Invite everyone you know to eat at Cabo Bob’s on February 25 for a MIMS Spirit Night. It’s easy – you order to eat in or take out, tell the folks at Cabo Bob’s you’re there for MIMS, and enjoy the meal. Then Cabo Bob’s shares 15% of the take with MIMS PTO for our kids!
Spirit Night: Come to Cabo Bob’s
Committee Update: Upload Photos for Yearbook
Online yearbook sales have now concluded, but there will be some yearbooks for sale in May ($40, cash only at that time). Look for the books to be delivered in mid- to late-May.
In the meantime, we are still working on our book and we want YOUR help! Please upload or email photos of your student and their classmates and friends at school events. In addition, if you are the sponsor of a club, activity, or sport, please share the successes and experiences your group has had so far this year. Won a competition? Attended an exciting event? Sold a lot of books or cookies? If students and families at MIMS participated in it, we want to KNOW and cover it so that you can remember it.
- Sports
- Clubs (Robotics, Chess, Running, Garden, etc.)
- Competitions (UIL, Chess, Robotics, Chinese language, Name that Book, etc.)
- Class field trips and parties
- Chinese New Year festival and other school festivals
- First day, grandparents day
- Black history month events, Hispanic Heritage month events
- Scouts
- 100 day projects, Valentine’s day, Go Texan day…
- Boosterthon fun run
We try to cover all the students and all the events but to do that, we need your contributions. Email write-ups and photos to yearbook@mimspto.org. Upload photos online or get the app for Apple or Android. (Our school’s project number is 021844.) If you want to volunteer to help with yearbook, let us know (yearbook@mimspto.org).
Volunteer: Staff Appreciation lunch
Our February PTO staff appreciation lunch is scheduled on 2/21 (Friday). In honor of Black History Month, our lunch will feature African American culinary delights for the first time! Some amazing parents worked hard on the menu and catering options, but we are still looking for more food donations and more volunteers to help on that day.
Please see the signup sheet for details. Nonperishable items can be dropped off in the community room in advance. For perishable food, please drop off on 2/21 before 10:30AM because the first group starts their lunch at 11AM. If you donate a dish, please specify its ingredients, or whether it’s vegetarian, dairy-free, or contains any tree nuts.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e094ba8aa2fa4f85-february
Thank you for signing up! It is only with your generous donations and volunteering to set up, serve or/and clean up that we can make PTO lunches possible. Our teachers and staff will truly appreciate it!
Volunteer: Black History Month
Black History Month
In observance of Black History Month, the committee is inviting our MIMS Family to celebrate with us by reading books to the students (Grades PK-2nd) during their scheduled library time.
We welcome ALL members of our MIMS family to participate (parents, Aunts, grandparents, etc).
….BUT, you must be VIPS Approved!!!
We have books in the library for you to choose from OR you may bring one of your favorite Black History Books to read.
Thank you in advance for your support in helping us share our rich culture!
MIMS Chinese New Year: Wristbands, Tickets & T-shirts
Can you believe that the MIMS Chinese New Year festival is just around the corner? This festival is our biggest fundraiser and biggest event of the year, so we hope you will all come out to enjoy, support, and volunteer to make it amazing. Plus: invite your friends – all are welcome!
PTO will be selling wristbands and tickets, as well as CNY t-shirts, online, at school the week before the event, and at the CNY festival.
Wristbands
Wristbands include unlimited access to the climbing rock wall, inflatables, and petting zoo.
- Early bird price through January 10 – $20
- Pre-sale January 11 – 26 – $25
- Festival Day – $30
Tickets
Purchase tickets for food, face painting, crafts, games, and dunking booth.
- Tickets are 12 for $10 during early bird, through January 26
- After early bird, tickets will be $1 per ticket
Other items
You can also pre-order t-shirts (children’s, unisex, or women’s sizes) or DVDs of the performances.
Updated 1/13/20: added t-shirt and DVD information
January & February Sociables Available
Upcoming Sociables for January and February
Welcome back! If you’re looking for a fun way to start off the new year, we have spots available for the following sociables. All sociables will remain open until they sell out or the day of the event and can be purchased at: https://qtego.net/qlink/mimspto.
Item #124 – Dumplings! Dumplings! Dumplings! (Adults Only) – Saturday, January 11 – $55/Adult
Item #125 – Mediterranean Dinner (Adults Only) – Thursday, January 16 – $35/Adult
Item #127 – Winter Spectacular Ice Skating Sociable (Kids and Parents) – Monday, January 20 – $25/Person
Item #128 – MIMS Dragons Love Tacos for Pre-K – 3rd Grade (Kids Only) – Tuesday, January 21 – $15/Child
Item #161 – 5th-8th Grade Game-a-Palooza (Kids Only) – Friday, January 24 – $20/Child
Item #135 – Trail Hike in Memorial Park for 6th Grade and Up with Ms. Veneziale (Kids and Parents) – Saturday, February 8 – $25/Person
Item #137 – Tang Yuan (Sticky Rice Balls) With a Twist (Kids and Parents) – Saturday, February 22 – $50/Child and one Adult and $10/Additional Child
Item #138 – Men’s Poker Night (Dads Only) – Saturday, February 22 – $40/Dad
Item #139 – Central Texas-Style BBQ Dinner (Adults Only) – Sunday, February 23 – $50/person – Only a few spots remaining!
Item #141 – MIMS 3rd Annual Bagel Bolt Mile Kids Fun Run (Kids Only) – Saturday, February 29 – $30/Child – Only a few spots remaining!
Chinese New Year: Sponsor & share the donation form
In recent years, Houston ISD has experienced major funding cuts, so funds raised from individual donations and business sponsorships are relied upon heavily to fund classroom supplies, access to e-learning programs, teacher appreciation events, and so much more.
The Chinese New Year Festival held at MIMS each year is a large fundraiser for our school. If you would like to sponsor this year’s festival at one of the attached levels or double your donation with an employer matching contribution, please let me know. Your donation will 100% directly benefit MIMS.
Donating is easy and tax-deductible. Donations can be made online at http://mimspto.org/ or by making a check payable to “MIMS PTO” and writing “2020 CNY” on the memo line. Checks may be hand delivered to a PTO Board Member or mailed to MIMS PTO, Attn: PTO Treasurer, 5445 W. Alabama, Houston, TX 77056. The MIMS PTO is a 501(c)(3) organization, and a receipt with Tax ID will be provided upon request.
Thank you in advance for your consideration!
January 2020 Dates
Just a quick update on some dates for January 2020 – you can view or subscribe to the full calendar here. Do you have dates to add to the calendar or items you’d like to see addressed at the PTO meeting? Send an email to secretary@mimspto.org to let us know.
Jan. 10 – MIMS PTO General Meeting AND Spirit Morning with Coffee-Q – get your tacos and coffee (or buy some for our faculty and staff) from the Coffee-Q truck and then come join the PTO meeting to hear about and get involved with Chinese New Year, spring fun run, and more.
Jan. 15 – Elementary UIL info session to learn about how to get your kids involved with UIL
Jan. 17 – Early Dismissal & last date to submit materials for your yearbook ad
Jan. 20 – MLK Jr. Holiday – no school
Jan. 27 – Spirit night at Mendocino Farms
Jan. 31 – Fú Fri-Yay at Whole Foods
and don’t forget: Chinese New Year Festival on Feb. 1, 2020.
Celebrate your kiddos!
Birthday Marquee
Want to give your kid a thrill on her or his birthday? Wish them happy birthday on the school marquee!
Please donate $30 on the PTO donate button in the store tab.
When you donate, please indicate that the donation is for the birthday marquee, so that our treasurer can account for the donation
Please screenshot your receipt and contact marquee@mimspto.org with your child’s name and birthday. You’ll get a confirmation email to confirm your purchase.
Auction Winners & Sociables: Time to get sociable
Sociables & Auction Update
Note: We’ll update this post regularly to keep you in the loop on where we are with current sociables and items.
Congratulations to this year’s Live Auction Winners!
Parking Space #1 – Chang Family
Parking Space #2 – Pinkston Family
Parking Space #3 – Tan Family
Morning Announcements with Mr. Ying – Tan and Chen Families
Naming Rights for the Cafeteria – Tan Family
Naming Rights for the Kinder Hallway – Welsh Family
Naming Rights for the 1st Grade Hallway – Millner Family
Naming Rights for the Library – Crouch Family
News Anchor Mystery Reader – Pinkston Family
VP for a Day – Merlan Family
Sociables still available
If you haven’t had a chance to purchase any sociables (or you’d like to buy more!), it’s not too late. All sociables will remain open until they sell out or the day of the event. Open sociables can be purchased at: https://qtego.net/qlink/mimspto.
How to buy
We’ll be using Qtego again to let you buy sociables and to bid on silent auction items. Before you can bid on sociables and auction items, you’ll need to register your credit card with Qtego. Note that even if you bid on items last year, you’ll still need to register your card again.
Get the details below or download the Qtego Instructions document.
Get Started
- Pre-register your mobile number in advance at qtego.net/qlink/mimspto. Everyone must register, even if you used the site for last year’s event.
- During registration, you will be asked to provide your credit card information that will be used to purchase sociable and silent auction items.
- Once you register, you will receive two (2) text messages welcoming you to the event.
Purchasing Sociable and Silent Auction Items:
You can purchase or bid on items through your mobile phone, iPad, or computer.
Mobile Phone:
To purchase a sociable or bid on a silent auction item from your mobile phone, reply to the text message you received from Qtego and follow the instructions below OR you can select the blue URL link in your second text message to make purchases or bid on your personal bidding page through your smart phone.
iPad or Computer:
- First, register your phone at qtego.net/qlink/mimspto.
- Select “SIGN IN” and enter the personal PIN you received in your second text message.
- The last four (4) characters of the link you received in the second text are your PIN.
By Text Messaging:
|
If you would like to… |
…you should TEXT
|
Example of Your Text
|
|
PURCHASE a sociable |
BUY ITEM# QUANTITY |
BUY 101 3 Buys 3 of Item #101 |
|
BID on a silent auction item |
ITEM# BID
|
102 75
|
|
Set a MAXIMUM BID for an item so you can bid automatically |
ITEM# BID M |
102 300 M |
|
Get a DESCRIPTION and CURRENT PRICE of an item
|
ITEM# |
102 |
Through Your Personal Bidding Page:
- Click on the blue hyperlink in your Qtego text message.
- Press “Auction Items” for silent auction items or “Instabuy” for sociables
- Tap the item photo and submit your bid.
Questions? Please email Lisa Barrow at fundraising@mimspto.org
Original post on how to host:
Interested in hosting a sociable or donating an auction item for this year’s Fall Festival? Please submit your information by Friday, September 27.
Don’t know how sociables and the auction work? Learn more now and then sign up to host!
Sociable Donation Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3NhXYm9-D4VKWNhQZC8R4_r_ftiZEuKcuoudJT4U9LjEuIA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1
Auction Donation Form:
We welcome the 2019-2020 PTO Board Members
*Drum roll….*
President – Nhi Le
Elementary Vice President – Kelly Opot
Middle School Vice President – Felicia Ziegler
Secretary – Libby Ingrassia (Bergman)
Treasurer – Jose Gonzalez
Parliamentarian – Derek Sirmans
Historian – Nissa Simpson
Festival Chair – Amanda Chambers
Corporate Fundraising Chair – Lisa Barrow
Community Fundraising Chair – NO CANDIDATE (Will run election at the beginning of the school year).
Shared Decision Committee Member – Wendy Chung
The individuals elected will take office on July 1, 2019. Their term will be until June 30, 2020.
Wishing the 2019-2020 PTO Board all the success!
Updated Student Drop-Off/Pick-Up Procedures
Procedures
1. Please follow the directions of traffic flow and be courteous when the lanes merge.
2. Pedestrian traffic is heavy from 8:15 AM to 8:45 AM and from 3:40 PM to 4:10 PM. Please drive slowly
and be ready to stop for pedestrians.
3. Drop-off
a. Please drop off your child only at designated area:
i. Park by the curbside in front of the school, or
ii. Park in the Parent/Visitor Parking area.
b. Please do not park in the middle of traffic flow to drop off your child.
4. Pick-up
a. Please form a line at the curbside in front of the school and have your placard ready.
b. Please move your vehicle forward and fill the empty space before picking up your child.
c. If your child requires additional assistance to buckle-up, please plan to park in the Parent/Visitor Parking area and pick up your child at the cafeteria door.
5. The parking lot next to our building is designated for teacher parking between 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
6. If the parking lot is full, please utilize street parking around campus and respect the city regulation.
Important Hours
1. School opens from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The front office is temporarily closed from 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM
for dismissal. There will be no access to the building before 8:00 AM or after 5:00 PM.
2. Student hour is from 8:30 AM to 3:50 PM. Students need to arrive classrooms by 8:35 AM before tardy is
marked. Late pick-up fee applies after 4:10 PM.
3. CIASP parent pick-up from 4:15 PM to 6:30 PM at the front of the school. Enrichment only pick-up at the
side of the building from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM.
4. All club sponsors sign in at the front desk (after 4:15 PM) or in the cafeteria (from 3:40 PM to 4:10 PM).
Club students are dismissed at the cafeteria door with sponsors. Club visitors need to sign in before 5:00
PM or contact club sponsors if it is after 5:00 PM.
DropOff & PickUp Map
PTO Annual Drive
By contributing to the PTO Annual Drive, you help us meet our school’s needs that are outside the scope of their budget. When you go a step further and volunteer to help with events—or join our board— you set a fine example for our students to follow, and greatly encourage our teachers and staff.
Donate to PTO
Donate to MIMS PTO
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