Message from Dr. Penke
Message from Dr. Penke
Time for Thanks:
As we come upon the Thanksgiving holiday, I have reflected upon how much we have to be thankful for in the Millard Public Schools and Aldrich Elementary. My reflections lead down many paths, but all centered on the pride I have in our school, our school district, our staff, and our students. I am continually impressed by the character, positivity, hard work, persistence and determination of our staff and students. I am inspired by all of them every day. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank you for helping make Aldrich a great place to learn!
No School:
Reminder that there is no school on November 22nd-24th. Happy Thanksgiving!
4th grade Music Program:
Thank you to Mr. Whiston and our fourth graders for a fabulous music performance this week! What a treat!
PTO Luncheon:
Thank you to all of the fourth grade families for treating our staff to a wonderful lunch! What a treat! Everything was so delicious! We appreciate the meal and all of your support!
Cold Weather Reminders and Recess:
Coats, hats, and mittens will be needed most mornings for Walking Club and recess. It is helpful if you label your child’s outerwear. We can easily return items to your child if there is a name on the tag! All unclaimed lost and found items will be donated over the winter break. We will do our best to go out for recess every day as long as it is not raining, snowing, and the temperature with wind chill is above 10 degrees. We use the weather.gov website to check the temperature with wind chill.
Inclement Weather:
We know that the weather changes quickly around here. We live in Nebraska! Here is the District link for the Inclement Weather information.
Staff Change:
This is a bittersweet message to share. I want to let you know that I have accepted a different position in the Millard Public Schools starting next school year. I am going to be the Director of Recruitment and Retention with the Human Resources Department. I have had a great eight years at Aldrich and I will cherish all of the wonderful memories! I have loved every minute with your children and your families! I will keep you updated as we work through the hiring process and transition to a new principal.
Have a great weekend!
Dr. Penke
Communicator Inquirer Nov 2022.pdf
BIRTHDAY BOOK CLUB
Tejas Mishra, “Nat Geo Kids Almanac 2023”
Hadley Nogg, “Narwhalicorn and Jelly”
Finley Vakoc, “Disney Frozen: Anna’s Best Friend”
Allison Anderson, “Nat Geo Kids Just Joking: Science”
Priya Nastase, “Baby-sitters Club #14: Stacey’s Mistake”
Paisley Paulson, “Unicorn Diaries #8: Welcome to Sparklegrove”
Lyra Wang, “Barbie: You Can Be a Doctor”
All Star Staff Members of the Month
This weeks All Star Staff Member is Lisa Bertagni! Mrs. Bertagni was nominated by Annie Stahmer. She writes, “There are so many things to admire about Lisa! I am always impressed by her organization, efficiency, and high expectations for her students. In turn, I know it yields great results for her learners. Lisa is a warm and positive presence in the building. Her impact is also felt by students. My fifth graders love to talk about their 2nd grade year and how much they loved their teacher, Mrs. Bertagni. Thank you, Lisa!”
Thank you for making Aldrich a better place to learn and work!
Pick-up Change Notifications
We understand that emergencies come up and last minute plans need to be made for school pick-ups at times, but please make sure that the last minute calls to the office for pick-up changes are for emergencies only. It is difficult to get messages to the teacher last minute and causes confusion for everyone. If your student is going home with another parent or going home with a friend, please make sure arrangements are made and the teacher is notified prior to the start of the school day.
Volunteer Opportunities
LUNCHROOM
Parent volunteers are encouraged to help throughout the year during lunch periods (11:10am-12:30pm) or for as long as you are able during that time slot. Volunteers help students open their food, wipe down tables, clean up spills and assist our custodian. You can volunteer as often as you like via our Sign Up Genius link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050B49AAAC23A1FB6-lunchroom
MEDIA
Parent volunteers are encouraged to help throughout the year in the library restocking books. You can volunteer as often as you like via this Sign Up Genius link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050B49AAAC23A1FB6-library
WALKING CLUB
Parent volunteers Volunteers can enter the building just prior to 7:55 and sign in at the front office. They will then go to their volunteer assignment if helping with the front door or hallway. Please do not attempt to enter the building prior to 7:50.
You can volunteer as often as you like via this Sign Up Genius link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0545AFA823A3FA7-aldrich2
Health Room Clothes Needed
We are in need of donations of pants for the Health room. We are looking for boys sweatpants sizes XS-XL and girls leggings sizes XS-XL. You can drop them off at the Main Office. Thank you!
Sign-up Genius Friday Newsletter - IF 2023.pdf
Hello All Star Families,
An important reminder that our International Festival, a special and unique Aldrich specific annual family event, is quickly approaching on November 30th. We are in major need of volunteers especially for food signup to share at this great event. It can be store bought or made, whatever is easiest. Please consider signing up through the following link: https://signupgenius.com/
Also back this year is our online Spirit Store! Great for Holiday ideas for kids and families and to add some Aldrich gear to wear for school and events. It will remain open through November 21st with access through the following link: https://www.kbapparelomaha.com/aldrich
Interested in volunteering?! Check out for the following PTO volunteer opportunities:
International Banquet Night on November 30th will need lots volunteers. Please email Huda Ahmed at hahmed85@yahoo.com for more information to volunteer.
We are not getting many lunchroom or media center volunteers so would love to see more volunteers. In the lunchroom, you can volunteer for the entire timeframe or whatever time you have available!. The link to volunteer is in the newsletter above.
Outdoor decoration help will be needed after Thanksgiving to put up the snowmen so please keep an eye out for the newsletter link to volunteer.
Quickly approaching PTO dates to add to your calendar:
November 30th International Banquet
Wednesday, December 6th is our next Aldrich restaurant fundraiser at La Casa Pizzeria. Details to come in the upcoming newsletters.
Friday, January 19th Aldrich Night at the Omaha Lancer's
All items can be found in the new PTO website. https://runpto.com/u/aldrich_mps
Please email any questions and/or issues with PTO registration to aldrichptopresident@outlook.com
To access the directory, paid members will login at: https://www.runpto.com/pto/login/
Our org ID is: Aldrich_MPS.
Please email aldrichptotech@outlook.com with any questions or issues accessing the directory.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jacquelyn Alexander
PTO President
lunch times
Kindergarten 11:20-11:40
First Grade 11:45-12:05
Second Grade 12:10-12:30
Third Grade 12:00-12:20
Fourth Grade 11:35-11:55
Fifth Grade 11:10-11:30
Bakers community rewards.pdfHyVee TAGG.pdfBoxtop_Overview with office option.pdf
MPS Board Members
Dr. John Schwartz, Superintendent
Amanda McGill Johnson, President
Linda Poole, Vice President
Mike Kennedy, Secretary
Mike Pate, Treasurer
Stacy Jolley, Board Member
Lisa Schoenberger, Board Member