Valley Ranch Elementary PTO: Latest News

January 26th – Spirit Day – Twins Day

January 27th – Spirit Assembly – Third Grade will be performing!

A flyer will be coming home to allow you to pre-order your tickets for the Valentine Carnival and avoid the line. Tickets are $.50 each, and are good for all food, activity and game stations.

To help you determine the number needed for your family, most games and activities will take one ticket. Food
and drinks are planned to vary from 2 tickets to 4 tickets. There will be items to purchase as well, and those are planned to vary from 2 to 4 tickets.

To pre-order tickets, return the form your child brought home or download one here.

The Valentine’s Carnival Committee is looking for items to round out our raffle baskets. If you would like to contribute toward a raffle basket, please contact Tricia Houston

Items we’re looking for include:

*Items for a boy’s raffle basket
*Items for a girl’s raffle basket
*Donations for purchasing items for the raffle baskets

Thank you!

The Valentine Carnival Committee (VCC) is still looking for volunteers to help at the carnival on Friday, February 10th. Two shifts are available:

• 6:15 to 7:30 pm
• 7:15 to 8:30 pm

If you are interested in serving on the committte for the Valentine Carnival, we’d love to you join us in the planning for the event!

Interested volunteers may contact Carrie Clark, click on your name in the box below to sign up, or return the volunteer form sent home with your child.

Join the Public Service Academy at Coppell High School for a free health and education expo! The event will feature free adult health screenings provided by Baylor Medical Center of Irving, service learning, wellness, student work, a lecture series: “A New Year, A Better You,” careers in education and health care, a petting zoo and the Coppell Fire Department.

This Second Annual Health and Education EXPO will take place on Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 9:00am – 12:00pm in the CHS Common Area. Admission is FREE. Please bring one canned food item per person for the CHS food pantry.

For more information, view the flyer here

The Coppell Gifted Association is presenting a Winter Symposium to offer parents, educators and children a day of enrichment. Parents and educators attend the keynote address and breakout sessions presented by leading experts while students are engaged in hands-on learning experiences. Adult sessions are free for CGA members.

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Coppell Middle School East
400 Mockingbird Lane
8:45 a.m. — 3 p.m.

For more information about this event and how to register, see flyer here

• January 17th – Fat Daddy’s Night! Don’t forget to put your receipt in the box so that the VRE PTO receives credit for your purchase.

• January 20th – Box Top Deadline.

• January 20th – Star Savers Bank open. Come in and make a DEPOSIT!

The Valentine Carnival is coming soon! The Valentine Carnival Committee (VCC) is looking for volunteers to help at the carnival on Friday, February 10th. Two shifts are available:

• 6:15 to 7:30 pm
• 7:15 to 8:30 pm

If you are interested in serving on the committte for the Valentine Carnival, we’d love to you join us in the planning for the event!

Interested volunteers may contact Carrie Clark, click on your name in the box below to sign up, or return the volunteer form sent home with your child.

Kindergarten registration coming up February 6th – 10th.

If you are registering your child for kinder next year, you will need to call the office for an appointment.

When you come for your appointment, please bring the following items with you to registration:

• Proof of Residency
• Certified Copy of Birth Certificate
• Immunization Records
• Copy of Student’s Social Security Card or Passport
• Copy of Parent/Legal Guardian’s Driver’s License

Turn in the box tops you’ve collected by this Friday, January 20th so they will count for the upcoming spirit assembly. The VRE PTO received $0.10 for each box top we turn in! While that seems like a small amount, they do add up – the PTO recently received a check for more than $700 for submitted box tops!

This year’s Valentine Carnival will be on Friday, February 10th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. It promises to be lots of fun for everyone, so mark your calendar now!

Order forms for the 2011-2012 yearbook will be sent home this week. Don’t delay – order your child’s yearbook now! The yearbook will include pages for every class and will be published in color. Yearbooks will be distributed toward the end of the school year.

If you have any questions about the yearbook, please e-mail Bliss

The Valentine Carnival is coming soon! The Valentine Carnival Committee (VCC) is looking for volunteers to help at the carnival on Friday, February 10th. Two shifts are available:

• 6:15 to 7:30 pm
• 7:15 to 8:30 pm

If you are interested in serving on the committte for the Valentine Carnival, we’d love to you join us in the planning for the event!

Interested volunteers may contact Manju Ruikar or return the VCC forms that will be sent home with your child this week.

The VRE Dad’s Club will have their next meeting on Tuesday, January 10th at Wingstop on MacArthur at 8:30 p.m.

VRE has had a Dad’s Club for many years, and they have been a great help with various student activities and provided much needed support at VRE. Dads, this is a fun and easy way to be involved with your child’s school. If you’re unable to attend the meeting, but would like more information about the Dad’s Club, e-mail Stephen

Just a reminder that Monday, January 16th is a holiday for students at Valley Ranch and there will be no school. Enjoy the long weekend and we’ll see you back on Tuesday morning, January 17th!

If you shop at Tom Thumb, you can register at www.2ways2earn.com and link your shopping card. You’ll be able to download special offers to your card,and every time you purchase the qualifying products VRE will receive credit.

If you have any questions about the Box Tops program, please e-mail Carrie .

One of Valley Ranch Elementary’s partners, the Omni Hotel, has shared with us a list of job openings. If you’d be interested in seeing this list, please e-mail Carrie and it will be forwarded to you.

We hope everyone has been enjoying the time off during the Winter Break! Here are a few dates to keep in mind for next week:

• Tuesday, January 3rd: School resumes with its regular schedule.

• Thursday, January 5th: CiCi’s Night- Don’t forget to drop your receipt in the box marked Valley Ranch Elementary!

• Thursday, January 5th: Spirit Day – 80’s day!

• Friday, January 6th: Star Savers Bank Day- the bank opens at 7:30am in the cafeteria for all your DEPOSITS,

The Valentine Carnival Planning Committee is meeting Wednesday January 6th at 2:00 pm in the PTO room at VRE.

If you are interested in helping plan this fun event, please contact Manju Ruikar at 214-496-0697 or via e-mail at kinderranch@gmail.com Or simply come join us at the meeting! We would love to have lots of help for planning this fun event!

December 15th – 5th grade music program

December 15th – Turkey Drive Reward. Movie and PJ Day!

December 16th – Star Savers Bank Open. Come and make a deposit!

December 16th – Spirit Day – wear sweats!

December 16th – Early Release at 12:30

Friday, December 16th will be an early release day for Valley Ranch Elementary. Students will be released at 12:30 p.m. on that Friday. Please be sure to remember to make arrangements for your child that day!

The Winter holiday will run from December 19th through January 2nd. We’ll look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday, January 3rd!

A special THANK YOU goes out to everyone who was involved with the Snow Time Shop this year! A lot of planning and hard work went into making this year’s sale a success.

It would not have been possible without our outstanding volunteers!!! Thanks to everyone who came and helped out!

No matter what holiday one celebrates this time of year, the Valley Ranch Elementary PTO would like to extend warm wishes for the season to the students and their families!

Our heart-felt thanks go out to those individuals who have given their time, effort, and financial support to enhance the educational experience of the students at VRE.

As the year comes to a close, we look forward to all of the fun and exciting things we have planned for the remainder of the 2011-2012 school year with the continued support of you, our outstanding VRE parents.

Have a wonderful holiday season and we will see you next year!

Now more than ever, the Coppell Education Foundation needs YOUR participation in our annual RED and BLACK fundraising campaign. Together the Foundation and the community must work together to ensure our Coppell schools remain excellent. With fantastic parent and community participation, we can turn to big organizations for support. That’s why we are starting our RED and BLACK campaign earlier than ever this year. YOUR support of the Coppell Education Foundation will help create the momentum necessary to reach out and successfully capture increased corporate funding through our new Community Partners in Excellence program.

We see the possibility of raising a significant endowment supplementing much needed resources for today AND tomorrow. Valley Ranch Elementary has benefitted in the past from Coppell Education Foundation grants for It’s a Big World After All, ESL-DVD-ICU: Intensive, iTube – uTube – Wee Tube to Learn, Podcasts, I pods & Ebooks Oh My!, Closing the Fluency Gap with the amount over $54,000.

With YOUR participation in the RED and BLACK annual campaign, it is our strongest desire that the support to Valley Ranch Elementary will grow in significant ways. Please help as you are able, but please give something. The amount is not as important as YOUR participation!

Thank you in advance for YOUR support of our excellent school district!

For on line donations please visit our web store @
www.coppellisdef.com

The Parent’s Night Out that was planned for tonight has been cancelled. If you have any questions please email vredads@yahoo.com.

Congratulations to Karen Turner, VRE’s Teacher of the Year!

Mrs. Turner is the PPCD teacher, and is very deserving of this honor!

December 5th, 7th and 9th – Snow Time Shop will be open for shopping. Each class has their own time, so watch your child’s folder for information about their shopping date. Remember you can view merchandise at www.vrepto.com

December 9th – Parent’s Night Out sponosred by the VRE Dad’s Club. See article below for more information.

Friday December 9th from 6:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. at VRE!

This is a great opportunity to get in some additional Holiday shopping, spoil yourself with an evening out with the spouse, or just get a couple hours of free time to do whatever you like.

The cost is only $25 for the first child, $20 for the second child, and $15 for each additional child. The cost includes pizza and drinks.

Children must be of school age ( grades K-5).

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS EVENT GO RIGHT BACK TO VRE TO BENEFIT OUR STUDENTS!

Look for a flyer with a registration form to come home with your kids following the Fall Break.

If you have any questions, please send email to vredads@yahoo.com .

Friday, December 16th will be an early release day for Valley Ranch Elementary. Students will be released at 12:30 p.m. on that Friday.

First Grade will be beginning a PBL (Problem Based Learning) project to give back to the community on December 7th. They will be collecting a variety of items to share with those who may not be as fortunate. Their “Holiday Supply Drive” will benefit CCA.

Each day students will have the opportunity to donate new or very gently used items. First Graders will be responsible for collecting, counting and graphing the items received.

If you would like to donate on one or more of the collection days you may send the item in with your child. Collection boxes will be outside of each classroom. Please do not feel obligated to donate every day or at all.

Wednesday, December 7th – collecting toys and books
Thursday, December 8th – collecting baby items (diapers, food, wipes, clothing, etc)
Friday, December 9th – collecting toiletries and household items (soap, detergetn, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc)
Monday, December 12th – collecting winter wear/clothes (coats, sweaters, mittens, scarves, etc)
Tuesday, December 13th – collecting non-perishable food (canned, cereal, oatmeal, crackers, etc).