We Hope to See You at Meet and Greet

After checking out your student's classroom and meeting the new teacher at Meet and Greet at 2 p.m. Friday, we hope you'll take a moment to stop by the Discovery PTA table to say hello.

We'll have our Wishing Garden on display, where you can help teachers and staff get the supplies they need for the school year. You can pick an item you would like to donate and return to your child's teacher once school begins. 

We'll be selling prepaid passes for Popcorn Fridays for $4 per student for the entire year. This saves you from remembering to send in 50 cents on the first school day Friday of each month so that your student can enjoy an afternoon snack of popcorn. Plus, if you prepay, you get one month free.

Discovery Spirit Wear will be available for purchase and special order. We will have a selection of short-sleeved T-shirts available in a variety of youth and adult sizes in red, blue, black, and white for $10. You also can special order long-sleeved shirts for $17 and hoodies for $27.

And last, we would love to have you fill out our volunteer form and/or sign up for a PTA membership, which is $10 for an individual, $18 for a family, or $8 for staff. It's a great way to meet other parents and teachers as well as to enhance your child's education!

See you tomorrow at Meet and Greet!

Back to School Notes

Sharpening pencils, buying new backpacks, starting earlier bedtime routines ... the countdown is on for back to school.

Discovery Elementary is preparing for the start of a new school year. On Thursday, Aug. 20, parents can log into their PowerSchool accounts to find out their students' teachers. The class lists also will be posted during the annual Meet and Greet, when students and parents have the opportunity to meet their new teachers and see their new classrooms, from 2 to 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21. Students can bring in their school supplies at this time as well.

Discovery PTA also is gearing up for the 2015-16 school year, and we hope you take a moment to stop by our table to learn more about our volunteer work and how you can help make this school year a success! New this year will be a Wishing Garden, where parents can help teachers stock their classrooms for the essentials. Plus, you can also prepay for Popcorn Fridays and purchase Spirit Wear so don't forget your wallets.

Popcorn Fridays will be back this school year starting on Sept. 4. The PTA will sell bags of popcorn for 50 cents a piece on the first Friday school day of the month. Instead of sending in coins each month, you can prepay for the entire year for $4 per student. That pays for eight times, plus you get one month free!

And we will have an assortment of Discovery Spirit Wear available for purchase, including short-sleeved T-shirts in blue, red, white, and black for $10, and you can special order long-sleeved T-shirts and hoodies.

If you're not able to stop by, we invite you to come to the first PTA meeting of the year at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1, in the Health Room to learn more about our goals for the year.

Check Out Million Minutes Photos

We all had such a great time at the Million Minutes Reading Festival at the beginning of May and are so proud of our students for that accomplishment.

To remember the fun you had, be sure to view and download images from the Dr. Seuss Photo Booth at leahsouthwickphotography.pixieset.com/discovery. The password is Million Minutes.

Take a Break with a Good Book This Summer

Many studies have shown that students lose some of their skills they learned during the school year over summer break. But instead of letting those skills get rusty, get your child reading through one of the various programs going on in the community and nationwide.

The Meridian Library District's summer reading program begins Monday, June 1.  But the official kickoff will be Friday, June 5, at Settlers Park, where you can join the Bookmobile for the first CableOne Movie Night of the summer, which will be Tangled. There will be a bounce house, face painting, and more! You can sign up for the library's summer reading program, which is done in partnership with the West Ada School District, online or on paper, and then earn prizes all summer long for reading.

Barnes & Noble has a summer reading program that is already under way. Read eight books this summer and record them in a reading journal, and you can choose a free book from the list at the store.

In addition, the National PTA and Kindle are sponsoring a Family Reading Challenge for the month of July. The challenge will encourage families to read together, be inspired, and share their experiences. You can sign up for notifications and see more information at http://ptareadingchallenge.org/.

If you know of any additional summer reading programs, please share with us in the Comments section below!

Million Minutes Challenge a Success!

The Discovery Elementary PTA Board had a theme this year to guide our goals: Dream Big, Work Hard to Make that Dream Come True, and Celebrate. This led to the Million Minutes Reading Challenge and Festival.

We set a goal for Discovery students to read 1 million minutes. We wanted to see what they could do when they dreamed big and worked hard. The students not only met the 1 million-minute goal, but they exceeded it. This school year, the students read 1,190,502 minutes!

Certificates, bracelets, coupons from Menchie's for a free 5-ounce yogurt, and bookmarks were passed out to all students last week to reward them for their hard work!

We had a fabulous time celebrating that accomplishment at the Million Minutes Reading Festival on May 1. There were lots of reading-themed activities, an "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" Walk, a Dr. Seuss photo booth, awards to the each grade level's top reader, and a special drawing that raised funds for the school. Parent and champion yo-yoer Dave Bazan and his second-grader also wowed the crowd with their skills! Thank you to Dave and the other parent volunteers who helped to make this event a success.

Also a huge thank you to our youth volunteers, teens who volunteered from the Meridian Medical Arts Charter High School, and volunteers from the Treasure Valley YMCA and Kohl's!

And we also want to thank our other supporters for helping to make our festival a success:

Castlebury Dental

Big Al's

Dick's Sporting Goods

Menchie's

ToyTown

Aquarium of Boise

Buffalo Wild Wings

Blimpie

The Blue & Orange Store

Bogus Basin

Boise Hawks

Dave & Buster's

Discovery Center of Idaho

Five Guys

Goodwood Barbecue Co.

Grimaldi's

Idaho Botanical Garden

Idaho Pizza Co.

Idaho Stampede

Idaho Steelheads

IT'SUGAR

Mathnasium

Noodle's

Olive Garden

On The Border

Panache Hair Studio & Day Spa

Papa Murphy's

Powell's Sweet Shoppe

Roaring Springs

Texas Roadhouse

U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt

Wahooz Family Fun Zone

Zoo Boise

We also had a lot of support from authors and publishers, who sent us autographed books, including Laura Bingham, Victoria Kahn, Jodi Picoult, and Judith Viorst.

Join Us at the Million Minutes Reading Festival

It's finally time for the Million Minutes Reading Festival. We hope to see lots of Discovery students and families from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 1. Some of the highlights of the night will include:

• Free reading-themed games and activities;
• "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" Walk;
• Dr. Seuss photo booth;
• Blimpie sandwiches, chips, and drinks at "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Cafe;
• A yo-yo show by world champion Dave Bazan at 7 p.m.;
• Awards to the top reader in each grade; and
• A special drawing with fun prize packages to raise money for playground and other classroom improvements. 

We hope to see you there!

Special Drawing Features Fun Prize Packages

The Million Minutes Reading Festival is just a few days from now, and it's going to be a great celebration for the students with games, activities, and treats that you won't want to miss.

Also part of the evening will be a special drawing that will help raise money for playground and other classroom improvements. This year, we have received enormous community support and have created 14 fun prize packages.

You can purchase tickets at the event: 1 ticket for $3, 4 for $10, or 10 for $20. Then just write your name and phone number on each ticket and drop it into the bucket of the prize package of your choosing. The drawing will be held at 7:30 p.m., and you don't have to be present to win.

A huge thank you goes out to all the local businesses, restaurants, and attractions that donated items for our drawing. And another round of applause for the children's authors who autographed books for us!

Keep Calm and Spa On:

60-minute Elemental Nature Facial, 1 free week of yoga, and some Aveda products from Panache Hair Studio & Day Spa

Autographed copy of Jodi Picoult’s “Leaving Time”

$10 Starbucks gift card

Dog Days of Summer:

2 day passes to Roaring Springs

4 rounds of mini golf at Wahooz Family Fun Zone

2 passes to Aquarium of Boise

$10 in gift certificates for U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt

Game Day:

$50 Buffalo Wild Wings gift card with basket of goodies

3-foot party sub from Blimpie

BSU flag from Blue & Orange Store

BSU Brax cups

Minor League, Major Fun:

2 Boise Hawks tickets

4 Idaho Stampede tickets for 2015-16 season

4 Idaho Steelheads tickets for 2015-16 season

Family Outing:

Family pass to Aquarium of Boise

Family pass to Discovery Center of Idaho

4 passes to Zoo Boise

2 event passes to Idaho Botanical Garden

Pizza Party:

Papa Murphy’s: 2 certificates for free large one-topping pizza

Idaho Pizza Co.: 1 large two-topping pizza and 4 sodas

$50 Grimaldi’s gift card

Sweet Surprises:

IT’SUGAR gift basket

$25 Cheesecake Factory gift card

Free frozen yogurt for a year at Menchie’s (365 "First 5 oz. for free" cards, plus a color in T-shirt along with a pencil and a button)

Out to Eat:

$20 in $5 gift certificates and a free bowl of queso from On The Border

Two free entrees and other goodies from Texas Roadhouse

$30 in $10 gift certificates from Goodwood Barbecue Co.

$20 in $5 gift certificates from Five Guys

Pasta Perfection:

Tasting gift certificate worth $150 at Noodle’s

$50 in $5 gift certificates for Olive Garden

Great Outdoors:

Idaho Botanical Garden household membership for 1 year

$20 Dick’s gift certificate

Two Bogus Basin ski lift passes

Building Skills:

Free math assessment and one month of tutoring at Mathnasium

Young Architect set donated by ToyTown

Autographed copy of “Five Kingdoms” by Brandon Mull

Autographed copy of “Tuesdays at the Castle” by Jessica Day George

Color Me Silly:

Autographed copy of “Aqualicious” by Victoria Kann

Pop for Colors game donated by ToyTown

$10 ToyTown gift card

$10 in gift certificates for U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt

Crayola art supplies

Fun with Numbers:

Free math assessment and one month of tutoring at Mathnasium

7 Ate 9 math card game donated by ToyTown

Autographed copy of “Princess Academy” by Shannon Hale

Autographed copies of “Alvor” and “Wings of Light” by Laura Bingham

Just Kidding Around:

Dave & Buster’s basket with 2 $12 Power Cards, 3 free $20 of play with $20 purchase cards, and other goodies

Remote control snake donated by ToyTown

Signed copy of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney

Signed copy of “Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk”

So please come out from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday to help support Discovery and the students!