Andrews Elementary

We’ve had an incredible week at Andrews Elementary! The highlight was kicking off the week by showcasing some amazing Science and Engineering Fair entries—our students' creativity and talent are truly inspiring. Now, as we head into a well-deserved three-day weekend, we want to share some important updates and upcoming events with you.

This week's newsletter is packed with information about exciting activities happening in the coming weeks. Be sure to check out details on events such as Donuts with Dear Ones, Plano West Basketball Elementary Night, and the 21-Day Snack Challenge so you and your family don’t miss out!

Carpool Reminder: Let’s Beat the Tardy Bell Together
While we’ve warmed up from last week’s winter weather, the chilly temperatures continue to affect our morning routines, especially carpool drop-offs. We’ve noticed a significant number of late arrivals, with up to 30 students arriving after the bell on one day this week.

To ensure all students are in class by the 7:40 a.m. tardy bell, we kindly remind families of the following:

• East Carpool: Opens at 7:00 a.m. for students to wait in the gym.
• Front Carpool: Opens at 7:25 a.m. for students to go directly to class.
• Helpful Tips for a Smooth Drop-off:
  • Pull all the way forward to keep the line moving efficiently.
  • Students should exit the car promptly when it stops by the curb—no need to wait for an adult to open the door. Encourage them to open it themselves and hop out!

Working together, we can ensure every student starts their day on time and ready to learn.

We hope you have a wonderful three-day weekend and take some time to relax and recharge. We’re excited to welcome all students back on Tuesday, January 21!

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in making Andrews a fantastic place to learn and grow.

- Ms. Daly and Ms. Dias

• Birthday Board
• Donuts with Dear Ones - RSVP by 12/12
• PWSH Basketball Elementary Cluster Night
• Science and Engineering Fair Winners
• January Counselor's Corner
• College and Career Week Speaker Opportunity
• Reminder! Forgotten School Items
• PTA Spirit Wear Survey
• PTA Membership
• PTA After School Programs Fall Semester 24-25
• 2024-2025 Volunteer Application - VOLY
• Spring Semester Lunch Visitors
  
• Spring Semester Musical Mornings
• Stay Connected

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.

We are excited to invite our students' Dear Ones to enjoy donuts and coffee the morning of Valentine's Day! The event will be held in the library from 6:45 - 7:20 am (last entry into the event will be at 7:15 am). Students are welcome to bring a max of two guests per student. To help us plan for the event, you need to complete the RSVP linked below to help us plan for those attending. We look forward to seeing many of you at Donuts with Dear Ones on Friday, February 14!

This year Andrews is encouraging students to participate in the 21-Day Snack Challenge sponsored by Medical City Healthcare. Students will participate in learning during PE about healthy snack choices. If you would like to sign you child up to participate, please see the flyer below.

We are looking for parent volunteers or community members who can volunteer their time to share their career path with students in Kindergarten- Fifth Grade. We are wanting guest speakers who can provide interactive presentations for our students. Guest speakers are encouraged to bring something they use for work so students can have something tangible to relate to that particular profession. Guest speakers will be asked to speak to students for about 10-15 minute rotating sessions.

When: January 31, 2025

Time: TBD- Dependent on how many guest speakers are available
Where: Grade Level Classrooms
Information that MUST be included in INTERACTIVE presentation:
-Education/training to obtain profession
-Related school subjects
-Pictures of work site(s)
-Description of typical day
-Hands on activities and/or visuals

If you are interested in being a guest speaker for your child's grade level, please complete the form linked on the image below by January 24, 2025. Parent volunteers MUST complete the background check through https://plano.voly.org/. For more information, you can contact the school counselor, Ms. Garcia, at kamille.garcia@pisd.edu or 469-752-3915.

The Plano Symphony Orchestra is offering complimentary tickets to PISD students for their concert on January 18 at the Robinson Fine Arts Center. If you would like to secure tickets the link is included below. You will need to use the offer code PSOJAN18

As the weather begins to get cooler, please remember that items forgotten at home (i.e. jackets, water bottles, snacks, projects, homework, etc.) will not be accepted by the front office. Please check the weather at the beginning of each day to see if your child will need a jacket. We encourage you to write your child's first name and last name in the jacket so that if it is left outside or in the gym then it can be returned to the student. We appreciate your partnership in helping to minimize the amount of classroom disruptions from forgotten items being delivered to students throughout the day.

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 which will be included in next week's Family Newsletter. Dates for the Spring Semester will not begin until after the MLK Holiday.

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.