1. New and Noteworthy - Classroom Holiday Gifts, Holiday Gift Drive, Winter Extracurriculars, Coffee with the Principal, Upcoming PTA Meeting

2. Calendar of Events

3. Celebrating What We Do Best - 2nd Grade Enrichment - Authors Maureen and Chris Harrington, Kindergarten Enrichment - Tanglewood Marionettes, 2nd Grade Field Trip - A Year with Frog and Toad, December Staff Treats, Recess Cart, Pleasant/Monroe St Flashing Crosswalk

4. Around Belmont - FBE STAR & Community Awards, Final Community Engagement Event for the Chenery Park Project, Save the Date! Screenager, BASEC camp registration, Belmont Recreation winter registration

5. Volunteer Links and Reminders

This is our last newsletter of 2024! We hope everyone has a lovely winter break and look forward to connecting again in 2025.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! To show our appreciation for Winn Brook teachers and staff, your class Room Parents are organizing gifts on behalf of the entire class. Please note that contributions are completely voluntary; gifts will be from the entire class without individual names indicated. If you choose to give your own gift to teachers/staff, the limit is $50 per year. For additional details and ways to contribute, please refer to email(s) you should have received from your Room Parent(s). For additional gift giving guidelines please refer to BPS guidelines.

Thank you to Katie Hawko and Casey Wall for organizing this year’s gift drive, which wraps on Monday, 12/16. If you would still like to donate, please do so by Monday morning at drop off. Thank you to all that have already donated to the annual gift drive. Gifts will be donated to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. The Winn Brook community has been so generous with their donations!

Be on the lookout... PTA Extracurriculars Winter Session is Coming!
The preview for our Winter Session will begin on January 3rd, directly after we return from Winter Break. Mark your calendars for 9 pm on Sunday January 5th when registration for classes will open. Classes will begin the week of January 20th.

Please join us on Friday, January 10 at 8:45am for coffee with Ms. LaMontagne in the Winn Brook cafeteria. Please enter through the black top doors after drop off.

We are rescheduling the next PTA meeting, due to a conflict in guest speaker Superintendent Geiser’s schedule. The meeting will be held on Friday, January 17 at 8:45 am, in the Winn Brook cafeteria. Please enter through the black top doors after drop off.

Thank you to our 2nd grade enrichment coordinators Kris Foster and Alex Danahey for bringing us this inspiring story about  Ivy the Very Determined Dog. Ivy herself also joined us at school!

Thank you to Kindergarten enrichment coordinators Lauren Flynn and Andrew Laubscher for organizing this wonderful Dragon King show, an underwater fantasy based on Chinese folklore.

Thank you to our 2nd grade enrichment coordinators Kris Foster and Alex Danahey, the 2nd grade teachers, and all of our chaperones for organizing 2nd grade’s first field trip of the year. The kids had a blast riding the bus, and following children's book stars Frog and Toad as they discover fun events throughout the seasons.

Thank you again to Rachel Hardin for organizing this wonderful staff treat array, Marcia Valencia and Emily Runyon for their contributions, and all of our generous donors. Thank you to Winn Brook students Ian and Henry for coming in early to help set up the display.

By staff request, we have bought a new recess cart to be stocked with recess equipment for the kids to enjoy. Previously, each teacher would bring a few items outside individually - this cart will allow the teachers to pool their resources, and bring the cart out before the first recess and back in after the last recess.

Thank a teacher, staff member, crossing guard, coach, or anyone who has made an impact, with a FBE STAR and Community award. These awards make the perfect Holiday gift, and are a Thank You that gives back - funds raised from award purchases go to support educational enrichment programs funded by the FBE. You can view our latest round of grants awarded here.

Tuesday, December 17th, is the last day to purchase awards and guarantee delivery before school gets out for winter break. Purchase STAR awards here! To learn more about our STAR & Community Awards please visit our website here.

Parents and students are invited to a free showing of Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont High School auditorium. This event is hosted by the Belmont High School PTSO.

Screenagers (updated in 2024) is an award-winning documentary that looks at the impact of screen technology on kids. It features personal stories from families, depicting the messy struggles that parents, tweens, and teens are having over social media, video games, academics and screen addiction. Through interviews with parenting authors and brain scientists, the film offers ideas on how adults can help kids navigate the digital world in a healthy way. 

This is a community event and open to all Belmont parents and caregivers. Adults are encouraged to bring their middle school and high school-aged students. The film runs 60 minutes and will be followed by a discussion with the audience. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. 

Movie Trailer and More Information: https://www.screenagersmovie.com/about-screenagers

There are many more Belmont events to explore:
Belmont Voice Community Events
Belmont Public School Community Events

Libby Weintraub & Meenal Bagla & Michal Feldman

Winn Brook PTA Co-Presidents

presidents@winnbrookpta.org