The PTA OFFICERS for the 2011 - 2012 School Year are:
- President – Rachel Hicks
- Vice-President Fundraising – Sharri Freedman
- Vice-President Programs – Karla Berggren
- Treasurer – Steve Schuck
- President-Elect – Eric Williams
- Secretary – Angie Dixson
Restaurant Nights
May 9, 2012 at Elevation Burger from 5pm unil 9pm.
National Staff Appreciation Week
During May all public schools celebrate National Staff Appreciation Week. This year, RPES’ Staff Appreciation Week is being celebrated May 3rd, 4th, 7th - 9th. Our theme is: “Rocketing Us to Success.”
The events planned for Ritchie Park’s Staff Appreciation week are:
· Thursday, May 3rd: Kick-off Breakfast
· Friday, May 4th: Dessert Day - Various desserts will be provided for the staff to enjoy
· Monday, May 7th: Lite and Healthy lunch will be provided for the staff e.g. various salads and healthy entrees
· Tuesday, May 8th: That’s Amore - Italian Lunch
· Wednesday, May 9th: Gift card raffles
If you would like to contribute to RPES' Staff Appreciation week of events please check your child's binder for information, download the form here, or contact Karen Watson: kmpk1969@yahoo.com. Thanks in advance for any help you may provide.
The Boosterthon Fun Run
Boosterthon is Coming to Ritchie Park…AND You will want to be a part of this!
The Boosterthon Fun Run program is a healthy alternative to traditional product sales that raises much-needed funds for our school. It has been proven to raise more than 50 - 150% more than our largest fundraiser ever! The nine-day Boosterthon also promotes three specific values during the fun-filled program: Fitness, Leadership, and Character.
Boosterthon Fun Run Basics:
- The event will kick off with a 30-minute school-wide Pep Rally on May 14 and conclude on May 23 with the Boosterthon Fun Run event.
- Students get pledges towards the number of laps they will run at the Boosterthon Fun Run.
- Every student participates in the Fun Run, regardless of pledges raised, and receives a “Boosterthon All-Star” t-shirt.
How Can You Support Ritchie Park in this year’s Boosterthon
- Connect your child to sponsors—friends & family—who can give a pledge.
- Come and cheer on your child at the Boosterthon Fun Run on May 23!
- Go to www.boosterthon.com to learn more about the Boosterthon Fun Run. Or email Laura Degnon at laura@degnon.org or Jodi Gershoni at jgershoni@hotmail.com.
More information will come home with your child prior to the event.
This is the major fundraising event for the Spring!
Thanks in advance for supporting Ritchie Park!
Arts and Science Fair
Arts and Science Fair is coming!
When: Thursday, May 17th
Where: RPES
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
The PTA- Sponsored Fair is an opportunity to showcase your talent in Art and Science in a non-competitive, fun evening. Please remember that it’s never too early to start developing your project, but be sure to sign-up by Thursday, May 10th.
Our Fair will also include student art work that was created at home!
Click here to download the Ritchie Park Arts and Science Fair Information Packet.
Questions? Call Adina Topfer at 240-453-0731 or email at Adina.topfer@gmail.com.
Community Service Night
A special thanks to the following businesses that generously supported Ritchie Park's "Snack Sacks for the Homeless" Community Service Night: Drink More Water, Potomac Pizza, Whole Foods Market, Costco, Giant, Harris Teeter, Safeway, Shoppers and The Fresh Market.
Join the PTA
The Ritchie Park ES Parent Teacher Association (PTA) invites you to become a member of an organization that not only works for our children at the national, state, and local levels, but is also a great way to meet and connect with other RPES families. PTA is a wonderful way to get involved in your child's school. By joining the PTA, you will personally help support many wonderful programs and funding of needed supplies here at Ritchie Park ES.
We welcome and need your involvement and participation in order to help make our events a success. PTA Meetings are scheduled for the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm, generally in the Media Center, and we would love to see you there.
Join Ritchie Park ES PTA today! Download the membership form here.
Thank you for supporting the PTA and helping to make Ritchie Park ES the best learning environment for our children!
Direct Donation: Help Put an ELMO in Every Classroom
WHAT IS AN ELMO? A type of document camera that displays documents and other objects that are not translucent, and uses a projector to display the image on a large screen so that an entire classroom of children can see at the same time. It differs from a projector in that what is being projected is often 3-dimensional, moving or changing (like a clip from the Internet, or a stopwatch counting down, or a worm wiggling!)
The teachers who have access to an ELMO today love it because it provides them access to cutting edge technology that enhances the children’s educational experience. But to incorporate it in lesson plans – on a regular and consistent basis – it cannot be shared with other teachers for limited periods. Right now, RPES teachers are forced to share the ELMOs.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP? Make a Donation. Your contribution is 100% tax deductible. Each ELMO and projector costs approximately $1,500.00. We need $15,000.00 to reach our goal of 1 in every classroom.
Know of any grant or corporate donation possibilities? If so, let us know. Check with your employer’s human resource department to see if your employer participates in a program that will match the funds you give to the PTA.
Download the donation form here.
Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Sharri Freedman, PTA Vice-President, Fundraising at sharribeth@aol.com, or Rachel Hicks, PTA President at rachelginac@aol.com.
Lunch and Recess Volunteers Needed!! To sign up for Lunch & Recess Volunteer shifts using Volunteer Spot, go to: http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/6523456346936540113. Download detailed instructions here if you need them.
Yearbook
Help us capture memories for our children to last a lifetime! We are looking for someone to assist with the distribution of the yearbook in June. If you are interested in helping out in this capacity, please contact Michelle Logsdon at michelle.logsdon@verizon.net.
Advocacy Corner: TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Please remember to send an email to the County Council members asking them to reject the County Executive's recommendation to delay the construction of RMES #5 by two years so that we can have some relief from overcrowding at Ritchie Park. For a sample letter, click here. Please personalize the letter, addressing your own situation, as applicable and then email it to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.
And while you are clicking on websites, please go to www.stoptheshift.com and www.change.org/petitions/no-pension-shift to register your opposition to Governor O'Malley's plan to shift half the cost of teacher and other pensions from the state to the counties. For Montgomery County, the proposed pension shift would cost $47 million in Fiscal Year 2013 and more in subsequent years. The schools, which will have to bear a significant portion of the costs to absorb, will be directly negatively affected. The schools have already had to slash more than $400 million from their budget since 2009. These cuts have necessitated increases in class sizes across all grades and required the elimination of 1300 positions. All of these reductions have occurred as our county has seen dramatic growth in student enrollment, now at a all-time high of 146,500 students. While we understand that the state must balance its budget too, it is the state that sets the basic structure of pension benefits and has failed to provide sufficient funding. Counties (and the schools) should not be asked to assume financial responsibility for costs not of their making. Please take only a minute or two to sign the on-line petitions at www.stoptheshift.com created by a coalition of county and school officials and employee organizations throughout the state of Maryland, and at www.change.org/petitions/no-pension-shift sponsored by MCCPTA. For questions, contact Jennifer Young or Rich Hart, MCCPTA Delegates.
PTA Paperless Sign-Up 2011-2012
To save on paper, copying costs and volunteer/teacher time, Ritchie Park PTA would like to offer you ECommunication. You will receive e-mails from our listserve, grade reps and PTA board with links to all flyers, newsletters and other PTA material that would have come home in your child’s backpack. Download the PTA Paperless Sign-up Form here.
Room Parents
For a list of 2011-2012 Room Parents, click here.
List Serve
Our PTA uses a mailing list server, called a ListServ, as a primary means of communication for all PTA members. Susbscribing to the mailing list is a great way to keep up with the ongoing activities at Ritchie Park. Learn how to subscribe and more here.
Advocacy Corner Archive:
For older Advocacy Corner information, please see the archived newsletters below.
Missed it?...Read the 2011-2012 Newsletters here:
2011-2012 PTA Meeting Minutes:
PTA Financial Documents
If you have any questions related to Ritchie Park or the PTA, feel free to contact any of these PTA officers:
The Board of Directors of the PTA also includes the following other members:
- Delegate to the Montgomery County Council of PTAs and Past President:
Jennifer Young
young.jennifer@gmail.com
301-309-8764
Committee Chairs:
A good way to find out who is doing what with the PTA is to check out the various committees and who is leading them.
Ongoing Fundraising Opportunities:
Contributing to your child's school is as easy as cutting tops of boxes of items you already have in your house. Find out more.
Everyone shops for groceries. Ritchie Park can benefit if you let your regular grocery store know you want to support Ritchie Park. Download the flyer here.
Montgomery County Council of PTAs
The Ritchie Park PTA belongs to the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA), which serves as the primary avenue for advocacy on issues that affect our students and our schools. MCCPTA leaders (all volunteers) interact with the MCPS Board of Education, the Montgomery County Council as well as the Maryland Legislature and other elected officials on a regular basis throughout the year. They focus on issues related to the impact of budget cuts on our schools, long-range planning such as capital improvements, curriculum changes/improvements, special needs education, health, safety and the environment and more.
Ritchie Park is represented at the MCCPTA by its Delegates and the PTA President.
From time to time, we will be using this website as well as the list serve to bring you up-to-date on information being discussed by MCCPTA, as well as to seek your opinion as MCCPTA formulates its position on a variety of issues.
Archives
2010-2011 PTA Newsletters:
2010-2011 PTA Meeting Minutes: