Do you know educators who back the future of every child? Do you know an amazing teacher, principal, or superintendent who gives a little bit extra to make sure all students are successful? 'Share the Love' and nominate those outstanding educators from your community by Monday, February 15th at:  https://www.txpta.org/share-the-love 

SKI Plano is celebrating its 25^th Anniversary on February 27, 2021 with a virtual silent auction this year.  Schimelpfenig PTA donated a themed basket for the auction – Baking With Kids. 

As the Plano ISD Education Foundation’s largest fundraiser, proceeds from SKI Plano benefit all students, faculty, staff, and schools in the Plano Independent School District. These funds help our kids reach their full potential by providing financial support to educators and academic programs including:  Grants to Educators, AVID, The CORE Store, Robinson Fine Arts Center, Plano ISD Robotics, Employee Crisis Fund, and Social Emotional Learning.

Plano ISD Council of PTAs Antiracism Committee's Book Club for How to be an Antiracist beginning Jan. 28 - Feb. 18

Register at www.planopta.org

RALLY DAY is Monday, February 22, 2021. Save the Date!

• Sign up to attend Rally Day at Texas PTA  HERE
• Download the app BAND to get up-to-date information and the live stream. More information, including webinars about important advocacy issues for the 87th Leg. Session, https://www.txpta.org/rally-day

• For the 87th Texas Legislative Session.  The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living is hosting a legislative bill tracker that identifies legislative actions relevant to research taking place at the Center.  The 2021 legislative tracker is segmented into general categories: early childhood education, food policy, school/after-school care, tobacco/e-cigarettes, and more.  The tracker is updated regularly with new bills as they are filed and the status of each bill as the session progresses.     

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2021 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

A Free Virtual Event for Plano Families!

Click here to see the flyer!

Preschool – Elementary – Middle School – High School Discover programs of interest and resources for ALL students, especially gifted and special needs students.

“Meet & Greet” with exhibitors via video conference to learn about camps, therapies, and resources to help your child's learning and development.

The Exhibitor Catalog and Meet & Greet video conference links will become live on February 6. For more information, visit the website at http://www.planopta.org/SummerExpo

This week, February 1-5, is National School Counseling Week. 

Thank you to our wonderful counselors for all that you do! 

To "meet" our counselors -- Shealine Burks, Michelle Klena, and John Schlosser -- click HERE!

If you missed our recent Cyber Security Program but would like to learn more about internet safety, you're in luck! 

February 9th is international Safer Internet Day, and National PTA  is hosting an entire week of digital safety experiences from February 8-12, 2021 to help PTAs and families create a safer, kinder, and more inclusive online community together.  For further information and to register for family-friendly online workshops, go to:  Safer Internet Day - Events | National PTA

On Tuesday, January 26th, we had a Special General Assembly Meeting to vote on extending the term of office of executive board members.  Due to the difficulties of COVID-19, Texas PTA has approved a one-time extension of the term of office by one year in the same position with membership approval.  Our membership voted to approve this extension, meaning that we will not need to elect a Nominating Board or have an election at our April General Assembly Meeting this year. 

Therefore, your Schimelpfenig PTA Board for 2021-2022 is:  

President:  Michele Rohleder

1st VP Programs:  Nupoor Dave

2nd VP Membership:  Karen Gournay

3rd VP Volunteers:  Stephanie Vaughn

5th VP Communications:  Colleen Tiller

Secretary:  Brenda Dunn

If you are interested in being part of the Schimelpfenig MS PTA Board next year, either in an Executive Board position or a Committee Chair position, please contact me at president@smspta.org.  

At our PTA General Assembly meeting on Thursday, January 21st, we heard the following reports and presentations:

• We currently have 577 PTA members.  We have earned the following Texas PTA Awards:  Head Start (comeback - August), Early Bird (September), Snappy Increase (October), 3 Year High (November), Shining Star (December).  We are working toward Golden Apple (all staff are PTA members), Student Membership, and MARS (Men Are Really Super) Awards
• Please keep filling the World Wear Bin in the Schimelpfenig parking lot, sync your Kroger card with our school, and use our Amazon Smile account when you make purchases on Amazon:  PTA Texas Congress Schimelpfenig Middle School PTA
• The SMS PTA website has a new Programs tab, with links to various Parent Ed, Reflections, and SAGE programs from PISD, TX PTA, National PTA and other sources.
• Dr. Perry discussed the school population of 855 enrollment with 495 (58%) currently F2F, the Time Capsule reveal video and 25-year time capsule being planned by STUCO, and a Pep Rally planned for the Friday before Spring Break.
• Dawn Daley, our school nurse, discussed CDC and Collin County Health Department guidelines regarding Covid-19, discussed her role in tracking and reporting cases that affect Schimelpfenig, and encouraged parents to contact her if there are any questions about student health and/or quarantine rules.
• Michelle Klena, 7th grade counselor, discussed Mental Health aspects of Covid-19, the role our counselors have with reaching out and checking on students, and mentioned the many Family Resources links available on the Meet Your Counselors web page.

Please Note:   visit our website at smspta.org, go to School Office, and click on Counseling and School Nurse in the drop down menu to find resources mentioned herein.   

Michele Rohleder

FOR MORE EVENTS, CLICK HERE!

We had our first program of the year 2021 on Cyber Security awareness. It was presented by – Zac Abraham, Security Manager, on January 19^th 6pm.

It was a successful show with 30 parents and children.

If you have additional questions please feel free to reach out to the SMS VP Programs, programs@smspta.org.

References

• Phishing 101: https://staysafeonline.org/blog/5-ways-spot-phishing-emails/
• Dangers of Social Media: https://www.ccsinet.com/blog/social-media-cybersecurity/
• Have I been Hacked: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Last chance to order your student a copy of the Schimelpfenig Yearbook!  

Deadline to order is 1/29/21.

Order at:  www.jostens.com/yearbookdeadline

Please join the National PTA on its YouTube channel for the 2021 Virtual Student Arts Showcase on January 26th at 7 p.m. EST, honoring the 200+ national awardees from the 2019-2020 Reflections program, showcasing works based on the theme:  Look Within.  Please RSVP for this virtual event at:   2021 Reflections Showcase RSVP Page (informz.net)