Welcome to Maricopa Elementary's PTO
McTeacher's Night is Tuesday, Feb 10th!
February’s Big Event is McTeacher Night at McDonald’s on Tuesday, February 10th between
4:30 and 7:30pm. Come by and visit with faculty and staff while grabbing a bite to eat.
A percentage of dining room sales only (no drive-thru) during this time will be donated to
Maricopa Elementary School, supporting vital educational programs and much needed supplies.
See you there!
Volunteer Opportunity: Fitness Testing
February 23rd, 26th & 27th the PTO will be supporting our super duper Physical Education
teachers during 4th and 5th Grade Fitness Testing—students have worked hard to develop stamina
and strength so they can do well at the Mile Run, pushups and other skills. Volunteers are
needed to make this event a success—if you are interested in helping out, please contact Mr.
Reichhard, Ms. Poulos, Deanne Coder (868-6965) or M J Valenzano (MJ@maricopaPTO.org) for details.
Box Tops for Education: February Sweepstakes and Drawings
Now through February 20th, MES students can enter to win one of two Webkinz plush toys!
For every 30 Box Tops submitted, students will get one “chance” in the drawing to be held
the week of February 23rd As always, Box Tops offers three easy ways to earn cash for our
school through everyday activities such as buying groceries, shopping online and purchasing
books. Clip - Clip Box Top coupons from hundreds of participating products and send them to
school. Box Tops coupons are worth 10¢ each when our school redeems them from Box Tops for
Education. Shop - Shop at your favorite online stores through the Box Tops Marketplace
(www.btfe.com/marketplace). Up to 8% of each
qualifying purchase is automatically donated to our school. There is no additional cost to
your purchase and many exclusive deals and discounts can be found! Buy books - Purchase books
online at Barnes & Noble through the Box Tops Reading Room. Our school will receive 6% of
your new book purchases and 3% of all other online purchases. Sign up online at
www.btfe.com to track our progress, enter online promotions
and find great recipes.
Save the Date! 2nd Annual MES Spring Carnival is March 21st
Help us usher in Spring by attending the 2nd Annual MES Spring Carnival on Saturday, March 21st.
Your PTO Board and Carnival Committee are hard a work planning a Family Fun Extravaganza that everyone
will love, including bouncy castles, prizes, games, delicious food and the ever-popular Dunk Tank!
Planning meetings are being held each Wednesday at 5:30pm in the MES Media Center - bring your best
ideas and contribute!
Cultivating a Love of Reading: MES’s Accelerated Reader Program
Will our children be able to compete in an increasingly demanding economy? Most
children who struggle in school have difficulties with reading, while those that
achieve proficiency unlock success in many other subjects later in their school
careers. To be employable in tomorrow’s technology-driven workplace, graduates
will need to be skilled at reading and interpreting both printed and online
information. Accelerated Reader (AR) is a scientifically based and widely
studied computer-based reading assessment system that has been demonstrated to
be effective at improving students’ reading achievement. The program works well
at all grade levels. With a commitment of funding from the MES Diamondbacks PTO,
Maricopa Elementary School plans to deploy the award-winning reading program in
January 2009.
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MES Pumpkin Walk is Tuesday, Oct 28th
The 3rd Annual MES Pumpkin Walk will be held Tuesday, Oct 28th between 5:30 and
7:30pm. Don't miss this fantastically fun new Maricopa tradition, where you can show
off your costume while you "Trunk or Treat," win a prize for the best
Jack-O-Lantern, and nibble on GOURMET Candy Apples. Sip a nice hot cup of
coffee or warm cider while the DJ spins ghoulishly great tunes. The PTO will be selling Pizza,
popcorn and drinks, along with MES Dbacks Spirit T-shirts, glow necklaces and other
goodies. What a great chance to get out of the house for some clean
and safe family-oriented fun that's sure to please the big creepies and little
crawlies alike. It's the place to be!!
Contact Christy Herndon or Kim
Cancellieri for more details. We can't wait to see you there!!
Be Informed Before You Vote! Maricopa Education Foundation to sponsor MUSD
School Board Candidate Forum @ MES
Are you concerned about the future of Maricopa's public schools? On
Wednesday, October 29th, the Maricopa Education Foundation will host a
forum for the six candidates running for Maricopa Unified School District Board.
The forum will take place at Maricopa Elementary School's Multi-purpose Room
from 7pm to 8:30pm. Ak-Chin Community Chair and former MUSD Board member Delia
Carlisle will serve as moderator. Community members can submit questions
for the forum via email to former MES PTO Treasurer Michael Murriett
techtalkmike@msn.com. Find more
details at the
Maricopa Monitor website. Candidate biographies (brief) can be found
at the Pinal County School Superintendant's Website..
Parent-Teacher Conferences - The Essential Conversation
The overlapping boundaries between schools and families can create complicated
encounters for parents and teachers as well as students. Each time parents
and teachers have a conversation about a student's performance in class, the
dialogue is overshadowed by their own values, expectations and experiences as
students. Is it any wonder that some parents look forward to Parent
Teacher conferences with the same enthusiasm as they do for a trip to the
dentist? Read More ->
MES is Tops in Maricopa's First McTeacher Night!
Maricopa Friday, September 18th - McDonald's of Maricopa owner
Michelle Slayton announced this morning that Maricopa Elementary School edged out
Saddleback Elementary for total sales in the first ever McTeacher's Nights in
Maricopa! All six MUSD elementary schools had super turnout, and showed that
Maricopa has fantastic school spirit. Each school receives 20% of dining room
sales during their assigned night, so everyone is a winner! The Diamondbacks
receive a bonus of $1,000 for bringing in over $3,500 in sales during the
4:30-7:30pm
supper time rush. Assistant Principal Aaron Harris announced that
proceeds from this event will be used to help fund MES's Accelerated Reader
program, which is planned for launch during the 2008-2009 school year.
The PTO worked hard to decorate and advertise the event, including a giant "M"
in red, white and black balloons. MES Faculty & Staff took orders, delivered
food, bussed tables and greeted customers, while a mob of happy kids played in
the McPlay area. Thanks and congratulations are due all around! Thanks to
McDonald's of Maricopa, and congatulations to all the MUSD schools that
participated in this inagural event. Well done!!
Do you like to read? Do you like Ice Cream?
If you like both, you're in luck! Cold Stone Creamery
of Casa Grande is offering a FREE Kid's Creation when you read
five books!! All you have to do is
read five books, be twelve years old or younger, complete your Cold Stone
Creamery Reading Log and have a parent or teacher sign. Then bring it to
the Casa Grande Cold Stone Creamery before October 31st, 2008 to get your treat!
Could it get any better than that!?!? Cold Stone is located at 1664 E.
Florence, which is just west of and across the road from Wal-Mart.
Accelerated Reader Program
Parents and teachers who picked up PTO handouts at Meet the Teacher Night may have read
a bit about the Accelerated Reader (AR) Program
that we hope to launch at MES this year. This fantastic program has been
integrated successfully at schools across the United States, with significant
and measurable improvements in reading skills and test scores. It's "the most
popular and successful reading product of all time!" Read More ->
Seven Things to Tell The Teacher
The 1st Day of the 2008-2009 School year is upon us! As your student begins
to get acclimated to his or her new classroom, the transition can be smoothed
out a bit if you speak with their teacher about any special needs, issues or
behaviors they have. No one knows your child better than you! Here's
a list of items that
SchoolFamily.com suggests you should consider sharing.
Read More ->