WELCOME TO THE GREENACRES SCHOOL PTA WEBSITE! 

 

The GAPTA is a non-profit organization comprised of parents, teachers & administrators who voluntarily work together in the interest of enriching our children’s Greenacres Elementary School experience through programs & activities.

 

We welcome your involvement, whatever your schedule allows. PTA activities include planning and implementing programs and services at the school that benefit our school & students; raising funds to support these initiatives; and bringing the Greenacres School community together.  

 

Questions about the GREENACRES PTA? Contact Jen Galeon our PTA PRESIDENT.

 

If you would like to request website content edits, updates or have suggestions for features you would like to see, please email Michele Dalton. 


 
CALENDAR AT-A-GLANCE

March 6:

  • GA PTA Pizza Day
  • GA Chorus Concert - 7:00pm - Learning Commons

March 13:

  • Multicultural Night Volunteer Zoom Meeting - 7pm

March 15:

  • 8:30am - CHILD Coffee - OMPR
  • 12pm Dismissal for K-2, Parent/Teacher Conferences  

March 18:

  • 12pm Dismissal for K-2, Parent/Teacher Conferences

March 22:

  • 12pm Dismissal for K-2, Parent/Teacher Conferences

March 23:

  • Young Writers' Workshop

April 6:

  • Greenacres Color Run - 10:00am - 12:00pm - Greenacres Field
 
*** GET THE GREENACRES PTA CALENDAR AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.
CLICK HERE TO INSTANTLY DOWNLOAD GA EVENTS TO YOUR DEVICE***
 
NEWS FROM OUR SCHOOL
NOTE FROM OUR HEALTH OFFICE
 

Illness

When Your Child is Too Sick For School: 

  1. If his/er temperature climbs to 100 F. or above upon awakening. 

  2. If he/she vomits or has diarrhea, either during the night or in the morning.

  3. If he/she complains of a stomach ache or fatigue accompanied by a cluster of other symptoms, such as fever, headache.

  4. If he/she has a headache that persists for a day or two, or recurs.

  5. If he/she breaks out in a rash.

  6. If he/she has a persistent cough.

  7. If any of the above symptoms worsen or persist for more than a day, please contact your child's Physician.

  8. When your child stays home for any reason, call me as early as possible and leave a message on my voice mail system.

  9. Kindergarten children should have a change of clothing in their cubbies.

  10. When in doubt, act on the side of caution and keep your child home the extra day.

          ** Please keep your child home for 24 hours after a fever or vomiting has occurred. The child may return to school when he/she is fever free for 24 hours without medication and/or any further vomiting episodes.**

 

Lice

All children should have their hair checked regularly for lice, even if they are not itchy or scratching.  Nits look like a sesame seed and stick to the hair shaft; they cannot be flicked away like dandruff or dry skin. The presence of nits (or lice) requires treatment which must be done before your child returns to school.  Please be sure to complete the full treatment schedule and continue frequent checks for nits, otherwise the cycle can repeat itself. If you find lice or nits, please let me know and consult your private healthcare provider for guidance regarding treatment.  Please also remind your child not to share hats or hair brushes.

 

I am always available by phone at (914) 721-2745 during the school day if you have any questions or concerns.  Please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Sincerely,

Nurse Adrienne Notaro 

READ ACROSS AMERICA AND KINDNESS WEEK

 

 

This week at Greenacres is Read Across America & Kindness Week!

It will be a week-long celebration of reading and kindness, and students are encouraged to dress according to each days’ different theme.

Participation is entirely optional, but we would love to see as much of our school community involved as possible! 

Each day, classroom teachers are encouraged to read themed books to their classes and students will also be given one suggested act of kindness to try.  

Students are encouraged to continue all the amazing reading they already do and there will be a Reading Bingo card that students can try to complete to reflect the reading they do both in school and at home. 

MULTICULTURAL EVENT
 

SAVE THE DATE for a Tour of the Countries in our Community!

 

We are excited to bring back this annual event and invite you to take a trip through the different cultures and heritages represented in our Greenacres community on Tuesday, April 16th from 5-7pm!

 

Plans for our multicultural evening are in the works, but as before, we will feature display tables for many countries represented in our community. Children will be provided with their own “passports” where they will travel the world in one magical night. At each table, they will learn about each country, through language, clothing, arts and crafts, music, nature, geography or food. Tables may include light snacks and activities for kids. Dance and musical performances are planned throughout the evening as well!

 

As always, we need volunteers to help make this event a success!  Please sign up HERE to design a display and share a piece of your cultural background with our kids and families. We will plan to have a virtual meeting with all the volunteers on Wednesday, March 13th at 7pm. A calendar invite with link will be sent to those who sign up.

 

Please contact Liza King or Esthela Lecuona with any questions pertaining to this event.

CHILD EVENT
 

Save the Date: March 15, 2024

Upcoming C.H.I.L.D. Event at Greenacres

 

Thanks to all the parents who attended our coffee hour in January!

Our next Greenacres sponsored C.H.I.L.D. (Children Having Individual Learning Differences) event will occur on March 15th (Friday) at 8:30am at the Greenacres School OMPR.

Caren Reinhardt, our Speech and Language Pathologist, and Melissa Carozza, our Occupational Therapist, will be joining us and answering questions. 

Bagels and coffee will be served.

Please complete the visitors form if you plan on attending.

If you would like to be added to our Greenacres CHILD WhatsApp group (a platform to exchange ideas and share resources), please send me a text message to (917) 539-7874. 

 If you have any questions, please email Ariela Vasserman.

COMMUNITY SERVICE LEGO DRIVE
 

Hello Greenacres Community,

 

Throughout March in honor of Greenacres hero Paul Jimenez’s birthday March 18th, The PaulieStrong Foundation will once again be running a LEGO drive for pediatric cancer patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.⁣

LEGO sets are among the most in-demand items in a children’s cancer hospital. They allow the kids to be creative while taking their minds away from their painful cancer treatments. ⁣

Because these young patients have compromised immune systems, LEGO sets can not be shared between patients, and new ones are always needed.⁣

LEGO sets can be purchased using the AMAZON wishlist. Please choose MSKCC as the delivery address, and they will be shipped directly to the hospital. You may also drop off donations in the bins at all Greenacres entrances, but they must be NEW sets (no used Legos, please). 

⁣Thank you for your continued support in the fight against childhood cancer and honor of our friend Paulie. For more information about the Paulie Strong Foundation, please visit their website.

 

Please reach out to Melissa Brown Eisenberg or Laura Garnick Motskin with any questions.

Thank you!

GREENACRES COLOR RUN
 

Please join us for our 2nd ever Greenacres Color Run! 

 

You can RunSkipWalk, or Twirl your way to the 1 mile finish line! 

Both children AND adults are encouraged to participate in this super fun event!

 

Saturday April 6th, 10:00am - 12:00pm

The Greenacres Field

FIRST WAVE**** 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

SECOND WAVE** 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (3rd Grade - 5th Grade)

 

Fun Run  *  DJ  *  Photo Booth  *  Food & Ice cream Truck

 

Tickets and Custom Spirit Wear T-Shirts Sales Open This Week!  

Be on the lookout for more information and the registration link.

 

Please contact Jenny Scarpelli with any questions.

 

** The Waves are not strict guidelines, just general time frames in hopes of getting students in the same grade to run together. Come for whichever Wave works for your family.  Just be sure to be there by the START of each wave!**

DEI LANGUAGES PROJECT
 

Our Greenacres Community is creating a Language Archive!

 

As an outgrowth of our discussions at our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Committee meetings, we want to celebrate the diversity of our school community by highlighting the many languages spoken by our students and families at Greenacres.

 

We are hoping to make this a living and ongoing archive by collecting simple language recordings to showcase and archive the languages spoken in our community. These recordings can be shared in our classrooms and with our families and is a tangible way of appreciating various languages spoken in our Greenacres community. Your child does not need to be fluent in the language to contribute!

 

Instructions and some examples of recordings already submitted can be found here. Submissions will be featured in March for National World Languages Month.

 

As always, the success of this collection depends on your participation! We encourage all families who speak languages and dialects other than English to submit recordings. Please email Liza King if you would like assistance with the recordings or have any other questions.

SCAM ALERT
 

If you receive a strange email from PTA President Jennifer Galeon (at a fake email address) or any other PTA board members indicating that assistance is needed or soliciting funds, please do not respond and disregard the email.  This is SPAM.  If you have any questions about an email you receive, please email us here

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PRESENTATION AT SMS
 

SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN THE AGE OF GENERATIVE AI

March 8 at 9:00am, Scarsdale Middle School

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the new big thing, but how does it impact our kids and their educational experience? William Yang, K-12 Coordinator of Digital Literacy and Learning, and Lynne Torrey, a technology teacher at Greenacres, will be presenting. Ms. Torrey has been part of a collaborative group with Ms. Cronk at the middle school and Ms. Dutra at the high school on researching AI in education. 

The presentation will explore how our children are using AI, how the District is approaching this new technology and helpful tips for parents on how to navigate discussions with their children on AI. 

Please contact SMSPTA with any questions.  RSVP HERE!

PTA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2024-25
 

Call for Nominations for 2024-25

Officer Positions on the Greenacres PTA Executive Committee

 

The Greenacres PTA Nominating Committee is responsible for identifying officer candidates for the 2024-25 Greenacres PTA Executive Committee (EC).  The Committee will be filling the roles of President Elect, VP of Operations, VP of Fundraising, and one chair for After School Clubs.  If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else for any of these EC positions, you may email any of the following members of the Nominating Committee:

 

Leah Blank

Jenny Bloomgarden

Sharon Chesler

Nancy Kaplan

Jenny Scarpelli

Kristen Zakierski

Mingzhang Zeng

 

As per our Bylaws, the nominated slate of officers will be announced to membership two weeks prior to the vote, which will take place at a General Meeting of our membership on April 18th.

ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
 

Please review the Arrival and Dismissal procedures from Principal Hill's email and the Greenacres Safety Flyer. Be sure to review the instructions and guidelines with your children and any other person who may be directly involved with drop-off and pick-up arrangements. As a reminder:

 

  • 8:00-9:00am (arrival): STANDING only on the RIGHT side of the street in front of the school building.  NO STANDING on the LEFT side or in the bus loading zones.  
  • 2:30-3:30pm (regular dismissal): PARKING or STANDING only on the RIGHT side of the street in front of the school building. There is NO PARKING or STANDING on the LEFT side or in the bus loading zones.
  • 3:30 and later (ASC dismissal): PARKING or STANDING only on the LEFT side of the street.  There is NO PARKING or STANDING on the RIGHT side.

 

These traffic rules apply to Sage Terrace, Putnam Road and Huntington Road.  We really appreciate your cooperation as we work together to make our arrival and dismissal smooth and safe.

 
PTC NEWS
 

PT Council Budget Study 

Session #2 is Monday, March 4 at 6:30 pm. 

Here are the PTC Draft Budget Questions shared with District Administration and the Board of Education.

As a reminder you can always livestream Board of Education meetings here as well as access prior meeting recordings. 

The Budget Study sessions have begun. 

Please note the following:   

Budget Study Session #1 that took place on February 5. 

Budget Development Calendar

Staffing Recommendations from the January 22, 2024 meeting. 

Initial presentation from the November Community Budget Priorities' Forum.  

Please email PTC Budget Study Chairs, Irena Spiegel-Turner and Ranjana Saini-Chandarana with any questions.


 

PTC Sports Swap

Saturday, March 16, 2024 Scarsdale Middle School 9:30 am to 11:30 am 

The annual PT Council Sports Swap is coming up this month!! 

Please purge your sheds, garages, attics, and closets too. Spring cleaners may make a tax-deductible donation of gently-used golf clubs, skate boards, bicycles, roller-blades, ice skates, lacrosse and field hockey sticks, soccer balls, tennis racquets, baseball and softball bats, balls, pucks, sports gear, and more (no skis, please). We are also accepting portable musical instruments, as well as Raiders or Scarsdale youth sports clothing. 

All donated merchandise will be offered for resale at extremely reasonable prices, with all proceeds to support PT Council programs, special events, and speakers. 

Great deals on all merchandise -- once again we will be accepting CREDIT CARDS and checks! 

Equipment drop-off: Friday, March 15, 2023, from 6pm to 8pm and Saturday, March 16, 2024, from 7:45am to 9:15am (before the Swap opens to shoppers). 

IT TAKES A VILLAGE: We need volunteers for set up, sales, or clean up. 

Please follow the link to this year's Sports Swap Sign Up Sheet

Thank you for your help! 

Please contact Sports Swap Co-Chairs Sara Farnsworth and Molly Pease with any questions.


 

Save The Date!

Tuesday March 19th, 7:00 to 8:00pm 

Webinar link 

Please join us on March 19th for a Zoom webinar with the Hate Crimes Unit from the Westchester County District Attorney's office and the Westchester County Human Rights Commission.  

Representatives from these offices will discuss the difference between hate crimes, bias incidents and discrimination and how children and their parents can respond if they experience or witness a crime. 

The panelists will also discuss available protections and resources. 

 
 

“WRITING OUT LOUD”

Saturday, March 23rd

9 am - 12 pm

Scarsdale Middle School

Register Now!

 

Registration for YWW 2024 is now open! Registration will run through Wednesday, March 13th at 11:59 pm. Late registrations will not be accepted.  

 

This year’s YWW features an in-person keynote presentation from Jason Summers, the co-owner and artistic director of the Westchester Sandbox Theatre, an educational performing arts organization. This Scarsdale Parent Teacher Council (PTC) sponsored event is open to Scarsdale elementary students in grades 3-5, and will be held on Saturday, March 23rd from 9 am - 12 pm.

Tickets are $45 and YWW swag bags are included. Register now!

 

All students will attend the opening keynote with Jason Summers. Then, students will enjoy two inspiring workshops led by a local creative professional. Learn more in our Workshop Catalog. During registration, each student will select five workshop options; we will do our best to honor each registrant’s top choices. Please note that some workshops will be determined by lottery.

 

About Jason Summers

Jason Summers is the Co-Owner and Artistic Director of the Westchester Sandbox Theatre, an educational performing arts organization that has been a part of the community for the last seventeen years. Jason's work as a director, choreographer, educator and performer has taken him as far as Hawaii and California, and as nearby as the bright lights of New York City. However, it is the work that he does with children and teens that inspires him the most. 

 

Call for Volunteers to Work at the Event on Saturday, March 23rd!

We need volunteers to support logistics on the day of the event.  Please click here to volunteer. We greatly appreciate your involvement! We rely on volunteers to make the program run smoothly.

 

Questions? Email event chairs, Amanda Glattstein, Lara Chassin, Lauren Rubino, and Sharon Chesler.

 
COMMUNITY NEWS
 

FMA News & Annual Membership Drive 

If your child enjoys art, music or theater at school, join FMA today

FMA is the parent booster group for Scarsdale’s visual and performing arts kids. Its members are the backbone of our school arts community and provide 100% of the resources for all we do. 

Members provide special moments for students--and they champion the arts as integral to student wellness and a holistic Scarsdale education. 

FMA initiatives this year include: • Snacks for student artists and musicians at the Scarsdale Halloween Window Painting event • Practice Partners music mentorship program/NYSSMA prep (FMA membership required) • Additional student performance opportunities at the Sarah Neuman Nursing Home and in the Scarsdale Village Center (register to perform here) • Representing student and parent needs at district planning meetings • Promoting student arts events • Awards and recognition for student achievement in the arts …and more! 

For FMA membership info, click here


 
 

The Spring Season is around the corner. 

Registration closes Tomorrow, March 4th.

Register now before it’s too late! 

You can find information for grades pre-K through 6th here.


 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The Greenacres PTA would like to ensure that all children have the opportunity to take advantage of the wonderful programming offered to our children.  

If your family's financial situation makes it difficult for you to cover the cost of the PTA sponsored programs including dues, lunch programs, after-school clubs, or other activities, there is financial assistance available.  Please contact Principal Sharon Hill or PTA President Jen Galeon to discuss.  All inquiries and/or requests will be held in the strictest confidence.  


 
GOT NEWS?

Gazette submissions and submission changes should be submitted HERE to our Google form.  Click HERE for guidelines and deadlines for PTA communications. Email updates to the PTA webpage at gaptacomm@gmail.com.

 
HELPFUL LINKS

Jennifer Galeon, PTA President

Amanda Beckman, PTA Treasurer

Amanda McCulley, Greenacres Gazette Editor

Greenacres PTA Website



 

Membership Toolkit Icon

 

THE GREENACRES SCHOOL PTA WEBSITE!

 

Membership Toolkit is NOW our school PTA communications service, school directory, payment system and website manager.

 

FAMILY INFORMATION:

At the beginning of the school year, the GAPTA now requires that you confirm the correctness of your Family Information (Parents/Guardians & Students) or to register for the first time if you have not before. This is to make sure that all relevant GAPTA communications are sent to the email addresses on file and that the Family Information is correctly listed for our online and printed directory.

 

SALES/VOLUNTEER FORMS:
All GAPTA items for purchases can be made using a credit card or debit card via PayPal. Any relevant SALES and/or VOLUNTEER forms will be available and shown HERE

 

GAPTA ONLINE DIRECTORY & WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS:  

You MUST join the GAPTA to have access to the Greenacres online school directory, participate in PTA sponsored activities like the School Play and After School Clubs and also to receive the GAPTA weekly newsletter, The Greenacres Gazette.

 

DOWNLOAD THE MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT APP FOR YOUR SMARTPHONE:

Download the Membership Toolkit APP for your smartphone 

(You'll be asked to enter the email address that you use for Membership Toolkit.  The system will automatically send you a reset password email.  Once you change your password, you will then be able to sign into the app).  

Upcoming Events