Elementary Ice Cream Social - June 7th, 6-7:30PM
/Elementary Ice Cream Social - June 7th, 6-7:30PM
Elementary Read-A-Thon Recap & Thank you!
/
The Elementary Read-a-thon was a huge success! We set a lofty goal of raising $6K based on last year's profits, not realizing at the time our number from last year included RAMS, as well. A total of 2,721 bookmarks were hung across Placentino and Miller - thanks to our AMAZING weekly volunteers, led by Beth Leach! We raised over $3,500. These funds will go right back to our youngest students for some fun end of year activities.
Thank you everyone who participated, donated and volunteered. While it seems the precipitation has finally weaned our understanding is the indoor recess bins were a huge hit in February and early March when late winter was at its worst. We know these bins will continue to make an impact when outdoor recess isn’t possible.
Please be on the lookout for a survey in the coming weeks about your experience with this year's Read-a-thon as we begin to plan for next year.
Elementary Square One Art Fundraiser - Order by April 10
/
Hello Families,
Coming home to you soon is your child's custom catalog for the Square 1 Art fundraiser - featuring their own name and art on the cover, WITH FREE STICKERS OF THEIR ART!
Get a head start, and order keepsakes and gifts featuring your child's art online NOW, if you like! Simply search for your child's art using Art Search, and enter state, school name, and your student's name. Your student's art and code will appear, and you may order! NEW - *Ship to Home FREE (*Customer pays a small $1.99 processing fee at checkout and order ships to home.)
Order by: 4/10/2024
Upload additional art if you like, using Art Upload!
If you have questions, or need anything at all, contact customer care online.
Thank you for supporting our schools!
Christine Charette
Square 1 Art fundraiser coordinator
Miller & Placentino Elementary
First Elementary Mathapalooza Recap
/Miller & Placentino’s first “Mathapalooza” family-fun STEAM learning night was a HUGE hit! Over 500 students were in attendance - much more including families! Who wouldn’t want to attend after seeing that amazing marketing video the elementary educators put together??
Some of the events included: plush perch, penny polish station, place value bean bag toss game, Zeus on the Loose, pentominos, architects and builders, scooter races, Olympic events and so much more! Students were excited to visit as many stations as they could so that they could get a prize at the end! Another highlight was singing Happy Birthday to Principal Keim! We hope this will be a Holliston tradition for years to come.
A special thank you to Ashley Bouchard and Allison Curley for spearheading the event, and Jess Scalzo and Beth Leach who assisted from the PTO.
2024 Basket Raffle Fundraiser SUCCESS - Thank You to the Holliston Community!
/
THANK YOU! The Basket Raffle Extravaganza was a HUGE success! While we did not reach our lofty goal of $30K, we did reach our realistic goal of $15K, actually we raised over $18K!!
Thank you for communicating, collecting, putting baskets together, dropping them off, and promoting! Thank you for purchasing raffle tickets too!
Winners:
Barbie - Cynthia Bishop
Nerf Basket - Stephanie Vale
Taste of Massachusetts - Ashley DeRoy
LEGO - Julio Montero
Let's Get Physical - Laura Durham
High Tech -Jason Adamson
Crafty Corner - Maura Sweeney
Oh the Places You Will Go - Jennifer Roland
Sports Maniac - Melinda Lohan
French Experience - Ellen Portal
Pot O' Gold - Michelle Isen Smith
Special thanks to our local businesses who provided snacks and treats for the live celebration at Upper Town Hall:
These funds go directly back to our students, teachers, and staff through grants of supplies and curricular enrichment materials, assemblies with outside speakers like CHALLENGE DAY, field trips, donation towards All Night Graduation Party, annual scholarship for a graduating senior, light breakfasts, snacks, and treats for teachers and staff on Professional Days, and Wellness Centers for educators. We also grant funds to each school annually to supplement the Parent to Parent program, Outdoor Learning Alliance projects, and social emotional education, to name a few.
Thank you,
Jen Peterson and Stacey Raffi
Basket Raffle Co-Chairs
Placentino & Miller Present: Mathapalooza - March 14, 6:30-7:30pm
/Join us in the Miller/Placentino cafeteria and gym for a family fun STEM night on March 14 from 6:30-7:30. Click here for details.
RAMS Read-A-Thon: March 4-22
/RAMS families, get ready for our second annual read-a-thon hosted by our RAMS Student Leadership Team with Mr. Vendetti! Beginning March 4 and running through March 22, students will be encouraged to read and then record their minutes via a Google doc that will be provided during English classes. Donations towards the read-a-thon are gratefully appreciated. We have 3 easy ways to make a donation:
Venmo @HollistonPTO (note RAMS Read-A-Thon in comments)
Send in a check made out to Holliston PTO- note RAMS Read-A-Thon on memo line.
Ski/Snowboard Club Update
/
Holliston PTO Ski & Snowboard Club - It’s a wrap for the season and we offer our thanks to the volunteer coordinators, Justin Wing, Elissa Sanford, and Andy Ferland! This year there were close to 300 student participants, 4th through 12th grade and we especially also thank our chaperones who made sure everyone had a great and safe experience. “Well done!” goes to our students who did their part as well - they respected one another, had fun and honored the rules of the hill and buses.
For planning purposes, the club days will remain in place; Tuesdays for RAMS, Fridays for Miller, and Sundays for the high school. A huge thanks to Justin and Andy who are returning next season and welcome Joanna Westland who has agreed to be the overall coordinator! Without their commitment and enthusiasm this club could not happen. We welcome all chaperones back next season and we are actively looking for a RAMS Coordinator. Thank you again and we will see you next season!
Goldfish Swim School - Donating Membership Fees to Holliston PTO in February
/Join Goldfish Swim School in February and mention Holliston PTO to have your membership fee ($35) donated to the Holliston PTO!
We LOVE to Read in February! Elementary Read-A-Thon
/
Calling All Book Lovers!
We Love to Read: The Elementary Read-A-Thon is coming up in February! See our flyer for more details about the Read-A-Thon starting February 1st! Please help us make it successful! You can help by:
Preparing Read-A-Thon Materials
Join us at the Holliston Public Library on Wednesday, January 24 in the Gilman Room to papercut, staple, sort, and count materials! We'll be there from 6-8pm, join us for any amount of time that you can spare! Thank you to all the volunteers who helped out this past Wednesday--10 of us cut over a thousand bookmarks, stapled 700 to flyers, and have class piles ready for preschool, kindergarten, first, and Montessori!
Help Create Indoor Recess Prize Baskets
We need to create 7 Indoor Recess Prize Baskets (Preschool-Grade 5)! We're looking for a couple people to take on this project--we're collecting new/gently used games/puzzles/legos/magnatiles/playdoh supplies/etc, and also have a budget to purchase more of these items, drawing materials, and whatever else may make for a fun indoor recess for a class of kids! If you're interested in helping out, email Beth Leach or Jess Scalzo to learn more!
If you have any new/gently used board games, card games, puzzles (especially 100 pieces), legos, or magnatiles, or new drawing supplies, we're collecting! We are especially in need of items for Miller aged students to round out our baskets! We also need big bins/baskets to contain our prizes, if you have any laying around! You can drop off to 10 Mill St or send us an email!
Any Questions?
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us!
Beth Leach: beth.allen.leach@gmail.com
Jess Scalzo: scalzo.jessica@gmail.com
Thanks and Happy Reading!
Beth Leach and Jess Scalzo
Elementary Update: Meetings & Read-A-Thon
/New! Operational Elementary PTO Meetings
We will be holding Operational Elementary PTO meetings on the following dates: January 17th, March 27th and May 29th. These meetings will be from 7-8pm at Holliston Public Library, Gilman Room.
We expect the first meeting to be primarily focused on February's read-a-thon and any other general Elementary school topics that need to be worked through. We hope to see you there!
Elementary Read-A-Thon - February
Reading is FUNdamental, so in February 2024 we will bring back the FUN!
Sticking with our normal winter fundraiser, the PTO will host the Elementary Read-a-thon for the month of February but with a renewed focus on READING because we LOVE to READ!
Keep your eyes out for more information on Read-a-thon volunteer opportunities throughout the month of February.
Want to get involved? Email us hollistonpto@gmail.com.
Open Role: Professional Development Day Breakfast Coordinator
/New Position! Professional Development Day Breakfast Coordinator
The PTO is seeking a volunteer to handle the teacher and staff breakfast planning and execution at all schools on Professional Development days.
Time Commitment: 3 to 4 mornings per year
Responsibilities:
Place order with Coffee Haven
Coordinate with Treasurer for snacks from wishlist,
Coordinate with admin assistants at each school to have tables available for coffee and snacks
Set up as needed and coordinate with additional volunteers as need (keep red table cloths and PTO signs from breakfast to breakfast)
Email hollistonpto@gmail.com to inquire!
Open Role: Square One Art Coordinator
/PTO Open Role: Square One Art Coordinator
The PTO is seeking a new volunteer to take over the Square One Art Coordinator role. This person will shadow the current coordinator beginning in 2024, and will take over during the 2024-2025 school year.
Timeframe: March/April
Shadow existing coordinator to learn the process
Work with Art Teachers to have students create their art
Assist as needed with online ordering
Email hollistonpto@gmail.com to inquire!
Coming Soon: Basket Raffle Extravaganza for Holliston's 300th!
/The Holliston PTO is thrilled to host our annual Basket Raffle this year bigger than ever in conjunction with Holliston’s Tricentennial celebrations. Please save these important dates:
Friday, March 1, 2024: Online raffle sales and basket viewing will open
Wednesday, March 20, 2024:
12-8PM: Live basket viewing in Holliston Upper Town Hall (703 Washington St.)
8-9PM: Live drawing - we would prefer people to pick up baskets by 9PM, but we can deliver baskets on March 21, 2024 as well.
Unlike previous years, we are asking that families in ALL grades (PK-12) participate in creating a basket.
Stay tuned for an email in January with ALL the details!
Holliston Youth & Family Services Webinars: Executive Function Strategies for Creating Successful Students
/Holliston Youth & Family Services has partnered with Engaging Minds to offer 2 webinars on Executive Function Strategies for Creating Successful Students. The first webinar on January 24th will focus on students in grade K-5. The second webinar on January 31st will focus on grades 6-12. Click the image appropriate for student’s grade level below to register.
January 24th - 12pm - Grades K-5
Click the image to register
January 31 - 7pm - Grades 6-12
Click Image to register
Community Impact: What Your Donations Have Done So Far
/With Thanksgiving upon us, we'd like to take a moment to share how thankful we are for your generous support of the PTO and of the HPS Community. We're only 3 months into the school year and because of your donations and memberships, we've already been able to provide:
breakfast for students in need at all 4 schools
Puzzles and kinetic sand for a destressing zone in the RAMS library
Birdseed to attract birds for observation for Ms. DeLuca's 7th grade science class
Paper cutters and laminators for teachers to create reusable materials for their classrooms
Mosaic Puzzle Posters to build community at RAMS
Sketchbooks for art classes
Fidgets and stickers for classroom prize boxes
Timers and clocks to build student executive function skills
Wireless presentation remotes to enable teachers to move around classrooms during lessons, better utilizing proximity as a behavior management technique
Flexible seating, including yoga mats, pillows, wobble stools, and Montessori-aligned desks, for multiple classrooms
Classroom scientific calculators, scissors, pencils, and other school supplies to increase equity across all 4 schools
Breakfast for faculty and staff on professional development days
Emergency clothing for students in need
Pumpkins for the elementary pumpkin stroll
This is not an exhaustive list, but provides a sense of what your donations can accomplish. Please join us for a PTO meeting if you’d like a better sense of the budget and program funding.
Community Impact: Operation Pumpkin Patch!
/As part of our Community Impact blog series, we highlight events where the community came together in support of our schools. Recently, Out Post Farm and 17 PTO volunteers worked together to accomplish Operation Pumpkin Patch! This was a coordinated effort to transport 260 pumpkins from Out Post Farm to Placentino for the PreK/K Pumpkin Stroll which was held on October 27th.
The Pumpkin Stroll is a favorite Placentino fall event where Pre-K and Kindergarten students decorate little pumpkins for their class pumpkin patch, parade outside the school in fall attire or costumes, and then sing adorable fall/pumpkin related songs for their families.
We’d like to extend a big THANK YOU to Out Post Farm for providing over 260 pumpkins and to the 17 volunteers who loaded, transported, unloaded, and created the Pumpkin Patch!
Volunteers:
Beth Leach
Brittany Ela
Elissa Simkins
Elizabeth Navarro
Emily Raffile
Jacqueline Hayes
James Archibald
Jennifer Schiavoni
Jess Scalzo
Liz Ahluwalia
Lucas Wisner
Marissa Marcoux
Marissa Santos
Mary Ann Sanchez
Mary Arnold
Michelle Nauss
Sarah Hill
PTO Hosts First Autumn Appreciation Gathering 10/26/2023
/On Thursday evening, October 26th, we had a fantastic time with parents, teachers, staff, SEPAC, and HYFS at our first Appreciation Gathering! We thank everyone who joined us to celebrate our wonderful volunteers and school community, as well as Anthony's on the Green who did a spectacular job with the catering and service.
