April 2015 Roundup - Renner Middle School PTA

Renner
Mustangs
V OL UM E: XXI
IS SUE: 8
Ap r i l 2015
Round Up
A Letter from the PTA President
In This Issue:

Lisa’s Letter

Important Dates

PTA Board Members

8th Grade Thank You

Box Tops

Social Thank You

Spirit Wear

Legislature Report

Volunteer Opportuni-  8th Grade Celebration Party: We will be having a celebration for our 8th grade students who will be moving on
ties
to high school! We are waiting to find out the yearbook delivery date so yearbook signing can be incorpo-

Community Partners
The countdown has begun! I don’t know about you, but around our house the kids know exactly how many days
until summer! If I can just have them finish out strong—that’s my only wish!
As we start to wind down the school year, we are preparing for the last of our PTA events. Here are a few things
to note:
 Teacher Treats: This Friday, April 17, will be the last chance to provide the teachers with some special goodies to celebrate the end of the 6 weeks. If you would like to participate, you can look to see what we still
need by logging into My Toolkit through www.rennerpta.org. Once logged in, look for the form “2015 Teacher Treats – April 17” and feel free to sign up if you wish.
 Teacher Appreciation Week will be celebrated May 4–8 this year. We have something going on each day of
the week to celebrate our wonderful teachers. May 6 is casserole day, which is when families may donate a
casserole from Central Market. You can sign up or find more information by logging into Membership Toolkit
at www.rennerpta.org and looking for Faculty/Staff Casserole Day Signup 2015 and you can get all the details.
rated into the party. This event will most likely take place during the day at school so all can attend. Stay
tuned for more information!
For those of you who are pre-planners, I have just a couple more things to note! We will have school supplies for
sale online during the month of July, along with any other items you may need for school. These items will be
available at Packet Pickup Day on August 13 (8th Grade 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., 7th Grade 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6th Grade
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.). Next year, PE uniforms are required. The uniform is a gray shirt with the Renner logo
(same as this year) and black shorts. These will be available for purchase online as well.
Although this is our last newsletter of the year, you will still be hearing from us as needed via our bulk email. I
want to thank Shannon Garza for doing a wonderful job with our Newsletter this year—getting information out to
our community is of the utmost importance! If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I would love to
hear from you. I can be reached at president@rennerpta.org. Good luck on exams, and happy summer everyone!!
—Lisa Stokes, Renner PTA President
Important Dates
April 17
Teacher Treats
April 20
STAAR 8th Math
April 21-22
STAAR All Grades
May 1
6th Grade Staff Luncheons
May 4-8
Staff Appreciation Week
May 6
Casserole Day
May 18
Changeover Brunch at Blue Mesa – 11:30 a.m.
May 25
Student Holiday – Memorial Day
May TBD
8th Grade Celebration
June 5
Last Day of School
Congratulations!
Renner PTA 2015-2016 Executive Board & Chairs
OFFICERS
2015-2016
PTA Email
President
1st VP - Programs
2nd VP- Volunteers
3rd VP - Ways & Means
4th VP- Membership
Secretary
Treasurer
Parliamentarian
Lisa Stokes
Rita Cunningham
Julie Wax
Rhonda Snyder
Babette Murashige
Clare Hebert
Nancy Mills
Karen Ricketts
president@rennerpta.org
programs@rennerpta.org
volunteers@rennerpta.org
ways@rennerpta.org
membership@rennerpta.org
secretary@rennerpta.org
treasurer@rennerpta.org
parliamentarian@rennerpta.org
STANDING COMMITTEES
2015-2016
Email
Arts in Education Chairman
Cultural Fusion
Environmental Chairman
Faculty Representative
Hospitality/Newcomer Chairman
Legislative Chairman
Newsletter: Renner Round-Up
Publicity Chairman
Safety/Youth Protection Chair
Jennifer Blice
Alicia Kow
Nancy Lovnander
Sonja Pegram
Tricia Hunsucker
Stefanie Toppel
Jamie Hanna
Sara Fetteroff
Wendi Klatsky
reflections@rennerpta.org
culture@rennerpta.org
environmental@rennerpta.org
sonja.pegram@pisd.edu
hospitality@rennerpta.org
legislative@rennerpta.org
newsletter@rennerpta.org
publicity@rennerpta.org
safety@rennerpta.org
SAGE Chairman
Rose Taper
sage@rennerpta.org
School Store Chair
Abbie Greeves
store@rennerpta.org
Pre-Packs / School Supplies
Hollie Carlson
supplies@rennerpta.org
Teacher Appreciation Chairman
Jane Choppin
appreciation@rennerpta.org
Science Fair Chairman
Austine Chan
science@rennerpta.org
Yearbook
Elizabeth Ritch
yearbook@rennerpta.org
SPECIAL COMMITTEES
2015-2016
Email
Birthday Cake Coordinator
Book Fair Coordinator
Calendar/Activities Line Coord.
Care Coordinator
Casserole Coordinator
Community Outreach Coord.
Directory Coordinator
Directory Advertising Coord.
Library Coordinator
Melissa Nelson
Debbie Cheng
Shannon Garza
Ginger Cox
Alison Grzyb
Kesha Banks-McLeod
Sara Burnett
Dana Freed
Kavitha Manimurugan
birthdays@rennerpta.org
bookfair@rennerpta.org
calendar@rennerpta.org
care@rennerpta.org
casserole@rennerpta.org
outreach@rennerpta.org
directory@rennerpta.org
directoryads@rennerpta.org
library@rennerpta.org
Office and Copy Coordinator
JoAnn Compton
office@rennerpta.org
Website Coordinator
Meryl Evans
webmaster@rennerpta.org
Partnerships Coordinator
Laura Darce
partnerships@rennerpta.org
School Store Scheduling
Jeanne Koepke
storeschedule@rennerpta.org
Spirit Wear Coordinator
Jen Chazanow
spiritwear@rennerpta.org
Staff/Team Luncheon 8
th
Lauren Green
luncheon8@rennerpta.org
Staff/Team Luncheon 7
th
Ritu Gupta
luncheon7@rennerpta.org
Staff/Team Luncheon 6th
Tamie Burnett
luncheon6@rennerpta.org
Student Socials Coordinator
Sherie Hammett
socials@rennerpta.org
Teacher Treats
Elizabeth Minchew
treats@rennerpta.org
Yard Signs/Decal Coordinator
Jen Kendall
signs@rennerpta.org
Thank You to 8th Grade Parents
THANK YOU!!!!
A special THANK YOU to all of our 8th Grade parents who will be leaving the Renner PTA
Board and moving on to high school!! We appreciate all you have done—thank you for
your service to Renner and to the students! We will miss you!!! Holly Castora, Christine
Platt, Anna Wageman, Susan Schwartz, Alice Brumback, Masae Rinkliff, Deborah Connor,
Susan Valesano, and Sam Clement
Box Tops for Education
Are you throwing away money?!? If you are hanging on to your Box Tops, ESPECIALLY YOUR
BOX TOP BONUS CERTIFICATES, you are throwing away money if they expire before you turn
them in! Box Tops help fund school programs for our students at Renner. Please be sure to continue clipping those box tops, but don’t hang on to them! Box Tops and Box Top Bonus certificates EXPIRE! Please send them in at the end of every month to avoid having to throw them
away, because Box Tops for Education will not accept any that are expired! There is a collection
box located by the front office in which you or your student can place them. You can also earn
Box Tops for Renner by shopping online at www.boxtops4education.com!! If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Segler at cindy.segler@pisd.edu.
Thank You for a Successful Winter Social!
All of our wonderful volunteers made our Winter Social a success! I can’t possibly thank everyone enough for helping to make our winter social a fun event! Thank you to all the PALS students and the Social Committee students! To the Staff who not only helped chaperone and supervise the tournament but also helped serve food—thank you! Thank you to the young man
who helped me bring in the supplies in the rain! Thank you to all the parents who donated all
the desserts and drinks! Thank you to all the parents that helped chaperone, referee, serve
food, decorate … the list is endless! Finally, a huge thank you to Rose Taper and Elizabeth Minchew for stepping up and
helping in so many ways that I can’t possibly name them all!
Renner Winter Spirit Wear!
We have a few winter styles available in our traditional Renner school colors. They can be purchased at the school store
between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Renner “Vineyard Vines”–style long-sleeve t-shirts are $20, and our Renner red Mustang Sport-tek hoodies are $35.
Warm up in style while supporting Renner and your PTA!
Questions? Contact Karen Ricketts, Renner Spirit Wear Chair, spiritwear@rennerpta.org, or (972) 904-7355 cell.
Legislature Report
School Accountability and the STAAR Exam
Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams recently announced that math test scores for grades 3-8 will not count toward
accountability ratings this year. “The teachers I have spoken with have confidence that Texas students will, in time, adjust to the
more rigorous math standards, but for accountability purposes asked for a transition year,” Williams said in a press release. He said
he decided to exclude the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, math test results for grades 3-8 from the
2015 accountability ratings for schools and districts, including charters, after “numerous discussions with math teachers, parents
and superintendents across the state.”
LEGISLATIVE ALERT – Results of Senate Education Committee Hearing Held April 7, 2015:
Senate Bill 4 passed out of the Senate Education Committee. SB 4 would create both private school voucher and tuition tax credit
programs. It now goes before the full Senate sometime this week. The Texas PTA opposes this bill and urges PTA members to contact their senators to express opposition to this bill.
Senate also moves forward on the following bills backed by Texas PTA:
Senate Bill 14, which would allow parents of students enrolled at a campus with an unacceptable performance rating for two consecutive years to submit a petition to the commissioner of education requesting that the commissioner order reconstitution, repurposing, alternative management or closure of the campus.
Senate Bill 66, which requires school districts and charter schools to maintain and train some staff to administer epinephrine to
individuals reasonably believed to be experiencing anaphylaxis.
Senate Bill 149, which would allow a student who passes all classes but fails no more than one EOC exam to graduate with the
unanimous approval of an individual graduation committee composed of teachers, counselors, administrators and parents. SB 149
now goes before the full House of Representatives.
House Passes House Bill 4 (would provide additional funding to school districts that choose to offer high-quality Pre-K programs)
and discusses House Bill 1759 (School Finance Plan).
Upcoming Public Committee Hearings
House Public Education: Tuesday, April 14 at 8:00 a.m.
Senate Education: Tuesday, April 14 at 9:00 a.m.
Senate Criminal Justice: Tuesday, April 14 at 1:30 p.m.
House Juvenile Justice: Wednesday, April 15 at 10:30 a.m.
Click on each issue to view bills Texas PTA is monitoring.
Early Education
Healthy and Safety
Juvenile Justice
School Accountability
School Choice
School Finance
Student Assessment
Volunteer Opportunities
Please go online and update your PISD Volunteer Application if you have not done so already:
http://www.pisd.edu/about.us/partners.volunteers/volunteer.application.shtml
Casseroles: Wouldn’t it be nice to have a home-cooked meal at the end of a long day? Don’t
miss the opportunity to prepare or order a Central Market casserole for your child’s teachers! We
present each teacher/staff member a casserole of their choice during Teacher Appreciation Week,
May 4–8. Sign-up will be available on Membership Toolkit beginning March 30. Help show our
Renner faculty/staff how appreciated they are! If you have any questions, please contact Alison
Grzyb at casserole@rennerpta.org. To volunteer, go to www.rennerpta.org.
Library Volunteers: Library volunteers are needed Monday–Friday throughout the school year.
Shifts are 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., but they can be adjusted to fit your schedule. A library volunteer assists with a variety of tasks including working the circulation desk, creating/following up on overdue lists, helping students find books, shelving books, book repair, etc.
If you have any questions, please contact Felicia Giambalvo at library@rennerpta.org. To volunteer, go to www.rennerpta.org. Open slots are available. Please check https://
rennerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/ or email Felicia at library@rennerpta.org
Copy Center: Open slots are available April 16, 23, 30; May 6, 13, 14, 21, 27. Sign up at https://
rennerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/ or email JoAnn at office@rennerpta.org.
Teacher Treats
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED TO BRING ITEMS FOR TEACHER TREATS THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 17. PLEASE LOG ON TO MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT TO SIGN UP. THE LINK IS: https://rennerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/home.
Renner PTA Community Partners
Earn money to support Renner Programs EVERY time you shop with our Partners!
The following is a way you can help support Renner Middle School while you shop for your family:
Kroger: Kroger's Community Rewards program links your Kroger Plus card to Renner Middle School. To link your Kroger Plus card
visit www.krogercommunityrewards.com. Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards and enter Renner's number, 81943. NOTE:
You must go online to link your Kroger Plus card to Renner Middle School and it must be done annually—yes, every year! This can
not be done in store.
Target: Apply for a Target Visa card and designate Renner Middle School to receive the donation credit. To get a card, or if you already have a card, stop by Customer Service and add Renner's number, which is 100524.
Tom Thumb: Tom Thumb's Good Neighbor program links your Reward Card to Renner Middle School. Stop by the Customer Service
desk and pick up a registration form. Renner's number is 6266.
By joining together to support our Community Partners, each of us can raise $$$ for Renner on our shopping trips. These rebated
dollars help pay for carpool police officers, agendas for students, parent programs and numerous other valuable PTA programs. Let's
go shopping with our Community Partners! Please contact Ann McKeown at partnerships@rennerpta.org with any questions.