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October 22, 2024 | Back to School Issue 12
Important Upcoming Dates
October 21 - 25: Spirit Week
October 24 - 31: Mantua Book Fair
October 25: Run for Rocky
October 31: End of First Quarter, Two - Hour Early Release
November 1: Holiday, Diwali
November 4 - 5: Student Holidays
November 11: Holiday, Veteran's Day
November 27-29: Holiday, Thanksgiving Break
Be sure to bookmark the FCPS School Calendar to keep track of school holidays, breaks, and observances.
The Mantua Fall Book Fair starts this week and we need VOLUNTEERS!
Sign up for a shift to help make it a great event!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4FA9AE2DA2F94-48268741-2024?useFullSite=true#/
Preview days on 10/23-10/24
10/25-10/31 Open 9:00am-4:00pm
Open Saturday 10/26 10:00am-2:00pm
Char’d Burger and Captain Cookie food trucks will be there with food available for purchase
It's not too late to join the PTA!
Help support our students and teachers!
YEARLY DUES are only $20 per family.
https://mantuapta.memberhub.com/store
Your membership dues are very important. Your ongoing support has funded and sponsored projects throughout Mantua. Some of these include:
Weekly Alert News
After School Enrichment
Basketball League
Kids Care Club
Library Resources
PTA Online Student Directory
New Computers and Programs
Teacher Education
Parent Education Seminars
Drama Club
Wish Fund
Chat and Chew Book Club
Field Trips
Spring Dance
Run for Rocky is this Friday October 25th!
We are in major need of volunteers! Please sign up here.
Running times are:
- Grades 1 & 2: 9:45 -10:30 AM
- Grade 3: 10:45 - 11:30 AM
- Grade 5: 12:35 – 1:20 PM
- Grade 4: 1:40 – 2:25 PM
- Grades PreK, K, & 6: 2:55 – 3:40 PM
Parents, guardians, and friends are welcome to come cheer the kids on.
Fundraising will go through November 1 and our goal is to raise $35,000.
We will be collecting donations through the Member Planet website (link for sharing: https://mp.gg/lwr7tofo). For every $50 a child raises, their name is entered into a raffle to win a prize donated by one of our generous sponsors. This includes:
- Nintendo Switch – sponsored by Sarah Harrington, Long and Foster Realtors
- Chromebook – sponsored Brooks Hunt, CMG Home Loans
- Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall LEGO Set – Elite M.A. Center – Fairfax
- LEGO City Lunar Research Base Outer Space Toy Set – Elite M.A. Center – Fairfax
- $150 gift card to Muse Paintbar – sponsored by Merrifield Orthodontics
- 6-month subscription to KiwiCo., for choice of STEAM kit – sponsored by Banaji Pediatric Dental Specialists
- Kindle Paperwhite – sponsored by Travis Pugh, Realtor, Samson Properties
- Kids Drone – sponsored by Karin Hudson with Stoneleigh Home & Gardens
- Echo Dot for Kids – sponsored by Ryan Doan, Quest Remodeling
- Hydro Flask Water Bottle – sponsored by Ryan Doan, Quest Remodeling
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Raffle prize for entire school raffle: $50 Mantua merchandise gift certificate - sponsored by Mantua PTA
As a gift to EVERY STUDENT, on the morning of Run For Rocky, they will each receive the official Run for Rocky T-shirt, sponsored by Jennifer Mack Properties; Nick Sposa, Kingsview Partners; and Viking Capital.
Lastly, we have three more days of spirit week! Show your spirit by participating!
- Wednesday, October 23 – Wacky Wednesday (crazy hat/hair/clothes day)
- Thursday, October 24 – Pajama Day
- Friday, October 25 – Run for Rocky (T-Shirts will be distributed at school this morning)
Please reach out to Emily Leary Chesnes at emilylearychesnes@gmail.com or Erica Albrittain at fundraising@mantuapta.org if you have any additional questions. The Mantua Elementary School PTA thanks you for your support!
Greener Class Parties!
Hello parents, room parents, and party coordinators. When planning your classroom party, please consider incorporating at least two or more of the following tips to save the environment and $$$ along the way:
- Ask students to bring their own reusable water bottles.
- Plastic water bottles are expensive, require a lot of resources to produce and transport, and can leach harmful chemicals in the water.
- There are so many reusable bottles to reflect your child’s personality.
- Mantua now has its own refillable water station to use!
- Stick to finger foods!
- Cut up fruit, chips, crackers and cheese.
- Avoid using plastic utensils which do not degrade in landfills.
- For something sweet, consider mini-cupcakes, popsicles or cookies.
- Please do not use any Styrofoam products, which contain styrene and can cause adverse health effects.
- Styrofoam is lightweight and floats, so over time a great deal of it has accumulated along coasts and waterways, becoming a large component of marine debris.
- If you need plates, buy small compostable and biodegradable plates. You can find them on Amazon, and also earn $$$ for the school. (Info about Mantua’s Amazon program: http://mantuapta.org/#section_news, then scroll down to Passive Fundraising section.)
- For activities, consider an outdoor event or using recyclable materials for craft projects.
- Skip the plastic tablecloths and decorations, the kids will have fun either way!
Minimizing the amount of trash produced makes setup and cleanup much easier.
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Mantua PTA Basketball Player Assessments will occur from October 21st to October 23rd!
If you are a parent and interested in supporting the Player Assessment Process, please contact the appropriate League Commissioner. We will need some parents that are not part of the valuation process, to assist with running the assessment evaluations.
Link to Sign Up:
We are requesting that *ALL* coaches within all Divisions attend to support player evaluations. It is recommended that all evaluators download the evaluation template to their personal computer prior to arriving at the gym.
Completed evaluation templates will be emailed to Jeffrey Young, the Commissioner for the 5/6 Boys Division (56boys@mantuabasketball.org).
Key Upcoming Dates:
- Player evaluations will occur on October 21st, October 22nd, and October 23rd.
- October 21st - 5:30 - 8:30PM
- Boys & Girls - 3/4 Divisions
- Boys evaluations will occur from 5:30 - 7:30 PM (Please arrive at 5:15PM for check-in).
- Last Names - A-M arrive at 5:30
- Last Names - N-Z arrive at 6:30
- Girls evaluations will occur from 6:30 - 8:30 PM (Please arrive at 6:15PM for check-in).
- Last Names - A-M arrive at 6:30
- Last Names - N-Z arrive at 7:30
- We are requesting that *ALL* coaches within all Divisions attend to support player evaluations.
- Coaches within 5/6 Divisions will be asked to support player assessments for 3/4 Divisions.
- October 22nd - 5:30 - 9:00PM
- Boys & Girls - 5/6 Divisions
- Girls evaluations will occur from 5:30 - 7:30 PM (Please arrive at 5:15PM for check-in).
- Last Names - A-M arrive at 5:30
- Last Names - N-Z arrive at 6:30
- Boys evaluations will occur from 6:30 - 9PM (Please arrive at 6:30 PM for check-in).
- Last Names - A-M arrive at 6:30
- Last Names - N-Z arrive at 7:30
- We are requesting that *ALL* coaches within all Divisions attend to support player evaluations.
- Coaches within 3/4 Divisions will be asked to support player assessments for 5/6 Divisions.
- October 23rd - 5:30 - 9:00PM
- This will serve as a makeup session for any children that are unable to attend on Monday or Tuesday night (Please arrive at 5:15PM for check-in).
- Schedule to be announced.
Player assessments will be opportunities for children to demonstrate their current ability to dribble, shoot, and play in small groups. We will make every attempt to keep the assessments fun.
How Teams are Being Built this Year:
We will be using a Draft process this year to provide coaches with the opportunity to build teams through first hand observations & player assessment evaluations. The League Commissioners will be sharing additional details on the upcoming Draft dates & process that will be followed.
We are taking this step in our efforts to bring more equitability to teams. In addition, we will be reminding all Children, Coaches, and Parents…this is a Developmental league. Our primary focus is to provide opportunities for all children to learn and develop their basketball skill sets, the values of teamwork and sportsmanship.
Request for League Volunteers:
We are still looking for parents to support player assessments and individuals to serve as Referees during the season.
Questions
If you have any questions related to player assessments, please reach out to the appropriate League Commissioner:
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National Geography Bee Club Now Meeting!
Calling all students who love studying maps, traveling, or memorizing capital cities and flags! Our club is studying geography to prepare for the National Geography Bee.
We meet on Tuesdays after school in room 254, beginning October 1st. The club is open to all students grades 1-6, and each session includes quiz time, topic and country-specific study, and assigned research to prepare for the next meeting.
The Geography Bee is run by International Academic Competitions and has both individual and team competitions (to learn more about these, see the IAC website at https://www.iacompetitions.com/). We're mainly preparing for the individual competition, but we work as a team to learn from everyone's unique knowledge and improve our performance together.
Please contact Dan Rothfarb (rothfarb@gmail.com) if interested.
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Volunteers Needed for the Art Department
The Art Department is ready for volunteers! We always have something to prepare, sort, frame, hang, etc. No experience necessary! See time slots by going to the link below. When you arrive, check in at the front office and join us in the Art Room work room where we'll set you up to help out. No amount of time is too short, we appreciate all your support! Looking forward to a fun and exciting year in ART! ~Mrs. Shirley & Mr. Lorenzi
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Classroom Volunteers Needed!
We are looking for classroom volunteers! (Room parents, Tuesday folder helpers, and party coordinators.) These are great opportunities to get to know your teacher better and to spend time in your kiddo’s classroom!
A brief description of the current volunteer opportunities is included below.
Can’t commit to one of these jobs? More opportunities will be posted throughout the year for various events and programs!
Please reach out to volunteering@mantuapta.org if you have any questions.
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Room Parent - Send email reminders to class families about PTA events and fundraisers, communicate with parents to coordinate teacher gifts, help party coordinators plan seasonal class parties, this job can be done remotely.
Tuesday Folder Helper - Comes to the classroom on a weekly basis at a time coordinated with the teacher to stuff Tuesday folders that will go home with each student. Since this requires someone to come weekly, this position can be split between two parents who alternate weeks.
Party Coordinators - Coordinators get a set date and time from the teacher and coordinate games, crafts, snacks, etc. for the class, often soliciting the other class parents for supply donations and extra volunteer help.
Note: the sign up link says kindergarten volunteers, but there is a tab at the top for each grade for the 2024-2025 school year.
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