Douglas Elementary PTA

Greetings Dragon Community!

Another year and another great start! We are so excited for all of the opportunities a new school year brings. It is wonderful to see so many familiar faces and to welcome our new Dragons. I know all of our students will benefit from the creative and innovative mindset of our staff. Thank you for being an active part of the DES community! This year will be amazing!

~ Principal Burns

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

• Sept 21: Teacher Workday – NO SCHOOL!
• Sept. 22: Pajama Day!
• Sept. 28: Bluegrass Band for 4th & 5th grades
• Sept. 29: Early Release (1:15 p.m.)
• Oct. 4: 3rd Grade AIG Info Sessions (details below)
• Oct. 4: 4th & 5th grade AIG nomination window closes (details below)
• Oct. 19-27: Fall Book Fair (details coming soon!)
• Oct. 20: First Box Tops collection
• Oct. 26: United Skates of American Halloween Skate Spirit Night (details coming soon!)

WELCOME TO THE DRAGONEER!
A big part of our mission as your PTA is to serve as a link between the school and each student’s family. One way we do that is through this e-newsletter, the Dragoneer. We try to send it twice a month, and we welcome your ideas for content. If you have announcements or events to share, please submit them through our quick Contact form or send us an email: dragoneer.dpta@gmail.com. As we’re working to refine our email list, we may have included families who no longer have children at Douglas. If that’s you, please scroll to the bottom of this email and click “unsubscribe.” Or you can reply to this message and we’ll take care of it. Thanks!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT CARPOOL SAFETY
“As stated to me by the Raleigh Police Department, the school crossing guards are responsible for the safety of students crossing the streets. They are not responsible for directing traffic. Please be a respectful member of the carpool lane and adhere to our practice of lining up on Ortega and not cutting in at Windsor. Thank you for being a good example for our students!” ~ Principal Burns

CODING/TECHNOLOGY CLUB
If your 4th or 5th grader is interested in technology and would like to explore coding, check out our new Friday morning Coding Club. Brought to you by the Mathletes team, we will do this coding club in the fall and then Mathletes will start in the spring.:

When? Before school, starting Friday, Oct 6, weekly on Fridays. Please have your forms turned in to the media center by Sept 29. We will go the full hour from 8-9 a.m. each session.

What is this? Google CS first -based, hands-on, fun early look at coding. We will do the gaming-themed club. We will have eight sessions in October and November.

Where? Ms. Lasher’s room in the 5th grade modular.

BLUEGRASS JAM FOR 4TH AND 5TH GRADES
Douglas is excited to announce that Ray Cardwell & Tennessee Moon will perform for 4th and 5th grades on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. as part of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass week in Raleigh. This performance is supported by United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County in partnership with WCPSS, Wake County, PineCone, and the International Bluegrass Music Association.

FANCY NANCY CLUB
The Fancy Nancy club is accepting members! The club is for kindergarten and 1st grade friends. We read a book then discuss the literary themes of the book. After the discussion, we make a craft based on the book. The club is limited to the first 10 friends who turn in permission forms, which are located in the Media Center. The club will meet on Thursday mornings at 8:00 a.m. in the Art Room. It is free and will run for eight weeks. Please contact Renee Fields at rfields@wcpss.net.

ATTENTION 1st GRADE PARENTS: NEWSPAPERS NEEDED!
Ms. Fahrenthold, our awesome art teacher, needs 1st-grade students to bring in newspapers — only the black and white newsprint (not fliers, ads or magazines). Thank you!

4th & 5th GRADE AIG NOMINATION WINDOW IS OPEN
All nominations for 4th and 5th grade AIG testing should be submitted no later than October 4. Please submit your nomination by email to your child’s classroom teacher or to AIG Coordinator Heidi Bledsoe: hbledsoe@wcpss.net.

The fall 4th and 5th AIG Testing Window is October 5-18.

3rd GRADE INFO SESSIONS: AIG & READ TO ACHIEVE
Third-grade parents who would like to discuss the AIG identification process and Read to Achieve program are invited to attend an information session on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Please choose one meeting to attend if you would like more information:

1:30 p.m. – Collaboration Station

6:00 p.m. – Media Center

Invitations will be sent home on Monday, Sept. 25.

If the above date and times are not convenient, please contact Heidi Bledsoe at hbledsoe@wcpss.net with questions regarding the AIG program or Sara Bruner at sbruner@wcpss.net with questions about the Read to Achieve program.

JOIN THE GARDEN COMMITTEE
We need your help in the garden!  Members of the garden committee don’t necessarily have to have a green thumb.There are myriad tasks — taking pictures, updating the garden blog, helping with scheduling classes to work with Mrs. Engstrom in the garden, helping with garden activities, helping with the planning and development of the butterfly garden which must be finished by the end of October 2017. There are just so many ways to help! Contact Heidi Bledsoe at hbledsoe@wcpss.net if you’re interested in helping make our school garden a terrific experience for all of our Dragon students.

BEFORE- AND AFTER-SCHOOL CLUBS
Any parent who would like to run a club, please contact Heidi Bledsoe at hbledsoe@wcpss.net for information about how to get your club started. We’d love a Spanish club, yoga, walking, boot camp, board games, etc. The possibilities are endless!

FALL TEK CLUB PREVIEW
TEK Club registration forms and full club descriptions will be going home soon in green folders. Clubs will run on Tuesdays, Oct. 17- Dec. 5 (6 sessions skipping Oct. 31 and Nov. 21) from 4:15-5:30 p.m. TEK supervises students prior to the start of clubs.

Registration will take place Friday, Sept. 29, from 8:45-9:15 a.m. outside of the front office. You or your child may drop off the registration form and payment on Friday morning.

Here’s a peek at our fall TEK Clubs:

• Cool Concoctions (Grades K-2, taught by Sydney Komyati
• Hungry for Books (Grades K-2, taught by Amelia Sheaffer)
• STEAMtastic Adventures with Dr. Seuss! (Grades 1-4, taught by Marlie Lasher)
• Who Did It? A Mystery Club (Grades 2-5, taught by Carol Owen)
• STEMtastic Science- Exploring Coding and Robotics (Grades 2-5, taught by Heidi Bledsoe and Dasa York)
• Master Chef (Grades 2-5, taught by Ashley Setser)

Please contact Julie Sullivan with any questions: julie@tailoredenrichmentkids.com.

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THE PTA!
Why do you need to join the PTA every year? By joining the PTA, you are counted in an official capacity and we can then apply for grants and show that we have active parental involvement by our registered PTA numbers. If you missed us at Meet the Teacher and Open House, it’s not too late to join the PTA. Just download this form and send it with a check for $12 to your child’s teacher.

DRAGONFIRE UPDATE
We are still plugging away on our adding machine, but it looks like we made both our official and stretch goals for Dragonfire!! Many, many thanks for your checks, cash and of course COINS last week!

Speaking of coins, we are so pleased to announce the top five classes of the coin war:

#5 – Ms. Aston’s 1st graders
#4 – Ms. Parrish’s 1st graders
#3 – Ms. Porter’s 1st graders
#2 – Ms. Setser’s 2nd graders
And the Big Winner is … Ms. Boylan’s 2nd graders! Congratulations!

In honor of a job well done, the students and staff at Douglas will have a pajama day this Friday, Sept. 22! *Bunny slippers optional*

SPIRIT NIGHTS WITH THE DRAGONS
Spirit Nights check so many important boxes for our community… Having fun. Raising money for our school. Supporting local businesses.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at b good last Thursday! The weather was wonderful and the company even better. We raised close to $700 for the PTA, wow!!

Our next Spirit Night will be a Halloween Skate Party at United Skates of America!! Mark your calendars for Oct. 26. Details are coming soon. And November’s spirit night will be at Tijuana Flats in Quail Corners on Wednesday the 15th. Let’s get our taco on.

The PTA fundraising team has planned several new spirit nights along with some annual favorites. Check out the school calendar on the Douglas website and plan to join us throughout the year. Please contact Spirit Night Chair Tene Williams-Marcus, tashakiw@yahoo.com for details.

LINK YOUR SHOPPING CARDS
Hey Douglas families! Did you know that Harris Teeter VIC cards do more than just take up space on your keychain? Indeed! By simply linking YOUR card to OUR school, we can benefit from their Together In Education, TIE, program. The next you visit your neighborhood HT, tell a cashier on your next shopping trip that you would like to link your card to school #2294 DOUGLAS ELEMENTARY PTA. You can also link your card from the Harris Teeter website. Click here!

Speaking of grocery stores who ROCK… Lowes Foods includes Douglas as a partner in their Back2Schools Cart To Cash program! Please take a moment to visit their program website to link your Fresh Rewards card to Douglas. We will receive a portion of your grocery bill on their private label items. Click here to link your Fresh Rewards card. Thank you, Lowes Foods!

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
We will be collecting Box Tops again this year so we can earn some great products and tools for our school! We have two “due by” dates. The first one is October 20. Please remember to send in your Box Tops by this date. To make it fun, we will be having a little competition between the classes. The top two classes overall for the first collection will receive a pizza and ice cream party! Plus your teacher will receive a special treat as well! We need between five and seven volunteers to make this happen! If you are interested in helping cut and count the Box Tops, please follow this link to sign up: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/5080F45A9A828A4FC1-boxtops.

For more information, contact Lisa Coleman at LisaColeman6832@gmail.com.

WELCOME TO THE DRAGONEER!
A big part of our mission as your PTA is to serve as a link between the school and each student’s family. One way we do that is through this e-newsletter, the Dragoneer. We try to send it twice a month, and we welcome your ideas for content. If you have announcements or events to share, please submit them through our quick Contact form. As we’re working to refine our email list, we may have included families who no longer have children at Douglas. If that’s you, please scroll to the bottom of this email and click “unsubscribe.” Or, you can reply to this message and we’ll take care of it. Thanks!

PTA GENERAL MEETING
The PTA will have a general meeting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 7, right before the school Open House. We will vote in this year’s board members, review the budget, and talk about planned initiatives for the 2017-2018 school year. Hope you can join us!

IT’S PTA MEMBERSHIP TIME AGAIN!
Why do you need to join the PTA every year? By joining the PTA, you are counted in an official capacity and we can then apply for grants and show that we have active parental involvement by our registered PTA numbers. If you missed us at Meet the Teacher, it’s not too late to join the PTA. We’ll have a membership table set up at the Open House on Thursday. Or, download this form and send it with a check for $12 to your child’s teacher.

DRAGONFIRE IS COMING!
First things first, what IS Dragonfire? Dragonfire is Douglas’s annual passive fundraiser. Held every fall, this is a fun and easy way for the PTA to kick off the school year and start investing in campus and classroom projects.

Our Dragonfire fundraiser allows the PTA to retain 100% of the money raised to support all of the PTA programs for your children. Please consider asking your employer if there is a matching donation program where you work.

Our 2017 goal is $10,000 and our campaign is planned for next week, September 11-15.

To get the excitement going and have all of our little Dragons included in the fun, we will have a coin war between classrooms. Change will be collected and counted daily with results being announced during the daily WDES broadcasts. The class that brings in the most change will be awarded with “Mr. Burns as teacher for the day!” Mr. Burns will join students as a co-teacher for half of an instructional day. He will participate in class recess, maybe an art project, perhaps a trip to the media center, lunch, etc. — It is up to the class as to how they will spend time with our amazing and hands-on principal.

If we reach our goal, we’ll have a school-wide pajama day!

Forms and change bags will be going home next week in green folders. Keep an eye out for details!

SPIRIT NIGHTS WITH THE DRAGONS
Spirit Nights check so many important boxes for our community… Having fun. Raising money for our school. Supporting local businesses.

Our first spirit night will be Thursday, September 14th at b.good restaurant in North Hills. Douglas will earn 25% of all sales from 4-8 p.m. Let b.good handle dinner!

The PTA fundraising team has planned several new spirit nights along with some annual favorites. Check out the school calendar on the Douglas website and plan to join us throughout the year. Please contact Spirit Night Chair Tene Williams-Marcus, tashakiw@yahoo.com, for details.

LINK YOUR SHOPPING CARDS
Hey Douglas families! Did you know that Harris Teeter VIC cards do more than just take up space on your key chain? Indeed! By simply linking YOUR card to OUR school, we can benefit from their Together In Education, TIE, program. The next you visit your neighborhood HT, tell a cashier on your next shopping trip that you would like to link your card to school #2294 DOUGLAS ELEMENTARY PTA. You can also link your card from the Harris Teeter website. Click here!

Speaking of grocery stores who ROCK… Lowes Foodsis includes Douglas as a partner in their Back2Schools Cart To Cash program! Please take a moment to visit their program website to link your Fresh Rewards card to Douglas. We will receive a portion of your grocery bill on their private label items. Click here to link your Fresh Rewards card. Thank you, Lowes Foods!

BLUEGRASS JAM FOR 4TH AND 5TH GRADES
In conjunction with the International Blue Grass Festival in downtown Raleigh this fall, Douglas was selected by the International Blue Grass Music Association as one of a few schools to host a blue grass band to play for the students! Our 4th and 5th grade classes will enjoy a bluegrass show on Friday, Sept. 29,10-10:45 a.m.

FANCY NANCY CLUB
The Fancy Nancy club is accepting members! The club is for kindergarten and 1st grade friends. We read a book then discuss the literary themes of the book. After the discussion, we make a craft based on the book. The club is limited to the first 10 friends who turn in permission forms, which are located in the Media Center. The club will meet on Thursday mornings at 8:00 a.m. in the Art Room. It is free and will run for eight weeks. Please contact Renee Fields at rfields@wcpss.net.

CHORUS REHEARSAL
Chorus rehearsal starts this Thursday, Sept 7, at 8:00 a.m. in the Music Room.

JOIN THE GARDEN COMMITTEE
We need your help in the garden!  Members of the garden committee don’t necessarily have to have a green thumb.There are myriad tasks — taking pictures, updating the garden blog, helping with scheduling classes to work with Mrs. Engstrom in the garden, helping with garden activities, helping with the planning and development of the butterfly garden which must be finished by the end of October 2017. There are just so many ways to help! Contact Heidi Bledsoe at hbledsoe@wcpss.net if you’re interested in helping make our school garden a terrific experience for all of our Dragon students.

BEFORE- AND AFTER-SCHOOL CLUBS
Any parent who would like to run a club, please contact Heidi Bledsoe at hbledsoe@wcpss.net for information about how to get your club started. We’d love a Spanish club, yoga, walking, boot camp, board games, etc. The possibilities are endless!

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
We will be collecting Box Tops again this year, so we can earn some great products and tools for our school! We have two “due by” dates. The first one is October 20. Please remember to send in your Box Tops by this date. To make it fun, we will be having a little competition between the classes. The top two classes overall for the first collection will receive a pizza and ice cream party! Plus your teacher will receive a special treat as well! We need between five and seven volunteers to make this happen! If you are interested in helping cut and count the Box Tops, please follow this link to sign up:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/5080F45A9A828A4FC1-boxtops.

For more information, contact Lisa Coleman: LisaColeman6832@gmail.com.

IMPORTANT DATES
Sept. 7: General PTA meeting (5 p.m.)
Sept. 7: School Open House (5:30-6:30 p.m.)
Sept. 11-15: Dragonfire Fundraiser
Sept. 14: Spirit Night at b. good North Hills (4-8 p.m.)
Sept 21: Teacher Workday
Sept. 29: Bluegrass Band for 4th & 5th grades
Sept. 29: Early Release (1:15 p.m.)