Message from Dr. Penke

No School:

There is no school February 16-19.

Parent/Teacher Conferences:

Conferences are coming up in March! We look forward to meeting with you. Conferences will be Tuesday, March 12 from 4:00-8:o0 pm and Wednesday, March 13 from 4:00-8:00 pm. All conferences will be in person. More information on scheduling conferences will be coming soon.

Help with Dismissal:

Please only use the handicap stalls if you have a handicap sticker. We need to allow our community members who need handicap space access to have it. Also if you are picking up your child in the parking lot, please park in a stall. The thru lane is not a pick up lane. That creates a huge safety concern.

NSCAS Testing:

Here is our NSCAS Testing Schedule for Spring 2024. Please avoid scheduling any appointments, vacations, etc during this time.

Date Grade Subject Tested

April 16 and 17 3rd Grade Reading

April 16, 17, 18 5th Grade Reading

April 22 and 25 4th Grade Reading

April 22 and 25 5th Grade Math

April 23 and 26 3rd Grade Math

April 29 and May 1 4th Grade Math

April 30 and May 1 5th Grade Science

New Kindergarteners

Do you live in the Aldrich attendance area and have a child starting Kindergarten in 2024-2025? Or do you know anyone else that does? Please view this document, and fill out the necessary forms listed on it to help us begin to gather information.

Have a great weekend!

Dr. Penke

Read Across America Week 2024 (1).pdf

Future Chef Culinary Challenge

Congratulations to Aarohi A. and Leila K. for being selected as finalists for the Future Chef Culinary Challenge! They will now advance to the next round of competition on March 12th. Good luck Aarohi and Leila!

BIRTHDAY BOOK CLUB

Siddharth Varma Kolukuluri, “Mixed Up”

Lila Henning, “The Beatryce Prophecy”

Yuxi Yuan, “Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow”

Sterling Hernandez, “How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide”

Helen Stevens, “Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Midnight Rider”

Finn Kirkpatrick, “Turkey’s Valentine Surprise”

Madison Hughes, “A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale: Bella’s Story”

Theo Zheng, “Disney Cars: Driven to Win!”

All Star Staff Members of the Month

This weeks All Star Staff Member is Mrs. Bright. Jill Bright was nominated by Emily Smith. She writes, “Jill has been a wonderful addition to the Aldrich staff this year. She tackled having her first EL level 1 student with ease - even when we ran into some literal "bumps" in the road at the beginning of the year. She is always kind, welcoming, and warm to both teachers and students. She's awesome!”

Thank you for making Aldrich a better place to learn and work!

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/8050B49AAAC23A1FB6-47128393-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

Hello All Star Families,

Thank you to all that volunteered to help make Valentine’s Day so much fun! It was such a great way to spread and share the love in our Aldrich community.

Interested in volunteering?! Check out for the following PTO volunteer opportunities:

The 2024/2025 school year board slate will be presented at the PTO meeting in March. We are currently looking for someone to fill the President Elect position. This can be any involved PTO parent with a 2nd grader or younger since it’s a 3-year term. If interested, please email aldrichptopresident@outlook.com.
For 2024/2025 school year, we are also looking for a Restaurant Fundraiser Chair, an International Banquet Chair, Girls on the Run Co-Chair and Outdoor Decorations Co-Chair. If interested, please email aldrichptopresident@outlook.com.

Quickly approaching PTO dates to add to your calendar:

March 13th is the last restaurant fundraiser for the 23/24 school year at Runza. More details to come.
Next PTO meeting is at 8:30 am on March 26th in the art room for in person or zoom.

Having issues with PTO directory access? You can find a "how to" video for navigating the website by following the link here. If you still need help, please email aldrichptotech@outlook.com for a resolution. Teachers are unable to help, as this is a PTO led directory, so this email will be your quickest solution to access. Thank you!

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

Staff Appreciation Week

Hello All Star Families !

The Aldrich PTO is hosting Staff Appreciation Week March 4-8 and we need your help! Please follow the link below to get to the sign up genius to sign up to bring items or make a monetary donation towards an all staff gift. All items should be brought to the office the week of February 26 - March 1. Please send monetary donations via Venmo to @Shelley-Atwell (1344). Please designate "Staff Appreciation" when sending donation. We appreciate your help! If you have questions please email Leora Werner (leoraann93@gmail.com) or Shelley Atwell (slclaus@gmail.com)