Since 1949, mental health organizations across America have observed May is Mental Health month.  This year, the National Alliance on Mental Illness is using this month to spread the message "Together for Mental Health" and bring all voices together to advocate for mental health and access to care.  Find more information about NAMI here: Mental Health Month | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness and about Mental Health America here: Mental Health Month | Mental Health America (mhanational.org). 

Episode 57: Fostering Student Motivation. This month, Notes from the Backpack - Podcast For Families | National PTA is premiering a new Teacher Talk Miniseries.  The first episode features Education Week writer and Educator, Larry Ferlazzo.  New episodes will be released May 4, May 11, and May 18 in honor of Teacher Appreciation Month. Teachers will share answers to questions like:  

• What is it like to be a teacher right now?  
• What do you wish families knew about your job? 
• How can families partner with teachers to advocate for change in our schools? 

As we #ThankATeacher this week, join National PTA live on Facebook Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. EDT for A Teacher’s Perspective panel discussion. The panel will be moderated by Lisa Ann Walter of the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary and will feature U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona, National PTA President Anna King, NEA President Becky Pringle and a diverse group of educators from across the country.

On April 20th, we elected officers to lead Schimelpfenig MS PTA in the 2022-23 school year.  Congratulations to all!  We know you'll do a great job next year!

• President -- Nupoor Dave
• First VP, Programs -- Snehal Gudadhe
• Second VP, Membership -- Ioana Radulescu
• Third VP, Volunteers -- Abbie Furrow
• Fourth Vp, Ways & Means -- Terri Childress
• Fifth VP, Communications -- Teri Ellis
• Secretary -- Nickol Gallovich
• Treasurer -- Kelly Jo Luellen

The following Executive Board positions are open for the 2022-23 school year:  Arts in Education, Diversity, Environmental, Healthy Lifestyles, and Hospitality. If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact Nupoor Dave at nupoordave@gmail.com.

Please mark your calendars for our last General Membership Meeting of the 2021-22 school year on Thursday, May 19th at 6:00 p.m.

Thank you to the Schimelpfenig staff for providing dessert, coffee and tea for our meeting and the wonderful thank you video that they put together for volunteer appreciation week!

Michele Rohleder

SMS PTA President

Early voting starts today and continues through Tuesday, May 3 for the May 7th election on two Proposed Constitutional Amendments.  Both proposed amendments concern property taxes.  Find out more about this election and the primary runoff election on May 24th at:  Home - League of Women Voters of Collin County (lwvcollin.org) and About the Elections Division (texas.gov)

As part of the 2022 Congressional Art Competition, the public is invited to view a free, public art exhibition at the North Texas Performing Arts from now until May 1, 2022, featuring fifty-two original art entries from students in Texas' Third District. Additionally, constituents may view this year's impressive entries on Congressman Van Taylor's website. 

School Sports Are Back.  Where Are the Athletes? Student interest in school sports has nosedived since the start of the pandemic. Nearly 3 in 10 students who were athletes pre-pandemic are no longer interested in playing organized sports, according to a recent survey. This decline could have long-term consequences for students. Read the article.

Wednesday, April 27th from 6-8pm, EVENT: Yes, We Are: A community circles discussion on safety & security. Plano Senior High School cafeteria. This event is open to all PISD 9-12th graders, their families, and community members. This event was asked for by students to connect with their SROs and to give the students an opportunity to hear from the police department and PISD leadership. This is also a wonderful forum for community members to connect with each other about their safety & security concerns. Register HERE. 

Announcing the 2022-23 Reflections Theme:  Show Your Voice!   Each year, over 300,000 students in Pre-K through Grade 12 participate in the National PTA Reflections program, creating original works of art in response to a student-selected theme. Categories include Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography and Visual Arts. This year's theme was submitted by Jason Yevin from the Salk/Macarthur PTSA in New York. It's not too early for your student to start working on his or her Reflections submission for next year!

We currently have 548 members. Help us win the April Showers Award -- 15 new members in April! 

• Plano Visual Art Academy.  PVAA is all PISD 5^th - 7^th grade students who have a deep interest in pursuing art.  This 4-week program will be at Schimelpfenig for our students. Pre-registration is open until noon on April 13th. 
• Gateway Engineering Camp. Open to current PISD 6th and 7th graders, this will be at Schimelpfenig MS this summer. Click here to get more information.
• SIGS Summer School.  SIGS will be at Schimelpfenig this summer.  SIGS provides an innovative summer learning experience and is open to ALL students in grades K-7. Students are able to choose from a list of courses that includes humanities, science, mathematics, social sciences, and fine arts. To honor the original intent of the program, PACE students will be grouped together in their classes if staffing allows.
• PISD Summer Dance Intensive. Open to all incoming 7-12 grade students.  For information and registration, visit  Dance / Camp (pisd.edu)
• Band and Orchestra Camps.  Music / Summer Camps (pisd.edu)

For more information on middle school summer schools, please visit:  Summer School / Middle School (6-8) Programs (pisd.edu)