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)

Please join us this Wednesday, April 20th at 6:00 p.m. in the Schimelpfenig MS library for a General Membership Meeting and Election of PTA officers for the 2022-23 school year!  If you are planning to attend, please sign up through your account at smspta.org. It will help us to know the number of people attending, as the school will be providing dessert and beverages to celebrate Volunteer Appreciation Week. Hope to see you there!

The SMS PTA Nominating Committee has slated the following individuals to be considered for election for the 2022-2023 school year:

• President - Nupoor Dave
• VP Programs - Snehal Gudadhe  
• VP Membership -  Ioana Radulescu
• VP Volunteers - Abbie Furrow
• VP Communications - Teri Ellis
• Treasurer - Kelly Jo Wilson-Day
• Secretary - Nickol Gallovich

This week, April 17-23, is Volunteer Appreciation Week!  SMS PTA would like to say Thank You! to all of the wonderful parent volunteers who have helped at PTA and school events this year!

Earth Day is Friday, April 22nd.  Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org, including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.  This year, the theme is Invest in Our Planet.  Visit the Earth Day website at Earth Day 2022 | Invest in Our Planet™ for information on how you can celebrate and help #InvestInOurPlanet.

• Thursday, April 14th: Multicultural Day for students at Schimelpfenig  Students will spend the day learning about other cultures from their fellow students and participating in multi-cultural activities.  Each grade-level will have an extended one-hour lunch.  Food trucks will be available for students to purchase food if they wish (school lunch and bringing lunch are still options).  Food truck offerings will include gyros, sushi, Korean BBQ, seafood, chicken fingers and Kona Ice. 
• Friday, April 15th: Student/Teacher Holiday  Enjoy the three-day weekend!  Happy Easter to those who celebrate!
• Monday, April 18th: Inclement Weather Make-up Day Students and staff have school!
• Wednesday, April 20th: SMS PTA General Membership Meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the Schimelpfenig MS library Please join us for a Membership Meeting and Election of officers for the 2022-23 school year!  If you are planning to attend, please sign up through your account at smspta.org.  It will help us to know the number of people attending, as the school will be providing dessert and beverages to celebrate Volunteer Appreciation.
• Monday, April 25th: Student Holiday/Staff Work Day No school for students!

The SMS PTA Nominating Committee has slated the following individuals to be considered for election for the 2022-2023 school year: 

• President - Nupoor Dave
• VP Programs - Snehal Gudadhe  
• VP Membership -  Ioana Radulescu
• VP Volunteers - Abbie Furrow
• VP Communications - Teri Ellis
• Treasurer - Kelly Jo Wilson-Day
• Secretary - Nickol Gallovich

Please plan to join us on April 20th at 6:00 p.m. in the Schimelpfenig Middle School library for the election, meeting, and volunteer appreciation treat from the administration!