In this Issue
|
Geography Bee
Winner
Parker Stokes
Congratulations to Parker Stokes for winning the Brinker Geography Bee! Parker will compete for advancement to the state level by taking a written, multiple choice Qualifying test. As many as 100 of the highest scoring students will be invited to represent their school at the State Geography Bee competition on April 5, 2013.
Good Luck Parker!
| |
Are you interested in being involved in the Renner PTA?! If so, click here for a list of the positions available.
Also, mark your calendar for...
Tues, Feb 18th, 6:30pm*
Renner Library
This informal program is for incoming 6th graders for the
2013-2014 school year. It is open to all parents and students
who will be attending Renner next year. Renner 8th graders
and staff will be here to answer questions. If you have a current 5th grader or know one, please let them know about this program.
*We realize that the Renner Round Table coincides with the Brinker General Membership meeting. We want to make 5th grade parents aware of the conflict so that they may plan accordingly.
| |
 Presenting... 
PISD Special and Gifted Education (SAGE) and the National Austism Association of North Texas present:
The Special Friends
Talent Show Saturday, Feb 23rd
Two Shows: 10am & 11:30am
Plano West Auditorium
for more information.
| |
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. | |
|
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. | |
Questions regarding the Bear Facts Newsletter?
If so, please contact:
Julie Wax
1st VP Communications
Brinker Elementary PTA
communication@brinkerpta.org
| |
Quick Links
|
|
|
|
Mark Your Calendar!
| |
|
Feb 14
|
Happy Valentine's Day!
Valentine's Classroom Parties
| |
Feb 18
|
Student Holiday
| |
Feb 19
|
| |
Feb 20
|
Early Release at Noon
| |
Feb 22
|
Book Fair Setup, 9-11am
| |
Feb 25 - Mar 1
|
| |
Feb 27
|
Book Fair Family Night, 6-8pm
| |
Mar 1
|
Movie Night with Dad
| |
Mar 7
|
Brinker Open House
| |
Mar 8
|
Early Release at Noon
| |
Mar 11-15
|
Spring Break
| |
Mar 19
|
General PTA Meeting, 6:30pm
|
|
|
|
Teacher Appreciation
| |
A big THANK YOU to all of you who helped make last Friday's MARDI GRAS TEACHER APPRECIATION lunch such a HUGE success!!! The staff was very excited to have an hour to enjoy wonderful food and time with their friends and co-workers! Whether you volunteered and/or donated (and there were many who did both!), it was all GREATLY appreciated!!!
Thank you again!
Clare Hebert
Hospitality Chair
(click on the picture below to enlarge)
|
Reading Party
| | |
It's reading party time!
It's reading party time! The 2x2 party was a great success this week. We had over 100 kids munching on pizza and ice cream. Thanks so much to all my volunteer helpers! (Pictures coming next week)
And congratulations to all the 3rd-5th graders that have also read 13 or more books and turned in their reading logs to Ms. Palmer. She will be sending home invitations this week for all that turned in their Bluebonnet reading logs by this past Friday, to come have pizza and ice cream.
As a reminder, 3rd-5th Grade Party is Tuesday, Feb 19th, after school.
Please plan to pick up your child promptly out front of the school at 3:15pm.
If you have any questions, please contact Heather Burchett, Literary Enrichment Chair, at hburchett@brinkerpta.org.
|
100 Days of School!
| | |
|
Scholastic Book Fair
| |
Brinker's Spring Scholastic Book Fair will be held the week of February 25 - March 1, 2013. Book sales will be open on:
- Monday and Tuesday 2:45pm - 4:00pm
- Wednesday 8:30am - 3:30pm and 6pm-8pm (Family Night, Special Brainopolis Science Event - see below)
- Thursday 8:30am - 4:00pm
 - Friday 8:30am - noon
Children will have a chance to preview the books on Monday and Tuesday of that week and create their "wish lists". Order forms and wish lists will be sent home to parents.
Please also join us at our Family Night Event on Wednesday night from 6-8pm to shop the book fair in person. We will have a special event this year featuring Brainopolis hands-on science experiments for the kids to conduct and take home.
In addition, Brinker will be supporting My Very Own Book, a non-profit organization that promotes literacy in Title1 North Texas Elementary Schools. Please look for the table at the book fair marked "My Very Own Book" and consider donating a book to this wonderful program.
Volunteers will be needed throughout the week, as well as on Friday, February 22 to help set up.
To volunteer, please email Book Fair Co-Chairs:
|
| 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.
|
Nominating Committee
| |
Nominating Committee needed to elect
PTA Officers 
At the next PTA General Meeting on February 19th, a Nominating Committee will be elected to propose a slate of candidates for the 2013-2014 school year. The Nominating Committee will review forms submitted by the general membership, naming candidates and their qualifications for office.
The officers to be elected include: President 1st Vice President - Communications 2nd Vice President - Volunteers 3rd Vice President - Ways and Means Secretary Treasurer Five (5) volunteers and two (2) alternates are needed to serve on the Nominating Committee. Volunteers must be Brinker PTA members (this may include parents and teachers) and volunteers should be familiar with the principles, policies & procedures of the PTA and should also have some knowledge of the candidate that are being considered & their qualifications to evaluate them regarding their desired positions. The time commitment is usually minimal: 1-2 meetings, as determined by the Committee, to review the application forms. Meetings should be held fairly quickly to determine the slate of candidates to allow for publication prior to the March election. If you are interested in volunteering for the Committee, please plan on attending the meeting scheduled for 6:30 on February 19, 2013. Self-nominations are allowed, so you may raise your hand to be considered. Nominations will be made from the floor followed by a ballot vote. We also need 3-5 volunteers who will serve as Tellers who will count ballots and record the vote. If you would like to volunteer as a Teller, or if you have any questions, please contact Hilary Valente, Parliamentarian via email at hvalente@brinkerpta.org or by phone at (214) 986-4857 anytime prior to the February 19th meeting.
|
We Need YOU!!
| |
PTA Volunteer Opportunities
Please help out! 
Please consider volunteering some of your time to help out the school! The following areas are currently in need of volunteers:
1. VIP (Very Important Partner) Tutors
With the end of the 1st semester coming to a close soon, teachers are requesting additional help from you to help our Brinker students with one-on-one (or possible two at a time) tutoring in Math or Reading. These are students who could use a little extra time and attention during the school day. We help these teachers and students through one of our most crucial and successful programs, VIP.
Please consider joining our VIP team of caring mentors beginning in January to provide opportunities for these children to maximize their learning potential. The commitment is once a week for 30 minutes during the school day, with you choosing the day and time most convenient for you. No experience is necessary, just a caring heart. For more information, please contact Tamara Tool at ttool@brinkerpta.org or Julie Barnard at julie.barnard@pisd.edu.
2. Greeter Desk
THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped out with greeter desk this fall! We need you once again to help out this spring. The spring schedule is posted on the Membership Toolkit so please look at your calendars and sign up now as it fills up quickly. We need one volunteer who is security cleared for each day of the week from 7:45-9:30am. It is a great way to be involved in the school and super easy to do! Contact Amy Young with any questions at ayoung@brinkerpta.org.
3. Brinker Workroom
If you can count to 28, staple & cut, then the Brinker Workroom needs YOU! We need 4-5 volunteers each week to help our teachers prepare assignments for the following week. All instructions and supplies are provided.
The Brinker Workroom is located in the back of the school office and is open Tuesday through Thursday, between 7:30am and 2:45pm. This is a great opportunity for you to see what your children are working on and give a helping hand to our amazing & wonderful teachers! Please be sure you have cleared security, you may sign up online at Membership Toolkit. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Nikki Moulinet at nmoulinet@brinkerpta.org.
|
|
Outdoor Learning Center
| |
Outdoor Learning Center Developing
Butterfly Exhibit!
All of our children benefit from the great things at the Outdoor Learning Center! They are hoping to make our children's experience even better with a new butterfly exhibit. A large greenhouse, 15' x 6' was recently donated to the center. A teacher in the district donated this greenhouse in honor of her son who has passed away. They are going to turn the greenhouse into a butterfly house. Shortly after spring break, second graders will walk through this greenhouse and be surrounded by butterflies! They will see all stages of the life of a butterfly while there. They are also going to put flowers around the greenhouse that will attract butterflies so the entire back patio and surrounding area of the center is covered in butterflies.
In order to make this happen, the Outdoor Learning Center needs your help! They have no PTA to help them out and they are not allowed to do fundraising. So here are some items you can donate in support of Outdoor Learning Center's new project:
- Old light-weight pots for plants, sizes needed are small for seedlings all the way to 8-10 gal. pots. No decorative ceramic pots needed.
- Outdoor plant shelves so that the plants will be at different levels.
- Potting soil.
- Money to help them pay for organic butterfly plants or donate organic butterfly plants. Click here for a list of the plants they need. These plants cannot have had pesticides used on them. This is critical!
Click here for information on the Butterfly House Grand Opening!
|
| School Finance | |
TEXAS PTA URGES ALL LAWMAKERS TO GET EDUCATED ON SCHOOL FINANCE
Texas PTA sent all Texas legislators a letter in late November encouraging them to get educated about public school finance. Your state senator and state representative received a version of the letter. If you believe that it is important that your elected representatives have at least a basic understanding of how public schools are funded, please contact your legislators to confirm they have received the letter and to ask if they have reviewed one of the short presentations on school finance included in the letter. If you can, please let Texas PTA know when you've contacted your state senator and state representative. Many legislators are new this year. If you need some help to be sure you know who your legislators are, follow this link to find out who represents you. Then call or visit them and talk to them about our public schools
|
|
|
|
|
