Andrews Elementary

We had a wonderful start to the week celebrating some of the amazing volunteers who help make our school so special. Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast—we truly hope you felt how grateful we are for all that you do. If you weren’t able to attend this year, we look forward to seeing you at next year’s celebration!

Last week, we included the Field Day Shirt flyer in our newsletter and have been sharing reminders throughout the week. Our amazing PTA designed fun and colorful shirts that let students show their school spirit and represent their grade level with pride! On Field Day, all students will be asked to wear a shirt in the same color as indicated on the PTA’s design. The easiest way to make sure your child is ready is by ordering a Field Day shirt. The deadline to place orders is Sunday night at 11:59 PM. Shirts will be delivered before Field Day so students can wear them on the big day.

Looking ahead, we’re excited for our Forever Tiles Paint Party happening on Thursday, May 1. If you’ve seen the beautiful tiles lining the hallway outside the gym, you know how special this tradition is. Created by former students, these tiles are a way for our kids to leave a lasting mark on Andrews. If you'd like to participate this year, be sure to reserve your spot and materials through the PTA website. Plus, we’ll have the Kona Ice truck outside the cafeteria/gym in the east parking lot—perfect for a cool treat before or after painting. Even if you’re not painting, come by to enjoy a snow cone and connect with other Andrews families!

We’re also wrapping up STAAR testing next Tuesday with our 3rd graders taking their Math assessment. Then, beginning the week of May 5, all students will begin MAP testing. We can’t wait to see the incredible growth our students have made this year!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership. Have a great weekend!

- Ms. Daly and Ms. Dias

• Intent to Return Form 2025-2026 - DEADLINE APRIL 27
• Field Day Shirts - DEADLINE APRIL 27
• Counselor Parent Workshop: Conflict vs. Bullying
• Field Day Volunteers
• Forever Tiles Painting Party on May 1
• Eagle's Nest
• Plano ISD Summer 2025 Exploration
• Birthday Board
• April Counselor's Corner
• PTA Earth Day Challenge
• PTA 2024-2025 Yearbook
• PTA Membership
• PTA After School Programs Spring Semester 24-25
• 2024-2025 Volunteer Application - VOLY
• Spring Semester Lunch Visitors
  
• Spring Semester Musical Mornings
• Stay Connected

In order to help campus staff appropriately schedule classes for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, families are asked to complete an Intent to Return form for currently enrolled students.

The form is available on Skyward Family Access to the primary guardian. Please complete the form as soon as possible since planning for the upcoming school year is already underway.

If your family does not plan to return, families are still asked to complete the Intent to Return form since this information also helps with planning.

Thank you for your assistance in helping schools with planning for the upcoming school year.

The PTA is thrilled to offer exclusive Field Day shirts to help you gear up for one of the most exciting days of the year—Field Day on Friday, May 16!

Shirts are available for purchase now through Monday, April 27 in the PTA Store on the Andrews PTA website. Don’t miss your chance to show your grade-level pride and Field Day spirit in style!

Let’s make May 16 unforgettable—after all, we’re just here for Field Day! 🎉

Make Your Mark on Our School!

Join us for our Forever Tiles Painting Party! Our Eagles will have the chance to paint a personal tile that will be permanently displayed in the halls of our school — a lasting tribute to the creativity and spirit of our amazing kids!

Date: May 1, 2025

Time: Reserve one spot for each student in ONE of the limited time slots: 4:15-5:00 pm, 5-5:45 pm, 5:45-6:30 pm

Location: Andrews Cafeteria

Whether it’s a self-portrait, a favorite quote, or a colorful design, this is each child’s opportunity to leave their artistic legacy for future generations to see.

All materials provided – just bring your imagination! All students must have a parent/guardian present to assist and cheer on their little artists. Slots are limited - hurry and reserve your spot today at this link

We're also looking for volunteers to help keep the event organized. Please sign up here if you are able to help: https://tinyurl.com/TilesVolunteer

Let’s cover our school in creativity, one tile at a time!

Eagle's Nest is our event where we welcome all incoming kindergarteners enrolling with us for the 2025-2026 school year. Parents, if you have a sibling or know of someone in the neighborhood who will have a child in kindergarten with us next school year, please let them know we would love to have them join us on Thursday, May 1, to learn about Andrews and meet the kindergarten teachers.

NEW THIS YEAR - Please help us also spread the word to families who will be new to Andrews for the 2025-2026 school year. Families who will be new to the Andrews community are also invited to attend Eagle's Nest this year to learn about Andrews. **Please note that during the presentation only students who will be in kindergarten during the 2025-2026 school year will have a separate place to go during the meeting. Any future Eagle who attends with their parents and is entering grades 1-5 for the 2025-2026 school year will attend the meeting with their parents in the library.**

Questions? Please reach out to Andrea Kieser (andrea.kieser@pisd.edu)

Beginning THIS SEMESTER, parents can celebrate their child's birthday via our Birthday Board located in the school's main hallway. If you choose to celebrate your child this way, you will complete the form below. The form will also be included in each Andrews Family Newsletter this semester if you choose to complete it at a later date. In addition to the completed form, your payment of $10 will need to be made via Rycor prior to your child's celebration day.

If your child had a birthday during the first semester, has a summer birthday, or their birthday is on the weekend, you can still celebrate the second semester by completing a form and selecting the date of your choice. Additional questions? Please reach out to Leigh Anne Hickman at leigh.hickman@pisd.edu.

An example of what the Birthday Board looks like is included below.

We're once again partnering with TreeRing for this year's Yearbook!

When you create your free accounts to purchase a yearbook, you can also add photos to designated folders (i.e. First Day of School, Party at the Park, etc) so our yearbook staff may consider them for placement.

Don't think you see enough of your student in the Yearbook? No problem! Every student gets two free, uniquely printed pages, so you can fill your yearbook with personal memories. TreeRing's software has powerful automated tools and template-based, drag-and-drop pages to help build and design your custom pages.

Parents purchase a copy of their yearbook directly from TreeRing. TreeRing only prints what’s ordered, which means there won’t be any wasted books or cost to our school. (What's more, TreeRing plants a tree for every yearbook purchased, and all books are printed on recycled paper!)

There will be no left-over copies, so order your copy now at https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1015995828243345

The PTA is excited to offer after school program options for the Spring 24-25 school year. Please remember that attendance for these programs is first come, first served and limited to active PTA families. If you are not a PTA member, and would like to participate in the After School Programs, get your membership now so that you will be ready when registration for Spring programs opens.

Important information regarding After School Programs (ASP)

• Registration is open for all programs! See flyer for ways to register your student in these enriching programs!
• Students are expected to follow the same code of conduct during ASPs as they do during the regular school day.
• If a student is absent, or sent home sick, then they will not be able to come up to school to participate in the ASP later that day.
• Pick up policy: After the third late pick-up a student will not be able to participate in ASPs the remainder of the semester.
• All ASPs require a parent volunteer (registered w/ VOLY) on site. Please consider signing up or being a back-up, as programs will be cancelled if a parent volunteer is not available.

Links to each flyer are included below providing additional information on each program.

If you would like to volunteer during the 2024-2025 school year, an application must be completed through Plano ISD's volunteer system, VOLY. Applications must be completed each school year for you to be eligible to volunteer.

Returning volunteers can access the application for this year with their same username and password from before to complete this year's application, orientation and background check.

New and Returning Volunteer Applications -

When you are done the following will be GREEN:

Volunteer Type - Plano ISD Volunteer Application - Orientation

When you are done the following will be YELLOW:

Background Check Form

There will be a PURPLE box stating "PENDING" for Plano Background Check Application.

Families who would like to eat lunch with their child will be able to do so utilizing the designated guest tables in the cafeteria. Space will be limited so we ask that families who wish to participate sign up in advance. As a courtesy to others, we ask that families only register for ONE SLOT PER STUDENT during this semester.

Additional information can be found on the Andrews Lunch Visitors - Spring 2025 Sign-Up.

**Please note that if you sign up please only take one slot. You are welcome to bring two guests but if you select two people are coming then both slots will fill and no additional guests will be able to come.**

This year, Ms. Riordan will once again host Musical Mornings for students on selected days. If your child would like to participate this semester, please choose a day using the sign-up linked below.

Did you know that Plano ISD has an app for smartphones?

On the app you can:

• View student grades and attendance
  
• Access school and staff info
  
• View news stories
  
• Receive important alerts
  
• View calendar info
  
• Access PISD's tipline

More information can be found at: https://www.pisd.edu/mobileapp

Visit the Google Play or Apple App Store to download it today!

Plano ISD is implementing a text messaging option to provide our community with more ways to receive school and district information. Opt in today by texting “Y” to 67587.

If you don’t opt in manually, and the district has a cell phone number for you, you will receive a text message from Plano ISD in the coming days inviting you to opt in. The message will read:

“Plano Independent School District messages. Reply Y to confirm, HELP 4 info. Msg&data rates may apply. Msg freq varies. schoolmessenger.com/tm”

You must reply to this text message with “Y” to opt in to continue receiving text messages from the district. For more information, please visit the Text Opt in webpage.