In this Issue
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 Sally Foster is back and better than ever!
Time to stock up on all your annual wrapping and gift needs AND support our school at the same time! Our gift wrap sale begins on September 14th and ends on September 28th.
Packets will go home next week!!
Included again this year are the ever popular buckets of Cookie Dough! Orders may be done on the traditional order forms or online, all year round, at www.sallyfoster.com. The NEW NEWS is that ALL Sally Foster orders will be shipped directly to the buyer (cookie dough will still be distributed at school since it requires refrigeration). Catalogs and order forms will be coming home in September. In the meantime, if you have any questions, or would like to help with the sale, please contact Kim Gleason at kgleason@brinkerpta.org. |
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Family Picnic
Save the Date!
The Brinker Family Picnic is scheduled for September 21st. If you would like an opportunity to volunteer at one of our first big events of the year, please contact Tamie Burnett at tburnett@brinkerpta.org.
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Want to be included in the
Brinker Directory?
If you would like to be included in the Brinker Directory, click here to go to Membership Toolkit to complete your contact information. While you are there, you can also join PTA! While all families can be listed in the directory, Brinker directories are only available to PTA members. We hope you will consider joining PTA as your membership greatly benefits your children.
Click here to learn more about the programs and events that Brinker PTA provides for Brinker students! |
NEW to Brinker this Year?
Stop by the Newcomer's Coffee, meet other new families and ask questions about the school.
Newcomer's Coffee
Friday, September 28 9:30-11:30 (come and go)
Home of Kimberly Rumbough
4017 Bridgeport Drive (just off Yeary near Willow Bend)
RSVP appreciated at 972-473-7404 or |
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Box Tops for Brinker!
We hope you have been clipping and saving Box Tops! Support your Brinker Bears by turning in Box Tops for Education. Did you know that each box top is worth 10 cents?! We will collect them once in the fall and once in the spring with bragging rights going to the family that has saved the most!
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Do you enjoy helping kids learn??
Think about the changes YOU can make in a child's education with only 30 minutes a week.
We appreciate you, and the children appreciate you!
Tamara Tool
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Front and Center!
Do you have a smiling face? Are you willing to assist the Brinker front office staff on miscellaneous items? If so, WE NEED YOU! GREETER DESK is a volunteer position that allows you to work a small amount of time and make a HUGE difference! This position requires us to staff one volunteer each morning at the front desk in order to assist the front office as needed.
Super easy and fun!
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Shop Tom Thumb and Earn $$ for Brinker!
It's easy to earn money for the Brinker PTA by shopping at your local Tom Thumb. Just stop by Customer Service and ask them to link your Rewards card with Charity #4857 and a portion of all of your purchases will come back to your school! Click here for a form that you can complete and drop off.
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Legislative Update
Welcome to another great school year! With the kids back in school it is the perfect time to check items off the "to do" list. An easy one is registering to vote. If you are not registered, or don't remember if you are, click here to get more information. The last day to register to vote is October 9.
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2012-2013 Exec Board and Chair Members
Click here to see a full listing of the names and contact info of the 2012-2013 Executive Board and Chair Members.
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Questions regarding the Bear Facts Newsletter? If so, please contact:
Julie Wax
1st VP Communications
Brinker Elementary PTA
communication@brinkerpta.org
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| Dining Fundraiser at California Pizza Kitchen | | |
Our first dining night is right around the corner! Mark your calendar for September 10 and 11. Take a break from cooking and plan to come out with your Brinker friends! Eat at (or take out from) California Pizza Kitchen any time on those dates. Great food, fun with friends and the Brinker PTA earns money for great programs. Just bring in the flyer your child will bring home from school and give it to your server or cashier. Click here to view and/or print the flyer.
Good at EITHER CPK below: California Pizza Kitchen, Willow Bend Mall California Pizza Kitchen, Stonebriar Centre |
Security Clearance for Volunteers
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Calling All Volunteers!
Have you completed your volunteer application for the 2012-13 school year? We encourage ALL parents to complete and submit an application for security clearance. The application must be completed EVERY school year and it only takes about 5 minutes. Applications are accepted beginning July 1st every year. Click here to go to the PISD volunteer application page.
For more information about Volunteering in Plano ISD, click here. If you have any questions or challenges when completing the online form, please contact the Plano ISD Resource Center at 469-752-2180 or Rhonda Snyder (see contact info below) .
We love our volunteers and don't want to turn anyone away because their security application is not completed. Thank you for your understanding. We all share the same goal: your child's safety!
Rhonda Snyder
Brinker PTA, VP Volunteers
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WOKC
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Help Us Wipe Out Kids' Cancer!
Join Brinker Team Eric!
Join the fight against childhood cancer by running or walking in the 27th annual Tom Thumb WOKC Oktoberfest Run for the Children on Saturday, September 22, 2012. Your registration as either a participant or a virtual runner (if you cannot attend) will help ensure our team is once again a contestant for the Spirit Award. The Brinker Elementary team is once again dedicating our race efforts to the memory of Eric Hughes, son of Brinker teacher, Carol Hughes, who lost his fight to neuroblastoma in 1999. All proceeds from this event benefit Wipe Out Kids' Cancer, a 32 year old Dallas-based non-profit with the vision of a day when all children are living cancer-free. Join Brinker Team Eric and support a great cause!
- Register online at www.oktoberfest5K.com
- Click the Register Online Tab
- Scroll down to Visit Team Homepages
- Select BRINKER TEAM ERIC
- Select Click Here to Register or Click Here to Contribute
- Register by noon on Monday, Sept. 17th to be part of the school packet pick-up
Brinker Team Eric Packet Pick-Up
Tuesday, September 18 2:30-3:15
2nd Grade Walker Exit |
Join the PTA!
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JOIN PTA TODAY!
Your child loves visits from Mr. Kirby and his pottery wheel, field trips, author visits and High Touch Scientist in the classroom ... all brought to you and your child from the Brinker PTA.
Your PTA spends over $20,000 annually on Arts in Education curriculum and Academic Enrichment Programs.
Become a member! Encourage your friends to become members, and help support our school and kids! Two-parent family membership is only $18, and one-parent family membership is only $11.50. Join today at Membership Toolkit.
Thank You for Your Support!
Shirley Keating
Brinker PTA, Membership
membership@brinkerpta.org
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Grade Level Brinker Workroom Volunteers Needed
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If you can count to 28, use a paper cutter and tear out pages from workbooks, then the Brinker Workroom needs you! We need 4-5 volunteers each week to help our teachers with behind the scenes work. This time will be spent on work for all grades, including Special Education, PACE and various other projects.
All instructions and supplies are provided. The Brinker Workroom is located in the back of the school office and is available Tuesday through Friday each week, between 7:30 am and 2:45 pm. Look for this volunteer opportunity when completing your online registration in the Membership Toolkit. This is a great opportunity to see what our children are learning and give a helping hand to our wonderful teachers!
The teachers really appreciate this help!
If you have any questions, please contact Nikki Moulinet at workroom@brinkerpta.org. |
Field Day
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Surprise!
Field Day will be held in the fall this year.
Friday, October 26, 2012! (Rain make-up day is October 29th)
We will need over 100 volunteers to help run this fun event. All volunteers will need to be SECURITY CLEARED! If you have not already applied for security clearance, please apply NOW as it takes 2-4 weeks to process. Click here for more information on getting security-cleared. Online volunteer shift sign-up for Field Day is coming soon. If you have any questions please contact us at fieldday@brinkerpta.org. Kisha Mize Sandy Goodman-Cohn
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Brinker Chess Program
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 Did you know that chess is not only FUN to the kids playing, but there are many BRAINY BENEFITS of chess too?
A simple Google search of chess will lead you to numerous articles and research that show that chess teaches children important life skills.
For example, chess:
- improves logic and reasoning
- builds strategic thinking and problem solving skills
- teaches patience and discipline
- enhances competitive skills while encouraging development of good sportsmanship
- increases attention, focus, and concentration
Whether your child is new to chess or has been playing for several years, they are invited to join Chess Club on Thursdays from 4:00 - 5:15. Coach Bobby Hillman is a staff member at Plano West Senior High and has been teaching chess to Brinker students for years. He is a USCF certified chess instructor and would love to teach your child! Each session runs for 6 weeks and culminates with a Brinker Chess Club chess tournament.
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Brinker Science Program
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 Brainopolis Science After School Program to Start Week of Sept 13th
This year Brinker kids will be able to participate in four different modules:
- Professions
- Wonders of the World
- Build your own Airport
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Build your own Zoo
In the first module kids will uncover the science behind different professions as they are hired to perform a different job in every session. As a dentist they will learn about teeth, and create their own denture model. As archaeologists, they will dig fossils and learn about prehistoric eras. As doctors they will immobilize broken bones. Binary system and technology as computers engineers. Design their own house as architects. Learn about maps and buoyancy as cartographers. The more they play the more they will learn. Kids will take a project home in each class.
Cost per 7 session-module $84. Classes are once a week on Tuesday 4-5pm for kids from K-2nd grade and Thursday 4-5pm for kids 3-5th grade. Click here for registration form.
For more information please contact science@brinkerpta.org.
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| Tuesday Tunes | |
Music speaks when there are no words
Musicians practice, practice, practice so that they can perfect and perform. TUESDAY TUNES allows Brinker student-musicians the opportunity to showcase their talent (and hard work) in a unique setting! Unlike recitals and stage productions, TUESDAY TUNES takes place in a casual, relaxed environment.
Every Tuesday morning a Brinker student performs in the lobby for students and teachers as they enter the building to start the school day. The student plays his/her instrument continuously from 7:30 am to 7:45 am. Immediately following, the student is introduced as the musician of the day on the "Good Morning Brinker" broadcast!
TUESDAY TUNES...because every performance counts!
If you have any questions regarding Tuesday Tunes, please contact
Katrina Parker at kparker@brinkerpta.org.
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Reflections Program
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Brinker's PTA is proud to announce Reflections 2012 - 2013 Theme,"The Magic of a Moment".
It is never too early to start thinking about next year's Reflections program. Maybe you will see something or do something that makes you think of 'The Magic of the Moment'.
Reflections is a National PTA Program (not a contest) including:
- 6 art categories: Dance/Choreography, Music Composition, Film/Video, Literature, Photography & Visual Art
- 4 judging levels: Local, Council or Area, State & National
The Reflections theme for 2012 - 2013 is "The Magic of the Moment". Use your imagination to create a film, song, artwork, photograph, poem, short story or dance routine. You may enter as many times as you like in as many categories as you like. Each entry must be accompanied by an official entry form. Be sure to reflect the theme in your work.
For more information, contact Kesha McLeod at kmcleod@brinkerpta.org or Kesha Fuller at kfuller@brinkerpta.org.
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Plano West Lacrosse
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Learn to play Lacrosse with the Wolfpack!
 If you don't know anything about lacrosse, but think a game played with 10 players on a field who are catching, throwing, dodging and shooting at a goal (while making offensive and defensive moves on the run - with sticks in hand) sounds fun, you're right! At Brinker, many boys can be seen in the halls each day wearing patterned "lacrosse" shorts; the "LAX" group continues to grow every season! Plano West provides a youth (K-8) developmental high school "feeder" program with a structure that enables beginning, intermediate and advanced players to acquire skills, compete at an age/ability-appropriate level, and, most of all, enjoy the game!
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Plano West Royales Drill Team Clinic
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Plano West Royales Drill Team Clinic,
Diva Party and Game Night!
 On Saturday, September 14th, the Plano West Rolyales Drill Team will host a clinic for Pre K through 5th graders from 1pm-4pm. This will be held at the Plano West Gym.
Also, on Friday, September 21st at Clark Stadium, the clinic participants will be included in game night activities with the Royales.
Click here for more details and registration information!
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