Message from the PTO President

December, 2021

Holiday Greetings, LTMS Parents!

The school year is half over - crazy, right?! And if you saw Mr. Wolff's Special Announcement, we are also saying goodbye to our beloved Principal at the end of the school year this coming May. {Boo!} We are sad to see him leave, but we understand and respect his commitment to family and wish him all the best.

We hope your family has a fun and safe Winter Break. Thank you for all your support of donations, PTO memberships, call-to-action event donations, and volunteering this first semester. We couldn't do all of it without your generosity, so thank you very much!

We have lots to look forward to in the second semester, including some fun student events that have not happened in the last two years due to COVID. We are so thankful to bring these activities back to our school. Our 6th graders can look forward to KAZAAM and Olympic Day. Our 7th graders will enjoy "Movie Night" and "May Day", and our "senior" 8th grade class will enjoy graduation celebrations as we wish them well with their move up to high school! Please be on the lookout for these event emails that will be filled with details on how to help.

Our January Spirit Night is something special this year. We are happy to have CodeWizardsHQ as a Gold Sponsor and they'll be hosting two evenings of coding fun for students. If you also have elementary age kiddos, they can get in on the fun, too! We will send specific details to register for either the Wednesday, January 19th or Friday January 21st events. There will also be a week long class for those students who would like a whole lot of programming fun. Our PTO will benefit from all of these opportunities and you don't even have to leave home as these classes are virtual!

Make sure to join us for our next PTO General Board Meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 27th at 9:00am. Besides planning year events, we will also begin putting together the Nominations Committee that will help present a slate of new board members. If you would like to join this awesome group of volunteers, please email: info@ltmspto.org or reach out to any of our current PTO Chairs and Officers. We plan to host this meeting in-person at the LTMS Library and look forward to seeing you. Coffee and light fare will be provided.

Go KNIGHTS!

Freda Collier

LTMS PTO President

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, January 19

4:00p Spirit Nights! Code Wizards

Friday, January 21

4:00p Spirit Nights! Code Wizards

Thursday, January 27

9:00a PTO General Membership Meeting & Principal's Coffee

Friday, January 28

4:10p 6th Grade KAZAAM

In this Newsletter

Celebration of National Special Education Day

On December 2, the LTMS PTO hosted an ice cream social for the staff and students of our wonderful Special Education department to celebrate National Special Education Day.

The event, sponsored by Amy's Ice Cream, provided ice cream and all the "fixins" for an afternoon of cool treats and big smiles all around!

6th grade KAZAAM!

Our 6th grade KAZAAM is scheduled for Friday, January 28th after school. What is KAZAAM? It is an after-school event for ALL 6th graders that includes games, a DJ, pizza, and lots of FUN!

We are looking for volunteers to join our Kazaam Planning Committee, as well as volunteers for the KAZAAM event. If you are interested in helping to plan or volunteer for this fun event, please contact our 6th Grade Reps, Amy Chauvin and Danielle Elliott, at 6thgrade@ltmspto.org.

If you have a business and would like to be a sponsor for this year's KAZAM event, please contact 6thgrade@ltmspto.org as well for sponsorship information and benefits.

We can hardly wait to bring KAZAAM back to LTMS in 2022!

CodeWizardsHQ Spirit Night

Are you looking for an opportunity for your child to learn a fun, new skill? Or how about a way to help out the LTMS PTO at the same time?

CodeWizardsHQ introduction classes are the answer! The 1-hour classes gives students a glimpse into the world of coding, gives them confidence, and helps them thrive in our ever changing digital world.

Live online coding classes for for Animation and Games with Scratch (Elementary Students) , and Introduction to Programming with Python (Middle School Students) are now accepting enrollments. Classes will be held on Wednesday, January 19th and Friday, January 21st 2022 in the evening for our next Spirit Night event.

As an added bonus CodeWizards is hosting a week long class during this same week so you can keep the fun going. Our PTO will receive 50% of each student registration in this class!

Registration details and our Spirit Night Code will be sent in January!

For more information about these & other CodeWizardsHQ classes that are available, visit https://codewizardshq.com/afterschool/.

Parenting in a Digital Age

It comes as no secret that parenting can be challenging in an age where all types of information is accessible to and sharable with anyone that has a tablet, computer, or SmartPhone. With the launch of each new and trendy application comes the risk of exposing kids to various threats.

Each month, our Parenting in a Digital Age section will focus on sharing the various resources available in helping us navigate the ever changing world of social media, trends, apps, and Internet security.

This month's spotlight is on Officer Gomez, School SRO in Boise, ID. Officer Gomez's Facebook page has over 43k followers, where he posts daily about trends he sees, situations he encounters, and informs parents about topics ranging from Internet safety, school security, and social media challenges/trends that may be harmful.

If you have a resource recommendation that you would like to share for future Newsletters, please send the information to communications@ltmspto.org.

Fundraising

Treasurer's Snapshot

The school year is half over with fundraising events including the No Hassle Fundraiser, Membership Drive, and Spirit Store Sales.

Funds raised benefit our teachers and students by helping fund staff appreciation events, grade level activities, and school wish list items.

We are about 37% of our $15,000 goal and WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP to achieve the funds needed to provide the benefits outlined.

End of year donations to non-profits make great tax deductions and what better organization to support than your school's PTO?

Fundraising Opportunities

Not sure how else to help the LTMS PTO raise funds?

Here are just a few more examples of how you can help:

Community Partners

Do you own a local business and wish to partner with us to impact the programs and activities provided to our students and teachers? Then join our Community Partner Program. As a valued business sponsor you will be recognized through various benefits depending on the sponsorship level you choose. Sponsorships will be active for a period of one school year and may be renewed on an annual basis. Contact us for information on how to become a sponsor today.

Double Your Donation

Increase the impact of your PTO donation with a matching gift. Employee matching gift programs are corporate giving programs in which the company matches donations made by employees to eligible non-profit organizations like LTMS. A simple and effective way to double a contribution at no additional cost to you. Details here.

Volunteer Grants Make a Difference

Volunteer grants are corporate giving programs in which companies provide monetary donations to non-profit organizations where employees volunteer regularly. If you volunteer at LTMS, it’s an easy way to provide the school with additional financial support at no cost to you. Details here.

Passive Fundraising

Earn money for LTMS every time you shop. This is an easy way to earn money for our school while doing something you already do. Please take a moment to sign up for these programs, which donate a percentage of your purchases back to our school or PTO. The more families that participate, the more we earn. Details here.

Spirit Store

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

No matter the season, our LTMS Spirit Store is open and stocked with shirts, stickers, and other LTMS swag.

Purchases of LTMS gear support PTO fundraising efforts to help reach our fundraising goal of $15,000. Thank you for your generosity!

Join PTO

Whether you are new to the community or if you have been here for some time, your membership in the LTMS PTO provides you with the opportunity to meet other parents, teachers, and to help address the needs of our students at LTMS. Our PTO goal for the 2021-22 school year is to raise $15,000 so that we are able to support the additional student and teacher activities on our budget.

End of the year donations to non-profits make great tax deductions and what better organization to support than your school's PTO?

To help us achieve our PTO goal, access our online registration platform, Membership Toolkit (MTK). After you have registered, go to the My Account section to update your family information so that you receive our revitalized PTO newsletter, notifications of volunteer sign-up announcements, etc. To complete your membership registration, visit the PTO Fundraising page to pay the 2021-22 PTO Membership dues.

If you have any questions or technical issues, contact us at: info@ltmspto.org.

From Our Gold Sponsor

Community Partners

Do you own a business or know someone who does and would be interested in becoming an LTMS PTO Sponsor? Please contact fundraising@ltmspto.org to receive a Program Packet that contains everything you need to become a Community Partner!

SUBJECT: LTMS PTO Newsletter - December Edition