Parent Packet 2015-16
Dora Kennedy
French Immersion PTA
Welcome from Dora Kennedy French Immersion’s PTA Board
August 2015
Greetings Parents and families of DKFI,
Your PTA Executive Board welcomes you to the 2015-16 school year at the newly renamed Dora
Kennedy French Immersion School! PTA’s mission is to support students, teachers, staff, and
parents. To do that, we will need to work as a team to communicate, advocate, and participate in
our school. As a partner in our school family, we hope you’ll share your time and talents with PTA.
PTA meetings are the second Wednesday of every month, with the exception of November, when
school is closed for Parent Teacher Conferences on that day. Our first PTA meeting will be
Wednesday, October 14. Our first gathering will be the Back to School Nights which take place
Wednesday, September 9 (Grades K-4) and Thursday, September 10 (Grade 5 AND Middle School).
Please add PTA meetings to your yearly calendar.
Please join the PTA and share your talents. We need parents on the following committees:
Fundraising, Grants writing, Communications, Recruitment and Volunteer, Health and Wellness
and Parent/Student Activities. Consider signing up for a committee. Your child and your school
will appreciate your participation!
We also realize that parents want - and deserve - effective communication. PTA continues to
strengthening its use of technology for communication. Find our PTA on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/RGFIPTA, on the web at www.DKFIPTA.org, or contact us at
DKFIPTA@yahoo.com. We’re also increasing our use of listservs. We’ll list activities, testing
calendars, homework websites, and more on our social media devices.
NEW THIS YEAR: Parents will now be able to connect with PTA even more online! We are using a
new online system, called www.Pay4SchoolStuff.com. This site will allow PTA to collect
membership and event fees, create newsletters, create a parent directory, and create forms.
Looking for the teacher supply list? That is also available online!
http://www.teacherlists.com/schools/124254-dora-kennedy-french-immersion-school
We look forward to a great school year together. Welcome to Team PTA!
At your service,
Katrina R. Dodro, President
Rachel Frey, 1st Vice President (Middle School)
Shanna Liberman-Estelle , 2nd Vice President (Elementary)
Nicole Turner, Secretary
Contina Djaouga, Treasurer
PTA’s Mission Statement: The Mission of the PTA is threefold:
To support and speak on behalf of children and youth in the schools, in the community, and before government bodies and other
organizations that make decisions affecting children;
To assist parents in developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children; an
To encourage parent and public involvement in the public schools of this nation.
CLASS PARENT
If you are interested in being a classroom parent please complete this form and
return it to your classroom teacher at Back To School Night. Back To School Nights
are Wednesday, September 9th, 2015 (Grades K-4), and Thursday, September 10th,
2015 (Grade 5 and Middle School). Class Parent leadership is very important and
highly valued!
NAME:
EMAIL:
PHONE NUMBER:
TEACHER:
GRADE:
CHILD(REN)S NAME(S):
Parent’s signature:
Classroom Parent Job Description
The Classroom Parent is the liaison between the parents of a specific class, the teacher and
the PTA. Classroom parents will:
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


Communicate with and between the teacher, the PTA and class parents
Attend monthly PTA meetings in order to share information with parents
Establish a communication list, such as e-mail list or text messaging list to
communicate with parents and the teacher about school and class activities
Assist in classroom activities (either by coordinating other parents or by being there
yourself)
Coordinate teacher appreciation efforts and activities
2015 – 2016 PTA Membership Application
Annual PTA membership dues (for individuals only) are $10 per adult. Anyone can join
the PTA: neighbors, grandparents, aunts and uncles – all are welcome. You can also mail it
to: DKFI PTA, c/o French Immersion School, 8950 Edmonston Road, Greenbelt, MD
20770. THANK YOU in advance!
Adult name(s)
Address
Preferred Phone Number:
Home or Cell
(Circle one)
Would you like to be on a text messaging list for occasional texts?
Email
Student first & last name(s) and Grade
(1)
(2)
(3)
Do you want your contact information published in the PTA Family Directory?
YES
NO
To join the DKFI email listserv, email DKFI-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
We welcome your participation! Participation in PTA comes in many forms. Many PTA volunteers
don’t volunteer in school, but work from home or work. Your assistance in writing letters,
attending an occasional school board meeting, writing grants or reaching out to businesses,
making telephone calls, using artistic skills, or making copies all are ways to help. You don’t need
to be physically at the school to make a difference! The more helping hands, the more we can
accomplish.
I would like to help with the following (please circle):
o Legislative Affairs
Bingo Nights
o Grants Committee
Dining Out Fundraisers
o Communication and PR
Annual Barnes and Noble Bookfair
o Health and Wellness Activities
Community Engagement/Business Outreach
o Green Team
30th Anniversary Celebration (November)
DKFI PTA Events 2015-16
EVENT
Back to School Night –
Grades K-4
Back to School Night –
Grades 5-8
Grandparent Day
Movie Night
MEN of DKFI Interest
Meeting
BINGO
Men Make A Difference Day
PTA Monthly Meeting
BoxTops Collection Contest
School Clean Up Day
NATIONAL FRENCH Week
/30th Anniversary/School
Renaming Celebration
PTA Monthly Meeting
Middle School Dance
Movie Night
PTA Monthly Meeting/
Winter Concert/ Holiday
Sales
National Teacher
Appreciation Week
Barnes & Noble Gift Wrap
Barnes & Noble Book Fair
Monthly PTA Meeting
Bingo Night
Monthly PTA Meeting
BoxTop Collection Contest
Candy Gram Sales
Talent Show
Monthly PTA Meeting
BINGO
Monthly PTA Meeting
Movie Night
Monthly PTA Meeting
Middle School Dance
Monthly PTA Meeting
DATE
TIME
ROOM
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9
6:30 pm
Multipurpose Room
THURSDAY, Sept 10
6:30 pm
Multipurpose Room
FRIDAY, Sept 18
FRIDAY, Sept 18
FRIDAY, Sept 18
9 am – 1 pm
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
FRIDAY, October 9
MONDAY, October 12
WEDNESDAY, October
14
October 12 – October 23
SATURDAY in October
FRIDAY, November 6
6:45 pm
9 am – 1 pm
7:00 pm
School-wide
Multipurpose Room
Library Conference
room
Multipurpose Room
School wide
Daily
All day
7 pm
All Classes
School wide
TBD
TUESDAY, November 10
FRIDAY, November 20
FRIDAY, November 13
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Early November
All Day
Throughout school
December
Varies
SATURDAY, December
12
WEDNESDAY, January
13
FRIDAY, January 29
WEDNESDAY, February
10
February 8 - 19
WEDNESDAY, Feb 10-11
TBD
WEDNESDAY, March 9
FRIDAY, March 11
WEDNESDAY, April 13
Friday, April 15
WEDNESDAY, May 11
FRIDAY, May 20
WEDNESDAY, June 8
All store hours
7:00 pm
Barnes & Noble in
Bowie
Barnes & Noble in
Bowie
Multipurpose Room
6:45 pm
7:00 pm
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
All day
Lunchtime
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
6:45 pm
7:00 pm
7:00 PM
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
All Classes
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Multipurpose Room
Online Communication – Listservs
Have you joined a DKFI listserv? It is basically an electronic mailing list that will facilitate and
improve the communication between parents. There are two types of mailing lists, or listservs at
our school. We have the general listserv that handles topics affecting the whole school or multiple
grades levels which is DKFISG. There are also graduating class listservs that are divided by what
year your child will graduate from Dora Kennedy French Immersion. These follow your child
through graduation so you'll only have to do this once. Signing up for this listserv begins in
kindergarten and gives you an opportunity to talk amongst yourselves regarding upcoming field
trips, organizing grade wide parties, homework assignments and general concerns and questions.
There is also a place to upload pictures, which you will value more with every passing year.
All of this is only accessible to approved members. To become a member you need to make a
request. When you do this, please provide your child’s name and assigned teacher for validation
purposes. You can begin by going to Yahoo My Groups and searching for DKFI. This should bring
up a list of groups available. After finding the correct graduating year, click on “Join Group.” This
will send a membership request to the moderator. The moderator will then approve your request
and you will be an active member. If you have a spam filter it is important that you approve the
group email address so that messages are able to get through. You can adjust how you receive
messages to tailor it to how much school traffic you want in your inbox.
To and use the school-wide listserv, please email the following:
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Post Message : dkfisg@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe : dkfisg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe : dkfisg-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
The class listserv groups available for the 2015-16 year are:
Kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade
7th Grade
8th Grade
DKFI-2024@yahoogroups.com
DKFI-2023@yahoogroups.com
DKFI-2022@yahoogroups.com
DKFI-2021@yahoogroups.com
DKFI-2020@yahoogroups.com
DKFI-2019@yahoogroups.com
DKFI-2018@yahoogroups.com
DKFI-2017@yahoogroups.com
DKFI-2016@yahoogroups.com
Should you have any questions, concerns or problems please feel free to contact Sue Zwicker at
sue_zwicker@yahoo.com or Sandy Legg at sandy@sandylegg.com
FAST FACTS and Frequently Asked
Questions
Updated: 8/11/2015
General School and PTA Questions
What is the NEW address and phone
number for the school?
What are the school hours?
Is there a ListServ (email group) for
the school and how do I subscribe to
it?
What is the address of the PTA
website?
How much are PTA Dues?
What calendar dates do the PTA Dues
encompass?
When does the PTA meet?
Where can I find the PTA Calendar?
Who are the PTA officers?
Are there other ways to communicate
with other parents?
8950 Edmonston Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20770
301-918-8660
Class Hours: 9:15am – 3:55pm, Monday – Friday
Office Hours 8:45am – 4:30pm, Monday – Friday
Send an email to: dkfisg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com This is a
private email group for parents, teachers, students, friends of our
school and PTA. It is not sponsored by the school or the PTA, but is a
means to communicate, share and receive information.
www.dkfipta.org
$10 per adult
July 1, 2015 through June 30th 2016; Dues must be renewed annually
for each school year.
The 2nd Wednesday day of the month, except in November (PTA will
meet on the 2nd Tuesday instead). Meetings will be in the Library
unless otherwise specified.
www.dkfipta.org; on the DKFI ListServ uploaded as a file; at PTA
meetings
President: Katrina R. Dodro
1st Vice President: Rachel Frey (representing Middle School)
2nd Vice President: Shanna Liberman-Estelle (representing
Elementary School)
Treasurer: Contina Djaouga
Secretary: Nicole Turner
Yes, our school has listservs for parents to join. We are also planning
to begin a text messaging system for parents using the Remind app.
Check out the PTA website for information about joining listservs, or
check the Welcome Packet.
Fundraiser Questions
Who do I contact if I want to help
with Fundraising?
Does PTA need volunteers to help
with Fundraisers?
Fundraising questions?
What are the ongoing PTA
fundraisers?
Are there Special Event
Fundraisers?
You can contact any PTA Officer - parent participation is essential to
maintain our high-quality program. The PTA welcomes your
assistance, whether you can help with one event or on a regular basis
throughout the year.
YES. Some volunteer jobs are one time deals, while others may meet 69 times during the academic year. Parent participation is vital to
making our school work. Please consider what talents you can utilize
with PTA.
Lee Wright:; 301-675-7944
These are EASY WAYS to help PTA throughout the year. You can help
PTA just by shopping and searching the internet.
BoxTops for Education: www.boxtops4education.com or
www.btfe.com
Labels for Education: www.labelsforeducation.com
Target RedCard (code 118422):
https://redcard.target.com/redcard/rc_main.jsp
GoodSearch (donations to PTA for every internet search):
www.GoodSearch.com
GoodShop (% of each purchase goes to PTA): www.GoodShop.com
www.ShopWithScrip.com (code 7315866L14929)– buy cards for
popular retailers & restaurants
***Giant/A+ BonusBucks (code 00381):
www.giantfood.com/our_stores/bonus_bucks/index.htm
***Safeway/EScrip (code 148996839): www.escrip.com
***Requires annual registration
Yes! Almost all of our fundraising puts the emphasis on FUN. Please
see our flyer with our FUN event - based fundraisers. Mark your
calendar; the fun times are coming all year long.