Wellington PTO News and Announcements

Opening Remarks

Happy New Year and welcome back! We hope you had a restful and enjoyable winter break. We are excited for the many great community and fundraising events we have planned for 2023! Mark your calendars for the evening of February 16th when Superintendent Phelan is scheduled to visit Wellington from 6:30pm - 8:30pm to speak to our community about a couple of pertinent and timely topics including: the FY24 budget and the upcoming reconfiguration of our schools.

 

Notable Mentions

• Winter ASE Registration opened this morning at 7am and will close on January 10th at 8pm. Make sure to register ASAP as classes fill quickly! https://wellington.schooltwist.org

• A Note from Meg Moriarty, Chair, Belmont School Committee & Dave Coleman, TAC Chair:
  • In partnership with The Town of Belmont Transportation Advisory Committee, The School Department, & The School Committee kindly request participation in this transportation mode and cost survey.
  • The purpose of this survey is to better understand the modes of travel to and from school, and related supports and barriers, including fees. The survey is brief, approximately 5 minutes to complete. THE SURVEY WILL REMAIN OPEN THROUGH FRIDAY, JANUARY 6TH 2023.
  • Belmont School Committee policy on transportation (https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/Portals/0/Docs/SCPolicies/7000/Crofts7006.pdf) and frequently asked questions for transportation (https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/Parents/Registration/Bus-Registration-FAQs)

 

DEI Corner

Happy New Year from the Wellington DEI committee! In 2023, the DEI committee would like to begin providing community members with DEI opportunities throughout the school year that will spread knowledge and spark conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion. Our district DEI Director, Chon’tel Washington, has provided a list of resources for the community, and we will aim to showcase one of these resources each month. 

For the month of January, we would like to highlight Project Implicit: https://www.projectimplicit.net/. Project Implicit does research to help understand attitudes, stereotypes and other hidden biases that influence perception, judgment and action. As part of this project, you have the opportunity to take an Implicit Association Test (IAT) that measures the strength of associations between concepts and stereotypes. Please refer to the website for further information. 

Feel free to submit ideas for resources to share in the future to: wellingtondei@belmontschools.net.

 

Important Dates:

January 2023

• Jan. 4           ASE Registration opens at 7am; closes Jan. 10th at 8pm
• Jan. 20         Virtual BINGO Night at 6pm

February 2023

• Feb. 16         Meet with Superintendent Phelan 6:30pm-8:30pm (Wellington Cafeteria)

 

Thank You To...

Nurse Terry Grimm and all our parents & guardians managing their kiddos health and wellness. This sickness season seems to be relentless and we’re so very grateful for your efforts in helping to keep our community healthy. 

 

Open Positions:

If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out the Wellington PTO Volunteer Interest Form 2022-23!

• Join our Carnival Team - Cotton Candy! Bounce houses! Face Painting! The Wellington Spring Carnival is our biggest event of the year, planned for June 3rd. We are looking for four leads to run event teams: Volunteer Coordinator (oversee all volunteers leading up to and on day-of-event), Operations Coordinator (setup/breakdown, custodial support, etc), Vendor Coordinator (food trucks, bounce houses), and Marketing Coordinator (communications and raffle). Contact wellingtonptofundraising@gmail.com if you are interested.

• We have a call for 2 Co-Chairs for this year’s Multicultural Night (Spring 2023). Help organize one of the most engaging community events at Wellington by using your skills to select a theme, find cultural entertainment, organize student sign-ups for their chosen countries, and coordinate volunteers as needed. This event showcases and celebrates the diversity of our school community - please help make it a success again this school year! We have held this event for many years so there is a playbook to help guide the new co-chairs, and as always you will have the PTO board’s support! If you are interested, please contact wellingtonptopresidents@gmail.com 

• ASE is hiring for our Winter and Spring, 7 Week sessions! Interested in teaching a one hour class? We can’t offer this popular program without instructors. Parents / Guardians have taught classes in running, meditation, languages, and LEGO just to name a few! Have an idea? We’d love to hear from you! ase.wellington@gmail.com

 

 

Reminders:

• Please remember to be considerate when parking around Wellington and do not block the crosswalks or the driveways of our neighbors. There is no active pick up. Please do not pull into the parking lot or driveway at dismissal to retrieve your child.

• Please help make field trips, in-school enrichment programs and teacher appreciation events (and more!) possible this year by making an annual donation to the PTO. Every dollar you give supports Wellington students, teachers and our community, and it's tax deductible.
  • Pay online via credit card
  • Send a check payable to Wellington PTO (Memo: “Annual Fund” and your child’s name) and return to school in their Communications Folder OR mail to: Wellington School, ATTN: Wellington PTO, 121 Orchard Street, Belmont, MA 02478

• Amazon Smile How-To: If you shop on Amazon (and who doesn’t!) AmazonSmile is an easy way to support PTO - just set it and forget it! 
  • Here is an online tutorial for setting up via your iPhone
  • or on your browser
  • or step by step instructions
  • Don’t forget to update your app to the AmazonSmile App, and your bookmark to the Amazon Smile storefront. Search “Wellington PTO Inc” to find our charity.

 

Audrey Miller & Lindsay Kalmakis
Wellington PTO Co-Presidents
wellingtonptopresidents@gmail.com