UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, Oct. 23
6:30-7:30 p.m. MCCPTA "Building Successful School Partnerships"
Wednesday, Oct. 24
Deadline to turn in Skate Night Orders
Saturday, Oct. 27
6:30-8 p.m. Halloween Skate Night at Cabin John Rink
Wednesday, Oct. 31
Turn in Box Tops
2 p.m. Halloween Parade and Class Parties
Thursday, Nov. 1
Deadline for "Walk for Heroes" invitations
Coat Drive Begins
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HELPFUL LINKS
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2012-13 PTA Officers and Board of Directors President - Eric Williams |
A BIG THANK YOU TO...
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Goldbug Strategies, Sheila and Jeff Walcoff, Ed and Kelly Cowen, Kara Hall, and Alison and Jeffrey Wang for donating $250 or more to the PTA.
- Maria Doyle, the Pizza Bingo event chair, and all the volunteers who helped make this event possible! We would also like to thank all of the families that attended and made this event such fun! The event hall was full, much pizza and ice cream was enjoyed, and many prizes were won!
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Loyalty Card Programs
Nelson am, Gramzinsky am, McCoskey am, Heald, and Ballen won and got their ice pop treats. Thanks to the parents who signed up. Classes can still earn the ice pop party by filling out and turning in their loyalty card form. Contact Steve Schuck for more info.
School ID: 58180
(school 6557768)
(school 7852)
(school 00762 Rockville)
(school 219478)
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Looking for Heroes!!!
Ritchie Park students and faculty will honor Veterans Day with our "Walk for Heroes" on Monday, November 12. As in past years, the PTA would like to invite family members and close friends of Ritchie Park students who are current or past members of the United States Military to join us for this very special event.
If someone in your family is a Veteran or active member of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, please send me their contact information so I may formally invite them to our "Walk for Heroes". A breakfast reception is provided from 8:45-9:15 for all of our guests to enjoy. This is followed by a Parade of Classes and a few short speeches to the upper grade students, on the subject of Military service, Freedom, and the meaning of Veterans Day. The event should conclude by 11:15.
The Walk for Heroes is a wonderful Community Service event and we hope to continue the tradition in 2012. Guests of Honor make it more meaningful for students, and we hope all Ritchie Park families will help us reach out to the dedicated men and women that we honor on this day. If you would like us to invite someone you know, please contact Cat Goodyear by November 1. Proud Panther Coat Drive
Brrr! It's already getting chilly outside and they are predicting a cold winter. Have your kids grown out of last year's coats? Not sure what to do with that old coat? The Community Service Committee of the PTA will be organizing a coat drive from November 1-21 to help those in need keep warm for the winter. We will be collecting adult and children's coats, hats, gloves and mittens. Donation boxes will be in the lobby and we will be donating the items to two local charities. Please donate! Contact Lisa Bosse or Marci Gutmann with any questions. Thank you so much for the wonderful Edible Arrangement. I'm a big fan of fruit and always happy when someone else has done all the dicing and slicing for me. The chocolate covered fruit was an extra treat! I appreciate everyone thinking of me. I continue to get stronger everyday and I'm looking forward to when I return to school.
Register for After-School Beginner and Intermediate FLES Spanish
Please visit www.biglearning.org to register. Spanish classes are scheduled to be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays directly after school. The PTA is currently seeking a Coordinator for these classes. Please consider serving in this position if you are planning to enroll your child in one of these courses. As Coordinator you will get a 50% break on tuition. If you are interested, please contact Joanne Faulkner.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
MCCPTA's "Building Successful School Partnerships"
MCCPTA invites you to attend a program on Tuesday October 23 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. called, "Building Successful School Partnerships," in the Carver Educational Services Center Auditorium, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville. The program will feature a panel of educational leaders including a community
superintendent, a director of school support and improvement, a principal, and a teacher, to give us their perspective and guidance on how parents can most effectively interact with their children's school and school system. They also will welcome questions at the conclusion of the program.
Halloween Skate Night at Cabin John Ice Rink
Saturday, Oct 27, from 6:30-8 p.m.
Please join us for Ritchie Park's annual Skate Night sponsored by the PTA!This year's theme is Halloween. Come out in your spookiest skate-safe costume and join the other ghosts, ghouls and goblins for a "spirited" evening! The Fifth grade promotion team is taking pre-orders for pizza and drinks. Skate tickets and food must be purchased in advance so send in the Skate Night Reservation Flyer to make your Halloween Skate Night reservations. For more information, contact Janice Woo.
School Technology Presentation at Nov. PTA Meeting
Sherwin Collette, MCPS Chief Technology Officer, will speak at our Nov. 8 PTA meeting at 7:30 p.m. If you are interested in the new technology that we may be able to get for Ritchie Park and the plan MCPS has for installing and maintaining it and training the teachers on how to use it, please make a point to come to the Nov. PTA meeting. Mr. Collette should be able to give us a good overview of the direction/needs of the school system and some insight regarding the plans to install Promethean Boards
at Ritchie Park. Read information about urging the County Council to approve the technology plan in Advocacy Corner below.
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WAYS TO VOLUNTEER
The Yearbook Committee Wants YOUR photos!
Yearbook Chair Olga Pereira (Proud Panther mom of a Ritchie Park Kindergartener and First Grader) is trying something new this year. She is giving families the opportunity to contribute their own pictures associated with 2012-2013 Ritchie Park events. Please upload your pictures for her at community.lifetouch.com. You will need to create an account. Be sure to have the community image access code NCJCME handy while uploading your photos. Thank you in advance for you contributions to a great 2012-2013 yearbook.
Edible Gardens: MCPS has formed a Workgroup on Edible Gardens in Schools and our area (the clusters or RM, Churchill, Poolesville, Wootton and Rockville) is being represented by Meleah Boyle, from Beall PTA on the Workgroup. Meleah is Beall PTA's Gardening Coordinator and a master gardener who is also doing graduate study in food policy. Meleah would like to have a contact person from each of our cluster PTAs so that she can gather and share information about what is already happening and what people would like to see happen with edible gardens. If you are interested in serving as Ritchie Park's contact person for edible gardens, please contact Jennifer Young, MCCPTA Delegate.
Special Education Liaison: This person works within the school community to serve as a resource to parents, caregivers and school staff members by serving on the MCCPTA special education subcommittee, helping parents understand the Special Education Process, and helping to facilitate family-school communication. If anyone is interested or would like more information, please contact MCCPTA Delegate Jennifer Young.
Join the PTA Communications Team
Do you want to volunteer but can't make it to school or are tech-savvy or want to learn? Being on the PTA Communications team is a great way to volunteer from home and be involved in the PTA. Contact Susan Read for more info. We're looking for
- PTA Newsletter Editor
- PTA Website Editor
- Weekly Reminder Editor
Programs needs (Contact Joanne Faulkner for more info):
Fundraising needs (Contact Kara Hall for more info):
- Co-chair for corporate donations
- Loyalty cards program co-chair
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FUNDRAISING FORUM
 BOX TOPS Help RPES Raise Needed Funds
1) We collect Box Top Rectangles ALL school year plus summer.
2) Visit boxtops4education.com for more information on products etc.
3) Major collection efforts will be in month of October and February because deadlines are on Oct. 31 and Feb. 28. The school receives payment checks twice a year.
4) Boxtops are collected in classrooms. Send them to school in a baggie or envelope.
Thanks to all !!
The Box Top Lady
P.S. Please keep my identity as Roxana Hall (mother of Mia and Eric) a secret to the kids. They enjoy the "mystery"!!
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ADVOCACY CORNERMCCPTA Updates: At the October MCCPTA meeting, your MCCPTA Delegates will be voting on the draft MCCPTA Operating Budget priorities resolution and the draft MCCPTA Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Budget priorities resolution; these are posted HERE at www.mccpta.org. We are looking for your feedback on these resolutions which will guide how MCCPTA and your RM Cluster Coordinators represent the interests of Ritchie Park in discussions with MCPS and the County Council on the FY2014 Operating Budget and CIP Budget. Please provide any comments to your MCCPTA Delegates, Jennifer Young or Richard Hart. Technology: Superintendent Starr and the Board of Education have proposed a technology initiative under which MCPS would outfit all schools with wireless networks and complete the installation of Prometheans in all elementary school classrooms by the start of the next school year if the County Council approves funding and funding sources. This initiative seeks to eliminate disparities between schools, and create an equitable, consistent base of technology across our school system. The County Council's approval of the funding for this initiative is not a done deal. At the County Council Youth Town Hall held on October 10, while Councilmember Hans Riemer (At-Large) spoke in support of the initiative, Councilmember Marc Elrich (At-Large) reportedly told students he "strongly opposed" the plan. If you support Promethean Boards in every classroom at Ritchie Park, contact County Council members NOW. You can send a short email to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov, which will be seen by all the County Council members, and ask them to vote for the funding to make this technology proposal a reality.
Comment on Procurement Policies: The Board of Education has requested community comment regarding Policy DJA, Procurement Practices. This policy recognizes the procurement practices published in the MCPS Procurement Manual and Maryland law, establishes limits for advertising bids and obtaining bid approval by the MC Board of Education, and puts in place a process for the Board Fiscal Management Committee to review the Procurement Manual. Here is a copy of the draft policy, Policy DJA, Procurement Practices. Individuals who wish to provide comments should respond in writing by December 7. All responses should be sent to the Office of the Superintendent of Schools, 850 Hungerford Drive, Room 122, Rockville, Maryland 20850 or email to the Board of Education at boe@mcpsmd.org. All responses will be shared with the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools.
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