Hello Sprague!

With more than 115 skaters at yesterday's Ice Skating Party*, it's clear that we need more fun events on the calendar - and you're in luck, because we have a lot planned.

But first, we're thrilled to share that at last week's 5th Grade DJ Dance Party*, an excellent time was had by all. 

This week brings Grade 5 Orientation Night at WMS, a Lockheart Sprague Fundraiser, and great news especially if you forgot there's no school on Friday, an iCode Fundraiser! Details about all these awesome events are below and on https://www.spragueschoolpto.com/.

Best, 

Rose & Wendy

*Send your event pics to spragueschoolphotos@gmail.com for the yearbook!

The Hunnewell PTO would like to extend a very warm welcome to those families who might be joining the Hunnewell community this fall.  For those that would like to start learning more about Hunnewell now, we’d love to get connected! Kindly complete this Google Form to share some information & we’ll reach out to guide you on accessing PTO communications and invitations to PTO activities.

Additionally, as we're filling PTO positions for the upcoming school year, we enthusiastically encourage parents from our redistricted schools to consider taking on roles. Explore our PTO and volunteer opportunities on our website at www.hunnewellschool.org and feel free to express your interest in the Google Form. For any inquiries, please email our co-presidents, Heather Conway and Lillian Lau, at info@hunnewellpto.org.

Calling all outdoor lovers! Spring is here and we need lots of helpers! Please join us on one or both days to start the garden season. Click the links below for details on each event. The location is our vegetable garden right by the bus loop.

Garden Spring Cleanup Day

Date: Sat. April 27th, 2024 (Rain date: Sun April 28th, 2024)

Time: 9:30-11:30am

Sign up: https://tinyurl.com/spgarden24-1

Planting Day

Date: Sun. May 19th, 2024 (no rain date)

Time: 9:30 - 11:30am

Sign up: https://tinyurl.com/spgarden24-2

Feel free to email SpragueGreenTeam@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Garden Committee

Thank you to all who participated and thank you to our incredible PTO Social Committee for a successful event!

Thank you to all who helped to make this a fantastic night for our fifth graders, especially our Fifth Grade Committee!

Monday, April 8th

2:30 - 4:00 pm

Please join us on the Sprague fields at 2:30 to enjoy some fun activities, eclipse viewing and sun/moon-related snacks (after 3:05).* For those wishing for their child(ren) to be dismissed at 3:05, normal procedures will take place. 

Why? A total solar eclipse will be taking place and we will be able to see it from our very own field! We will provide eclipse glasses so everyone can safely watch the eclipse in action. Activities, games and snacks (after 3:05) will be included!

*In the event of inclement weather, the event will take place in the gymnasium, where we will watch a live broadcast of the eclipse and enjoy some fun activities. 

Greater Boston Social Dance (what we call "Assemblies") is looking for a fourth grade parent coordinator. 

The Greater Boston Social Dance Program provides a series of social dance classes that helps children develop social skills in both formal and informal settings. By learning and more importantly, practicing their social etiquette, our students walk away with great confidence by knowing what to do, not only in the ballroom, but in all situations in life. Students will learn the importance of a firm handshake, eye contact, posture, confidence, making a good first impression, standing as a sign of respect, everyday etiquette tips, escorting and seating partners and the importance of conversation.

Registration is opening up in April for current fourth grade students who will be participating in the fall as fifth graders. 

Interested parent volunteers may reach out to Doug directly at wellsdance@outlook.com. 

Time to clean out your wine shelf! 

We are seeking bottles of wine that have a minimum $20.00 value to be donated for a fundraising Wine Toss Game at the auction. If you have a spare bottle you'd like to donate and are not sure of the value, you may Google the price or use a wine app such as Vivino. 

Bottles may be dropped off at the home of Inia Perez, 411 Linden Street. You may bring the bottle of wine into her front porch and feel free to fill out a tag to be tied to the bottle. All supplies will be on a table in her porch. Please drop off your contribution by April 12th.

If you have a bottle but just can't add another thing to your schedule, please contact either Bry Tartamella (bryanne.tartamella@gmail.com) or Sneha Patel (designsbysneha@gmail.com) and we will coordinate obtaining the bottle from you. Thank you for your contribution!

WHO: 4th

WHEN: Wednesday, March 27th

WHAT:  Andrew Green from Potato Hill Poetry will join the 4th grade classes on Wednesday, March 27th! 

Any idea can turn into a poem! Poems are little stories. 

Students will listen to poems, make lists of ideas about subjects of interest, write their own poems and read aloud. Every visit from Andrew Green is a fun one and his interactive presentations are always enjoyed by all! 

WHO: Kindergarten

WHAT:  The EcoTarium visited kindergarten classes this past Wednesday! They were introduced to building houses, bridges and buildings! The challenge was, “Can your structure withstand elements-a hurricane, heavy snow and storms?” All of them were amazed that is not concrete that holds up a structure- it’s engineering!

As a follow up you could ask your student “what do you need to build a strong structure? “How does the weather affect a structure?” “Can a tornado blow it down?” “Can an earthquake shake a structure?” “Can heavy snow crush a roof?”

With the engineering design process, explore forces and motion with your child. You can use Jenga blocks or any type to test, build, and discuss engineering!

Can you volunteer for 45 minutes to help with Sprague Walk, Ride or Roll to School? This monthly event is a great tradition and the kids love collecting their footies! 

Volunteer time 7:45 - 8:30am. Volunteers help with table setup, assisting kids with signing in, and table breakdown.

Our next Walk, Ride & Roll to school is April 2nd

SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER HERE

Questions? Contact Ezra Englebardt at ezra802@gmail.com or Alex Baker at alexander.baker@icloud.com

Visit PTO Meetings for the full schedule. Want to work on an upcoming project? Let us know! 

DATE: Friday, April 5th

TIME: 8:35 - 9:25am

LOCATION: Sprague Library

As always, you may join by Google Meet.

Add to calendar

MARCH MEETING NOTES

WHAT: iCode Wellesley 1/2 Day Camp

WHEN: Friday, March 29th 9:30-12:30pm

PRICE: $75 per child 

DETAILS: Engage your children in a unique experience combining scratch programming with Game design and creation. During this 3 hour half day camp, your children will first learn to program using scratch (a visual block coding k’s usage) followed by an introduction to game design where they will be creating an interactive game.

SIGN UP HERE

25% of the money will go to benefit Sprague - Bring a friend or two!

BE SURE TO SHOW THE FLYER BELOW!

March 27th & 28th

Spend your 1/2 Day Wednesday at The Painting Place now through the end of the school year! 

Mention Sprague on a 1/2 day Wednesday and The Painting Place will donate 15% of your purchase to our PTO!

We are very excited to host our first-ever clearance sale on Spiritwear items stored in the PTO storeroom.

ORDER HERE

We have limited inventory with a first-come, first-served policy.

Please wait for the confirmation of your order before paying the Spirit wear through Venmo or PayPal (you will receive instructions via email).

If you don't find the item you want available in the form, it's sold out! Remember, you can order many more amazing Spiritwear items in our online store, 1st Place Spiritwear.

CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU NEED IN THE SALE? 

ORDER SPRAGUE GEAR FROM 1ST PLACE SPIRITWEAR

Click HERE to access our Family Directory.

Instagram @sprague_pto

Share your photos with our Social Media Chair, Nicole Katz (nicolestacykatz@gmail.com)!

Interested in occasionally volunteering at Sprague PTO events? Sign the All Hands On Deck volunteer list.

You'll receive emails when volunteer opportunities arise (i.e., shifts at the Fall Fest, set up a teacher appreciation lunch, hand out popsicles at playdates, pick up groceries or a gift card to meet a Give From the Heart request, etc...). 

This is a great way to get involved when you can!

Sign the All Hands on Deck Volunteer List

The Wellesley Middle School PTO looks forward to welcoming you next fall. We are spreading the word that we are actively recruiting 2 Presidents and 2 Vice Presidents to serve on the board next year. 

If you are curious to hear about what volunteer opportunities are available, please reach out to Katie Sullivan and Annie Oh at wmsptoinfo@gmail.com. 

The WMS PTO website contains more information about volunteering in the “About Us” section, found here: https://www.wellesleymspto.org/. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday at the 5th to 6th Grade Transition Night.

Join us on Thursday, April 4th from 9-10:30 for our monthly PAC coffee! The coffee will be at the home of Christine Mizzi at 16 Suffolk Road. The PAC supports families in town who have children (PAWS through WHS) that are receiving special education services from the district. 

If you are unable to attend, following are the dates for the 2023-2024 school year. Please feel free to bring a friend or forward to someone that you think may benefit from meeting others within the Special Education PAC community. 

Thursday, May 2, 2024

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Thank you to Sprague mother Allison S. Baker, MD, Child, Adolescent and Perinatal Psychiatrist, for spearheading this initiative.

Did you know? The mere presence of one's own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity.

We all want our children and one another to thrive at school, at home, and in our lives. Being fully present and with all of our available cognitive capacities is an essential ingredient of health.

Join us in Sprague's Wait Until 8th Pledge

This is a national pledge that empowers parents to rally together to delay giving a SMARTPHONE* until at least 8th grade. When we band together as a Spraguewell community, it decreases the pressure to give our children a smartphone at an early age. Ten years old is the average age children get their first smartphone. We can change this as a community and directly improve the mental health of our children and families. 

More than 50,000 parents have said yes to waiting on smartphones for their children. 

Signing the pledge is easy - visit https://www.waituntil8th.org/, enter your information, and look up Sprague using the "*Find Your Child's Current School" tool to join our community.

*Flip phones, watches with calling functions, etc. are not considered to impact children's mental health in the same negative way as smartphones. 

Sign Sprague's Wait Until 8th Pledge!

Did you know Shopper’s Corner is a unique resale shop located right in the basement of Schofield Elementary School? The shop sells new and gently used clothing and accessories from infant through adult. 

Not only do they promote sustainability, their prices are rock bottom: items start at $1 and most are less than $5!  

The store is open during the school year every Wednesday that school is in session from 8:30am to 12:15pm and the first Saturday of most months from 9am to 11am. 

Co-Presidents: Rose Nolan & Wendy Englebardt

Vice President: Ezra Englebardt

Treasurers: Hande Alparslan & Jill Wells

Creative Arts and Sciences: Carolyn Kornwitz

Secretary: Ceren Bayulgen

Communications: Liz Sower

Social Co-Chairs: Dena Giggie & Tanya Johnson

Social Media Chair: Nicole Katz

Spirit Wear Chair: Inia Perez

Raffle Co-Chair: Bry Tartamella & Sneha Patel

Wellesley Wonderful Weekend Co-Chairs: Alejandra Tejada & Open Position

Yearbook Coordinators: Julie Covino-Vogel, Ambika Hoguet, & Hadley Stephens

METCO Liaisons: Kasia Schwarzman & Nicole Katz

Parent Advisory Council Rep: Nicole Katz

Walk-to-School Coordinators: Ezra Englebardt & Alex Baker

Green Team: Tomoe Harrison & Jenny Lee

Garden Masters: Tomoe Harrison, Rose Nolan, & Margaret Flitsch

Sprague Night at Fenway Coordinator: John Wells