Wow! January zoomed by! We are so excited for all of the fun events we have coming up this spring!

See below for information on Friendship Parties, a special Harlem Wizards event, upcoming spring events and SO MUCH MORE!

There is a lot happening at Schell! Read below for more information on the following:

• February Spirit night @ Jersey Mike's
• Save the dates for these Spring PTA Events!
• Friendship Party Sign-Up
• Harlem Wizards Community Event!
• Spring Auction
• Spring After-School Programs
• Yearbook Sales
• SAVE THE DATE: Spring Picnic
• Join the PTA
• Open PTA Positions
• 2023-2024 PTA Sponsors

Listed below is a link to sign up to volunteer for the Friendship class parties. Please look for the grade and teacher of your child. 

The parties will be on Wednesday, 2/14 and last from 1:45-2:30pm in their classroom. We are asking that everyone arrives at 1:35pm to get checked in at the front office. 

Once you sign-up, our Volunteer Coordinator will send your contact information to your grade’s team leads and they will reach out via email with any instructions for the party and where to meet them (i.e. the front office, in the grade, etc).

We can have 5 volunteers for each class. You are not required to be approved through Voly to volunteer. If you have a child in 4th or 5th grade, they will be with their homeroom teacher during the party. The sign-up will close on 2/9/24 to give the grade leads adequate time to reach out to volunteers and the front office to have time to make identification stickers.

Reminder: If you volunteer, you are committing to help create the party in your child's class. Volunteers take the active role in making the event happen.

A few notes:

1. Only one parent/caregiver per child is allowed at initial sign-up. After 2/2/24, additional caregivers can sign-up if there are remaining spots.

2. If you have multiple children at Schell, please only sign up to assist in one class so that other caregivers have the option to help out too. You can always go say hello to other children you have while there, but we don't want one person taking up multiple volunteer spots when they can only be in one place at a time.

3. You may see this same sign-up come out from your child’s teacher. No need to sign-up twice, we just want to get it out to as many people as possible.

Join us for this fun, community event featuring Otto, Schell, Stinson, and Mendenhall staff along with...the Harlem Wizards!! 

Tickets are limited, so get yours today!

The PTA has three awesome after school programs lined up for Coyotes this year. 

Click the image(s) below to find the links to the registration pages for each of our after school club options.  

Our plan is to offer all of these clubs, but each club will need to reach their minimum number of registrations, as well as have a parent volunteer that will be assisting at each session. The parent(or parents, depending on the size of the club) that volunteers will receive a discount on their club fees. 

All clubs will be held after school from 3-4 and students not enrolled in PASAR will need be picked up at 4.

To be a volunteer you will need to complete the Volunteer Application found at this link.  

If you have any questions about volunteering, please send those volunteers@schellpta.org. 

Order your yearbook now...before it's too late!!

SCHELL CODE: 101692886621168

Any volunteers at Schell must complete a PISD background check EACH YEAR. 

You can do so here:

My name is Maegan Pollack and I'm your continuing PTA Volunteer Coordinator for 2023-2024. I served in this role last year as well and enjoy connecting parents with volunteer opportunities at Schell!

1. Voly Background Check

The first and most important thing to move forward as a volunteer in any capacity at Schell or within PISD is to complete a background check via Voly. Your background check is good for an academic year and restarts on July 1st.  If you were approved for last year but haven't reapplied, you need to complete a new background check. If you have already completed a background check for 2023-2024, you do not need to complete another.

plano.voly.org

2. If you signed up in your child’s classroom with interest to help with class parties but haven’t gotten an email from me yet, please check your spam folder. If you don’t see anything there, please email me at schellvolcoordinator@gmail.com so I can make sure you’re on my list. There were several emails that bounced back as undeliverable last week. The information below is what was emailed out, but I would love to have your contact info!

If you’re interested in helping with class parties but didn’t sign up already, feel free to email me as well!

3. Room leads for class parties:

We are needing 1-2 parents in each class to serve as a lead room parent.  If each class has at least one room lead, it should be minimal extra work for each person to take on for party prep.

The responsibilities for a room lead includes:

1. Talking with other room leads in same grade to determine the drink and snack/treat for the grade

2. Collect donations for the snack/drink/treat via direct donation requests or sign-ups (coordinate this with each teacher/class in your grade)

3. Coordinate with me (Volunteer Coordinator) to receive and prepare any supplies needed for crafts/activities sponsored by the PTA (usually 2 weeks prior to party)

4. At party time, serve as a point of contact for other adults volunteering for the party and assist with running the party.

Benefits of being a room lead: You're automatically signed up to attend each party (if you can make the date) and you get to help plan the fun drink and snack/treat for your grade! Most kids love having their grownups participate and volunteer at school, particularly at parties where they can interact with you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B49ADA92CA2FF2-schell6#/

Class party dates for 2023-2024:

Winter: Wednesday, 12/20 from 1:45-2:30pm

Friendship: Wednesday, 2/14 from 1:45-2:30pm

End of Year: Thursday, 5/23 from 1:45-2:30pm

Once I know who the class leads are, I'll reach out to plan a time to coordinate and discuss further party details.

The PTA provides the craft and/or activity for each party for each grade and has already coordinated these ideas with Schell's teachers. 

It is the responsibility of the room parents and room leads to decide on a grade level drink and snack/treat for each party and collect those donations. Each class in the grade must have the same drink and snack/treat, they cannot be different by class. You get the flexibility to choose what/how much to offer. 

Parents also run the parties and take an active role in creating the experience for each class!

Please reach out if you have any questions! My email is schellvolcoordinator@gmail.com.  I will be in touch later regarding other volunteer opportunities at Schell.

Thanks!

Maegan

Have you been looking for volunteer opportunities at Schell but aren't sure where to start? 

The PTA has many committee and chair positions open for the 2023-2024 school year. We have opportunities for all skill sets and degrees of availability. Many positions can even be managed mostly from home!

Position descriptions can be viewed here.

POSITIONS NEEDED: We have a few important positions the need to be filled ASAP:

• Council Delegate: this PTA member would attendPlano ISD PTA council meetings and report information back to the board. Even if you can't make every meeting, we would love to have you represent Schell at any meeting you are available! Meeting dates include:
  • October 26, 2023, 10 AM, PISD Administration Building Boardroom
  • November 16th, 2023, Virtual, TBD
  • January 25th, 2024, Virtual, TBD
  • March 7, 2024, 10 AM, PISD Administration Building Room 311
  • April 11, 2024, Virtual, TBD
  • May 9, 2024, Sockwell Center
    • Roundtables: 9:30-10:30 am All officers are encouraged to attend! 
    • Sponsors: 10:30-10:45am
    • Delegate Meeting: 10:45am-12pm
• Field Day Supplies: This individual is responsible for connecting with the coaches and procuring items for field day. 
• Field Day Lunch Coordinator: PTA provides lunch for field day volunteers who work all day and the teachers and staff at Schell. This individual is responsible for coordinating this lunch.
• 5th grade committee: The PTA member should be a 5th grade parent and is in charge of planning the special end of year events that our 5th grade Coyotes get to enjoy. We need both a lead and general committee members. 

Save time and paper by joining PTA online! All membership dues and monies raised through the PTA go back to support the students and staff at Schell. 

Some of the ways we provide this support include:

• Funding school field trips
• Planning, implementing, and funding class parties
• Providing school gifts as needed
• Planning and implementing after school programs for students
• Fulfilling teacher wish lists, 
• and so much more!

Join the PTA today and help us support Schell!

The PTA would like to say "thank you" to our amazing community sponsors! 

Interested in becoming a Schell PTA sponsor? Contact waysandmeans@schellpta.org for more information. 

5301 E. Renner Road

Richardson TX 75082