High school students experienced challenges with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic including hopelessness, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts or intentions. Those are among the findings of a special national survey of high school students administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results are one of the largest sets of data about student experiences during the national health crisis. Read the article.
April is Stress Awareness Month, so take a moment to actively prioritize your mental health. Some tips and resources are available at Healthy Minds - Programs | National PTA
As schools across the nation face an acute shortage of teachers and other staff and as the remaining educators find themselves strained, demand for and interest in tutoring have increased. School districts and parents alike are grappling with how best to serve the many students believed to have fallen behind academically because of the pandemic. Read the article.
Schimelpfenig PTA is offering a $500 scholarship in support of the higher education goals of graduating Plano ISD seniors who are alumni of Schimelpfenig Middle School.
Sign up for the Great American Cleanup on Saturday, April 23rd! Help keep Plano beautiful by picking up litter for a couple of hours, then head to Chase Oaks Church for the after party. 
Our Spring Social on Friday was a lot of fun! We had 400+ students in attendance, a great turnout! The DJ from Party Time Texas, the photo booth from Marky Booth, and the Mister Softee ice cream truck were all huge hits with the students! Thank you to all the wonderful parent volunteers, administrators and staff -- Ms. Kinnard, Ms. Goodwin, Mr. Mitchell, Ms. Wahl, Mr. Schlosser, Ms. Zhang, Ms. Cano, Officer Chris -- and custodial staff who helped with planning, selling tickets, manning the bathroom hallway and concession stand, helping with the ice cream truck line (Ms. Kinnard & Ms. Cano -- it was quite the crush!), general crowd control, and cleanup. We were thrilled to be able to finally have this social event for our Schimelpfenig students and hope that everyone had a wonderful time.
With the recent increase in illness, all grade levels are in need of boxes of facial tissue/kleenex and disinfecting wipes. Please consider making a donation. Students can bring the items to the front office to be distributed to classrooms. Parents and students also can bring items to drop off during Open House. The teachers and students thank you!
Forty state PTAs signed on with almost 2,000 organizations to a national letter urging the USDA to extend its nationwide waiver authority through the 2022-23 school year. Check out the full letter here: 
What do your kids know about money? Jen Hemphill, host of Her Dinero Matters podcast, joins this episode of Notes from the Backpack to share tips on how to talk about money with children of all ages, and how you can help them to become financially responsible. 
The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Children’s Hospital Association have 
Safer Internet Day is an international education and awareness-raising effort, celebrated in over 100 countries. Led by ConnectSafely in the United States, it is a day to bring communities together to discuss challenges families face navigating the digital world, and empowers them to use technology responsibly, respectfully, critically, and creatively. This year's U.S. theme is Improving Well-Being Online. Join PTA Connected throughout the week of February 7-11 for virtual events designed to teach us all how to talk about technology and use it to spread kindness and build community: 
Why Aren't There More Black Teachers? Most people can count on one hand the number of Black teachers they had during their school years. Our recent podcast guest Sharif El-Mekki is working to change that. Listen here: 
The 2023-2024 Reflections theme has been chosen: I Am Hopeful Because... The theme contest winner is Alice Meko from Hampton Cove Elementary PTA in Alabama. It's not too early to start working on your Reflections projects for next year!
