ALCOTT NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Happy Thanksgiving from the Alcott PTG!
Concord-Carlisle Community Buddy Program Leadership announcement: We are continuing the Concord-Carlisle Community Buddy Program. Your elementary school student will be matched with a CCHS student to meet regularly over zoom. The meetings would be at least once a month for about 45 minutes until the end of the school year. The buddies can write back and forth, talk, play virtual games, help with school work, or just be a friend at a time when kids might feel like they do not always have someone there for them. Spots are limited, so once we reach max capacity, there will be a waitlist. We will pair buddies based on the order in which the sign-up occurred and interest. If you are notified you are on a waitlist, don’t worry, we will work to pair your student up with a buddy as soon as possible! If your child is interested in being paired up with a High School buddy, fill out the the Google Form! click here Thanks, Concord-Carlisle Community Buddy Program Leadership. If you have any questions please contact: kgarcia23@concordcarlisle.org, jlu23@concordcarlisle.org
From the Art Room - Green Art Bags: Many classes have been getting to the end of their collage units, and bringing their collage portfolios home in green Art Bags. Thank you to so many families for returning those reusable bags to the Art Room! If you can help your child remember to put the bag into their backpack to return, that would be great.
From the Art Room - K-2 Painting is next: Over the next couple of weeks, all of the K-2 classes will be starting a Painting unit in Art class. We do not have Art Room smocks for health reasons, as we don't want kids sharing clothing. The tempera paint that we use will wash out of clothing, although sometimes it needs a little help with stain remover before washing. Occasionally, some of the paint can stain some fabrics. So, please try to remind your children to wear clothes that can get dirty on their Art day!
Help shape the future of our schools! The Concord Public School District is building its Strategic Plan for the next five years and we need your help! Parents, teachers, students, and staff from our community are sharing their ideas about what matters most to them to help shape the district's plan. Parents Kate Grandbois and Hilary Drake are gathering feedback from our Alcott community. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts in the survey here. Your voice matters, and this is your chance to use it! Please respond by November 30, and encourage other Alcott families to do the same!
Holiday Cards? Minted TinyPrints Fundraiser: We are partnering once again with Minted and TinyPrints to fundraise for Alcott. Shop on minted.com using the code FUNDRAISEALCOTT to give 15% back to the Alcott while enjoying 20% OFF your order! Shop Minted and TinyPrints through our storefront - AlcottElementarySchool.ShutterflyStorefront.com - and they will donate 8% of your order back to Alcott. Share the code and storefront link with friends and family, local or far, to help make our fundraiser a success!
Alcott Twitter - Follow Alcott on its new Twitter account!
Update on the Middle School Project: Join the Middle School Building Committee for a Forum or Coffee Hour! There will be a Special Town Meeting January 19 at 7PM and a Special Election February 24 for Concord residents to decide whether to approve increased funding for the middle school building project due to extreme inflationary factors. Before then, please join a Public Forum or informal Coffee to learn the details of the options. The full schedule is here.
***Every Wednesday is now a half-day***
November 18: Alcott Spirit Day - Funky Friday
November 23: Half Day
November 24-25: Thanksgiving Recess
December 16: Alcott Spirit Day - Sweatshirt Day
CPS/CCRSD 22-23 School Calendar can be found here
IN THE COMMUNITY
Gingerbread House Kits through the Concord Free Public Library - The Concord Free Public Library Children's Department is offering children gingerbread house kits for the holiday season beginning Monday, December 12! Stop by the Main Library Children’s Department or the Fowler Branch Library to pick up your free kit. The kits will be provided on a first come, first served basis. One kit per family. Please note: these kits contain small pieces. We recommend adult supervision for our youngest participants. Thank you to The Concord Free Public Library Corporation for generously sponsoring this program!
In the Pale Morning Light – A Festival of Hope on Sunday, December 4th from 1:30 – 2:30 pm - The Concord Conservatory of Music presents the 2nd Community Sing on Sunday, December 4th. Here’s the opportunity for singing enthusiasts of all ages and levels to gather and enjoy making music together. Each one-hour singing session provides an opportunity to learn new repertoire and sing in a family-friendly gathering. There’s no cost to participate, just a love of singing! Led by CCM voice faculty Gray Leiper, this unique multi-generational chorus will sing musical selections that celebrate the seasons. Join us for our second of a 3-part Series, In the Pale Morning Light – A Festival of Hope on Sunday, December 4th from 1:30 – 2:30 pm. Then, cherish the rare gift of light in our winter months and sing with us at Concord’s annual Tree Lighting on December 4th immediately following the session. Sign-up for sessions in advance at ConcordConservatory.org and bring the entire family!
Free Public Speaking & Debate Workshop During Vacation Break! Sign up for a free Public Speaking and Debate Workshop on December 27, 28, 29 (Lexington, Newton and Online), hosted by Lumos Debate! Your child will love Lumos's friendly instructors and fun activities as they learn about: Speaking Confidence, Impromptu Speaking, Debate Fundamentals, Argumentation and Reasoning. This workshop is free for all Alcott students. Please make sure to use code ALCOTT when you register. Please do not share this code with families that are not from Alcott. Email info@lumosdebate.com or call 781-474-3359 with any questions. Register now at: lumosdebate.com/workshop
Open Table's Help Fill the Sleigh Food Drive @ The Concord Tree Lighting & Holiday Parade, Sunday, December 4, 3-6pm - Bring Food & Have Fun! Find us near the Main St. roundabout on the same side as Helen's. Start your afternoon with Open Table: Drop-off a shelf-stable donation, get a picture with Rudolph, make reindeer food, and play some reindeer games before enjoying all the other festivities on offer. For Kids 0-99! Spread the word & donate: Help us make this our biggest food drive ever! Hungry to Help Open Table? Follow us @opentablema on Instagram and Facebook to stay in-the-know!
Brighten the Night with WBYC: December 20, 2022 Brighten the night with green luminary kits from William's Be Yourself Challenge (WBYC) Organization as we come together to shine a light on mental health and grief awareness and remember a beloved community member. On February 19, 2019, William Shaw died in a tragic ski accident. He was 9 years old, in 3rd grade at Carlisle Public School. Every year since, the Carlisle and Concord communities have lit luminaries on his birthday, Dec. 20. This year, WBYC is selling luminary kits with 14 lights - 13 for William's 13th birthday, plus 1 light for you to use in memory of a loved one you have lost. For more information or to purchase a kit online, visit our website at www.williamsbeyourselfchallenge.org
Join the Middle School Building Committee for a Forum or Coffee Hour! There will be a Special Town Meeting January 19 at 7PM and a Special Election February 24 for Concord residents to decide whether to approve increased funding for the middle school building project due to extreme inflationary factors. Before then, please join a Public Forum or informal Coffee to learn the details of the options. The full schedule is here.
Concord Conservatory’s Music (CCM) Education Program for Kids with Developmental Needs—CCM is deeply committed to providing educational opportunities for all learners, working with the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts to bring Tones of Fun Developmental Music Class to our community. The winter session begins on Wednesday, January 4th, and the 45-minute class will meet on Wednesdays at 4:30 pm for ages 3 – 6 and 5:15 pm for ages 7 – 9. Music and its creative interactions make Tones of Fun the perfect teaching tool for children with developmental needs. Physical, language, social, cognitive, and musical development are stimulated through musical play in a celebratory social group of all ages and skill levels. Each class will incorporate simple percussion instruments, creative movement, improvisation, and playful props. A highly trained instructor from the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts leads the class and ensures that each student receives the attention they need in a safe and welcoming environment. No previous musical experience is necessary to participate. However, students must be accompanied by an adult to every class, participate effectively in classes, and maintain a safe environment for themselves and others. Parents/Caregivers can apply through CCM at: https://concordconservatory.org/programs/tones-of-fun-developmental-music-class/
Concord Conservatory’s Registration for Winter Group Classes—Feel the energy and power of music in 2023. Give the gift of music this holiday season! From newborn through adult, there’s a class for every age and ability. Register by December 16th to secure your spot. Balancing rigor with the joy and fun of creating music, CCM group classes provide excellence in music education. New classes include Ukulele Crash Course for Kids and The Hootenanny and the Folk Heritage for adults. Our Early childhood program includes Music Makers and Family Notes for the youngest musicians while adults can try ukulele, banjo, or guitar classes. Love bluegrass, sign up for the Bluegrass Solo Workshop. ConcordConservatory.org, info@concordconservatory.org, (978) 369-0010
Concord Rec: Mark your calendars - Winter Program Registration opens Wednesday, December 7th at 7:30am! Be sure to check our program options on our website at www.concordrec.com.
Sewing Workshops During the Concord Scholars sewing workshops, participants will learn to trace and cut patterns, measure fabric, hand stitch and (depending on the project) to sew using machines.
Festival String Orchestra Festival String Orchestra before school program is for students who have been studying basic skills since September and can play Twinkle Twinkle (#43 in the book) by January. The program is suitable for 4th year beginner students or second year + players (5th) graders. Join to further develop your ensemble playing skills on your string instrument. It's fun to make music all together! The final product will be sound recorded and emailed to the parents.
Concord Recreation Youth Basketball League Age-appropriate levels for everyone! Concord Rec basketball league will resume in January 2023! This 12 week season will consist of 6 games and 6 practice/scrimmage weeks mixed in for continuous growth and development.
CCYL Spring Lacrosee - 1st-8th grade registration is now open for the 2023 Spring lacrosse season. At a glance info: Girls Grades 1st + 2nd meet Sundays 10:00-11:15AM on the CCHS Upper Grass Fields. Girls Grades 3rd - 8th practice Tuesday/Thursday 6:00-7:00/7:30PM (depending on age group) on the CCHS Upper Grass Fields/Turf 2/Memorial; games are Sundays. Boys Grades 1st + 2nd meet Fridays 6:00-7:15PM on the CCHS Upper Grass Fields. Boys Grades 3rd - 8th practice Monday/Wednesday 6:00-7:00/8:00PM (depending on age group) on the CCHS Upper Grass Fields/Turf 1/Memorial; games are Sundays. Practices for 3rd-8th are projected to begin the the last week in March (weather dependent). For grades 3rd-8th there is a registration deadline of December 31st. We need to report the number of teams per grade to the Girls/Boys leagues months in advance of the Spring!
PJ Storytime and Treats at Fowler for West Concord Early Birds! Sat., Nov 19 9:30-10:15AM Fowler Meeting Room Fowler Branch Library 1322 Main Street, Concord, MA. Today's the day for Early Birds in West Concord! It's Pajama Day at many local businesses! They're opening early and offering sales from 6 am - 9 am. Come unwind at Fowler after your whirlwind morning with a storytime, muffins from Debra's Natural Gourmet and coffee and hot chocolate from Equal Exchange! This is a family storytime; all ages are welcome. No registration required.
Craft Fair – Saturday November 19th from 10:00am-3:00pm: Looking to buy from local vendors for the holidays? Check out our craft fair hosted by Concord Recreation at the Hunt Recreation Center.
FREE Lifeguard Classes at the Beede Center! The Beede Center is offering free Lifeguard classes in November and December. Register with the link above to reserve your spot.
Fund hospital beds for Ukrainian children’s hospitals. The War in Ukraine continues to rage, and hospitals desperately need beds for children's and maternity wards. Buy tickets for Concord's Ukrainian Quilt Raffle to raise money for hospital beds. A $250 donation funds one bed, and any donation is helpful. Our Concord fall goal is $25,000 for 100 beds! Please consider funding a bed - on your own or with friends and family. Raffle winner will be announced at the 12/4 Concord Tree Lighting - all donors will be notified by email of the result. Buy tickets here. For ore information please click here.
IMSCC Music Lessons - meet our new instructors! - The fall session is underway and enrollment is still open for new students to join us. Enrollment opens next month for the Winter-Spring session which begins in January - look for another announcement here soon. We are excited to introduce five new instructors this fall! Pianists Heekyung Michelle Lee and Eva Ostrovsky Kaminsky have joined our extensive piano studio and are accepting new students this fall. Liz Jewell, trumpet, and Soo Choi, flute, began teaching with IMSCC this summer and are currently working with students from the elementary schools, CMS and CCHS! Max Schwartz joined our faculty in September, teaching upright and electric bass as well as these new subjects: jazz piano, banjo and traditional fiddling! Students of all ages are welcome, including adults. You can browse our full faculty list here. Click here to learn more about IMSCC lessons. To begin the enrollment process please submit a lesson inquiry. If you have questions, email Debbie Levine.
Call for K-12 Artists: The 11th Annual Cool Science Artwork Competition - This year’s deadline is January 13, 2023 - Cool Science is a free and public art competition held each fall for all K-12 artists. Cool Science is a collaboration between the UMass Lowell, UMass Boston, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, University of Kansas, and Kansas City Art Institute. In 2019, Cool Science received a National Science Foundation grant that helped it expand the project beyond Massachusetts to Kansas, Missouri, and Southern New Hampshire. Challenge Questions - This year, we are asking young artists to answer one of the following challenge questions with a visual work of art: How might your experience with extreme temperatures be different from kids in other places around the world? Draw someone who is getting ready for flooding where you live. Draw a public transportation system (like buses & trains) that keeps working in a severe storm. Competition Winners - During this winter, we will select the best entries for display on public buses in 2023. The honorees will be recognized at our art exhibit celebrations next year. To Learn More - For further information about the contest, please visit: https://www.coolscience.net/artwork-guidelines-rules - You can also join our community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.
Please visit this space for updates on sports, music and theater registration dates, seminars, and more events throughout town.
PTG online volunteer information and sign-up: Please visit our website to discover all the ways both working and non-working parents and guardians are needed to support our wonderful staff, students, and families. Have something to offer that you don’t see listed there? There’s a place for you to submit that info as well! We hope to hear from you!