Next Wednesday, February 17th is Founder's Day -- the anniversary of the date PTA was founded. Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst founded an organization comprised of mostly women, some men, teachers, laborers, and others, during a time when women did not have the right to vote and social activism was not popular. They believed mothers would support their mission to eliminate threats that endangered children and started a nationwide campaign in early 1897. On February 17,1897, more than 2,000 people attended the first Congress of Mothers in Washington, D.C.
February is also Black History Month. In 1926, Selena Sloan Butler formed the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers to advocate for children, especially African American children in segregated communities. Following the Supreme Court decision that ended segregation, the two associations held their conventions together and worked to merge the groups in all fifty states. On June 22, 1970, the two congresses signed a Declaration of Unification and became one association, known today as National Parent Teacher Association (National PTA®). The year 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the unification of the two groups.
Congratulations!
Here are 2021 Schimelpfenig Lifetime Member Award Winners!
Michele Rohleder | Stephanie Vaughn | Lisha Resser
Shealine Burks | Ashley Rael | Anita Frey
We recognize each one of these peoples’ contributions to making Schimelpfenig an amazing place to learn!
The instructional environment selection window for the final nine weeks of school is February 15-19 for all levels (elementary and secondary students). Students will be scheduled in the selected instructional environment, face-to-face or PISD School@Home, which will go into effect on March 15, 2021, the first day of the fourth 9-week grading period. If no changes are made in Parent Portal, then the current instructional environment will remain in effect until the last day of school.
Plano Council of PTAs is hosting an Advocacy Information Night next Tuesday, February 16th at 7 pm. You can register for this event at www.planopta.org. If you want to learn more about Plano Council's Legislative Priorities, this is the place to be! This is for all PTA members across Plano ISD and will get you ready for Rally Day on February 22nd.
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 25th 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.
SKI Plano, February 24-27th.
They have four virtual experiences you can purchase, available now at www.skiplano.org
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
Upcoming Events:
Any events listed are not associated with PISD or PTA, but provided with the intent to help parents.
FOR MORE EVENTS, CLICK HERE!
