Andrews Elementary

Happy Valentine’s Day! It was such a joy to kick off the celebration with so many of you this morning at Donuts with Dear Ones. We had a fantastic turnout, and we’re so grateful to our amazing PTA for providing the delicious donuts, coffee, and water. What a wonderful way to come together as a school community on a day dedicated to love and connection!

A quick reminder about next week: there will be no school on Monday or Tuesday as our teachers will be participating in professional development and planning sessions.

As we move further into the second semester, we’d like to remind families of a couple of important items:

1. Late Arrivals: If your child arrives after the school doors have closed (on either the east side or the front entrance), you’ll need to walk them into the office to sign them in. Recently, we’ve seen an increase in students being dropped off after the doors are closed, and it’s a safety concern for them to be left outside unattended.

2. Reporting Absences: Please remember to report your child’s absence through Skyward Family Access and upload any doctor’s notes there as well. Step-by-step instructions can be found at the bottom of each newsletter. If you need assistance uploading documents, don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re happy to help!

3. 
   

We hope you enjoy the extra-long weekend ahead. Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day and a wonderful time with your loved ones!

- Ms. Daly and Ms. Dias

• Parent Workshop - The Anxious Child
• Important Message from the Nurse
• PTA Lifetime Membership Nomination Form
• FANS Special Lunch Items
• Birthday Board
• February Counselor's Corner
• PTA Communications Chair Interest
• PTA Spirit Wear Survey
• 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

Join us on February 27 for a special activity in the cafeteria! We’ll be decorating boxes for families supported by LovePacs. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with your family while spreading kindness to others. We hope to see many of you there!

If you’re aiming to complete all three HEART of Andrews events this year, this is your final chance to fulfill the service portion—but everyone is welcome to participate!

Please read the included letter below from Nurse Sherbert as we are in the middle of Flu and Cold Season.

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.

The PTA is looking to fill the Communications Chair for the remainder of the semester. If you enjoy it then you could also be considered for the role in the next school year. If you would like more information, reach out to either our interim President (president@andreswspta.org) or VP of Volunteers (volunteers@andrewspta.org).

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

If the PTA reopens the sale, would you be interested in ordering a “We Are Eagles” spirit wear shirt?

We are gauging community interest to see if we can meet the minimum order requirement. This is a great opportunity for families who joined Andrews after the fall sale, missed placing an order, or may have misplaced, damaged, or outgrown their current Spirit Wear shirt. It’s also perfect for anyone who would like to have this design in a new size for future use.

Please let us know if you’re interested before we officially retire this year’s Spirit Wear design! Click on the link below to submit your response. Thank you, all!

We are excited to announce that our PTA was awarded the Golden Apple Award this year for 100% staff membership. For those of you new to Andrews, or if you have been here awhile but not joined the PTA, we would love to have you become a member this month! Visit the Andrews PTA Website to get information and complete the membership form and payment. We know that it is in partnership with the PTA that we can help Andrews have a successful year!

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.