One Week Left for Box Tops Classroom Contest

Thanks Discovery families for clipping and sending in Box Tops for the first classroom competition of the school year. The classroom that brings in the most Box Tops by Friday, Oct. 12, will win an extra recess and snacks to go with it.

Mrs. Kalinski's fifth-grade class continues to be in the lead with 535 Box Tops, closely followed by Mr. Burrell's third-grade class with 510 Box Tops. But don't count out Ms. Jayne's third-grade class yet with 350 Box Tops and Mrs. Davison's second-grade class with 331 Box Tops. And who knows what teachers might be holding back until the deadline!

Here's a tally of the latest totals:

Mrs. Kalinski, 5th: 535
Mr. Burrell, 3rd: 510
Ms. Jayne, 3rd: 350
Mrs. Davison, 2nd: 331
Ms. Thayer, 5th: 283
Mr. Hawkins, 3rd: 244
Mr. Runyan, 3rd: 243
Mrs. Maw, 2nd: 204
Mrs. Eck, A.M. K: 201
Mrs. Croft, 1st: 178
Mrs. Howard, 1st: 151
Mrs. Kober, 4th: 138
Mrs. Morris, 4th: 125
Ms. McKay, 1st: 116
Miss Bell, 4th: 114
Mrs. Briggs, 4th: 106
Mrs. Kearns, Tuition K: 95
Mrs. Eck, P.M. K: 93
Mrs. Haycock, 5th: 92
Mr. Thie, 5th: 30
Mrs. Arevalo, 2nd: 9

Spirit Wear Orders Due Wednesday

Discovery will have special Spirit Days the first Friday of school each month, where students can wear school colors (maroon and navy) or their Discovery shirts. This year, the PTA has basic or performance tees available in maroon and navy and hoodies in navy with a brand-new logo. Orders are going in this week so we have the tees and hoodies back by the first Spirit Day in October!

If you would like to purchase Spirit Wear, please send the order form back into your child's teacher by Wednesday, Sept. 26, with cash or check made out to Discovery PTA.

Classroom Box Tops Contest Announced

The first Box Tops contest of the school year is underway. The classroom that brings in the most Box Tops by Friday, Oct. 12, will win an extra recess complete with snacks. So start clipping those Box Tops and sending them in to your teachers in a ziplock bag or on a Box Tops collection sheet. Be sure to include the student's name, teacher's name, and grade.

Each Box Top is worth 10 cents, and they benefit individual classrooms as well as PTA schoolwide activities. Once we get our first counts of the school year, the PTA will update the bulletin board next to the cafeteria with the latest classroom totals!

Show Your Discovery Pride with New Spirit Wear

To help students celebrate their school pride, Discovery PTA has a fresh new Spirit Wear design featuring the mustang that will be available for special order starting on Back to School Night, Sept. 11, through Wednesday, Sept. 26.

Available for order will be short-sleeved basic tees and performance tees in youth and adult sizes in both maroon and navy for $11 and $13, respectively, and hoodies in youth and adult sizes in navy for $28.

Stop by the PTA table on Back to School Night to place your special order. In addition, you can shop our vintage Spirit Wear stock at discounted prices! We accept cash, checks, and credit cards. You can also take an order form and send back in by the due date with cash or check made out to Discovery PTA.

Students are encouraged to show their pride by wearing Spirit Wear, school colors (maroon and navy), or the special theme typically on the first Friday of each month: Oct. 12, Nov. 2, Dec. 7, Jan. 11, Feb. 1, March 1, April 5, and May 3. Spirit Days also coincide with the PTA's Popcorn Fridays. Students can purchase a popcorn pass or pay 75 cents to have a tasty popcorn treat on Spirit Day Fridays. You can still sign up for the popcorn pass for $5.25 for the remainder of the school year.

PTA Cuts Ribbon for New Playground Equipment

What a way to start off the new school year! This week, Discovery families and staff joined the PTA board (from left, treasurer Kim Peck, president Lisa Polson, secretary Christine Serlin, and vice president Meghan Wilkison) to cut the ribbon for the new playground equipment on the intermediate side. It also was a great opportunity for families to meet new principal Rhonda McDonough. Be sure to check out the new equipment the next time you're at school. We couldn't have done it without all of your donations and support!

Join Discovery for Playground Ribbon-Cutting Aug. 14

Join Discovery PTA to celebrate the new playground equipment on the intermediate side and meet new principal Rhonda McDonough from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 14. The ribbon-cutting will take place on the playground in back of the school.

After several years of walk-a-thons, Brax cup sales, donations to the West Ada Foundation, a sock hop, and other fundraising, we were able to purchase the new equipment at the end of the last school year and have it installed over the summer. We couldn't have done it without all of the support from Discovery staff, students, and families. Thank you so much, and we hope you come up and celebrate this huge achievement!

Thank You Discovery Families, Staff for Another Great School Year

It's hard to believe we're down to the last few days of school before summer break. Discovery PTA would like to thank all of our families and staff for another successful school year.

Through the support of our wonderful families and staff over the past several years, we are proud to announce that we are in the process of purchasing new equipment for the intermediate playground for third, fourth, and fifth grades. Through various fundraising efforts, we have raised over $16,000 to make this happen. The new playground equipment will be installed over the summer, and we will plan a special ribbon-cutting ceremony once we're back in school in August. We really couldn't have made this happen without your support!

It's been a fun school year, and we tried some new things like the spring sock hop, which was a huge success, and the pie-eating contest at The Farmstead. These events, along with Spirit Wear sales, Popcorn Fridays, Box Tops, and a couple of restaurant nights, helped bring in funds for additional school activities.

PTA board members Kim Peck, Meghan Wilkison, and Lisa Polson

Just in the past couple of weeks, the PTA has helped to fund year-end activities. We provided popsicles for Field Day; supplies for first grade's Camp Learns A Lot, for second grade's year-end Hawaiian celebration, and third grade's multiplication sundae parties; t-shirts for fourth-graders to wear to Rendezvous; and pizza for the fifth grade celebration.

We love the Discovery staff and have had fun supporting them this school year. In addition to classroom help, such as providing the Scholastic magazine for some grade levels, we provided a coffee cart at the beginning of the school year, snack carts for parent-teacher conferences and Valentine's Day, and holiday and staff appreciation lunches. Thank you to all who donated food and supplies for these events.

Thank you to all of the PTA members who helped with events this school year, and a big shout out to Michelle Hall for heading up Popcorn Fridays, Sharese Hall for her hard work on Reflections, Ashley Hillyard for spearheading Box Tops this school year, and Nicole Geibel for being our Facebook guru.

We are looking forward to working with new Principal Rhonda McDonough this upcoming school year. Please reach out to any of the board members or email discoverypta@gmail.com if you have feedback or ideas for the next school year. Stay tuned to the blog and Discovery PTA Facebook page in August for the latest updates. Also, our first meeting of the school year will be at 4:10 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Have a great summer!

The Discovery PTA Board
Kim Peck, president
Lisa Polson, vice president
Meghan Wilkison, treasurer
Christine Serlin, secretary