📬 The PTA Post: Spooky Season has begun at Carthay
I could begin the second edition of The PTA Post by asking you, “How is it already October?!” or saying something like, “Someone should really let the weather know it’s officially fall!” But I like you, and I want you to keep reading these posts, so instead, I’m just gonna lead with: HOLY COW, SEPTEMBER WAS BUSY 🫨 🥴
We made it through Grandparents’ Day, school picture day, wear-a-superhero-shirt day, Community Night, Community Garden Day, our Chipotle restaurant fundraiser, and three days off from school. Not only that, but we were on the Annual Giving Campaign ride throughout the month, which only just wrapped up last Friday, October 2 (head to the Good to Know section to see how we did!).
Now, I’m not going to lie to you and say that it’s all easy breezy and smooth sailing now that September is behind us—it’s not. BUT there are far fewer time-sensitive to-dos this month than last, and we have our biggest event of the year to look forward to all month long: SPOOKTACULAR!
Don’t be scared—just read on for everything you need TO KNOW → TO DO in the coming weeks, a roundup of updates that are GOOD TO KNOW, events and important dates COMING UP AT CARTHAY, and COMMUNITY CALLOUTS featuring the people and businesses that make up our Carthay community.
TO KNOW → TO DO
All the important FYIs and time-sensitive to dos in one place
Red Ribbon Week = Get your fall-themed outfits ready!
Monday, Oct 19 — Friday, Oct 23 | View the flyer
Our first (totally optional) theme dress up week is coming soon in recognition of Red Ribbon Week!
Red Ribbon Week is a national awareness campaign that encourages children to make healthy choices and live drug-free. At the elementary level, they focus on caring for their bodies, making safe decisions, building positive friendships, and asking trusted adults for help. Families can join the conversation by talking with their children about healthy habits.
TO DO:
→ Gather clothing and accessories for each day’s theme
🍂 Monday 10/19: Wear Fall Colors (Shades of red, orange, yellow, or brown)
🧣 Tuesday 10/20: Wear Cozy Flannel (Show up in a favorite plaid or flannel outfit)
🎩 Wednesday 10/21: Wear a Favorite Hat (Top off your look with a fun or cozy hat)
🌈 Thursday 10/22: Wear all the Patterns (Dress from head to toe in as many patterns as you can)
🙃 Friday 10/23: Wear it a Little Differently (Backwards shirt, mismatched socks, two different shoes, etc.)
→ Remember to actually send your student to school in that day’s theme outfits (Here’s a flyer you can print!)
Spooktacular Is Coming for You 👻
Friday, Oct. 30 from 3:00–6:30 pm | Enter through the north gate in the alley
Carthay’s biggest event and fundraiser of the year is almost here! Come for carnival games, pumpkin decorating, Día de los Muertos activities, food, and inflatable adventures—and see how many times your kid convinces you to visit the Haunted House. Admission is free, and friends, family, and neighbors are welcome! Head here to learn more about what to expect, how to get involved, and where to buy wristbands so your kid can bounce, slide, and get spooked on repeat!
TO DO:
→ Pre-purchase your tickets + wristbands for games, food, and attractions to avoid the lines through Wednesday, Oct 28th at 11:55pm
→ Sign up to volunteer to help out before, during, or after the event (Bonus: volunteers each receive two skip-the-line passes that can be used on any game or activity!)
→ Donate or lend supplies, choosing your grade’s requests first. Drop off at the Front Office or Parent Center on Oct 29
→ Enter the cake decorating contest and deliver your cake to the Parent Center by 2:30pm on Oct 30, labeled with your name and phone number
GOOD TO KNOW
News, updates, and helpful info worth having on your radar
Put your wallet down, we beat our Annual Giving goal! 🏁
We did it, Carthay! We raised $91,000 putting us at 101% of our target!
Thank you to everyone who donated, sponsored a student, requested an employer match, or shared the campaign with friends and family. Hundreds of individual gifts added up to more opportunities for our kids to learn, create, move, and connect. This community showed up, and every Carthay student will benefit.
Because all 17 classes reached 100% participation, every class earned both rewards:
👗 Pajama Day or Free Dress Day
🍿 A movie and popcorn party or an ice cream party
And 116 students qualified to Soak Mr. Garrison with water balloons on the last day of school!
Ms. Arnold’s class had the most qualifying students with 12, followed by Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Garrison with 11 each. Mr. Garrison, consider this your warning! 😅
→ Head here to review all of the Giving Campaign numbers, learn which classes won the chicken naming contest, and see what we plan to do with that $91K!
Community Garden Day was a big cluckin’ success! 🐤
Our first Community Garden Day of the school year brought out a wonderful crew of nearly 100 volunteers: Carthay families and teachers, Rachel and Natalie from Garden School Foundation, and a whole busload of UCLA undergraduate volunteers.
A big shout-out to Mrs. Weybright who lent us her master gardener expertise all morning, and to UCLA for continuing to partner with Carthay—your students bring so much energy every time they visit, and our garden is better for it!
What we got done together 🤝
👩🌾 Every class bed got a complete refresh and is ready for a new season of garden science classes
🍌 We thinned the banana trees and ginger to make a cozy spot for the ducklings, then built their new coop right there
🪴 New raised beds now sit in front of the bungalows
⛱️ The Quail Quorner has a new shade sail
→ Head here to read the full Garden Day recap, and save the date for our next Community Garden Day on Saturday, Dec 5!
COMING UP AT CARTHAY
Your cheat sheet to the next month at Carthay
→ View full calendar of events 🗓️
TUES, OCT. 13
📣 Morning Assembly | 8:30–9:30am | Zoom
THURS, OCT. 15
🗳️ School Site Council (SSC) Meeting + Elections | 3:15–3:45pm | Zoom
FRI, OCT. 16
☕ Carthay Cafe | 7:45–9am | In front of Carthay by the TK Gate
📖 Coffee with the Principal: Reading Comprehension | 8:30–9am | Carthay Parent Center
MON, OCT. 19 — FRI, OCT. 23
🍂 Red Ribbon Week | Optional dress-up themes:
Mon, Oct. 19: Wear Fall Colors
Tues, Oct. 20: Wear Cozy Flannel
Wed, Oct. 21: Wear a Favorite Hat
Thurs, Oct. 22: Wear All the Patterns
Fri, Oct. 23: Wear It a Little Differently
WED, OCT. 28
🍔 Dine Out for Carthay at Burger Lounge | 11am–9pm | Burger Lounge Beverly Hills
FRI, OCT. 30
👻 Spooktacular | 3–6:30pm | Enter through the north gate in the alley
FRI, NOV. 6
📸 School Picture Retake Day
COMMUNITY CALLOUTS
The people, places, and happenings that make Carthay feel like a community
🫶 Shoutout to Our Community Sponsors!
Let’s give it up for the businesses that give generously to Carthay!
🤸♂️ My Gym Beverly Hills: They really bend over backwards to support Carthay and our students!
☕️ Stella Coffee: It’s hard to chit chat with other parents before 9am without proper caffeination, which is why we’re so grateful to Stella Coffee, our bi-monthly Carthay Cafe sponsor! Meet us in front of the school on Friday the 16th from 7:45-9am by the TK Gate and give their coffee a try for only $1!
🍔 Burger Lounge Beverly Hills: Fill your belly with a burger and fill up the PTA piggy bank at the same time on Wednesday, October 28 at Burger Lounge Beverly Hills, our October Dine Out Carthay sponsor!
→ Know of a local business who might want to get in front of our community and show some financial love to Carthay? Send them our Community Sponsorship packet or have them email our Corporate Sponsorships Chair, Claudia Arce!
👂 Overheard in the Carthay PTA WhatsApp Community
From playlist nostalgia to surprise duck eggs, our WhatsApp Community has not had a shortage of things to talk about in the last month!
📸 Picture Day + superhero style: Parents compared notes on school-photo backdrops (very ’90s elementary school) and agreed that Elsa absolutely counts as a superhero.
🛝 Parent-approved playgrounds: A question about ongoing construction on the playground at La Cienega Park sparked recommendations for other favorites, including Pan Pacific Park, Genesee Avenue Park, and Roxbury Park.
💿 Community Night’s greatest hits: The music was so good that parents requested Community Night organizer, Eric Good’s playlists afterward. In case you also wanted the soundtrack, here’s hour one and hour two. Winter Dance song requests have already begun. 🪩
🛠️ ReDiscover, rediscovered: Families helped each other find registration information, navigate waitlists, and sort out class times and pickup details as the new after-school program got underway.
🎃 Spooktacular teamwork: Planning conversations included looking for high-school volunteers to run games and coordinating a pumpkin donation. It takes a witchy village to make things spooky.
🎉 Annual Giving celebration: The chat celebrated the announcement in real time that our community crossed the $90,000 mark and reached 100% participation!
🐓 Bird School is in session: Parents coordinated weekend care and Garden Committee Co-Chair, Miles Leicher starred in our new bird-care training video.
🥚 Egg-citing developments: A mysterious egg turned up under the guava tree, and later came news that one of our ducks—not Robin as previously believed—laid an egg!
🔧 An outdoor classroom upgrade: Miles shared the new sink covers, and the group admired the handy work (and cheerful color combo.)
💧 Garden teamwork in action: When a parent spotted wilting plants and hydroponic towers without flowing water, fellow garden volunteers jumped in to refill reservoirs and coordinate follow-up checks.
→ Join the Carthay WhatsApp Community to ask questions, share resources, connect with other Carthay families, and opt into topic-specific groups (like our new “Makerspace Meetup” group for parents and caregivers who are interested in Makerspace training, volunteering, and participation!)
Whew! We’re 8 weeks into the school year and we really have done the most in such a short period of time. Good on us for keeping up with everything happening before, during, and after school—it’s a lot, but I think it’s worth the effort to provide our kids with fun programming, events, and activities to look forward to each week. Thank you for showing up, reading these update posts, and coming through for the Carthay community in the many ways you do.
As always, feel free to email us with any questions, ideas, or feedback, otherwise we hope to see you at an upcoming event soon!
- Baily Hancock Glick
VP of Communications / Mom to Archie (1st grade) & Penny (Kinder)
