PTO Newsletter: Nov 20
Wed, Nov 20 4:04pm

 

GOBBLE GOBBLE!

If you’ve never witnessed a stampede of inflatable animals donned by JP parents and teachers rushing the Turkey Trot finish line as a pre-race event, you must put this on your bucket list for next year. This year’s Turkey Trot was the funniest and most wholesome display of school-wide spirit and gratitude we may have ever seen, and we appreciate everyone who came out to cheer and participate! Most heartfelt thanks to parent volunteers Lisa Robinson, Shae Cox, and Phil Arnold, as well as teachers Mr. Hennessy and Ms. Crespo for organizing such a special annual event for the JP community.

 

JP collected nearly 2500 food items to donate to the Princeton Mobile Food Pantry and Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Special congrats to Ms. Lepard’s 3rd grade class who collected the most items for the second year in a row! Parents, if you missed the Turkey Trot this year, keep an eye out for next year. You’ll witness adorable song presentations by each grade, the aforementioned parent/teacher animal stampede, and of course the actual mile run with 400 of your favorite friends. Very good fun!

 

REMINDERS!

 

CONFERENCES AND EARLY DISMISSALS

Don’t forget 1pm dismissal on: 11/21, 11/25, 11/26, 11/27, 12/2.

Friday, Nov 22, is a regular full day! 

Thank you to our wonderful teachers for holding parent/teacher conferences to support our students. The PTO was happy to treat lunch and snacks to help fuel their long conference day on Thursday. Thank you to our hospitality team, Deirdre Goodrich and Donna Graziano.

 

FIFTH GRADE BAKE SALE + FANCY CLOTHES SWAP

Fifth graders will be running their annual bake sale during conferences. All proceeds support Fifth Grade activities, so pick up a treat for yourself or your student’s teacher and support a great cause. Also, while you’re in for conferences, feel free to browse the Fancy Clothes Swap racks and take home whatever items might be useful for your family this holiday season! Thank you Caroline Benzon and Elmé Schmid for heading up Fifth Grade activities!!

 

PIE PICKUP IS TUESDAY, 11/26 (1PM)

 

WINTER SPIRIT WEAR SHOPPE IS OPEN UNTIL NOV 21!

Last day!! Make sure to take a peek at the 2024/25 Winter JP Spiritwear Shoppe for some exclusive swag for the colder months ahead! Many thanks to our talented team, Bijal Patel and Margot Wilkinson, for designing our merch and organizing the sale. Please see link below to purchase your items.

 

PARTYBOARDS ARE LIVE

We had a very successful kickoff to our partyboard season, raising $21,000 in the first 24 hours!! Over 80 parents came out to the cocktail party at Yankee Doodle Taproom and had a wonderful time, catching up with fellow JP families and buying tickets. Special thanks to Lisa Pappas-Taffer and Danny Allen, Jr. for their tireless work to organize 27 parties. All parties are now available to purchase at the link below.

 

DUES DRIVE HAS REACHED OVER $10K!

We’re just shy of 40% of our goal! In the coming weeks, we will share which grades are leading the charge. We’d love to have your participation! Every donation is valuable. Thank you so much for your support!

 

WARM CLOTHES DRIVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED

Thank you to everyone who donated warm clothes to the drive. They have been collected, sorted and distributed by a very hardworking and dedicated team throughout our school and district. Special thanks to our team: Shae Cox, Phil Arnold, Lisa Robinson, Elmé Schmid, Nurse Liz, and Michele Cowell who coordinated logistics for many weeks to make this happen. We are so grateful for your warm acts of kindness!

 

PROJECT JOY

Each year, there are a significant number of families in every Johnson Park grade level that need support from the greater community on a weekly basis. For these families, the December gift giving holidays puts unbelievable financial pressure on their essential weekly budget. They are faced with a choice between “wants” and “needs”. Help us bring joy to our friends and classmates at JP. We will be hosting a giftcard drive through December 6th.

 

NEWS AROUND THE DISTRICT 

The search for a permanent Superintendent has reached the confidential stage.

 

Please see www.princetonk12.org/future to read more information about the January 28 referendum, which has immediate impacts on class size and potential/likely redistricting for a number of JP families. We will be hosting a town hall style forum on January 7 at JP so please mark your calendars!

 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

In the upcoming weeks we will be forming a committee at JP to discuss and advocate for safe pathways to Johnson Park. If you currently walk/ bike to school, or you would love to walk/bike in the future stay tuned for more information on this! We’d love to have you join us!

 

The JP library is getting a organizational face lift and we need your help! Sign up to help catalog and organize the stacks of books to assist our students in finding their next great read. Sign up on Konstella for a spot or two!

 

 

Project Joy: Donate gift cards here 

 

Library signup here

 

Party Boards here

 

PTO dues here

 

Purchase spirit wear here

 

Find us on Facebook to see all the photos from Turkey Trot and much more!