Parent Packet 2015-16

Dora Kennedy
French Immersion PTA

Welcome from Dora Kennedy French

Immersions PTA Board
August 2015
Greetings Parents and families of DKFI,
Your PTA Executive Board welcomes you to the 201516 school year at the newly renamed Dora Kennedy
French Immersion School! PTAs mission is to support
students, teachers, staff, and parents. To do that, we
will need to work as a team to communicate, advocate, and participate in our
school. As a partner in our school family, we hope youll share your time and
talents with PTA.
PTA meetings are the second Wednesday of every month, with the exception of
November, when school is closed for Parent Teacher Conferences on that day. Our
first PTA meeting will be Wednesday, October 14. Our first gathering will be the
Back to School Nights which take place Wednesday, September 9 (Grades K-4)
and Thursday, September 10 (Grade 5 AND Middle School). Please add PTA
meetings to your yearly calendar.
Please join the PTA and share your talents. We need parents on the following
committees: Fundraising, Grants writing, Communications, Recruitment and
Volunteer, Health and Wellness and Parent/Student Activities. Consider signing up
for a committee. Your child and your school will appreciate your participation!
We also realize that parents want - and deserve - effective communication. PTA
continues to strengthening its use of technology for communication. Find our PTA
on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RGFIPTA, on the web at www.DKFIPTA.org,
or contact us at DKFIPTA@yahoo.com. Were also increasing our use of listservs.
Well list activities, testing calendars, homework websites, and more on our social
media devices.
NEW THIS YEAR: Parents will now be able to connect with PTA even more online!
We are using a new online system, called www.Pay4SchoolStuff.com. This site will
allow PTA to collect membership and event fees, create newsletters, create a
parent directory, and create forms.
Looking for the teacher supply list? That is also available online!
http://www.teacherlists.com/schools/124254-dora-kennedy-french-immersion-school

We look forward to a great school year together. Welcome to Team PTA!

At your service,
Katrina R. Dodro, President
Rachel Frey, 1st Vice President (Middle School)
Shanna Liberman-Estelle , 2nd Vice President (Elementary)

Nicole Turner, Secretary

Contina Djaouga, Treasurer
PTAs Mission Statement: The Mission of the PTA is threefold:
To support and speak on behalf of children and youth in the schools, in the community, and before government bodies and other
organizations that make decisions affecting children;
To assist parents in developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children; an
To encourage parent and public involvement in the public schools of this nation.

CLASS
PARENT

If you are
interested in being a
classroom
parent please complete
this form and
return it to your classroom
teacher at Back To School Night. Back To School Nights are
Wednesday, September 9th, 2015 (Grades K-4), and Thursday,
September 10th, 2015 (Grade 5 and Middle School). Class Parent
leadership is very important and highly valued!
NAME:
EMAIL:
PHONE NUMBER:
TEACHER:
GRADE:
CHILD(REN)S NAME(S):

Parents signature:
Classroom Parent Job Description
The Classroom Parent is the liaison between the parents of a specific
class, the teacher and the PTA. Classroom parents will:

Communicate with and between the teacher, the PTA and class
parents
Attend monthly PTA meetings in order to share information with
parents
Establish a communication list, such as e-mail list or text messaging
list to communicate with parents and the teacher about school and
class activities
Assist in classroom activities (either by coordinating other parents
or by being there yourself)
Coordinate teacher appreciation efforts and activities

2015 2016 PTA Membership Application

Annual PTA membership dues (for individuals only) are $10 per adult.
Anyone can join the PTA: neighbors, grandparents, aunts and uncles all are
welcome. You can also mail it to: DKFI PTA, c/o French Immersion
School, 8950 Edmonston Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770. THANK YOU in
advance!
Adult name(s)
Address
Preferred Phone Number:
one)

Home or

Cell

(Circle

Would you like to be on a text messaging list for occasional texts?

Email
Student first & last name(s) and Grade
(1)
(2)
(3)
Do you want your contact information published in the PTA Family Directory?
YES
NO
To join the DKFI email listserv, email DKFI-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
We welcome your participation! Participation in PTA comes in many forms. Many
PTA volunteers dont volunteer in school, but work from home or work. Your
assistance in writing letters, attending an occasional school board meeting, writing
grants or reaching out to businesses, making telephone calls, using artistic skills,

or making copies all are ways to help. You dont need to be physically at the school
to make a difference! The more helping hands, the more we can accomplish.
I would like to help with the following (please circle):
o Legislative Affairs
Bingo Nights
o Grants Committee
Dining Out Fundraisers
o Communication and PR
Annual Barnes and Noble Bookfair
o Health and Wellness Activities
Community Engagement/Business
Outreach
o Green Team
30th Anniversary Celebration
(November)

DKFI PTA Events 2015-16

EVENT

DATE

Back to School Night

Grades K-4
Back to School Night
Grades 5-8
Grandparent Day
Movie Night

WEDNESDAY, Sept.
9
THURSDAY, Sept
10
FRIDAY, Sept 18
FRIDAY, Sept 18

6:30 pm

MEN of DKFI Interest

Meeting
BINGO

FRIDAY, Sept 18

7:00 pm

FRIDAY, October 9

6:45 pm

Men Make A
Difference Day
PTA Monthly Meeting

MONDAY, October
12
WEDNESDAY,
October 14
October 12
October 23
SATURDAY in
October
FRIDAY, November
6

9 am 1 pm

TUESDAY,
November 10
FRIDAY, November
13
FRIDAY, November
20

7:00 pm

BoxTops Collection
Contest
School Clean Up Day
NATIONAL FRENCH
Week /30th
Anniversary/School
Renaming Celebration
PTA Monthly Meeting
Movie Night
Middle School Dance

TIME
6:30 pm
9 am 1 pm
7:00 pm

ROOM
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
School-wide
Multipurpose
Room
Library Conference
room
Multipurpose
Room
School wide

7:00 pm
Daily

All Classes

All day

School wide

7 pm

TBD

7:00 pm
7:00 pm

Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room

PTA Monthly Meeting/

Winter Concert/
Holiday Sales
National Teacher
Appreciation Week
Barnes & Noble Gift
Wrap
Barnes & Noble Book
Fair
Monthly PTA Meeting
Bingo Night
Monthly PTA Meeting
BoxTop Collection
Contest
Candy Gram Sales
Talent Show
Monthly PTA Meeting
BINGO
Monthly PTA Meeting
Movie Night
Monthly PTA Meeting
Middle School Dance
Monthly PTA Meeting

WEDNESDAY, Dec.
9

7:00 pm

Multipurpose
Room

Early November

All Day

Throughout school

December

Varies

SATURDAY,
December 12
WEDNESDAY,
January 13
FRIDAY, January 29

All store
hours
7:00 pm

WEDNESDAY,
February 10
February 8 - 19

7:00 pm

Barnes & Noble in

Bowie
Barnes & Noble in
Bowie
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
All Classes

WEDNESDAY, Feb
10-11
TBD

Lunchtime

WEDNESDAY,
March 9
FRIDAY, March 11

7:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, April
13
Friday, April 15

7:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, May
11
FRIDAY, May 20

7:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, June
8

7:00 pm

6:45 pm

All day

7:00 pm

6:45 pm

7:00 PM

7:00 pm

Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room
Multipurpose
Room

Online Communication Listservs

Have you joined a DKFI listserv? It is basically an electronic mailing list that will
facilitate and improve the communication between parents. There are two types of
mailing lists, or listservs at our school. We have the general listserv that handles
topics affecting the whole school or multiple grades levels which is DKFISG. There
are also graduating class listservs that are divided by what year your child will
graduate from Dora Kennedy French Immersion. These follow your child through
graduation so you'll only have to do this once. Signing up for this listserv begins in
kindergarten and gives you an opportunity to talk amongst yourselves regarding

upcoming field trips, organizing grade wide parties, homework assignments and
general concerns and questions. There is also a place to upload pictures, which
you will value more with every passing year.
All of this is only accessible to approved members. To become a member you need
to make a request. When you do this, please provide your childs name and
assigned teacher for validation purposes. You can begin by going to Yahoo My
Groups and searching for DKFI. This should bring up a list of groups available.
After finding the correct graduating year, click on Join Group. This will send a
membership request to the moderator. The moderator will then approve your
request and you will be an active member. If you have a spam filter it is important
that you approve the group email address so that messages are able to get
through. You can adjust how you receive messages to tailor it to how much school
traffic you want in your inbox.
To and use the school-wide listserv, please email the following:

Post Message : dkfisg@yahoogroups.com

Subscribe : dkfisg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Unsubscribe : dkfisg-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

The class listserv groups available for the 2015-16 year are:
Kindergarten
DKFI-2024@yahoogroups.com
st
1 Grade DKFI-2023@yahoogroups.com
2nd Grade DKFI-2022@yahoogroups.com
3rd Grade DKFI-2021@yahoogroups.com
4th Grade DKFI-2020@yahoogroups.com
5th Grade DKFI-2019@yahoogroups.com
6th Grade DKFI-2018@yahoogroups.com
7th Grade DKFI-2017@yahoogroups.com
8th Grade DKFI-2016@yahoogroups.com
Should you have any questions, concerns or problems please feel free to contact
Sue Zwicker at sue_zwicker@yahoo.com or Sandy Legg at sandy@sandylegg.com

FAST FACTS and Frequently Asked

Questions
Updated: 8/11/2015

General School and PTA Questions

What is the NEW address
and phone number for the
school?
What are the school hours?
Is there a ListServ (email
group) for the school and
how do I subscribe to it?

What is the address of the

PTA website?
How much are PTA Dues?
What calendar dates do the
PTA Dues encompass?
When does the PTA meet?

Where can I find the PTA

Calendar?
Who are the PTA officers?

Are there other ways to

communicate with other
parents?

8950 Edmonston Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20770

301-918-8660
Class Hours: 9:15am 3:55pm, Monday Friday
Office Hours 8:45am 4:30pm, Monday Friday
Send an email to: dkfisgsubscribe@yahoogroups.com This is a private email
group for parents, teachers, students, friends of our
school and PTA. It is not sponsored by the school or
the PTA, but is a means to communicate, share and
receive information.
www.dkfipta.org
$10 per adult
July 1, 2015 through June 30th 2016; Dues must be
renewed annually for each school year.
The 2nd Wednesday day of the month, except in
November (PTA will meet on the 2nd Tuesday instead).
Meetings will be in the Library unless otherwise
specified.
www.dkfipta.org; on the DKFI ListServ uploaded as a
file; at PTA meetings
President: Katrina R. Dodro
1st Vice President: Rachel Frey (representing Middle
School)
2nd Vice President: Shanna Liberman-Estelle
(representing Elementary School)
Treasurer: Contina Djaouga
Secretary: Nicole Turner
Yes, our school has listservs for parents to join. We
are also planning to begin a text messaging system
for parents using the Remind app.
Check out the PTA website for information about
joining listservs, or check the Welcome Packet.

Fundraiser Questions
Who do I contact if I want to
help with Fundraising?

You can contact any PTA Officer - parent participation

is essential to maintain our high-quality program. The
PTA welcomes your assistance, whether you can help
with one event or on a regular basis throughout the
year.
Does PTA need volunteers to YES. Some volunteer jobs are one time deals, while
help with Fundraisers?
others may meet 6-9 times during the academic year.
Parent participation is vital to making our school work.
Please consider what talents you can utilize with PTA.
Fundraising questions?
Lee Wright:; 301-675-7944
What are the ongoing PTA
These are EASY WAYS to help PTA throughout the year.
fundraisers?
You can help PTA just by shopping and searching the
internet.
BoxTops for Education:
www.boxtops4education.com or www.btfe.com
Labels for Education: www.labelsforeducation.com
Target RedCard (code 118422):
https://redcard.target.com/redcard/rc_main.jsp
GoodSearch (donations to PTA for every internet
search): www.GoodSearch.com
GoodShop (% of each purchase goes to PTA):
www.GoodShop.com
www.ShopWithScrip.com (code 7315866L14929) buy
cards for popular retailers & restaurants
***Giant/A+ BonusBucks (code 00381):
www.giantfood.com/our_stores/bonus_bucks/index.ht
m
***Safeway/EScrip (code 148996839):
www.escrip.com
***Requires annual registration
Are there Special Event
Yes! Almost all of our fundraising puts the emphasis
Fundraisers?
on FUN. Please see our flyer with our FUN event based fundraisers. Mark your calendar; the fun times
are coming all year long.