The Twain Times
Mark Twain Elementary School 
April 28, 2015 

  

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Dear Mark Twain Parents and Families,

 

This is Teacher Appreciation Week at Mark Twain! I just love seeing all the beautifully decorated doors, "Hearts of Appreciation" in the hallways, and the creativity of all the kids. I want to thank Jennifer Hyman, VP of Staff Appreciation, the room parents, and all parents for your efforts to make this week so special. The strong relationship between the parents, teachers and administration is what makes Mark Twain so great and a wonderful place for our children to learn and grow!

  • Student-led conferences are Wednesday, April 29.  Please check with your child's teacher for more information. 
  • The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) will be administered May 4-12 for students in grades 1-5. This assessment replaces the Stanford Achievement Test Series.  Read more about the transition here.
  • I want to invite you all to the next PTO meeting on Wednesday, May 13 at 8:00 am in the cafeteria. Mrs. Patin will be giving a little summary of the school year and plans for the new. Come join us.
  • Please check the lost and found closet and retrieve your items before they are donated on Thursday.

Enjoy the weather and get ready for the roller coaster ride of activities in May! I appreciate all that you do for our school and community - it makes a BIG difference in the lives of our children!

 

Tony Houck

Mark Twain PTO President

tvhouck@msn.com

 
Mark Twain Triathlon
Sunday, May 3

The 2nd Annual Twain Triathlon is just a few days away! This event will be bigger and better with 251 children registered! In order to be a complete success though, we need your help.

ALL FAMILIES:
  • WE NEED VOLUNTEERS. Your child does not need to be a participant for you to help. Please consider signing up for a time slot by clicking here.
  • Bring the whole family to line the streets and cheer on the participants. For the course maps please visit twaintri.org.
  • Food Trucks! Enjoy coffee and a cinnamon roll from Mobile Mug or a delicious breakfast taco from Violetta's. The trucks will be located outside the pavilion in the car pool lane. Grab a bite and stick around to cheer on the kids as they cross the finish line on the Twain Track!
PARTICIPANTS:
  • FUNDRAISING! Don't forget to reach out to family and friends to help raise money for Mark Twain Elementary. All your sponsors have to do is go to twaintri.org, click on the Fundraising link, and follow the instructions. It's super easy!
  • Get out and bike, run, and swim for fun as you prepare for race day on May 3!
Parent Enrichment
Speaker Amy Fuller PhD, LMFT, LPC

Keeping Kids Safe in an Unsafe World

Friday May 8, 8:10 am

in the cafeteria

 

As we head into the summer months, Dr. Amy Fuller will share information parents can use to help keep our kids safe in what seems to be an increasingly dangerous world. Focusing mostly on the prevention of Child Abuse, the presentation will equip parents with tools for both preventing abuse and talking to kids about abuse.

 

Dr. Amy Fuller is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years experience working with children and families. A former employee of Child Protective Services, Dr. Fuller specializes in treating survivors of sexual trauma in her practice in Bellaire. She sees children for play therapy and provides marital and sex therapy for couples in crisis. She also directs a training institute, Fuller Life Family Therapy, geared to equip developing therapists and provide affordable therapy to the community. Dr. Fuller has two children attending Mark Twain Elementary.
Mark Twain Father/Daughter Dance
Saturday, May 9
6:00 - 8:00 pm in the cafeteria

The Mark Twain Dads Club invites all Mark Twain girls and their fathers to the annual Father/Daughter Dance! Children must be accompanied by a father or a substitute such as a grandfather, uncle or cousin. This special evening includes a DJ, snacks, and souvenir picture buttons.
  • Cost is $25 per father/daughter couple and $5 per additional child
  • 4th and 5th grade girls are encouraged to help decorate between 2:00 - 5:00
  • Parents bring snack donations to the cafeteria between 2:00 - 3:00
  • Register online today by clicking here.
For more information, contact Kevin Noland at kanoland@gmail.com.
Twainberry Narrative Twainberry:

Calling All Young Authors Grades 3-5

 

Twainberry nominations turned into your classroom teacher will be accepted through Wednesday, May 13.

 

Entries--

  • A Narrative or a Poetry Collection of at least 8 original poems
  • One submission per student
  • No more than 4 typed pages (12 Times Roman) or 7 handwritten pages
  • Final drafted (Edited, Revised, Neat Copy)
  • Teacher's grade of at least "A" or "4" (Or his/her approval-initialed)

Order Your 2015-16 School Supplies Now










The Mark Twain PTO provides the annual supply packet sale as a service to our families. The school supply packs for every grade will contain all the supplies requested and required by the teachers for the 2015-2016 school year.

Purchase online here or at the School Store with cash, check or credit card. Please order by May 29, 2015 as prices are subject to change.

For a link to supply lists for all grades, please click here.

 

Name That Book 2015-2016
Book Fair
Saturday, May 2
  
It's time to start preparing for next year!  Barnes & Noble is hosting a Book Fair on Saturday, May 2 at the Barnes & Noble Westheimer Crossing location at 7626 Westheimer Road.  Elementary Name That Book Lists will be announced LIVE at 10:30 am. 
  
Before you go, download a voucher here.  Present the voucher anytime during the ENTIRE week of May 2 and a percentage of your B&N purchases will benefit HISD Name That Book. Learn more about Name That Book.
Pershing Middle School
Upcoming Events:

Ice Cream Social to Welcome Incoming 6th Graders 

Wednesday, April 29 at 6:00 pm
 
Join your new classmates for free ice cream and a chance to get acquainted.

 

Accelerated Math and Science Placement Test 

Saturday, May 2

 

The placement test is for incoming 6th graders who have not taken the test. Please contact the school at (713) 295-5240 for time and location.  

 

Order a School Supply Pack for Your Incoming Pershing Student Now 

 

All parents of incoming Pershing students can save time and money if you pre-order school supplies today. The supplies will be pre-packaged and ready for you to pick up before school starts.  Please click here to view a supply list.  

 

To place your order by check, download an order form here,  complete and return the form with your check by May 28 to one of the red PTO boxes located outside the Pershing office and the Pershing school store.

 

OR

 

To place your order online with a credit card, visit www.epipacks.com and use school ID: PER363. Online orders will be accepted through June 16. 

 

For questions, please contact Carole Mafrige at cmafrige@swbell.net. 

  

Hair Donation Event at Mark Twain

Are you interested in making a HUGE difference in a child's or woman's life? If so, please join us in donating to Locks of Love www.locksoflove.org or Pantene Beautiful Lengths www.pantene.com.
   
We are looking for Mark Twain girls, their moms, sisters, teachers, or staff to donate their beautiful locks for a wonderful cause. You will need a minimum of 8 inches of hair to make a donation so start growing now. We will schedule a "cutting event" in late May.

If you are 100% committed to participating in this event, please email your name, age and phone number to Ilse Rassin.You have plenty of time to think about it while your hair grows. Plus, there will be ways to help even if you choose not to donate hair.
 
Look for more information as May approaches, but if you have questions now, please email Ilse Rassin ilserassin@gmail.com  or Luisa Puerto alpuertogomez@gmail.com.
For more information about Mark Twain Elementary, visit marktwainpto.org or houstonisd.org/Twaines. To receive the Twain Times e-newsletter, please sign-up here. For submission guidelines, visit marktwainpto.org/communications.