MES Diamondbacks PTO
18150 N. Alterra Parkway |  P.O. Box 823 | Maricopa, AZ. 85239

Upcoming Events

May 29th –
Last Day of School!   (Early release)

Don't miss it! Sock Hop May 9th!!!

Looking for some family fun? Come to the Sock Hop on May 9th from 6-8pm in the Multi Purpose Room (MPR). There will be a DJ, snacks, games, a dance contest (Twist) and a contest for the best 50’s theme outfit. There will be a small fee for this event unless you bring a donation of a new, unopened package of socks, underwear or a non-perishable food item. So get out those poodle skirts and “James Dean” jackets - we hope to see you there!

PTO Election Night – May 15th

The PTO needs your leadership skills to help make MES the best school for your students! PTO Officer Elections for the 2008/2009 school years are on Thursday, May 15th at 7:00pm. If you are interested in running for a PTO Officer position or would like to vote for a candidate, please come to this annual election meeting. Also please look out for the PTO survey in your child’s folder. For your convenience, you can also complete the survey located on our web site. Your ideas will help with the direction for next years PTO.

MES Spring Book Fair

Wow!! What a great time! Thank you again to all the volunteers for your help with the Book Fair. It was a very good turn out, and we can’t wait for the next Book Fair in the Fall. Please check out our PTO website (maricopapto.org) over the summer to get updates.

Spring Carnival

Our inaugural Spring Carnival for MES was a great success! Since it was our first carnival, it was difficult to anticipate the amount of participation. WOW! It was awesome! The carnival had games, food; a rock-climbing wall provided by the National Guard; a petting zoo, with Shetland pony rides; a jungle bounce house and an obstacle course. The most successful event was the dunk tank!  MES PTO would like to acknowledge the parent volunteers, the Key Club and the High School students for volunteering their time to make our carnival a success!  We would also like to thank all of the families that donated items to the baskets for the silent auction.  We hope that you all had a great time while you were at the carnival!  The carnival was such a success; we are already planning for next year.

Be a Safety Role Model!

You may have noticed the “No Parking” signs up and down Bowlin Road, as well as the curb markings, which are painted red to identify the no parking areas.  Maricopa Police Department will start to give out citations for any type of violations that happen in and around the school. Violations include parking in a homeowner’s driveway, to “J”-walking, and of course speeding. You are welcome to park on Alterra Parkway as it is designed to have parking on both sides of the street and still have traffic flow going on both sides.  Also, if you are waiting in line to come into the pickup area and you are on the north end of Alterra, please pull to the right side and as close to the curb as possible.  Please watch out for all the children in our community, and be a good example to all our kids. “Use the marked crosswalks” when arriving or leaving campus and observe traffic signs – 15 mph! – The crossing guards are teachers and volunteers and they deserve your cooperation and respect.  Remember that this is an elementary school and children are learning the behaviors that you display!  What do we want to be teaching the future of our community?  If we all work together we will all get where we want to be faster!

Results: Box Tops & Soup Labels!

Maricopa Elementary PTO would like to thank all of the students and their families that participated in the Box Tops for Education and Campbell’s Labels contest! The three winning students that submitted the most Box Tops and Campbell’s labels will be receiving a $25 Wal-Mart Gift card! Additionally, the lucky family member that helped collect the labels will receive a FREE 1-hour massage from Elimination Massage! A Big Congratulations to the winners: Meyah Serrano 4^th grade, Edward James 2^nd grade, and Andrew Stone-Awong kindergarten! Three students are also receiving an honorable mention for submitting the most labels for their grade level.  They will be receiving a FREE 1-hour massage from Elimination Massage for their family member who helped save the labels! Congratulations to the students receiving an honorable mention: Bean Perry 5^th grade, Noah Baxter 3^rd grade and Rylee Morrow 1^st grade. Again, thank you all for helping collect Box Tops & Campbell's Labels, your effort will benefit Maricopa Elementary by providing much needed educational equipment. Please continue to collect the labels and place them in an envelope or Ziploc bag and save them for the next contest. If you have friends or relatives out of the city or state, have them save the labels for your student and send it to you over the summer. If you are interested in helping with this program, please email the MES PTO at the following address: boxtop-campbell@maricopapto.org

Items from previous Newsletters...

Fall Fundraiser was a HUGE SUCCESS!

We wanted to thank everyone for all of your support during our fall fundraiser. The end results were that we made $7,893 as a profit. Winning classes were Tassone (K-2) Benton (3-5), and the top dollar seller for the school was Jeremy Escamilla (Miles-K) $432.50. We hope to have the same support if not more for the spring fundraiser.

School Tax credit

Did you know a portion of your state withholding tax can be paid directly to Maricopa Elementary instead of the government? Choosing this option does not increase your taxes!  Take a look on our web site www.MaricopaPTO.org/documents/AZ_TaxCredit.htm for more details on how you can help the school with your tax dollars.

Adopt-A-Classroom

Also another tax deductible item that all you have to do is adopt-a-classroom. What is great about the program is that it passes 100% of all donations through directly to the teacher to purchase critical resources for the classroom. This helps a lot considering that teachers spend an average of $1,200 a year of their own money purchasing supplies for the classroom. To maintain 100% accountability, www.AdoptAClassroom.com sends each donor a report that details exactly what the teacher purchased with your donated funds. Lastly, donors receive communications from the classroom so they can experience first-hand the impact of their contributions.

“Name the Diamondback” Contest Winners Announced

The Diamondback's Mascot now has a name: Slither!  Thanks to all students, parents, teachers and staff who participated in the "Name the Diamondback" contest in November. The winning entry was submitted by two classes - Mrs. Rakoci (4th Grade) and Ms. Zimmer (5th Grade) - and was chosen from a great big pile of 29 Super Suggestions!  Students in the winning classrooms received a certificate good for an ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins.  Everyone can be proud of Slither!

“Free Money” for MES

Thank you for stopping by our PTO table during the Parent-Teacher conference. By linking your Fry’s and Basha’s cards to the school this is an easy way of supporting the school. On your next visit, ask a cashier to link your card to the MES account # (below), or print our handy barcode - and ask the cashier to scan it! A portion of your purchases in September thru March will go directly to our school!

• Bashas’ ID# 28234
• Fry’s ID# 11102

All the details on these easy fundraising programs can be found on our website. Remember that you must re-register each school year. To print barcodes or find out more on these super-easy programs, point your browser to: our Fundraising page. We also need help with our Box Tops and Campbell’s Labels program! All Campbell’s Soup labels and Box Tops can be exchanged to fund worthy school projects – contact Keishasi@maricopapto.org regarding when and were to bring yours. Help your children earn rewards for participation in this program. If you would like to help with this program, please contact Keisha or Lisa Glibbery.

Volunteers Needed!

Feel free to just show up and ask what you can do. If you have not yet attended the mandatory volunteer orientation, there’s still an array of things that can be done up at the front office for the staff and teacher’s. Don’t be shy!

• Come to the PTO meeting and be entered into our monthly drawing!
• Help pop popcorn on Thursdays & Fridays for “Popcorn Friday.” Without parent volunteers “Popcorn Fridays” may cease to exist!
• Please contact a PTO member if you need suggestions on what you can do to help!
• Committee Leadership: Parents are needed to lead & participate. Contact Brandy or Leslie if you have ideas to share!

Por favor de llama Leslie Maldonado

Reminder: Weds Early Release @ 12:30pm

Parents, please be prompt. The Office Staff has meetings to attend & work to catch up on. When students aren’t picked up on time it takes away from the important things they should be doing.

Lost and found

If you have items that have been lost please double check at the office. Any unclaimed items will be donated to charities by Dec. 14th.