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• PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
• GENERAL PTO BOARD MEETING
• BOE MEETING REPORT
• ELECTION DAY BAKE SALE
• HOMECOMING GAME PICS
• WESTON PRIDE
• CLASS NOTES
• AROUND TOWN

Dear Weston High School Parents,

I hope everyone enjoyed this nice weekend and had a chance to participate in some of the Homecoming festivities.  I loved seeing all of the Spirit Week pictures that were posted on the WHS Instagram account - great seeing students and staff getting into the spirit.  An annual tradition for me (since the school became a member of the NFHS Network) is watching the Powder Puff Flag Football game between the Senior and Junior Girls. Seniors and Juniors from the football team are their coaches. This year the Seniors won.  It is an event that the students look forward to and glad to see back this year. Other highlights this year included:

- Star Spangled Banner sung by some amazing HS singers

- A Rock/Paper/Scissor competition that started in Advisory and ended on the field 

- A 4x100 relay race on the track (Freshman won)

- A Tug-of-War competition (Juniors won)

- Homecoming (Teacher) Court - King (Mr. Long) and Queen (Ms. Swezey)

- And the Juniors were manning the Booster Barn!

Homecoming was capped off in the evening with our football game and halftime show.  While we had a heartbreaking 1-point loss in overtime (sad football mama here), we were entertained during halftime first by the Youth Cheer team followed by the HS Cheer team. The much anticipated float parade did not disappoint!  With the theme of "The Elements" our student government did an amazing and creative job of decorating their floats.  The Seniors won the float competition with their theme of "fire".  See all of the others (earth, air, water) in the photos.

We have an important town vote of all open elected municipal positions Tuesday, Nov. 2nd at the middle school.  So when you wake up on the 2nd and see your student home, take it as a reminder to go vote!  And buy some baked goods at our Annual Election Day Bake Sale!   In our Around Town Section we have links to read about the candidates.  And if you're really interested you can watch videos of the debates held by the Weston League of Women Voters. While there is much attention given to national and state elections, local elections matter!

We have our next General Board meeting on Nov. 5th.  Read below about 2 very important topics we will be covering as well as the link to the meeting.   

The first quarter of the school year ends on Friday, Nov. 5th which is in 2 weeks.  This is a perfect time to check in with your student on how things are going.  There is still time for them to catch up on missing assignments or give it a push on upcoming assignments and quizzes.

Believe it or not but the school budget season is underway.  We plan to tell you more about it at each step in the process which ends with a town vote in late spring.  In the meantime, read more about what was discussed at the last BOE meeting including questions from the public, assessment reporting (test scores) and a new graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2023 and more.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or ideas, I can be reached at 203-981-0582 or kristana.esslinger@gmail.com. 

Sincerely,

Kristana Esslinger

PTO President 2021-2022

We hope you will be able to join us on Friday (Nov. 5th) for our General PTO Board meeting. We have finalized our agenda below.  Principal Givoni will be sharing updates about our students with an emphasis on preparations for midterms and final exams for our students.  This is especially important as half of our students in the HS have not taken a midterm exam and most have not taken a final exam yet.  This will be followed by Janine Russo the Curriculum Instructional Leader (CIL) for Math for grades 6-12.  She will give us some highlights of the good/bad/ugly from last year (yes, there was some good!) and tell us more about the focus in the HS for this year.  Both will be taking questions!

• 9-9:30 PTO Business
• 9:30-10 Juliane Givoni
• 10-10:30 Janine Russo

The Zoom information is below. See you then!

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81240003994

Meeting ID: 812 4000 3994 

Password: WHSpto

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Meeting ID: 812 4000 3994

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdiEFzjSr0

October 18, 2021 Board of Education Highlights

Graduation Policy Requirement 

• Change in requirements for Class of 2023
• Portrait of the Graduate 

Change to public comment for live interaction

Summative Assessment Reporting

• Scores and 5 Year Trend reporting 
• CT School Day SAT
• ACT
• APs
• SBA
• NGSS
• Writing Portfolio

Financial Update, Budget Calendar, and COVID Updates

Next BOE Meeting

Monday, November 15^th at 6 pm

To watch the Meeting on the YouTube Channel click HERE

To view the AGENDA click HERE

To read the full minutes from the meeting, click HERE

Election Day Bake Sale is almost here!

  Calling on Volunteers to Donate Baked Goods to help 

  WHS PTO Raise Some Dough!

  Both homemade and prepackaged baked goods are welcomed!  

  What sells?  Quick breads, pies, muffins, cookies, donuts…

  basically, any delicious treat!   

Drop off baked goods between 3-5pm on Monday, November 1^st in the back of the school by the voting entrance.

Click on the link www.2021BakeSale.com and sign up today.

Net proceeds help WHS PTO Philanthropy efforts and have a direct impact on our school and students.

Thank you for your support.

Class of 2022 News:

Almost the end of 1^st quarter!  We cannot believe how fast the time has gone!!

A few things:

-Please join our FB page, WHS Class of 2022 Parent Group, PTO Sponsored. This will be the BEST place to find out what is happening for our students!

-Senior Yearbook Ads are due by October 31st. (Ads can be emailed to or shared with heliotrope@westonps.org and MUST be a .jpg, .pdf or .psd file with at least 300 dpi resolution.)

-Students should have received an email regarding Senior Quotes for the yearbook. These are due Nov. 1^st

-We hope your student enjoyed their POWDERPUFF SENIOR SPECIAL. **

**All of these specials are funded through the fundraising efforts of the four parent reps. Please continue to support our efforts by purchasing SENIOR SIGNS, STADIUM SEATS and MAGNETS, if you have not already. We are working hard to make SENIOR year memorable for all of our students!!  We will be sending out info within the next 2 weeks about how you/ your company can become a SPONSOR for our class.** 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, concerns or ideas!!

Thanks for your help!

Ali, Jen, Kristin & Sam

Class of 2022 Parent Reps

Facebook: Parent of Weston High School (CT) Class of 2023

If you have not already joined the WHS PTO Class of 2024 Parent Group please do so. We share information relevant to what is going on with the class and try to keep you in the loop:

Click here to join the facebook group. 

Please don't hesitate to reach out to the PTO Class of 2024 Parent Reps with any questions this year: 

Carlye Adler 

carlye@carlyeadler.com

Christine Harris

crizpto@yahoo.com

Lyn Milliman

lynmilliman@gmail.com

Debbie Morvillo

debbiemorvillo@gmail.com

Welcome Freshmen Parents of the Class of 2025!

Please join our new WHS Class of 2025 Parent Group, PTO Sponsored Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/151335050501844/

Weston has an election on Tuesday November 2nd at the Middle School.  In advance, the Weston League of Women Voters held a series of debates which is a long tradition and they will be publishing their Voters Guide.  The LWV solicited questions from the public ahead of the debates.

You can find recordings of the debates on their website at: 

https://www.lwvwestonct.org

Did you know we have big elections this year? Besides the Board of Selectmen, we have many open Board of Education positions!

When I first moved here in 1999 I did not know much about small town government but as the years progressed I learned just how important it is as to who is filling these elected board seats.  Then when I had children enter the school district it became even more important to me especially as it pertains to the Board of Education (BOE). The BOE has a high level of responsibility in Weston as 80% of our town budget is the school budget. In addition to making decisions about the school budget, they are responsible for hiring the WPS Superintendent.  This Superintendent then has responsibility for hiring/managing Central Office Leadership and school Principals and they in turn hire/manage their staff and so forth. They also are instrumental in giving feedback on the curriculum, developing district policies, working with district personnel on our facilities, and improving communications.

The BOE has 7 Board members divided by political affiliation so we end up with a 4/3 Board.  The party with the majority is the Chair and the minority is the Vice-Chair.  This November we happen to have 6 of the 7 spots up for election/re-election.  I thought it would be helpful if our parents had an opportunity to educate themselves about the BOE candidates prior to entering the voting booth on Tues. Nov. 2nd.  The 2 links below will take you to the Republican and Democratic locations for profile information about the BOE candidates (please note you can see profile information for all individuals who will be on the R and D ballot for all Boards).

I hope this is helpful.

Kristana

http://weston-democrats.org/campaign-2021/

https://www.kirbyandamyforweston.com/meettheteam

Have you heard about Cans & Bottles, Weston’s new 5¢-deposit redemption program?  Manned by Weston High School students, it donates 100% of its profits to town initiatives, including the Boosters Club and the Green Team.  It benefits the town (by lowering its waste-management fees) and the Earth (by keeping tons of toxins out of landfills). 

All the program needs now are your 5¢ redeemables.

Did you know that the benefits of the program increase proportionately to the number of cans, plastics, and bottles it recycles?  So, even if you use a garbage-collection service, please bring your 5¢-redeemables to the Weston Transfer Station (237 Godfrey Rd East) and deposit them in the bright red, green and blue sorting stations (one station for glass, one for aluminum and one for plastics).  There is also a separate recycling bin for non-redeemable glass like sauce jars and wine bottles.

It’s easy!  And you don’t need a sticker.  Better yet, the Transfer Station is only a six-minute drive from Weston Center.

The operation is run by Weston kids.  The sorting stations were custom-built over the summer by the Green Team.  Every Saturday morning throughout the year, WHS sports teams and Green Teamers gather in the sorting hut, together bagging the deposits ready for transport to the recycling center.  The kids are in charge of the playlist and an adult is always present.  The process is safe, clean and efficient.

It’s a win-win.  The program promotes team-building and spreads the good word on the ease, need, and value of recycling.  Last year it also:

·         donated over $8,000

·         kept over 250,000 cans, bottles and plastics out of landfills (where they take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade)

·         significantly reduced Weston’s waste-removal fees

Thank you for your support.  Together we can build a better future.