Turtle Lake PTA Activities

The PTA hosts grade-level gatherings on the playground to help students meet new friends and reconnect with old friends. In the case of rain, socials will be held in the gym.

1st Grade

August 21, 2025
6:00-7:00pm, Playground

2nd Grade

September 9, 2025
6:00-7:00pm, Playground

3rd Grade

September 11, 2025
6:00-7:00pm, Playground

4th Grade

September 16, 2025
6:00-7:00pm, Playground

5th Grade

September 18, 2025
6:00-7:00pm, Playground

Our current playground was built in 2014. To find out more about the journey to build an inclusive playground, check out the original webpage for the Playground for Everyone group.

A Playground for Everyone

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Fall Festival Sponsors will have their logos included on this page, included on a dedicated sponsor page, highlighted in Facebook posts, and displayed at the Fall Festival. Email us at TurtleLakePTA@gmail.com to find out more about sponsoring the Fun Run or a Carnival Game.

Our Fall Festival is our first of 2 major fundraisers as well as *the* Turtle Lake social event of the season! Kick off the weekend with a Fun Run on Friday evening and meet up with friends, play some games, and enjoy some food on Saturday!

Turtle Trot Fun Run

Leads: Kristi Pogatchnik, Carly Gatzlaff, Kevin Holly

Kick off the Fall Festival with the Turtle Trot Fun Run on Friday Evening! Registration is free for all family members. Same day registration is available but we appreciate early registration so we can prepare for participants! Donations are welcome but not required to participate. All proceeds directly support the students, teachers, and classrooms of Turtle Lake Elementary.

When: Friday October 3, 2025 5-7:30pm

Same Day Registration: 5:00pm
1/2 Mile Start: 5:30pm
2 Mile Start:5:45pm

Where: Outside, at Turtle Lake Elementary

How to Register: Use the link below to pre-register (preferred) or register at 5pm the day of the event.

Important Turtle Trot Links:

To Register in advance (register each participant separately): Registration Link

Turtle Trot t-shirt: T-Shirt Link

Optional Donation: PTA Donation Link

To Volunteer: 2025 Turtle Trot Volunteer Link

2025 Turtle Trot Course Maps

Image showing map of 1/2 mile run around school and 2 mile run up and back along lexington

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Carnival

Coordinators: OPEN

Games: OPEN

General Store: Meg Cambronne

Baskets: Sara Majewski, OPEN

Committee Members: Jen Hopp, Elizabeth Ryan, Don Ho, Ana Cantell, Kristi Pogatchnik, Whitney Wojahn

The social event of the fall! Hang out with friends, play games, win prizes, and raise money for our school! Game Tickets ($.25/ticket) and Raffle Tickets ($2/ticket) will be sold at the Carnival. Raffle tickets are cash/check only.

A lot of people are needed to make the Carnival a success, please consider helping out with the prep work and check out our volunteer sign up!

When: Saturday October 4, 2025 11am-3pm

Raffle ends at 2:30 with winners contacted starting at 2:45

Where: Outside around Turtle Lake Elementary, Basket Raffle in Gym (in case of rain, the Carnival will move inside the school)

Important Carnival Links:

To Volunteer: 2025 Fall Carnival Volunteer Sign Up

For information about donating: 2025 Fall Festival Handout (Downloadable)

Please contact your teacher about the theme for your student's classroom.

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Book Fairs

2025 Fall Book Fair

When: November 10-14, 2025

9:30 - 5:30 M-W, 9:30 - 7:00 Th, 9:30-1:30 Friday

Students will attend with their classrooms during the school day, teachers will communicate with families about what day they will visit. Families can attend after school hours.

Where: Turtle Hall, Turtle Lake Elementary

Scholastic eWallet: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/turtlelakeelementaryschool2

Cash and check are also accepted.

To Volunteer: https://turtlelakepta.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/154240

Please remember that sales tax (8.38% in Shoreview) will be added to listed prices at checkout.

2026 Spring Book Fair

When: March 2-6, 2026, 9:30 - 5:30 M-TH, 9:30-1:30 Friday & Online

Where: Turtle Hall, Turtle Lake Elementary

About our Book Fairs:

Book Fair Leads: Vanessa Petrulo, Whitney Wojahn

We have two Scholastic book fairs at Turtle Lake, one in the Fall and one in Spring. A portion of the proceeds comes back to the teachers. How those funds are to be used at the school is determined by PTA members after the conclusion of the book fairs.

Students visit the book fair during the school day with their class. Families are welcome to visit the book fair after school hours on Monday through Thursday.

The book fair accepts cash, credit, or Scholastic eWallet. eWallets are book fair specific, so a new one needs to be created for each book fair. Please use the link associated with the specific book fair. Funds leftover from prior book fairs automatically transfer to an eGift Card which can be used to fill a new eWallet.

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Culture & Heritage Night

Lead: Ana Cantell

Culture & Heritage Night is an evening of free fun for all where we can celebrate the diversity of cultures, nationalities, heritages, ethnicities, and backgrounds making up our Turtle Lake Community. It is a wonderful opportunity for our families to share their backgrounds with the school community in a celebration of diversity.

What to Expect: Members of our Turtle Lake community sign up to host a table or display showcasing the games, food, clothing, music, and traditions of their culture or heritage. These tables are arranged around the gym and attendees visit tables open-house style throughout the evening. Children attending will be given a passport that they can get stamped at each display they visit.

When: Friday, January 30, 2026, 6-7:30pm

Where: Turtle Lake Gym

2026 Host Family Interest Form (Opens a google form) (due December 23, 2025)

Contact Ana Cantell at AnaCantell27@gmail.com for with any questions.

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Read-a-Thon

Lead: Michelle Morse

A month long celebration of reading that can also earn money for our school! All pledged donations go to the PTA to support our other activities and programs. Click here to find out more about Our PTA.

How it works:

Students set a daily reading goal and gather pledges (per minute read or a straight donation.)
At the end of the month: total the minutes read at home and school, collect the pledged donations, and turn in the paperwork.
Donations are not required to participate.
Prizes will be given to top readers and top fundraisers.
Everyone who completes the forms and returns them on time is entered into a Grand Prize Drawing.
School-wide prize for meeting the school goal!

The 2025 Read-a-Thon

February 1 through February 22, 2025.

Thank you for participating this year!

Students surpassed the goal of 1,000,000 minutes and read a total of 1,119,258 minutes!! And we raised just under $30,000! That is almost half of the PTA's yearly operating budget!

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5th Grade Celebration

Say goodbye to grade school with a two day celebration of our amazing 5th graders! Each year we host an outdoor party the last week of school and a mid-day clap out for families on the last day of school. Planning starts in April, details will be available in May of each school year.

2026 Celebration

Thursday, June 4, 2026: 5th Grade Party (during school hours, outside--weather permitting)
Friday, June 5, 2026: Parent Clap Out (midday, outside)

Check back in Spring 2026 for more details

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Yearbook

Leads: Lauren Kavan, Kim Rueb, Abby Hansen

Every year several volunteers work throughout the school year to create our wonderful yearbooks.

Follow this link to order you 2025-2026 Turtle Lake Elementary Yearbook: Order Yearbook Here

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Restaurant & Fundraising Nights

Lead: Amanda Isvik

Scattered throughout the school year are evening fundraisers where we partner with local businesses to share their profits from a set time frame with the Turtle Lake PTA. Past events have been at Raising Cane's, Cheap Skate in Coon Rapids, Davanni's, and Culver's.

Kavan Family Christmas Tree Farm (Nov 21 - Dec 14)

Support Kavan Family Christmas Tree Farm this season as they will be donating a portion of proceeds to local elementary school PTAs!

Community Support: $1,500 raised and donated to Turtle Lake in 2024! For 2025, 6.7% (yes, six… seven!) of all sales to be split equally among Blue Heron, Lino Lakes, Rice Lake, and Turtle Lake Elementary School PTAs—with a goal of contributing over $2,500 to each school!
Address: 1415 Ash Street, Lino Lakes (just a mile west of the Emagine White Bear Movie Theater on Ash Street)
Trees & Greens: As our own trees continue to grow, we’re excited to offer a fantastic selection of over 1,300 fresh pre-cut trees ranging from 6 to 12 feet, along with wreaths, garland, porch pots, supplies, and greenery, as well as a limited amount of cut-your-own trees.
Festive Fun: Come enjoy the cozy campfire, straw play area for kids (and the young at heart!), vintage tractor, photo ops, light music, and complimentary hot chocolate.
Hours: Open Wednesdays through Sundays, November 21 – December 14, 9am–5pm. Closed Thanksgiving.

For more information, please see their website at www.kavanfamilyfarm.com

Cheap Skate Coon Rapids (Tuesday, January 20, 2026)

Skate between 5:00 and 7:30pm on Tuesday, January 20 and raise money for the Turtle Lake PTA! 100% of admission proceeds comes back to our PTA.

Mention Turtle Lake when purchasing admission tickets or buy in advance online: https://ecom.roller.app/cheapskate/cheapskateonline/en-us/products?date=2026-01-20

Where: Cheap Skate Coon Rapids, 3075 Coon Rapids Blvd.
When: Tuesday, January 20, 2026 5-7:30pm
Cost: $7.75 a person for admission (skate rental and concessions are separate)

We had a great time last year and are looking forward to another fun evening showing off those skating skills!

image of Cheap Skate Coon Rapids flyer showing date of event and a bus and some roller rink imagery.

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Staff Appreciation

Lead: Gwen Cox & Sarah Horrigan

Thoughtful Thursday: Sarah Horrigan

The PTA shows its appreciation for our teachers and staff throughout the school year: a back to school breakfast in August, snacks at communication nights, regular Thoughtful Thursdays, and a week-long celebration in May.

Thoughtful Thursday Sign-up

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Gifts for Everyone

Leads: Michelle Lucarelli, Katie Peatross

Gifts for Everyone (GFE) is a program facilitated by PTA volunteers to support families within the Turtle Lake community who are experiencing extreme financial stress during the holiday season. GFE provides families with clothing, shoes, books, and grocery gift cards. There are many different ways to participate: buy an item for a specific child and deliver it unwrapped to a drop off location, donate monetarily, or sponsor an entire family.

2025 Gifts for Everyone Information:

The 2025 Gifts for Everyone Holiday Giving Program (GFE) has begun and this year the need is great!

Two ways to participate:

Donate Items selected from the SignUp Genius list.
- Items must be unwrapped, labeled with the child's number, and include a gift receipt when they are dropped off.
  - Items can be dropped off at Turtle Lake Elementary or at the addresses listed on the signup.
  - Items can also be shipped to the home drop off locations, be sure to indicated "Shipped" as a comment on the signup if choosing this option.
- Item donations are due by Friday, December 5, 2025.

Make a financial donation with cash, check (made out to Turtle Lake Elementary PTA), or online.
- If making a financial donation, please try to do that earlier in the program so our volunteers can make purchases for the program in a timely manner.

All items are due Friday, December 5, 2025.

Any questions about the program, please contact Michelle Lucarelli at michelle.ervasti@gmail.com

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Grade Level Projects & CLassroom enrichment

Lead: Rebecca Marr

The PTA funds experiences and tools for each grade level. This can range from paying computer program subscription fees to bringing in Artists-in-Residence or special entertainment to buying supplies for special art projects. Classroom enrichment funds are given to all teachers to enrich their space.

These programs account for almost half of our budget at roughly $30,000 ($16,000 for classroom enrichment, $14/student for grade level projects.)

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