Town Center Principal Newsletter
August 16, 2024
Friday, September 13th
Dr. Hunt joins our STEAM teacher, Ms. Lane, at the TCE Garden!
National Attendance Month
September is National Attendance Month, and we are going to celebrate next week! See below for easy dress-up days that kids can participate in if they would like to. Most importantly, we just look forward to seeing them at school each day. Thank you all for supporting our campus!
Library Volunteer Opportunities - A Note from PTO
We are excited to roll out a new volunteer opportunity at our TCE Library this year! As you can imagine, with hundreds of students each checking out 2-4 library books every week, there are a lot of books that need to be shelved.
We are looking for volunteers who can help shelve books during a 1-hour time slot, one or two times each month. (Ex. Volunteer for 1-hour on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, and this repeats throughout the year). No experience is necessary! We will teach you everything you need to know.
Please fill out the form with your availability. We will put together and share the volunteer calendar for the year, making it easier for you to plan around your shift. Feel free to put in some headphones and listen to your favorite book/music as you help our wonderful librarian, Ms. Mancuso. We truly appreciate your help!
A background check is required before your first shift. All shifts will begin the first week of October.
Special Friends Day - September 20th
Please plan on joining us Friday, September 20th for a fun-filled day at Town Center! We have designated times throughout the day for "Special Friends" (family & family friends) to visit our learners' classrooms in order to see some of the great things they are learning and doing. Our campus book fair will also be open during this time. Please see below for grade-level specific visiting times and sign-up.
*We highly encourage visitors to pre-register using the link below. It will allow for a more efficient office check-in process when you arrive. You can access the registration link by scanning the QR code below or clicking on the graphic.
Reminders
Book Fair Volunteers - A Note From PTO
We'd love your help with the book fair!
Thank you to all those who have signed up to volunteer at our Book Fair next week! We still have several openings for the lunch/recess shift from 11-1:30. If you are available to help out we would appreciate it! In order to help make our Book fair a success, we need volunteer support. Some of the items volunteers can help with are helping our librarian set up the book fair, helping kids make their "wish list" of books they would like when their class visits the library, or helping our librarian run the cash registers to sell the books. We will have staff that will be able to help show volunteers what they need to do, so anyone is welcome! Please consider volunteering if you are able to.
**If you haven't already, please complete the background check at the bottom of this newsletter. It is required to have a new one each school year for anyone that would like to volunteer. We love our parent volunteers, so remember to fill out your background check as soon as possible.
**Proceeds from the fall book fair will help pay for additional library books, author visits, and other library necessities.
A Note From Kate Mancuso, TCE Librarian
Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way (YAY!). Please see below for important information:
Monday, September 16th - Friday, September 20th: Shopping is available in the TCE Library!
Parents are invited to shop with their children before school Monday - Friday from 7:20-7:40 a.m. and afterschool Monday - Thursday from 3:00-3:30 p.m.
Learners who are shopping independently will shop during their recess time.
The book fair will be open during Special Friends Day on Friday, September 20th.
Online Shopping is available now through September 25th at https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/towncenterelementaryschool.
Say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet— your child’s digital payment account. Set up eWallet at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/towncenterelementaryschool for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Anyone can contribute! Share each child’s eWallet so friends and family can add funds and give your kids more books to enjoy. Unused money will rollover for future Scholastic book fairs.
Thanks for supporting book choice and TCE!
A Note From Our Counselor - Weekend Backpack Program
Coppell Cares offers the Weekend Backpack Program for families who have financial need. Each Friday, learners receive a bag of snacks for the weekend. The goal of the program is to help eliminate food insecurity for children. They provide nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack items to eligible CISD children (and siblings). This weekly food program helps feed children over the weekend during the school year when they are not receiving meals at school.
If you would like your child(ren) to participate in this program, please complete the online application below. If you would prefer a paper copy to be sent home with your child, please email TCE's counselor, Kelly Matlock, at kmatlock@coppellisd.com. Families may sign up for this program at any time during the school year. Deliveries will begin Friday, September 6th. Deliveries will be suspended for Thanksgiving Week, Winter Break, and Spring Break.
2024-2025 Coppell Cares - Weekend Backpack
Yearbook Orders Open!
Free & Reduced Meal Eligibility
In order to qualify for Free & Reduced Meals, families are required to complete an application each year to determine their eligibility. CISD is encouraging our eligible families to complete an application online at www.nlappscloud.com.
Parents, guardians or students can add funds to their accounts in person at the school cafeteria via cash or check, or for a small fee, they can use the "My School Bucks" app to deposit funds with a debit or credit card. Visit www.coppellisd.com/childnutrition for more information about school breakfasts and lunches or to create or add funds to your child’s school lunch account.
Dads and Dudes Club
If you are interested in learning more about or joining our Dads and Dudes Club, we'd love to have you. Please email Nick Walther at dadsclub@towncenterpto.org and be on the lookout for upcoming volunteer opportunities.
Background Checks
We ask that all families complete a volunteer background check at the start of the year. They do not carry over from year to year. Since the background checks take time to process, we ask that everyone completed one in case any type of volunteering opportunity (class field trip, Dads and Dudes Club, Room parent, class volunteer, field day, etc.) arises during the year that you are interested in. Please click on the link below to complete.
Upcoming Dates - Join Us!
We want to make sure all of our families are in the loop about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. Please mark your calendars with our fall events. There are quite a few activities that parents and families are invited to, and we'd love to have you! As each event nears and we finalize details, we will share additional information.
Monday, September 16th - Friday, September 20th
Town Center Book Fair - families may attend before or afterschool
Friday, September 20th
Special Friends Day: Pre-register using the link above.
Wednesday, September 25th
Homecoming Parade 6:00 p.m. - Parents and kids invited to attend with TCE - more details to come.
Friday, September 27th
Fall Frolic Run -This will be during each grade level's specials time. Parents are invited to attend.
Friday, October 4th
Family Friday lunches begin
Wednesday, October 9th
Picture Retake Day for any learners absent on the original day or wanting a new photo
Friday, October 18th
Evening Color Run at TCE - All families invited & more details to come
Tuesday, November 5th
No school for students- district professional development day
Monday, November 11th
TCE Veterans Day Ceremony 8:00-9:00 a.m. - We invite veterans that are family and/or friends of our learners to join us that morning as we celebrate our veterans in a school-wide assembly.
Friday, November 22nd
Turkey Trot- This will be during each grade level's specials time. Parents are invited to attend.
Monday, November 25th - Friday, November 29th
No school - Thanksgiving Break
Tuesday, December 10th
5th grade music program 5:30 p.m.
Friday, December 13th
Reindeer Run- This will be during each grade level's specials time. Parents are invited to attend.
Thursday, December 19th
Class winter parties 2:00 p.m. - Parents are invited to attend.
Friday, December 20th
No school - staff workday
Monday, December 23rd - Monday, January 6th
No school - Winter Break