PTO News
Wednesday, December 5
The following message is sent on behalf of the Cooper Middle School PTO.
Its content reflects the views of the PTO.
Staff Appreciation
The Cooper PTO is holding a staff appreciation luncheon on December 12. Once again for this special event, the Hard Times Cafe of College Park, MD is generously supplying the chili, toppings, and cornbread.
To supplement this amazing meal, we’re looking for parent donations of salads, dessert and drinks. If you can help, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D4BA5A723A02-december1.
Additionally, we’re looking for donations to go toward purchasing gift cards ($25 each) to present to our staff members. If you’d like to donate toward a gift card, please PayPal Ann Malekzadeh (parent co-chair of the luncheon), and she will happily purchase the gift cards. Her PayPal account is annmalekzadeh@gmail.com.
The PTO will wrap each gift card individually to present to the staff on December 12.
Nominating Committee
We’re still looking for volunteers to be part of the Nominating Committee. This is a great opportunity to help shape next year’s Executive Board and fill the Committee Chair positions that will be open next year. (Not all slots will be open) If you’re interested, you can sign up on the sheet in the front office or email us at questions@cooperpto.org. Among our many volunteer opportunities, this one is pretty easy to accomplish. It can be done mostly via email! We do need members from each elementary school represented at Cooper:
- Spring Hill
- Colvin Run
- Forestville
- Great Falls
- Churchill Road
As soon as we have built our committee, a member of the Executive Board will be in touch with all of you to share specifics about the open positions (responsibilities, time commitments, etc.)
Other Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
Book Fair (December 5-14)
The Book Fair launches today—books and candy canes are officially on sale in the library.
The Book Fair Committee has already filled many of the volunteer slots, but we could still use some help. If you’ve got time and love books, this is a lot of fun. Volunteers work the registers, help keep the book fair organized, answer questions and assist students and otherwise help Mrs. Psaltis as needed.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4AA9AC2BAB9-cooper2
Looking forward, we’re looking for someone who is interested in chairing the Book Fair next year. Christy Prame has been leading this for years, but she’s about to “graduate.” She’d love to use this year’s book fair as a teaching opportunity for next year’s chair. The job of the chairperson typically is to create a sign-up genius for volunteers, make sure there are enough volunteers, help with set-up and take-down, and provide general backup for Mrs. Psaltis.
If you have any questions (or may be interested in chairing the Book Fair next year), please contact us at questions@cooperpto.org
Spelling Bee Update
Congratulations to Caroline Xu, our 2018-2019 Cooper Spelling Bee Champion! Isabella Zhu is First Runner-Up after a tie breaking round; Paul Witkop is Second Runner-Up.
We had a total of seventy-three competitors; all ranked in the top two from each English class. They were very strong spellers who were poised and supportive as well as flexible amid a few technical difficulties. We're proud of them all! Caroline will participate in the Fairfax County Spelling Bee on March 17, 2019 and the County winner will compete in the National Spelling Bee in May.
Community Service Opportunity
Families with school-age children, join us for Give Together on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service, on Monday, January 21st. Give Together is a family friendly volunteer event with service projects designed for young people and little hands. This special event is the perfect opportunity to teach children the value of giving back to our community-- while enjoying giving together with family and friends. This event will be held indoors at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia in Fairfax. Three shifts are available: 9:30am to 11:00 am, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, and 1:30 to 3:00 pm.
Give Together is a free event! Registration opens Monday, December 17 here at www.volunteerfairfax.org.
Parenting the Anxious Child
When temporary worries or fears become pervasive and interfere with relationships, schoolwork and health, anxiety disorders are at play. Anxiety disorders are highly common and highly treatable, yet most who suffer don’t seek assistance. How can we as a community recognize the signs of this mental health epidemic and what resources are available?
The Safe Community Coalition and McLean High School PTSA have teamed to host a few showings of the documentary Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety, which features students affected by anxiety, as well as mental health professionals and Olympic athlete and mental health advocate Michael Phelps. Afterward, mental health professionals from McLean High School and the community will lead a panel discussion with a Q and A session.
What: Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety (An IndieFlix Original Documentary)
When: Thursday, December 6 at 7 p.m.
Where: McLean High School Auditorium
Amazon.Smile
Consider linking your Amazon.smile account to Cooper Middle school. For every dollar you spend, Amazon donates a portion to Cooper. It’s an easy way to fundraise for the school, which makes it possible for the PTO to provide more resources and more valuable parent programming.
For Military Families:
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland is recruiting adolescent military dependents between the ages of 12 to 17 for an obesity prevention study. They will be testing the effectiveness of group programs in the prevention of excess weight gain among those who are above average weight and report loss of control eating and/or elevated anxiety symptoms. Study visits take place at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, MD, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, in Fort Belvoir, VA, Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Clinic in Fort Meade, MD, and Malcolm Grow Medical Clinic in Joint Base Andrews, MD. Individuals who qualify to participate in this study will be compensated for their time. For more information, please call 301-295-1598 or 301-295-0864.
Fundraiser for Langley High School
Class of 2019
The Capitol Steps political satire troupe will appear at Langley High School on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 7pm, in the auditorium. The Capitol Steps use song parodies and skits to bring bi-partisan levity to major issues of the day. Audience members will need to be well-versed in current events to keep up with the humor, as it’s fast, fresh, and funny.
Proceeds from the show will help to pay for Langley’s Class of 2019 All Night Grad Party (ANGP). This year’s party marks the 30th year that Langley grads are invited to spend a night at the high school in a safe, drug and alcohol-free environment. Activities include inflatable obstacle courses, carnival games, a casino, food, photo booths, music and more, to create a fun and memorable environment where new graduates can celebrate their accomplishments and friendships.
The show is open to the general public and tickets are $35 each. They are available on the Langley PTSA web site, http://www.ptsalangley.org/all-night-grad-party, under the ANGP Capitol Steps banner, or on Brown Paper Tickets, https://lhs19capitolstepsfundraiser.bpt.com. BPT purchasers must print tickets and present them at the door the night of the show. Those who buy through the Langley PTSA will have their name and number of tickets purchased on a list the night of the show.
Tickets make thoughtful and unique gifts. Contact Liz Holzapfel, woodapple1@verizon.net, with questions.
Looking Ahead:
December 5-14: Cooper Book Fair
December 12: Staff Appreciation Chili Lunch
January 8, 2019: General Membership Meeting w/Langley Director of Student Services
Feb 6: General Membership Meeting with Ann Dolin
Feb 10: Capitol Steps Performance at Langley HS
|
