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Pine Bush PTA
Newsletter
Save the Date!
PTA Council Meeting
October 6th, 7pm at GC District
Office
PTA Meeting
October 8th, 9am, PBE
Community Room
Early Dismissal Drill
October 10th, students dismissed
15 min. early
Welcome Back!!!
New backpacks, new sneakers, new pencils, markers and
erasers, and a rainbow of folders... New classrooms, new
teachers… A new beginning! We hope you and your family
have enjoyed a successful start to the school year and are
looking forward to the many memorable moments to come this
year. In this newsletter you’ll find:
•
Letter from PTA President
•
Latest News
•
Details on upcoming PTA events and exciting fall
programs
•
Important Reminders
No School
October 13th, Columbus Day
Board of Education Meeting
October 21st, 7pm at High
School LGI
School Picture Day
October 22nd
Early Dismissal, K-5
October 23rd, 11:30am
Halloween
Spooktacular
October 24th, 6pm
Early Dismissal, K-5
October 27th, 11:30am
No School, K-5
November 4th, Conference Day
No School, K-5
November 11th, Veterans Day
PTA Meeting
November 12th, 7pm
Movie Night
November 14th, 6:30pm
Kid’s Holiday Craft Fair
December 3rd and 4th, during school
PINE BUSH ELEMENTARY PTA
FALL 2014
Dear Pine Bush Families and Friends,
Dear Pine Bush Families and Friends,
Welcome to the 2014-15 school year! I hope all of you had a fun-filled summer and are ready for the upcoming
school year. As we enter into fall, we experience the wonderful season of leaves changing, apple picking, crisp
fall days and, of course, the scent of cider doughnuts! The fall also brings renewed energy for learning, making
new friends and a commitment to becoming part of the school community.
I am very happy to be entering my second year as the PTA President. Our PTA board is fantastic and
extremely dedicated and I am honored to be working with each and every one of them.
The PTA is already busy planning and preparing for many upcoming events and fun family activities that are
detailed in this newsletter. I would like to encourage both new and returning families to become part of the
PTA. There are many ways to volunteer at Pine Bush Elementary, from as little as an hour helping sell popcorn
at Movie Night, to taking on a PTA sponsored event. We can help find a way that fits best into your schedule.
If you would like to become a member or volunteer, please contact Kim Helfrich at 355-0365 or
[email protected]. Without all of our amazing volunteers, the wonderful events that occur each year
would not be possible.
Lastly, I would like to thank all our families for their support in our school fundraisers. All the money raised
goes directly to enhancing our children’s school experience. There will be four fundraisers this year: currently
underway is the Charleston Wrap catalog fundraiser; later this fall, Entertainment Books, and in the Spring,
Krause’s chocolates and Silver Graphics (art project). We encourage you to take part in the ones that appeal to
you.
Please feel free to contact myself, or any of the board members if you have any
questions or concerns. We look forward to working with you and your families this
upcoming school year.
Bridgette Chorbajian
2014-2015 PTA Officers
Bridgette Chorbajian
President
[email protected]
Kristin Smrtic
Treasurer
[email protected]
Amy Novak
VP, Ways and Means
[email protected]
Brigit Pierce
Recording Secretary
[email protected]
Amy Lynch
Corresponding Secretary
356-5363
Maryanne Kerr
VP, Programs and Events
[email protected]
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[email protected]
PINE BUSH ELEMENTARY PTA
FALL 2014
Latest News!
Fall Used Book Sale A Success!
The 2014 Used Book Sale was once again a great
success. Thank you to the school community for your
book donations and a great turnout for the sale. A
special thanks to those who helped with the sale, we
couldn’t have done it without you! It’s encouraging to
see so many children excited to browse and buy
books! Those quarters really add up! We raised $410
which will be used to fund future PTA sponsored
events. The unsold books were made available to the
Pine Bush staff and then donated to a local charity.
-Carolyn Becker
Library Volunteers Needed
Box Tops for Education
Are books and reading two of your great pleasures in
life? The Pine Bush Elementary Library is in need of
volunteers who have an hour to share on a regular
basis once a week. Help will be needed with shelving
books and other library tasks. If you are interested in
volunteering at our library, please e-mail Michele
Berezansky at [email protected] or call
280-3275.
The box tops program is off to a great start this year. We had several kids participate in the summer box
top collection program; drawing for the prize will be after the October 1st contest end date. Last year the
students did great collecting over 12,000 box tops equaling $1,200 for our school! It is my hope that this
year we can collect even more. In case you don’t know how the program works: Box Tops seem to be on
everything these days: cereal, plastic baggies, taco kits, fruit snacks, butter, cake mixes, just to name a
few (for a complete list go to http://www.boxtops4education.com). Please take a moment to cut the box
top logo off of these items and send them in to school with your student as these can really add up. PTA
collects 10 cents for every box top we collect. Thanks for your support in this program and keep clipping!
Please feel free to email me with any questions, concerns or ideas for this program.
-Nicole Green, [email protected]
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PINE BUSH ELEMENTARY PTA
FALL 2014
Fall Fundraiser
Thank you to all families that participated in this year’s
Fall Fundraiser. We sold almost $11,000 in
merchandise and food items and will make
approximately $4,400! All orders will be sent to the
school on November 5th for pick-up. Further
information will be sent out pertaining to the details of
delivery day. Thank you once again for a successful
fundraiser!
Entertainment Books
This year Pine Bush Elementary will be selling the
popular Entertainment Books. The books will sell for
$25 a piece and we will have the opportunity to
purchase books from over 110 cities. This enables you
to do some early Holiday shopping for out of town
friends and relatives! In addition, the mobile app will
allow you to access Entertainment savings in any of
their participating cities. More information about
Entertainment Books will be sent out in late October.
School Banking
The SEFCU School Banking kicks off on Tuesday,
September 23rd. We will be collecting savings
every Tuesday morning, in the cafeteria from 7:45am
- 8:30am. For more information or to get your child a
SEFCU account, be sure to return the "request for
information" form that was sent home in the backpack
mail. If you have any questions or would be willing to
help on an occasional Tuesday morning, please
contact Laurie Streeter at 280-2421.
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PINE BUSH ELEMENTARY PTA
FALL 2014
Upcoming Programs
and Events
Spooktacular!!!
PTA’s annual Halloween Spooktacular will be here
before you know it! Bring the whole family on Friday,
October 24th at 6pm. Games and entertainment will be
offered for a very low price. Dinner and snacks will be
on sale throughout the evening. Children are
encouraged to come in costume, and be ready to have a
great time! We are looking for middle and high school
student volunteers to support the event. If interested
please contact Patty Hoffman at 356-3604 or
[email protected]. See you there!
Movie Night
Join us on Friday, November 14 at 6:30pm for PBES
Movie Night featuring Rio 2. Bring the whole family
for a night of fun. Blankets, pajamas and pillows are
welcome as we gather in the cafeteria. Popcorn and
snacks are available for purchase. The movie is free but
we are asking for a donation of a non-perishable food
item. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Kid’s Holiday Sale
Each year the PTA holds a craft sale where students
can purchase, at a nominal price, small items for
family and friends for the holiday season. The gifts
are even gift wrapped for the students. The Kid’s
Holiday Sale will be held on Wednesday, December
3rd and Thursday, December 4th (contingent day is
Friday, December 5th) during the school day.
Volunteers are needed to staff the sale as well as to
help make individual items for the sale. We have
prepared “craft kits” with a completed sample,
detailed instructions and supplies for you to sign out
to work on at home. We’ll help you select a kit that
matches your time and skill level. If you have any
questions about the sale, or would like to volunteer,
please contact Kelly Buttridge at 355-1545 or
[email protected].
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Kid’s Only!
Holiday Sale
December 3rd and 4th
PINE BUSH ELEMENTARY PTA
FALL 2014
Young Authors
The Pine Bush Elementary Young Authors Committee is
very excited and pleased to announce that award-winning
author Kate Messner will be visiting our school on
December 16, 2014. Kate will be presenting to grades K-5
throughout the day and will also sign nameplates for all her
books ordered by students. (Forms to order Kate’s books
will be sent home with students by backpack mail prior to
her visit.) Kate is the author of many picture books, chapter
books, middle grade novels and nonfiction books. Her titles
include the Marty McGuire chapter book series, the novel
The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z , which was the winner of the
2010 E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers, and
the picture book Sea Monster and the Bossy Fish. More
information about Kate can be found on her website,
http://www.katemessner.com. To learn more about the
Young Author’s program, contact Michele Berezansky at
280-3275 or [email protected].
Please Take Note…
SNN: School News Notifier – Have You Signed Up?
Say Cheese!
Just a reminder that school pictures will
be taken on Wednesday, October 22nd.
Packets will be sent home in backpack
mail with
pricing and
order forms.
School News Notifier, or SNN, is an electronic
notification system designed to keep parents and the
community in touch with what’s happening at
Guilderland Central Schools. Receive information
about upcoming school events, emergency closings and
delays, etc. in your email inbox or by text to your
mobile phone. It’s easy to sign up, just visit
www.guilderlandschools.org and click on the “School
News Notifier” icon.
Holiday and Early Dismissal
Please note that on Friday, October 10th all Guilderland
district schools will be participating in an annual
Emergency Early Dismissal Drill. On that day,
students will be dismissed from school approximately
15 minutes earlier than usual. In addition, there will be
no school on October 13th in observance of Columbus
Day.
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PINE BUSH ELEMENTARY PTA
FALL 2014
Why Join Pine Bush PTA?
As our new school year gets underway, we encourage you to help us enrich the educational
experience of our students by joining the PTA. As a PTA member you have input into important
decisions such as how PTA money is spent, which activities are sponsored, and input in planning for
the future. The Pine Bush PTA has many exciting things planned for you and your children this year:
Halloween Spooktacular, Scholastic Book Fair, Cultural Arts programs, Spirit Games, Follies, AdoptA-Family and Holiday Craft Fair to just name a few.
•
Our PTA is very active in sponsoring and implementing many programs that enrich the school
experience for our students.
•
Your membership adds to the numbers that support state and national PTA lobbying efforts
with the goal of improving education for all.
•
PTA provides opportunities to meet and network with other parents, teachers and school
administrators.
•
As a PTA volunteer you can use your skills and hobbies for a relevant cause while setting a
good example for your child and all children in the community.
Joining PTA is easy…
Simply click on the link below to go to the
membership form which can be sent back to school
with your child or, contact Kim Helfrich at 355.0365
or [email protected].
http://guilderlandschools.org/pinebush/pta/PDFs/membership.pdf
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PINE BUSH ELEMENTARY PTA
FALL 2014
We welcome your input!
The Pine Bush PTA is a collaborative group all working together
with our school staff to make our children’s elementary school
years the best they can be. Your ideas, thoughts, and suggestions
are always welcome… Please join us at a PTA meeting (dates
and times listed below) or contact one of the PTA officers listed
on page 2 of this
newsletter at any time.
Pine Bush Elementary PTA
2014-2015 Meeting Dates
October 8th
November 12th
January 7th
March 11th
May 6th
9am
7pm
9am
7pm
7pm
All meetings are held in the PBE Community Room