This special day is just around the corner. Click here to RSVP. For additional details about the day including parking and shuttle service, click here.

If you can volunteer your time or provide baked goods to make this a wonderful day for our visitors, click here .

Special Mr. Rogers Tribute!!

As part of our Homecoming Spirit Week "50/250 Pine-Richland & Pittsburgh", we are celebrating the life of a great Pittsburgher, Mr. Rogers, who would have turned 80 this year. Along with Grandparents'/Grandfriends' Day, October 8 will be designated Mr. Roger's Sweater Day and will include a visit from Mr. McFeely in our elementary schools.

All students and our special "grand" visitors are encouraged to wear a sweater.

A collection will take place in every building for new or gently-worn sweaters or sweatshirts to be donated to various charitable organizations.

Nurse Notes

Vision Screening -- Volunteers Needed: Screening will take place the week of October 6 for all grades. Children who wear glasses should bring them to school. We need six to eight volunteers each day to help with this important activity on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and 1-3:30 p.m. If you can help, please contact Theresa Weaver via email or phone 724-449-2607.

Immunizations: The school is required to send immunization records to the Allegheny Health Department on October 15. Your updated immunization form was due the first day of school. If you have not returned your form, please do so immediately. Click here for details about the new immunization requirements. Click here for information about a free clinic offering immunizations. If you need a copy of the form, click here.

Dental and Physical Exams Due October 1: Physical exams are required for grades K or 1, 6, and 11. Dental exams are required for grades K or 1, 3, and 7. These forms should be submitted by October 1. Click here for physical exam forms and here for dental forms. You may also obtain these forms from the nurse in your building. If you wish to schedule a school dental or physical exam, email Terry Wentz.

Volunteer Orientations
If you missed the volunteer orientation sessions that have been conducted, there are still some sessions available.

Hance Elementary School -- Tammy Godino, Guidance Counselor
Thursday, October 2, 9:30 a.m.

Wexford Elementary School -- Amy Kleissas, Guidance Counselor
Thursday, October 16, 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, October 16, 1:30 p.m.

Mileage Club Begins October 1!

The Feelin' Good Mileage Club is just around the corner. If you haven't completed your consent form yet, please click here for the consent form and details. A consent form is required. Questions? Contact Terry Wentz.

School Walk for Diabetes -- October 3!

Hance will participate in the School Walk for Diabetes on Friday, October 3. Grades 1-3 can participate in the Walk with a signed consent form; Kindergartners can contribute to this event also by making loose-change donations. Click here for the details and here for the consent form.

S.T.A.R. Reading Program!

Congratulations to the 60 S.T.A.R. students that met the reading goal of 660 minutes this past summer. We are so proud of all of you! The total number of minutes read by these students this summer was 68,873. The S.T.A.R. Celebration Breakfast took place September 18, 2008.

Congratulations, Devin G. for reading 3,180 minutes. She received a medal for being the top S.T.A.R. Reader. A special thank you to the PTO and especially Theresa Weaver for providing and organizing the delicious breakfast.

Hance Awarded Grant

The Highmark Foundation awarded Hance Elementary School a $4,917 grant, through the Highmark Healthy High 5 School Challenge Grant Program. The grant will be used to continue support for Hance's Pacesetters Program K-3. Click here for more details.

PTO News

Student Directory -- Final Day!

It is important to note that we are unable to use any information that you submitted on the demographic form!

Any entries received after today, Friday, September 26, are not guaranteed to be in the directory. Please click here to email your information to Nikki Woodrow. To access more details from this week's special announcement, please click here.

Fall Fundraiser Deadline is Monday!

Don't forget the order deadline is Monday, September 29. Please be sure to include one check made payable to Hance PTO for the full balance. All prizes earned will be awarded during delivery. Delivery is set to coincide with your Parent/Teacher Conference on November 13 and 14. Questions? Please contact Sabrina George.

After-School Adventures -- Registrations Due October 3!

The Hance PTO is proud to offer After-School Adventures at Hance Elementary. Each after-school class is a one-hour session (4-5 p.m.) and runs for six weeks. Classes will begin on Tuesday, October 14.

Class choices are: Science with the LabRatz Science Club, Ceramics/Clay and Glass with Christine from Christine's Painting, and Cooking with Kids with Mrs. Terry Wentz, the Hance nurse. Only 10 openings left in the cooking class!

Deadline for Registration is Friday, October 3. To view the class details and requirements and to print a registration form, please click here. Questions can be sent to Aimee Pavlick.

PTO Meeting with Special Guest Speaker Mrs. Cornibe

Join us on Thursday, October 2, from 7-8 p.m. in the Hance Library for our October PTO meeting. Our special guest speaker will be third grade teacher, Mrs. Barb Cornibe. She will speak about the ASSET Science Program. Enjoy some light snacks and hear what's happening around Hance. We hope to see you there!

Fantastic Fun Friday and Popcorn Dayz -- October 3

Fantastic Fun Friday: We will enjoy Crazy Hair Day at our next FFF on October 3! Use your imagination for a crazy hairdo! Parents, please keep in mind the District's dress code policy.

Popcorn Dayz: The first Friday of each month, in conjunction with Fantastic Fun Friday, the PTO will sell popcorn during lunch. A bag of popcorn is only $.25! Please remind your children that the popcorn must be eaten in the cafeteria. Fruit snacks are also available for $.25 for children with allergies.

Hance Birthday Board -- Need Pictures for October and November Birthdays

Don't miss out on having your child's picture on the Hance Birthday Board. Click here to access the form to submit with your child's picture. Feel free to send pictures for birthdays celebrated in other months.

Homecoming's Spirit Week is Just Around the Corner!
The Hance PTO has surprises planned for the week of October 6 to show that Hance has PR Pride! Students are encouraged to wear their green and white Ram apparel on Thursday, October 9, in preparation for the big homecoming game being held that night against North Allegheny.

Keep an eye on the children's backpacks to see what comes home the week of October 6!

"Pennies for Pies"

This outreach activity began Monday, September 15, and will end on Friday, October 31. Each classroom will have a collection bucket into which the students can put their spare pennies and change. The money collected will be used to purchase Market Day pies as part of the November Bonus Pie Days and will be donated to a local food shelter. The classroom that collects the most money will win a pie party!

Any contribution that you give towards this community outreach project will be greatly appreciated by many individuals throughout our community.

Box Tops Contest

How would your child like to win a popcorn party for his/her class? The classroom with the highest number of Box Tops per grade will win an afternoon popcorn party compliments of the PTO. That's four winning rooms...one winning class per grade!

Send in all of your Box Tops and have your child put them into the blue Box Tops box in their classroom. All Box Tops will be collected and counted on Friday, October 17 and the winner will be announced on Monday, October 20. Good Luck!

Earn Box Tops cash for the school at Barnes and Noble: Click here to find out how you can earn Box Tops cash by puchasing books at Barnes & Noble!

Target REDCard
Every time you use your Target Visa at a Target store or at target.com, Target will donate one percent from online purchases and one-half percent from in-store purchases. To register your card, click here so you can begin to earn money for Hance just through your normal purchases! Use Hance School ID 88844.

Apples for the Students

Our school is participating in the Giant Eagle Apples For The Students program. Giant Eagle provides the opportunity for schools to get free computer and educational-related equipment into our classrooms. It would be wonderful if every student could have hands-on access to a computer.

The Giant Eagle Apples For The Students program is easy! Click here to register and use our school ID No. 0417 or call 1-800-474-4777. When shopping at Giant Eagle, be sure to use your Giant Eagle Advantage Card as each scan will help our school earn free educational awards. Questions? Contact Sabrina George.

Book Fair a Success!
The Scholastic Book Fair was a huge success! This year we sold almost $8,500, plus we had a "bonus" of $700 book profit since we have more than one sale a year. Mr. McKinney was able to get over $1,300 in books for the library, and were able to get books valued at over $1,000 for the classrooms.

Thank you to all the volunteers that made this event possible and the parents that purchased books for their children and teachers. Winners of the volunteer $20 gift certificates were Trish Golla and Lori Dietz.

The Spring Book Fair will be held the same week as Open House, March 23- 27. We hope to see you then!

Market Day -- October's Big Grocery Giveaway!

Market Day Logo Thank you to everyone who supported our September Market Day sale!

October's Market Day sale is even more exciting. Simply place any size order in October and your name will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win up to $1000 worth of FREE Market Day gift certificates. Over 1,000 winners will be awarded!

Look for the October Market Day guide coming home soon, or visit the Market Day website and order online. Use Hance code 6855. Internet orders are due by noon on Friday, October 10. Questions? Email Nikki Woodrow.

Pine-Richland School District News

Special Message from Dr. James C. Manley

As Pine-Richland gears up for another home game on Friday, I am encouraging parents and students to carpool to home games. Parking will be at a premium now that the district is Quad A. Remember to escort your elementary children to each game, while encouraging and modeling goo