Williams Weekly | September 9-13, 2019

In this week’s newsletter:

Welcome from the PTO
Back to School Social – Saturday September 14
Room Parent Volunteers
New Directory
Multicultural Night – Thursday, September 26
Volunteer Opportunities
Upcoming Events
Quick Links

We made it through the first week!

We hope you and your family had a good start to the school year and are starting to get settled into a routine (yay!)

We have many exciting and community-building events coming up, we hope you will join in the organizing, implementing and of course join in the fun.

One of our goals this year is to increase the ways and ease of participating in the PTO activities that support families with varying schedules and needs.

Part of this effort has been to update our Williams PTO Website and make the links easy and quick to find all things related to Williams. We welcome your feedback!

Another element is to continue using Facebook Live to allow families who cannot attend the Principal PTO Family Coffees a chance to watch and participate. Please join us through our private Williams Parents Facebook Group

Finally, we are excited about all we have planned for this year, but with many long-time volunteers graduating from Williams, we have many essential positions to fill on the Volunteer slate. These include Halloween Dance Committee, Teacher Appreciation Breakfast, Understanding Our Differences for 3rd Grade, Color Day, Dine to Donate. The success of these events depend on parent participation, and we hope you will join in to make this beloved events a success.

Expect to receive these weekly PTO newsletters on Wednesdays, so please let us know if you have anything you’d like us to add.

Feel free to reach out if you have questions or ideas, we welcome your input and involvement.

Sincerely,

Cristina, Sofia and Omer

Watch the Principal-PTO-Parent Coffee Live

Join our Facebook group and watch the Principal-PTO-Parent Coffee that happened Sept. 6 HERE

Back To School Social – this Saturday, Sept. 14

We tallied the votes, and the winner is…

We hope you join us for a fun time this Saturday for a movie… only, it won’t be on the field.

Due to the EEE threat, and the recommendation from NPS and HSD, we will be holding it in the gym.

We still recommend you bring your blankets, chairs or air mattresses (even inflatables could be fun) and join us.

Bad news: movie won’t be under the stars ?

Good news: we will have access to bathrooms

**Wally’s Ice Cream at 6:30pm $4/a cup (payable with cash or credit card)**

***Free movie and popcorn at 7:15pm***

Room Parent Volunteers

We are looking for Room Parents for your child’s classrooms. Being a Room Parent is a great way to get involved in the Williams community by meeting other families in your child’s class and getting to know your child’s teacher. Room Parents are an important liaison between the PTO, teachers, and families.

Responsibilities:

* Help build friendly relationships among parents in the classroom.

*Relay information from the PTO or the teacher to the parents in your classroom.

* Coordinate (with other Room Parents in your grade) a Staff Appreciation Breakfast and fun classroom activities.

* Organize classroom gifts for your teacher around the December holidays and End of School (more information to follow)

* Have Fun!

For more questions, feel free to reach out to Sarah Cheslock

Please click HERE if you are interested in becoming a Room Parent. It is beneficial to have at least two Room Parents for grades K-2, however we still need one for grades 3-5.

New Online Directory

MySchoolAnywhere is now…. MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT!

It has some of the same great features of MSA, but has added a few more cool tools to make connecting at Williams even easier.

Here’s what you need to do:

Go to williamsptoauburndale.membershiptoolkit.com.
Click on the Register/Login button.
Note: you will need to Register on a browser before using the App

Download the Free App!

Search for Membership Toolkit in the iTunes App Store or Google Play.

After you register on the website, use the same username and password you chose in the app to access our directory, manage your family information, make purchases, signup for volunteer activities, and more— all from your cell phone.

Multicultural Night –

Thursday, Sept. 26

Williams Elementary is unique in Newton to have one of the most culturally diverse communities, and we want to celebrate this!

Multicultural Night is a FREE night of family fun! All Williams students and families are invited to this annual event on Thursday, September 26 from 6:00-7:30pmbut its success truly depends on the involvement of our Williams families!

Families sign up to bring food, music, and introduce Williams’ families to their culture and background. In an hour and a half, our students and families travel around the world and learn all about our community’s roots.

However you choose to become a part of this wonderful night, be sure to join us in celebrating the diverse community we call home. More details are on the link.Sign up HERE to bring food for the potluck table or to represent your country!

Volunteer Opportunities

All parents and guardians of students at Williams School are members of the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization). Parent involvement in the school is a fundamental part of what makes the school experience here so special. There are various volunteer opportunities during school (Art and Library class) and after school as well as vital behind-the-scenes tasks that working parents can do to help. Please click HERE to take a look at our volunteer opportunities and consider signing up!

Note: If you have already volunteered for something, please be sure to update the Volunteer slate as we have transitioned from sign-up-genius.

If you are interested in a position but not sure because you have lingering questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the PTO Presidents.

NCE Classes @ Williams

Chess (Tuesdays 12:45-1:45) Grade 1-5

Digital Game Design (Wednesdays 3:15-4:15) Grade 3-5

Drawing Club (Thursdays 3:15-4:15) Grade 2-5

Cub Scouts

Is your son or daughter interested in Cub Scouts?
The Newton Cub Scouts invite families to an Open House for Boys and Girls, K-5, and their Families, to see if Cub Scouts would be a good fit for you and your family!During the school year families will participate in a number of fun and educational experiences with games, speakers, field trips, and camping oriented activities.
Contact Cubmaster, Rowell Levy at cubmaster@cubscoutpack208.org for more information.
For prospective and new scouts the Open House is Wednesday, Sept 18th, 7 – 8pm, Waban Library Center, 1608 Beacon Street.For new and returning scouts the first meeting is Tuesday, September 24th, 7 – 8pm, Waban Library Center, 1608 Beacon Street.
Starting in October the monthly meetings are the 2nd Wednesday night of each month, from 7 – 8pm, Waban Library Center, 1608 Beacon Street.

Upcoming Events

September

Saturday, 9/14 – Back To School Social (ice cream 6:30pm, movie ~7:15pm)

Monday, 9/23 – School Photos

Thursday, 9/26 – EARLY RELEASE

Thursday 9/26 – Multicultural Night 6-7:30pm

Monday, 9/30 – Rosh Hashanah, NO SCHOOL