If you've graduated from Melinda Heights, please be sure to close your membership account on our website to stop receiving messages.

__Welcome from our PTA President, Annalece Misiego: Welcome back, Mountain Lions! We have an exciting year ahead and we cannot wait to share it with you! Be sure to click through every link below and get yourselves all set and ready to go. This year our theme is BE GOOD HUMANS! We look forward to working hand-in-hand with parents and faculty in the continuous building of good humans here at Melinda Heights. We have a lot of ways for you to get involved this year! Please reach out if you have any questions or a desire to serve. See you soon! ~ Annalece Misiego

__Update your family information on the MHPTA.org website, including your children's teachers. This will greatly help you when completing the rest of the items below. Start here. Or, if you're new to Melinda Heights PTA, create an account. *Please update your child's teacher.* We need the information so we can best deliver items to your children over the course of the year. Teacher information will be released on Thursday, August 10 at 4pm. You may need to go back and update the teacher later once you know who it is.  To find your child's teacher, go to the Aeries Parent Portal, click on "student info," click on "demographics" and then search for the "teacher" section. 

__Subscribe to receive the PTA Monthly Newsletter and sync your calendar. This is the BEST way for you to keep updated on everything happening: Family movie nights (our first one is August 18!), dine outs, trunk-or-treat and more! The PTA frequently updates the calendar on this website to ensure it includes all the latest information from PTA, the school, and MELT (Melinda Elementary Leadership Team, comprised of students). Our newsletter is a great resource to stay in-the-know and the calendar will sync to your phone/watch so you never forget a dress up day! Start here.   

__Become a PTA Member. Your membership gives you a voice in PTA decisions, including how PTA spends the money we earn from our fabulous fundraisers. Our focus is family engagement, supporting student learning, and advocacy.  We look forward to an incredible year with family fun nights; STEAM Lab; reading software including Accelerated Reader and Lexia; book fairs; spirit wear; Jog-A-Thon; Roarfest; staff appreciation; and service (such as food and toy drives); advocacy for special education, English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC); arts education; and more. Join as a PTA member today! Click here to get started.

 __Make a straight donation to the Melinda Heights PTA, if you're so inclined. The funds raised will help us to continue making Melinda Heights a special community with many fabulous, fun, and educational opportunities for our students and their families. This is our annual fall fundraiser, and it ensures that 100% of the funds go to the PTA (rather than selling something and we only get a percentage). Donate here today.

__Celebrate your child's birthday or special success with their name on the marquee in front of the school. We call these Mountain Lion Moments and every purchase goes right back to the students through various PTA programs.  Get started here. 

     *Please note, you can save $5 if you purchase the Mountain Lion Moment and Celebration Book at the same time. Please look for the "special package" on the website when purchasing!

__Donate a book in your child's name to the school library in honor of their birthday or any other special event! When it is your student's special day, they will be the first person to check out the Celebration Book and their contribution will be celebrated with their class! Click here to donate!

     *Please note, you can save $5 if you purchase the Mountain Lion Moment and Celebration Book at the same time. Please look for the "special package" on the website when purchasing!

__Sign up to volunteer. PTA is recruiting for some open positions and a general "on call" volunteer pool we can reach out to as the need arises. Interested? Let us know here today. There are still a few committee chair positions open for several FUN & IMPORTANT events/activities that are a crucial part of our Melinda Heights community. We could really use your help!  Most people don’t volunteer for positions unless they are asked, but frequently that means that great candidates might get over looked because no one knows that they are interested.  You do not need experience to be a great PTA Board member, you just need some extra time and dedication to our students.  Volunteering at the Board or Committee level in PTA is a great way to get to know your child’s school and how our education system works. It’s also a great way to suggest ideas, make new friends and make a difference. If you are interested in a position or would like to team up with another parent to co-chair a position, please fill in this google form for our PTA President, Annalece Misiego. PTA Interest Form

__Download the membership app! This will allow you to have easy access to PTA programs. Be sure to allow push notifications to get reminders directly on your phone! Click here to get the app (Mac/Iphone users only). 

__Mark your calendar to join us at the first PTA meeting of the year - Tuesday, September 5 at 7:00pm in the MPR. If you have questions regarding the meeting, please send them to: meetings@mhpta.org (Please note this email is not checked daily and we will respond as soon as we are able).

__Dedicate your Ralphs Grocery Card to support Melinda Heights PTA, if you haven't done so in the past. Every purchase you make from Ralph's automatically results in a contribution to the PTA. This Shop & Support opportunity generate a lot of financial support for Melinda Heights PTA. Would you kindly take 10 minutes to dedicate your account today (and while you're at it, invite grandparents, other family, and friends to join you)? All the Ralphs Community Contributions instructions are here. Our Melinda Heights PTA also raises funds through Coke Gives, eScrip, Office Depot/Office Max. Please check these out to ensure your shopping is set up to maximize your family's support for our students.

__Download the Box Tops App and start regularly scanning your receipts. No more clipping Box Tops and sending them to school. Now it's all done by phone! It's so easy, and your commitment helps raise money for our school! Get started here today. This is something fun to ask your children to help you do every time you shop for groceries! Get in the car and scan the receipt from anywhere you buy products with Box Tops ~ Costco, Target, Ralphs, and any other grocery source!

 __Check out the Reflections art program, and encourage your children to start working on their entries. This year's theme is "I am hopeful because..." Entries are due September 29. Children can enter for dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and/or visual arts. Start here. 

Please join us for the first dine out fundraiser of the year on August 10 at Handel's Ice Cream! Click here for more information.  

First Day of School - Tea & Tissues: Kindergarten parents and new school families - please join the PTA in the multi-purpose room after you say goodbye to your student(s) for some tea and tissues. Meet the principal and members of the PTA board. 

The following items are for the school, not PTA, but we included them here to be helpful as they are other tasks parents must typically complete at the beginning of the year:

__Confirm your data on the Aeries Parent Portal for each of your Melinda Heights students. As Principal Martin shared, the online data confirmation window is now open. Please be sure to log in to the Aeries Parent Portal and complete the data confirmation process for each of your students. When you log in, you will see a highlighted prompt at the top of the screen. Make sure you follow all the steps in the data confirmation process. Please make sure to verify that all contact information, phone numbers, and email addresses, are correct and up to date. Now is a good time to print and sign the student emergency form. The school WILL be collecting a hard copy this year.

__Sign up for Parent Square. The Saddleback Valley Unified School District is using Parent Square for school communication, primarily with email, text, and app notifications, for the 2023-2024 school year. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent, using their preferred email address and phone number. We encourage parents to access their accounts so they can download the mobile app and update their preferences on when and how they are notified. Get more information here. 

School Supplies: GOOD NEWS! SVUSD schools are providing everything your child needs (there will be no supply list). If you’d like to purchase items for your child or your child’s classroom you are always welcome to, but it is not an expectation. Additionally, we will be holding a school supply drive at our Back to School Movie Night on August 18- click here for details!. Stay tuned for details! The following basic school supplies will be provided for students at school:

• Pencils, Pens, Highlighters
• Erasers
• Whiteboards and  markers
• Glue or glue sticks
• Crayons 
• Scissors
• Paper
• Headphones - sponsored by the PTA and Skullcandy

Click here if you want helpful links on other school related items.  

We look forward to getting to know each of you this year as we see you in our PTA meetings and connect with you at our upcoming events. Together, we will use the Power of the Paw to make the school an even better place!

Lots of love to all of our Mountain Lion Families!

Sincerely, 

Your PTA 

General Questions? Please email us at info@mhpta.org