Happy Tuesday, Sandburg!

It is week three and already things are busy, busy, busy! We have a lot of events coming up in September, so make sure to mark your calendar with all the important dates listed below.

Thank you to everyone who attended last week's PTO meeting. We had a great turnout and are excited to kick-start the new year! If you would like to see a copy of the minutes, we will have that available on the PTO website later this week.

Thank you to everyone who signed up to give blood at the Gus Poell Mobile Blood Drive this Friday. All available time slots have been filled.

Don't forget that our Back to School Spirit Wear sale is going on now through Sept. 7th. Choose from hundreds of spirit wear designs and garments that are delivered to your home in days! Click here to order.

Be sure to keep reading for all the details on Sandburg's Back to School Night, Picture Day (including a volunteer opportunity to help out), Playground Pals sign-ups, photos from our Staff Lounge makeover and more!

Mark Your Calendar

Aug. 31 | Back to School Curriculum Night, 5-7pm

Aug. 31 | Picture Day, Grades 3-5

Sept. 1 | Picture Day, Grades K-2

Sept. 1 | Gus Poell Mobile Blood Drive at Sandburg

Sept. 4 | Labor Day, no school

Sept. 5 | Cub Scouts Join Night, 6pm

Sept. 12 | Rocket Launch with Cub Scout Pack 559, 6pm

Sept. 16 | Centennial Chalk Art Festival, 10am-4pm

Sept. 19 - 20 | Out & About at Chook

Sept. 21 | General PTO Meeting, 6pm

Sept. 22 | Run4Funds Run Day

Oct. 29 | The Littleton Stride, 5k/10k and Kids Fun Run

We look forward to seeing you at Back to School: Curriculum Night, on Thursday, August 31 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm.  

The format is:

• Session 1 in the classroom is from 5:00-5:30 pm

• Principal McCabe will speak in the gym from 5:40-6:10 pm 

• Session 2 in the classroom is from 6:20-6:50 pm

Please join your classroom teacher in either session 1 or 2 to learn more about the curriculum and class schedule/expectations. This night is geared toward adults. 

Room Parent Sign-ups!  

PTO will be placing Room Parent sign-ups in each classroom for interested parents. We would like to have no more than (2) Room Parents per class.

Ideally, Room Parents can wear a lot of hats and be prepared for some last-minute things that come their way. This is a team-player role working hand in hand with the teacher to plan for things that are best for them, while involving other parents and seeking support and sharing duties.

• From a planning point, it is helpful and beneficial when Room Parents can attend PTO Meetings, please keep this in mind.

Being a Room Parent is NOT the only way to be involved or volunteer in your child’s classroom! Many times, teachers look for volunteers for various jobs – assistance in small groups with reading/writing/math, Friday Folder stuffing, or other creative jobs that benefit the class and students. 

Want to learn more? For a description of the Room Parent Role, please see the attached document.

Once we have collected all Room Parent information at Back to School Night, Amy Nelson will be in touch for an initial Room Parent Meeting where we will discuss the tentative schedule and roles/responsibilities for this year.

Thursday, Aug. 31st — 3rd, 4th and 5th grade

Friday, Sept. 1st — Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade

Pre-order online at https://studiosloss.com/sandburg/

Volunteer Opportunity: 

We need a couple volunteers to help with wrangling the kids, fixing hair, silly faces for good smiles - any way you can help out!  

• Click here to sign-up!

We are excited to annouce that the Sandburg Playground Pals Program is back for the '23-'24 school year!

This Program is designed for parents to help the school staff promote an inclusive, safe, and fun environment during lunch recess.  It is a great way for parents to get involved in the kid’s school day while accommodating busy schedules.

Playground Pals is open to all parents, grandparents and guardians of Sandburg students. Additional support is needed especially on Monday's and Friday's due to staff shortages.

HOW IT WORKS:

There are two separate shifts available each school day:

• Shift 1: 10:45am to 12:00pm on the south playground - 4th, 5th, 3rd grades
• Shift 2: 12:00pm to 1:20pm on the south playground - Kinder, 1st, 2nd grades

On the day of your shift, you will sign in with the front desk and get your visitors badge. You will then check-in with Para Support Staff on the south playground. 

During the shift, you will walk the entire playground to ensure that students are interacting in a safe manner and following the rules set forth by the school administration and Para Support Staff.  Once your shift is up, you will check out with Para Support Staff and return your badge/sign out at the front desk.

Although this project wasn’t without its delays and surprises, we were able to welcome the Sandburg Staff to their updated space right before the start of school!

This project would not have been possible without the help of this community. We raised over $3,000 in the Staff Appreciation Campaign and were able to utilize additional PTO funds to support this endeavor! 

A huge amount of gratitude and thanks goes to Amie and Jason Faust. Amie is owner of Half Dozen Designs and Jason is Co-Owner of Collective Construction Services, Inc. and they are proud Sandburg parents! Amie and Jason spearheaded all aspects of this project from design, schedule, purchasing and installation – all voluntary and only working with a small budget!  We could not have organized or completed this project without their expertise. This was long overdue and our staff couldn’t have been more excited and enthusiastic for this space! 

A special thanks also goes to:

• Paul Sweeney for his furniture assembly work and art hanging skills
• Katie Hess for her trailer driving and furniture assembly skills
• Julie Vincelette and the 2023 Sandburg 5^th Grade Graduating Class, who created a unique piece of art for the staff lounge. It has been a long-standing tradition for the art teacher to work with the 5^th grade class to create an art piece that remains at the school on display after their graduation. There are many of these pieces all around our school – the totem poles at the front or the tiles in the entry way. This particular piece will remain in the Staff Lounge and brings color, life and a reminder of how much our community appreciates our staff.
• Highland Cabinetry — they generously donated ALL the new cabinetry, https://highlandcabinetryco.com/
• Two Sisters Vintage Rugs — they generously donated the gorgeous new rug in the ‘creative and comfy space’ in the lounge. The owner of this company is yet another Sandburg parent! Please check them out for all your Hand-Knotted Wool Rugs (www.twosistersrugs.com) … they are beautiful and you won’t be disappointed! 
  

We will be adding a plaque to one of the walls with all the family names that generously contributed to this project as well as a plaque for the 5^th Grade Art Collaboration!

Thank you again for your support, these projects don’t happen unless we can all get behind them!

6900 S Elizabeth St

Centennial CO 80122

https://sites.google.com/view/sandburgpto/home