Bear PTA

Amazon Wishlists: Bear Teachers & Specialists

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 05:31:00 +0000

Make sure to go to smile.amazon.com first and choose Bear Exploration Center PTA, and Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase price to our school.

Amazon Wish Lists

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

Mrs. Carroll

4th Grade

5th Grade

Specialists

*additional teacher's lists will be added as they are created.

PTA Newsletter October 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 17:37:00 +0000

Discount Card Fundraiser Success!

Bear Family! Thank you so much for your amazing support of our Discount Card Fundraiser. We raised almost $45,000! Congratulations to Ellis Williams for being our top seller and Brooklyn Bradford for being our close second. Congratulations to Carson McCall for being our every-10-cards drawing winner! More info to come on our reward for those that sold 25+ cards!

Bear Wear

This year, our Bear Wear Store will be online and handled through AKD. The web store will open certain times throughout the year. *Your order will be ready approximately 4 weeks after the order deadline unless supply chains are interrupted. You will be contacted by AKD if that is the case. You will have an opportunity to pick up your order or have it shipped directly to you for an extra fee.

Our next Bear Wear order window is October 18-November 1. Bear Exploration Center shirts, outerwear, and many other great Bear Wear items will be available for purchase by visiting tinyurl.com/BearWearStore starting October 18. Please contact Kristin Allen at KristinAllen.PTSA@gmail.com with any questions.

Spirit Night

Krystal Williams has worked hard to line up Spirit Nights for us again this year. Thanks to our Bear community and El Taco for making our first spirit night a success. We were able to raise $170 for our school! The next spirit night is at Buff City Soap on October 6 from 4:00 to 7:00pm. Visit https://www.facebook.com/BuffCitySoapMontgomery for more information about Buff City Soap. This Spirit Night is extra special because we *can* use our Bear Discount Cards for this event AND Buff City Soap will make a 10% donation to the PTA. Don’t forget to place your receipt in the Bear bucket at Buff City Soap on October 6! Please contact Krystal Williams at krystalwilliams5000@gmail.com with any questions.

Fall Festival

Bear PTA is saddened to announce the Fall Festival will be postponed until spring of 2022. We take the responsibility for the safety and well-being of our Bear family very seriously. We can’t wait to SHAKE, RATTLE and ROLL this spring. Stay tuned.

Mabel’s Labels

Mabel’s Labels can help you label ALL of your child’s items. They have committed to give back 20% of anything we purchase and already donated almost $200 to our PTA. Go to campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search for Bear Exploration Center PTA to grab some super fun (and practical!) labels to help your children keep up with all their stuff! Please contact Anna Wamsted at arwamsted@gmail.com with any questions.

Volunteer Opportunities

We have several volunteer opportunities if you are looking to get more involved with Bear PTA this semester.

--Popcorn Volunteer Sign Up: tinyurl.com/BearPopcorn

--Library Volunteer Sign Up: tinyurl.com/BearLibraryVolunteers

--Copy Cats Volunteer Sign Up: tinyurl.com/BearCopyCats

National PTA Reflection Contest

The 2021-2022 Reflections theme this year is I Will Change the World By...

Submissions will be due sometime in November. All submissions will be submitted virtually.

Check out the website for more information: https://www.pta.org/home/programs/reflections.

Upcoming Dates:

October 6 -- Buff City Soap Spirit Night (4pm-7pm)

October 25-28 -- Red Ribbon Week -- More information to come!

There are many ways to support Bear Exploration Center

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 13:49:00 +0000

There are many ways to support Bear Exploration Center:

Bear Discount Card

The discount card, with 44 local businesses offering unique discounts, sells for $10, and 95% of the money raised goes back to our school. The card is valid through August 31, 2022 - a whole year! It is our main school fundraiser, raising upwards of $45,000, and allows us to provide much needed technology and resources for our school.

Discount Card Request Form *return form to your child's homeroom teacher

Mabel's Labels

Mabel’s Labels are fabulous for helping you label ALL your child’s items...and they’ve committed to give back 20% of anything we purchase to our school! Go to campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search for Bear Exploration Center PTA to grab some super fun (and practical!) labels to help your children keep up with all the stuff!

AmazonSmile

AmazonSmile is an easy way to give back to Bear Exploration Center every time you make a purchase. Go to smile.amazon.com and choose Bear Exploration Center and Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase price to our school.

Publix Partner

Simply sign up for Club Publix or log in to your existing account, click My Publix Partner, and select Bear Exploration Center. Then, every time you shop at Publix, pay with the Publix app or enter your phone number at checkout and Publix will give back to Bear Exploration Center.

Get Involved at Bear!

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 17:09:00 +0000

Volunteering your time and talent is one of the most important aspects of membership in the Bear PTA. We have a very active and successful PTA due to the involvement of so many of our wonderful parent, grandparent, and community volunteers. Our goal is to enrich the educational experience of our children through our volunteer efforts.

Thank you for your involvement in the life of your child and

for your support of our school!

--PTA Volunteer Form

--Popcorn Sign Up: Volunteers are needed on Fridays to pop popcorn. (*Need committed volunteers)

--Library Sign Up: Volunteers are needed in the library to support our wonderful librarian. Volunteers will be assisting with checking in/out books, shelving books, and cataloging books.

--Copy Cats Sign Up: Volunteers are needed to help our teachers by making copies. You will be trained on the copy machine and will only copy for grade levels your child is NOT currently in. (*Need committed volunteers)

Mabel's Labels

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:31:00 +0000

Bear Family! How many times have you had to repurchase outerwear or other items for your student because they have been lost and never to be seen again?!? I know I’ve replaced a jacket or two for mine! As you might have heard, MPS has installed water bottle fountains in every school. This year our students will also have water bottles to keep up with (more info to come soon from our administration!).

Well we’ve found a GREAT solution for making sure items are easily identifiable so we don’t share germs & don’t have to repurchase them! Mabel’s Labels are fabulous for helping you label ALL your child’s items...and they’ve committed to give back 20% of anything we purchase to our school! Go to campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search for Bear Exploration Center PTA to grab some super fun (and practical!) labels to help your children keep up with all the stuff!

Back to School Nights-2021-2022

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 13:51:00 +0000

Back-to-School Nights

2021-2022

Kindergarten Orientation – Tuesday, August 10 @ 6:15
1st grade – Tuesday, August 10 @ 5:00
2nd grade – Wednesday, August 11 @ 5:00
3rd grade – Wednesday, August 11 @ 6:15
4th grade – Thursday, August 12 @ 5:00
5th grade – Thursday, August 12 @ 6:15
Bear Cafeteria

Meet your teacher and classmates!

Due to space limitations we ask that only parent(s) and the appropriate student attend.

Thank you for understanding.

PTA Newsletter-May 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Wed, 26 May 2021 19:50:00 +0000

PTA Donations:

We were so excited to present a $12,000 check to Mrs. Hill for our school. Another $12k was invested in chrome book carts, chrome books & iPads at the start of the year; and in addition to this, we have given grants to our teachers three times this year totaling over $20k. We were able to replace the teacher's refrigerator upstairs, maintain our beautiful Bear Garden, help feed our science lab animals, and love our teachers and staff with meals throughout the year.

Learning Packets:

To make sure that the skills built over the last nine months remain sharp, the PTA, with guidance from our wonderful teachers, have updated our online Summer Learning Packet for each grade level. Participation is OPTIONAL. The packets are available at any time on our blog.

1. Choose the grade level that your child will be in next year.
2. Print it off.
3. Have your student complete the work over the summer.
4. Return the packets to your child's new teacher during the first week of school, no later than Friday, August 20.

Students who complete their Summer Learning Packet and return it to school by August 20 will be rewarded with a prize from the PTA.

School Supplies:

We need your help unloading pallets and distributing school supplies this summer. Please consider volunteering!

Unloading Pallets: Tuesday, June 29 7am-8am

Distributing Supplies to Classrooms: Tuesday, July 27 7am-11am

Uniform Resale:

Donate your gently-used uniforms to the PTA today or tomorrow. The uniform container is in the foyer by the front office. Skirt hangers are needed at this time.

Uniform Drop-Off - July 16-17 from 11:00 am- 1:00 pm.
Uniform Sale - July 23 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. All prices are as marked.
Half Price Day - July 24 from 10 am – 12 pm. This includes $10 Grab Bags* (Plaid excluded).

All events are in the Bear Cafeteria. We need your help to make this happen!

Please consider volunteering for the Uniform Resale here.

Congratulations to our 5th Graders!

Teacher Appreciation 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 18:06:00 +0000

Teacher Appreciation 2021

May 3^rd-7^th

We are so thankful for our teachers, specialists, and support staff at Bear Exploration Center. They have all gone above and beyond this year to ensure our students are getting the best education! Below are some suggestions of how we can show our appreciation whether your child is in person or learning virtually.

Monday, May 3rd

Shower your Classroom Teachers with Flowers

Bring your teacher their favorite (or any!) flower.

Draw your teacher a flower, take a picture & email it to him/her.

Tuesday, May 4th

Specials for our Specialists

Bring a Specialist their favorite (or any!) flower.

Draw a Specialist a flower, take a picture & email it to him/her.

Deliver a gift card to a Specialist with a note of encouragement.

Send a digital gift card to a Specialist’s favorite place & email a note of encouragement.

Tamara Bibbins, Mary Bonikowski, Carlos Booker, Sarah Fell, Loretta Harrison, Claudia Hoit, Laurie Houlditch, Mary Ellen Lanier, Amy Marshall, Jessica Myers, Sueanne Reynolds, Hannah Tremlett

Wednesday, May 5th

Treat your Classroom Teachers

Deliver your Teacher’s favorite snack or candy with a note of encouragement.

Email a note or video of encouragement to your Teacher.

Thursday, May 6th

Surprise the Lunchroom*, Environmental* and Office Staff

Bring a Lunchroom, Environmental or Office Staff their favorite (or any!) flower.

Draw a Lunchroom, Environmental or Office Staff a flower, take a picture & email it to him/her.

Deliver a gift card to a Lunchroom, Environmental or Office Staff with a note of encouragement.

Send a digital gift card to a Lunchroom, Environmental or Office Staff & email a note of encouragement.

Principal, Elizabeth Hill; Vice Principal, Brandi Moody; Secretary, Carol Lasater; Bookkeeper, Amy Robinson; Office Assistant, Janie Hodgson; Lunchroom Staff*: Olivia, Mr. Tony, Alecia, Callie, Linda Environmental Workers*: Tony Green, Wanda, Jessica

Friday, May 7th

Classroom Teacher’s Favorites

Deliver a gift card to your Teacher with a note of encouragement.

Send a digital gift card to your Teacher’s favorite place & email a note of encouragement.

*If you want to send something to the lunchroom staff or environmental workers please email it to bearexploration.pta@gmail.com

Teacher’s Favorites on the Bear PTA Facebook page in the files section, or on the Bear Exploration Center PTABlog

PTA Newsletter-April 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 18:39:00 +0000

Book Fair

The Book Fair is here!

Open in person (only for face to face students) from April 26-30 at school from 8am-4pm.

Open online from April 21-May 4!

More information on our Bear PTA Facebook page & through the link below.

https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=bearexplorationcenter

PTA Executive Board Slate

On behalf of the nominating committee, I, Mindy Craymer, submit the following slate of names for the 2021-2022 Bear PTA Officers:

Whittington Black - President

Kelly Stanton - 1^st Vice President Membership

Anna Wamsted - 2^nd Vice President Fundraising

Stephanie Williams - Secretary

Lee Johnson - Treasurer

Jill Sexton - Communication

If there are any other nominations, please verify with the nominee and submit the recommendation to me, Mindy Craymer, at mac9-6@juno.com by Friday, April 30, no later than 11:59 p.m.

School Supplies

School Supply order forms for the 2021-2022 school year will be available this week. Watch for an email from your homeroom teacher & Mrs. Hill. If you are experiencing an economic challenge, please let us know; and we will work with you to create a payment plan. They will be due by Monday, May 10th.

Teacher Appreciation

We still plan to recognize our wonderful teachers, administration, lunchroom staff, and environmental staff during the week of May 3^rd -7^th. More details will be coming middle of this week.

French Toast Uniform Store

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 19:02:00 +0000

Bear Families we have an exciting announcement. While you can purchase your student uniforms from a variety of stores, we have a new opportunity to support our school along the way. French Toast offers quality items for our students with fabulous discounts throughout the year.

***Please note that the plaid and new dry-fit items will be available June 1, 2021.

We are excited to partner with French Toast to bring you an easy way to shop online. 

Note: This does not replace our Bear Store.

https://www.frenchtoast.com/schoolbox/schools/bear-exploration-center-QS44FBY

Alabama Broadband Connectivity

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 12:55:00 +0000

Starting this month, MPS students who qualify for free and reduce lunch will receive wifi vouchers to assist with internet connectivity for distance learning.

The program, Alabama Broadband Connectivity (ABC), will provide the wifi vouchers. The vouchers will help cover equipment and service costs for high-speed internet service from the fall through December 31, 2020. Families who qualify will receive a letter via mail to their home address. Please make sure all contact information for your student is correct. For more information, please visit https://abcstudents.org.

Discount Card Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 12:54:00 +0000

Ahoy Mateys! It’s Discount Card time!

Orders open today, August 20 and run through September 17.

Discounts cards are our main fundraiser for Bear PTA. We ask each student to sell 5 cards or “Just Give” $50. This is how we are able to put thousands of dollars back into our AMAZING school! These cards sell themselves with discounts from so many fabulous, local businesses.

Like everything else, this will look a bit different. Here are your options for selling and buying:

1) Pre-order Discount Cards through Bear PTA Memberhub Store to be mailed* directly to you for $11 each.

2) Pre-order Discount Cards through BearPTA Memberhub Store and choose a designated pickup date** for $10 each.

3) On Site Purchasing with Cash/Check at any Pickup Day and receive your cards immediately.

4) Just Give to the Bear PTA through the Bear PTA Memberhub Store in any amount if selling cards isn’t something you’d like to do.

*Pre-ordered cards will be mailed each Tuesday beginning August 25th.

**all pickups will be in the Bear Carpool circle on Churchill Drive.

Pickup Dates and Times:

Wednesday, August 26th 5:30pm-6:30pm

Saturday, August 29th 8am-9am

Sunday, September 13th 3pm-4pm

Wednesday, September 16th 5:30pm-6:30pm

Pre Order Discount Cards at the Bear PTAMemberhub Store today!

https://bearexploration.memberhub.store

There are great PRIZES to motivate students to sell even more.

The top seller will win a Nintendo Switch Lite.

Every Student that sells 25 or more cards will be entered into a drawing for a $200 Visa Gift Card.

For every 10 cards sold, the student will get his or her name entered in a drawing for a $100 Visa Gift Card. (If you sell 30 cards, your student's name will be entered in the drawing three times).

Bear PTA Newsletter-May 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Fri, 15 May 2020 17:39:00 +0000

This school year started as an Adventure, but who knew then what an adventure it would be! We are excited to be finishing strong even in the strangest of circumstances. There are a few important PTA items we would like to highlight as we conclude this school year.

Summer Packets
You can print off optional Summer Packets for rising 1st-5th graders on the Bear PTA Blog. Students who complete their upcoming grade level packet and return it to their new teacher by August 14th will receive a prize from the PTA.

Click here for Summer Packets

Alabama PTA

The Bear PTA placed 1st in the Alabama PTA Family-Partnerships Awards in the Sharing Power Elementary Division! We were also recognized for 22 consecutive years of 100% PTA participation!

PTA Executive Board Slate
The following slate of names for the 2020-2021 Bear PTA Executive Officers was submitted in our April newsletter. No other nominations were submitted to the Nominating Chair, Mindy Craymer; so the 2020-2021 Slate stands as is:

Anna Wamsted-President
Traci Schell - 1st Vice President Membership
Kelly Stanton -2nd Vice President Fundraising
Whittington Black-Secretary
Lee Johnson-Treasurer
Jill Sexton-Communications

A huge thank you to Mollye Gunnells who has served as the Treasurer for the past two years. She has spent many hours volunteering and will be greatly missed on the Executive Board. Thank you Mollye for all of your hard work!

Uniform Drop Off and Resale
The Uniform Resale is tentatively set for July 23-24. We will most likely have uniform donation drop-off days prior to that. More information on this will be posted to our PTA Facebook page.

2020-2021 Bear’s Prepaid School Supplies
The deadline for the prepaid school supplies was May 7th. For anyone that has not paid, please go to https://bearexploration.memberhub.store/ and pay online.

2020-2021 Floyd Middle Magnet’s (Rising 6th Graders) Prepaid Classroom Supplies
Fifth graders attending Floyd Middle Magnet School next year can pay the mandatory classroom supply fee online at https://fmms.memberhub.store/ or mail checks or money orders (no cash) made payable to FMMS PTSA to P.O. Box 11185, Montgomery, AL 36111.

The fee is $25 per student, due by June 16th. This $25 classroom supply fee includes Clorox wipes, tissue, hand sanitizer, paper towels, and a Floyd Planner.

Students will receive a classroom supply list from their individual teacher prior to the start of school, e.g. notebooks, calculators, composition notebooks etc. This information will also be listed on the Floyd Middle Magnet School page, as well as, the PTSA page. Stay tuned…and Welcome to FMMS!

Virtual Teacher Appreciation Week
Thank you to everyone that virtually loved on our teachers last week with notes, videos, pictures, and gifts! The PTA recognized how much we appreciate our teachers by delivering Awesome Teacher yard signs to their homes. Every teacher, administrator, and staff member also received a gift card from the PTA. Thank you all for loving our teachers so well!

Congratulations
Congratulations to one of our wonderful 5th grade teacher Mrs. Geesey on her retirement. Bear has been blessed to have her as teacher. Thank you for teaching so many of our students. You will be missed!

Congratulations to all of our 5th graders that are leaving Bear this year. We know Bear has set a solid foundation for your continued success.

We hope that everyone has a safe summer, and we look forward to seeing so many of you in August!

Always there has been an adventure just around the corner—and the world is still full of corners. –Roy Chapman Andrews

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 22:19:00 +0000

Virtual Teacher Appreciation Week: May 4-8^th

Our teachers have gone above and beyond for us this year. We are so thankful for their dedication and hard work! Let’s flood their inboxes with love from our students. We’ll also have posts up each day on the Bear Exploration PTA Facebook page where you can comment and share your pictures and videos. Here are some suggestions of ways you can show your appreciation:

Monday, May 4th: Classroom Teachers

Draw your teacher a flower, take a picture & email it to him/her.

Tuesday, May 5th: Specialists

Draw a flower, send a digital gift card to their favorite place or write a note & email it to one of our amazing Specialists.

Tamara Bibbins Mary Bonikowski Carlos Booker Gina Eagerton

Sarah Fell Loretta Harrison Claudia Hoit Laurie Houlditch

Mary Lanier Amy Marshall Jessica Myers Sueanne Reynolds

Wednesday, May 6th: Classroom Teachers

Have students write a note or make a video for their teacher and email it to them.

Thursday, May 7th: Lunchroom*, Environmental* and Office Staff

Draw a flower or write a note & email it to our amazing lunchroom staff, environmental staff, or front office staff.

Principal, Elizabeth Hill Vice Principal, Brandi Moody

Secretary, Carol Lasater Bookkeeper, Amy Robinson

Office Assistant, Janie Hodgson

Lunchroom Staff*: Olivia, Mr. Tony, Alecia, Callie, Linda

Environmental Workers*: Tony Green, Wanda, Courtney

Friday, May 8^th: Classroom Teachers

Send your teacher a digital gift card to one of their favorite places listed on their favorite’s sheets.

All “Favorites” are linked on our Facebook page in the files section or on our blog.

All emails are firstname.lastname@mps.k12.al.us ( example: elizabeth.hill@mps.k12.al.us )

*If you are wanting to send something to the lunchroom staff or environmental workers please email it to bearexploration.pta@gmail.com

Bear PTA Announcements -April 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 18:41:00 +0000

Hello Bear PTA Family!

We hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered our students’ ways of learning and socializing. Who would have thought we would not return to school after Spring Break? Thank you to our wonderful school administration and teachers who have worked tirelessly to develop new ways to teach and engage our students. Parents, thank you for doing a wonderful job of taking on the new task of facilitating your children’s learning at home while still juggling a multitude of other tasks.

A HUGE thank you is given to our parents who are serving on the front line during this pandemic. We are so appreciative of the work you do!

Here are some items of interest as we work to close out the 2019-2020 school year and prepare for the upcoming school year. 😊

PTA Executive Board Slate

On behalf of the nominating committee, I, Mindy Craymer, submit the following slate of names for the 2020-2021 Bear PTA Officers:

Anna Wamsted-President

Traci Schell - 1^st Vice President Membership

Kelly Stanton -2^nd Vice President Fundraising

Whittington Black-Secretary

Lee Johnson-Treasurer

Jill Sexton-Communication

If there are any other nominations, please verify with the nominee and submit the recommendation to me, Mindy Craymer, at mac9-6@juno.com by Friday, April 17, no later than 11:59 p.m

Fun Run

We were so excited for our first annual Bear PTA Fun Run. Unfortunately, we will have to reschedule for the next school year. All donations will be refunded, and all pledges made will be cancelled. If you have any questions just let us know and thank you so much for your continued support.

School Supplies

Although this year has been less than ordinary for our students, they will still need school supplies for next year. Information should be available by the end of April. If you are experiencing an economic challenge, we will work with you to create a payment plan. We are in this together!

Teacher Appreciation

We still plan to recognize our wonderful teachers, administration, lunchroom staff, and environmental staff during the week of May 4^th -8^th. More details will be coming in the next two weeks.

Spirit Nights

Our April Spirit Night was scheduled for La Zona Rosa. Unfortunately, we are unable to dine in at restaurants at this time. If you are comfortable with take-out service, we encourage you support La Zona Rosa https://www.zonarosa.net/ and other businesses on our Bear Discount Card. We feel it is important we support our local businesses, especially our Bear family owned businesses, during this unprecedent time.

Bear Wear

If you placed a Bear Wear order in February, you will be contacted regarding pick-up times after the stay at home order has been lifted. Thank you for your patience!

Bear Facebook Page

Thank you for your informative posts about what your child is doing while sheltering in place.

In an effort to make sure posts are seen, the page has been reorganized to highlight two areas Fun and Educational Activities and Educational Resources.

Please post your pictures and/or activities in the comment section in the appropriate thread each week. This is a great way for the Bear Family to stay connected.

As always, we thank you for your support of the Bear PTA.

Bear PTA Newsletter- March 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 17:16:00 +0000

Book Fair

Our annual Bear Book Fair will be from 8am-4pm on March 2-6. Tuesday, March 3, is Pastry for Parents in the Bear Media Center. This is a time set apart for you as a parent to come with your child for a morning snack and shopping. The hours are from 7:30 to 8:40. Your child will go to class when the bell rings at 8:30 to be marked present, so come early.

Spirit Night!

Our next spirit night at Chuck-E-Cheese is March 6^th!!! More information will be coming home this week!

PTA Reflections

Congratulations to Amelia Johnson and Brayden D. White who placed in the State PTA Reflections Contest.

PTA Meeting

In an effort to showcase many of our amazing activities at Bear, we've moved our March PTA meeting to April 14th at 6pm. Honor Chorus, Jump Rope Team, Bear Twirlers & Spanish Club will perform. Hotdog dinner will be provided. More info and a form to make your hotdog reservation will be sent home closer to the date.

Specialist Spotlight for March

Senora Hoit our amazing Spanish teacher is the specialist for March. Please bring her an item off her wish list and sign the sheet to be entered to win some Bear Bucks!

· Clorox Wipes

· Erasers

· Crayons

· Pencils

· Prizes for treasure box

· Lysol spray

· Color paper

Thank you to these students for bringing items in February to Mrs. Marshall, those students will be recognized, and the drawing will be held soon.

Fun Run

Parents and Families—we are so excited for the BEAR FUN RUN! It’s a two-week program that kicks off with a Pep Rally on Monday, March 23^rd! Families will then gather pledges for every lap your student runs (30-35 laps) at the BEAR FUN RUN, which will happen on April 3rd. This year our goal is to raise $20,000 for Interactive Boards and Techonolgy Updates, and we need your help! We’ve asked the experts at Booster to power our fundraiser to make it easier, more profitable, and more fun.

Students will also experience an amazing character theme, MINDSPARK: WILD WEST! Booster’s most exciting theme yet combines S.T.E.A.M. skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) with character-building. While they're teaming up with the MindSpark Kids to save Dr. Shock, our students will learn five character traits (Honesty, Gratitude, Generosity, Kindness, and Humility) that will help strengthen themselves and our world.

Donations will go toward Interactive Boards and Technology Updates and the entire two-week experience. So please help our school by getting pledges from family and friends and entering them on FUNRUN.COM. Also, all families are invited to come out and cheer on our students at the Bear Fun Run on April 3rd. Thanks so much for your support!

Art Show

Our annual Bear Art Show will be April 22^nd. Please consider volunteering to help with this awesome show! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D44A9A62FA7FC1-artshow1

Personalized Bricks

Now is a great time to order your Brick and help support the Bear Garden! Order form is below. Send in your form & payment to your homeroom teacher so it can be added to the garden before the end of the year!

Order Form

Discount Cards

Thank you for all of those that participated in the survey. We greatly value your feedback!

Upcoming Events

Book Fair-March 2-6

Spirit Night at Chuck E Cheese-March 6^th

Fun Run-March 23-April 3^rd

PTA Meeting-April 14^th @ 6:00

Art Show-April 22nd

Bear PTA Newsletter- February 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 15:18:00 +0000

Bear Family Dance

The annual Bear Family Dance is THIS FRIDAY, & we need YOUR help to make it amazing! We still need some more volunteers, so please click the signup link & find a place that works for you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4ea9a828a2fd0-bear2

Make sure to return your Family Dance Pre-Order Wristband form by 9am 2/6 or you can conveniently pay for wristbands online here: https://bearexploration.memberhub.store/

Spirit Night!

Thank you to all of you who enjoyed spirit night at Pizza Perfect. We were able to receive $128!!! Mark your calendars for March 6^th for our next spirit night at Chuck-E-Cheese!!! More information will be coming home closer to the date!

PTA Reflections

Bear had many students who placed in the PTA Reflections Art Contest on the County level! Way to go Bear!

Photography: Primary

1st-Avery Grace Stanton

2nd-Benjamin Noah Moore

Photography: Intermediate

1st-Tanner Hoit

2nd Makayla Chatman & Jackson Sexton

Visual Arts: Primary

1st-Avery Grace Stanton

Visual Arts: Intermediate

1st-Mille DeLoach

2nd-Audrey Kim

HM-Henry Manderville

Literature: Primary

1st-Banks Davenport

Literature: Intermediate

1st-Sarah Cate Gulsby

2nd-Jackson Sexton & Faith Lynn Nguyen

Musical Composition: Primary

1st-Amelia Johnson

Musical Composition: Intermediate

1st- Brayden D. White

Dance Composition: Intermediate

1st-Mary Grace Parsons

The winners will be receiving an invitation in the mail from Montgomery County PTA to attend a reception to receive their awards. The reception is in the Spring.

Specialist Spotlight for February

Let’s show Mrs. Marshall some love this month by brining her items off her wish-list! Items requested are:

gift cards to pet stores, Walmart and Amazon
AA batteries
3 volt batteries (look like quarters)
snack size ziplocs
sandwich size ziplocs
yarn (any color or type)
glue sticks
sharpie
q-tips
card stock
hand santizer

Thank you to these students for brining items in January to Mrs. Houlditch: Ezra LaBier, Banks Davenport, Emme Kaplan, Jordan McGhee, Destiny Cobb, Maddi Kirk and Arraya Buathet. Ezra LaBier was the winner this month and will receive $3 in Bear Bucks!

Valentines Parties

Parties for each grade will be held February 14^th from 2:45-3:30. Only room parents can attend this party.

Science Night

Join us February 20^th for Science Night! More information will be sent home with your child in the next week.

Book Fair

Our annual Bear Book Fair will be from 8am-4pm on March 2-6. Pastries with Parents will be from 8:00am-8:40am on Tuesday, March 3rd. Come have a pastry & shop the Book Fair with your child. More information to come in the next few weeks.

Fun Run

We’re excited about this opportunity to come together as a school & focus on health & character & support our school in the process.

It will span March 23 to April 3 with the run being the last day. There will be fun incentives given to students each day who meet specific goals. It’s a great opportunity to get grandparents & out of town friends & family involved in our school. There will be more info coming home closer to the event.

Personalized Bricks

Order Form

Upcoming Events

Bear Family Dance-February 7^th

Class ValentinesParty-February 14^th

Science Night-February 20^th

Book Fair-March 2-6

Fun Run-March 23-April 3^rd

Bear PTA Newsletter-January 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 19:43:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

PTA Meeting
Our next meeting is next Tuesday, January 14^th! We will be giving out the prizes to our school reflection winners as well as having our middle school panel. We will be having a panel of teachers & administrators from our feeder Magnet Middle School, Floyd.

Discount Cards

We want your feedback on the 2019-2020 Discount Cards. Please go to: https://forms.gle/s2rauE7FspfaD8sz7 to take this brief survey. Thank you!

Spirit Night!

The next spirit night will be at Pizza Perfect on January 24^th.

Fun Run

We’re excited about this opportunity to come together as a school & focus on health & character & support our school in the process.

Specialist Spotlight for January

Kicking off the near year with a new specialist. January’s specialist is our wonderful Librarian, Mrs. Houlditch. She has requested crayons, child scissors, pencils/pens, copy paper (white), glue sticks, and gift cards to Amazon and Books a Million. Thank you as always for your support!

Teacher Appreciation Committee

Thank you so much to Rachel Barley and the Teacher Appreciation Committee members for coordinating a beautiful Holiday Breakfast for our teachers and staff!

Upcoming Events

PTA Meeting-January 14^th

Spirit Night at Pizza Perfect-January 24^th

Bear Family Dance-February 7^th

Science Night-February 20^th

Fun Run-March 23-April 3^rd

Bear PTA News-December 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:03:00 +0000

Happy Holidays!

Class Christmas Parties

Room parents are busy planning the class Christmas parties that are coming up soon! Parents are welcomed to attend the parties with their student (no siblings). All parties are from 2:45-3:30.

The parties are:

Kindergarten-you will receive correspondence from your child’s teacher regarding your Christmas Party time.

1^st grade- December 17^th

2-3 December 18^th

4-5 December 19^th

PTA Meeting

We had a great turnout at our last PTA Meeting for our annual Book Swap and Costume Parade. Thanks to all who attended. Save the date for our next meeting, which will be January 14^th. We will be giving out the prizes to our school reflections winner as well as having our middle school panel. Floyd panel of teachers & administrators. Pre-submitted questions will only be taken. Start submitting your questions for the panel here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4ea9a828a2fd0-bear1

Spirit Night!

Thanks to all of those that showed up for our spirit night at Chappy’s. It was great to see all the Bear students and their families! The next spirit night will be at Pizza Perfect on January 24^th.

Free Money

Free Money Volunteers

Need help entering bottle cap codes. Signup here & we’ll send home a bag of bottle caps & instructions with your child.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4ea9a828a2fd0-bear1

Reflections Art Contest

We had some amazing entries submitted this year!

Primary K-2nd Grade Bear Reflections Winners:

Music Composition:

1st Place: Amelia Johnson

Photography:

1st Place: Benjamin Noah Moore

2nd Place: Avery Grace Stanton

Literature:

1st Place: Banks Davenport

Visual Arts

1st Place: Avery Grace Stanton

2nd Place: Magnolia Underwood

3rd Place: Aveeana McCrary

Intermediate 3-5th Grade Bear Reflections Winners:

Dance Composition:

1st Place: Mary Grace Parsons

Music Composition:

1st Place: Brayden D. White

Film Production:

1st Place: Terra Dixon

Photography:

1st Place: Maddie Longpre

2nd Place: Jackson Sexton

3rd Place: Tanner Hoit

HM: Makayla Chatman

Literature:

1st Place: Faithlynn Nugyen

2nd Place: Sarah Cate Gulsby

3rd Place: Jackson Sexton

Visual Arts

1st Place: Jessica Rogel

2nd Place: Rosa Sklar

3rd Place: Millie DeLoach

HM: Henry Manderville

All students’ entries were submitted to the County level. We will be passing out certificates and prizes at the next PTA meeting.

Discount Cards

We will be sending out a survey in January to find out what you like, love or could do without on the Bear Discount Card. Please be thinking of any suggestions or businesses you want to see on the card for next year.

Fun Run

We’re excited about this opportunity to come together as a school & focus on health & character & support our school in the process.

Upcoming Events

Bear Family Dance-February 7^th

Science Night-February 20^th

Fun Run-March 23-April 3^rd

Bear Wear-Order now through November 8th

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 15:01:00 +0000

Bear Wear ordering window is now open! Check out our new Store!!!

https://bearexploration.memberhub.store/

Order now through November 8th!

Remember items take several weeks after the order is placed to come in.

Stay tuned for some newly designed Bear Mom shirts!

November PTA Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Fri, 01 Nov 2019 17:06:00 +0000

Happy November! November is a time of Thanksgiving and we are thankful for wonderful PTA members!

PTA Meeting

November 19^th is our annual Book Swap and Costume Parade at our PTA Meeting. Children can turn in up to 5 previously read books to exchange with up to 5 other books! The books need to be:

ü Gently loved (no bends, major tears or writing in the book)

ü Appropriate for ages 6-12

ü Chapter books only-grades 2-5

ü AR books are strongly recommended (Check them out on ARbookfind.com)

***No oversized coffee table books, pre-school or coloring/activity books or cardboard books***

Deadline to turn in books is Monday, November 18^th

Children are invited to come dressed as their favorite book character. Children will circle the lunchroom and walk on stage during the PTA meeting. Every child older than 3 years who comes in a book character costume with their featured book will get a treat and entered into a drawing for a Prize Pack.

Spirit Night!

The next spirit night is at El Taco Shop (this restaurant is owned by a Bear parent!) on November 4^th from 5:00-8:00pm. Please go out and enjoy some yummy food while supporting Bear!

Reflections Art Contest

Across the nation, local PTAs compete in Reflections Art Contests. Bear has had several students compete and win awards at the county and state levels. There are cash prizes for students who compete and win at the school level. The submission deadline is November 14th. The theme is "Look Within." The six categories are art, music, dance, writing, film production, and photography. The competition is broken down into grades K-2 and 3-5. Students can enter multiple categories.

All entries must be turned in with by November 14 with an Entry form. The form can be found on the Bear PTA Facebook Page under Forms. All forms can be picked up from Mrs. Bonikowski, or you can email Jill Sexton (jasexton23@yahoo.com) who can send hard copies home with your student.

Bear Wear
Are your students getting chilly? Have they already lost their jacket and sweatshirt? Bear Wear will be available to purchase November 4th-8th.

Specialist Spotlight

The Specialist Spotlight for November is– Mrs Lanier our wonderful Technology teacher! Her wish list includes, Office Depot gift card so she can purchase ink, Amazon gift cards so she can purchase wireless keyboards, Clorox wipes and an electric 3 hole punch. Students that send in items will put their names on the log and be entered to win $3 Bear Bucks to be used at the supply cart or book fair.

Fall Festival

Thank you to all of the parents, grandparents and volunteers who assisted at Fall Festival this year. It was a HUGE success. This year’s Festival was led by the amazing Traci Bludsworth Schell. Golden Bears were organized by Kristen Brown, Mindy Craymer and Karen Fuqua. Lee Johnson led the Papa Bears in taking care of the ant beds and other duties needed. The beautiful gift baskets were made by Jennifer Henderson, John Mosley was on the grill and concessions were organized by Angie Heilman. It truly is a team effort that makes Bear such a wonderful school!

Bear PTA News-October 2, 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 18:06:00 +0000

Bear PTA News-October 2, 2019

Discount Cards

Kelly Stanton would like to thank Parents, Teachers, and Students for a successful Discount Card Campaign. We also took 109 students to Chuck-E-Cheese on yesterday for selling 25 or more Discount Cards. In addition, this year we had one class with 100% participation; Congratulations, Mrs. Barton’s class! Her class will receive a popsicle party.

Lastly, if you have any outstanding cards of money please return by Thursday, October 3^rd. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kelly Stanton at kstanton2008@gmail.com.

BASKET ITEMS NEEDED!
Fall Festival is right around the corner and we are all so excited!! We are in need of items for this year’s baskets that will be silent auctioned at the festival!

✔️Taste of The River Region Basket (restaurant gift cards, sauces, local treats, etc.)

✔️Gift Card Basket (Amazon, Target, any type of general gift card)

✔️Pamper Me Basket (Salon gift cards, lotions, soaps, candles, etc.)

✔️Family Fun Basket (games, cards, outdoor items, movie passes, bowling passes, etc.)

FALL FESTIVAL!

Wristband orders are due by October 10^th. You can purchase wristbands for $15 at the festival.

We need everyone’s help to get our inflatables and activities covered. Please sign up for a 30-minute shift using this link below.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4EA9A828A2FD0-fall

Also, please consider buying or making treats to sell at our baked sale tent. Those items can be brought to the school the morning of the Fall Festival. We will have volunteers outside carpool line to grab them from you.

We will be dedicating our playground during the Fall Festival as well to thank Kiwanis Club for helping make it possible.

GOLDEN BEARS

Golden Bears T-shirts will go home with their grandchild on October 9^th, just in time for them to be worn at the Fall Festival when they volunteer!

SPECIALIST SPOTLIGHT
The Specialist Spotlight for October is Coach Reynolds – the PE teacher. Coach Reynolds has specifically requested Band-Aid brand bandages – regular and large ones to fit elbows and knees, Lysol wipes, instant ice packs and CD sleeves/envelops and A batteries. If your child brings in an item for Coach Reynolds, make sure that they sign the Gift Log so that they will be entered into a drawing for a prize. There is a collection box in the PE room.

A HUGE Thank you to all 27 students who brought in items for Mrs. Bonokowski! Riley Jones, Lulu Gunnells, Dylan Brown, James Earnest, Zane Hall, The Richardsons (Worth, Whitley, and Ben), Luke Jones-Collum, Jordyn Lett, Teagan Brown, Corey Ellis, Auraya Buathet, Brandon Sanchez, Aydan Capilouto, Ava Mosley, Britt Barley, Jordan McGhee, John Harrison, Ethan Kelly, Lourdes Ellis, Andrew Nguyen, Aaron Holtsford, Emme Kaplan, Carson Shambray, Ella Reid, Ezra LaBier, Morgan Smith, and Katrina Hamil. We decided to draw 2 names since there were so many that brought items! AVA MOSLEY and JAMES EARNEST are the winner of the BEAR BUCKS for September.

Reflections Art Contest

All entries must be turned in with an entry form. All forms can be picked up from Mrs. Bonikowski, or you can email Jill Sexton who can send hard copies home with your student. Please turn in the items to Mrs. Bonokoski.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Oct. 3 – Picture Day

Oct. 10 – Deadline for prepaid FF wristbands

Oct. 15 – FALL FESTIVAL

Oct. 23 – GLOW - The Teacher Appreciation committee will be contacting volunteers soon to provide a wonderful luncheon for our teachers.

Oct 28 to Nov 1- Red Ribbon Week – Say No to Drugs. Information will be sent home after the Fall Festival.

Nov 4-Spirit Night @ El Taco Shop from 5:00-8:00

Nov 19-PTA Meeting/Book Swap

MARK YOUR CALENDARS - NO SCHOOL – Oct. 11, 14 (parent visitation day), 25

Basket Items Needed for Fall Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 14:40:00 +0000

The PTA will be holding a silent auction during the Fall Festival this year! We need your help to make these baskets awesome! While you are out shopping this weekend please pick up a gift card or an item off the list below. Also, if you know of any businesses that would donate a gift card or an item please reach out to them or let us know and we can reach out!

Here are the basket themes:

✔️Taste of The River Region Basket (restaurant gift cards, sauces, local treats, etc.)

✔️Gift Card Basket (Amazon, Target, any type of general gift card)

✔️Pamper Me Basket (Salon gift cards, lotions, soaps, candles, etc.)

✔️Family Fun Basket (games, cards, outdoor items, movie passes, bowling passes, etc.)

Thank you in advance for your support of Bear and our fabulous Fall Festival!

Discount Cards, Fall Festival and Math Night

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:30:00 +0000

Discount cards for Incentives are due by Thursday at 9:00 a.m.! The last day before Thursday to request more cards to be eligible for the incentives will be this Wednesday.

*Remember you can sell Discount cards throughout the year, but to be eligible for the Chuck E Cheese field trip (25 cards sold), your name in the raffle for a chance to win $100 (1 chance for every 10 cards sold), and to be eligible for most cards sold to win the iPad; monies need to be in by Thursday at 9:00 a.m.*

Fall Festival packets will be coming home today!!! You can order wristbands and tickets on our online store.

http://bearpta.3dcartstores.com/Fall-Festival_c_15.html

Math Night is tomorrow! The lunchroom will be open for you to pick up your pre-ordered concessions at 4:45!

Bear PTA Newsletter-September 4, 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Bear PTA) — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 18:18:00 +0000

Welcome to September! This is our first PTA Newsletter of the school year. We will be sending out these emails periodically to keep us all updated.

DISCOUNT CARDS

It’s our biggest fundraiser, and we have lots of work to do!!! Please feel free to start sending in the money that you are collecting. Also, if you know that you aren’t going to sell all of the cards in your possession, please send some of them back to us. Remember, for every 10 you sell, your name will be entered into a drawing to win $100! Also, if your child sells 25 cards they will get to go on a special trip to Chuck E Cheese! Sell, sell, sell……… it’s for OUR students, OUR teachers, OUR school!

PTA MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

We are at 640 total PTA memberships. Last year we had 836, so please continue to join the PTA. The top 3 classes are Stallworth, Barton, Forster and Brand (tied for 3^rd). We still have 5 classes that are not at 100%! Our goal is to meet or exceed our number for last year! We can do it!

· Remember You can join anytime, but to be eligible for the incentives membership is due by September 6th

· Student with the most memberships overall will be rewarded with a $25 Bear Wear Store Credit!!
Student with the most PTA memberships per grade wins $10 Bear Wear Store Credit!!

· *Student cannot win overall and grade level prize. Grade level prize will be awarded to student with the 2nd most memberships.*

· Class with the most PTA memberships wins a Doughnut Party and a ½ day Teacher Pass!!

· Each class that receives 100% PTA membership by September 6th wins a Popsicle Party!

PTA MEETING

Come Be an Explorer and come to our first PTA Meeting on Tuesday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m.

The PTA will offer several drawings for giveaways. You must be a PTA member to be eligible for prizes.

· Fall Festival package which include 4 wristbands and 2 t-shirts

· $25 Bear Wear Gift certificate

· (3) $5 Bear Bucks prizes for students (good at the Book Fair and the school supply cart)

We will discuss Discount Cards, Fall Festival and the Reflections art contest. We will also sell the remaining clothes from the Uniform Sale at deep discounts.

GARDEN BRICK ORDER
Bear Bricks orders are due September 6^th. Bricks are a great way to leave your mark forever at Bear.

GOLDEN BEARS (GRANDPARENTS CLUB)

We love our Golden Bears! Grandparents have a wonderful opportunity to help sponsor the outdoor classroom, and in return enjoy a wonderful breakfast with their grandchild in April. Become a Golden Bear today! Membership forms due September 6^th.

MATH NIGHT
Mark your calendars for Math Night on Tuesday, September 17. We are SO lucky to have a fabulous staff who plan an amazing night of educational activities for our students. The PTA supports Math Night by providing a low-cost pizza dinner for families ahead of the event. Stay tuned for more details.

SPECIALIST SPOTLIGHT

For each month of the school year, we will choose a Bear Specialist to shower with some extra love. Please have your child bring in items from this teacher’s wish list. When your child brings in an item, make sure that he/she signs the Gift Log. At the end of the month, one student from the Gift Log (chosen at random) will win 3 Bear Bucks (good at the school supply cart and the Book Fair).

The Specialist of the Month for September is our wonderful Art Teacher, Mrs. Bonokowski

Items on her wish list:

· HP 63 Ink Cartridges (color and black)

· Black Sharpies

· Baby Wipes

SPIRIT NIGHT

Our first spirit night is this Friday at Newtopia from 4:00-7:00. We get 20% of all the proceeds so please come out for a fun time! You will have to sign in and put your receipt in the bucket.

PAPA BEARS

Ant killer is needed for the Fall Festival and daily PE maintenance. Bring all donations to Coach Reynolds. If you have questions please contact PAPA Bear Coordinator Lee Johnson, 334-301-2255.

BEAR WEAR

All Bear Wear has been distributed except for rain jackets and fleece beanies. We have limited stock in field trip t-shirts, dri-fit polos, hoodies, theme shirts and fleece jackets. If you need to purchase one of these items please contact Mindy Craymer at 334-414-4587. There is a $5 convenience fee in between order windows. The next order window is in November.

Thank you, Fellow Explorers! Come out and see us next Tuesday, so we can help you navigate all of this information. As you can see, there is a way for every parent and grandparent to help out at Bear. So glad we are on this adventure together!