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Hello February!
Thank you to all the “father figures†who brought their Brinker Bears to Brinker PTA’s “Movie Night with Dad†last month in the gym. We hope you had fun and felt the sense of community we are building. It’s always so exciting for our Brinker Bears to have their favorite people join them at the school. A special “Thanks†to Melissa Borovay and Shawn Zuckerman for organizing a great community event. Also, thanks to Amy Naul and Cinemark for the delicious popcorn.
If you missed that event, please mark your calendars because our Spring Book Fair is February 12-16. We will have our ever popular “Book Fair Family Night†on Thursday, Feb 15 from 6-8pm (Please note the day change). Come stock up on books and have fun with friends.
Also, on February 15 at 6:30pm is our second Brinker PTA General Meeting of the school year in the Brinker Gym. Please join us for this General Meeting as we need our PTA members to nominate and to vote on our Nominating Committee. The 5-member (and 2 alternate) Nominating Committee will be the PTA members who will determine a slate of candidates to serve on our 2018-19 PTA Executive Board. We need PTA members to attend the meeting and help choose those to serve on this important committee. Please join us!
If your students and your family have been enjoying all the events, programs and activities that the Brinker PTA provides each year, please consider serving as one of Board and Chairs for the 2017-18 school year. We have roles that will work with every type of life situation whether you work full-time, part-time, work from home, have little ones still at home, have limited transportation or have a very flexible schedule and want to get more involved at Brinker. Click here to review the Board and Chair interest form and let us know what “interests†you. Please feel free to contact me at president@brinkerpta.org to ask any questions. You will be amazed at the friends you will make and how connected to will feel to Brinker by volunteering.
Wishing you a month of sweetness and joy with your Valentines!
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 | | VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH:
KIM SAMS AND JESSICA BAILEY Kim has 2 daughters at Brinker, Emma in 3rd grade and Kate in 1st grade. She enjoys her various volunteer roles including room parent, assisting with fundraising and also spending countless hours as co-chair of Community Outreach. In her free time, Kim loves spending time with her family. Jessica's daughter Peyton is in 3rd grade, her son Jack is in 1st grade and she has 3 year old Lincoln at home. Jessica is a grade level volunteer for 1st and 3rd grades and also worked countless hours as co-chair of Community Outreach. In her free time, Jessica enjoys being with her family and travelling.
Thank you Jessica and Kim for all of your contributions to Brinker and the PTA! |
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 | | TUESDAY TUNES: JANUARY PERFORMERS
We started the new year with a bang from the following Tuesday Tunes performers. Bravo to 2nd grade pianist Jay Lee, 5th grade pianist Ethan Zhang, and 2nd grade pianist Kayla Zhang on their impressive performances. It is evident these talented musicians work hard to perfect their craft and to bless others with beautiful music.
Tuesday Tunes is a great opportunity for young musicians to perform for their peers in an informal setting. If your student has had two years of formal music training and would like to showcase their talents, please click here to register via the MembershipToolkit.
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| | BRINKER FAMILY FUN AT MOVIE NIGHT WITH DAD
On Friday, January 26, the Brinker gym was packed with blankets, pillows and Brinker families at Brinker PTA's and WatchDOGS' annual Movie Night with Dad. Families enjoyed watching "Cars 3" while munching on fresh popcorn from Cinemark with WatchDOGS emcee, Shawn Zuckerman, drawing for door prizes. 
Thanks to all who attended and for the following Community Partners for donating to this event, including:
• Amy Naul and Cinemark for supplying the POPCORN.
• Black Belt Academy
• Boardroom Salon for Men
• Dough Pizzeria Napoletana
• Legends Popcorn
• Marbles
• Meetcha Bubble Tea Café
• Newk’s Eatery
• On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina
• Melissa Borovay & Shawn Zuckerman for organizing the event and prizes.
• Sarah Kissel for making gift baskets and organizing the volunteers.
• Julie Pascuzzi, Lusine Meeks, Christine Diaz, Merina Kovoor, Manjari Golagani, Sarah Kissel, and Assistant Principal Lindsey Girlinghouse for their time setting up, manning the door and cleaning up after the event.
• All those who stayed to help clean up and sweep up a lot of popcorn!
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 | | SPRING BOX TOPS CONTEST JAN 22 - FEB 23
Who is ready to start collecting?
Which grade will be the Spring Box Tops Champion?
It’s the Brinker Box Tops Contest! January 22 - February 23 Collecting Box Tops is a fun and easy way to raise money for Brinker and to win EXTRA RECESS MINUTES! For every Box Top we collect Brinker earns $.10. Parents please send your kids to school with their Box Tops beginning Monday, January 22nd. Each grade will have a collection box in their grade level area. Each grade that collects the below amount of Box Tops wins 15 EXTRA RECESS MINUTES. - Kindergarten needs to collect 400 Box Tops to win EXTRA RECESS
- 1st grade needs to collect 400 Box Tops to win EXTRA RECESS
- 2nd grade needs to collect 400 Box Tops to win EXTRA RECESS
- 3rd grade needs to collect 500Box Tops (3rd has more students) to win EXTRA RECESS
- 4th grade needs to collect 500 Box Tops (4th has more students) to win EXTRA RECESS
- 5th grade needs to collect 400 Box Tops to win EXTRA RECESS
Ready, Set, Let’s Start Collecting! |
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 | | COMMUNITY PARTNERS DINING OUT EVENT AT
MI COCINA: FEBRUARY 5
Make plans with your family and friends to support our Brinker PTA on Monday, February 5th from 5-9pm. MiCocina will give back 15% of all Brinker sales to our PTA. Make sure to tell your server you are with Brinker. See you there!
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RENNER PTA BOARD NOMINATIONS 2018-19 Renner Middle School PTA is already planning for the 2018-2019 school year! In February, Nominating Committee members will be elected, and in March the 2018-2019 Renner PTA Officers will be elected. Once that is complete, the officers will meet in April to slate the remainder of the PTA Board. As the Renner PTA prepares for its new 2018-2019 Board, we would like to hear from YOU! If you would like to be considered for a position on the Renner PTA board, please submit a Renner PTA Board Interest Form by Friday, February 2, 2018. Click here for the form. If you don’t already have an account, please create an account to login. Once you sign in to MTK, the “Renner PTA Board Interest Form†page allows you to state your interest in serving on the board and to mark the position(s) in which you are interested. (Make sure to click “Continue†at the bottom of the page to submit the form). If you have any questions please contact parliamentarian@rennerpta.org.
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FRIENDSHIP PARTIES
FEB 14
All class Friendship Parties will be held on Wednesday February 14th at 1:45pm. Grades 3rd-5th will be hosted by the teachers and parent volunteers will NOT be needed. Kindergarten – 2nd grade classes will need 5 parent volunteers per class, as well as donations. Volunteers will be taken on a first to respond basis. Please note that unlike the Winter Party “visitors†will NOT be allowed at the parties. We appreciate your understanding in this matter. Please remember that volunteers must be security cleared through PISD and that this process may take up to two weeks to complete. If you have any questions about the parties or volunteering please contact your homeroom representative or Jessica Bader, PTA Grade Level Coordinator, at gradelevelreps@brinkerpta.org. | | 
PTA MEETING FEBRUARY 8
A Brinker PTA General Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 15 at 6:30 pm in the Brinker Gym. On the Agenda is electing a Nominating Committee to propose a slate of PTA Officers for the 2018-19 school year. The PTA Officers to be slated include President, 1st Vice President-Communications, 2nd Vice President-Volunteers, 3rd Vice President- Ways and Means, Secretary & Treasurer. We need five (5) volunteers and two (2) alternates, who are Brinker PTA Members, to serve on the Nominating Committee. Time commitment is minimal (1-2 meetings) as determined by the Committee to review the candidates' qualifications submitted by the general PTA membership. Meetings should be held fairly quickly to determine a slate of candidates and to allow sufficient time for publication prior to the March election. If you are interested in volunteering for the Nominating Committee, please plan on attending this General PTA Meeting. We will also need 3-5 PTA member volunteers to serve as Tellers to count ballots and record the vote that day. If you would like to volunteer as a Teller, or if you have any questions, please contact parliamentarian@brinkerpta.org any time prior to the General PTA Meeting on February 15. |
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 | | PAWS FOR BOOKS SPRING BOOK FAIR - FEBRUARY 12-16
Brinker Bears get excited for our “Paws for Books†spring book fair.
Tuesday - 2:45 to 3:30 PM
Wednesday and Thursday - 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM Thursday, Family Night - 6:00 PM to 8:00 PMFriday - 8:00 AM to 10:00 AMAlso, Thursday, February 15th from 6:00-8:00, please dress the kids up in their snazziest pajamas, have them bring their favorite stuffed animal and join us for a fun, family night at the book fair. The Plano West football players, Clifford and a surprise guest will join the fun. In continuing our “Paws for Books†theme, we are going to have a pet food drive to benefit the City of Plano Animal Shelter. We are asking that kids donate cans of cat or dog food during the book fair. We will have a collection area in the book fair hallway. And last, but not least we can’t make this book fair run smoothly without volunteers. The kids always love seeing familiar faces helping with the book fair and there are many time slots available. If interested, please click here to log on to the PTA Membership Toolkit. As a reminder, money raised from the book fair helps the school buy new books for the library and fund PTA programs throughout the school year. |
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 | | ELECTIONS 101 Election season is upon us! Along with it come many questions, especially with the growth the City of Plano has seen. Many people have moved in from other states, and even countries. The deadline for registering to vote in the State of Texas is 30 days prior to Election Day. The deadline for the March 6 election is February 5. If you are not registered to vote, you can go to votetexas.gov to fill out and print the voter registration form. The form has to be mailed to the Voter Registrar, County Clerk or Elections Administrator, depending on your county. For Collin County, it is the Elections Administrator. This site also provides information for voters with special needs, those serving in the military, and speakers of other languages. If you are a United States citizen, age 18 or older, in good standing, then you have a right to vote. If you are registered to vote, then you need to be aware of the voter id laws in Texas. Once at the polling location, you must present one of seven forms of photo identification, in order to obtain a ballot card and submit your vote. The most common identification used is a driver’s license or military id. Other acceptable forms are listed on votetexas.gov. The March 6 election is a Primary Election. Primary Elections work differently from General Elections. During a Primary Election, voters are asked to choose a political party before they vote. Voters will only vote for candidates in the party they choose. This does not mean you are choosing to affiliate with that political party forever. It is only for the purpose of narrowing down the field of candidates to the ones who will ultimately represent their party during the General Election. During the General Election, voters may vote for candidates in all parties represented. Collincountytx.gov is another valuable website for voting information. This site contains links to party websites and information on polling places, including locations and hours. Early voting begins Tuesday, February 20, and runs through March 2. This is also a good site to find sample ballots so voters can research candidates and issues prior to voting for them.
All this leads to taking care of our students in Plano ISD. Many issues regarding education are constantly changing, and legislation is being voted on by our representatives in Congress. Please know how that legislation effects our children and vote for what is best for them. Other legislation, regarding education, is voted on by the general public. It is our job to be informed about what is happening and participate in the voting process.If you have questions, contact legislative@brinkerpta.org. |
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 | | PISD VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS
Have you completed your Volunteer Application for the 2015-16 school year? PISD requires all volunteers to complete this application EVERY school year. We encourage ALL parents to complete and submit an application for security clearance - if you are one of our volunteers or just planning to attend a classroom party. Please visit the PISD Volunteer Application page to access the online application - it takes about 5 minutes to complete. If you have questions, contact volunteers@brinkerpta.org. Click here to go to the PISD Volunteer Application page or here to go to directly to the application. Thanks for volunteering! |
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 | | V.I.P. TUTORS
Brinker would like to invite you to become a Very Important Partner (VIP) Tutor. Our VIP Program is an awesome, fun way for parents, and even grandparents or community members, to volunteer and help our Brinker students directly. You commit half an hour a week to assist a student who needs a little extra support in math and/or reading, as well as boosting the student’s confidence in their academics. If you choose to sign up to volunteer, you will submit your available days and times you can be at Brinker to tutor within the school day. You may also select whether you prefer to work with the younger grades or older grades, and whether you prefer to tutor in reading or math.If interested, please e-mail viptutors@brinkerpta.org. The VIP program is a very rewarding way to help Brinker students. |
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 | | TIME TO KEEP READING
KRemind your students to keep reading books from the Texas 2x2 Reading List and Texas Bluebonnet Awards. These award-winning books can be found at our local public libraries. Click on the links below for each reading list:
In support of these Texas reading programs and the extra efforts of our Brinker students, Brinker PTA recognizes 3rd-5th grade students who read at least 10 books from the Bluebonnet list and Kindergarten–2nd grade students who read at least 15 books from the 2x2 list. The students who read the books and turn in their reading logs by the March 9th deadline will be invited to attend a celebration in the spring.
A reading log was provided to your child by the librarian at the beginning of the year and can also be found at the links above. If interested, have your child read the books on the reading list and keep track on the reading log and turn in their log by March 9th. Happy Reading!
Contact  our Literary Enrichment Chair if you have any questions literarysupport@brinkerpta.org. |
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 | | CONGRATS SCIENCE FAIR WINNERS
Many of our Brinker Bears worked hard over the past several weeks and entered in Brinker’s Science Fair. The Grand Prize winner for Grades 1-3rd was Diya Jain and for Grades 4-5th was Rishi Kalyandurg. Way to Go!!
Congrats to following students who placed in their grade levels: 
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 | | BRINKER BEARS & REFLECTIONS Thank you to all Brinker Bears who participated in this year's Reflections Within Reach program. We are proud of you and your continued achievements. Every entry is unique and every one of the participants expressed their understanding of the subject in a different way - this is what the Reflections program is all about. As in the past years, we would like to take a moments and recognize our students whose work was recognized at the District level: Visual Arts
Frances Wang - Award of Excellence Literature
Rishi Kalyandurg - Award of Merit
Lucas Lin - Award of Merit
Gracie White - Award of Merit
Sonali Thomas - Honorable Mention Photography
Alex Meeks - Award of Merit
Israel Johnson - Award of Merit
Parker Bills - Honorable Mention
Rishi Kalyandurg - Honorable Mention Music Composition
Frances Wang - Honorable Mention Way to go Brinker Bears!
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 | | BRINKER PTA OFFERS $1,000 SCHOLARSHIP
Do you have a 2018 graduating Senior who attended Brinker? Or maybe you know someone who does? Each year, the Brinker PTA offers a $1000 scholarship to a graduating PISD senior who attended Brinker Elementary for at least grades 3 through 5. Click here to access the scholarship requirements and application on the Membership Toolkip. Applications must be postmarked no later than March 30, 2018. Send questions to pastboardmember@brinkerpta.org. |
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 | | YEARBOOK ORDERS
YEARBOOK ORDERS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED TO THE PRINTER! Be sure to purchase your student's copy of the 2017-2018 Brinker Yearbooks. We did buy some extras but quantities are limited so order ASAP before we sell out! They are $30 and will be full of fun photos and memories from the year. Yearbooks can be ordered through PTA Toolkit and will be delivered to students in May 2018 for Yearbook Signing Day. Quantities are limited, so place your order before they are all gone. For questions, please yearbook@brinkerpta.org. |
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 | | BRINKER COLOR FUN RUN: MARCH 23 Brinker PTA is excited to announce that Brinker will be holding our 3rd Annual Color Fun Run for Brinker students on Friday, March 23rd from 5-6pm. This event is designed to bring our Brinker Community together to have fun and promote healthy family lifestyles. Registration information to come soon, but for now mark your calendar for Brinker Color Fun Run on Friday March 23, 5-6pm. Interested in joining the fun? Click here to volunteer.
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