Discovery School at Reeves Rogers PTA
In This Issue
Chili cookoff
Band bake sale
Basketball Spirit Nights
Fundraising news
PTA budget up for review
Green Team news
Reflections competition announced
Calendar of Events
Kung Fu Panda
Nov. 5: Hoop it Up at Home Basketball Spirit Nights. Free admission to tonight's game for students in third and fourth grades. All others: $3 adults, $1 students. The girls tip off at 5:30, and the boys tip off at 6:30.

Nov. 6: Chili Cookoff poster deadline. Students, to download the rules for the poster contest, visit the PTA Web site. See story in this newsletter.

Nov. 9: Chili Cookoff Team Registration Deadline. To register, click here to download the registration form. The cookoff is Nov. 16. See story in this newsletter.

Nov. 9: PTA Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 16: Chili Cookoff and Music, Art and Drama Benefit, 4:30-6:15 p.m., Discovery School Cafeteria.Dinner is $4 per person, and preschoolers eat for free. A bale sale will also be held to benefit the sixth grade band. See related stories in this newsletter.

Nov. 16: PTA General Membership Meeting, 6:30 p.m., following the Chili Cookoff.

Nov. 17: Hoop it Up at Home Basketball Spirit Nights. Free admission to tonight's game for students in fifth grade. All others: $3 adults, $1 students. The girls tip off at 5:30, and the boys tip off at 6:30.

Nov. 19: Coffee with the Principal, 8:30 a.m.

Nov. 19: Hoop it Up at Home Basketball Spirit Nights. Free admission to tonight's game for students in sixth grade. All others: $3 adults, $1 students. The girls tip off at 5:30, and the boys tip off at 6:30.

Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving Break. No classes.

Nov. 30: Pumpkin recycling

Nov. 30: Washington, D.C., trip payment due.

Dec. 8: PTA Board meeting, 6:30 p.m., Conference Room

Dec. 9: Reflections Contest entries due.

Dec. 11: Kids Night Out.

Dec. 11: Reflections Contest Judging.

Dec. 11: Teachers' Appreciation Lunch.

Dec. 12: Teachers' Time Out.

Dec. 18: Last day before Winter Break. Abbreviated day for students.

Dec. 21-Jan. 8: Winter Break. No classes.

Jan. 11: Classes resume.
PTA Board meeting, 6:30 p.m., Conference Room

Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. No classes.

Feb. 2: Writing assessment

Feb. 4: PTA Board meeting, 5 p.m., Conference Room

Feb. 4: PTA General Membership meeting, 7 p.m., gymnasium

Feb. 15: President's Day. No classes.
 
Feb. 18: Family Math Night

March 1-12: Parent/Teacher Conferences

March 2: PTA Board meeting, 6:30 p.m., Conference Room

March 5: Teacher/Staff Development Day. No classes for students.

March 20-25: PTA Washington, D.C., trip for Discovery School families, administration and faculty. Please see the details in this newsletter.

March 22-April 2: Spring Break. Please note these dates are revised from the original Murfreesboro City Schools Alternative Calendar.

April 7: Coffee with the Principal, 8:30 a.m.

April 12: PTA Board meeting, 6:30 p.m., Conference Room

April 15-22: TCAP Testing window

May 27: Last day of school for students (abbreviated day)
Nov. 4, 2009
CHILI COOKOFF ENTRIES DUE MONDAY!
Chili CookoffCalling all cooks! The Discovery School needs 22 chefs to enter your best chili recipe in our first ever Chili Cookoff to benefit the fine arts programs at our school. Cookoff teams can be a group of family members, classroom parents, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, student council, parents, teachers, neighborhood friends--anyone who wants to support music, art and drama in our school.

The cookoff will be held Nov. 16 prior to the PTA general membership meeting.

If you have a special chili recipe to enter into the contest, chili entries are due to cookoff coordinator Lavy Little by Nov. 9. Registration forms and contest rules are available at http://www.discoveryschoolpta.org/chili-cook-off.html

Discovery School students can enter the promotional poster contest. The rules are available at http://www.discoveryschoolpta.org/chili-cookoff-poster-contest.html. Deadline to enter is Friday, Nov. 6.
 
Volunteer to work at the chili cookoff. Contact Lavy Little to help.
 
Bring your family to sample chili prepared by teams and eat dinner, 4:30-6:15 p.m. Cost is $4 per person, and preschoolers eat free. Get the details.
 
Stay for the PTA General Membership Meeting that begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by an old-fashioned square dance.
SIXTH GRADE BAND BAKE SALE
Bake SaleThe band needs sixth grade parents, or any parents who would like to help, to provide individual and/or whole desserts for those attending the Chili Cookoff.

The money raised will help the band purchase instruments for the school so that every sixth grader interested may participate in band.  The band would also like to be able to pay for the care and maintenance of the instruments that the school owns.
 
Please send your whole baked goods or individually wrapped portions in disposable containers.

Baked goods can be brought to school during the day until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16. If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Walldecker.
HOOP IT UP AT HOME
BASKETBALL SPIRIT NIGHTS
Come support Discovery School Basketball on Spirit Nights.
 
Students can sign in at the ticket sales desk to receive free admission on their grade's Spirit Nights.

Remaining Spirit Nights include:
 
Nov. 5:    Third & fourth grades
Nov. 17:  Fifth grade
Nov. 19:  Sixth grade
 
One ticket per Discovery School student on designated grade night only. Ticket prices for all others are $3 for adults and $1 for students.

The girls tip off at 5:30 p.m., and the boys tip off at 6:30 p.m.

Wear your Discovery School T-shirt to show your spirit!

Basketball Spirit Nights are a school community-building project of the Adventure Activities Committee of the PTA.

Concessions, operated by the Student Council, are available during games.

Click here to see the complete basketball schedule.
FUNDRAISING
FundraisingKroger Cards: The Discovery School PTA received a check for $253.87 from Kroger for September Card loads. Please remember to keep using your cards at Kroger, particularly during the holidays, to keep those fundraising checks coming in to the school!

Printer Cartridges: Thank you so much for sending in so many cartridges. Keep them coming!

Boxtops: Clipping those little pink Box Tops for Education labels is paying off for the Discovery School. Since March, students have turned in enough labels to earn the school $1,492.10, reports Box Tops Chair Jennifer Kropog. The recent fall contest yielded labels worth a whopping $560.

Visit the Box Tops page on the PTA Web site to learn which classes and students earned prizes for their collection efforts. Remember: There is a monthly contest for Box Tops collections. HelpBoxtops for Education your child's class earn rewards by clipping and sending in labels. A special Box Tops collection box is now located in each classroom. Get details about the Box Tops program.
 
Box Tops label counters needed
In order to claim our money for the Box Tops labels that students collect -- and reward those students for their efforts -- each label must be counted and logged by a volunteer. Box Tops Chair Jennifer Kropog needs some volunteers willing to help with the counting. If you can offer an hour or two once monthly to help in this effort, please contact Jennifer.

Campbell's Soup Labels:  Get ready! The holidays are coming and there will be an abundance of Campbell's soup labels to be had. Watch for upcoming contests.

Tyson chicken labels: Did you know that for every 100 Tyson A Plus labels we send in, we will receive $24?  We can make as much as $12,000 in one year!  Look for the Tyson Chicken A Plus label on all of your Tyson products and turn them in to the Tyson A Plus box by the office.

Spirit Night:  The next Spirit Night will be Nov. 12. The location will be announced soon.
2009-2010 PTA BUDGET
The 2009-2010 PTA budget is now posted on the PTA Web site for members' review. The budget will be presented for adoption during the PTA general membership meeting on Nov. 16.

You can access the Web site at http://www.discoveryschoolpta.org/. The budget is under the What's New section of the front page. If you have any questions about the budget, please contact Donna Abernathy.
GREEN TEAM NEWS
"Throw the Book at Us" annual telephone book collection
Recycle
Students in Teresa McCarthy's kindergarten class are participating in a telephone book recycling program to win a cash prize for their classroom. The collection will run through Nov. 9.

Each set of 10 phone books turned in earns a class one entry in a drawing for a $200 cash prize, with 10 classes earning prizes. The prize money is provided by AT&T Real Yellow Pages Project Redirectory.

The drawing for the prizes will be held on Monday, Nov. 16.

If you have any phonebooks to contribute to the project, please drop them off for Mrs. McCarthy by Nov. 9.

Pumpkins: We will recycle pumpkins for Mrs. Jones' garden the Monday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 30). Volunteers will accept pumpkins during morning drop-off at the rear of the school where kindergarten students are picked up in the afternoons. Pumpkins may also be deposited at the side rear doors on the left side of the school any time on the weekends preceding the designated drop-off Mondays. If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Murray (jandsmurray@msn.com).

Aluminum cans, newspapers and printer cartridges: Is your recycle bin overflowing after Fall Break? Remember you can recycle your aluminum cans, newspapers and printer cartridges at Discovery School. The bin for newspapers is at the back of the school at the end of the driveway. The bin for aluminum can recycling is in the front parking lot. Deposit printer cartridges in the collection boxes just inside the school's main entrance
REFLECTIONS COMPETITION ANNOUNCED
The entry period is under way for the Reflections contest, a fine arts competition open to all Discovery School students. Find entry forms, guidelines and other details on the PTA Web site. Questions about the competition should be directed to Chair Molly Nemeth.
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Comments? Questions?  Concerns?
 
Feel free to contact your PTA Member-at-Large representatives -- we're here to help!
 
Grades K - 2: Sarah Woods, woodss@comcast.net
 
Grades 3 - 6: Michelle Palmer, michellpa@aol.com
Always stay informed about PTA happenings at discoveryschoolpta.org