Maurice Hawk PTA

Making Every Child's Potential A Reality

2017-2018 End of the Year Letter

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Dear Parents and Students of Maurice Hawk for the 2017-2018 school year,

I have to begin by saying it has been my privilege to serve as President of the Maurice Hawk PTA. I have repeatedly witnessed what a devoted community can do to expand their children’s environment for success. Dozens of volunteers devoted hundreds of hours to make our PTA events, programs, and activities a huge success.

On behalf of the PTA Executive Board, I want to thank our entire school community for their support of our many programs and events for the students at Maurice Hawk Elementary School. From basic membership to chairing an event or program, from volunteering to simply attending an event, your contributions of time, effort, and/or money validates and broadens your child’s educational experience. Further, your support of the PTA expands every child’s opportunity for growth.

Here are some highlights from 2017-2018:
The PTA funded student assemblies which showcased Science Circus by Liberty Science Center, Musical Drama by Dennis Korbay, Hip Hop fundamentals from Philly. Some of the PTA special events for parents included: Inside a math classroom, understanding the various testing for K-3, Meet the Specials, Volunteers Social, PTA Breakfast.

Parent Volunteers put on very successful Field Days, Dad’s Coffee, Candy Bar Bingo, 2 very successful Book fairs, Blanket the World, Literacy Festival, Visiting Authors Day, Trenton Thunder Family Outing, Faculty Appreciation Coffee, Plainsboro Food Pantry Drive, Original Artworks, Science Fair, A very successful themed Staff Appreciation week with a staff lunch, International Fair, Family Carnival, 3rd Grade Picnic, produced an awesome yearbook for our graduating 3rd graders.

Our annual teachers mini-grants helped fund additional drum sets, manipulatives for math for our 1st graders, non-fiction books for our 2nd graders book clubs, non-fiction library for reading recovery program, Bee-bots for Media Center, STEM strategy games and materials for our Kindergartners, Materials for Math workshop, OSMO and more.

Join our Facebook Page to check out all the fun and memorable moments from this year. To join the PTA (starting August 1 for next year), sign up to volunteer, or for more information on events, please visit hawkpta.org or contact a board member.

None of this would have been possible without your membership and support from the staff, teachers, parents, and many volunteers, not to mention the significant contribution and exceptional talents of my fellow board members: Stephanie Thomas, Melinda Van Dillen, Neelam Kapoor Khanna, Vasanti Anand, Graelynn McKeown, and Sejal Pandya. We will miss Melinda and Stephanie, but we welcome Padma Katapalli and Minhwa Cho to the Executive Board and are grateful to them for volunteering their time to continue to make Maurice Hawk a school of which we are all proud.

Have a great summer and remember “Stay Safe! Have fun! Read! Do math every day! Above all else, do the right thing!” And speaking of doing the right thing, I encourage you to sign up for something new next year, and you can see for yourself what an amazing school we have the privilege of calling our own. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054ea5a622a20-hawk20

Sonia Gawas, President MH PTA

P.S. Back to School Social will be here before we know it. See you then!

2018-2019 PTA Executive Board
Sonia Gawas, President
Sejal Pandya, Vice President
Padma Katapalli, Secretary
Minhwa Cho, Treasurer
Vasanti Anand, VP Communications
Graelynn McKeown, VP Events
Neelam Kapoor Khanna, VP Membership

–Contact Us—
This is your PTA and we want to hear from you. Comments or questions? Let us know at president@hawkpta.org or find us online at: http://www.hawkpta.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/mhawkpta/

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Message from Principal Buell:

“I am happy to share with you that a tentative labor settlement has been reached. We expect the matter to be resolved and do not anticipate any picketers tomorrow.”

Many thanks !

http://www.hawkpta.org/2121-2/

Meet with our District Superintendent – Sept 20th, 7pm

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As a follow up to our Back to School Night Programs, we wanted to provide information on the upcoming referendum. This referendum is being presented by the WWP School District to the WW and Plainsboro voters for your consideration on election day, November 6th from 6 am to 8 pm. The referendum totals $114,875,000 and provides for growth classrooms, expansions at five schools, and renovations at all schools. For more detailed information click on this link: http://www.west-windsor-plainsboro.k12.nj.us/about_us/r_e_f_e_r_e_n_d_u_m_2018

Due to expiring debt, state aid, and capital reserve dollars, we are fortunate to be able to present this referendum with a zero tax impact on the debt portion of the budget. There will be a series of presentations by the Superintendent on the referendum. We encourage you to attend the upcoming presentation at Hawk.

Bus Volunteers Signup – Sept 6th- Sept 14th

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ARRIVAL / DISMISSAL VOLUNTEER SIGNUP
The PTA is seeking veteran Hawk Parents to assist with bus drop-offs and pick-ups the first week of school. Many hands make the process of getting students to and from their classroom faster, allowing more time in the classroom those first few days of school. These slots are for VETERAN PARENTS ONLY who know their way around the school (NO little ones please). This year is going to be a learning process for all of us, thanks!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054ea5a622a20-busvolunteers3

The time slots are:
– 8:35am – 9:15am – Arrival
– 11:20am – 11:40am – AM Kindergarten Dismissal
– 3:10pm – 3:30pm – Dismissal

Back to School Social 2018

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Come join other students and their families on the Hawk playground as we get ready to head into the new school year. In addition to time on the playground you can:
– View your child’s class rosters for the coming year
– Sign up for an annual PTA membership at the PTA table ($6pp membership fees)
– Purchase a sweet treat from the Kona Ice Truck
– Meet the Girl Scout and Boy Scout leaders for information on West Windsor troops
– Show your school spirit by wearing your Hawk spirit wear to the event

Please remember: This is a SUNSHINE ONLY EVENT – in the case of rain or inclement weather, the social will be cancelled. Please check Facebook and email for updates!

Also, during this event there will be NO ACCESS to the building, so “GO BEFORE YOU GO!”

See the attached flyer for more details on this annual event. Contact us at backtoschool@hawkpta.org with any questions.

January 2018 PTA General Meeting Minutes

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GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
MAURICE HAWK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA

Thursday, January 11, 2018- 7:30pm

Call to Order: Sonia Gawas called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm
17 people in attendance.

Secretary’s Report: Minutes from October 2017 meeting were presented and approved.

Treasurer’s Report:
• 2017 Audit has been completed and submitted. Only finding was that our PTA needs two signatures on ALL checks regardless of dollar amount.
• Current financial report was made available for review. No questions were posed.
•
Committee Reports:
• Garden committee – call to action. A new committee chair is needed as the current chair has moved out of state.
• Teacher appreciation breakfast – the event has been approved to move from a breakfast event to a hosted coffee. A call to action will go out shortly for food donations.
• Nominating committee – all four members were announced. Padma Katapalli, Minhwa Cho, Graelynn McKeown and Stephanie Thomas. Elections will be held at the May General PTA Meeting. Anyone interested in a Board position should contact a member of the nominating committee.
• Upcoming events: Candy Bar Bingo on January 26th. Science Fair, February 10th.

Main program: Assessments in K-3 presented by Principal Trish Buell and Dr. Erin Faulk.

• What they are: how we measure progress. What they are not: a standardized test.
• The goal of an assessment is to gather data about students and use it in the Responsive Teaching model. Responsive Teaching uses what is known to guide instruction. Responsive Teaching data inputs include:
o Assessments of learning styles and interests
o Daily conference notes
o Class work
o Observation
o Formative assessments
o Self-reflection

• Four type of assessment used at Maurice Hawk
o Fountas and Pinnell K-3. This is a reading assessment done at the beginning and end of year
o MAP. A measure of a student’s academic progress. It helps identify areas where support may be needed for each child and is done in the fall and spring.
o InView. This is a cognitive ability assessment done in 2nd and 5th grades in the first half of the year. It measures reasoning skills, both verbal and non-verbal.
o PARCC. A statewide assessment of a range of Common Core goals. It assesses literacy (reading and writing) as well as math.
 This year the PARCC takes place April 16 – May 25.
 PARCC is 3 units each of literacy and math and we typically schedule 1 unit per day. Each unit takes about 1-1/2 hours to complete.
Principal’s Report
• Ms. Buell recapped end of year and recent events including:
o 3rd Grade trip to the Philadelphia Art Museum with Mrs. Carr
o 1st trimester report cards
o Successful Barnes and Noble Book Fair organized by Mrs. Ferguson

• The school now has full-day security guard from 7 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Currently Hawk admin is part of a strategic planning initiative. A team has been appointed and the planning and goals are centered on the principles of Every Child, Global Child and Whole Child.
• Hawk is participating in a pilot dual-language immersion program to begin in the 2018/2019 year
o Program in K-5. Hawk is one of 2 schools in the program.
• Dr. Aderholt will be presenting to the school about the upcoming addition and renovation. The date is TBD.
• Hawk is part of a Sustainable NJ initiative
o 270 students joined the green team to help educate all students about green practices and come up with new ideas.
o Two programs to run are the recycling of dead magic markers (happening now) and a partner program with Trek to recycle plastic bags (launch TBA)
• Recently had a teacher leave the district – Stacy McGuirl (2nd grade) has relocated.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Melinda Van Dillen, Maurice Hawk Elementary PTA Secretary

Hawk Walk 2018 To Benefit Ronald McDonald House

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The annual Hawk Walk to benefit the Ronald McDonald House is scheduled for Tuesday, June 5th at 9:30 am (AM K and 1st – 3rd grades) & 1:30 pm (PM K) with a rain date of June 6th. The Hawk P.E. teachers and PTA are looking for volunteers to help with the water station in the Kindergarten Circle. You need to be available for an hour and a half. If you can volunteer for both the rain date as well, please sign up for both as Mother Nature has been quite unpredictable this Spring!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054ea5a622a20-hawk21

Thank you in advance for your help!

The Maurice Hawk PTA

Location: Kindergarten Circle

Family Carnival 2018

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Our annual Family Carnival is June 5th from 5:30 to 8:00 pm, with a rain date of June 6th!

Tickets for the carnival are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. You may order them using the form that came home in your child’s backpack or online. Please use our signup to donate an item to our Cakewalk game and/or sign up to volunteer; there are slots for selling tickets and running games, each either 45 minutes or an hour to give you plenty of time to enjoy the carnival yourself!

 

Signup Genius for Volunteer Slots

To order tickets, use the hard copy form that came home in your child’s backpack, print the flyer, or use the following form to order tickets online and pay via PayPal; the form will be active through May 26th.

PTA Carnival 2018

Online payment form:

http://www.hawkpta.org/machform/view.php?id=20330

2018 End-of-year BoxTops Contest!

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Contest Dates: May 14-31

We are running an end-of-year BoxTops contest! Send in your BoxTops during the last three weeks of May, and the winning class in EACH GRADE will get a special popsicle recess! Popsicles will be ordered through the cafeteria and will be nut-free.

In addition, the child with the most BoxTops collected EACH WEEK of the contest will receive a special certificate and have their name read on the morning announcements!

We ask that you print and use our special Hawk BoxTop collection sheet. Write in your child’s name at the top, the teacher’s name at the bottom, paste or tape your BoxTops on, and send it to school! Your child will then drop it in the special BoxTops collection box outside the library. Please use this sheet even if you can’t fill it completely with BoxTops, as it will make it easier for us to count! Due date for BoxTops is May 31.

Download the sheet here: BTFE_collectionsheet_25_Hawk.pdf

Thank you to our Rebates Program chairs, Eileen Azzara and Danielle Salapatas who will be counting the BoxTops!

Questions? Contact Stephanie at vicepresident@hawkpta.org!

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