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Originally delivered on 3/9/2020 6:43 pm

SUBJECT: WHS THE WORD March 9, 2020

WHS THE WORD

Monday, March 9, 2019

ISSUE #14
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 IN THIS ISSUE

President's Message

WHS PTO Board Nominations for 2020-21 School Year

PTO Programs

Treasurer's Report

Philanthropy

BOE Report

BOE: Understanding the School Budget Process

Updated Bylaws

Memorial Day 5K Run, Walk & Fun Run

Class Notes


Coming Up (WHS Calendar)

March 10K-12 Early Dismissal (WHS 11:45)
March 16BOE Monthly Meeting, 7 pm, WMS
March 18Spectrum Concert, 7 pm
March 25SAT (Testing) - Junior Class
March 26WHS Q3 Ends
March 26K-12 Early Dismissal (WHS 11:45)/Professional Dev
March 26-29 Company Spring Musical, Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 3 pm
March 27WHS Q4 Begins
April 10NO SCHOOL Good Friday
April 13-17NO SCHOOL Spring Recess
April 28NO SCHOOL Professional Development

Events occur at WHS, unless otherwise noted. 


 

A Letter from the President's Desk

Dear Weston High School parents,

We are beyond the halfway point of the school year, but there are still many reasons to be part of our PTO community. If you are not already, please CLICK HERE to join our membership which we are offering this year, for the first time ever, free of charge. Community, communication and connectivity are the focus of the 2019–20 PTO year. Join our group to ensure that you receive our bi-monthly newsletters to keep you “in the know”. CLICK HERE to read past issues of The WORD from this school year.

We are beginning the process of building our PTO board for the 2020-21 school year. If you are interested in getting involved with our organization next year, please CLICK HERE for the Board Nomination Form. You can nominate yourself or a friend that you believe would make a great addition to the PTO board.

Please enjoy reading this special issue of The Word.  It is filled with school and PTO related information including:

  • a video of the presentation made at last Friday’s General Board meeting by Vanessa Eisenman, from the WHS English department, on the school’s Writing Center,
  • a short video by Principal Wolak on the results of the Climate Survey as it relates to the high school;
  • a snapshot of the PTO’s financials from our treasurer, Jen Meir,
  • details of three philanthropy requests that were approved at Friday’s meeting

And more!

Please take a look at the Calendar for important dates coming up, including the recently added half day schedule for all students K-12 on Tuesday, March 10.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns or compliments you would like to share regarding your experience with the PTO, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a great week! 

Anne Troxell

WHS PTO President

Troxellanne@me.com


 

WHS PTO Board Nominations for 2020-2021 School Year

Looking for a way to get involved in the WHS PTO? Do you know someone that would like to be involved? Click HERE to nominate yourself or someone else!

Any questions, please contact me at caseysaussy@mindspring.com.

-Casey Saussy


PTO Programs

On Friday, March 6th, we had the pleasure to hear from Venessa Eisenman, an English teacher at the WHS since 2014. Venessa is also very involved with the Writing Center at the high school and a Coordinator of the Writing Portfolio process. The Writing Portfolio is a sophomore year requirement. Every student submits writing pieces that must meet a certain level of expectation to achieve proficiency. Besides the Writing Portfolio, students make appointments with a staff member of the Writing Center to review written work, to discuss writing struggles and ideas as well as work on student's college essays. Click HERE to download & view a video of the presentation.

Principal Lisa Wolak presented the recently released Climate Survey that the district conducted. Overall, the students, staff, and parents had overwhelmingly positive or neutral responses to the questions asked. Principal Wolak feels very strongly in working to address the neutral responses. She thinks this is an area where the high school can do a better job in creating a happier, healthier community environment. Click here for The Climate Survey. Click HERE to download & view a video of the presentation.

-Angela Zielinski, WHS PTO Vice President


 

Treasurer's Report

Opening Balance : December 1 $50,271, Closing Balance January 31 $38,451. Net income January YTD date $14,936.
 
Homecoming Spirit Fund, Mid-Term Breakfast and Sport Broadcaster Center were approved philanthropy funds totaling $11,821 in December and January.
 
December and January financials were preliminarily approved at the Executive Board Meeting February 10th and received final approval at the General Board Meeting on March 6th.
 
-Jen Fish-Meir, WHS PTO Treasurer

Philanthropy

On Tuesday Feb. 25th, we held a special WHS PTO Philanthropy meeting to review past donations and brainstorm for the future. We had 15 people from our WHS PTO General Board in attendance including Principal Lisa Wolak! It was a very productive discussion focused on the goals of the school and the mission of the PTO. Minutes and documents from this meeting will be available in a future newsletter.

This past Friday, at the General PTO Board meeting, the following 3 requests were approved:
 
- Youth Mental Health First Aid Training - Up to $3500 for training of the WHS social worker to become a certified trainer, which she will in turn, train others. It is meant to help adolescents (12-18) who are experiencing a mental heath or addiction challenge or is in crisis.
- Trout Fish Tank Equipment - $1007 for equipment to complete a donated trout tank.  This will add a 2nd tank to accommodate the increased Environmental Science program.
- 3D Printer - Up to $2500 for a 2nd 3D printer to use in the Project Lead the Way (PLWT)/Engineering program as the program has expanded the last few years.
 
Any questions, please contact the Philanthropy Chair at kristana.esslinger@gmail.com.

BOE Report

Click HERE to read the WHS PTO BOE Representative, Laura Schlossberg's report from the February BOE meeting.

This report includes a detailed summary, notes, and links to recorded meetings, including a summary of the public Q & A discussion held before the regular meeting.


 

BOE: Understanding the School Budget Process

January of each year marks the time when the Weston Public School administration presents the Recommended Operating and Capital Budget for the next school year to the Board of Education (BOE) for review, modification as necessary and ultimate approval. The District’s annual budget is approved by timetables specified in statutes and the Town Charter.

Key upcoming dates:

  • March 24, 2020, 8pm (Tues.): Board of Finance holds Public Hearing on budget request - WMS Library.
  • April 7, 2020, 7.30pm (Tues.): Board of Finance Budget Deliberation Meeting.
  • April 22, 2020, 8pm (Wed.): Annual Town Budget Meeting - WHS Auditorium.
  • May 2, 2020, 12-8pm (Sat.): Proposed Referendum.

Past budget meetings can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfiS5TdWMVozkWFY1FS3knw/videos


 

Revised Bylaws

On January 10th and March 6th of this year, amendments were made to the WHS PTO bylaws. You can find the new bylaws HERE.
 
-Shannon Nordlinger, Bylaws Chair, shannord@gmail.com

Memorial Day 5K Race, Walk, and Kids Fun Run

Mark your calendars!!  The the 27th Annual Weston Memorial Day 5K Race, Walk and Kids Fun Run is scheduled for the morning of Saturday, May 23rd, 2020!!

Calling the entire Weston community to come out for this family friendly event.   We are planning food trucks, prizes, kids’ bouncy house and more.

This is the largest fundraiser of the year for Weston High School. The WHS PTO allocates proceeds from the event to fund a variety of enhancements to the Weston High School Curriculum.

Help us run the race! Volunteers are needed and there are a number of ways to help! Please contact us at weston5k2020@gmail.com for more information.

Join in the excitement as we begin to unveil clues to this year’s theme.  

It's a bird, it's a plane.....

5K2020 Co-chairs

Maggie Kins
Alison Nevitt
Bradie Paul


 

Class Notes

Senior Class:

SAVE THE DATE - April 25 - for a final FUNdraiser for our Senior Class. Game night including Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament, Bingo, LRC and more. Food catered by our very own Alison Grace of AMG Catering, drinks and prizes for game winners!  

Junior Class:  


Sophomore Class:


Freshman Class:

Click HERE for a full list of PTO Grade Parent Reps.


 

Reminders & Other Notes

Join the PTO:

If you are reading this and 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 biweekly on Mondays (except holidays & vacations). Please send your WHS-related submissions by the preceding end of day Thursday to whsptocommunications@westonpspto.org. The Winter 2020 schedule for THE WORD newsletter publications will be Jan 13 & 27, Feb 10 & 24, March 9 & 23. 

Community or "Around 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 submissions or questions 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.