Staff Appreciation Luncheon
The first of the year is always the hardest to pull together, but it was a great success and the team at South sends their thanks for the treat!
Do you shop at Publix or Harris Teeter?
Did you know that you can connect your accounts to South and they make donations based on your shopping at no additional cost to you! Box Tops has a really cool program too! Find out more here!
Did you know that you can reserve the spirit rock?
The Spirit Rock is a fun way to celebrate your child’s birthday or other special occasions. Instructions/bookings are available here. Let us know if you have any questions!
PTSO is excited to kick the school year off and welcome all of our new families to South! We have lots of different things in the works for a fun school year. We will communicate with families primarily through this weekly newsletter or paper flyers sent home in your child’s folder, but we also post to Facebook and will occasionally email folks who sign up for our email list here. (We’d love to be more active on Instagram… if you can help us with that, let us know!) You can ALWAYS check our website (SouthPTSO.com) or email us at SouthElemPTSO@gmail.com.
Fundraise for our school while you shop
South Elementary benefits (without any additional cost to you) when you make purchases using the website, app or card associated with Harris Teeter, Publix, or BoxTops. Find out how here!
Want to help out?
Check out our August Volunteer Opportunities sign up genius. We have a few opportunities listed there, but we’d like to highlight:
Kindergarten could use some extra hands to help students out during lunch time for these first two weeks. We don't want kids to get upset or confused by familiar faces in these important early weeks, so only non-kindergarten parents can volunteer for this one.
We will be at the school on Tuesday, August 13th preparing packets to go home with students, organizing the kindness closet for the new Counselor, and other little projects. We’d love to have more hands! (Tiny Tagalong friendly!)
Background Checks
We need copies of your MGSD SecureVolunteer card before we can bring you in as a volunteer! Please forward the card to BackgroundCheck@southptso.com. Did it last year? Great! Check your expiration date and send it on over. Need to get it started? You can do that at https://mis.mgsd.k12.nc.us/school-news/details/~board/mis-news/post/new-volunteer-application (the process can take a couple of weeks, but the application is quick!)
Dear South Families,
Teacher appreciation week was an unbelievable success and we are so glad we were able to show our teachers how much they mean to all of us! The amount of participation we had from students and families was more than we could have imagined. Thank you again for the donations, cards, gifts, and volunteering. We can't wait to do it again next year!
alt_text As we wrap up this school year, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you. Your support and generosity has made a significant impact at South. All of the amazing accomplishments PTSO has achieved this year would not have been possible without you. We thank you for being patient as we stepped into these roles and found our footing. We have shared so much joy this school year, and we can't wait to see what the future holds! Please take a few moments and complete our end of year survey. Your feedback is important to us and will help us plan better for next year!
PTSO is planning a few extra things over the summer for incoming students, so please follow our social media and our website for updates.
https://www.facebook.com/SouthElementaryPTSO
https://sites.google.com/view/mgsdsouthptso
Teacher Appreciation Week
Hi families! Can you believe it is May? It's time for teacher and staff appreciation week! The PTSO has put a lot of time and effort into planning various activities to honor our staff. Please take the time to read through the envelope that came home with your child last week. Inside, you will find all of the information about what we are hosting and how you can participate! We would love to see extra faces in the school, here are some specific times we need help! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094CABAA2AA1FF2-49402379-teacher#/
We are also hosting a cookout style luncheon on Thursday for them. Check out our sign up for that here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094CABAA2AA1FF2-48893346-cook#/
FOR MONDAY!! If you choose to send in money for your child to purchase flower(s) for their teacher(s), please have them carry it into school as they enter.
Lastly, we ask that you think of all teachers at school. Oftentimes our specialists get left out. If your child has many favorite teachers, encourage them to write a note of thanks to all of them, not just their main teacher!
Together we will make it an amazing appreciation week! We appreciate all of your help! If you have ANY questions about next week, please don't hesitate to reach out to PTSO!
Spring Fling Auction Ends Today
Last chance to place a bid on some really great items from the Spring Fling Auction. The auction will end today, April 30th, at 5:30pm. Check out the link below to place your final bids!
https://southelementaryptso.betterworld.org/auctions/south-elementary-spring-auction
SPRING FLING:
A huge shoutout to everyone who made South's Spring Fling a huge success! We hope you all enjoyed the special time inside of the school with your child. We have reached out to all raffle winners. However, our silent auction is still ongoing!
You have time to place your bids! Bidding ends on Tuesday 4/30 5:30pm. https://southelementaryptso.betterworld.org/auctions/south-elementary-spring-auction
TEACHER APPRECIATION:
Teacher (staff) appreciation is quickly approaching! We have a lot of very exciting things planned this year to show our staff just how special they are. Please be on the lookout for an envelope with what will be happening and how you can be involved! Our hope in doing this is to ease the weight on parents shoulders during this crazy season. We have it all planned out, we would love participation and volunteers, but it is all optional!
As always, you can email us anytime at southelemptso.com or find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SouthElementaryPTSO
We can't wait to see you tomorrow for our largest event of the year!
Check out our craft vendors, food trucks, and raffle donors at Spring Fling Central. If you bought your tickets in advance, those will have come home in your child's folder this week. We will continue to accept pre-sales and will also sell tickets at the door. This event is open to the community, so feel free to share it with your friends, family and neighbors on Facebook.
Most food trucks and vendors can take cards, but some will be cash only. Please plan accordingly!
The bus parking lot will be blocked off and the larger lot will have additional spots reserved for accessibility parking. Please be kind to our neighbors as you park on the streets in the surrounding area.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at southelemptso@gmail.com!
Spring Fling
We hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather. Did you get your flyer for Spring Fling? We hope to see you there! Check out our confirmed vendors, food trucks, and buy your tickets online! This event is open to the community, so please feel free to invite your friends and family! We also have lots of opportunities for involvement coming up! Please mark your calendars! Questions, comments, ideas? Email us any time at southelemptso@gmail.com!
Happy Spring!
We hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather. Did you get your flyer for Spring Fling? We hope to see you there! Check out our confirmed vendors, food trucks, and buy your tickets online! This event is open to the community, so please feel free to invite your friends and family! We also have lots of opportunities for involvement coming up! Please mark your calendars! Questions, comments, ideas? Email us any time at southelemptso@gmail.com!
April 11- Staff Appreciation Lunch Sign Up Genius We need your help feeding our amazing staff this week! Any amount helps.
April 18- Spring Fling from 5:30-8pm We need lots of volunteers! Do you know any high school or college students who need to get some hours before the end of the year? Community members are welcome for this volunteer opportunity! Pass this form along!
April 19- All Pro Dads in the cafe! Join your child for a morning meeting with breakfast and community. 730A-830A
Get your tickets for Spring Fling!
South's First Annual Spring Fling is April 18th
We're not sure what the weather has in mind, but we have Spring on ours! Spring Fling will be April 18 from 5:30-8pm at the school. We will have a bounce house/slide, carnival games, face painting, food trucks, arts and crafts, raffles and more! Please watch your child's folders for ticket forms this week; we will also open online ticket sales soon because this event is open to the community! In the meantime, we are seeking:
Lots of volunteers (of course)! Do you know any high school or college students who need to get some hours before the end of the year? Pass this form along to them, too!
Vendors who would like to have a table at the event. That application is here!
April 11 Staff Appreciation Lunch
We love feeding our staff! (And they LOVE it too) For April, we are planning for build-your-own sandwiches! We can't do these events without your support, so please take a look at the Sign Up Genius here. We will have folks at the car-rider line and bus drop off on the morning of April 11th to accept anything that you send in with your child (just make sure they know it's for PTSO!)
Volunteer Recess Monitors
We are so excited to see our kids getting ready to start recess on the new playground! As kids get to know this new structure and new rules, extra eyes would be particularly helpful! Email us at southelemptso@gmail.com or watch our website for a Sign Up Genius to let us know that you'd like to volunteer!
Second Grade Parents
We're sad to see you go at the end of this year, but EMIS PTO is excited to meet you! They have a meeting at their school this week on Thursday, March 21 at 6:00pm and they would love to have you join. Please email any questions to emis.pto@gmail.com!
Spring Fling (April 18th: 5:30-8pm)
RSVP for the Planning Meeting on 3/22 at 9am or email us to help us bring it all together! And as excited as we are about what's coming, we love looking back at these amazing photos from the Sweetheart Ball (In front of the Balloon Arch and On the Dance Floor)!
Do you shop at Harris Teeter or Publix? You can connect your shopper cards to South Elementary for a portion of your normal spending to be donated to the school!
Making room for warm weather clothes?
We have a box in the school's foyer to collect needed clothes, particularly outgrown winter coats and pants. We'd love to have some on hand for kids in need next year. Going shopping? Consider grabbing an extra pack of clean underwear or socks for the nurse and counselor to keep handy! And, of course, since it's t-shirt weather, consider getting a school shirt for those Q4 spirit days!
Chicken Pot Pie, Quiche, Empanadas, Pizza? What kind of pie do you love to make? Share your favorite with our staff for our Appreciation Lunch this Thursday (Pi Day!), March 14th. Sign up to send food, money or help here!
Can you help out with clubs on Wednesday? We'd love some more hands with Second grade from 10:05am-11:25am, Kindergarten from 12:20pm-1:35pm, and First grade from 2:00pm-3:15pm. You can do one or all three, no matter which grade your child is in! Sign up here.
Got a big grocery run? Make sure your shopping card is connected to South Elementary to donate a portion of your purchases to the school! Instructions for Harris Teeter and Publix are here!
Dates to Know
3/15- All Pro Dads meeting in Cafeteria 7:30-8:30am
3/22- Spring Fling Planning Meeting at 9am (RSVP here)
4/18- Spring Fling (5:30-8pm)
Sweetheart Ball
A huge thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed the dance! An even bigger thank you to all of the volunteers we had helping us, we couldn't have done it without your help! We were blown away at the outcome! Stay tuned for the photos from our photographer!
Art to Remember!
Flyers have gone home! Orders are open until 3/1! We really want to WOW Ms. Tucker this year. She works so hard for our South stars. Order a keepsake and support your student and her art room! If you need an additional form, please reach out.
PBIS PARTY HELP
We are in need of some extra hands at the monthly PBIS party this Friday! Please click the link for more details.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094CABAA2AA1FF2-48079273-pbis#/
Spring is in the Air!
We are already thinking about a Spring Fling event on April 18th. Would you like to help us bring it together? We're thinking food trucks, games, bounce houses vendors and more!
DADS!
Have you checked out all pro dads yet? It is an amazing opportunity to come for breakfast, a character lesson, and connect with other dads in the school.. This is a great way to get your child's day started! Mark your calendar for the next meeting on March 15th from 730A-830A in the South cafeteria.
Spirit Wear!
We have delivered the first few rounds of printed spirit wear! Have you ordered yours yet? Check it out at southptso.com.
Sweetheart Ball
Our 1st Annual Sweetheart Ball was a huge success! Thank you for making it such a memorable event for our students.
Check Out Our PTSO Webpage!
If you ever find yourself with a free moment, check out our page for short notice volunteer opportunities! (Spoiler, we can always use last minute help at clubs on Wednesdays!)
Thank you for being in the school this week!
Between the book fair, the staff appreciation luncheon, morning car rider line, Wednesday clubs and everything else, we had lots of help from South's Family! If you ever find yourself with a free moment, check out our page for short notice volunteer opportunities! (Spoiler, we can always use last minute help at clubs on Wednesdays!)
We can't wait to see our kids all dressed up this Friday from 6-8pm at our Sweetheart Ball! If you haven't already, please send in your ticket form in your child's folder on Tuesday, February 13th, even if you are volunteering or paying online. Have you been considering our new spirit wear shirts? We will have a table set up to accept cash or checks for orders along with a few other spirit items. We will also have a photographer offering photos!
February just started, but we're already thinking about Spring! If you'd like to help us plan something fun for next quarter, let us know!
WINNER WINNER!
Thank you all for making this Restock Rumble so much more than we expected! We were able to give each teacher the things they specifically requested, set out a buffet of supplies for the Gateway Projects, and had lots more to put in supply rooms around the school. Our winning classes received a special popcorn or donut treat on Friday to wrap up a busy week!
Kindergarten- Ms. Farden
First Grade- tied between Ms. Ockers and Ms. Lauer
Second Grade- Ms. Stutts
February 8th is a big day for PTSO at South! We'd love your help providing a Soup-er Bowl lunch for staff (send food, volunteer, or donate here!) and we have lots of room for volunteers to help out with the Book Fair that night and all week! Hope to see you there!
We had an amazing turn out for the Restock Rumble! Every single class participated, 155 items were purchased from our wish list, we raised $280, and we collected so many other supplies. Thank you all for your support! We are still tallying the last few items, so we will officially announce the winners next week.
We can't wait to see our South students and their special guests at our Sweetheart Ball on February 16th! If you haven't already, please send in your ticket form in your child's folder by February 13th, even if you are volunteering or paying online.
Check out our calendar, more volunteer opportunities and other information on our website at sites.google.com/view/mgsdsouthptso, our facebook at facebook.com/SouthElementaryPTSO or our Instagram at instagram.com/southelemptso/
Lots of chances to help out at the school!
We still need folks to help with Wednesday clubs this week! Are you available on 1/31 at 10:05am-11:25am for second grade? 12:20pm-1:35pm for kindergarten? 2:00pm-3:15pm for first grade? We hope so!
We need lots of folks to help kids browse the Book Fair in 1 or 2 hour increments from February 5-9! Join Ms. Omspach here!
We're getting ready for Soup-er Bowl Sunday with a staff appreciation lunch! Sign up here to send food or help out on 2/8!
Did you see our new swag?
We are so excited about showing off South Spirit with our new shirts! Right now all orders are online at southptso.com. After you enter your shipping address, choose school delivery and make sure to tell us the name of your student and teacher, so we can send those home when they arrive!
The Restock Rumble continues!
Thank you to everyone who has sent in supplies already! The last day to send in donations will be Wednesday, January 31st. Please make sure to include your child & teacher's names on amazon gift notes and paypal gifts. We want to make sure your class gets their points! As of Noon on Friday:
Ms. Farden was leading Kindergarten with 115 points!
Ms. Ockers was leading First Grade with 54 points!
Ms. Stutts and Ms. Wally were tied in Second Grade with 67 points each!
Click here to see where your class is in the competition for popcorn and a movie!
February is all hearts!
Be on the lookout for valentines for your child to send to their favorite staff member! Oh! And have you gotten your tickets yet? We hope to see you at this year's annual Sweetheart Ball on February 16th from 6-8pm. Look for the invitation in your child's folder!
Last Note
We announced that we'd have a PTSO Meet and Greet on 2/8 after school, but between the Book Fair's late hours and MGSD's Superbowlavalentistic STEAM Event, we thought you might be busy. We'll still be there, so come find our table and chat!
The Sweetheart Ball is February 16th from 6-8pm! Order tickets by completing this form (English | Spanish) and sending it to school with your child.
Would you like to volunteer that day (English | Spanish)? We'd love your help! You can sign up for that here: Sweetheart Ball Volunteer Sign Up
Flyer announcing that Spirit wear is now available for sale at SouthPTSO.com!
Let's get Ready to Rumble!
Hopefully you received a flyer in your child's folder this week about helping us replenish needed items for our school! Classes will compete by grade for a special prize at the end of the month. Want to see how your class is scoring? Keep up here!
Here is an Amazon wishlist to show what teachers have requested, but supplies can be purchased anywhere. Points will be scored as follows:
3 Points: Classroom Supplies
2 Points: Cleaning Supplies or $5-$10
1 Point: Staff Lounge Supplies
5 Points: Bonus Items (for the 2nd Grade Gateway Project) or $15+
Please label cash, checks, or Paypal donations as "Restock Rumble" with your child's Teacher and Grade.
We need you!
Clubs start this week and we still have lots of room for volunteers to assist, especially for first grade! Sign up for Wednesday Club Sessions here!
Mark your calendars for the Sweetheart Ball on February 16th! Email us at southelemptso@gmail.com to let us know if you'd like to join the planning committee!
As always, check out our website, Facebook or Instagram for more information!
SAVE THE DATE!
Mark your calendars for our Sweetheart Dance on Friday, February 16th from 6-8pm. All students are invited to bring a Grown Up Guest for a special evening! Want to help us plan it? Let us know!
Our teachers love having family members in the schools!
Are you available one morning to come help us collect, tally and distribute supplies sent in for the Restock Rumble? *This one is Tiny Tagalong friendly!
We hope you're staying informed with the packet that we sent home this week in your child's folder. Those of you who answered our questionnaire also said that email is one of the best ways to share information, so please join our mailing list here (English | Español)! And since many families are not on Facebook or Instagram, we are keeping our PTSO website up to date with information as it becomes available. We have a lot of different activities in the works, so please check it out and email us with questions any time!
Other Upcoming Dates-
1/22-1/31: Restock Rumble (Watch for details about which school supplies you can send in to help your class win their grade's reward!)
1/25: 100th Day of School
2/5-2/9: Book Fair (Open after school from 4-7pm on Thursday, 2/8)
2/8: PTSO In-Person Meet and Greet (6-7pm; right after the Book Fair)
2/8: Teacher Appreciation Lunch (sign ups coming soon)
Happy New Year!
We hope your winter break was lovely and your return to school was smooth. We hit the ground running by providing lunch for the staff on their work day this past week. Thank you to everyone who helped us welcome them back to school! Our next big event will be a Restock Rumble school supply drive at the end of the month! Watch for more information coming soon!
We are excited to start assembling PTSO committees and getting folks into more leadership positions. If you are interested in being a Grade Parent, joining the committee for the Sweetheart Dance in February, or any of the other roles listed on our website, please email us at southelemptso@gmail.com!
We Need You in January!
We have several January volunteer needs coming up:
If you can support the morning car-rider line on 1/11 or 1/16, help us move the PTSO office on 1/11, or want to help out with the Restock Rumble on any day from 1/22-1/31 Sign up here!
Interested in helping out with the next round of clubs? Sign up for that here!
Thank you to everyone who has supported the school and helped us get our PTSO up and running this year. If you haven't already, please complete this questionnaire (English | Spanish) to get on the PTSO email list, tell us what you're interested in, and give us some feedback. We are very excited to launch 2024 with some new strategies in response to what we've been hearing from parents. In the new year we plan to:
Continue weekly messages in this newsletter.
Send paper newsletters home in your children's folders monthly.
Continue with monthly teacher appreciation activities. Our first one will be January 3rd! We'd love your support here!
Organize routine volunteer opportunities (car rider line, lunch, recess, etc.) and start hosting some PTSO meetings.
Continue to have fundraisers, parties and other fun activities.
Roll out some new spirit wear!
Use our New PTSO Website to keep all of our activities and information in one place that is accessible without social media. Check it out!
Happy holidays and see you next year!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the PJ's and Pancakes breakfast last weekend. We loved spending some time with families outside of the classroom! Check out our Facebook for photos!
The PTSO Board has learned a lot about our school's needs over these last few months and we have some new questions for you about your availability to support the school. We want to make sure that everyone who is interested in helping out hears about specific opportunities and knows how to get involved. Please take some time to complete this survey in English or in Spanish to let us know what you'd like to see from the PTSO in the new calendar year. We also sent a paper copy out in your child's folder this week.
Ways you can help now:
We have a FeedNC bin in the front foyer with the Toys for Tots bin. Their wishlist is here. We will collect until winter break.
We are also collecting shoe boxes in the foyer for a project the second graders will do in the new year!
Consider donating some extra hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes/spray, kleenex, water or cough drops (for the teachers) to help us all get through this rough cold/flu season.
Gift of Time (December 12-14)- If you'd like to come into the classroom to help with story time and an activity, sign up here.
December Teacher Appreciation (12/18)- Check out this Sign Up Genius to volunteer or contribute goodies!
We hope you'll join us for South's Annual PJ's and Pancakes on Saturday, December 2 from 8:30-11:00 a.m. We will have a pancake bar, music, photo opportunities and arts and crafts! Please look for the invitation and RSVP form in your child's folder. Tickets are by plate size rather than age this year: $8 for 2 Pancakes and $5 for 1 Pancake. You can send cash or check into school or pay online, but please do send the form into school either way. Would you like to help out with the event? Let us know on this Sign up Genius!
We hope you'll join us for South's Annual PJ's and Pancakes on Saturday, December 2 from 8:30-11:00 a.m. We will have a pancake bar, music, photo opportunities and arts and crafts! Please look for the invitation and RSVP form in your child's folder. Tickets are by plate size rather than age this year: $8 for 2 Pancakes and $5 for 1 Pancake. You can send cash or check into school or pay online, but please do send the form into school either way. Would you like to help out with the event? Let us know on this Sign up Genius!
Thank you!
PTSO would like to give a shout out to all the family members who donated food and volunteered for the Staff Luncheon. Thank you for helping us show them our appreciation!
Keep in Mind
Up Next: PJ’s and Pancakes on Dec. 2 (Information coming soon)
Join the PTSO on Facebook for additional information as it becomes available!
South’s Parent, Teacher, Student Organization (PTSO) got started last month by helping out with Boosterthon, thanking our car-rider team for braving a storm, and meeting families at Trunk-or-Treat. Up next, we are planning a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon on November 9th. If you’d like to volunteer or send food, please sign up here. Also, please save the date: we are looking forward to PJ’s and Pancakes on Dec. 2! Be on the lookout for more communications from us about this and more upcoming activities. In the meantime, join us on Facebook to meet this year’s board members!