Address: Winn Brook Elementary School 97 Waterhouse Rd, Belmont, MA 02478
Contribute to the Winn Brook PTA online by using the Pay Pal Button below. Donations are tax deductible.
Be sure to join us in the cafeteria on Friday March 8th for a free showing of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." Doors open at 6:15pm, movie begins at 6:30pm. Bring the entire family! Please see our volunteer sign-up sheet to help on the night of the event.
It is a tradition for the 4th Grade to celebrate their last year at Winn Brook with a variety of social activities, a yearbook, and t-shirts. Fourth grade students and families work together to raise the funds to support these activities and one of our main fundraisers is the 4th Grade Raffle! The raffle tickets are $2 per ticket. Choose which basket you want to win. Feel free to send raffle link to any close family and friends to help reach our goal!
Calling all 3rd Grade families - please submit your photos for the 3rd Grade Yearbook by March 15th!
Interested in helping more? Volunteers can help with selecting pictures that capture all the major events of the past 4 school years, collecting words from each of our students describing their experiences and their hopes for the future, proofing the final product, and more! If you think you might be interested in participating, please provide your email address using this signup form and we will invite you to a kickoff meeting at the beginning of March where we will be getting organized.
Winn Brook's thoughtful Reading Specialists have put together slides for our families and asked that we share with our PTA community in support of the Read Across America initiative which starts this week! See their March Reading Resources which contain wonderful suggestions for family read alouds, early reader material, chapter books, digital texts, poetry, and more. A PDF of their slides is also attached for your reference. Happy Reading!
A preview of our Spring Session Extracurricular before and after-school classes will be available starting Mar 19th. Registration will open Mar 21st at 9pm and run through Mar 25th. These 6-week sessions will being April 1st and run through May 16th. Note that we will only be offering classes M-Th this session. Stay tuned!
BPS School Calendar 2023-24
Winn Brook School and PTA Calendar
Mar 8: Movie Night - Winn Brook Cafeteria, 6:15pm Doors Open, 6:30pm "Super Mario Bros. Movie" Begins
Mar 14: Monthly Staff Treats "So Lucky to Have You" from the Staff Appreciation Committee
Mar 18-22: Make-A-Gift Art Making Days - Stay after school for an hour to make some original art with friends. Details and signups to come!
Mar 19: Extracurriculars - Spring Session Preview Available
Mar 20: Crossing Guard Appreciation Day organized by the SRTS Committee
Mar 21: 4th Grade Bingo Night - Winn Brook Cafeteria, 6:30-8pm
Mar 21: Presentation by Superintendent Geiser - Winn Brook Library, 6:30-8pm
Mar 21-25: Extracurriculars - Spring Session Registration Opens 9pm 3/21
Mar 28: 3rd Grade Enrichment - Visit from Author David A. Kelly
Mar 28: STEM Night (formerly Math and Science Nights)
Mar 31: 4th Grade March Madness Basket Raffle - Drawing of Winners
This year's annual Winn Brook Skate Night was a success, with many families traveling to the John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown for the festivities last Friday night. Students skated with friends, danced to the music, and enjoyed many treats from the snack bar! A big thank you to our friends at the Watertown Recreation Department and rink for helping us continue our school's tradition as the new rink in Belmont is rebuilt. The PTA would like to thank our fantastic Skate Committee and in particular the Co-Chairs Martha Delaney and Emily McCafferty for another wonderful night with the Winn Brook community. Enjoy more photos in our Gallery.
With the Winter Extracurricular classes coming to a close, we wanted to highlight another program which was very popular and successful this session. Our music teacher Shannon Sinclair ran "Weekly News" on Monday afternoons. The students learned a lot about media production, interviewing, green screens, and public speaking. Each week Ms. Sinclair put the finishing edits on their work and circulated their video of the Winn Brook Weekly News. Their news coverage over the last couple months included birthday celebrations, Lost and Found fashion shows, Chinese New Year, Leap Year, and one-on-one interviews with staff. Enjoy!
Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 (one clip removed that did not have video/photograph permissions)
The Winn Brook Library had a busy February. With the delivery of the new bookcases, our librarian Doreen Cameron and the PTA's Friends of the Library got busy shifting the nonfiction collection to other areas of the library.
Over February break Winn Brook's own custodial team Richard Tucker and Tim Daye with assistance from the Town's Facilities Dept. assembled the new bookcases and dismantled half of the old shelving units. After break, Ms. Cameron and the Friends of the Library regrouped and placed the shelves inside the cases and moved 2 of the 4 sections into place.
Students and staff are so excited to see the changes taking place. Everyone has remarked how the lower shelves are user friendly and allow the light to shine through. Ms. Cameron hopes to have the space completed and up and running soon. Stay tuned for updates including a much more practical and efficient Circulation Desk coming soon.
The new, lower bookcases allow for more light in the space and easier access for our young students.
Some old shelves awaiting disassembly.
The PTA recently purchased two new A-frame boards to display messaging around the school. Our old boards had seen better days and were quite weather beaten. These new boards are for indoor and outdoor use and will be available to our committees and Winn Brook staff upon request. Keep an eye out for them on the blacktop for important reminders and information!
Join the conversation with the Superintendent to talk about where we are in the budget process and what is on the horizon this spring. Included will be the themes that came out of the Superintendent's Report of Entry Findings as related to the FY25 budget. If a date works better for you at a different location than Winn Brook - feel free to attend!
Date
Host Organization
Time
Location
Feb 29, 2024
Burbank PTA
6:00 PM
Burbank School Cafeteria
March 7, 2024
BMS PTO
6:30 PM
Belmont Middle School
March 13, 2024
Beech Street Center
10:00 AM
BHS PTSO
7:00 PM
Belmont High School Auditorium
March 14, 2024
Chenery PTO
Chenery Upper Elementary (CUE)
Large Community Room
March 21, 2024
Winn Brook PTA
Winn Brook School Library
March 26, 2024
Butler PTA
Remote - Zoom
Passcode: 213517
Have you heard the BUZZ around town? The FBE Spelling Bee is to Chenery Upper Elementary School on April 6th.
The Bee is a fun filled event where the community comes out to support our young spellers and raise money for the Belmont Public Schools (BPS). Small prizes are available for all participants. Grades K-4 are non-competitive. Grades 5-6 are competitive with prizes for 1st and 2nd place. The Bee will be streamed live by Belmont Media for family members who are far away.
Registration is open between March 1-15, find registration instructions here.
Looking to practice? Here are some Word Lists by grade:
The FBE is always looking for volunteers to help out on the day. Please sign up to volunteer at the Bee if you are interested. Good luck to all our spellers and thank you of your continued support of the FBE and BPS!
Belmont Recreation is excited to announce that registration is NOW OPEN to residents for spring/summer programming including pool memberships and swim lessons!
The PTA runs on an amazing engine of volunteers like you, and we have many opportunities throughout the year for families and guardians to participate and support our students. If you haven’t already, the best place to start is by completing our Parent Volunteer Interest Form.
Here are some ways you can get involved today:
Donate to the PTA - Each fall we hold an Annual Appeal, but donations are welcome any time of year and directly support our students, staff, and school. Checks, PayPal, and Venmo are all accepted. Learn how to contribute to the PTA and the ways your donation makes a difference at Winn Brook here.
Donate to the Backup Clothing Closet - Keeping our backup clothing closet well stocked is especially important for Nurse Carbeck who needs changes of clothes for students every day due to spills and accidents that happen at school. To help, first sign-up to donate backup clothing here then launder and package the item in a Ziploc bag, label the size on the outside, and deliver it to the front office.
Purchase and Wear Winn Brook Swag - Head to our Winn Brook Swag Square Site and get outfitted today with long-sleeve t-shirts, flannel pants, hoodies, and beanies to show your Winn Brook pride all year. All purchases support the PTA's 3rd Grade Committee, order now while supplies last!
Volunteer in the Lunchroom - **NEW DATES ADDED** The cafeteria needs up to 3 lunchroom volunteers per lunch period. This is a fun way to visit with the kids in the middle of the school day and help provide much needed (and appreciated) coverage for our staff.
Volunteer in the Library - there are two ways to help in the Winn Brook library:
Sign up to volunteer during your child’s weekly library class. You'll help your child and their classmates check books in and out at the circulation desk plus shelve returns to help our librarian.
Friends of the Library - This separate group of volunteers work on special projects as requested and as needed by the librarian. Some tasks can be done at home while others will be completed in the library itself. Email our librarian Doreen Cameron if you are interested in being a part of the new "Friends of the Library."
Volunteer with the Welcome Committee - Would you like to help welcome and orient families new to Winn Brook, to Belmont, maybe even new to the country? Please fill in this Companion to New Winn Brook Family form and we’ll be in touch if there is a match that could use your support and companionship!
Volunteer with the Staff Appreciation Committee - Help keep our staff nourished, pampered, and cared for while they support our kids by signing up to bring in Monthly Teacher Treats.
Volunteer with 3rd or 4th Grade Committees - Have a third or fourth grader and it is their final year at Winn Brook? It’s not too late to get in on the fun and event planning for our "graduating" students! Check out all the ways you can pitch in on the 3rd Grade Committee or 4th Grade Committee to make their last year here special and memorable.
Visit our Lost and Found online! Check our regularly updated photos of Lost and Found items then stop by the school to collect your things before they are donated to charity. Anything clearly labeled will be returned to the student's classroom by our Lost and Found Committee volunteers.
The students' safety must be our priority. Every day we see dangerous and illegal driving and parking practices at Winn Brook by drivers in our own school community. Our Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Committee reminds us all to please:
Follow the Winn Brook Arrival & Dismissal Plan and associated map
Use the Student Drop-Off Zone on Sherman Street properly
Never obstruct crosswalks, driveways, intersections, disability spaces, or fire hydrants
Never enter or obstruct any Winn Brook parking lot or driveway
Never idle at school, it’s against MA law. Always turn off your vehicle as soon as you are in park.
Never make U-Turns/reverse direction in the school zone
Obey signage, there are one way streets and No Parking/Stopping areas during Arrival and Dismissal times
Never double-park
Never allow your child to enter or exit your vehicle while in the street
With your cooperation and effort we can ensure a much safer and healthier experience for our walkers, bikers, busers, and drivers alike while maintaining critical access for emergency and first responder vehicles at all times.
Weekly Winnies (the PTA weekly newsletter you are currently reading!) will be emailed to you every Wednesday with updates on events, volunteer opportunities, school happenings and more.
Winn Brook Listserv - sign up for the Winn Brook Listserv to receive important correspondence from both the school and your PTA.
PTA Website & Calendar - The PTA Events Calendar and PTA News & Announcements on our website are current! Check regularly.
Room Parents - each classroom has 1-2 volunteer Room Parents who act as liaisons between the classroom teacher, PTA, and parents/guardians. Look for emails from them! Check here if you aren’t sure who your Room Parents are this year.
Erika Roberts & Sarah Boyle
Winn Brook PTA Co-Presidents
winnbrookptapresidents@gmail.com