December 2022

McKenny Hawks Are Kind, Safe, Respectful and

Responsible

McKes Logo

Dec Up-coming Events:

7 - Walk N Roll
8 - School Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Knox Building or via Zoom
9 - PTO Movie Night
13 - PTO Meeting in the Library at 6:30 p.m.
19 - Jan 2: Winter Break No School

Walk N Roll -December 7th

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 and hot chocolate! 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!

Help Us Fill Holiday Stockings!

Each December, the Thurston County Food Bank distributes Holiday Stockings for kids ages 0-18. These stockings are beautifully hand quilted and donated by local sewing groups. Each stocking has something warm, something to read, something to do, something fun and something sweet! McKenny Leadership Classes will be collecting donations by grade level. Please bring donations to school by Friday, December 9th.
Kindergarten: Hats, scarves, mittens, gloves or socks
1st Grade: Hot cocoa packs or candy canes
2nd Grade: Craft and art supplies
3rd Grade: Books or Lip Balm
4th Grade: Coloring books, sketchbooks/pads or coloring pencils
5th Grade: Small toys (matchbox cars, dolls) or small stuffed animals (beanie babies)

New Attendance email:

Does your child have an upcoming appointment or a change in their school routine? Have a planned vacation coming and need to submit a planned absence form to the office? If so, please send an email to [email protected].

News from Our PTO:

PTO Meeting:

Our next PTO meeting is on December 6th at 6:30pm, which is the FIRST Tuesday of the month. We'd love to have you join us to hear updates from our principal and the PTO. Click here for the agenda. This meeting should be shorter than usual. Here is the information if you are interested in joining us online:

Meeting ID: 886 5408 0564

Passcode: 711478

https://osd111.zoom.us/j/88654080564?pwd=UFhiM3BqaStkTFBxRGdtNXVsRG5Mdz09

Movie Night:

McKenny PTO proudly presents DC League of Super Pets for movie night on Friday, December 9th. Please register online before the event. Go to https://dec-movie-night.cheddarup.com for more details and to register.

Teacher and Staff Wish Lists:

Are you looking to give a gift to a teacher or staff member this holiday season? The PTO has compiled a list of favorites as well as some classroom wish lists from many of our teachers and staff. PTO Members can access this information in a tab on the glide directory. If you would like to see a list, please email us at [email protected]. Be sure to mention the teacher/staff member's name.

Trunk-or-Treat Thanks:

Thank you to everyone who made Trunk-or-Treat a success by donating candy, volunteering in the playshed, or decorating and hosting a trunk. There were over 250 votes for favorite Trunk or Treat car and this year's winner was Ken and Josie Johnson's Starbucks Drive Thru. Congratulations! Events like this can't happen without the full support of our school community. We are truly grateful to you all!

Read-A-Thon Update:

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Read-A-Thon by reading and/or by collecting donations! The students at McKenny read over 45,000 minutes total which is more than 750 hours. We also raised over $8,000. This money is being used to provide funds for our classrooms and specialists, including $2,000 being given to the library to purchase new books.

Playground Update:

We are so excited to announce that after many months of planning and years of fundraising, the new playground equipment is open for use. Thank you so much to everyone who donated over the years to make this possible. A special thanks to McKenny parent, Jessie Moreno-Graham for all the hours of work she put in to make this happen!

Free Fundraising Opportunities:

AmazonSmile, Fred Meyer Community Rewards, and more: Did you know there are several free and easy ways to support the McKenny PTO? Please consider signing up for one or more shopping rewards programs. A portion of the proceeds are given to the McKenny PTO every time you shop! To see all the different options select the following link: http://www.mckennypto.org/how-to-support.html. If you have any questions about the process please e-mail: [email protected]

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

McKenny Families,
As we close out 2022, I wanted to use my space in this month’s Hawk Talk to reflect on some highlights of the school year so far.
Traffic Garden Completed and Opened - After almost a year of planning, organizing and work, the McKenny Traffic Garden was completed and opened for use by students and the community. It has been amazing to see Mrs. Swedberg teaching whole classes and students about bike safety and the rules of the road. Additionally, many students, at school, have learned how to ride a bike for the first time. So exciting!
New Playground Equipment Installed - After years of saving, and followed by a concerted effort last year to raise funds, our incredibly supportive PTO was able to purchase new equipment for our playground. While the installation took a little bit longer than we thought it would, the students have been really excited to explore the new playground and try out some of its unique features. Thank you so much for your support of our PTO!
Other Highlights Include: Trunk or Treat, Read-a-thon, Veterans Day Assembly and the return of Field Trips!
These are all wonderful events and activities. However, my favorite things happen every day. The students cause me to smile and laugh regularly with their kind words and their funny comments. What a joy it is to be a part of this community. Thank you for sharing your children with us each day.
Sincerely,
Michael Havens