Pierce PTA Post

We hope everyone had a safe and restful Thanksgiving break! Please see details below for information about a few Pierce fundraisers next week.

A special THANK YOU to Katie Kolo for leading the book club sessions last week. There was great participation and conversation.

· Next meeting is Wednesday, January 8th, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM in the Computer Lab (parents need to check in at the front office before heading to the meeting for a name tag - drivers license/ID is required)

· PTA Meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month

· ALL parents are welcome to attend any PTA meeting. Younger siblings are welcome, and parents are welcome to show up after 9AM if preschool drop-offs or other schedule needs make it hard to be there right at 9AM. We would love to have you!

Sign up to volunteer at our first Holiday Shop on either December 9th, 10th or 11th! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FAFA72BA6F85-53107949-pierce#/

For questions please contact Maria Carr at mgcarr20@gmail.com.

Hey Pierce Parents! Enjoy a break (maybe some Holiday shopping!) after a long week while your kids have fun with friends at iCode on Maple Road in Troy. Cost is $30/child (includes games, snacks and drinks) with proceeds going back to the Pierce PTA, so everyone has fun while helping raise money for the PTA!! Open for Panthers & their siblings ages 5-14. Slots are limited - sign up here today!

The PTA is, once again, partnering with GiftCrowd as an option for year-end gifting. GiftCrowd is a free, virtual option for parents & students who want to show appreciation to our teachers & all our amazing Pierce staff. Gift collection ends on Wednesday, December 18 at 9PM -- at that time, the gifts will be sent to their respective recipients. If you would like to give via GiftCrowd, visit the Pierce GiftCrowd site below.

https://app.giftcrowd.com/app/join-event/X-Vb8kdxBa

We are excited to announce the winners of this year’s Reflections program! This year’s theme, "Accepting Imperfection," inspired creativity across visual art, music, dance, and more.

Congratulations to all 25 participants for sharing their talents! Special recognition goes to the following winners, who will move on to the district level:

· Visual Arts: Lucy Morrow, Stella Bayer, Cole Zweig, Elliott O'Flynn

· Dance Choreography: Mae LeDuc, Esti Weisberg

· Music Composition: Timothee Materne, Liam Perehodnik

· Film Production: Lev Mutchnick Lee

· Photography: Seth Bayer

· Literature: Victoria Haddad

We look forward to celebrating at the Reflections Award Party this Spring!

FODL has three community events scheduled for the spring. Please see below for the details.

Wednesday Jan 7th at 7pm - Jenny Stewart will be presenting virtually on American Sign Language and how BPS could use this for early and special education to enhance communication.

Zoom link 1: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81141875978?pwd=NczTAr4p4u83OHfNY1vk41dlkLPJki.1

Wednesday Feb 12th at 7pm - Joel Pearlman will be presenting virtually on building personalized plans of support for families with a loved one with special needs.

Zoom link 2: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81141875978?pwd=NczTAr4p4u83OHfNY1vk41dlkLPJki.1

Wednesday March 12th at 6:30pm - Leah Marchetti will be presenting in person on how to expand your child's language through different processing methods. This talk will be in person at the BCS Media Center.

Goldfish Birmingham is offering a fundraiser to benefit the Pierce PTA. If you are not a member and want to become one, Goldfish swim will donate the $25 membership fee to Pierce Elementary! Please see the flyer for more information.

Are you ready to kickstart your martial arts journey AND support our school? Join us for the **TRUE Martial Arts Fundraiser**!

For just **$39**, you can sign up for a **2-week trial** of martial arts classes, and the best part… **ALL proceeds go directly back to Pierce Elementary!**

**When?** Sign up today and start your classes anytime (schedule online)!

**Why?** Learn new skills, build confidence, and help our school at the same time!

**Who can participate?** All students and their family members are welcome!

Let’s come together to support our school while discovering the amazing world of martial arts!

**Sign up now and spread the word!** Together, we can make a difference!

Sign Up Here!

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a PTA sponsored program to drive reading and reading comprehension for grades 2-5. Our 2nd Harvest for this school year closes on Tuesday, December 10, at noon. Students MUST have earned ONE point during every harvest this year in order to be eligible for the end-of-the-year AR party.

For anyone who has achieved the ‘purple star’, please send in a picture no bigger than 4 x 6 to the office so we can hang it up on the AR Celebration Board outside the Pierce Library!

Also, note that AR T-shirts are available for purchase on Membership Toolkit. Once you have received notice that your child has reached that level, you can go on to MTK to purchase that. As always, please reach out to PierceElementaryAR@gmail.com if you have any questions! For more information, please visit MTK.

Please send us your photos for the opportunity to be in the yearbook! We need your pictures from Back to School, Carnival, Fun Run, Centennial Celebration, Trunk or Treat and other in-school events. Send photos to PierceElementaryYearbook@gmail.com to be considered.

One of our biggest needs each year is daily help in our school library. Before you volunteer in the library, we ask that you attend a 25 minute training session. Once you are trained, you'll be sent the Sign Up Genius to sign up for slots. There are 5 open slots/school day (2 in the morning, 1 midday, 2 in the afternoon) and you are welcome to sign up for as many or few as fit your schedule.

Currently, we have training sessions scheduled on select Thursdays. No need to sign up ahead of time, please just check in at the office & head to the library that morning. Training dates are scheduled as follows. Please reach out to pierceelementarypta@gmail.com if you have any questions.

January: TBD