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Originally delivered on 9/16/2019 2:48 pm

SUBJECT: WHS THE WORD

WHS THE WORD

Monday, September 16, 2019

Issue #2: Available only to current, registered WHS PTO Members, 
thank you for being a member!

Email Us * WHS * WHS PTO

 IN THIS ISSUE

Coming Up - Calendar

President's Message

PTO Volunteer Corner

Treasurer's Report

Philanthropy Update

Class Notes

News from Student Government

PSAT Prep Course

Pie Fundraiser - check out the menu of pies!

Brick by Brick Fundraiser


Coming Up (WHS Calendar)

Tuesday, Sept. 17College Financial Planning Seminar, 7 pm
Wednesday, Sept. 18 International Spanish Language Program, Parent Meeting, 7 pm
Wednesday, Sept. 18Class of 2021 Meetup at Milestone, 7:30 pm
Thursday, Sept. 19WHS Underclassmen Picture Day (9-11th Grades)
Friday, Sept. 20New-to-Weston Family Welcome Party, 7 pm
Monday, Sept. 23BOE Monthly Meeting, 7:30 PM, WMS Library
Thursday, Sept. 26  Back to School Night, 7 pm (Freshman Parent Meet & Greet, 6:15 pm)
Monday, Sept. 30NO SCHOOL Rosh Hashanah
Wednesday, Oct. 9NO SCHOOL Yom Kippur
Monday, Oct. 14 NO SCHOOL Columbus Day/Professional Development
Wednesday, Oct. 16PSAT, Sophomores/Juniors

Events occur at WHS, unless other noted. 


 

A Letter from the President's Desk

Dear WHS parents,

Thank you for joining our PTO! We are happy to welcome you to our community of parents and teachers! The new academic year is well under way and Principal Wolak says that students seem to be getting into the rhythm of their Fall classes, studying and activities.

If your student is a Freshmen or has just transferred to WHS, I hope he or she is experiencing a smooth transition. Remember that it is not unusual for some students to take significant time to adjust to all that is new! If you are a family that is new to Weston, don’t miss out on the PTO hosted Get Together this coming Friday, September 20th at 7 p.m. For more information, please contact Case Saussy, the PTO New Parent Liaison at caseysaussy@mindspring.com.

On September 6th, the PTO held its first General Meeting of the year. As part of our program, Principal Wolak engaged the audience with a short mindfulness exercise as an example of the type of coping mechanisms the administration is teaching our children to help them deal with stress and anxiety. Our guest speaker was Meredith Starzyk, WHS Director of Guidance, who gave an informative overview of the annual services the WHS Guidance provides at each grade level, through its advisory group program. A copy of Meredith’s slide presentation is available by clicking here. If you were unable to attend our meeting, please read on for details about our PTO financial status, philanthropy approvals, upcoming class events, fundraisers and more! See you all at Back to School Night on Thursday, September 26 at 7 p.m.

With Warm Regards,

Anne Troxell
Troxellanne@me.com

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT

The PTO would like to give a special shout out to PTO member Samantha W. Leuzzi who treated everyone who attended our General Meeting this month to a delicious Weston cookie in honor of our goal to pump up the volume on school spirit this year.  Sam is a talented local baker.  Check out her stuff on facebook and if you see her around town, be sure to say thank you! 



We would also like to thank Andre Santelli, Director of Culinary for the Weston school district, for generously donating coffee for all at our first meeting of the year.  We appreciate his efforts to make the lunch program at the high school both delicious and nutritious for our kids.
 


 

PTO Volunteer Corner:  WE NEED YOU!

The PTO is looking for a creative parent who has a background in marketing and promotion to assist with the promotion of our fall fundraisers. This job does not require meetings and can be done on your own time frame. If interested in more information, please contact Anne Troxell, president, at TroxelAnne@me.com.


 

Treasurer's Report

August 1, 2019 - Opening Balance for All Weston PTO Operating + Philanthropy Accounts: $43,584

At our General Meeting on Sept. 6, we approved the Recurring Funds/Payments for the 2019 - 2020 Year : $18,602. We approved to increase the amount of the Principal’s discretionary fund included in the 2019-20 financial statements from $3000 to $4000 with $3000 allocated to Principal Wolak in four equal installments of $750: the additional $1000 will be available over four quarters in equal amounts of $250 installments, but will be allocated as expense reimbursements.

 

Philanthropy

 
One of the WHS PTO initiatives that we are focusing on this year is how we can engage the Weston Community in more of the high school events, as well as increase school pride and spirit. One of the first ways we want to do this is to have the WHS PTO work with the school and the community to reinvigorate Homecoming events at the high school.  To that end, at our General Meeting on 9/6 we approved up to $1000 to the high school towards a spirit fund to be used towards floats that will be paraded at this year's Homecoming game.

The WHS PTO now has a small sub-committee focused on this effort.   If you are interested in joining us, please email Kristana Esslinger at kristana.esslinger@gmail.com.

Please visit our Philanthropy page for information about the request process.

-Kristana Esslinger

Class Notes 

Senior Class:

Thank you to those of you who were able to join us last Tuesday at The Whelk to celebrate the start of the year and support our students!! We had beautiful weather, great food and drinks and heard our very own student band, CARAVAN, play in the courtyard. A portion of the proceeds ($350) will be donated back to the Class of 2020.

We will have so much to share this year - how can you ensure you get this information?

1. Sign up for the PTO (membership)
2. Follow our 2020 FB page: Class of 2020, Parents of Weston High School Class of 2020

-Your 12th Grade Parent Reps: Kristana Esslinger, kristana.esslinger@gmail.com ; Jennifer Goetz, ggoetzfamily@optonline.net; Rachel Golan, rgolan70@gmail.com; and Susy Jones, shayes320@aol.com


Junior Class:

This Wednesday, September 18 at 7:30 pm, join us for a meetup at the Milestone in Georgetown with your fellow Class of 2021 parents. Weather permitting, the gathering will take place on Milestone’s outside patio.  

A % of tip proceeds and sales from the night will be donated to the Class of 2021 to fund activities and defer costs for the PGE.  We’ll even have a 50/50 raffle. 

How are your bartending skills?  We would love to have a few guest bartenders (parents) to work the bar for us. If you’re interested, let us know. We’re hoping to build our tip jar 😉. To keep things simple, the bar offerings will be limited to beer, wine and a special WHS PTO cocktail 🍺 🍷 🍹 .  Guests can order food from the main menu.

Come out and connect with your fellow Class of 2021 Parents to catch up after the summer and kickoff the school year.

We hope to see you there! 

-Your 11th Grade Parent Reps: Amy Cohen, lahacohen@gmail.com; Sandy Hart, sandy@sundial.com; Jodi Sacchetta, jodi@sacchetta.com; and Angela Zielinski, angelapz2002@yahoo.com


Sophomore Class:

We have a Class of 2022 Parent facebook page where we post information throughout the year.  Please click on this link to join if you haven't already done so: WHS Class of 2022 Parent Group, PTO Sponsored

There are a couple of events coming up that we wanted you to be aware of.  Back to School Night is on September 26th.  We will be selling our "Class of 2022" car magnets there so be sure to pick one up.    Please join us at the Sophomore Parent Meet Up on Wednesday, October 2nd at 7pm, hosted at Milestone restaurant.  It's a great way to reconnect with fellow parents while supporting our class.  We look forward to seeing you there!
 
-Your 10th Grade Parent Reps: Ali Melito, alimelito818@gmail.com; Jen Atsumi, jlatsumi@yahoo.com; Kristin Brooks, mkbrooks@optonline.net; and Sam Leuzzi, samhleuzzi@gmail.com

Freshman Class:

Weston High School Class of 2023 parents! You are all welcome and encouraged to come to the PTO general meetings. Details can be found on the WHS PTO website.

Please join our class Facebook page - Parent of Weston High School (CT) Class of 2023. You will be prompted to answer two security questions.  We will use this page as well as this email blast for the next four years to inform you of class related events & activities  - for example - Class Dues, Spirit Days, Class fundraisers, graduation, etc.  

The FB page and email are only to be used for informational purposes regarding specific activities for the class of 2023. Any posting about curriculum, teachers, or specific students are not appropriate discussion for this page.  

Please feel free to reach out to us anytime.  

-Your 9th Grade Parent Reps: Maggie Kins (mom of Gigi), maggiebkins@gmail.com; Maureen Weinbrum (mom of Jack), famweinbrum@sbcglobal.net; Jen Socha (mom of Patrick), jmurs8@gmail.com; and Janet Hoffman (mom of Tara), janethof@optonline.net


News from Student Government

 The WHS STUDENT GOVERNMENT needs your help!  

Please register your Stop & Shop card so the school can earn cash for school-wide activities, including social events and community projects through the Stop & Shop A+ school rewards program.
 
* Log on to www.stopandshop.com/aplus, select customer registration to register online using your stop & shop card.  Our school's A+ School rewards ID code is:  08362

PSAT Prep Course 

ALMOST SOLD OUT!

IT’S COMING – THE PSAT IS TAKEN BY ALL SOPHOMORES AND JUNIORS ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16th â€“ IS YOUR STUDENT READY?

The WHS PTO is offering a PSAT Prep Course for two consecutive weeks for a total of 4 hours; two hours of math, two hours of verbal/English. The PSAT is a primer for the SAT and ACT tests but it’s not just a baseline. It’s also the qualifying test for entry to the National Merit Scholarship competition and useful for early college recruiting. Here’s what your outstanding teachers have to say:

Kevin Joyce - The Math PSAT course will introduce students to the format of the test, including the types of questions and content covered. Basic test strategies will be modeled and used on various practice sets. We will review several common concepts and examine practice test questions in an effort to build a comfort level in approaching the test.

Jessica Gleason - The English PSAT course will help to introduce you to the rigors of the PSAT. We will be reviewing the contents and providing tips to conquer the Reading AND the Writing and Language sections. We will also be reviewing and analyzing test questions to help boost your score!

The cost for the prep course is $150 and classes start Tuesday, September 24th or Wednesday, September 25th. 

For more information and to register NOW, click HERE.

Please contact Debbie Morvillo at debbiemorvillo@gmail.com with any questions.


 

WHS PTO Pie Fundraiser

Fall is here and the holidays are coming! Save yourself time and support the WHS PTO with delicious home-made pies and cakes from Grandma Miller’s Bakery in Londonderry, Vermont.

Order deadline, November 1st. Order online HERE.

For questions or to pay by check, email dkg26@aol.com.

Fruit pies - $19
Apple
Apple Crumb
Cherry
Blueberry
Strawberry Rhubarb
Summerberry
Pumpkin

Specialty pies - $23
Pecan
Black Bottom Bourbon Pecan
Chicken Pot Pie

Breads/Coffee Cakes – $9.50
Banana Bread (nut free)
Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread
Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake (nut free)
Sour Cream Coffee Cake (nut free)

Cakes - $13
Lemon Pound Cake



 

Brick by Brick Fundraiser

Build a strong future for our schools! Purchase a personalized brick for the high school courtyard to honor a student, teacher or alum. The fee for a 4" x 8" brick is $100.  All proceeds benefit Weston High School PTO. Visit www.bricksrus.com/order/whspto. If you have questions, please contact Anne Troxell, Troxellanne@me.com

 

 


 

Reminders & Other Notes

Join the PTO

If you haven’t already, please join the PTO. You will not receive important mailings and information if you are not a member. It's free for WHS families! CLICK HERE to join. 

Comments, Questions, Suggestions?

We love to hear from our members, so don't hesitate to contact any of your Board members or email us at whsptocommunications@westonpspto.org

Newsletter Submissions

The WHS PTO newsletter is distributed on Mondays (except holidays & vacations), so please send your WHS-related submissions by the preceding Thursday at 5 pm to Amy Jansen, Communications Chair, at whsptocommunications@westonpspto.org. Any submissions received after that time may be delayed until the next newsletter.

Community or "About Town" news (and any information not directly related to WHS) will not be included in regular weekly newsletters. This type of information and news will be sent out monthly in a supplemental edition of the newsletter on the THIRD Friday of each month. Please send submissions by the preceding Wednesday (late submissions may not be included until the next month). Please send questions or submissions to whsptocommunications@westonpspto.org.

Parking & Security at WHS

When visiting WHS please remember to bring your driver's license for identification. Security will scan your license and issue you a visitor badge. The badge must be worn at all times while in the building and returned to security when you leave. 

Visitor parking is on the street opposite the Main Entrance and on the access road between WIS and WHS (stadium field side only). Please refrain from parking in any parking lot or numbered space. These spaces are reserved and have been assigned to students and staff members. An empty space in a parking lot does not mean it’s an available space.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation.