October 2023

McKenny Hawks Are Kind, Safe, Respectful and Responsible

Upcoming Events:

2 Annie Jr. Theater Practice Begins
4 Walk N Roll
6/7 Family Photo Fundraiser
9 Indigenous People’s Day
10 PTO Meeting McKenny Library @ 6:30 p.m.
12 School Board Meeting Knox Bldg or via Zoom @ 6:30 p.m.
13 Teacher In-Service Day - No School
18 PTO Hawk Hangout LBA @ 2:00 p.m.
20 Annie Jr Performance @ 7:00 p.m.
21 Annie Jr Performance @ 2:00 p.m.
23 - 27 Fall Conferences - Early Dismissal @ 11:35 a.m.
26 3rd Grade to Food Bank @ 5:00 p.m.
26 School Board Meeting Knox Bldg or via Zoom @ 6:30 p.m.
27 PTO Trunk or Treat

Walk N Roll - October 4th

Our school hosts a Walk N Roll event one day each month. These are optional days that students can bike or walk to and from school, and once they arrive, can receive special prizes. Please wear helmets when riding, and make sure students are crossing roads safely. Walking or biking to school is not only amazing for your health, but it is also helpful to the environment!

Fall Conferences October 23rd-27th

During conference week students will be released at 11:35 a.m. This is a great time for students to share with their parents what they are learning and their goals for the year. Families can register for conferences starting October 4th using Skyward Family Access.

Attendance Matters

Attendance supports your students' social, emotional, and academic achievement, and it is mandatory by law.

However, cold and flu season is among us and with that we understand comes absences. If your child is not feeling well, has a fever or vomiting please keep them home. You can excuse their absence by calling the attendance line at 360.596.8403 or email [email protected]. You can also send doctors notes and planned absence forms to the email provided to excuse absences.

Child Nutrition Services Information for 2023-2024

OSD Meal Prices Grades K-5
Breakfast: $2.00
Lunch: $3.10
Milk: $.60

Apply for Free and Reduced-Price meals online via Skyward Family Access on August 25, 2023. Click Here for additional information.
Payments can be made online through the Online Payment Portal, OR you can pay with cash/check/card with Cori Leach in the front office.
For Breakfast and Lunch Menus Click Here

News from the PTO

Still need to join the PTO?

This is a reminder that each new school year you have to sign up for the PTO, so if you haven’t registered for the 2023-2024 school year there is still time, and membership is free! If you completed an OSD volunteer application and marked PTO as an area of interest that does not register you for the PTO. You will still need to sign up which you can do here.

Fall Photo Fundraiser Friday October 6th or Saturday October 7th:

McKenny parent and photographer Janice Houghton is donating her services once again to support the PTO. View this link for more information and to register for a Friday or Saturday session. Registration will open Friday September 29th at 5:30pm and there are limited spots.

PTO Meeting Tuesday October 10th 6:30-8:00pm:

Please join us in the school library and on Zoom to hear an update from Principal Havens about McKenny and details about our many upcoming events.

Hawk Hangout Wednesday October 18th 2:00pm:

Meet up with McKenny friends and foster relationships in your community! Join the PTO for an afternoon at the LBA park playground. This is not a drop off event.

Annie Jr. Performances

Friday October 20th 7:00pm and Saturday October 21st at 2:00pm: We are in need of a few volunteers to help with ticket sales, set up, concessions, and clean up, you can volunteer here. Stay tuned for further details on how to purchase tickets in advance for $5.

Trunk-or-Treat Friday October 27th 6:00pm to 7:15pm

The McKenny PTO invites you to our 3rd annual Trunk-or-Treat event in the school's Traffic Garden. Join us for an evening of candy, costumes, car decorating contest, photo ops, and more! Click here to host a trunk, volunteer during the event, or donate candy.

Read-A-Thon:

The PTO is thrilled to announce our annual Read-a-Thon which kicks off on Saturday October 28th and goes through Friday November 10th. This event is a fantastic opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the world of books by reading to themselves, others, or having someone read to them. Be on the lookout for more information to come home in your students folder.

Submit Yearbook Photos via Yearbook Snap:

The PTO would love to include any photos from the first day of school, Hawk Hangouts, or other school activities/events for our McKenny yearbook. Photos can be uploaded straight from your phone using the app Yearbook Snap, which can be downloaded from your app store. Once downloaded, search for McKenny Elementary School, the password is McKenny2024. Please be sure to label your photos with names and events so they can be accurately represented in the yearbook! Also, if your student was absent for individual student pictures and will miss retakes you will need to submit a photo yourself so that they will be included in the yearbook in their classes section. You can upload those photos via Yearbook Snap App or online.

Want more information about the PTO?
Be sure to follow us on social media!
Instagram: @mckennyhawkspto
Facebook: facebook.com/mckennyhawkspto
Check out our website: www.mckennypto.org

Principal's Corner

Panorama Survey Coming Up!

Over the last three years, we have been increasing our efforts to get, and respond to, feedback from our families to help inform our improvement efforts. The system that we use is known as Panorama. Beginning this week families will have the opportunity to respond to survey questions regarding a variety of topics that impact schools and affect student learning in all areas.

I want you to know that we place an extremely high value on this information. The survey results help to guide our school goals and the actions steps that we take in order to achieve those goals. These goals and action steps will be formally laid out in our School Improvement Plan (SIP), which we develop together as a staff. A bulk of this SIP development will be completed during our non-student day for professional development on Friday October 13. Our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students respond to Panorama survey questions, as do our teachers and staff. Therefore, so that we have your input as well, I strongly encourage each family to take a few minutes to respond to the family survey questions. Please contact me or our Family Liaison, Charo Portaro, if you have any questions.

Thank you, in advance, for your time spent on this valuable survey.

Michael Havens