October

• Friday, 10/30 - Harvest Festival | Noon- 2 PM | TC Commons | Sign up to volunteer
• Friday, 10/30 - Monster Mash Bash - TCPG Annual Appeal Kick-Off | 6:30 PM-8 PM | Sign up to Volunteer 

November

• Saturday, 11/7 - Landscape Work Party | 9 AM-Noon| Sign up to participate
• Friday, 11/13 POSTPONED TO JANUARY  - Family Movie Night | Featuring Minions & Monsters | 6:30 PM | More information to come.
• Monday, 11/16 through Sunday, 11/22 | Shop at Snapdoodle to Give Back to TCPG. More information to come.
• Tuesday, 11/17 - Community Meeting | 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM | TC Commons | Childcare Provided
• Monday, 11/23 - Wednesday, 11/25 | Student Lead Conferences | No school for Students
• Friday, 11/20 - Monday, 11/23 - Pies for TC Teachers & Staff | Sign up to donate a pie

Join us for Monster Mash Bash, a fun-filled night celebrating our Thornton Creek community and kicking off this year's Annual Appeal! Check out the flyer above for all the exciting details!

Help Make Monster Mash Bash a Success!

We need volunteers to help with setup, cleanup, crafts, games, and refreshments. Whether you can give a little time or a lot, we'd love your help!

SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER HERE!

The 2026-2027 Thornton Creek Parent Group Annual Appeal kicks off on October 30th at the Monster Mash Bash!

CHECK OUT TCPG ANNUAL APPEAL PAGE

LEARN ABOUT STOCK DONATIONS

Our one-month annual appeal runs from October 30th to November 30th. During this month, we’re hoping to raise $125,000 as part of our $175,000 goal for the year.  



Our goal at the Monster Mash Bash is to have 50 families donate at any level.  Whether or not you donate, please stop by the TCPG table, chat with us about our annual appeal, and grab a yard sign!

SPS funds only go so far. The rest is up to us. With your donations, last year’s fundraising supported the following (among other things) for the current academic year:

• Librarian and nurse time [$70,793]: TCPG covered 0.4 FTE (2 full days per week) for our librarian ($60,166) and 0.05 FTE (one half day every other week) for the nurse ($10,627)
• Additional Staff Planning Days [$14,400]: Providing two additional planning days per K–5 teacher, including substitute coverage, to help teachers strategically align Expeditionary Learning with the curriculum at the beginning of each trimester.
• Art, PE, and Music Supplies [$12,000]: Giving our specialist teachers the tools and materials they need to create engaging learning experiences.
• Equity and access fund [$6,000]: Helping ensure every student can fully participate in school activities and Expeditionary Learning experiences, regardless of financial circumstances. 
• “Helping Hands” Fund [$5,750]: A fund our social worker draws on when a need arises within our community, such as helping families cover basic necessities.
• Community building: [$4,250]: Supporting events and activities that bring our students, families, and teachers together.

Our primary goal: 100% participation

If every family gave $375 per student, we’d reach our annual goal. Many families will give more or less than that. Please give what you can. More than any dollar amount, we want every family to be part of this. Every gift helps our dragonflies soar!

An important note about our new fundraising platform:

Givebutter powers our online donation page for free by having donors leave a tip and cover processing fees at checkout. Leaving a tip and covering the processing fees are completely optional. You can manually adjust or remove the default tip percentage and processing fee at checkout, and TCPG will still receive the full donation amount.

Learn more about why PTAs/PTOs need to fundraise

Don’t forget about Corporate Matching!

Through corporate matching gifts, many employers financially match the charitable contributions made by their employees, retirees, and their spouses.

Click here to see if your employer will match your donation!

How to double your impact in 4 easy steps:

1. Search Your Employer: Use the lookup tool to check your company’s matching gift policy instantly.
2. Check Your Inbox: Donate today, and we’ll send you a follow-up email about matching gifts, confirming your eligibility and exact next steps.
3. Submit a Quick Request: Complete your employer’s brief online match form—usually, all you need is your donation date and amount.
4. Double Your Impact: That’s it! We’ll work with your company to process the match, so you make twice the difference.

Help Stock Our Community Pantry at the

Monster Mash Bash! 

Let's come together to support our Thornton Creek community! While enjoying the Monster Mash Bash, help us stock our Community Pantry by donating an item for families in need.

Sign up to donate an item and simply drop it off at the TCPG Table during Monster Mash Bash on Friday, October 30th, from 6:30–8:00PM.

Thank you for helping us care for our Dragonfly community!

Current Volunteer Opportunities

Harvest Festival

Friday, October 30th | 12-2pm

The Harvest Festival is a fun, longstanding TC tradition held during school hours. Each year, the 4th and 5th graders design and lead creative activities and games for their classmates, while the other grade levels get to enjoy and participate in the festivities.

Sign up here to volunteer

Monster Mash Bash & TCPG Annual Appeal Kick Off

Friday, October 30th | 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Sign up here to volunteer

Landscaping Work Parties

Please join us for a landscape work party at TC on Saturday, November 7th from 9:00 AM–12:00 PM. 

Volunteer for one or both dates HERE

Questions? Feel free to reach out to volunteers Sarah Stempski (sarahstempski@gmail.com)

Pies for Teacher & Staff 

Drop off Friday, 11/20 during school hours and Monday, 11/23 between 8 AM-5 PM

To show our gratitude for Thornton Creek’s wonderful teachers and staff this November, we’re treating them to something sweet — PIE!

Please sign up HERE to bring a pie (or two!) and help us show our gratitude.

This newsletter is from the Thornton Creek Parent Group and does not represent Seattle Public Schools or Thornton Creek Elementary. Know another TC family who might have missed this? Please feel free to forward it along!