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Rain, Rain go away! As we sail into November on the waters of unprecedented rain this fall, there may have been postponements of our outdoor events, but the PTA has been providing an abundance of programs since the start of school. With the support of our Brinker Community and our corporate sponsors, the PTA has: - Hosted 3 Welcome Events (Back to School, Newcomers, Kindergarten Coffee).
- Launched Chess Enrichment, Tuesday Tunes, K Lunch Buddies.
- Trained volunteers for library, workroom, VIP, Homeroom Reps, Board and Chairs.
- Provided funds for student agendas and classroom headsets.
- Supported Red Ribbon Week with the Mavs Man and Champs presentation.
- Celebrated our Amazing staff with a Back to School Lunch and Fall Breakfast.
- Supported the Blue Nation with our 5th graders marching in the PWSH Homecoming parade.
November brings even more great PTA sponsored events: Field Day, Book Fair, Reflections, Author and Artist Visits, Canned Food Drive, Cafeteria Cops, 5th Grade Camp & Colonial Day. Please join us this fall in enhancing and enriching the educational experience for our students, staff and community. I would be remiss if I did not mention a highlight of November, Thanksgiving! This is a time to reflect upon all the things in life we are grateful for. I would like to extend a personal THANKS to all of you for your support of our school, teachers, students, neighbors and friends. I appreciate all the ways you do: volunteering, donating food and supplies, monetarily, and reaching out to make new friends and new families feel welcome. Warmest Regards,
Alison |
 | | TUESDAY TUNES: OCTOBER PERFORMERS
A Round of Applause as we recognize our October performers! 3rd grader; Andrew Kim, 3rd grader; Nathan Huen, 5th grader; Lucas Lin and 2nd grader; Abigail Pinto! Congratulations on your brilliant performances!
Did you know your brain is a muscle? When you give it more challenging exercises, you are strengthening your brain’s abilities to learn and grow. Now add some music to the mix ….. When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout!
If your student musician would like to perform for their friends, classmates and teachers in an informal setting on Tuesday mornings, please click here to register via the PTA Membership Toolkit. You can also e-mail tuesdaytunes@brinkerpta.org with any questions you may have.
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 | | VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH
GEANINE COBBEL AND DEB HODGES Congratulations to our volunteers of the month for October, Geanine Cobbel and Deb Hodges! Geanine is the grandmother, “Bubbe†of Blake Acks, a kindergarten student at Brinker and also his sister Caroline who is 3 and their cousin Warner who is 2. She worked for PISD for 25 years and retired 3 years ago to take care of Blake and Caroline, which has been her greatest joy! Her number one hobby is her grandchildren as she loves being with them and staying active! Geanine started off volunteering at Thomas Elementary when her daughters, Andrea and Ashley, started Kindergarten about 33 years ago and she is now carrying on that tradition by volunteering at preschool and Brinker for her grandchildren. Deb Hodges was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She raised two wonderful kids and has six super duper grand kids, two who attend Brinker. Deb also has a sassy parrot named "Bubba" and a great big lovable dog named "Red." She loves to travel, is an avid reader, enjoys crosswords and walks a 5K once a year for a cause that is close to her heart. Deb is a cancer survivor and she enjoys working in the library so she can be close to her grand kids, Kennedy and Huntlee. She will turn 70 this year and plans to keep checking things off of her never ending list!
We truly appreciate these special ladies and their dedication to our school. Please congratulate them when you see them around the halls! |
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 | | STAFF BREAKFAST - THANK YOU!
A big thank you to all of our Brinker parents who volunteered to do early morning food pick ups or donated items to our Staff Fall Breakfast. A special thank you to EDDIE’S DINER for donating the delicious breakfast sandwiches. The teachers and staff truly enjoyed this special treat..
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 | | BRINKER CORPORATE SPONSORS - THANK YOU!
A HUGE thank you to our 2018-2019 Brinker Corporate Sponsors. Thanks to your generous support, the PTA is able to provide incredible student programming and events throughout the school year to add to classroom experiences. Your sponsorship is greatly appreciated by all our Brinker students and families.
Platinum: Veritex Bank Gold: Hawk & Sloane, McDonald's Silver: Bader Facial Plastic Surgery, Body Machine Fitness, Frisco Kids' Dentistry, Gupta Orthodontics, Kumon Math and Reading Center, Orange Star/Kings Park, Quest Capital Management, Tevis Investment Management . |
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 | | TEXAS RECYCLES MONTH - NOVEMBER 2018 Be a part of diverting thousands of pounds of shoes and clothing from local landfills by placing in your school’s bin your gently used shoes, clothing, purses, belts, wallets, hats, caps, backpacks, hard toys, stuffed animals and pots and pans. For every pound collected from you, our PTA receives $0.15 per pound. The benefit to you? Neater closets, drawers, toy boxes, and kitchens, and the knowledge that less textile waste will end up in our landfills. If Brinker can collect 2,500 lbs. or more during America/Texas Recycles Month, World Wear Project will give our PTA an extra $100. Help out your school by getting your family involved in cleaning out your closets today. |
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 | | ENCHANTED FOREST BOOK FAIR
NOVEMBER 5 - 9 BRINKER’S ENCHANTED FOREST BOOK FAIR IS ALMOST HERE! Once upon a time in the land of Brinker, a Book Fair took place Monday, November 5th through Friday, November 9th.
There are lots of ways to join in the fun! 1.Shop the book fair – stop by during the day or shop with your kids after school
Tuesday: 2:45 – 3:30 pm
Wednesday: 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Thursday: 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Friday: 8:00 – 10:00 am 2. Join us for Family Night on Wednesday, November 7 th from 6 – 8 PM. We’ll have snacks, activities and storytelling. Kids are encouraged to dress up that night for the Enchanted Forest – with fairy wings, forest animal costumes, unicorn headbands or favorite pajamas. 3. Volunteer – our Brinker fairies and gnomes love seeing their parents in the library! Sign up for an hour or two here and make our wishes come true! |
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 | | FIELD DAY - NOVEMBER 9
Brinker's Annual Field Day will be held on Friday, November 9, with K-G2 activities from 8 am - 11 am and G3-5 activities from 11 am - 2 pm. Students will be outside, so please dress your child in weather-appropriate clothing and apply sunscreen/bug spray before school. Stay tuned for more details! This is one of the kids' favorite events of the year. We still need volunteers that have obtained security clearance, so please click here to sign up. 
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 | | TEXAS PTA LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP NOMINATIONS DUE NOVEMBER 16
At Brinker, we are very fortunate to have the tremendous support of volunteers and an extremely dedicated faculty. There are many deserving individuals serving and helping our students. One of the ways we recognize individuals for their dedication to children and the community is through the Texas PTA Lifetime Membership. It is one of the highest honors presented to individuals for outstanding service to children and youth. If you would like to nominate someone to receive this honor, click here to fill out the Texas PTA Lifetime Nomination Form and return it to the school office in a sealed envelope to the attention of Anita Dewers by November 16. Forms may also be emailed to membership@brinkerpta.org. Thank you for taking the time to recognize a deserving individual's efforts! |
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CAFETERIA COPS NOVEMBER 13
The PTA is excited to once again have the Cafeteria Cops visit Brinker Elementary on November 13th. The Plano Crime Prevention Unit will visit our lunch room and entertain our Brinker Bears with Music Dancing and lots of Fun! This visit is always a favorite and helps build strong relationships between the officers and students. If you have any questions, please contact | | 
AUTHOR VISIT
NOVEMBER 15 Laura Ann Pierce, author of Little Worm, A Story About Worry, will be presenting to our Kindergarten through Second Grade students. Click here for a summary and an order form in case you would like to purchase a copy for your child. The presentation will only be done for the younger grades, but if you are interested in purchasing a book for your Third through Fifth Graders, you are welcome to do so. Please note payment for books is cash or check only. Checks should be made out to Brinker PTA. Please return order forms and payments to your child’s teacher. Forms need to be turned in on or by Wednesday, November 14.
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CANNED FOOD DRIVE NOVEMBER 26-30
The PTA will be hosing our annual canned food drive again this year, the week following Thanksgiving break, collecting canned food items to help feed those in need in our community. Cans will be collected at the stage in the Gym at morning drop off. We will provide more details as we get closer to this event. If you have any questions, please contact programs@brinkerpta.org
Thank you for helping those in need in Plano. |
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PISD VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS Have you completed your Volunteer Application for the 2018-19 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. Click here to go to the PISD Volunteer Application page or here to go to directly to the application.
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V.I.P. TUTORS NEEDED Our VIP Program is an awesome, fun way for parents, 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 during school hours. You will be paired with a student or may also select whether you prefer to work with the younger or older grades and if you prefer to tutor in reading or math. You do not need to be a teacher or a former teacher to be able to tutor. The students’ teachers will provide you with the assignments and information for each tutoring session. If interested, please e-mail viptutors@brinkerpta.org. | | 
LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED We have lots of openings for the fall library volunteer schedule. Volunteer timeslots cover 1-2 classes, and you would be helping to check-in/check-out and shelve books. It’s a great way to see your child at school! A few of our timeslots are completely full, but others have some days with no volunteers at all. You can sign up on by clicking here to go to the PTA Membership Toolkit. For any questions, please e-mail library@brinkerpta.org.
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YEARBOOKS FOR SALE The yearbook is a 80 page hardbound book in full color filled with hundreds of photos to remember another great school year at Brinker. Yearbooks may be purchased at the "online" discount of $25 until
Oct 31Y - click here to go to the Membership Toolkit. Starting Jan 1, the price will go up to $30 online and $35 in person. We sell out every year so get your copy NOW.
**Yearbooks will be delivered directly to your student's classroom for Yearbook Signing Day in May 2019. If you have questions about the Brinker Yearbook, please contact our PTA Yearbook Chair
at yearbook@brinkerpta.org. | |  BOX TOPS Box Tops are each worth 10¢ for our school. Here is how Box Tops work: - BUY products you use every day.
- CLIP the Box Tops.
- SEND Box tops to school.
- EARN cash for our school.
If each Brinker child were to simply clip 10 Box Tops it would generate over $700 for our school. Imagine the possibilities - happy clipping! For any questions, please contact boxtops@brinkerpta.org. | | 
SPIRIT WEAR It's FriYAY! Show your Brinker Pride by wearing your spirit wear proudly every Friday. No Brinker Spirit Wear? We can help with that, click here to order online via the PTA Membership Toolkit OR Come see us at Book Fair Family Night, Wednesday, November 7th @6-8pm to try it on. Spirit Wear pre-orders were delivered to students in there classroom at the end of September. Socks are expected to be delivered by November 8. If you have any questions or if you have not received your order, contact us at spiritwear@brinkerpta.org. |
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 | | TEXAS READING PROGRAMS
Every year the Texas Library Association selects a number of books to be nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award and for the 2x2 reading list. A new list of books is released each year at the Texas Book Festival. These lists will be announced by flyer during the first month of school at Brinker and all of these books can be found in our Brinker Library, at the local public library and also can be requested online through the Plano library website www.planolibrary.org and held if you have difficulty finding them on the shelves.
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. Students who read the books and turn in their reading logs by the deadline will be recognized and rewarded in the Spring after school at Brinker. For questions, contact literacysupport@brinkerpta.org. |
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