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 | | Pop Quiz Hot Shot Would you like to: A. enjoy a healthy, nutritious lunch free of charge? B. learn how to get your crazy train of a household back on track for the school year? C. be informed about the place where your kids spend more than eight hours a day (hint: that place is Cambridge)? D. hear from the top dogs (a.k.a. the Cambridge administration) that oversee your kids and their future? E. meet new friends and parents in your community? |
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If you answered YES to any of the above questions, then you have every reason to attend the Cambridge PTO Meeting this Wednesday, September 12 at noon. Sponsored by The Emergency Clinic, we'll hear from Assistant Principal Jenny Flores, Professional Organizer Sarah Halbach, Alamo Heights School Foundation Executive Director Heather McFarland, and updates about the 2018-2019 School Year from our PTO, all while enjoying lunch from Zoe's Kitchen. If you can't make it to the meeting in person, join us over on the Cambridge Facebook Page where we'll broadcast our meeting live. |
Did you know that you can support the Cambridge PTO just by shopping at HEB? The Cambridge HEB gift card program is one of the easiest ways to give back to our school and HEB generously allows the PTO to keep 5% of all sales. Parents, grandparents, and PTO supporters in our community can choose which option best fits their needs: recurring monthly orders or occasional batch orders. Even more, we’ve expanded our payment options to include checks, cash, and auto bank checks from online banking. HEB Gift Cards come in $100 increments. Monthly orders allow you to choose the number of $100 gift cards you would like and your method of payment. These cards are delivered straight to your door around the 1st of each month by a Cambridge volunteer driver. You can update the card amount as needed but any changes must be received by the 20th of the month prior to delivery. Batch orders are one time or infrequent $100 card orders. These can be as little as 2 cards or as many as 50+ cards. We can help tailor an order to meet your needs and provide the convenience of fewer deliveries and payments to arrange throughout the year. We will also provide different denomination gift cards for special events like Thanksgiving, Holiday Gift Giving, and Teacher Appreciation/End of School. We are happy to work with local organizations too for any special requests they may have. Monthly and batch orders can be placed online by clicking HERE (be sure you have created a PTO account and are signed in) or by emailing Julie Bruton at jbruton@gmail.com. Payment can be made ahead of time in the form of predated monthly checks, auto mailed from your bank, or made at the time of delivery via cash or check. All checks should be made out to Cambridge PTO. Bank checks can be labeled Cambridge PTO c/o Julie Bruton and mailed to 140 Lamont Ave, 78209. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept credit card, PayPal or Venmo payments at this time due to the cost of fees. HEB gift cards can be used at any HEB, HEB plus, or Central Market locations for your everyday grocery purchases. While HEB does not currently accept gift cards for Curbside or Delivery orders, they have promised to add this feature soon so stay tuned! Additionally, we record all gift card serial numbers and can usually replace any lost or stolen cards if they haven’t already been redeemed. Please feel free to email Julie Bruton at jbruton@gmail.com with any questions or concerns. 
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 | PTO 101: VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES! | |
 | |  | BE THE COOLEST DAD AROUND
Do you want to feel like a rockstar to your kid? How about cruising the halls of Cambridge and being met with high fives from all of the students??? And what if we mentioned that you'd even get a free shirt to wear and be the envy of all of the dads on your block, at work, and around town? Don't just be a normal dad. Be a rad dad. Be a part of the Cambridge WATCH D.O.G.S.! Cambridge participates in the nationally recognized Watch D.O.G.S. program! Our Watch D.O.G.S. (short for Dads Of Great Students) is made up of fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and other father-figures from our community. Fathers and father-figures make a positive impact on our Cambridge students by volunteering at least one day each year at school through this amazing one-of-a-kind program. We need Watch D.O.G.S. to volunteer at Cambridge! Join us with your students to kick off Watch D.O.G.S. at Donuts and Dads on the playground on Wednesday, September 26 at 7:40am. At 8:05am, walk your student to class and then meet at the back of the auditorium at 8:15am for a brief meeting. Please RSVP here so we can get enough treats. Don’t forget to fill out your Criminal Background check for the new school year here and order your official Watch D.O.G.S. uniform shirt here!
| | CALLING 5TH GRADE PARENTS
Have you ever wondered what Fiesta Royalty feels like riding in the parades around town? Now is your chance to feel like the queen or king of the HOWDY parade! Well, maybe that's a stretch. But at least you can be a parent walking amongst a gaggle of 5th graders - what a dream come true! Each year our 5th graders are invited to represent Cambridge by walking as a group in the Howdy Night Parade. Taking place on Wednesday, Sept 26 at 4:30 pm, Howdy Parade participants will meet at 4:15pm sharp at the AH Little League parking lot at Alamo Heights Blvd and Argo. Students need to be picked up at the front steps of the high school immediately following the parade (approximately 5pm). Please be on the look out for permission slips coming home with your 5th grader. Signed permission slips are due by 9/19. We need 4 chaperones per 5th grade class to help make this a fun and safe event. Please join us by signing up to walk in this fun parade HERE.
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Our Cambridge Mentor Program is characterized by the three C's: Commitment, Care, and Consistency. This unique program pairs adult community role models with students through the school year to make a positive impact. Mentors and students are paired with each other for the year and spend time together weekly during the school day. So where do you come in? Cambridge needs your help and support as a mentor! Mentors are asked to spend about 30 minutes weekly with their student October through May. Lunchtime visits are ideal and volunteers are paired with a student whose lunch period fits their schedule. All visits take place during the school day at Cambridge. A background check and attendance at the Mentor Breakfast Training on Wednesday, Oct. 3 from 8:30-9:45 in the Cambridge Auditorium are the only requirements. Mentors do not need to be Cambridge parents so please share this opportunity with friends, coworkers, neighbors, and grandparents! Help make an impact on the life of a Cambridge child. To sign up or for more information contact: Emily McRae or Renee Barker, PTO mentor program Volunteers, at 210-838-3523; Lauren Boyer, Cambridge Counselor, at 210-804-7561; or Diana Cashion, Cambridge Counselor, at 210-804-7561.
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Cambridge Fall Book Fair is quickly approaching! Mark your calendar for September 24-September 28. Load up on gifts for the holidays or just refresh your family library for the new school year. Please note we will be open until noon on Friday. The Cambridge Library keeps 25% of the money brought in for Book Fair. That profit helps us purchase books, furniture, supplies, our yearly fee for our automation system, access to World Book Online, storyteller fees, and much more! Do you want to volunteer while your student's class is shopping and spy...er.....help out??? Volunteers are needed to check out students after they are finished shopping - sign up fast! These beloved volunteer positions don't last long. And let's be honest, there's something so satisfying about using a barcode scanner. Please click HERE to see when your student's class will be visiting the Book Fair and then click HERE to access the volunteer sign up sheet. Make sure to include your name, email address, and the best day time telephone number for you. If you have any questions, please call or text Bevin Crow at 210-860-3139. Thank you for your help!
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| ACCESS YOUR PTO DIRECTORY | |
Have you been salty because you're missing one of the best perks of PTO Membership - your online directory? It's all Gucci! (Enter your 5th graders eye roll here at the PTO's attempt to use 2018 slang.) The new website not only offers an easy online directory but also a convenient app that you can download to your phone or smart device and look up any PTO Member and their contact information on the go. Y'all, it's lit! To access the directory online, visit the Cambridge PTO Website. Under the tab "Our PTO" click on "Directory." To get the app and access the directory straight from your phone, download the "Membership Toolkit" app. Use your PTO Website login information (or create a log in and purchase your membership). From there, you can access the Cambridge directory, along with any other AHISD school that your family attends. If you have yet to purchase your Membership and have access to your squad's digits (more 5th grade eye rolls), be sure to purchase your PTO Membership and be a Cambridge GOAT! (Okay, we're done embarrassing the kids now.) |
| DID YOU KNOW? INTERESTING INFO FROM AHISD
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AHISD is rolling out a community wide safety focus group. Here are some simple ways that we, as parents, can help encourage and support our kids: - Have you been reading the Character Corner in Monday Mail? It is a great way to start conversations with your kids, asking questions like “How did you show kindness today?†or "Did you see any examples of integrity in the classroom?"
- Do you know what to do if a student is mistreated? Did you know that there is an anonymous way to report a serious safety concern on the AHISD website? AHISD has reporting policies and procedures in place that can be found HERE.
- As parents and caretakers, let’s do our part to help facilitate a If you See Something, Say Something culture.
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| UPCOMING CAMBRIDGE EVENTS | |
 | |  | DON'T MISS CAMBRIDGE FAMILY PLAYDATE
September 18 at 6:00 - 7:00 pm Join the Cambridge PTO and the PE Coaches for a evening of FUN. Parents and kids are invited to return to school and play your favorite superhero games. Spend an evening of disconnected bliss with your kids. Family Playdates are held once a semester each year.
| | INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL DAY
October 10 International Walk to School Day is a global event that involves communities from more than 40 countries walking and biking to school on the same day. This event has become part of a movement for year-round safe routes to school and a celebration and will be Cambridge's second year to host the event. If you would like to help sponsor or volunteer for this event, please contact Leslie Edwards at lesliegedwards@gmail.com.
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