PTA President’s Letter to Families

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Dear Bobcat Families,

Welcome to the 2023 – 2024 school year at Bannockburn ES!  I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer and that all of our new and returning families are ready and eager to be getting back to school.  My name is Katie Harris and I am excited to be serving as the PTA President this year.  I have a son who will be a 3rd grader and a daughter who is an incoming kindergartener.  I hope everyone received the email from Bannockburn yesterday.  It is full of important information about the upcoming school year.   I wanted to outline for you some additional information relevant to the PTA. 

Staying in Touch:  I would like to encourage all parents to join the Bannockburn ES Listserv (through the Membership Toolkit app) if you have not done so already.  It is an important communication tool within our school community.  It is used to send newsletters, post announcements and information about school events, make donations, purchase items, etc.  To join, please visit https://bannockburnpta.membershiptoolkit.com.  Please create an account and opt-in for receiving messages from the PTA.  

Join the PTA!  While you are on the MTK app, please also join the PTA and/or consider donating to the PTA!  PTA membership dues and donations help fund all of the awesome events that the PTA sponsors every year for our school community.  Joining the PTA is also the only way to gain access to the digital school directory.  If you have any problems or questions about Membership Toolkit, you can contact our VP of Communications, Amanda Sutaria (Amanda.sutaria@gmail.com).  PTA memberships bought for this school year are valid until Sept. 1, 2024.

Support the PTA:  This year in addition to one-time donations, we are introducing corporate and family sponsorships.  If you own or work for a business who would like to sponsor the PTA this year, or if your family would like to sponsor the PTA, please visit the “donations” tab on the MTK menu.  For questions about fundraising/donations, please contact our VP of Fundraising, Evan Harris, at bannockburnptafundraising@gmail.com.  

Upcoming Events:  In the first several weeks of school, there will be some fun PTA events that you don’t want to miss!

  • First, we will have our PTA welcome coffee for new families on Sept. 1st at 9:45 am in the school cafeteria. Parents/guardians of new BES families are invited to come meet other new families, PTA board members, and our school administrators.  
     
  • Second, we will have our back-to-school picnic on Friday, Sept. 8th from 5-8pm on the school playground. This laid-back event gives the kids an opportunity to play with new and old friends. It also gives the parents an opportunity to meet new families and visit with old friends. Look for a flyer in your kid’s backpack with more information about this fun event!
     
  • The International Fair will be held on Sept. 30th from 4-6 pm on the BES blacktop.  Come celebrate our diverse BES community and enjoy tasty international treats, music, games, prizes, and so much more.  Families are encouraged to host a table/make a display with information about their country/culture.  Look for more information about this event in the first few weeks of school.  We are still looking for a volunteer to lead this event!  
     
  • Our first PTA meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, October 3rd at 7 pm in the cafeteria. Mrs. Bradley will be there to talk about school-related topics and to answer questions. This is also an opportunity for you to hear about the various PTA activities for the coming year.  
     

Volunteer:  No PTA activity would be possible without our dedicated Bannockburn volunteers. We are so lucky to have a strong volunteer base, but we always need more and I welcome all of you to become a part of that base and to strengthen it!  We are still looking for a few PTA board members and event leads for this school year.   Please take 2 minutes to fill out this quick survey to let the PTA know how you can volunteer this year!  If you are interested in being on the PTA board or being the lead for an event please email the PTA at bannockburnelementarypta@gmail.com.

I’m really looking forward to serving as your PTA President this year and working with the PTA Executive Board and all of the committees to make this another wonderful year at Bannockburn ES!  If you ever have any questions, please email me at bannockburnelementarypta@gmail.com.  I hope to see all of you at our PTA events in September!

Fondly, 

Katie Harris

PTA President