Welcome back! We hope everyone had wonderful February break!

• Volunteer with the PTA

• New and Noteworthy

  • Skate Night - 3/14

  • Nurse’s Closet

  • Lunch Reminders

  • Vote Winn Brook PTA for WSB’s Customer Choice Award

• Calendar of Events

• Celebrating What We Do Best

  • Kindergarten Enrichment - Discovery Museum Force and Motion

  • February Staff Treats - We Love Our Teachers

• Around Belmont

  • Chenery Park & CUE Playground Revitalization Fundraising

  • Belmont Rec Programing

  • Belmont Wellness Coalition Parenting Group 2/26

  • PTA Appreciation Month at Mathnasium

• Volunteer Links and Reminders

The Winn Brook PTA board is already looking into the next school year to build our volunteer village. We have several volunteers who will be “graduating” out of Winn Brook, and many (including our entire executive committee) who will be in their last year. 

Please consider throwing your name into the hat to help make our Winn Brook community as special as it is. Everything the PTA does, including organizing enrichment opportunities and field trips, hosting community events (STEM night, multicultural night, ice cream socials, etc), our robust extracurriculars program, picture day, and coordinating with staff, can only occur when we have a strong network of volunteers. We have many events coming up in the next few months - this is a great opportunity to shadow the current chairs (i.e. coordinators - they still have help!) and consider if you are interested in something similar next year.

Take a peek at our Calendar of Events (also available in the School Directory) to review what we have coming up this spring! A full list of all our committees can also be found on the PTA website.

Some positions to consider:
Co-President (beginning SY2025-2026, 2 year term)
Treasurer - Shadow (SY2025-2026, to hopefully continue as Treasurer in SY2026-2027)
Picture Day Chair
Extracurriculars Chair
Food Drive Chair
Gift Drive Chair
STEM Night Chair

We invite you to connect with us for a non-committal conversation to learn more about any of these positions, or other ways you can contribute. Time commitments of all sizes are hugely impactful. If you are interested and would like to learn more, please email the PTA co-presidents at presidents@winnbrookpta.org. 

Nurse Carbeck maintains a closet of back-up clothing to offer children in the event they need a change of clothes in the middle of the day. This is helpful so that families do not have to leave home or work if a clothing incident happens, and everyone’s day can continue with minimal disruptions.
We are looking to replenish pants, shorts, socks and underwear.

To donate:

• Sign up here

• Place the clothes in a ziplock bag labeled with the size

• Drop off at the front office.

• Gender neutral colors (black/navy) are preferred

• Easy on pants/shorts (ie elastic bands) are preferred.

• Socks and underwear must be new, while pants and shorts may be gently used.

The sign up link will be saved below with the other Volunteer Links

On behalf of our wonderful lunch staff please consider:

1. Lunch Time Volunteers - Lunch periods are quick (a discussion for another day…) and it is extremely helpful to have an extra hand or two to assist in opening boxes, reminding students of lunchroom etiquette, and cleaning up. Please consider spending 20 minutes for a lunch shift, or come spend the afternoon with all four grades! Sign up here.
   

2. Lunch Accounts - Did you know that your child can ask for a second lunch or drink if they’re still hungry after their state funded free lunch? However, students must have money in their account to receive additional food. An additional entree is $2.50 while drinks are $0.50-0.75. To add funds to your children’s account you can pay in two ways:

   • Cash or check can be dropped off at your child's cafeteria.  Be sure to include your child's full name with envelope and/or in the memo section of the check. It is also helpful to list their cafeteria ID number - your student should know this.
     Checks can be made payable to "Belmont Food Service."
     If you have children in multiple Belmont schools, payments must be made to individual buildings. 

   • Online deposits to your child's lunch account can be made at MySchoolBucks.com. You'll need your child's birth date and school zip code (02478). Note: this is the same system that is used across all Belmont schools for the cafeteria, as well as school sports and bus payments.

Vote for Winn Brook PTA in Watertown Savings Bank’s (WSB) 26th Annual Customer Choice Awards! Donations of up to $15,000 will be awarded to nominated non profit organizations. Please spend 1 minute of your time to vote for the Winn Brook PTA. 

To Vote:

• Visit watertownsavings.com/vote, call Customer Support at 617-928-9000, or visit a WSB branch and ask for assistance from a Personal Banker. 

• List “Winn Brook PTA (04-2982429)” as the local non-profit organization

• Deadline: Friday, March 7th, 2025, 11:59PM. 

• One vote per person

• WSB customer votes are counted twice while non-customers votes are counted once.  

• Spread the word!

The Kindergarten classes recently explored the science of Force & motion with a workshop from the Discovery Museum. Through the physics-based workshop, they learned about the Laws of Motion to discover how things move. They experimented with different objects that move and then became the scientists themselves, constructing their own object that can move! The students asked many questions and had so much fun being creative with their materials. Thank you to our Kindergarten Enrichment Coordinators Lauren Flynn and Andrew Laubscher for helping to make this happen!

Thank you to our Staff Treats coordinator Rachel Hardin and her family, and to Ciara Glenmullen and her son, Connor, for helping to decorate and set up our Valentine’s Day themed staff treats. In a recent survey to staff, they unanimously expressed their gratitude for these monthly treats. We appreciate everyone’s donations to continue to make this possible!

The outdoor space and play structures at the CUE are in disrepair. The Recreation Department and the Friends of Chenery Park have led a process working with the Schools, DPW, town committees and boards, and the community, to develop a fantastic plan. We are so excited to create a dynamic and attractive space to build a strong community, generate pride at the CUE, and create a new amenity for the neighborhood and our town.

The design includes an outdoor classroom, new softball fields, new courts, and a stunning new playground. The project will go before Town Meeting this Spring. With funds requested from Community Preservation, no new taxes are required to make this project happen. However, we need your help to achieve a successful outcome. By voicing your support through a donation, you are ensuring the project is a priority for the CPC and Town Meeting. The money we raise will reduce the burden on CPC’s limited funds while enabling construction of all the features envisioned in the final design. Your kids will soon be at the CUE and will directly benefit from this project. Your support will deliver a better playground for all.

Please visit www.friendsofchenerypark.com for additional information and opportunities to get involved. We’d love for you to join our mailing list to get updates as the process unfolds.

Thank you!

Friends of Chenery Park

https://belmontwellness.org/parenting-group/

Meetings are held on the last Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm and are typically virtual. All are welcome to join – so please feel free to invite neighbors and friends.

Join us via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81577946616

This month we will meet on Wed. Feb 26at 7:00pm and discuss The Culture of Stress in Belmont – Impacts on Youth

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