Exploris PTO News

2/1 MM: PTO meeting,Crayon Drive, Apply to Exploris by Friday

  1. PTO Meeting Thursday
  2. Multicultural Crayon Drive
  3. Application Deadline- please share!
  4. Yearbook Update
  5. Note from the PTO President
  6. Food distribution- volunteers needed
  7. Calendar
  8. Exploris finalist in WRAL Awards! 
 
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1. PTO Meeting This Thursday, 6pm
 
Join us for the February 4 PTO Meeting!
We would love to see more parents and teachers attending our monthly PTO meetings. This year, we are meeting on the first Tuesday of every month at 6pm on Zoom.
 
2.Multicultural Crayon Drive

Hi Exploris Families,

Martin Luther King Jr. famously said “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.”  As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. day, a National Day of Service, let’s make a commitment to serving our community and make it a better place.   

138912620_1772589609567780_2777155369448497902_oIn honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month, (February) the Kindergarten Parent Liaison Group is hosting a Multicultural Crayola Crayon, Marker, Colored Pencil Drive!  We are hoping that Exploris families would consider donating a package (or multiple packages!) of the Multicultural Crayola supplies to stock our classrooms.  

Crayola boasts that the crayon packages have 24 new crayon colors that represent people from around the world.  The Markers contain 10 different skin colors and the Colored Pencils contain 8 different skin tones.  Let’s celebrate our diversity and have all of our students represented when doing school projects!

Feel free to drop off at the school any time during the month of February (or earlier if you have a supply pick up), there will be a plastic bin by the door to the elementary office. If shipping is easier for you, ship through Amazon Smile to:

Exploris Elementary School
Attn:  Multicultural Crayon Drive
17 S. Swain Street
Raleigh, NC  27601

The Kindergarten Parent Liaison Team will collect all of the supplies at the end of February and stock all classrooms with packages.  We will also make sure that our Global Arts Team and our Exceptional Children Team have enough supplies.

Thank you for your consideration! 

The Kindergarten Parent Liaison Team

socialicon3- Please help spread the word about Exploris!  This is the last week to promote the lottery enrollment for next year. The deadline is Feb 4th.  Do you know of families that may be interested in applying to Exploris?  Please share this link from the NEW school website!

https://www.exploris.org/2020-2021-admissions/

4. Yearbook Update:
Yearbook Ads for 8th graders!: You can purchase an ad in the yearbook to wish your 8th grader well! Here is the direct link if you want to check that out! DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 11, 2021!  

  • Yearbook: Here’s the link for purchasing your yearbook! It is $35. 
 
5. Note from the PTO president
 
I’m tired. It’s cold.  My dogs are cold, the days are short, starting a new job is stressful, and I’m always on high alert.  When is the vaccine coming?  When is everything going to return to normal? Will things ever return to normal. When can I at least go outside again and bake in the warm summer sun.  
 
We knew this winter would be a long one. In the middle of a pandemic with our children not only inside doing remote learning, but with the weather outside against us, the daily opportunity to breathe has also been limited.  And yet we all press on.  We hug our family and we adjust to our new, hopefully temporary normal, as best we can and wait for a better day.  
 
Today though I am grateful for those who are the backbone of everything that needs to happen to make that dream come true. These people are everywhere!  At work, they are taking care of our offices and implementing protocols. At the government level, they are hammering out policies and providing us with guidance and figuring out how to make sure everyone gets a vaccine. And at Exploris, it’s our operations support who have been working vigorously since last fall to get the building ready, the finances, the filters, the hand sanitizers…..and so much more I’m sure my limited knowledge has no idea is going on behind the scenes. Their hope is endless, they are living everyday on the ready, and they all do it with a smile and such a great attitude. I know this because even when I call for a trivial change to my daughter’s information, they remain efficient and helpful and wonderfully cheerful.
 
So today I shout out to Mary-Margaret, Michael and Koren.  If you don’t know this wonderful trio personally, I encourage you to reach out.  While the LT is guiding this effort these unsung heros are in the trenches everyday without the same visibility.  
 
So I just wanted to say thank you musketeers.  Thank you for all you do, and thank you for all ALL OF YOU are doing, because I’m stressed, and that’s….OK. You help me know it’s all going to be ok, and I sleep well knowing once our civic, scientific and government leaders figure out how to get our numbers down so we can all return to the classroom, we’ve had the best support possible to make sure everything is safe and ready for our return. 
 
Angelean Hendrix
PTO President

IMG_11416-  Food Boxes Exploris is partnering with Ligon and Moore Square middle schools, in conjunction with Interfaith Food Shuttle, to provide food boxes every week at Chavis Park to families in need. 

It would be nice to have at least 1, preferably 2, representatives from Exploris at each event. For privacy reasons, we do ask that students do not participate, thank you for your understanding.

Sign up genius link below. Thank you !

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080d48aca92ea13-food  

calendar20-217– Calendar

  • Thursday, Feb 4 PTO Meeting 6:00 PM
  • Monday, February 15 – Teacher Workday – Portfolio Conferences//Digital Learning Day
  • Friday, February 19 – Teacher Workday – Professional Development
  • Thursday, Mar 4 PTO Meeting 6:00 PM
  • Thursday, March 11 – End of Second Trimester
  • Friday, March 12 – Teacher Workday
  • Monday, March 15 – Teacher Workday//Digital Learning Day
  • Thursday, Apr 1 PTO Meeting 6:00 PM
  • Spring Break – Friday, March 26 (3:15pm) – Tuesday, April 6 (8am)
  • Monday, April 5 – Teacher Workday
  • Thursday,  May 6 PTO Meeting 6:00 PM
  • Thursday, May 13  and Friday, May 14 – Teacher Workdays//Digital Learning Days//Passage portfolios (8th grade)
  • Monday, May 31- Memorial Day Holiday
  • Thursday, Jun 3 PTO Meeting 6:00 PM
  • Friday, June 11 – 8th grade Graduation (10:30 am), early dismissal
  • Friday, June 11 – End of Third Trimester, last day of school

Congratulations!Exploris was named #2 Middle School in the WRAL Viewer’s Choice Awards! Thanks to everyone who voted!  Visit the website to see all of the finalists: https://wral5.secondstreetapp.com/2020-WRAL-Voters-Choice-Awards/

Thanks for reading the “Monday Minute”- the Exploris PTO blog post.

If you would like to submit information, please email your text (copy ready), photos, and links to Dana Deaton at news@explorispto.org by 9pm Sunday.