APRIL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING ~ APRIL 11TH

PTA HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBER RECIPIENTS

Please help us in congratulating the 2024 Texas PTA Honorary Lifetime Member Recipients! Receiving an Honorary Life Membership Award is one of the highest forms of recognition to let a volunteer know how much a campus truly appreciates their dedication to our children and the community. The following individuals in the Rice community have either been recognized at Rice Middle School or another nearby campus in the State of Texas.
These much deserving members were honored at the Lifetime Member Banquet hosted by the PISD Council of PTA's on Tuesday, April 9th.

PROPOSED CHANGE TO BYLAWS AND STANDING RULES

By the request of the Texas PTA to review and update the Rice Middle School PTA Bylaws and Standing Rules, the Bylaw Committee is giving the general membership 30 days to review the following recommendations highlighted in yellow, in order to vote on them at our next general PTA meeting on April 11th:

REVISIONS TO BYLAWS
1. ARTICLE VII: Membership and Dues, Section 1
E. The membership year shall be July 1-June 30. (Proviso: The initial membership year for PTAs organizing after March 30 shall be extended to June 30 of the subsequent membership year.)

2. ARTICLE VII: Membership and Dues, Section 2
B. Annual dues for each member shall be the sum of national dues plus state dues plus the local dues amount of $20.00 (individual), $10.00 (each additional family member).

3. ARTICLE VIII: In-Person Meetings. Section 1
Regular membership meetings shall be held in September, November, April, and May. Place, date and time shall be established by the executive board at its first meeting of the year. Immediately following the first executive board meeting, the membership shall be notified of the place, date and time of all membership meetings through regular publicity channels. Five days' notice shall be given if a change of date is needed, or you are changing a virtual meeting to an in-person meeting.

REVISIONS TO STANDING RULES
1. RULE 2. ANNUAL MEETING AND LEADERSHIP TRANSITION
B. each standing committee chair and coordinator shall be responsible for orientation and delivery to his successor (or newly elected president) all official PTA materials and a complete digital upload, including his plan of work and evaluation no later than the end of the fiscal year/June 30th.

2. RULE 6. REIMBURSEMENT
A. complete and submit a reimbursement/payment request form, along with original, itemized receipt(s), invoice, or other recognized proof of payment to the treasurer within thirty (30) days of expenditure.

3. RULE 7. DEPOSITS OF INCOME
C. cash deposits are to be deposited in the bank by the treasurer on the day received or as soon as possible thereafter, using Automated Clearing House (“ACH” – digital download).

You may also download the complete Bylaws and Standing Rules by clicking the links below.

Rice MS PTA Bylaws
Rice MS PTA Standing Rules

OPEN BOARD POSITIONS FOR 2024-2025

Want to meet other Rice Raven families? Exercise your skills and share your perspectives? Be part of the conversations that shape our community and PTA priorities? There is a place for you on our PTA Board and/or committees!

The PTA Board oversees the budget, priorities, community building and supplemental programming at Rice Middle School throughout the school year.

Our PTA Board meets regularly during the school year. The Rice PTA has several Board openings for the next school year as many of the current Board members are at the end of their terms. We encourage everyone to consider participating! The Rice MS PTA is a supportive, fun and flexible group and we are grateful to those who choose to volunteer their time!

The PTA is If you are interested in learning more about the positions available you can visit RiceRavensPTA.org and click volunteer on the toolbar or contact the current Rice PTA President, Jennifer Bolton, with any inquiries at president@riceravenspta.org.

Our awarding winning Rice PTA is currently seeking candidates interested in the following positions:
- President
- Treasurer
- VP of Programs
- VP of Ways and Means
- VP of Membership
- VP of Volunteers

We look forward to having your family at Rice and would appreciate your support on our PTA Board.

Click here to learn more about each position!

WELLNESS WEEK ~ APRIL 1ST - 5TH

Thanks to all of you, the PTA was able to celebrate Wellness Week in an EPIC way!  

RAVENFEST ~ APRIL 26TH

You won't want to miss our biggest and most exciting social event of the school year - Spring RavenFest!  Save the date for April 26th and purchase your wristband today.  Wristband ticket bundles are $15 each and include entry to the event, as well as, all the fun activities we have planned.  Bundle also comes with 10 tickets that can be used to purchase food, drinks or entries into the raffle drawing. Deadline to purchase wristbands is midnight on April 23rd. 

Volunteer Sign Up link coming soon!

Please Note: This event is for Raven students only. 

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR WRISTBAND!

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK ~ MAY 6TH - 10TH

JOIN THE RICE MS PTA! 

Support Rice Middle School students and teachers by showing that you value your child’s education by joining the PTA. Your membership helps pay for student programs, parent education programs, teacher resources, student socials, and so much more! While we encourage you to be involved however your time and talents allow, joining PTA does not obligate you to volunteer. It’s simply the easiest and most affordable way to be involved in your child’s education. As a benefit to members only, you will have access to an online directory as well as PTA member discounts.

This year we are striving to have one member of the PTA for every student of the school. By joining, you are helping us give every child a voice on issues directly affecting their school experience. Please help us reach our goal!

Single Membership is ONLY $20.00 for the ENTIRE 2023-2024 school year! Student membership is only $8.00! *Must purchase at least one parent membership in order to purchase a student membership.

REFLECTIONS RESULTS! 

PTA is very excited to announce the Reflections Results and congratulates all the Rice Ravens who participated and won at school/council level. Reflections program is all about creative thinking and offers students opportunities to display their creativity. 

2023-2024 Results

A Huge Congratulations to KRIYA MANGESH who received "Overall Award of Excellence" at Council level & has moved to the Texas PTA level judging.

Congrats to these seven Rice Ravens that moved to the Council Level for the Reflections Contest:

Congratulations to the Rice Ravens below who received School Level Awards:

Click the names below to read the entries which moved on to the Council Level.

Kriya M., 7th Grade

Overall Award of Excellence ~ "A Touch of Gold"  (Literature)

 Isabella C., 7th Grade

 Award of Excellence ~ "Ocean of Hope"   (Visual Arts)

Dhyani T., 8th Grade

Award of Merit ~ "Journey of Unwavering Curiosity"  (Literature)

Samvarth S., 8th Grade

Award of Excellence ~ "Journey of Hope" (Literature)

Saniyah M., 8th Grade

Award of Excellence ~ "Build As Much As You Break"  (Literature)

Aditya R., 6th Grade  

Award of Excellence ~ "Hope Gives Strength"  (Visual Arts)

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!  

Rice Raven Parents, we need you!!  If you want to take part in our events as a volunteer, you MUST sign up through plano.voly.org each school year.  It takes only a couple of minutes. 

Every Monday, parents who sign up will receive an email from VOLY with all the opportunities that Rice Ravens PTA are offering.

You can download the VOLY app directly from your phone in the app store or google play! 

For more information, contact the VP of Volunteers, Shannon De Wolf at

volunteers@riceravenspta.org

PTA MEMBERSHIP SPECIAL AWARDS

                       

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION

2023 - 2024 CHAIR AND VOLUNTEER OPENINGS

What makes our PTA so great is all of the wonderful parents and community members that share their time with Rice throughout the year. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities in terms of time commitment, time of year commitment and project scope so we are confident that there is something for everyone’s skills and schedules.  

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Did you know that there are some super easy ways for you to contribute to Rice while you shop - all at no cost to you?

shopping our members do every day.  Enroll at kroger.com/account/community rewards.  Search for Rice Middle School PTA, or use our organization number: XV558.  Then use your Kroger Plus card every time you shop to support PTA!

Box Tops for Education now offers TWO ways to participate!  Cut out Box Tops from eligible products and submit them to the office in a baggie or envelope. Or, download the Box Tops for Education app and use it to scan your receipt each time you shop.  No scissors necessary!

Tom Thumb Good Neighbor Program contributes 1% of eligible Reward card purchases back to Rice PTA!  Designate Rice PTA using code 8022 at the courtesy booth in store to start supporting Rice!

Questions?  Email VP of Ways & Means at waysandmeans@riceravenspta.org.