Check here for the latest news and information from the HCE PTA...

Yearbook Orders

Don’t forget to order your 2009-2010 yearbook. Our 2009-10 full color yearbook is $15.00 and comes with the option to have your child’s name stamped on the front for an additional $3.00. Forms will be sent home with the students on Thursday, January 21 and will be due back on Friday, February 5.

Jump Rope for Heart

Participation in Jump Rope for Heart is vital to the American Heart Association’s efforts to raise dollars that fund lifesaving research. Through this program students will learn jump roping activities and about heart health and how nutrition and physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke.

Information about this event went home in your students Thursday folders. The JRFH event will be held the week of February 22 and all collection envelopes are due that week. If you have questions please contact Ann Campbell (ann.jarovski@cms.k12.nc.us) or Sarah Viapiano (sarah.viapiano@cms.k12.nc.us)

Thanks for your support!!!

Meck. Citizens for Public Education

As 2009 draws to a close and we embark together into 2010, we (Meck. Citizens for Public Education) would welcome your opinions on five key issues affecting Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Schools. Please take a quick poll of "yes" or "no" questions on our website to let us know what you are thinking. Completing the poll takes less than 5 minutes and it is so important that we know where our community stands.

Cast your vote in our poll to let us know what you think. If we (Meck. Citizens for Public Education) get enough individual participants to vote, we'll share the vote totals with Dr. Gorman and the Board of Education.

Please forward this to others who would be interested in expressing their views!

Executive Committee Nominations

The time has come for us to look to the future leadership of the HCEPTA. If you are interested in being considered for a leadership position on the 2010-2012 Executive Committee of the HCEPTA, please complete the Willingness to Serve form and return it to the Nominating Committee Box in the Main Office by February 5, 2010. All members of the HCEPTA are eligible to be nominated. Please take note that this is a two-year commitment. Learn more about the positions...

Pretzel Days

Monthly Pretzel Snack Days are back for the rest of the year! The HOT Pretzels will be sold for $1.00 each and will be delivered to the kids classrooms for a take home snack. Buy more than 1 for your family or freeze for later! Please have your child bring in their money to give to their teacher. The teachers will keep track of how many pretzels each child orders. All orders MUST be received by the Tuesday before. NO orders will be taken on Wednesday. No form is needed!!

Pretzel days are:

September 23rd	October 28th	November 18th
December 9th	January 27th	February 24th
March 24th	April 28th	May 19th
June 2nd

Make checks payable to HCEPTA. *Returned checks are subject to a minimum of $15 charge. Any questions please contact Helen Borbor, hborbor@hotmail.com.

Stop Bullying Now

Parents please visit this website from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to increase your awareness of bullying.

Rebate Programs

It’s that time again to re-link your cards or set your cards up for the first time. Through these fundraising programs, HCE PTA earned over $2,500 for our school last year. We look forward to exceeding that number this year!

School Board Opening

There is an open seat on the School Board in our district. To learn more about the candidates, visit their web sites below:

Rhonda Lennon
rhondalennonforschoolboard.com

Gail Summerskill
gailsummerskill.com

Robin Bradford
Vote4RobinBradford.org

2010-11 New School Boundary Options (JOES)

Click here to learn more about the new JOES school boundry options.

“Hurricane Update”

The PTA communicates on a weekly basis with an electronic “Hurricane Update”. In order to receive this update, you need to be registered in our HCE PTA Manager System. Click here for instructions on how to either update your information or register for the 1st time. We would appreciate everyone taking the time to update your information.

In addition to weekly updates, we create a monthly newsletter which is sent home with the students in Thursday folders (youngest sibling only). You may sign up to receive an electronic newsletter by selecting the ’electronic newsletter’ option within the PTA Manager System.

If you do not receive any form of communications from us, please contact us at newsletter@hcepta.org. Our goal is to keep you informed in the most convenient way possible.

Study Island

HCE Administration is excited to announce that the on-line math program, Study Island, is ready for our 2nd through 5th grade students to use at home. Students can log onto the website, www.studyisland.com using their log in:

Login name: firstname.lastname.hces
Password: hces

Teachers have been posting assignments on their Study Island website. When students pass the objective from the given assignment, they are able to play games that will help reinforce the objective. We encourage students to use this program as a supplement to their math instruction. If you have any questions regarding Study Island, please ask your child’s teacher.

National PTA Debuts New Family-Friendly Online Video Store

The PTA Video Store is an exciting new resource for PTA members, friends, and families!

As you know, PTA encourages parents to make informed decisions about their family’s use of media and technology. Now, with support of Hewlett-Packard, the Motion Picture Association of America and Harmony Digital Media consortium, PTA has launched ptavideostore.com, a family-friendly online video store where parents can purchase or download (G, PG, and PG-13 rated) movies, television shows, and other exclusive video content. In conjunction with this initiative, parents can learn about the ratings system and find video entertainment suitable for their families. PG-13 content is offered with strict parental controls, requiring that a valid credit card number be entered to authorize the purchase.

PTA is now offering both virtual and tangible PTA Video Gift Cards online and PTA Video Gift Cards will soon be available at select retailers. PTA Video Gift Cards can be used to purchase movies on the website; they generate significant funds for PTA and make a great gift.

In the fall, PTA will also make this exciting fundraising program available to local PTA units.

Please visit ptavideostore.com and spread the word to friends, family, and members.

Attention Online Shoppers!!!

Boxtops 4 Education has a Marketplace through which you can do all your online shopping. A portion of your purchases will be applied to our total goal for box tops collections. To have these purchases count you need to log onto the Boxtops 4 Education at www.boxtops4education.com and create a login for yourself. Once you have done this you can track the schools progress towards our goal and shop online at the marketplace. There is a full list of participating merchants and the percent which each merchant is paying. It is a great way to help the school and get all your holiday shopping done in one location.