October 7, 2022

Happy fall, Thunderbird families! It’s hard to believe that we’re nearing the end of our 1^st quarter already! As always, the school year is flying by!

October looks to be another busy month with the PTA! We are hosting our 1st annual family Bowl-O-Rama on October 28^th at Ward Parkway Lanes! This should be a fun night for both kids and adults, and we’re raising money to provide all our students with book credits at the spring book fair. And, Halloween is always a great time here at Trailwood! We’re excited to celebrate the day on October 28^th with classroom parties, a costume parade, and more! Be on the look-out for more details on all the festivities in the coming weeks!

Our next PTA meeting is coming up on Tuesday, October 11^th, at 7:00 pm in the library. If you’ve never been to a PTA meeting or event before, please consider joining us! Our PTA is a place for everyone! And, keep checking the PTA website and Facebook page for the latest on all the happenings here at Trailwood. Please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time with questions!

Be sure to check out the many activities happening during the month of October here at Trailwood! I hope to see you soon!

Cara Peterson

caraelizabeth1@yahoo.com

Important Dates

October Events:

Custodian’s Day: October 2, 2022

Anti-Bullying Week: October 3, 2022 – October 7, 2022

Walk To School Day: October 5, 2022

Flight Time: October 6, 2022

October PTA Meeting: October 11, 2022

Mathletics at Brookwood: October 12, 2022

PTA Movie Night: October 13, 2022

PTA Reflections Contest Entries Due: October 14, 2022

No School, Teacher Workday: October 14, 2022

3^rd Grade Parent/Guardian Party: October 15, 2022

Parent-Teacher Evening Conferences: October 20, 2022

Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School: October 21, 2022

Kindergarten Parent/Guardian Party: October 22, 2022

1^st Grade Parent/Guardian Party: October 22, 2022

Fall Musical Preview: October 26, 2022

Flight Time: October 27, 2022

Halloween Parade and Parties: October 28, 2022

Trailwood Thunderbird Bowl-O-Rama: October 28, 2022

4^th Grade Parent/Guardian Party: October 29, 2022

October Legislative Update PTA Newsletter

November 8th is an important election for public education.Governor and Kansas state representative, both up for re-election, have a significant impact on K-12 education policy and funding in Kansas and in our district. Register to vote by Oct. 18th!

What’s on my ballot?

There’s a lot! Vote411.org shows your sample ballot, and candidates’ answers to questionnaires. (Enter your address and click “my races”).

There are also two constitutional amendments on the ballot; one that has potential impact on education policy. Amendment Number 1 if passed, could increase power of the Kansas Legislature to overturn decisions or policies from any administrative agency, such as the Kansas Dept of Education.

Who supports public education? Below are local organizations that endorse candidates based on support of public education. To find out their recommendations, see:

More info about registering and advance voting at The Voter Network:

Fall Parent/Guardian Happy Hours

Our fabulous fall grade level parent/guardian parties will soon be underway! We hope you’ll be able to enjoy some time connecting with friends, old and new! To find out all the details on your grade level party and to purchase tickets, please click here. Remember, all funds go back to the PTA to support programs, such as mini-grants, field trips, assemblies, special events and so much more!

These parties could not happen without the generosity of our wonderful hosts. Please thank these families for their contributions to our PTA!

Kindergarten: Foster, House and Peterson families

1st grade: Ebert and Nguyen families

2nd grade: Weiss, Tritsch, Hoover, Simonsen, Busch and McCabe families

3rd grade: Lamb, Stewart and Law families

4th grade: Brownback, Crabb, Richards, Shields and Reed families

5th grade: Jack, Bhakta and Buckley families

6th grade: Herring, Allen, Badgett, Dietz and Pontier families

1st Annual Bowl-O-Rama Coming Up on October 28th

We hope you’ll join us as we go “bowling for BOOks” and raise funds to ensure that EVERY student receives some special books at the spring book fair!

Register as a spectator or a bowler today. We have a variety of ticket options, add-on features to make your bowling experience extra amazing, and sponsorship opportunities that will give your business recognition amongst our awesome Trailwood community! Sign up today here!

We’ll have food, music, prizes, a costume contest and plenty of family fun! Plus, some of our fabulous Trailwood staff members will be there showcasing their bowling skills! You won’t want to miss it. Even if you’re not a bowler, come as a spectator, and cheer on your Thunderbird friends!

Download the flyer here.

Thank You, Committee Chairs

Our many Trailwood events could not happen without the support of our wonderful committee chairs and their teams of volunteers! Please thank these amazing Trailwood parents for helping to get our school year off to a great start during the month of September by chairing these committees!

Donuts with Grown-ups: Catie Ebert

Skate Parties: Jen Pontier

Picture Day: Andrea Krasnow and Tracy Hugunin

SMS Kidfest: Liz Monahan

Grade Level Happy Hours: Heidi Saunders

Assemblies/Cultural Arts: Andrea Krasnow

6^th Grade Car Wash: Jen Pontier

Reflections: Rebecca Keunen

Chat and Chew: Melissa Cheatham

October PTA Meeting

Please join us for our October PTA meeting on Tuesday, October 11^th, at 7:00 pm in the library! Babysitting will be provided!

Family Spotlight

Say hello to the Whitehead Family!

Tell us about your family.

We moved here to Overland Park in 2018 from Utah and moved several times before that. We are so incredibly happy here in Kansas and don’t see ourselves moving any time soon. Chris is a data engineer and works for a consulting firm and he is able to stay home (which I love) Trina is a stay at home mom. Our oldest is Teagin, a current 6th grader . Nathan is our middle child in 4th grade. And then we have our little caboose baby who just turned one named Finn.

What makes your family unique?

Chris served in the military. We have lived all over the country. Each one of my kids was born in a different state and time zone. I have a kid with special needs, another with ADHD and then a 9 year gap with our last kiddo.

Where is your family originally from? What is your heritage?

We are originally from Southern California. Chris’ heritage is German and Irish and Trina’s is Italian

How did you end up in the KC area or what brought you to Trailwood?

Moved here for my husband’s job

What are your favorite places to visit?

We love anything Disney. So California and Florida. But we really just love to travel to new places and eat good food.

What do you like to do as a family?

We like to camp, road trip, and go to the movies.

Restaurant recommendations:

Va Bene is a family favorite.

Local events:

We mostly just stick to our kids sports events and we love to attend Royals games.

Reflections

The 2022 National PTA Reflections contest is a program that encourages students to participate in

the Arts. All students are eligible and encouraged to participate! The theme for the 2022 Reflections Contest is: Show your voice!

Students can submit their entries in the following categories: Dance Choreography, Music Composition, Film Production, Photography, Literature, or Visual Arts. Detailed requirements for each category are listed on the entry form linked here and students can enter more than one category.

The deadline to submit is just around the corner on October 14th!! Questions and digital submissions can be submitted to Rebecca Keunen at rebecca.keunen@gmail.com. Physical entries (visual art & photography) and ALL completed signed entry forms due to Shereen North in the Trailwood Elementary office.

Chat and Chew

Chat and Chew is back this year! Chat and Chew is like a book club for kids 2nd through 6th grade. Students who choose to participate will meet with an adult volunteer (often a parent or grandparent) to discuss the book over lunch. There are three books per grade level and the parent volunteer will set up one lunch-time discussion per book between October and April. The book lists for each grade level will be sent after sign up is complete. Books will be available to borrow in the Trailwood library and the public library and are widely available to purchase.

If your student wants to participate in Chat and Chew, please sign them up on the SignUpGenius!

If you would like to lead a group,sign up to be a "parent volunteer" on the SignUpGenius. Remember grandparents and other adults are eligible too. This is a great flexible volunteer opportunity since you set the dates! This volunteer opportunity would require you to be an MVP, certified through the district because you will be directly supervising children.

All participants will bring or buy their own lunch and we request that adult leaders not provide food or gifts to their group.

The deadline to sign up is Monday, October 10th.

Become A Wingman

We are so excited to bring the Wingman program back to the classroom this year! Interested in joining in on the fun? Your schedule will vary depending on the needs of the day, but you can plan on spending a portion of the day with your kiddos (including lunch, recess and specials). You can choose either half-days or full-days.

View the available dates and sign up here.

We’d like to thank these awesome dads who volunteered their time during the month of September!

David Brown

Tom Hipp

Albert Lee

Adam Newsom

Leif Peterson

Here’s what some of our Wingmen had to say about their time at Trailwood!

“It was really great to get back in the classroom with the kids, now that pandemic restrictions are lifted! Between story time with some pre-k students, gym class, recess, and helping in the lunchroom, it was a full, fun day…. plus, it was chicken nugget day! I had a wonderful time helping and experiencing what Trailwood is like for my son and his friends."

– Tom Hipp

“Hey, T-Bird Dads! Encourage you all to be a Wingman for a day and support the hardworking TW staff. I assisted several teachers, ran around at recess, and helped out at lunch. The best part was seeing my own kids and experiencing a slice of their day. I also really enjoyed helping kids with their schoolwork. Very rewarding. Will be signing up again soon.”

– Albert Lee

“I had a really great time, being new to the school this year it was neat to volunteer and see more. I had only been inside one other time for popsicle pop-in. I have two boys at Trailwood and was able to play football with them and their friends at recess, plus helped out in each of their classrooms as well. It was amazing experience that I hope more dads get to experience. I enjoyed being a wingman so much I quickly signed up for a December slot when I got home for the day.”

– Adam Newsom

“I always enjoy my time as a Wingman! Mrs. North does a great job of setting up a schedule that allows me to spend time with each of my three children. It’s fun to see what a typical school day is like for them, and I get to see first-hand the amazing work our Trailwood staff is doing every day. Plus, I get to play quarterback at recess in the middle of a workday! I’ll be back soon!”

– Leif Peterson

Donate Your Halloween Costumes

If you have gently used Halloween costumes at home that you wouldn’t mind donating to Trailwood kids who may not be able to buy costumes this year, please bring those to the office. Thank you!

Yearbook Photos Wanted

The Trailwood yearbook photo upload link is ready, and the committee needs your photos for this year's yearbook! Please upload your fun pics from the first day of school, T-bird Trot, Popsicle Pop-In, classroom parties, Walk to School Day and any other TW related photos here. The yearbook committee asks that ALL uploads have a description added to each upload with your child's grade, teacher and/or short note about the event the photo(s) is(are) from to aid in organizing photos. Thank you!

Become a PTA Member

PTA memberships are still available for purchase! Becoming a member helps us in our efforts to support the students, families, teachers and staff of Trailwood Elementary! Joining doesn’t obligate you to attend meetings or volunteer your time (although, we’d love to have you join us at all our events)! You can be as involved as you’d like!

Memberships are $10 each and may be purchased here. While there, you can also pay for your child’s yearbook and yearly activity fee. Thank you for your support of Trailwood Elementary!

Update Your Directory Information

Now is the perfect time to make sure your contact information is up to date! Keeping your directory account accurate ensures that you receive important PTA information throughout the year and helps you to connect with other Trailwood families. Not sure how to do this? Just go to https://www.trailwoodpta.com/join_the_directory for step-by-step instructions. Contact Lori Tritsch at nurseholcomb@hotmail.com if you have any questions.

Executive Board Committee Meetings

Any PTA member is welcome to address the Executive Board at any scheduled monthly meeting. Please contact Cara Peterson if you would like to be added to the agenda. Executive Board meetings take place at 8:15 am on the following dates:

November 1st, December 6th, January 10th, February 7th, March 7th, April 4th, and May 2nd

Volunteer needed!!

We are excited for another year of volunteering in our Trailwood Library and even more thrilled to work with our amazing librarian, Mrs. Klein. We are still in need of a Monday volunteer. As a volunteer, you would be asked to come in at the start of the school day (8:15am). Responsibilities include checking in returned books, reshelving those books so they are ready for kiddos to check out that day, and any other duties Mrs. Klein may need help with. Typically plan on spending 1.5 hours of your morning here. If you are interested and do not feel you can commit to every week, a bi-weekly basis is possible. This is such a wonderful opportunity to help out in our school!

If this sounds like something you are interested in and a good fit for your schedule, please email Tracy Hugunin at tjhugunin@gmail.com.

Trailwood PTA

5101 W 95th St.

Overland Park, KS 66207

SUBJECT: October 2022 PTA Newsletter