The Beacon
Olive Chapel Elementary PTA News & Information
~ December 3 - December 7 ~
CALENDAR
December 4 - Clipper Coffee for new and veteran parents
December 5 - Walk to School Wednesday
December 5 - Spirit Night: Glory Days Bar & Grill (details below)
December 6 - Fall Chorus Concert, 6:00 p.m.
December 8 - Silent Auction and Gala Ticket Sales Open
December 13 - PTA Meeting, 6:00 p.m., Media Center
December 21 - Spirit Day: Holiday Sweater Day
December 21 - EARLY RELEASE DAY
December 24 - January 1 - Holiday Break: NO SCHOOL
January 9 - Walk to School Wednesday
January 10 - PTA Meeting, 1:00 p.m., Conference Room
January 18 - EARLY RELEASE DAY
January 21 - Holiday: NO SCHOOL
Healthy Living at OCE
EAT WELL!
OCE welcomed a new cafeteria manager this year, Ms. Welch.
Ms. Welch is committed to providing healthy meals and snacks for our children as well as providing education on how to make good choices for healthy bodies. Come check out her bulletin board in the cafeteria where she highlights something new and seasonally appropriate often for the children.
Did you know about the Smart Snacks program? It is WCPSS policy that due to allergy concerns only store bought snacks can be shared for birthdays, parties, and other school events. Enter the Smart Snacks program from WCPSS Child Nutritional Services (CNS). CNS provides beverages and snacks that meet Smart Snacks nutrition standards in appropriate services sizes. Smart Snacks nutrition standards include:
- Be "whole grain-rich;" or
- Have as the first ingredient a fruit, vegetable, dairy product or protein; or
- Be a combination food that contains at least 1/4 cup of fruit and/or vegetable.
Options available for purchase through the cafeteria include:
- Mozarella sticks
- Goldfish crackers
- Graham cracker options
- Celebration Birthday Cupcakes
- Nutri-grain bars
- Muffins
- Popcorn
- Pretzels
- Rice Krispies Treats
- Fresh fruit
- Fresh vegetables (ranch dressing available upon request)
- Juice Boxes
- Waters
And more!
Take the headache out of bringing treats to school! If you are interested in ordering snacks for your child's class birthday or other celebration, contact Ms. Welch at gwelch@wcpss.net for more information and pricing.
Other tips on making the most of the OCE cafeteria:
* Check out the monthly menu calendars for breakfast and lunch at the OCE website. December's menu is available here. Even better, come to the cafeteria and check out the choices available! Ms. Welch would be happy to talk with you about the substitutions and choices she's making to ensure healthy meals for our kids.
* Talk to your kids about making healthy choices in the lunch room.
* Use MySchoolBucks to pay for your child's meals, check balances and set spending limits. All you need is your child's school ID number to sign up.
If you have any additional questions about the available options at the OCE cafeteria, please contact Ms. Welch.
CATCH SOME Zs!
We all know we perform better after a good night's sleep. It's no different for our kids.
To ensure they are ready to learn every day, check out these resources provided by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation recommended by Coach Roberts. There are lists of bedtime snacks that promote a good night's rest as well as tips for establishing a good bedtime routine and recommendations on how much sleep your child needs. Don't forget the activity sheet for your kids so they can learn first hand how best to prepare for sleep, too!
Sweet dreams, Clippers!
ALL HANDS ON DECK
Walk to School Wednesday: December 5
Walk to School Wednesday is December 5th! Here are a few updates:
More community helpers will be walking with us on the 5th including the Apex Fire Department, Town Council member Brett Gantt, Officer Patel and the Apex PD.
Let’s continue the giving spirit and bring donations for Western Wake Crisis Ministry’s food bank. Boxes of Mac 'n Cheese and toilet paper are especially welcome as well as lightweight to carry!
The first graders had the most walkers in BOTH October and November’s raffles.
Grab your friends and neighbors and we'll see you walking on the 5th!
Campus Beautification Projects
If you are handy with a paint brush, hammer and nails, or just willing to give a few hours of hard labor for a few campus beautification projects, please let us know so we can make some plans for a few future projects.
If you are interested, please reach out to Mandy Wagstaff at oce.pta@gmail.com for more information.
Help Needed: Grandparents Breakfast
The task involves a little bit of coordination before and availability the morning of for set-up and clean-up. A team of volunteers will be recruited to assist in set-up/clean-up. It's an easy, one time position
If you are interested in helping with this position, please email oce.pta@gmail.com for more information.
TREASURE CHEST
New Platinum Level Sponsor
From our sponsor: At Carolina Orthodontics and Children's Dentistry in Apex, Cary and Fuquay Varina, our top priority is to provide you and your family with the highest quality care in a friendly, fun, state-of-the-art environment with unmatched professional service. Our specialists and the entire team are proud to offer outstanding orthodontic and pediatric dental care in the greater area of RTP (Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Durham and Raleigh).
Check them out (their newest location will be opening on Kelly Road near OCE soon!) and be on the lookout for great items from Carolina Orthodontics and Children's Dentistry at the Silent Auction and Carnival later in the spring!
Glory Days Spirit Night
Be on the lookout for fliers in back packs this Friday (Monday for those tracked out) or print out the flier attached below. Fliers will need to be presented for OCE to receive our donation. And take-out orders count!
Where: Glory Days Grill, 1413 Kelly Road (in the Publix Pointe Shopping Center)
When: Wednesday, December 5th, 5:00 p.m. to closing
Why: Good food, friends, no dishes to clean up, and it's a fundraiser for your school? That's a win-win-win-win!
A special thank you to Glory Days for providing lunch to our Boosterthon teacher winners last week! We are lucky to have such a generous neighbor!
Save the Date: Silent Auction and Gala
The adult's only event will be held at MacGregor Downs Country Club from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. and include music, dinner, dancing, dessert, silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and a live auction.
Tickets will go on sale December 8th! Grab some friends and buy a whole table! More information and the link for tickets can be found here.
Have services or items to donate for the auction? Is your company interested in sponsoring the gala? Check out the Auction website for a wish list of items and information on sponsorships.
As always, thank you for your support of OCE!
Tis the Season to Shop!
It's easy! There is a complete list HERE on our OCE PTA webpage complete with all you need to know to link OCE to your loyalty cards.
Loyalty programs that benefit OCE include:
- Harris Teeter
- Lowe's Foods
- Publix
- Office Max and Office Depot
- AMAZON SMILE
So get out there and shop til you drop, Clippers!
CREW NEWS
Fitness Photo Fun!
During the next several weeks we will practice Physical Fitness and its components
(cardio, strength, muscle endurance and flexibility) in PE and learn all about why it is so
important to stay physically fit.
Please send in a favorite photo of your student being physically active. They can bring it with them to PE class. We will place them on the PE bulletin board to see what the students at OCE are doing to stay fit.
Thank you! ~ Coach Roberts
CREW BIRTHDAYS
12/3 - Stephanie Abramo
12/4 - Anthony Jenkins
12/5 - Debra Sonnhalter
12/12 - Lauren Sullivan
12/19 - Angela Johnson
12/19 - Denise Walsh
12/25 - Jennifer Bell
12/28 - Melissa Dickens
12/30 - Sandra Burnham
SAFETY PATROL
Track 4 - December 3 - December 21
Track 3 - January 2 - January 18
THANK YOU TO OUR 2018-19 PLATINUM LEVEL SPONSORS:
To submit to the Beacon, please email oce.communications@gmail.com
Olive Chapel Elementary PTA
Website: https://www.ocepta.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Olive-Chapel-PTA-1834721613423092/
Twitter: @olivechapelelem