McAuliffe PTSA

08/25/2026

Sign up to help at B2B! A volunteer perk is you can have your kids' photos taken before B2B opens its doors to the public! 📸😁

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0845ADAD2BA6F8C61-64552303-back #/

08/23/2026

Attention all families new to McAuliffe! Join us on Thursday for a welcome pizza dinner, meet principal Howden, and connect with other families. We can't wait to meet you!

RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeGrYwzMpzl-ZeJjH_3Av8J6hhGT3mdUge4pInYg0HccRlTWA/viewform?usp=header

08/23/2026

Attention incoming McAuliffe kinder families! Join us for a playdate on Thursday to meet other incoming families! Can't wait to play!

06/10/2026

Ready for the next school year? You could be in as little as 5 minutes! We have partnered again with School Toolbox to make purchasing school supplies easier.

✏️ Free home shipping on orders over $85. Only need one supply box? Add a backpack or order with another family to qualify for free shipping.

✏️ Free replacement for any supplies that wear out or break before the last day of school.

✏️ Customize your box by adding or subtracting supplies.

✏️ One meal donated to Feed My Starving Children for every box ordered.

Order your supply box today and be ready for the new school year!

Helping teachers, serving parents and equipping kids. We envision working effectively together to help children succeed.

06/06/2026

We need a few volunteers to help supervise our Foam Party on Friday, June 12th! 🎉🫧

There will be two foam party areas happening at the same time:
• K–2
• 3–5

Volunteers will help make sure students stay safe, happy, and are following directions while having fun!

Please arrive at the playground by 2:50 PM and remember to sign in at the front office before heading outside.

Thank you for helping make this such a fun event for our kids! ☀️

We need some volunteers to help supervise the foam party/extra recess time on Friday June 12th. There will be 2 foam parties happening simultaneously; one for K-2 and one for 3-5. We need helpers to make sure kids are safe, happy, and following the directions - please be at the playground by 2:50pm....

06/06/2026

The PTSA is honored to recognize Danielle Armstrong as the Volunteer of the Week! Danielle started the school year by reaching out to ask how she could help. When asked if she might be willing to help with Emergency Preparedness, she gladly accepted. Danielle worked alongside Ms. Wright and LWPTSA to ensure McAuliffe stayed updated on emergency supplies and tasks. Danielle also created and executed a new annual event for volunteers to restock classroom emergency supply bins. By doing this, Danielle lightened the load for the teachers and the classrooms will be ready for incoming students next year. Danielle is also a Room Parent, helps run the 5th grade student store, volunteers at the 5th grade bake sales, and is planning the food for the upcoming 5th grade party. Whew! Quite the list!

Some fun facts about Danielle:
- I have two kids who keep life interesting: Jackson, a soon-to-be 6th grader, and Veronica, my fearless 3½-year-old in Early Pre-K who currently runs our household with surprising efficiency.
- The best advice I've ever received is everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is obvious, and sometimes it takes a while (and maybe a glass of wine) to figure it out.
- One thing that can instantly make my day better is sunshine. If the sun is out, there's a good chance so is my good mood.
- Cooking isn't really my thing. My specialty is expertly researching, selecting, and ordering exceptional takeout.
- One thing on my bucket list is staying at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya. Breakfast with giraffes? Yes, please.
- Two interesting facts about me are that I've worked at Michaels Arts & Crafts since high school—and it's where I met my husband! Apparently, I went in for a job and left with a career and a husband. I've worked my way up through the company over the years and am currently serving as Store Manager again on a temporary basis after stepping down when my second kiddo arrived.
- I will miss McAuliffe soo much but am so excited we will be back again!

A fellow volunteer wrote, "Danielle deserves some kudos for her efforts with school emergency kits. Holy smokes, what a project that is!!! We still have a bit to go and she was there late last night going through and organizing things."

Please give Danielle a big "thank you" for stepping up as the E-Prep chair and all things 5th grade this year! Our students and staff are safer and well cared for because of your efforts

06/01/2026

Volunteer Tea Recap and Golden Acorn winners

The staff put on a beautiful event to commemorate our amazing volunteers on May 28th, where snacks, treats, and heartfelt messages from each class adorned the library. Beyond the students and staff recognizing our volunteers, a record 41 volunteers were nominated by their peers for their work at McAuliffe. Volunteers helped in a multitude of ways throughout the year - math and reading groups, art lessons, production room, social and academic events and clubs, class parties, field trips, staff appreciation events - phew! It was humbling to see all the ways our school, staff, and children are enriched by the work that these rock stars do!

In particular, the Golden Acorn Award is presented to a volunteer in recognition of his/her dedication and service to children and youth. Since the beginning of this program in the 1930s, more than 54,000 Golden Acorn Awards have been presented to volunteers throughout Washington state. Recipients receive a certificate and pin, and a contribution is made in their name to the Washington State PTA Scholarship Program that benefits students. This year's winners are Sara Ataei and Pingyi Liu, the Co-VPs of Art for the past two years. In the words of one of their nominators, "they worked with individual Art Start class volunteers on all projects, year round. They help to organize Square One projects, and this year they hosted a beautifully wild and adventurous Art Walk that delighted all in attendance. Extra kudos to this dynamic duo for making art sustainable where possible! ... Thank you Sara and Pingyi for being instrumental in bringing the gift of artful expression to our students!"

In addition, Julia Dos Remedios received the Honorary Life Membership Award for her 11 year tenure at McAuliffe, where she has been involved on so many different levels. From leading and assisting countless Art Start projects for her three children's classes, to holding major PTSA Board positions such as President, Vice President, and Fundraising Committee, there really hasn't been a role that she hasn't fulfilled at McAuliffe. We will miss you dearly, Julia!

Thank you to all of our volunteers for their dedication to McAuliffe!

05/31/2026

McAuliffe PTSA is honored to recognize Maria Cordova as the Volunteer of the Week! Maria has been a constant in our art program for many, many years. She has been a classroom Art Parent since 2017 (WOW!), when her oldest son was in elementary school. So naturally, she is an Art Parent for Mr. Kendall's classroom this year. She has brought original ideas, become a well know resource for art parents, and has spent endless volunteer hours at McAuliffe.

A couple fun facts about Maria include that she is an incredible swimmer and she also used to teach driving back in Chile. She is a busy mom driving her kids around to hockey and lacrosse tournaments.

Maria is also a Co-Chair for Square One Art, allowing students to showcase their art on special keepsakes and raise funding for Art Start to purchase art supplies (so order yours today!). We appreciate Maria's attention to detail, her positivity, and her perseverance to complete not only her own classroom art projects, but also helping other volunteers in need. A fellow art volunteer says, "Maria is very hands on and can come up with very creative ideas for a photo booth or decorations for events quickly."

Please offer Maria a "thank you" when you see her in the McAuliffe halls for helping to spark the imagination and creativity in our students!

05/28/2026

Classroom Emergency Supply Refresh & Restock volunteers needed!

The PTSA is launching a new annual event to help take the load off of our teachers! We will be going through the classroom emergency supplies to ensure accuracy & restock needed supplies! We are looking for 4-5 volunteers to help! Please note if you have a wagon to help haul supplies to & from the classrooms. We will meet at 12pm, at Portable 7 on Wednesday June 3rd.

Sign up here:

The PTSA is launching a new annual event to help take the load off of our teachers! We will be going through the classroom emergency supplies to ensure accuracy & restock needed supplies! We are looking for 4-5 volunteers to help! Please note if you have a wagon to help haul supplies to & from the c...

05/27/2026

The PTSA May meeting was packed full of decision making!

The PTSA voted to approve the 2026-2027 budget and elect the 2026-2027 board members. We also voted to update the Standing Rules and implement DEI Standards of Conduct to align with the WA PTA and LWPTA guidelines. We discussed adding a new yearly event to help teachers restock classroom emergency supplies. Please welcome our new and returning board members as you see them throughout school. We are fortunate to have volunteers dedicate time to these roles, ensuring our PTSA remains strong for our students.

Our next General Membership Meeting will be Monday, September 14th from 6-7:30pm.