schools
are participating, so make sure to use your school’s link. Use your school’s promo code to secure tickets
and support your PTA. Promo codes are listed below.
Mean Green vs. Portland State
Saturday, October 10, 4 p.m.
Apogee Stadium
Compete against other Denton ISD PTAs. Encourage family and friends to join, as the school that sells the
most tickets wins on-field in-game recognition, a Mean Green student-athlete visit to your campus, and a
pep rally by North Texas spirit groups at your school. All tickets purchased online will be available on game
day and may be picked up at the Gate 2 ticket office on the west side of Apogee Stadium with a photo ID.
WELCOME TO NORTH TEXAS!
DIRECTIONS & PARKING:
Apogee Stadium is located at the corner of I-35 and Bonnie Brae in Denton. The parking lots immediately
surrounding Apogee Stadium are reserved for donors to the Mean Green Club, whose donations help offset
the cost of athletic scholarships. Game-day parking is located at Fouts Field off the I-35 north service road
and North Texas Blvd. The parking lots surrounding Fouts Field are designated Orange Lots, and parking is
$10, cash only. Free parking is available on campus on the northeast side of North Texas Blvd. Please
review the Apogee Stadium Game Day Parking webpage for directions, traffic flow, and access to the
Orange Lot and other on-campus parking. From the Orange Lot, it is a brief five to 10 minute walk across
the pedestrian bridge spanning I-35 to the spacious grounds of Apogee Stadium. The landing of the
pedestrian bridge will place you near Gate 3; if you need to redeem your tickets, continue walking to the
right or west side of Apogee, where you will find Gate 2. Gates open 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
For additional information regarding your North Texas football game-day experience, including tickets,
directions, parking, tailgating, merchandise, concessions, ADA assistance, and much more, visit
Northtexasgameday.com
PROMO CODES:
PTAMcNair