McKenny Elementary School
March 2019
McKenny Hawks Are Kind, Safe, Respectful and Responsible
March Upcoming Events
2 - Countdown to Kindergarten at Capital H.S. @10:00
5 – PTO Pacific Science Center on Wheels
5 – First Running Club @4:30
6 – Science Fair @6:00
6 – Early Release @2:32
10 – Daylight Savings “Spring Forward”
12 – PTO Meeting @6:30
13 – Walk N Roll
13 – Early Release @2:32
19 – Choir FamOly Concert @6:00
20 – Release @2:32
22 – Movie Night @6:15
23 – PTO Value Village Donation Drive @2:00
26-29 – Conference Week/Dismissal @12:05
April Upcoming Events
1-5 – Spring Break
10 – Walk N Roll
10 – Early Release @2:32
15 – Class Pictures
17 – Early Release @2:32
15 – Box Top Collection
19 – PTO Fun Run
24-26 – CISPUS/5th Grade Outdoor School
24 – Release @2:32
Choir FamOly Concert
There will be a choir concert for our 5th graders in the Olympia High School Gym. The concert will begin at 6:00pm and students should arrive at 5:45pm. This is for all 5th graders and they should wear nice clothes.
Walk and Roll
It’s time to Walk N Roll! Intercity Transit’s Walk N Roll program invites students and families to walk or bike to school on February 13th. Students who walk or roll get a prize of hot cocoa! Come see us at the table near the bike racks.
Save the Date: McKenny Science Fair
The McKenny Science Fair will be held on Wednesday, March 6th from 6:00 – 7:30. It’s never too early to begin thinking about your science fair project.
Spring Break
No school April 1st – April 5th.
The One Hundred Mile Club
Congratulations to the following students for their achievement in the 100 Mile Club! Gresham D – 250 miles; Holden W – 225 miles; Travis B – 130. We have 103 students that have 5 miles or more!! Wow!
Running Club
Do you have a student who loves to run? Join the McKenny Running Club! It’s FREE! Starting March 5th, McKenny students can meet at the play shed on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 4:30-5pm to run together. Students will complete at least one mile on the marked course each practice, with the goal of trying to run a full marathon one mile at a time! Our final mile will be completed at the Capital Marathon Kid’s Run the 3rd weekend in May. This is not a drop off event- a parent must attend. Also, it is not mandatory to attend all practices. Email Mindy Swedberg (McKenny parent) at [email protected] to sign up or to answer any questions.
Food Bank Request
Due to the snow, we had to an event change. The annual Valentine’s Day 5K that benefits the FORKids Programs has been moved to Saturday, March 9th at Priest Point Park in Olympia. Many of our volunteers that were signed up to February are unable to volunteer on the new date. Volunteer check in is at 7:45 am and the event goes until 10:30 am. If you are available, please consider volunteering for this worthy cause.
Art Supply Donations Needed!
We are looking for donations for the Creativity Festivity, where students will be able to create their own masks to use for the Fun Run and Procession of the Species Parade. Items can be brought to the office marked “Art Supply Donation”. Donations do not need to be new, just in good condition. Thank you!!
- White paper plates w/ribbing on edges
- White or brown tissue paper
- Crepe paper streamers
- Ribbon or ribbon scraps
- Tulle
- Small white paper bowls
- Unexpired Michael’s coupons
- Hot glue sticks (oval or size .44”)
- Elastic
- Cotton balls
- Pom poms
- Pipe cleaners
- Feathers
- Construction paper
- Wiggly eyes
- Foam sheets
- Glue, tape, tacky glue
- Plastic flowers
Olympia Junior Programs
The following is the schedule for our students to attend the Olympia Junior Programs at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Students will depart the school 30 minutes prior to show time and will arrive back at McKenny approximately 2 hours later. Please schedule appointments for after school time on these days. Thank you!!
Tuesday, March 5th @12:30 Penguin Goes to Flight School 1st & 2nd Grade
Thursday, March 21st @12:30 3 Pigs 1st & 2nd Grade
Tuesday, April 30th @12:30 The Phantom Tollbooth 3rd-5th Grade
Admission fee for the 2 plays is $12. Be on the watch for OJP envelopes, they will come home after break.
Mark Your Calendars for Fifth Grade Outdoor School (CISPUS)
Our fifth grade students will be attending Outdoor School at Cispus Environmental Center in Randle, Washington, April 24th, 25th and 26th. This will be a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday trip. The Center has been developed specifically for students’ environmental studies and has excellent facilities for both study and research. Cost is $150 per student. If you need to make payments or need financial assistance, please contact Britney in the office to set up a plan. Also, if your student needs to take a prescription or over-the-counter medicine, the medicine and doctors permission form need to be at school by Friday, April 19th.
Spring Conferences
Spring Conferences will be upon us soon. Parent/Teacher conferences will be held Tuesday, March 26th through Friday, March 29th. Student Release time is 12:05. Please do not bring siblings (younger or older) in to the conference. Siblings may read in the pod area or look around at the book fair. Also, AM/PM Preschool will not meet Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, March 26th, 28th and 29th.
Extra Clothing Donations for the Health Room
McKenny is in need of extra clothing. If your student has outgrown sweatpants and socks, we could really use them in our Health Room for those rainy days. We are especially in need of boys pants and underwear. Thank you!
PTO
Keeping Kids Safe Online Presentation
Mark your calendars! On Tuesday, April 23rd from 6:30-8pm, the PTO will host a presentation for parents titled Keeping Kids Safe Online, led by a detective from the Washington State Patrol Missing and Exploited Children's Task Force. This presentation has already been given to Centennial and Pioneer elementary parent groups, and we are pleased to bring this information to McKenny parents as well. This is an adult only event. Please inform a PTO board member or email [email protected] if you are interested in the PTO hosting child care for this event.
Clear a path for the Running Club!
The Running Club starts next Tuesday, March 5th and the trail is overgrown. Bring your gloves, clippers, and shears, and join us on Saturday, March 1st at 1:00 p.m. at the back of the school to trim small branches, ivy, and blackberry overgrowth.
Combined Fund Drive
There is still time to contribute to McKenny PTO through the WA state combined fund drive. Employees can donate as little as $1 per pay check to CFD charities through payroll deduction. Please go to www.cfd.wa.gov and click on Donor Sign-in and select charity #1484538. You can adjust your contributions or sign up anytime throughout the year but the drive is going on now!
Value Village Donation Drive
Are you getting ready to do some spring cleaning? Make sure to bring all of those used clothes and household goods to Value Village (Lacey location) on Saturday, March 23rd from 2-5pm! Unable to make it to the donation center on the day of the drive? We will also be collecting donations at McKenny at movie night drop off on March 22nd.
There are volunteer opportunities available for the day of the donation drive. Please check out the event on the PTO Facebook page!
Science on Wheels
The PTO will be sponsoring a school wide event with the Pacific Science Center – Science on Wheels: Blood and Guts program! The event will take places Tuesday, March 5th. Students will participate in an assembly and in-class grade level workshops. There will also include self-guided exhibits located in the gym.
A very special thank you to the following volunteers and staff for supporting this exciting event and helping to make sure that it runs smoothly!
Amanda Benjamin
Hitomi Henschel
Francesca Murdock
Jennifer Lobe
Mr. Havens
Britney Martin
And all of our classroom teachers!
Yearbook
We need your photos for the yearbook! Please check out our webpage for the link to upload your photos here:
http://www.mckennypto.org/yearbook.html
We need pictures from the Welcome Back Ice Cream Social; Glow Night; Field Trips; Winter Performances; Band/Orchestra performances; Movie Nights; the Science Fair; Apple Tree performances; Foodbank volunteering; and any other events on or before 4/16/2019.
Is your student a fifth grader?
Please be sure to send in a baby photo of your student!
We would also like to get input from any interested parties regarding the cover art for the yearbook. Please contact Janice Houghton (yearbook chairperson) at [email protected] if you would like to be involved in the cover art design or selection process.
Movie Night
Movie night will be on Friday, March 22nd. Movie Night is $5 for the first student and $4 for each additional student. Price includes an intermission popcorn, snack, and a drink. More information regarding movie night will be coming home soon, so be on the lookout for details!
As always, supervision is provided – but we would love some company! Parents who stay to help supervise earn a coupon for free admission to an upcoming Movie Night!
‘Like’ Us on Facebook
Are you on Facebook? So are we! Be sure to “like” the McKenny Hawks PTO page to see our calendar of events and learn about all that’s going on with the PTO!
Check Out Our Website
Not on Facebook, but still want to stay on top of PTO activities and events? Be sure to keep up to date with all the happenings of McKenny PTO at www.mckennypto.org
PTO Meetings
Our next PTO meeting is Tuesday, March 12th at 6:30pm in the school library. Please join us, we would LOVE to see you there!