McKinley PTO Newsletter

🏃Roarin Run Fundraiser - Ends Tuesday

📱Directory - Last Call to Submit Contact Info & Purchase

👕Lost & Found - Cleanout on 10/23

🙋Get involved - Reps for PE Teachers and Battle of the Books

WOW McKinley, your support of the Roarin’ Run has been outstanding! We are within $1K of our stretch goal and can fund High Interest Day, field trips, teacher appreciation, family fun events and more! I am thrilled that we can even retire the current mascot costume (details coming soon).

Our kids took around 1,080 victory laps around the school last Tuesday. Much thanks to all the volunteers who helped support and cheer the students on. A huge THANK YOU to our amazing, dedicated Roarin’ Run fundraiser coordinator (and PTO treasurer) Colin Doyle for spearheading this new fundraising effort!

The fun run is over, but we’re accepting donations through this Tuesday, Oct. 13th.

(For those who have inquired, this campaign does include the “room parent donation/teacher appreciation contribution” request of years past. The PTO will again be allocating funds for room parents to use during Teacher Appreciation Week and throughout the year to show gratitude on your behalf.)

Head to Noodles in the Village for dinner on Thursday from 4-8pm (mention McKinley or use code GIVING20) and part of your purchase comes back to McKinley! Our Teacher Appreciation committee (thanks to you) will be able to provide dinner and breakfast to McKinley’s hard-working staff during conferences on Thursday and Friday.

And LAST CALL to submit your contact info for the directory before our new committee compiles the information! We have submissions from less than half of our families and will accept submissions through Friday. You may purchase a directory HERE.

Thanks for your support!

Briana Jury (Possin), PTO President

tosamckinleypto@gmail.com

Follow us on our McKinley Elementary PTO Facebook page for important reminders.*

PTO Meeting - May Minutes

Reminders:

• PTO Meeting Dates
• Art Room Volunteer Sign-Ups
• Lunch Volunteers: SK/1st Help and 4th/5th Composting
• Volunteer Background Check
• Box Tops for Education

Oct 12 - NO SCHOOL for JK Students

Oct 22 - PTO Meeting @ 6:30pm
Oct 30 - Character Parade @ 1pm followed by classroom fall parties

Nov 3 - NO SCHOOL (Election Day)

You, your family, friends and neighbors can still donate by visiting our fundraising page on Get Movin’ Fund Hub. If you are looking to create an account, use our School Identifier: 6a0d9a7364821.

Donations can be made by credit card, PayPal, Venmo or Google Pay.

Prefer to pay by check? Drop it at the McKinley front desk, payable to McKinley Elementary PTO. Please include your student’s name on the memo line.

Thank you for all your support! ROAR!

Questions? Contact Colin Doyle @ cdoyle02@gmail.com.

Thanks to all who attended our first two dine-outs at Qdoba and Panera! We've already raised over $200 for our school!

Grab dinner at Noodles in the Tosa Village (State St) from 4-8pm on Thursday night. Use code GIVING20 for online/app orders, or make sure to show the attached flyer or mention our fundraiser for in-restaurant purchases!

Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

• 10/28: Joy Ice Cream Social
• 11/12: Raising Cane's
• 11/24: Elegant Farmer fundraiser pick-up

The PTO is looking for volunteers to learn about and help coordinate the Dine Outs. Please contact Hope Doyle (Hope.e.doyle@gmail.com) with questions or interest.

A school directory is a great resource with school and family contact information, the school's daily schedule & calendar, class lists and PTO committee chairs.

Purchase a Directory HERE

Submit Contact Info HERE

During registration, you may have agreed to share info and that will be referenced. Addresses are not collected in that process. Please fill out the form with all info you want shared.

Please check the Lost & Found for your child's missing items! Courtney Bode will clean out the Lost & Found on Friday, Oct. 23rd and items will be donated.

We need some volunteers to some love to our PE teachers! This role focuses on teacher appreciation gifts (holiday season, TA Week, and end-of-year); and there there are no classroom parties to plan.

Click HERE to sign-up!

Teacher Appreciation Reps Needed:

• Aronow (PE)
• Roloff (PE)

Questions? Please reach out! I am happy to answer any questions.
Wendy Von Rueden (wvonrueden@gmail.com or 262-468-6452)

At McKinley, 5th graders have historically had the opportunity to compete in the Battle of the Books. In this program, students read great books from a specified list and then have fun competing with their peers in online “battles.” A battle is a competition where teams earn points by testing their comprehension/trivia knowledge in a Jeopardy style format by answering questions about the books they’ve read against teams from across the state of Wisconsin.

We need a Battle of the Books coordinator* to make this happen in the 2026-27 school year. (The previous coordinator's children are now in middle school.) If we can find a volunteer coordinator, then we would ask for volunteer coaches and open up sign ups for the 5th graders.

*The coordinator doesn't have to be from a 5th grade family. If you've been looking for a way to support the McKinley, we would love your help!

Find out more about the Battle of the Books Coordinator Role and contact Briana Jury or Hope Doyle with any questions or interest.

Everyone is automatically a member of McKinley's Parent Teacher Organization (no dues) and encouraged to attend our PTO meetings that are held on six Thursdays at 6:30pm throughout the year in the Community Room. We will also have a Zoom link for those who can't make it in person. We would love to have you join us!

• Oct. 22nd
• Jan. 14th
• Mar. 11th
• May 13th

Find the links to the Sign-Up Genius for your child's art class HERE. Contact Alicia Jackowiak at alicia.jackowiak@gmail.com with questions.

Help SK/1st Adjust

Thank you for all the help thus far! The PTO is looking for volunteers to help make this a smoother process for the rest of September and October to help our SK and 1st Grade students manage their lunches (milk carton!) and learn the routine. See SK/1st Lunch Volunteer Sign-Up for more detail and to sign up!

Help 4th & 5th Compost

This year, the school's Green Team is asking for parent volunteers to help with compost during the end of 4th/5th grade lunch from 11:45-12:00! Help make our composting successful and verify that only compostable items make it in the compost. Sign up to help with sorting for composting HERE.

Anyone interested in volunteering or chaperoning should complete the Wauwatosa School District Volunteer Application. You will not be able to allow you to participate until your application is complete and cleared by the system.

Not sure if you’re approved? Call the McKinley office at 414-773-1500, and they’ll be happy to check for you. You can also search your email for a confirmation from Visitor Aware, or try starting a new application using the link below—if you're already approved, it won’t let you continue.

Important: When completing the form, be sure to enter your name exactly as it appears on your driver’s license to avoid delays.

Thank you for your support in keeping McKinley a safe and welcoming place for all students!

Use this referral code HEI51T5R when you sign up. Download the Box Tops for Education app here: https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=HEI51T5R Enter our zip code 53226, choose McKinley Elementary School, and start scanning to help our PTO fund school activities!

If you are a parent, guardian or teacher at McKinley Elementary School, you are a member of the PTO, you already are!

Interested in becoming more involved? The PTO is looking for help with High Interest Day, the annual McKinley fundraiser, community outreach, Literacy Night, Green Team, family nights out, and more! Look for more information in the upcoming newsletters or contact tosamckinleypto@gmail.com.

Board Members:

President - Briana Jury

Vice President - unfilled

Treasurer - Colin Doyle

Secretary - Allison Ryther

VP of Committees - Hope Doyle

Members at Large - Nicci Zickuhr & unfilled

Community Outreach - unfilled

Teacher Rep - Mike Hansen

Principal - Steve Sperl

Email: tosamckinleypto@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/McKinley-Elementary-School-PTO-Wauwatosa/227520614000173?ref=bookmarks