Ignorethe presidential election for a minute…  

ALL Kansas state senators and representatives, who serve in Topeka, are up for election on Nov. 5^th . The education funding formula expires in 2027, and who we send to Topeka will be rewriting that formula over the next two legislative sessions.

These state legislators fund the K-12 education budget and the special education budget for the entire state, which is the main funding source for teachers, staff and resources for our SMSD district and, in turn, Trailwood. 

The Kansas State Board of Education is also up for re-election. The state BOE makes policy, makes recommendations for funding, and defines school accreditation and graduation requirements for all Kansas schools. This race is heating up and critically important!

Your vote matters in these local elections! Check your registration and see your sample ballot at myvoteinfo.voteks.org.  Look down the ballot to see the important local races! 

• Learn about candidates* at VoteJoCo.com ,Vote411.org , Johnson County Post, or watch the state BOE candidate forum
  1. Check out our local SM Area Council of PTAs and Education First Shawnee Mission for Shawnee Mission-specific advocacy updates and candidate info

• Make your plan to Vote and Bring Kids! Advance In-Person locations and times are at JoCoElection.org. You can even check wait times for all locations!   
  1. Advance voting will have a new future-voter activity! Through Nov. 2^nd, kids can cast their own ballot for things like favorite KC sports team. They can see results after election day!

* Most TW families are in State Board of Education District 2; Senate District 7 (north of 95^th) or Senate District 8 (south of 95^th); most are in House District 19 (north of 103^rd) or House District 20 (south of 103^rd), with some exceptions. 

Questions or for more info: Contact Emily Sebelius

The Trailwood PTA is pleased to announce the 2024-2025 Trailwood Reflections Contest Winners:

• Award of Excellence: Maxwell Deane, 5th grade for his dance choreography entry: Colors
• Award of Merit: Norah Peterson, 5th grade, for her photograph entry: A Night in New York City
• Award of Merit: Lucie White, 1st grade, for her literature entry: The Cheetah Family

This year's Reflections Contest theme was "Accepting Imperfection" and all three students listed captured the theme beautifully with original artistic creativity. These students' entries have advanced to the district level for judging. Way to go Maxwell, Norah, and Lucie! Thank you for sharing your talents with us!

It's not too late to purchase a PTA membership, yearbook or student activity fee! By purchasing these items, you help ensure we have a strong and active PTA.

Becoming a member doesn't obligate you to attend meetings or volunteer, but your membership dues help fund so many fun Trailwood activities--the Popsicle Pop-In, Donuts With Grownups, staff appreciation events, the carnival and so much more. If it's a fun school event, chances are it's a PTA event!

Make your purchases here: https://www.trailwoodpta.com/form/m/297027

If you choose not to become a member, please still remember to log in and 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. *For others to be able to see your information, you must select that you want your information published in the directory.

Tip: Download the Membership Toolkit app to easily access the directory and make PTA purchases.

Questions? Contact PTA Membership Chair Jen McDonald at jenschmidt3@gmail.com

Your child is invited to participate in this year's Special Person's Lunch! This is an opportunity for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other special people in a child’s life to come to school during lunch.

The lunches take place Wednesday 11/20 through Friday 11/22. It is suggested that special people come on the date listed below but if that doesn't work, the special person may attend any of the three days:

• For students with last names starting with A-G, please come on Wednesday, 11/20. 
• For students with last names starting with H-N, please come on Thursday, 11/21. 
• For students with last names starting with O-Z, please come on Friday 11/22. 

If the special person has multiple siblings they want to connect with during one lunch period, please make plans with the child’s family and teachers. We can have all kids eat at one time if that is the preference.

A special person may bring in outside food for themselves and also the student if they prefer. Or he or she can purchase a hot lunch at the school for $4.30. Please bring cash and exact change. 

Our lunch schedule is as follows: 

Pre-K: 11:50-12:20

Kindergarten: Burchstead 11:39-12:09 / Eubank 11:42-12:12 / Hawks 11:45-12:15

1st Grade: Mellen 11:09-11:39 / Warren 11:12-11:42 / Wilson 11:15-11:45

2nd Grade: Nash 11:00-11:30 / Rawlston 11:03-11:33 / Seamon 11:06-11:36

3rd Grade: Dulle 12:09-12:39 / Hartmann 12:12-12:42 / Rees 12:15-12:45

4th Grade: Dennis 12:30-1:00 / Herrenbruck 12:33-1:03 / Johnson 12:36-1:06 

5th Grade: Anderson 12:00-12:30 / Reynolds 12:03-12:33 / Williamson 12:06-12:36

6th Grade: Beauchamp 11:30-12:00 / Davis 11:33-12:03 / Scott 11:36-12:06 

We'd like to extend a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the Trailwood Thunderbird Bowl-O-Rama! What a great night of bowling, meeting new friends, connecting with old acquaintances and supporting Trailwood Elementary PTA! We had a blast!

Whether you signed up to bowl, purchased raffle tickets, made a donation or served as an event sponsor, you helped to make our dream of a new gaga ball pit and mat a reality! Thank you!

Speaking of sponsors, let's thank those who helped to make our event so successful!

Event Sponsor: Trailwood Parent and Realtor Mindy VonWolf Brogan, MVW and Associates

Prize Sponsor:  Trailwood Parent Leigh McCabe, Travel Magic by Leigh

Food Sponsors: Jack Stack BBQ (Trailwood Parent Bennett Clark), Buffalo State Pizza, Waldo Pizza, McLains Market, Papa Johns Pizza

We hope you'll join us for our next Bowl-O-Rama!