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WHALEY WEEKLY: October 25, 2023

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Opening Remarks

The Book Fair is Coming - November 14-16!

The Wellington Book Fair is one of the PTO’s most important fundraisers of the year and we are looking for volunteers to help us with set-up, running the cash registers, managing the sales floor and helping with teacher wishlists. No experience required and volunteer commitment can be as short as 1.5 hours!

Sign-up to volunteer today: https://signup.com/go/MDHFjMZ

All volunteers will need to have their CORI check completed with the school office by Wednesday, November 1st. Stop by the front office for more information.

Book Fair Dates
Tuesday, November 14th - 2:30 to 7:00PM
Wednesday, November 15th - 1:30 to 7:00PM
Thursday, November 16th - 2:30 to 6:00PM
 

Notable Mentions

In honor of National Principal & Assistant Principal Appreciation Month, we’d like to say a heartfelt Thank you to Dr. Heidi Paisner-Roffman and Molly Carone for all you do to make Wellington great!

From the students with the support of our Art teacher, Kim Tolleson! 

 

The hottest look for fall? WELLINGTON BEANIES.

Shop the Wellington Spirit Wear store now through Friday, November 3. Orders will ship directly to your home, arriving in time for the holidays. View the shop and place orders here! View the shop and place orders here

 

Lost and Found

The Wellington Lost & Found is starting to fill up! Please come by at drop-off or pick-up to browse the lost and found if your student is missing clothing, water bottles, hats and more. At the end of the school year, we donate all leftover items so we recommend you check periodically!

 

Important Dates

BPS School Calendar 2023-24

October:

  • Oct 25:           Early Release Day - 11:40am early dismissal - no lunch is served
  • Oct 27:           Last day to donate to the Fun Run on our Wellington Fun Run page. We are at $19,960!!

November:

  • Nov 1:           Early Release Day - 11:40am early dismissal - no lunch is served
  • Nov 6:           Aftercare Family Night 6pm-7pm

To the Aftercare families and guardians: Join the Aftercare staff and board members in the cafeteria at Wellington, and meet other families in the community.

  • Nov 14-16:    Book Fair
  • Nov 16:         BPS Administration - School Focused Public Forum

This is an opportunity to learn about the FY25 budget and for the community to join the conversation. Details to follow.

  • Nov 22:         Early Release Day - 11:40am early dismissal - no lunch is served

December:

  • Dec 4-15:    Winter Coat Donation Drive

 

DEI Corner

October is Global Diversity Awareness month. Click here to explore ways you can foster inclusivity and diversity!

CPLAN Parent Workshops
Formed in 2016, the Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network (CPLAN) is a diverse group of passionate community advocates from the district, charter, parochial, and METCO schools in the city of Boston and gateway cities of Massachusetts working across all sectors to revive educational activism initiated and led by parents.

Join CPLAN and our Community Partners for workshops planned just for you. These workshops will help you learn how to make sure your kids are happy and do well in school. It's free to join, and everyone's invited!

All workshops are offered online via Zoom and in-person at locations across Brockton. Interpretation services can be provided in Spanish and Haitian Creole based on the language needs of registered participants. Details subject to change. Click here for a flyer of upcoming events!

We invite you to visit the Belmont Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion website to learn more about the BPS commitment to DEI and how to sign-up to receive the DEI newsletter - https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/dei 

 

Thank You To...

Kindergarten enrichment coordinators, Jess Morgan and Mary Ellen Birenbaum, and the parent / guardian volunteers for organizing our in-school enrichment event. All of our in-school programs and events at Wellington are organized by a team of two volunteers per grade. Our Enrichment team is led by PTO board members, Ali Weihofen and Sarah Aldy. Thank you to the entire PTO Enrichment team! 

 

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

Wellington School Advisory Council Needs One More Volunteer Representative!
We are still looking for one parent/guardian to represent our School Advisory Council. This is a great opportunity for someone looking for a light volunteer time commitment with an opportunity to stay informed of pertinent school and budget conversations that directly impact our school community. There will be a public meeting on Thursday, October 26th at 7:50am in the Wellington Conference Room at 121 Orchard Street. See below for more information. If you are interested, email: wellingtonptopresidents@belmontschools.net

  • The School Advisory Council is seeking members for the 2023 - 2024 school year. The Advisory Council is a group made up of parents/guardians and school staff that discusses big picture issues related to the governance of the school (school improvement plan, budget, etc.).  Meetings are about 5 times a year. 
  • The only requirement / qualification is being a parent or legal guardian.  There is a parity requirement per state guidelines.  This means that although as many people as are interested can attend meetings, only a limited number of parents/guardians will be able to be members of the council. 
     

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.
  • Follow this QR code to donate using a credit card

  • OR 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

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.
  • 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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