Please send Box Tops labels to school by Feb. 26

Calling all Cheerios eaters! We're looking for your Box Tops by this Wednesday, Feb. 26! And not just Cheerios--Box Tops can be found on all General Mills cereals and a wide array of other products including Kleenex tissues, Betty Crocker baking mixes, Nature Valley granola bars, Gogurt, Hefty products and more!

Clip the small, rectangular Box Top logo from the package and send them to school with your child. Each one is worth 10 cents, so our collective clippings can add up to hundreds of dollars for Lucas. Our extreme gratitude to those who send them sorted into baggies of 50 (which is how we have to send them in for redemption.)

Classrooms with the highest number of Box Tops collected will celebrate with a cookie snack next month.

Kindergarten registration is Thursday, Feb. 27

Do you have a five-year-old or a neighbor who is or will soon be five? Spread the word--Kindergarten Registration is this Thursday, Feb. 27 at all Iowa City Community School District elementary schools from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Parents should bring the child's birth certificate showing the child will be 5 by Sept. 15. Immunization records and proof of residency are also requested. The registration process may take up to 30 minutes. Entering Kindergartners are not required to attend. A separate event to introduce them to the school and teachers will be held later this spring.

PTO meeting is Monday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m.

No late start for the PTO meeting--we'll get started right on time at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, in the art room. Child care available in the Kindergarten room. Please take a moment to review the minutes from last month before Monday night.

Free Family Night at Mercer Jan. 10 is a sure cure for cabin fever

If you're starting to feel like the walls are closing in, make plans to join us for Free Family Fun Night this Friday, Jan. 10, from 6-8 p.m. at Scanlon Gym/Mercer Aquatic Center. All Lucas families are invited to come release some energy in the gym, where we'll have roller skating (skates provided), a bouncy house, and games. A selection of healthy snacks will be provided in the adjacent activity room.

Parents/guardians MUST stay with students--
absolutely no drop offs allowed!

We are looking for volunteers to monitor the bouncy house in half hour shifts and to assist with snack distribution. Please go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094BA4A72FA75-free to sign up.

Annual fundraiser was a MIGHTY big success!

We end this week with some great news: Not only did we achieve the fundraising goal for the 2013 Make a Mighty Difference campaign, but we exceeded it by nearly $1,000!

The PTO leadership team thanks you for your generosity in 

donating $10,984 and pledging more than 300 volunteer hours!

We especially want to recognize our students who tapped into their own piggy banks to contribute $36 in cash and coin donations. Special thanks also to our business donors including Abundant Playscapes, Alliant Energy Foundation, Alpla, Inc., Century Roofing, Expectations Salon, The Printing House and Plank Family Dentistry.

Your contributions allow us to continue to fund enrichment activities for our students, support special requests from our teachers, and enhance the playgrounds and outdoor spaces around our school. In fact, we are excited to share this image of a new bouncy play structure slated for installation in Spring 2014 on the 3-6 playground (north side of school building):

Please note that you can make a tax-deductible donation to Make a Mighty Difference any time of year by visiting our web page www.makeamightydifference.org. If you would like information about contributing your TIME to support our school, please contact Nancy Cassady, PTO volunteer coordinator, ncassadyim@gmail.com.

A MIGHTY BIG THANK YOU to all who participated in the 2013 Make a Mighty Difference campaign!

Abundant Playscapes
Aguilar-Rosales Family
Alliant Energy Foundation
Alpla, Inc.
Anonymous (9)
John and Marcia Anderson
Renee Baird & Jen Jordan
Jason and Catherine Burke
Sharon Burke
Ann and Chad Campion
Patricia Cantagallo
Brian and Nancy Cassady
Ana Cassady
Century Roofing, Inc.
Mason Chase
Patricia Clinton
Dennis Crall & Aprille Clarke
Mary and R.J. Daughenbaugh
Michael Davis
Kate Degner
Ryan Downing & Jennifer Sherer
Tobi and Damond Drake
Joelle Dickerson
Expectations Beauty Salon
John and Mayuri Farlinger
Dawn Fitzpatrick & Brad McDowell
Mike Frasier & Jennifer Horn-Fraiser
Crystal and Stan Galloway
Kyle and Sarah Galloway
Kristin Giuliani
Gary and Sara Glenn
Amanda and James Goodrich
Jill Graff
Carol Greve
Phillip and Andrea Gugliuzza
Kristopher Halter
Marie Hicks
Marta Hamity
Jody and Shawn Harmsen
Ronald and Beverly Herman
Ben and Brooke Hill
Sarah Holmes & Zara Wanlass
Jennifer Hyduke
Ruthanne Hyduke
Chris and Sheral Jensen
Shella and Brandon Johnson
John and Mary Kenyon
Morgan Langfitt
Megan Lavelle
Leah Lee
Jenilyn Lewis
Maddy Lewis
Timothy Lewis
Les and Nancy Lipschutz
Lucas On Campus
Sarah and Andrew Lynch
Debbie and Joseph Manning
Tara and Rod Martin
Maria and Jesús Martinez
Jun-Nicole Matsushida & Huy Tong
Anna and Rob McComas
Emmy McComas
Karrie Merriweather
Roy and Mollie Miller
Paul and Shelby Myers-Verhage
Carroll Novak
L. Charles & Cathy Novak
Richard and Sun Hee Oberfoell
Debra and Brian Parrott
Mike and Pat Pavelich
Joseph Pavelich
Kevin and Michele Pellinen
Christine and Jay Phillips
Cruz Phillips
Plank Family Dentistry
Steve and Nancy Pohlman
Beatrice Puryear
Jen Reynolds
Sara and Erika Riggs
Heather and Damien Roth
Sara Schwindt
Nicole Scott & Susan Summers
John Shoop
David Snyder
Erin Snyder
Barbara Solomon & Jeff Arnold
Renee Speh & Anthony Miller
Kristen and Clay Surom
Suellen and Will Swain
Joan Taylor
Tim & Julie Taylor
Mary Therese and Tom Teegarden
Sander Tompkins
Andrew and Leslie Veit
Mr. and Mrs. George Veit
Patricia Verhage & James Blanchard
Helene Volkert
Larry and Marilyn Walberg
Claudia Zambrano

Dine out at Shorts Dec. 11 to benefit Lucas PTO

Short’s Burgers Eastside
521 Westbury Dr, Iowa City, IA 52245
(319) 338-7743

Please join us at Short’s Burgers Eastside on Wednesday, December 11, to have a great meal and help support Lucas PTO.

10% of proceeds from all sales on that day, both lunch and dinner, will be donated to Lucas PTO.

You can dine in or carry out. Tell your friends, grandparents, neighbors and co-workers!

Funds raised for PTO help us bring a number of enriching opportunities to Lucas students including visiting authors, class field trips, musical performances and playground improvements.

Hope to see you there!!

PTO meets Monday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m.

We hope you can join us for the next PTO meeting, Monday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. in the art room (agenda.) Free childcare is available in the Kindergarten room. At this month's meeting you'll have the opportunity to meet our new School Administrative Manager, Angela Roe. We will also discuss a number of fun events coming up after the first of the year including Family Supper, Family Night at Mercer, and our annual Fun Night carnival and raffle.

Please take a moment before Monday's meeting to review the November meeting minutes.