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WHALEY WEEKLY: September 13, 2023

posted on 9/13/2023 9:00:00 AM

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Opening Remarks

What a first week! The heatwave threw us a curveball but we made it through. It was wonderful meeting many of you at our PTO Welcome Tables on Thursday and Friday - and at our Kindergarten play date on Saturday. What a turnout! To the families and guardians new to Belmont and/or Wellington, we welcome you! We’re jumping for joy to have you in our community.

Tomorrow, Thursday September 14 from 5pm-7pm, join us on the Wellington Field (the grass next to the blue playground) for our Fall Back to School Picnic! This is a beloved Wellington community event and a wonderful way to meet other students and families. Pack a picnic or order from the Food Trucks; Trolley Dogs and Chubby Chickpea will be there!

Remember to mark your calendars! Fall ASE Registration opens on Monday, September 18 at 7 am. Please discuss class choices with your children so you’re prepared for registration. We have an exciting line up for this first term! 

 

Notable Mentions

  • Say Cheese! Picture Day and NEW Sibling Picture Day Sign-up is available:
    • Picture Day is Friday, September 22 for K-4 students.
      • Look for order forms in the communication folders, and remember all pre-orders help support the PTO! Online orders are preferred and strongly recommended. Click the link www.haywardphotography.com then the blue “Prepay for Photo Day” button. Enter your school code to place your preorder: WELF23
      • Seeking Volunteers! Support School Picture Day and volunteer from 8:45am-1pm (you must be able to stay the full time) - sign-up here. All volunteers receive complimentary pictures as a thank you! Volunteers must already have an active CORI on file to be eligible. You can check with the Wellington main office if you’re unsure of the status of your CORI form. 
    • We are piloting a new offering - Sibling Picture Day on Saturday September 23rd from 11am-1pm at Wellington.
      • Here is the link to the Sign-up Genius to reserve your time to photograph your Wellington student(s) and their sibling(s). *If all slots are filled, we can add an additional hour. 
      • These are a separate offering from the in-school picture day; siblings who are not Wellington students are welcome!
      • This is different from the regular school pictures in that there is no pre-order option. Within two weeks of the event, each family will receive an email with the information needed to access an online proof gallery of their children’s photos.
      • As we navigate this new event, please send your questions to the co-Presidents at wellingtonptopresidents@belmontschools.net

  • Annual Fun Run Kickoff Week!
    • The annual Fun Run is one of the most anticipated events of the year when all students participate in a run on a quarter mile loop around the school. It is our biggest fundraiser for our Wellington school community with a goal to raise $20,000 to fund enrichment activities throughout the year. The Fun Run will take place the morning of Friday, October 13th from 9 - 11:30 am.
    • Next Steps:
      1. Register your student: Wellington Fun Run Hub
      2. Reach out to family and friends by sharing the donation link
      3. Volunteer to help out or cheer on the kids on October 13! (CORI form required)

2022 Fun Run participants warm up!

  • Library Volunteer Sign-ups

The Wellington library relies on volunteers to help out throughout the year. We are doing sign-ups differently this year, so please read below before signing up. 

We will have two different volunteer positions available this year: Primary and Support. 

  • The Primary Library Volunteer will help in the Wellington Library for approximately 30 minutes per month assisting your child’s class with checking in/out books, shelving returned titles and printing reports. Because this is a trained position, we ask for a year-long commitment helping with your child’s class every 4-5 weeks.
  • The Support Library Volunteer can sign-up to help as their schedule allows. Tasks may include organizing shelves, pulling books for displays, cutting bookmarks and/or helping with other library needs.
  • For families with multiple children at Wellington, if you want to volunteer in more than one class, please only sign-up as the Primary Library Volunteer in ONE class. You can sign-up as a Support Library Volunteer in the other classes that your child/ren are in.
  • Here are the sign-up links for each grade / class:
  • If you have questions or want more information, please reach out to our PTO Library Volunteer Coordinators: Erin Jones, Amy Heuer and Lara Lind (wellingtonlibraryvolunteer@gmail.com).

 

Important Dates

BPS School Calendar 2023-24

September:

Sept 14:     Fall Welcome Back to School Picnic 5-7 pm. Wellington Field 
Sept 18:     ASE Registration begins at 7 am
Sept 18:     PTO General Meeting open to all Wellington community 7pm virtual - https://meet.google.com/gkb-jzgv-cfb
Sept 22:     School Picture Day (K-4) *if there is inclement weather, we will reschedule
Sept 23:     NEW! Sibling Picture Day - Saturday from 11am-1pm at Wellington
Sept 26:     Last day to register for fall ASE

October:

Oct 2:        ASE fall classes begin
Oct 4:        International Walk, Bike, Roll to School Day
Oct 13:      Fun Run - our biggest fundraiser of the year! - during school hours

 

DEI Corner

Are you interested in bringing more awareness about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to the Belmont community? If so, sign up to get involved with the District-wide DEI initiative as a Wellington representative. Check the box for ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Liaison(s)’ in our Volunteer Interest Form.

 

Thank You To...

Lucy Seche, PTO Fundraising VP, for organizing our first Wellington back-to-school supply kit fundraiser. Launching anything new is never an easy task. Lucy did a fantastic job organizing many moving parts to ensure our students and teachers received their supply kits on the first day of school. Thank you to the Wellington community for participating in the pilot program!

 

Open Positions

The PTO runs on our volunteer engine and we have many opportunities throughout the year for families and guardians to participate and support our students. The best place to start is by completing our PTO Volunteer Interest form - here. 

We will also post open positions and volunteer opportunities here in our Whaley Weekly, starting with:

  • Calling all 3rd Grade Families /Guardians: 
    • The Wellington PTO is seeking one 3rd Grade In-School Enrichment Coordinator to book and organize ~2 field trips and 2 in-school enrichment programs, with support from the Enrichment VPs and teacher liaison. This is a great volunteer opportunity to make some special memories with your kiddos.
    • Overall, this volunteer commitment involves approximately 5 hours of planning and email communication, with an additional 1-2 hours split between both coordinators on the day-of two in-school events and attending two field trips as a chaperone.
    • If you are interested in being a 3rd grade enrichment coordinator, please contact wellingtonenrichment@gmail.com.

Important note to all volunteers: Everyone will receive a CORI form (one per household - feel free to make a copy) in your Communications Folder. If you can support the PTO and would like to volunteer, CORI forms are required for every parent volunteer. You must bring the completed form and a form of ID to the Wellington office to complete the process. CORIs are valid for three years! We highly recommend you get these completed early in the school year.

 

Reminders

  • PTO Annual Appeal - learn more about how you can support the efforts of the PTO to fund programs that benefit our students and teachers throughout the year. Read more about upcoming programming and how you can get involved in this letter coming home in your student’s Communication Folder.
  • Traffic Safety - 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.
  • A Note about PTO Communication Channels:
    • Whaley Weeklys (the PTO newsletter you are currently reading!) will be emailed to you every Wednesday with updates on events, volunteer opportunities, school happenings and more! 
    • Communications Folders - Be on the lookout for a blue folder coming home with your student(s). They will include some pertinent information from the PTO, particularly our community and fundraising events. Your child’s folder comes home everyday as a way to get their school work and Wellington happenings into your hands! 
    • Room Parents - each classroom will have PTO volunteer Room Parents who act as liaisons between the classroom teacher and class parents/guardians.   If you are interested in being a Room Parent, please complete our Volunteer Interest Form 
    • Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellingtonpto 

 

Lindsay Kalmakis & Aisha Foxx Telfort
Wellington PTO Co-Presidents
wellingtonptopresidents@belmontschools.net 

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