Message from Dr. Penke
Message from Dr. Penke
Thanks for a great second week of school! The students have done a great job learning the new schedule and routines. I love watching your children learn and grow every day!
Absences: Please email the teacher and Ms. Allen at laallen@mpsomaha.org if your child is going to miss school or call the school at (402)715-2020. We would appreciate any details you can share about your child’s illness.
Lunch Accounts: School meals are parent-pay and regular pricing for the 2023/2024 school year. The breakfast price is $1.60, lunch price is $3.15, and milk only is $0.55. A student must have money in their account in order to buy milk with their cold lunch. Please discuss this with your child if they want milk at lunch. We do not like turning students away, so please send another drink if you don’t want to pay for the milk.
If your child qualifies for Free or Reduced lunch, your family needs to submit an application. Please click here to be redirected to the application.
Curriculum Night: We will have Curriculum Night on Tuesday, August 29th. We will have two time slots available to attend: 5:30-6:10pm and 6:15-6:55pm. Classroom teachers will give the same presentation twice so pick one time that works for your schedule. We look forward to sharing curriculum information with you. Curriculum Night is for parents and guardians only.
Carnival: The PTO Carnival is August 25th. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year. We hope to see you all there!
PTO: Olympic Day T-shirt orders are due by August 25th. The t-shirts are FREE this year, so please visit https://www.runpto.com/shop/store/?orgid=aldrich_mps to put in your child’s shirt size today! We wear our Olympic Day shirts for Olympic Day meetings, for field trips and for Olympic Day.
Walking Club: Walking Club starts on September 6th. Please visit our PTO website at https://www.runpto.com/shop/store/?orgid=aldrich_mps to sign up. We only sign up once a year so don’t miss it. The deadline to sign up is August 25th.
Lunch Visitors/Volunteers: Just a reminder that we are not allowing any lunch visitors or volunteers until after Labor Day.
Reminders: We are now going into our third week of school, and I wanted to take this time to remind you of a few things:
Students should not arrive before 8:15. We do not have supervision before that time. The front doors will be locked until 8:15.
When you are dropping off or picking up your child, please park in a parking stall if your child cannot load and unload the car independently. If you get out of your car in the drop off/pick up lane, you are holding up all of the traffic.
No pets on school grounds. For the safety of all our students, we ask that you do not bring pets onto the school grounds.
Have a great weekend!
Dr. Penke
Happy Friday!
I hope your child’s school year is off to a wonderful start!
Please complete registration for your child's FREE Olympic Day shirt no later than 6pm on Friday, August 25th. Instructions for how to order are in the Olympic Day T-shirt section of the Newsletter.
Wondering why you should register to be a PTO member?
Registering for the PTO allows school families access to the online student directory, the ability to volunteer at PTO events plus contribute to our teachers and students through the $15 membership fee. Please see the following attachments included in the newsletter:
-5 Reasons to Get Involved in the PTO
-Where Does Your PTO Registration Money Go?
-PTO Volunteer Committee Descriptions to decide where you may be interested in volunteering
Other important deadlines to be aware of:
Carnival wristband pre-orders due: 6pm Friday 8/18
Carnival Sponsorships Due: 6pm Friday 8/18
All Star Sponsorships Due: 6pm Friday 8/18
Walking Club Registration Closes: 6pm Friday 8/25
Kindness Club Registration Closes: 6pm Friday 8/25
Quickly approaching dates to add to your calendar:
-1st PTO Meeting Tuesday, August 22nd at 8:30 am both in person in the Art room at the school and through Zoom (Linked here: https://mpsomaha-org.zoom.us/j/99706803242)
-Aldrich Carnival Friday, August 25th; *This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, please help us make it successful by volunteering and/or considering a sponsorship. It’s such a great way to meet other Aldrich families, students, and have fun with the kids. The link to volunteer is here: https://m.signupgenius.com/?fbclid=IwAR3kyn61qSgkqO1o6zaqLnRthFTaCGry00t0j9aYlk_4juHpYpUt4B2dVM#!/showSignUp/60b0549a4aa23a1fd0-2023
-Walking club begins Wednesday September 6th.
All items can be found in the new PTO website. https://runpto.com/u/aldrich_mps
Please email any questions to aldrichptopresident@outlook.com
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jacquelyn Alexander
PTO President
IB informational Corner
What is inquiry?
Inquiry is the leading pedagogical approach of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme and what makes Aldrich Elementary different from other Millard Public Schools. The PYP recognizes students as being actively involved in their own learning and as taking responsibility for that learning. Drawing from the six transdisciplinary themes (Who We Are, Where We Are in Place & Time, How We Organize Ourselves, Sharing the Planet, How We Express Ourselves, and How The World Works) and students’ interests, inquiry is an authentic way for students to relate to, explore and understand the world around them.
Learning and teaching in the IB grows from an understanding of education that celebrates the many ways people work together to construct meaning and make sense of the world. The inquiry process supports the development of international mindedness. Represented as the interplay between asking (inquiry), thinking (reflection) and doing (action), this constructivist inquiry process promotes different views and perspectives. This process is the basis of the design and implementation of learning and teaching in all IB programmes.
Through the inquiry process, students move from current understandings to new and deeper understandings. This process involves:
*exploring, wondering and questioning
*making connections between previous learning and current learning
*researching and seeking information
*reflecting and taking action
*making predictions and acting purposefully to see what happens
*clarifying existing ideas, and reappraising perceptions of events
Walking Club
Registration now open through August 25th!
Walking Club Registrations can be completed when you register for the PTO at below link. Walking Club Registration deadline is Friday, August 25.
https://www.runpto.com/u/aldrich_mps/
Walking Club will begin on Wednesday, September 6th. Please review the information below for students and parent volunteers. We are excited to welcome back some morning exercise to our daily routine
Students:
All students signed up for Walking Club will receive their lanyard at school on Friday, September 1st.
Walking club doors will open at 7:55am and close at 8:05am. Students must wear their lanyard to enter the school for walking club. Students will enter and place their backpack in the hallways near their grade level sign. Students will not go to the coat rooms or classrooms.
Students will line up with a partner and follow Mr. Mohning for a morning walk.
Students will receive a punch on their punch card each day they walk. They will earn prizes by turning their punch card in to Mr. Mohning each time the reach 25, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 miles.
Walking Club will conclude at 8:15. Students will enter the school through the recess door and pick up their backpack.
Behavior expectations for walking club: Students will actively participate in the walk, stay with the walking club group and keep their hands and feet to themselves. They will not attempt to go to the classroom early or go to the coat rooms before 8:15. Failure to obey these rules will result in removal from Walking Club. The club is operated on a three strike system. The third strike will result in removal for the remainder of the year.
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.
Volunteers helping with the walk will be directed by Mr. Mohning and may wait near the front of the line and help punch tags as the students line up.
At the conclusion of walking club, volunteers need to enter the building to turn in their volunteer badge and exit through the front door. Volunteers are not able to visit classrooms or walk their child to class. Please respect this boundary so we can keep the walking club in place.
Interested volunteers can sign up on the link below! We appreciate any & all help.
Olympic Day T-Shirts
Parents, please complete registration for your child's FREE Olympic Day shirt no later than 6pm on Friday, August 25th. You can select your child's shirt size in one of two ways. To select your child's shirt size during PTO registration, please follow the instructions at this link. To select a size WITHOUT paying for PTO membership, click here and select the Olympic Day shirt and choose a size, then check out. Walking club, kindness club, carnival wristbands and all sponsorships DO NOT require PTO membership.
2023 Aldrich Carnival Information!
Modern Images Flyer.pdfOur picture day will be held on Tuesday, September 19th.
Pictures will be ordered online this year. There are special offers if you order BEFORE picture day! Please click on the link below to pre-order your school pictures.
Place your school picture day order now online! <CLICK HERE>
If the link above doesn’t work in your browser, please copy and paste this in your address bar:
https://modernimagesonline.com/ordering/access
PRE-ORDER NOW AND GET SPECIAL SAVINGS
Simple steps to ordering online:
PRE-ORDER NOW ONLINE
Step 1: Use the link above or go to modernimagesonline.com
Step 2: enter this code: 44B84H5E (CODE EXPIRES when pre-orders are printed)
THIS CODE ONLY WORKS FOR ALDRICH!
Step 3: Place your order. (Each student needs to have a separate order).
Step 4: Pay with credit card.
Step 5: Hassle Free picture day.
Step 6: Your pictures will be delivered to the school unless you choose to have them sent to your home.
At Back to School Night you should have received a yellow car sign. If you choose to pick up your student in the front car line please make the yellow sign visible to staff so that we can get your child to you quickly. If you need additional car signs please email Ms. Allen at laallen@mpsomaha.org.
PTO Online Registration
PTO registration is now open! Please follow the links below to register! (We recommend reading the instructions prior to registering).
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
NRIA Parent Information for School Newsletter.pdfFall 2023 Millard North Learn to Swim REGISTRATION FORM.pdfMINI MUSTANGS.docx (1).pdfBakers community rewards.pdfHyVee TAGG.pdfCoke rewards.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