December PTA Newsletter
Hello Vestal Families!
Welcome to December at Vestal! November was a (brief!) but special month. It was especially lovely to see the community come together for our hardworking teachers and staff and put on a really beautiful potluck for them during conferences. We also had a blast watching Despicable Me 4 at our movie night, had a super successful wreath sale, and took care of our school grounds. Thank you all for helping out in whatever way you can to make Vestal the warm community we all know and love!
Vestal Value of the Month: Appreciation
Walking through the halls of Vestal in the morning, it’s easy to find a lot to appreciate. There are amazing kids everywhere you look. Teachers who put their hearts into their work. School admin and staff who care deeply about the school and the community. This month, when you find yourself appreciating something - about Vestal, about your child, or anything else in your life - take a moment to appreciate those things out loud. This practice of appreciating out loud is quite contagious - you may here your child vocalizing their own appreciations soon! During this season that can sometimes become more about gifts and things than all of us would like, taking the time to show appreciation is a wonderful way to stay grounded in what we do have and what we can give to each other.
To extend the conversation about appreciation, the youngest Vestal kids may enjoy the book Around the Table That Granddad Built by Melanie Hill. All of the Mr. Wolf’s Class graphic novels are fantastic; the third book, Lucky Stars, has an especially nice message about appreciation in there. Older Vestal scholars might check out The Museum of Lost and Found and find themselves thinking about appreciation for the people and places in their lives as well. If a movie night is on your agenda this winter break, Encanto would be a great conversation starter about appreciation for the varied gifts people bring to our lives.
PTA News and Updates:
Scholastic Book Fair: This book fair should be lots of fun, and a wonderful fundraiser for our Vestal library. The fair will run after school December 9-13, with an additional evening hour 5:30-6:30 on 12/13 before our movie night! Click here for more information.
Winter Wreath Pick Up: Our lovely winter wreaths will be ready for pickup after school this Thursday, 12/5. Grab your wreaths and some free cocoa!
Movie Nights: Our first two movie nights have been so much fun! Join us December 13 at 6:00 PM for our last movie night of 2024!
Teacher Conference Potluck: This was a huge success - thank you so much to all who made and brought delicious food! It feels good to appreciate our amazing Vestal teachers!
Can / Bottle Drop: This month our remaining bottle drop day is December 19. Bring in your full blue bag or grab a new one! All proceeds go to the Vestal PTA in support of the Vestal Elementary community!
December Volunteer Opportunities:
December 5: It’s time for Winter Wreath Pickup! We will be serving free hot cocoa during after school wreath pick up . We just need one additional volunteer! Sign up here.
December 9-13: We are so excited about the Scholastic Book Fair, which benefits our beloved Vestal Library. We can still use a few greeters and some help with set up (set up is Friday, December 6!). Sign up here.
December 13: Our first two movie nights have been so much fun; come make this one a success as well! Enjoy free popcorn, concession treats, and entertainment presented by your Vestal PTA. We can always use volunteers to help run this free event. You can sign up here.
January 6: The PTA Clothing Center is looking for 5-6 volunteers to help PPS kids receive clothing and sort donations so there are lots of choices for kids to see. You can sign up here. Note: This is not limited to just PPS parents, please share with fellow family and friends.
All current volunteer opportunities can be accessed here: Vestal Volunteer Opportunities.
Thank you for being a part of our Vestal PTA Community. We truly do feel the love and support from all of our volunteers!
December Events and Reminders:
December 5 - Winter Wreath Pick Up
December 9-13 - Scholastic Book Fair
December 13 - PTA Movie Night
December 18 - Early Release, 11:50 AM
December 19 - Bottle Drop
December 23-January 3 - Winter Break
Thank you for reading, and for being a part of the Vestal community.