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NEXT MONTH - NOVEMBER

2020-21 SCHOOL CALENDAR

WIS PTO WEBPAGE

WIS MAIN WEBPAGE

WIS PTO FACEBOOK PAGE - Please follow us to get updates on WIS PTO news!

• PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
  
• BOE REPORT
• PHILANTHROPY UPDATE
• YEARBOOK
• VIRTUAL BOOK FAIR
• CHALK THE WALK
• MINTED.COM FUNDRAISER
• FLIPGIVE FUNDRAISER
• WHS SHARE THE PIE FUNDRAISER
• WHS CAR MAGNET FUNDRAISER
• AROUND TOWN

Dear WIS Families,

Hopefully you are all continuing to survive whole school distance learning days and are staying safe. 

Thank you to everyone who joined in for  the Covid Q & A with  Mark Cooper.  We had amazing participation with 84 parents joining in for our multi school PTO meeting. We appreciated all the insightful questions. If you missed the call with Mark Cooper and the Covid team you can listen to the whole meeting here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wtf6CjHlmvRcFzAVE7gKBIFK-7QNI8Qj/view?usp=sharing

We look forward to our upcoming Virtual Book Fair November 9th - 22nd. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Daniella Swetland
PTO President
daniellarc@aol.com

BOE Report – November 5 

The Board of Education met on November 5th, via Zoom.

The purpose of this special meeting was an update on school scenarios.

Dr. McKersie highlighted that as long as safety is paramount, the main goal is to remain in-person as much as possible. He emphasized that protocols are in place when there is a positive case at any of the schools. The school community will know the grade level of the student but never the identity. As for positive staff members, the community will know the school in which that staff member works but no other details. 

Mrs. Kaddis spoke about how happy the Hurlbutt kids were to be in school and how valuable in-person learning is at the elementary age. The Early Learning Center (ELC) has been running full-in since the beginning of the year, this has been successful because of the small cohorts. This is K-2’s second week of full-in. Voluntary Distance Learners (VLD) are Zooming into the classroom with a full schedule throughout the day. For the most part, the students stay on Zoom but they are off-screen with their mini lessons. They are also able to take part in small group discussions and break-out rooms.  

Mrs. Falber spoke to how nice it is to see all the students. Due to the increased number of cars dropping off in the morning, the school day is starting a little bit later, around 8:45am, and ending a little bit earlier to help facilitate the pick-up line.  Tuesday was spent workshopping the use of Zoom in and out of the classroom for small break-out groups.

Density, the number of children in a classroom, has been an ongoing discussion at both Hurlbutt and WIS. The staff and teachers are feeling a high level of stress that Mrs. Kaddis and Mrs. Falber felt is important to acknowledge and be part of the overall discussion of in-person learning. 

Hurlbutt and WIS have been thinking about how they will get the children outside for masks breaks and fresh air during the colder months. Mrs. Kaddis noted that they check the weather daily. When the temperature is below 20 degrees with wind chill, there is ice or snow, the students stay inside. Mrs. Kaddis and Mrs. Falber both emphasized dressing our students for the weather so the kids can be outside, even if only for 10 minutes. It was also mentioned that even without formal recess, teachers are usually able to get out for a mask break, snack or a walk. 

Dr. McKersie referenced the Covid-19 Dashboard which is updated regularly with Covid-19 cases and Close Contact Quarantine cases in the Weston Public Schools. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x9nswxZtZmRbMZwZXFnZeHNG1NR7v3Adgogl5pOtSF8/edit#gid=0

The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting will be Monday, November 16th.

All Board of Education meetings can be viewed on their YouTube channel. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfiS5TdWMVozkWFY1FS3knw

Julie Ruby

WIS PTO BOE Representative

During a year that is truly unlike any other, there remains one constant, and that is philanthropy’s commitment to our teachers and our students. As part of a pilot program, we are purchasing iPad stands for all of the fourth-grade teachers. This will allow for greater flexibility to move around the classroom and to also remain close to the microphone so that students at home can best hear and interact with both their teachers and their classmates in the classroom. If successful, we look forward to purchasing stands for all of the teachers at WIS.

Philanthropy is also pleased to help support this month’s upcoming events, including a socially distanced Chalk-the-Walk with Gratitude event as part of Family Fun Night, as well as a Mystery Reader contest that is part of the HES/WIS joint Virtual Book Fair.

We encourage and welcome all philanthropy requests that will benefit our school community. Requests are not limited to staff or administrators. Parents can also submit requests by downloading a form located at the WIS PTO philanthropy website, which includes guidelines for submissions and how to submit your request form.

On behalf of the WIS Executive Board, thank you. We could not continue to support our schools without the support of our whole community.

Laura Schlossberg
WIS PTO Philanthropy Chair

Please consider uploading photos for the yearbook.
Photo submissions are being accepted on a rolling basis and can be easily and securely uploaded to the yearbook by following this link:

https://uploads.picaboo.com/9159357

Note:  Photo categories are still being added

Thank you 

Daniella Swetland
daniellarc@aol.com

The Hurlbutt/WIS Online Scholastic Book Fair starts Monday, November 9th and will run through Sunday, November 22nd!!!

• Beginning on Monday, Nov. 9th, you can access the fair via this link: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/hurlbuttwis2020

**Note: If you go directly to Scholastic and do a search, the fair is listed under Hurlbutt even though the fair is for both schools and benefits both schools. 

• The book fair is a fundraiser! The more we purchase from the fair, the more Scholastic dollars we earn to purchase much needed school supplies, books, and equipment for HES and WIS! 

• Orders over $25 ship for free!

• Teachers have created Wish Lists for their classroom libraries. Please consider contributing a book! Class parents will be sending out a Sign Up Genius for you to sign up to buy a book for your teacher's classroom library as well as the specialist's classroom libraries. Once you sign up to buy a book, please purchase it through the link above and send it in to school with your student once it arrives at your home. More details about this will be sent out via your class parent on Monday.

• Mystery Reader CONTEST at WIS!! Winners receive a $30 gift card to purchase books at the book fair! There will be 3 winners picked on Friday, November 13th and 3 winners picked on Friday, November 20th. 

**Here's how to play: There will be a Mystery Reader each day at WIS! Students will receive clues via the morning announcements as to who the Mystery Reader is. They submit their guess as to who the mystery reader is via a Google doc in their Morning Announcements folder in Google Classroom. A video of the Mystery Reader reading the book will be available later in the day. All correct guesses will be entered to win the book fair gift card! Each correct answer is an entry! For example, if you guess correctly on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, you will have 3 separate entries for that Friday's drawing. Drawing will be held each Friday. Good Luck!

In order to view the morning announcements and hear the mystery reader clues in the morning, submit your guess for who the mystery reader may be, and to view the video of the mystery reader reading their book, please be sure that your student has joined the WIS Morning Announcements Google Classroom using the code 4f2qrds.

Happy Reading!

Save the Date for Family Fun - Nov 21 and 22

Chalk the Walk with Gratitude! 

Let's join together to show our appreciation to WIS faculty and staff by chalking the sidewalk with notes of gratitude and thanksgiving. 

Registration will be available via SignUpGenius! You will register your family for a timeslot, head to WIS during that time, and get creative on the sidewalk. Chalk will be provided to each family. Families will be spaced apart and we ask that you adhere to social distancing guidelines. 

For more information, contact Family Fun Night Chair Jennifer Bernheim at jbernheim@onpurposepr.com.

This year we have an exciting opportunity to make our fundraising efforts for the Weston PTOs easier by using an app called FlipGive.

Simply join our team on FlipGive and start shopping through the app or our team page and we'll earn money every time you shop with popular brands like Sam's Club, Starbucks, Lulumon Athletica, Dick’s, Marc Jacobs, Athleta, Williams-Sonoma and so many more!

Join our team now by clicking HERE.

If you are prompted for a join code, enter this code NTFCQ3

Remember to use FlipGive before you shop online so we'll earn cash back - make a purchase within the first 14 days of joining and we'll receive an additional bonus!

If you still have questions, click HERE for a handout that explains FlipGive in more detail.

This holiday season, we're partnering with minted.com to help us fundraise!

Shop holiday cards and gifts on minted.com now through December using our promo code to help support Weston Schools.  You save 20% and Minted donates 15% back to Weston Schools!

PROMO CODE – FUNDRAISEWESTON

Show your Weston Spirit and purchase a car magnet - for $5.00 each!

To order, please email alimelito818@gmail.com 

All proceeds will benefit the class of 2022. Payments will be made via Venmo or check, and magnets will be delivered to your mailbox within 10 days. More details when you email!

Dear Weston Community, 

We hope this email finds you healthy and well!  

Even during these most challenging times, Weston’s Scouting BSA Troop 788 is determined and excited to launch their Annual Holiday Fundraiser. This has been a long-standing and cherished tradition in our town, which has brought joy to the troop and to our community, and one which the Scouts have pledged to continue safely, even amid the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic. Their commitment is admirable!  

Again this year, they will be selling premium fresh cut Christmas Trees and hand-made Balsam Wreaths as a service to Weston and as a fundraiser to help defray the cost of their scouting activities throughout the year. 

The Scouts will be kicking off their sales on Election Day, Nov. 3^rd at the Weston Middle School parking lot. And they will sell again at the Onion Barn and at Lachat Town Farm on weekends after Thanksgiving. You can also place your orders online now at: 

www.westontroop788.org

The trees are grown in New Hampshire and fresh cut a few days before they arrive on our lot. Supplies are limited, so please make sure to reserve your trees and wreaths early. We sell out every year and have to finalize orders soon. We’ll have your items tagged and ready to pick up at the Onion Barn after Thanksgiving or we can deliver them to your door for only $10.  

Please note that this year, due to availability and supply constraints, if you wish to order a tree larger than 10’ or wreaths sized 36” – 48”, they will need to be pre-ordered. Although the troop will work hard to fulfill your order, they are not able to guarantee delivery. In the event that they can’t deliver your item(s), a refund will be issued.

We thank you in advance for your continued support of the Weston Boy Scout Troop! 

Wishing you and your loved ones continued health and happy holidays! 

The Weston Boy Scouts

• The WIS PTO newsletter is distributed on Fridays, please send your submissions by the prior Wednesday, 2 pm.
• It is your responsibility to write and submit your relevant WIS activity each week.
• All submissions should be either included in the text of your email or attached in Word format and the content should be print-ready (please proofread!). Keep it simple and short.
• If you have a flyer, please submit a brief write-up along with it in PDF format and we will link it to the newsletter.
• Please send all necessary links, there will be a click "here" linking to the more detailed information.
• If you want to re-run a write-up from the previous week, check to see if it requires updating, i.e. changing the wording from  "next week" to "this week", etc.  If so, please make appropriate changes and re-send the revised write-up.
• All submissions should be sent to: wisptocommunications@westonpspto.org. All will be acknowledged.
• Submissions should be relevant to WIS and the town of Weston (i.e., town sports programs, Town of Weston sponsored community events or after-school sports programs for students taking place in the Town of Weston). If there is any question regarding the relevance of submission, final approval will be determined by the HES PTO Communications Chair and/or President.