Please help us to wish a happy “Thanks”-giving to our wonderful Schimelpfenig staff members!  Pie Day is tomorrow, Friday, November 20th.  Please sign up by noon today to bring a store-bought pie(s) tomorrow before noon – F2F students can drop off pie donations in the front office before school and @Home parents can drop off pie donations on the cart that will be in front of the school on Friday morning.  

Our first-ever eSport tournament on Friday was a bit chaotic but ultimately a fun time!  Our winning team showed some impressive Rocket League gaming skills. Thanks to everyone who joined in our Virtual Fall Social!  

And don’t forget the remaining goals for our Healthy Lifestyles week:

• Rethink Your Drink Thursday: increase your intake of water versus sugary drinks, try new ways to hydrate yourself!
• Feeling Great Friday: show kindness and gratitude to others and yourself!
• Wisdom Weekend: learn something new, try a new hobby, explore your community!

Here is some important information from PISD:

• 3rd 9-Week Changes to Instructional Environment

Revised selection window:  November 17-November 30
(Originally scheduled selection window:  November 30-December 4)

The new window for selection is November 17-November 30 for all levels (elementary and secondary students). Students will be scheduled in the selected instructional environment, which will go into effect on January 5, 2021. If no changes are made in Parent Portal, then the current instructional environment will remain in effect until the fourth 9-week selection period opens. 

• PISD Calendar for the 2021-2022 school year – PISD School Board presented three calendar options at the November 17th Work Session meeting.  The final calendar vote will take place at the December 8th School Board meeting.  Information regarding the three choices can be found in the Draft Calendar Presentation located HERE.

As always, feel free to contact me any time at president@smspta.org with questions, problems, or if you just want to join our wonderful SMS PTA Board!  

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from your SMS PTA Board!

Michele Rohleder

SMS PTA President

Congratulations to the winners from BTL online Speech and Debate tournament on Saturday, November 14th.

Congress

Andy Lee (6th)-1st Place

Sanjit Konda (6th)-3rd Place

Extemp

Andy Lee (6th)-4th Place

This tournament was hosted by Be the Light Youth Association, a nonprofit organization run by Plano High school students which raises money for disadvantaged children in the community. 

Robinson Middle School PTA is hosting a community special event on Thursday, December 3, 2020! 

The Movie part of the event involves the streaming of the IndieFlix film LIKE, which highlights social media, and its effects on adolescents and young adults. It is well-done and engaging, and Robinson Middle School PTA is wanting to share this opportunity with our fellow Plano ISD families.

After watching it at your home, there will be a live webinar, with local experts available, to answer questions you may have about the film.

There are only 1,000 available to register, but hope that this can reach whomever might be interested in watching it, including families, teachers, and staff! This is a free viewing event, though we would always appreciate a donation to offset the cost of streaming the film.

One important note: the movie is geared for an audience middle-school aged and up, so please use discretion in viewing. Here is a trailer of the film, to see if you may be interested: 

Dinner is brought to you by In-N-Out Burger! Their truck will be in the Robinson Middle School parking lot, on the evening of the 3rd, and pre-ordered meals will be picked up via "drive-thru" before the film begins. For $5/meal, which includes chips and a fountain drink, you can choose from a hamburger, a cheeseburger, or a grilled cheese sandwich! 

Meals must be preordered, and registration for the movie must also be completed ahead of time as well. The deadline to register/order is Monday, November 30th. No orders/registration can be taken the day of the event. Please use this link to order/register: www.robinsonpta.org

• P.S. You are not obligated to get dinner to watch the movie, or vice versa! You can choose to order/register for one part of the event (food or movie), or both!

Here is a quick snapshot of the details:

• Visit the following link: www.robinsonpta.org to register for the movie and/or order food
• An email with a link for the movie and/or logistics for food pickup will be sent 1-3 days before the event
• The film will begin streaming at 7:00pm, so prepare to watch it at that time, in the comfort of your home
• If you order food from In-N-Out, you will pick that up from the RMS parking lot from 5:30-6:30pm, to make it home in time to watch
• After the movie, the live webinar will be available for people to talk with local experts about questions they may have after watching

In little over two months, the Texas Legislature will convene for regular session and start making decisions that will impact the health, safety, and future of our students. PTA must be a thunderous voice this session! To prepare, Texas PTA has scheduled two webinars in November to preview our legislative priorities and discuss what your PTA can do now within your own community.

Click HERE for details.

Texas PTA scholarship applications close this Sunday! Encourage your eligible high school seniors and faculty members to apply by November 15, 2020. 

If you have a current high school senior or you are a PISD teacher, Texas PTA has scholarships available for college classes, continuing education, or teacher training.  You can find information and applications at:  https://www.txpta.org/scholarships

All Middle School students have the opportunity to compete in a free online Speech and Debate tournament experience this Saturday, November 14th.

No experience is necessary and everyone is encouraged to participate! Students will receive valuable feedback about speaking skills like confidence, projection, and more from nationally-recognized high school competitors. This tournament is hosted by Be the Light Youth Association, a nonprofit organization run by Plano High school students which raises money for disadvantaged children in the community. 

For more information and to register today, visit bethelightyouth.org/tournament.

Here are some important dates coming up:  

• Friday, October 30th – Last day to early vote!
• Saturday, October 31st – Happy Halloween!
• Sunday, November 1st – Daylight Savings Time ends – Enjoy that extra hour of sleep!
• Tuesday, November 3rd – Voting Day – Student Holiday/Staff Work Day – Since there will be voters at many PISD schools, students will be staying home on holiday and staff will be working from home.
• Thursday, November 5th – School Picture Day
• Monday, November 9th 
  • Virtual Career Day at Schimelpfenig
  • Deadline to submit Reflections projects!  See more details in this Newsletter.
• Friday, November 13th – Fall Social – This year, the fall social cannot be in person, so PTA is sponsoring an eSports Tournament!  Details – cost to participate, how to sign up, and tournament game – will be coming very soon!  

As always, feel free to contact me any time at president@smspta.org with questions, problems, or if you just want to join our wonderful SMS PTA Board!  

Michele Rohleder

Clean out your clutter of old toys, kitchen items, unused towels and bedding and of course CLOTHES!  Bring them up to the BIG BLUE Bin located in the west parking lot. 

It is that time of year when World Wear Project offers an incentive of $100 if we collect 2,500 lbs. or more of shoes, clothing and other items they accept during the month of November in conjunction with American/Texas Recycles Month.  Please help our school to get an extra $100!

Visit our Fundraising Page here for more information.