Week of December 17 - 23, 2023

If you would like to participate/volunteer for Rockin' Recess, please SIGN UP HERE.

Fifth Grade recess starts at 10:25 am

Fourth Grade recess starts at 11:50 am

We ask that all volunteers be fingerprinted OR have a background check on file and arrive 15 minutes before the start of recess to check-in.  Please come ready to play outside and rock out with the kids!

The Fourth and Fifth grades won Rockin' Recess through the Mystery Bag Fundraiser.

If you have any questions, please contact Mary at vpfundraising.pto.des@gmail.com.

Our annual coat drive was a huge success. Students and their families donated over 240 coats this year! Parents worked together to wash each coat before delivering. We donated winter coats and other cold weather gear to Shady Side and Mills-Parole Elementary Schools.

We want to give a special shout-out to the rock star volunteers who washed all the coats before they were donated: Adrianne Patterson, Jaymie Minor, JoAnn Wellington, Laticia Hendershot, Laura Bryer Smith, Stefany Flores, Brooke Zingler. THANK YOU!

There will be no Gator Blast for the week of 12/23. We will resume the Blast on 12/31. The PTO wishes all the families a wonderful holiday season!

Please note that AACPS schools and Central Offices will be closed for Winter Break from December 25 through January 1. Classes will resume on Tuesday, January 2.

Attention all Fifth Grade Parents! The Yearbook Committee needs your help to ensure your fifth-grade student is recognized in the DES Yearbook. For each fifth-grade student, please submit a baby picture and a 20-word sentiment of praise or encouragement to be published in the yearbook. Please keep your sentiment to 20 words so your message will fit in the available space. You may upload the baby picture and sentiment at the link below. When you upload your picture, please follow these instructions:

• Click here to upload your baby picture and select that you are uploading a candid photo.
• Upload your chosen photo, and when asked if you wish to upload more photos, select no.
• Enter your student's first and last name as the photo's Caption.
• Enter your sentiment of no more than 20 words in the Notes section of the photo.

The picture and sentiment are due no later than March 1, 2024. If you have questions or difficulty uploading your photos, please email desgatorsyearbook@gmail.com.

The PTO would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all donors and volunteers who helped make our Raise Craze fundraiser a success. Together, we raised over $11,000 for our PTO initiatives.Nearly 500 Acts of Kindness were performed by our students. Way to go, Gators!

A special thank you to the volunteers who made our supporting events happen - the cheer tunnel, World of Kindness, and the school clean-up day.

To get involved, please check out the General SignUp Genius for the current volunteering opportunities. Be sure to navigate through the tabs to see all the current options!

We have a bunch of new volunteer opportunities coming up! More information about each can be found by clicking the hyperlinks and reading the descriptions below the table.

Library Help: Ms.Kaiser needs help in the media center on Tuesday and Friday mornings to check in books. If you can help, please get in touch with Ms. Kaiser directly at ckaiser@aacps.org.

Whole Kids Yoga will return for a winter Yoga Club.  Starting January 10, this club will meet on Wednesdays. More information and details on how to register are coming soon! 

We are looking for someone to co-chair a spring running club. Please contact Brooke Zingler at vpvolunteers.pto.des@gmail.com if you want to hear more about this role. 

What are you waiting for?! 🤔

Thank you to all the families that have already paid their dues! In addition to supporting our students and staff, these families have access to our Family Directory and voting rights at our PTO General Membership meetings.

Click here to join the PTO and help support our mission.

Family membership forms can be accessed by going to 

"My Account">"My Forms/Paperwork">"PTO Membership 2023-24"

For any questions about updating your information, completing the membership form, or signing up for the blast, please email Sam Rhinehardt at vpcomms.pto.des@gmail.com.