Glen Haven Elementary School PTA

Announcements:

• Informal Parent Information Session/PTA meeting THIS week: Please join the Glen Haven PTA on Tuesday May 5 at 5 pm for an informal and VIRTUAL meeting. We would love to touch base and share more information with other parents about happenings around the school.

• • Please use the Zoom video conferencing platform link:

• • https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82732380493?pwd=WUp6TWdlU1FhZFpLV1laQm96TFdIUT09

• • Meeting ID: 827 3238 0493

• • Password: 101041

• Teacher and staff appreciation week starts this week, May 4. We would love to have each staff member of our Glen Haven community receive a special message of support and appreciation! Be on the lookout for an email from your students’ room parents, who will be reaching out to ask you to share your kind words for our amazing staff.
  • Use this Google document link to sign up to send a sweet note of appreciation to our staff: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RckWJH7bMkpmrLP7yWdzSuK1pau7wIdlt6AGHtL6rCA/edit?usp=sharing
    • Each staff member’s email address is included; please sign up on this Google document, then use the individual email addresses to send a special message 🙂

• Groceries and school supplies gift card drive: As we all adjust to life amid the coronavirus outbreak, some families in our community are having a particularly hard time. Many have lost jobs and are struggling to afford food and other basic necessities. Despite the efforts of MCPS to distribute meals to students, many families still need support. Some of our families have also requested assistance to purchase the necessary school supplies to keep their children learning. You can help! Over the next week, we will be holding a drive for Giant/Safeway gift cards for Glen Haven families in need. We will also collect e-gift cards for Target to help with school supply needs. Two parent volunteers will coordinate the donations and deliver them to Ms. Willis. Ms. Willis will then distribute the gift cards to the families who need them. If you would like to contribute, there are two ways to participate:
  • Option 1: Online Purchase of Target e-Gift Cards
    • $25 increments for the e-cards would be appreciated so we can help as many families as we can purchase school supplies. Send the e-gift card to Catherine Beaudette. In addition, please send an email directly to Catherine’s address and ensure you get a “Confirmed!” Note back. She will print these gift cards out for Ms. Willis to distribute.
    • Target e-Gift Cards Donations:
      • https://www.target.com/c/target-giftcards/-/N-5xsxt?lnkTargetGiftCard
      • Send e-Gift Cards to: cbeaudette7@yahoo.com
  •  Option 2: E-payments to GHES Parent Coordinator –Gift Cards Will Be Purchased and Distributed the Following Week
    • Donations of any amount are appreciated for the grocery cards, but if you can contribute $50, it will go a long way toward helping a family afford necessities like food and diapers. Using PayPal (www.paypal.com), send your contribution to Roxana Finkelberg. She will then go to Giant and Safeway to purchase the grocery gift cards. Please email Roxana directly at roxanafinkelberg@yahoo.com to confirm receipt of your electronic donation.
    • Safeway or Giant Donations
      Send PayPal Donations to: roxanafinkelberg@yahoo.com
      (please select friends and family)
  • Please donate before May 3^rd so we can help our Glen Haven families when they need it most. We will post an update shortly after showing the total amount raised.
    • If you have any questions, please email Catherine at cbeaudette7@yahoo.com.Thank you so much!

• The MCPS Parent Academy has some excellent resources for these times (offered by the Parent Encouragement Program and Common Sense):
  • Parenting Support During the Coronavirus (registration required to access the free videos in this series)
  • Why Don’t My Kids Listen to Me? (registration required for free access to video)
  • Tech Balance: Family Engagement Tools to Talk Tech and Media Habits with Parents (available in English and Spanish)
  • Wide Open School
  • Tips and Advice for Families During the Coronavirus Pandemic (available in English and Spanish)
  • Distance Learning Plans for K-2 Families
  • Tech Balance for Parents of 3-to-8-year-olds (available in English and Spanish)

Reminders:

• Keep up to date on how MCPS is addressing the challenges of Covid-19:

• https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2019-2020/coronavirus-update-20200426.html

• Keep up to date on what Montgomery County is doing to assist residents at this time. There is information on Covid-19 testing sites, food services, how to make face coverings, public transportation, family safety, and more!
  • https://montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS/RightNav/Coronavirus.html