Teller Elementary School
Welcome Back from the Teller PTA!
09/07/23, 4:03 PM
IN THIS EMAIL YOU’LL FIND INFORMATION ABOUT:
How to Stay “In the Know” & Volunteer: Teller Elementary Community Toolkit
How to Engage with Teller Leadership: Teller Town Halls
How to Donate: Totally Teller - Annual Fundraising Event
PTA Board Contact Information
Hello Teller Community!
Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! We were thrilled to see and meet so many of you at the New Family BBQ and Teacher Meet & Greet on August 17th. As everyone wraps up the third week of school, we hope that you’re adjusting to your new routines and finding a rhythm that works for your families.
Looking ahead to the new year, the PTA Board wanted to share a couple of important updates about how we’re working to enhance processes for people to get involved and support Teller staff, students, and families. We’re really excited to be working closely with Teller’s Leadership team, including the new Dean of Operations, to streamline communication, volunteer sign ups, social media and community events.
TELLER ELEMENTARY COMMUNITY TOOLKIT
Did you know that last year, the Teller PTA launched an online platform for Teller families to serve as a one-stop-shop to learn about school events, volunteer opportunities, and how to support Teller financially? The Teller Elementary Community Toolkit is linked on the official Teller Elementary website or can be accessed directly HERE. This platform was created to give all Teller families access to information, regardless of if you’re a PTA member or not. We encourage you to take a look, login to do a background check to volunteer at the school, join or update your contact information and opt in to a private community directory, order school supplies and more!
PTA volunteers do their best to keep the Teller Elementary Community Toolkit as up to date as possible, but we do appreciate your patience if something isn’t right or easy to find. If you have questions about the Teller Elementary Community Toolkit, getting involved with the PTA, or volunteering with the school or at events, please reach out to the PTA’s Membership Chair, Amanda Florence at Membership@tellerpta.org.
Quick Note on PTA Communication
In the spirit of streamlining, the Teller PTA will no longer have a social media presence separate from the school. Our volunteer leaders will work closely with Teller’s Dean of Operations to push out information that you might want to know about like, “Dine Out for Teller'' nights at local businesses, fundraising events, and community events via the school’s official social media accounts and the weekly Pride Post. This information will also live on the Teller Elementary Community Toolkit. Be sure to follow Teller’s official social media pages (IG @tellerelementarytigers). We also encourage you to follow and promote the great work of the Teller Pantry Friends (IG @tellerpantryfriends), Teller’s free community pantry that all students and families can access, no questions asked.
In addition to working in sync with Teller’s Dean of Operations, the PTA’s new Communications Chair, Erin Luke, will also be supporting communication efforts with stakeholders like the neighborhood associations of Congress Park and South City Park and the office of Councilman Chris Hinds. Reach out to Erin at Communications@tellerpta.org if you have any questions or ideas about how you can support her in this area.
COMMUNITY MEETINGS : TELLER TOWN HALLS
This year, the Teller PTA will no longer host monthly PTA community meetings. Instead, the PTA Board will lean in to supporting Principal Bates and Assistant Principal Smartt to facilitate three Teller Town Halls throughout the year. Teller Town Halls are intentionally designed to be a place where the Teller community can learn directly from Teller leadership about a wide range of important school issues like student performance, district testing standards, operational budget concerns, and how Teller is promoting initiatives like the Committees for Sustainability and for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. If you’ve been around a while, you know that Teller’s leadership strives to be as transparent as possible with the community; so if you’re interested in a dialogue about what’s going on at the school, the Town Halls are the place to be! The PTA will also take the opportunity to briefly provide updates on the PTA budget and fundraising efforts to ensure that everyone knows exactly where their money is going when they donate to the school.
Teller Town Halls will be from 6-7:30PM, in-person only, in the Teller Gym. The PTA will provide free pizza and babysitting at all of the Town Halls in the hope that by lifting the burden of finding dinner and childcare, all Teller families will have the chance to attend.
Save the Date for the Teller Town Halls:
- Tuesday, October 3, 2023
- Thursday, January 25, 2024
- Thursday, April 18, 2024
FUNDRAISING
We want to specifically thank everyone who purchased over 540 school supply packages this year, including 88 packages for students in need! Did you know that by purchasing school supplies through the PTA, you are directly contributing to the annual gift that the PTA provides to Teller to help fund important staff support and activities? Thank you for jumpstarting the annual fundraising goal this year!
One of the main fundraising events, Totally Teller, is coming up on Saturday, October 7th at the Denver Botanic Gardens. You can already buy your tickets to this “Secret Garden” themed event, which includes a live and silent auction. Click HERE to join in the fun! The PTA will also offer a Teller Den Night on October 7th, where parents and caregivers can drop their children off at school to spend the night. Staff will be on hand to provide supervision and will organize games and activities before children go to sleep, cozy in their sleeping bags in the hallways of the school. Dinner, snacks, and breakfast will be provided. Keep an eye out for the Teller Den Night sign up coming soon!
The Teller PTA recognizes that not everyone is comfortable being a part of a formal volunteer school group, and that’s okay! While some may feel that the PTA is just the group of parents who ask others for money, at Teller, the PTA vision is much broader than that. It’s true that we will work hard throughout the year to raise money for the school, but we will focus just as much of our energy on making sure that you know that you are an important part of the Teller community and that your voice matters. You don’t have to be a PTA member to ask questions at a Town Hall, to volunteer your time in the classroom, or to share your talents with the community. You and your student(s) are what makes the Teller community a special place, simply because you’re here!
Cheers to a new school year- we look forward to seeing and connecting with you soon!
In support of Tiger PRIDE,
The Teller Elementary PTA Board
2023-2024 Teller Elementary PTA Board
|
President |
Harmony Johnson |
|
|---|---|---|
|
President Elect |
Katie Aring |
|
|
Vice President |
Alise Strawn |
|
|
Treasurer |
Jordan Thomas |
|
|
Treasurer Elect |
Jennifer Swartwout |
|
|
Secretary |
Katie Hamilton |
|
|
Room Parents & Staff Appreciation Chair |
Cori Stahl |
|
|
Membership & Volunteer Chair |
Amanda Florence |
|
|
Fundraising Chair |
Emily Musser |
|
|
Communications Chair |
Erin Luke |
