Hello, Trailwood Community!

Welcome back! I hope you had a relaxing winter break and a wonderful start to 2023! I’m so excited to begin a new year here at Trailwood and can’t wait for a fun semester ahead.

Each winter, Trailwood hosts its primary fundraiser of the year, and we are so excited for this year’s event! We’d love to welcome parents and guardians to Happy Hour and Trivia Night on February 25^th at 6:00 pm at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center. Whether you’ve been to countless Trailwood fundraisers or if this will be your first event with the PTA, please join us! This will be an evening full of fun and laughter with your fellow Trailwood parents – and all for an amazing cause!

You’ll find all the details on the evening’s festivities (including ticket information) in this month’s newsletter. Please do not hesitate to reach out anytime! I am always happy to answer any questions you might have about our fundraiser or any other Trailwood events and activities!

Happy 2023!

Cara Peterson

caraelizabeth1@yahoo.com

6^th Grade Photos: January 10, 2022 and January 12, 2022

Happy Hour and Trivia Night Tickets Go On Sale: January 13, 2022

No School (Martin Luther King Jr. Day): January 16, 2022

PTA Meeting at Diemer Elementary: January 18, 2022 at 7:00 pm

Explore Indian Woods Night at IW for 6th Graders: January 19, 2022 at 5:00 pm

Winter Flight Time: January 19, January 26, February 2, February 16, February 23, and March 2 at 3:15 pm

Skate Party at Skate City: January 20, 2022 at 4:00 pm

Yearbook Group Photos: January 27, 2022

It’s almost here! After two years of virtual fundraising events, we are so excited to once again meet in-person for our Happy Hour and Trivia Night on February 25th! 

If you’ve been to one of these adult-only events in the past, you know how much fun we have! And, while we’re adding a new trivia component to this year’s event, you’ll still see many of our favorite Trailwood traditions around – the opportunity to purchase kid and adult party tickets, to bid on select auction items like teacher experiences, classroom art pieces and parking spots, to participate in our live auction, and much more! Plus, you’ll be able to snag one of our infamous souvenir cups (2023 edition)! Woohoo!

If you’re new to Trailwood, this is the perfect event to get to know some fellow parents and see what we’re all about! Our annual event is low-key and just plain fun! You don’t need to have a team to join in on the trivia festivities; we will add you to the appropriate grade level team!

You can purchase tickets to just the Happy Hour event from 6:00 - 7:00 pm or for the entire evening, which includes both Happy Hour and Trivia. You can find all of the ticket details and can make your ticket purchases here. Let’s come together for a fun time to support our amazing school! 

Questions? Contact Cara Peterson for more information!

Join us for our next PTA meeting on Wednesday, January 18th at 7:00 pm at John Diemer Elementary featuring our state senators and representatives!  

Senator Ethan Corson, Representative Stephanie Clayton and Representative Mari-Lynn Poskin will provide updates and answer your questions about education issues in Kansas. We are so lucky that three out of four of our area legislators are able to attend to hear from you, their constituents, about what's important to you! 

Click here to RSVP and to submit optional questions in advance (by January 15th) to help us guide the discussion!  

The KC Star and advocacy groups are predicting that public education funding and policy will be major issues this year in Topeka. You won't want to miss this great opportunity to hear from your state elected officials, just as the Kansas legislative session is beginning!

Our many Trailwood events could not happen without the support of our wonderful committee chairs and their teams of volunteers! Please thank these amazing committee chairs for sharing their time and talents with us during the month of December!

Coffee Cart: Jen Pontier and Holly Davidson

Citizenship Contest: Rebecca Keunen

Non-Teaching Staff Holiday Gift Cards: Cher Brownback

All Staff Holiday Gift Cards: Andrea Krasnow

Teacher Holiday Gifts: Cher Brownback and Room Parents

Moira Aaron Castillo Blood Drive: Rebecca Keunen and Kim Tyler

6^th Grade Activities: Jen Pontier, Katie Lee, Andrea Krasnow, Tracy Hugunin, Stephanie Kreamer and Vivian Hamilton

One of the many ways in which we strive to foster a sense of community here at Trailwood is through our annual kid and adult parties! These parties are hosted by parents and guardians (mainly in the spring and summer) and sold each February during our main fundraiser. These parties offer an amazing chance for you and your kiddos to meet other Trailwood families and connect with those you already know!

However, without hosts, these parties can't go on! Please consider taking a look at the following parties and see if you find one that might interest you. Or, grab a friend or two, and host together! Perhaps you have a new idea for a kid or adult party? We would love to hear from you!

If you have questions about what each party entails or would like to offer to be a host, please reach out to Cara Peterson.

2023 Kid and Adult Parties Needing Hosts

Kid Grade-Level Parties (visit this link to view available parties)

Progressive Dinner Hosts

Senoritas and Sangrias

Parent and Child Tea Party

College Game Day Style Family "Tailgate"

Have a different themed party in mind? Let us know! We love new ideas!

We’d like to thank these awesome volunteers who gave their time during the month of December as Wingmen!

Adam Newsom

Shea McGinnity

Both Adam and Shea have volunteered as wingmen more than once this year! Thank you for sharing your time at Trailwood! We’d love to see some more dads and father figures volunteer either full or half days at Trailwood! 

Any questions may be directed to Eric Foreman. Please sign up here.

The PTA is committed to supporting the students, families, teachers and staff of Trailwood Elementary. You can help us in this effort by becoming a PTA member. Becoming a member doesn't obligate you to attend meetings or volunteer; you can be as involved as you would like! Here is a link to purchase your membership as well as activity fee and yearbook here.

If you choose not to become a member, please remember that you still need to update your information in the directory. Doing so allows us to communicate with you throughout the school year and gives you access to the online directory. Families frequently use the directory for birthday party invitations, play dates, sports teams and more. For them to be able to see your information-please select that you want your information to be published in the directory.

The PTA website is a great resource, and you can access the directory from there.  

Please do not hesitate to contact Lori Tritsch if you have any questions. Thank you for keeping your directory information up to date and for considering a PTA membership purchase this year!

The Trailwood yearbook photo upload link is ready, and the committee needs your photos for this year's yearbook! 

Please upload your fun pics from the Special Person's Lunch, Pancake breakfast, classroom parties, extra-curricular activities and any other TW related events to this link.

The yearbook committee asks that all uploads have a description added to include your child's grade, teacher and/or short note about the event. Thank you!

These students were Reflections award winners at the district level last month and will move on to the state contest! Great job and good luck to these Trailwood students!

Award of Excellence in Literature:

Lily King, Intermediate Age Group

Brynn Weiss, Middle School Age Group

Honorable Mention in Photography:

Kat Harvey, Middle School Age Group

Award of Excellence in Dance Choreography:

Maxwell Deane, Intermediate Age Group

Brecklyn Harrison, Middle School Age Group

We’d like to extend a big thank you to our wonderful Trailwood community who came to the first annual blood drive in honor of Trailwood parent, Moira Aaron Castillo. Moira passed away in October after a three-year journey with Neuroendocrine cancer. Moira needed frequent blood transfusions during her treatment, and we were so grateful to have had the opportunity to honor her memory by collecting 57 units of blood (representing 171 lives saved)! 

We hope to make this an annual event at Trailwood; be on the lookout for more information on future dates.

We were fortunate to have many of Moira’s family members in attendance at this event, including her husband, Brent, and their children, Michael, Ellie and Frank. Moira’s parents and siblings were also present, and we thank them all for their support of the blood drive and for sharing their time with our donors.

5101 W 95th Street

Overland Park, KS 66207