Welcome to AFES PTA
Be a CHAMPION for your child by joining the PTA!
Open to teachers, staff, parents, and grandparents. Our mission is to advocate for our children and provide outstanding programs that empower our community.
Memberships are open for the 2026-27 school year
Around the School
Our annual Back-to-School Picnic had a great turnout, with so many families and AFES staff coming together to celebrate community. A shout out to the AFHS cheerleaders and dance team for helping us celebrate, and to Aria and the dance team for stopping mid-fun for a quick photo.
Thank you to everyone who came out. Our next general meeting is Thursday, December 3 — mark your calendars, and tell us who you would like to hear from through the feedback form in the newsletter.
Current Events
Upcoming Events
Fall Beautification Day
Help spread mulch on the K–2 playground on Saturday, October 10. The Friendship Fixers will be at AFES from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Stop by when you can and leave when you need to.
Bring a shovel and a wheelbarrow if you have them.
PoeFest Community Health Fair
Shared by our Health & Wellness Committee: the Poe Center for Health Education is hosting its free PoeFest Community Festival on Saturday, October 10, 1:00–4:00 p.m. at 224 Sunnybrook Road, Raleigh.
Expect a community health fair, free dental screenings for kids 18 and under, bike safety activities, games, crafts, and a limited bicycle giveaway. This is a Poe Center event, not held at AFES.
Family Partnership Night
Mark your calendars: AFES is hosting Family Partnership Night on Thursday, October 15. The evening is designed to strengthen the connection between home and school and to share practical tools and strategies for supporting your child academically and socially.
Staff have prepared a selection of sessions on instructional strategies and ways to support students at home. Families attend three different sessions over the evening — take a few minutes to read the choices and pick the ones that fit your family best.
Run for FUNds
Our biggest fundraiser of the year runs October 5–16, with the big event on Friday, October 16. Flyers came home on Friday.
Staff and parents asked for a fundraiser that is inclusive of all students and families, less disruptive to the learning environment, and lighter on junk prizes. This one is it.
Our goal is $60,000 for outdoor enhancements: an extra-large shade structure with seating, soft safety surfacing, and new musical playground additions.
Registration is free and includes a cooling headband for your student. Want to help on the day? Sign up to volunteer on October 16.
Watch for TalkingPoints from teachers each day of the campaign for daily challenges and winners.
Author Visit Signed Books
Mrs. Nowak has scheduled two author visits in October. Purchase the authors’ books ahead of time and your student can have them signed after the presentation.
Darren Farrell visits grades K–3 on Tuesday, October 20. Scott Reintgen visits grades 4 and 5 on Wednesday, October 21.
Sign-Ups & Programs
Reflections Art Contest
Closes Oct 14The 2026–27 Reflections Art Program is open. Students are invited to create an original work inspired by this year’s theme, “What My Culture Means to Me”.
Entries may be submitted in Dance, Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, or Visual Arts. Entries are due October 14.
Questions? Email afesptareflections@gmail.com.
Celebration Book Club
Closes Oct 30Celebrate your child’s birthday or a milestone by donating a book to the library in their name. A bookplate goes inside the front cover.
Please purchase by October 30 so the librarian knows how many books to order.
Teacher Hospitality Donations
Too busy to drop off snacks for the staff workrooms? Donate instead and the PTA will do the shopping for you.
Rent the Rock
Reserve a week to paint the AFES spirit rock. Celebrate a birthday, cheer on a class, or just leave a message for the Shooting Stars.
Class Directory Form
Please fill out the Class Directory Form for your student as soon as possible! It collects parent contact information, directory preferences, room parent interest, and t-shirt sizes for Run for Funds (formerly the Fun Run).
Running Stars Run Club
Run Club is back for the fall 2026 season. Open to all students in grades K–5 and free to join: run, jog, or walk laps and collect a “foot” charm for every session completed.
Fridays, 8:00–8:45 a.m. at the back field and track, running eight weeks through November 6. Drop-off at the field is 7:50 a.m.
Registration for this season has closed. Questions, or want to help on Friday mornings? Email Coach Matt at runlincoln@gmail.com.
Sign Up for a PTA Committee
Have some extra time to donate toward organizing and planning? We would LOVE to have you! Committee signups are open to all PTA members.
Watch for specific event signups — Run for Funds, Field Day, and Book Fair time slots — in Room Parent emails, PTA newsletters, and on our social media closer to each event.
Become a PTA Sponsor
Own a business? We have exciting new sponsorship opportunities for the 2026–2027 school year! Your support helps fund child advocacy, family engagement, and campus enrichment for our Shooting Stars.
See the 2026–27 sponsorship tiers, seven options from $250 to $1,500. Most include a social media post and your logo in the PTA newsletter.
Open PTA Positions 2026-2027
We still have a few positions to fill for next year. Please consider sharing your time to help make our year a success! No experience is necessary — we just would love your willingness to help. We are here to support you and walk you through the details — more info on the Google Form. Fill out the interest form, and come join our team!
Open positions: Culture Fest Chair, Grade Level Raffle / Silent Auction Chair.
School Updates
+ Same-Day Transportation Changes
If your child’s way home changes on the same day, please call the front office. Teachers are with students or in meetings all day and may not see TalkingPoints or email in time.
+ New Curriculum Connections Site
AFES has launched a new Curriculum Connections site with information from the teaching teams about curriculum, instruction, and ways to support your child’s learning at home.
This is the material normally shared at Curriculum Night, so families can now get to it any time from home.
+ Order Your Yearbook
It is never too early to order the AFES yearbook. Save 10% when you order before October 31.
Yearbook purchase code: 1016681005914421
+ Instructional Supplies Fee
All students receive either Story Works or Scholastic News as part of their ELA instruction, and families are asked to pay a fee covering the expense.
Pay online at SchoolCash Online, or send cash or a check to the school.
+ Reading Logs
Reading logs are off to a great start. Logs come home on Fridays, and the expectation is that every student reads at home for at least 100 minutes each week. Just 20 minutes a day makes a real difference to fluency, comprehension, and a love of reading.
Ms. Yunker encourages families to take an active role rather than only monitoring the log: reading together and talking about books is what builds strong, confident readers. Try simple strategies before, during, and after reading each night to help your learner think about and make meaning from what they read.
Looking for ideas beyond the 100 minutes? The NC Department of Public Instruction’s Literacy at Home resources are full of games and activities for growing a reader. You could also try the But Why? podcast for curious kids in the car or at bedtime, or read 10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader.
+ Art Room Needs Plastic Grocery Bags
A message from Ms. McConnell: if you have any lightly used plastic grocery bags, please consider donating them to the art room!
+ Lunch Visits Begin November 2
Starting November 2, parents are welcome to join their students for lunch. There will be a few reserved tables in the cafeteria as well as outdoor seating available.
This is meant to be a special treat rather than a regular routine — lunchtime is an important opportunity for students to build friendships and practice social skills.
+ Reporting an Absence
If your child is absent, please email attendance314@wcpss.net with your student’s name, grade, teacher, and the reason for the absence — and attach a note if applicable.
Questions? Please reach out to Ms. Middleton.
+ Meet Your 2026-2027 PTA Board
Congratulations to our newly elected officers for the 2026–2027 school year: President Jennifer Shannon, Vice President Alicia Rogers, Secretary Cherie Bartell, and Treasurer Sarah Brack.
See the full Board of Directors and committee leads on our About Us page.
Thank You to Our 2026–27 Sponsors
Their support funds child advocacy, family engagement and enrichment for our Shooting Stars.
Platinum
Gold
Ongoing Programs and Donations
Support our school community year-round
PTA Spotlight
Cindy
Back-to-School Picnic & Special Person's Night Chair
Cindy is our Back-to-School Picnic Chair as well as our Special Person’s Night Chair. Last year’s “Book Fair & Bingo” Special Person’s Night was a hit, so Cindy is organizing two more this year, during the Fall and Spring book fairs.
If you would like to help Cindy during our Bingo nights, email us at hello@afespta.org. Thank you for everything you do to help build community here at AFES, Cindy!
Past spotlights (8)
Matt Lincoln
Run Club Chair
Matt is our Run Club Chair and a former high school teacher and cross country and track coach. Run Club gives kids a chance to move and groove before school on Fridays throughout the year. It is completely free to all K-5 students and helps build healthy habits that last a lifetime.
If you are interested in helping out on Friday mornings, email Matt at runlincoln@gmail.com. Thank you for all you do for our community, Matt!
Megan Sheridan
Sponsorship & GoPlaySave Chair
Megan is both our Sponsorship chair and our GoPlaySave chair. Over the summer she worked tirelessly to promote our new sponsorship programme and brought in over eight local business sponsors for the school. She is an amazing advocate for our kids and educators. Thank you, Megan!
Ali Alcaine
Spirit Wear Chair
Ali makes sure we always have plenty of wearable school spirit for everyone to enjoy — and new Spirit Wear designs are on the way! She needs help selling our merch at the Meet the Teacher events this fall. Sign up to help. Thank you for all you do, Ali!
Marathon Committee
The Marathon Committee organized another successful event this Friday to get our students movin’ and groovin’! Participants ran 25 miles at home and completed the final mile at school while being cheered on by the Apex FD, PD, and local mascots. Thank you, Marathon Committee!
Teacher Appreciation Committee
The Teacher Appreciation Committee works to make sure the entire AFES staff gets a week of treats and surprises for Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4–8). Thank you for pitching in—whether at school or from home! Thank you Ashley, Alicia, Laura, and Jen!
Bridget Jackson, Nicole Johnson & Anne Savarese
Reflections Committee
Bridget, Nicole, and Anne are our dedicated Reflections Committee rockstars! The AFES PTA hosted our annual Reflections Awards Breakfast for all of our talented artists and their families. Look for info on how to participate early in the school year. Thank you, Bridget, Nicole, and Anne! Learn more about Reflections.
Emily Quigley
Cultural Arts Committee Chair
Emily schedules and coordinates visiting artists and performers to workshop with our students. This year, Mr. B. came and performed using music, movement, and technology to teach ELA, and Virginia Maier came to coordinate the fifth-grade fence project. Thank you for all you do, Emily!
Amanda Walker
Social Media Coordinator
Amanda designs and schedules our Facebook and Instagram posts and shares important news with our online community. She is the parent of a fifth-grader, so we will be saying goodbye this year. Let us know if you are interested in helping as our 2026-27 Social Media Coordinator. We appreciate you so much, Amanda!
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Membership
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✅ 2026-27 memberships are open
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Event Calendar
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Running Stars
Our Friday-morning run club for students in grades K–5.
Fridays, 8:00 a.m.
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School Calendar & Events
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