Andrews Elementary

We hope you had a wonderful Winter Break and enjoyed the unexpected snow days as much as we did! My kids certainly had a blast playing in the snow, and we hope yours did too. As a reminder, the school calendar includes built-in weather days, so there will be no need for any additional school days at the end of the year to make up for these two days off.

With this short week behind us, there isn’t much new to report, but I’d like to take a moment to highlight a few important reminders from before the break.

Science Fair Reminder:
The Science Fair projects are due MONDAY, JANUARY 13 by 7:40 AM. We hope our Science Fair participants were able to use these snow days to add those final touches to their projects. Judging will take place next week, and we will host a Science Fair Open House on Wednesday for anyone who would like to view the projects. It’s sure to be a fun and educational event!

Indoor Marquee Birthday Board:
We are excited to announce the indoor marquee Birthday Board this semester! If you would like to celebrate your child's birthday in this special way, please refer to the information in the newsletter below. Remember, both the Google Form and Rycor payment must be submitted prior to the designated date to ensure inclusion. All proceeds benefit the school.

PTA Recognition:
We are incredibly proud to share that our Andrews PTA has earned the Golden Apple Award! This award is given to schools where 100% of the staff participates in the PTA. Our staff deeply appreciates the ongoing support of the PTA, and we show our gratitude by also joining as members. If you are new to Andrews, joining the PTA is a fantastic way to become involved in our school community. More information on membership is available on the Andrews PTA website.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. We hope you enjoy the weekend ahead and look forward to seeing you all on Monday!

- Ms. Daly and Ms. Dias

• Birthday Board
• H.E.A.R.T. of Andrews
• Science and Engineering Fair
• 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.

The annual Elementary Science and Engineering Fair is around the corner! All requested handbooks have been distributed at this time.

Projects must be submitted by Monday, January 13, 2025, no later than 7:40 a.m. Please ensure you review the rules and display board expectations in the Student Handbook before your child submits their project.

The Andrews Science and Engineering Fair "Come & Go" Open House will take place in the library from 3:15-4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 15th.

If you have any questions, please contact the campus Science and Engineering Fair Coordinator, Lauren Handler, at Lauren.Handler@pisd.edu. Please note that questions submitted during Winter Break will be addressed in January when staff return to campus.

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.

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.

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.