The Texan Star January 19th

Good afternoon, PTE families,

We added a section to the newsletter called Staff Spotlight. It will help you get to know our staff members a little better. Check it out at the bottom of the newsletter.

If you have a minute, fill out the Recognize Someone for one of our great staff members and make their day.

We have STEAM Night next Thursday. No art to sell this year, but lots of fun Science, Math, and Art activities. PTA has paid for Mad Science to be here with even more fun stations for the whole family. It is a super fun night for everyone.

100th day of school is also next Thursday. Can't wait to see all our 100 year old kindergarteners.

That's it for this week.

Wendi Vaughn

Principal

Hey, kids! Get ready to showcase your amazing talents on stage! We're hosting talent show tryouts – this is your chance to share your special talent or skill with the world!

If your child is interested in trying out, they must attend tryouts, be able to attend one assigned practice & the dress rehearsal (see form for details), and complete this form by 4:00pm on Friday, January 19th.

Tryouts will be held after school in the gym on January 23rd OR 24th from 3:10-4:00pm (select your preferred date in the form).

Practice dates (must attend ONE): February 7th, 12th, 15th, or 22nd from 3:10-4:00 each day (practice dates will be assigned after tryouts).

Dress Rehearsal (MUST attend): February 28th from 3:10 - 5:00 pm

Talent Show: February 29th; Act I: 5:45-6:45pm; Act II 7-8pm (groups will be assigned to either Act I or II and will only attend their assigned act to help reduce the length of the show).

More information will be shared with participating families after tryouts are complete.

Back by popular demand is Harry Potter NIGHT!

We need all students to pre-register for this event.

In order for us to have enough materials for students to participate, you must sign-up each student.

The deadline for signing up is the first 300 students or Friday, February 2nd, whichever happens first!

Ms. Howell has planned a fun evening. Students are encouraged to dress up, but there will NOT be a costume contest this year. There will be plenty of opportunities to take pictures.

LINK to pre-register for Harry Potter Night!

All information must be filled out completely.

Add all STUDENTS attending.

Date: February 15th

Time: 6:00-7:30

Unit 2 is Emotion Management. The next lesson is #8 during the week of Jan. 23rd.

Here are the links to the overview of the lessons:

English

Spanish

For links to all the lessons for the entire year, CLICK HERE.

A HUGE thank you to our Prairie Trail community! Together, you raised $410 for our school at our Panda Express Spirit Night. Way to go!!!

Join us for an evening of innovation and exploration at Prairie Trail’s annual S.T.E.M. Night! We’ll have tons of fun science, technology, engineering, art and math games for the whole family, as well as interactive STEM stations hosted by MAD Science, sponsored by the PTA.

Are you a room rep for your child’s class? We’ll be holding our class auction basket meeting in person this year at Prairie Trail in the library on Wednesday, January 24th @ 6:30pm. Come get all the details on this year’s class auction baskets and meet a few of your fellow room reps while you’re there!

Please help us congratulate Prairie Trail's very own Rebekka Mudrow! Her entry "I Can Meet New Friends" in the film production category of the PTA Arts in Reflections program was selected to advance to the State Level. Way to go Rebekka!

The LISD Council of PTA's received 161 entries from 29 schools throughout

LISD. The judges who had the privilege of reviewing the entries were amazed with the creativity of each and every student. There are 21 students whose entries will be advancing to the Texas

РТА.

All students whose entries advanced to the council will be recognized at the Reflections Awards Ceremony to be held on April 4th at 6:30PM at the Lewisville High School Stuver Auditorium.

SECOND Grade! This is your time to shine! Each month we’re asking one or two grades to practice their good citizenship skills & give back to the Prairie Trail community. For the month of January, we’re asking 2nd grade to help by donating items to our snack pantry.

Help us restock the snack pantry by bringing in snacks like individually wrapped bags of pretzels, goldfish, applesauce pouches, nutrigrain bars, nut-free granola bars or raisins/craisins during the week of January 8th. You can also shop directly from the snack wishlist at https://tinyurl.com/PTSNACK and select “Prairie Trail Elementary” to have it shipped directly.

✋🙋🏽‍♀️🙋‍♀️HELP WANTED🙋🏻‍♂️🙋🏾‍♂️✋: It’s a fresh new year and we have fresh new opportunities to volunteer! Click the links below to learn more and sign up to volunteer during the months of January & February. We can’t wait to see you! :)

📚📚January/February LIBRARY HELPERS📚📚

📝January/February COPY ROOM HELPERS📄

🐶 WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) Spring 2024 🐾

Dad, Papá, Baba, Grandpa, Uncle, Papaw, Father, Abuelo, Daddy…whatever name the special kiddo in your life may call you, Prairie Trail NEEDS YOU!!!

Did you miss the kickoff event? No worries! You can still be a part of the Watch D.O.G.S.

How do you get started?

• Make sure you have an updated Background Check Volunteer / Home
• Background Checks have to be done every year.
• Read through the slide deck from last night's event: Linked HERE!
• Don't forget the Safety and Security slides: Linked HERE!
• Optional - Order a shirt https://shop.dadsofgreatstudents.com/shop-all/

***Need more info? Please email Matthew Kulik watchdogs@prairietrailpta.org or Amber Bearden, VP of Volunteers volunteers@prairietrailpta.org.

For ALL the latest info & more upcoming events, hop on over to our PTA WEBSITE at www.prairietrailpta.org. 🌐👀

Follow us on FACEBOOK or INSTAGRAM for daily updates, fun content, photos & more!

How many years have you been teaching? This is my 34th year teaching.

Why did you become a teacher? I love kids! I would babysit and teach "lessons" to them and even write "lesson plans" of what I wanted to do the next time I babysat. I would practice with my stuffed animals and write on my large chalkboard that my parents bought me when I was in Kindergarten. I never swayed away from wanting to be a teacher.

Why do you love teaching at Prairie Trail? I love PT because of the strong community spirit and strong support of all of us. I live in the neighborhood and I love being part of the PT family and seeing my kids outside while I am watering my plants or taking a walk with my family. Our families come and stay and I LOVE that about Prairie Trail.

What is something most people don't know about you? I was a dancer and singer when I was younger. I danced for over 20 years with a ballet company and I was also a part of a community theatre near my home. I also was our county's Junior Miss my senior year of high school. ( scholarship pageant) Also, I was on our language arts professional development team that went around the district I taught in giving workshops on " Whole Language". ( That shows how long I have been teaching :)

How many years have you been working in education? 10 years

What do you love about working at Prairie Trail? I have loved many things since being here at PTE. My team is amazing and very welcoming but I think my favorite part has been my students! I have very quickly made so many special connections with each one of them.

Why did you become an educator? Working with kids has always been a passion for me and especially those with emotional disabilities. In college I was a camp counselor for kids from trama situations. I loved that I could make an impact in their lives and help them adapt to the real world.

What is a favorite moment or something you are most proud of in your life? I have 2 equally proud moments and that was watching my oldest graduate from Navy boot camp and watching my youngest graduate from basic training in the Air Force. After going 8 weeks with almost no contact except letters, it was the most emotional and proud moments of my life!

How many years have you been teaching? 23 years

Why did you become a teacher? I love teaching kids new things and Kindergarten is full of new experiences!

Why do you love teaching at Prairie Trail? Working with the amazing staff and families at Prairie Trail

What's your favorite way to spend a day off? I love visiting different national parks around the country. I enjoy spending time outside and experiencing new things!

How many years have you been teaching? 12 years

What do you love about working at Prairie Trail? That's easy...I get to see my sweet daughter Kenzie thrive in 2nd grade. Also, working with the best staff in all of LISD is just icing on the cake. :-)

Why did you become a teacher? I absolutely love kids and I love teaching with a servant heart. I enjoy building relationships and helping my students grow and learn new things. I also think it's vital to raise up the next generation to be future leaders and empathetic, loving community members.

What is something most people don't know about you? I am into kickboxing. I love hitting the bags. It is such a great stress reliever and it has been a game changer for me.

How many years have you been teaching? 2 years

Why did you become a teacher? I've always loved working with children. I really enjoy watching their growth throughout the year. I feel privileged to be a small part of their journey. The best part of my job are my sweet students.

Why do you love teaching at Prairie Trail? Prairie Trail is a very special place. I have felt loved and welcomed from our awesome staff, sweet families, PTA, and of course students. I am so fortunate to be surround by such an inspiring and dedicated community.

What is something most people don't know about you? It came out on the news the day I got married. It was very special to be captured on live TV on such a joyous day in my life.

Recognize Someone submissions are open again! Would you like to recognize a staff member at Prairie Trail or LISD, click here to type a quick note. It will be printed on a nice post card and delivered to that staff member. It is free for you, but worth so much!! :)

https://www.lisd.net/recognize

During our counselor time, we will spend most of February reviewing bullying prevention and empowering bystanders using our Bullying Prevention Unit. If you would like to know more about the lessons, click HERE or feel free to contact our counselor, Ms. Rutherford, rutherfordl@lisd.net.

Also, during March and April in elementary school, counselors will cover the Senate Bill 9 topics on the prevention of Child Abuse and Family Violence. As a reminder, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires anti-victimization lessons be taught in all public schools. Texas legislature also requires parents/guardians to opt-in to these lessons. You have already filled out the paperwork for this in the Skyward forms at the beginning of the year or when you enrolled your child. If you would like to check what you chose, you can log into your Skyward account, go to 2023-2024 Back to School Forms, then go to section 10 - Counseling SB9 Consent.

• If you have opted-in to lessons on the prevention of Child Abuse, your student(s) will receive Second Step’s Child Protection Unit (CPU) lessons

• If you have opted-in to lessons on the prevention of Family Violence, your student(s) will receive a presentation on Healthy Families

*If you opted out of these lessons, your student(s) will NOT participate in the applicable lessons

Please see link or PDF documents below for more detailed information about the lessons and content that will be covered.

Again if you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

Thank you,

Lauryn Rutherford, M.Ed.

rutherfordl@lisd.net

972-350-4062

SB9 Topics Letter English is on page 1 and Spanish is on page 2 - LINK

• January Elementary Breakfast Menu

• January Lunch Menu

To get to your child's meal account: RevTrack link

Check out dates for the school year.

• 23rd-24th - Talent Show Tryouts - 3:00-4:00 pm in the Gym
  
• 24th - PTA Room Reps Class Basket for Spring Fest Meeting @ 6:30 pm
• 25th - 100th Day of School
• 25th - STEM Night - 6:00-7:30 pm
• 26th - Progress Reports

• 2nd - Nana Puddin' & Dennis Lee Program (8:00 am - K-2nd & 9:00 am - 3rd-5th)
• 2nd - Last Day to pre-register for Harry Potter Night
• 9th - Multicultural Day & Read Around the World
• 10th - Service Saturday 8:00-10:00 am
• 14th - Friendship (Valentine's Day) Parties
• 15th - Harry Potter Night
• 16th - Student Early Release - 11:45 am
• 16th - Progress Reports
• 19th - School Holiday
• 21st - Field Trip 1st Grade LISDOLA
• 22nd-23rd - Field Trip 5th Grade Outdoor School
• 27th - LISD 5th Grade Honor Choir Performance 7:30-8:30 pm
• 29th - Talent Show 5:45-8:00 pm

• February 14th - Friendship (Valentine's Day) Parties
  
• February 29th - Talent Show @ 5:45-8:00 pm (NEW DATE)
• March 7th - Open House
• April 12th - Spring Fest
• April 17th - Reading and Writing STAAR (3rd-5th grades)
• April 18th - Spring Picture Day (Individual and Class)
• April 24th - Science STAAR (5th grade)
• May 2nd - Math STAAR (3rd-5th grades)
• May 10th - Field Day (May 16th is rain out day)
• May 22nd - 5th Grade Celebration
• May 23rd - Last Day of School

Marcus High School’s Annual Elementary School Drum Camp is coming again this February. This introductory clinic is specifically designed for elementary-aged children who show an interest in percussion. Directed by Mr. Kennan Wylie, acclaimed music educator and Director of Marcus’ award-winning drumline, this camp’s purpose is to enrich and engage students from all over the metroplex, and especially LISD.

Need some ideas to keep the kind acts going? Check out the Random Acts of Kindness Calendar below. One kind act can change someone's day!

The 2024-2025 School Calendar has been approved by the school board. Check it out at this LINK.

Email: prairietrail@lisd.net
Website: lisd.net/prairietrail
Location: 5555 Timber Creek Road, Flower Mound, TX, USA
Phone: (469)713-5980
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prairietrailes
X (Twitter): @PrairieTrailES