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WHALEY WEEKLY: January 10, 2024

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Opening Remarks

We hope your 2024 is off to a great start! Reminder: there is no school on Monday January 15th in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The PTO Board is planning for the 2024-25 school year! Wowzers, right?! It’s time to start building our volunteer village for next year. We have many board members graduating from Wellington which opens up spaces for new volunteers to join us, either as a board member or as a program/event specific coordinator. The PTO stands for Parent Teacher Organization. Allow us to introduce ourselves! 

  • Putting The “P” in PTO - Parents/Guardians:
    Our community of parent/guardian volunteers are heavily invested in making our Wellington community thrive. We have many ways for volunteers to support our students and staff. Some volunteers are best suited to help remotely around their own schedule, roles like Room Parents, ASE coordinators; others have the opportunity to volunteer at the school with positions like Library coordinator or Enrichment coordinator which allow for on-site experiences. 
  • The “T” in PTO - Teachers/Staff:
    Our Wellington teachers and staff are truly best in class, and the PTO partners closely with them throughout the year to ensure we are complimenting their efforts to provide our students with an enriched school experience. The PTO aims to delight our teachers and staff, showing them our appreciation with our Hospitality Coordinator hosting monthly acts of gratitude.
  • The “O” in PTO - Organization:
    We are super organized! ;) Volunteer organizations like the PTO rely on people to continuously pass the baton from one year to the next, holding on to traditions while also evolving opportunities. Volunteers who join us can rely on “playbooks” (documents and notes) to build upon when they assume a role on the PTO, and we are a collaborative group available to help train newcomers! 
  • Here is a list of open positions for the 2024-25 school year: 
    • Treasurer
    • VP Fundraising (2)*
    • VP Programs/Enrichment (2)*
    • VP Community Events
    • ASE Coordinator 
    • Preschool Representative (new)
    • Room Parent Coordinator 

*A note about our board positions - we follow a model where each board position is supported by two people. This buddy system has proven to be beneficial for camaraderie and efficiency! That being said, the board positions can be adequately supported by one individual. 

 

Notable Mentions

DEI’s first community volunteering event! There are still slots available!
The Wellington DEI committee is proud to present our first-ever volunteer event! This volunteer opportunity will take place at Cradles to Crayons in Newton on January 27th from 10am to 12pm, and will allow for 30 volunteers (5 adult chaperones and 25 students). You can sign up for this event HERE.

Enrichment Update!
The discovery museum came to teach the first graders about sound! The students used tuning forks to learn about vibration throughout different experiments. At the end they got to create their very own noisy sound maker to bring home!

Winter ASE: Did you miss Monday’s registration?
You’re in luck, we still have some seats in Chess Club, Math Explorers, Who Runs the World? Girls, Chinese, Karate, BOKS, Adventure Gaming Club, Sports and Games, and Basketball Skills. Register before the January 16th deadline!  ASE classes start on Monday, January 22nd. If your child is on the waitlist for Hands on Science, you should register for another class - this new class was very popular and all 20 seats went within minutes of registration opening. We’re working on bringing Hands on Science back in the Spring!

A special note from our Library Staff:
The Wellington Library is happy to present the newest titles added to the collection, thanks to the generous gift from the 2023 Fourth Grade Send Off. With this contribution the library was able to update the nonfiction section, including adding books about STEM careers, coding in everyday uses, more up-to-date science books, as well as many new Blast Off animal titles that are always a favorite. In total, more than 130 books were added! We are so grateful to the families who helped to support this present. A special thank you to Lara Lind who created and printed the perfect 4GSO Whaley book labels. 
Rose O’Neil and Jenn Scranton
Wellington Library

Save the date for Library Volunteering!
Tuesday, January 30th from 11am-12pm volunteers are needed to help us clean up and organize the library. No experience necessary. Keep an eye out for the sign up link in an upcoming Whaley Weekly.

BINGO Night is coming soon!
Join the Wellington Community for an evening of  Virtual Bingo Thursday January 25th at 6:30pm! You can Register - Here!

For a text-only link to this flyer, click here.

 

Important Dates

BPS School Calendar 2023-24

January:

  • Jan 15:        No School - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • Jan 22:        ASE classes Begin
  • Jan 25:        Virtual BINGO Night - Wellington Community Event
  • Jan 27         Volunteer at Cradles to Crayons (sign-up here)
  • Jan 30         Clean up & Organize the library

 

DEI Corner

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...

Nomita and Mira Ganguly for organizing our Winter Coat Drive, donating to the Children’s Services of Roxbury before winter break!

 

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

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.

Annual Appeal!
We ask that you consider a donation to the Wellington Fundraising Appeal. So far this school year, these funds have been used to reimburse teachers for their classroom supplies, purchase school supplies and grocery gift cards for Wellington students and families in need and fund school wide initiatives like new sports equipment, music stands, and storage sheds for both blue and green playgrounds.

If you have a corporate or workplace match, this is an amazing way to DOUBLE your impact. 

  • 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

 

Reminders

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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