It was wonderful to see so many of you at Orrington's Community Night and first PTA meeting.  Thank you to Paula Schmitt, Denitta Germann, Megan Langer, Clare Scane, Kristi Raftery, Amy Hodgman, Daryl Gardner, Kate Ellison and Megan McCarville Witte for facilitating the grade level break out rooms.  For those who could not attend, please find the recording of the meeting below.

The "National PTA stands firmly against racism in all forms and the culture of oppression that permeates the United States.  As an association that represents all children, we must listen, education and advocate beyond rhetoric and rise to correct all inequities and injustices." --National PTA Position Statement; Say Their Names: Addressing Institutional or Systemic Racism

In line with the National PTA and Orrington's Mission Statement, last year, the Orrington administration, teachers and PTA joined forces (and funds) to work with Corey Winchester to develop an Orrington Elementary School Equity Strategic Plan.  Corey conducted many listening sessions with all stakeholders (families, administration and teachers) to learn about the different experiences at Orrington.  He then synthesized the information he learned into a series of recommendations for Orrington administration, teachers and families to implement.  This report will be shared with the community at the Town Hall event on September 30, 2021.  More information about this event will be coming from Dr. Plaza, but I mention it in this space because I would like everyone to know that the Orrington PTA is a space for ALL of the Orrington community.  Every caregiver in the Orrington community is a PTA member unless they choose not to be.  

We have listened and heard the calls for the PTA to be more inclusive. We are prioritizing the needs of our community members, especially those who have been historically marginalized because of various forms of racism, discrimination and other forms of oppression in our community. We look to develop a community where we can individually and collectively be the best version of our human selves.  In order to do that we have to acknowledge past harm and work restoratively to shift the status quo.  

Please come back to this space for more information about our efforts and how you can be involved.

The District will provide a listing of all families who consented to be included in the Orrington School Directory but this is delayed due to the powerschool issues.  If you would like to begin using the directory (and have access to the PTA newsletter and other communications on a phone app) the see below for directions to join.

Everyone is in the PTA!  Last school year was so successful with a full PTA membership, we decided to do it again!  

What are the benefits to being a member?  While everyone is encouraged to attend PTA meetings and all PTA sponsored activities, PTA members can vote on budgets and other matters of importance and help guide the direction of the PTA’s efforts and programming. Orrington PTA, through the work of volunteers and the donation of funds, supports many great programs that make our school a special place. 

In order to satisfy IL PTA and national regulations, the Orrington PTA is required to record all members in memberhub (a web based database). You can still be a member of the PTA even if you do not want your name entered into memberhub; please click the button below and fill out the information by September 30, 2020, and we will anonymize your membership.  If, for whatever reason, you do NOT want to be a PTA member please click the button below to OPT OUT by September 30, 2020.  

The Orrington PTA pays a registration fee (approximately $5 per adult member) to the Illinois and National PTA organizations which provide education, advocacy and non-profit administrative support.  The Orrington PTA will pay these membership dues for all members, but we are gratefully accepting donations to offset the cost.

Much of the Orrington PTA calendar remains "To Be Determined" as we monitor and follow the district's COVID guidance.  At the PTA meeting we heard the request for a PTA calendar and are releasing our working document for all to reference.  Please come back to the newsletter for more information as events, dates and times are updated.

The Orrington PTA website has an integrated calendar that incorporates all D65 events as well as Orrington events.  If you would like to download this calendar into your personal calendar, please click the link on the website (circled in red below) and then follow the directions.

Please click the button if you prefer a paper copy of the PTA calendar.

The PTA is only as strong as those who donate their time.  Please consider volunteering.  We know that you all are asked to do a lot of things on a daily basis - we all have overflowing plates, busy family needs, full time jobs and life in a pandemic.  Volunteering with the PTA can be really rewarding.  It is a great way to build a sense of community by getting to know others as well as being an investment in your student’s education experience.  Unfortunately, if we do not have enough volunteers then we will not be able to follow through on PTA programming.   We will work with anyone to find a role that fits their availability.  Please reach out to info@orringtonpta.org or check out our website for more information.

Our fundraising team is planning several fun fundraisers for the school year.  In the meantime, you can begin supporting our fundraising efforts by signing up for AmazonSmile and Box Tops for Education.

Orrington Elementary School PTA

2636 Orrington Avenue

Evanston, IL 60201

info@orringtonpta.org