PTG Highlights: K Registration, Principal Search, PAL 3/29, Garden Project

Kindergarten Registration Information: Alcott is in the process of Kindergarten Registration planning for the 19 - 20 school year. We are gathering the list of student names eligible for Kindergarten in the Fall. If you know of someone in your neighborhood that has a Kindergarten age child, and has not heard from Alcott School, please ask them to call the school office at 978-318-9544. Kindergarten Registration packets will be mailed out on March 22nd.

Mrs. Atkinson is in need of volunteers to help out on the Kindergarten Registration days, Tuesday April 23rd and Tuesday, April 30th at 1:00 and 2:00 PM. If you can help for an hour or more on either of those days, please email Cheri Driscoll at cbdriscoll@comcast.net. It should be a fun time greeting the students and their parents while collecting the appropriate paperwork. Thank you!

Principal Search Update: The search to find Alcott's new Principal has been underway and we'd like to give an update on where we are in the process. The Committee crafted 11 questions based on qualities and characteristics Alcott's new Principal should possess that were brainstormed with staff/faculty and parents over the last 3 weeks. The Principal Search Committee has identified and interviewed 8 candidates this week and hope to name the top 2-3 by the end of the week. We are shooting to hold a forum with the Alcott Community and the finalists on the evening of Tuesday, March 5 (time and place TBD). If you have any questions or would like more info, please reach out to Megan Carroll (megancarroll80@hotmail.com) or Jane Baldini (jane.baldini@gmail.com).

There are still open spots in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades for the next Parent at Lunch on March 29th! The office must be able to confirm your CORI status before your spot is approved. The future PAL dates are 4/26, 5/31, 6/7. Please add your name to the waitlist if your grade is full. Also please remember that you cannot give your spot to another family member as individual CORIs must be approved per person. Click here to sign up.

The Alcott Student Garden Project Needs Your Help! Do you have expertise and/or ability to
provide the following services? - Fence Installation (12” deep perimeter trench and post installation). - Drip Irrigation Installation. If so, please email alishaboyajian3@gmail.com for more information. The Alcott Student Garden will offer students and teachers an opportunity to spend time outdoors, observe and participate in the process of growing food, and make connections to classroom curriculum whenever possible. The fence and irrigation are vital to the success of the garden program and must be in place before students are able to plant vegetables. Any assistance is greatly appreciated and supports the greater gardening movement at Alcott and within our district.

HAPPENING AT ALCOTT
March 8: Geography Quest Deadline
March 12: METCO Late Bus
March 13: PTG Meeting
March 15: School Spirit Day – Crazy Hair Day
March 29: PAL, Math Night

PTG Highlights: PTG Meeting, Bus Depot L&F, Middle School Info Session, Math Night, Geography Quest

PTG Meeting: Please join us for our monthly PTG meeting next Wednesday February 13th at 9:15 AM in the faculty room. All are welcome ~ hope to see you there!

Thank you to one and all for making the Staff Appreciation Luncheon on 1/29 a success! All your contributions truly showed the Alcott staff our appreciation for all they do for our children. Heartfelt thanks to all those who contributed by cooking, donating money, and giving time to set up and clean up - Jennifer Soillis & Angela Lipson, The Staff Appreciation Co-Chairs

A Note from Ms. Kwarcinski in the Music Room: Please take a moment to read the Music Notes column. You will see the activities in which your child has been involved in the Music Room. It's been a very busy winter! Please click here for the web page. 

PAL announcement: There are still open spots in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades for the next Parent at Lunch on February 15th! The office must be able to confirm your CORI status before your spot is approved. The future PAL dates are 3/29, 4/26, 5/31, 6/7. Please add your name to the waitlist if your grade is full. Also please remember that you cannot give your spot to another family member as individual CORIs must be approved per person. The sign up list is on this Google doc link.

Alcott Winter Workshops! Looking for before or after school enrichment for your child? Please click here to view list of workshops. Start your child’s day off right with the new Community Service/Kindness Workshop of Stop Motion Animation. Stretch your body with Before School Sports or Bollywood Dance. Sample and cook healthy foods in the Kids Test Kitchen. Workshops begin after February break with the exception of Kids Test Kitchen which begins next week!  All classes are 6 weeks in length. Financial Aid is available and all requests remain confidential. To register click here or here. Program flyer will go home in your child’s backpack. If you have any questions, contact the PTG workshop committee.

Information Sessions: Planning for a new Concord Middle School Building: February 13, 6:30-8pm and February 14, 9:30-11am. The Concord School Committee invites you to the first two Information Sessions regarding proposed plans for a new middle school building.  Join us to learn about the recommendations, ask questions, and provide feedback. Funding for a Feasibility Study and Schematic Design of a new building will be up for a vote at Town Meeting, beginning April 8. Between now and then, the School Committee will host a series of Information Sessions and Public Forums to ensure that everyone has a chance to become familiar with the options for moving forward.  The full schedule will be announced soon and will include daytime, evening, and weekend options. To get educated early, please join us: Wednesday, February 13, 6:30-8pm in the Sanborn Auditorium; Thursday, February 14, 9:30-11am at the Ripley Administration Building, Conference Room 4. Questions? Email the Concord School Committee at concordschoolcommittee@concordps.org. We hope to see you there! 

Lost and Found items at transportation: Please view them here.

Calling all METCO Family Friends! Please join us on February 12 for an afternoon of bowling, pizza, and games. We will meet at the Acton Bowladrome between 12:45 and 1pm. There will be pizza served for lunch, 2 games of bowling, and a $5 gift card for each Buddy. We will leave the Bowladrome by 2:30pm in order to make the 3pm late bus. *Each child attending will need transportation to this event and at least 1 adult per Buddy pair to stay at the event. Please RSVP by 2/10 with names of children attending. Siblings are always welcome, but will need to be paid for separately. Please rsvp for siblings as well because I will need to count them in our #s. Please RSVP to the Evite here to make sure we have accurate #s. Make sure to include name of adult attending and names of all children (including siblings) that will be participating.

Save the date! Math Night 2019: Friday, March 29th 6-8PM. Family Math night intended for ALL Alcott grade levels will focus on the math of Weather! Prizes & Raffles. Let's play Math games and have fun together! Sponsored by the Alcott PTG. 

The 2019 Geography Quest is Right Around the Corner!! This year in the Geography Quest we are going to visit some well-known and other lesser known National Parks all within the United States. For those of you that are new to the Concord Elementary Schools, the Geography Quest is an annual PTG-sponsored event that lets our Alcott, Thoreau, and Willard families explore geography together, while learning history and how to use reference tools. This year includes some fun dialogue with students and former U.S. President – Theodore Roosevelt, sometimes referred to as the Preservation President. The Quest continues to be in an updated fashion with some word searches as well as some reading comprehension and open-ended questions encouraging our children to be more creative and thoughtful with some of their responses and reducing the amount of outside research needed. The Quest will be sent home in your child's backpack early next week. This is for pure FUN and ENJOYMENT!! While it is not required and will not be part of any academic record, we hope the vast majority of you will take advantage of this cool family activity – great way to spend a few hours during February vacation. You can find the answers using lots of different sources – internet, encyclopedia, atlas, globe, books at the library and more!  All ages can participate, even Kindergarteners. The Quests are due back by Friday, March 8. Please make sure the form has your child’s full name, grade and teacher on it. Any child who turns in their quest (regardless of the number attempted) will receive a prize! So please encourage your child to try it out and visit at least one or more of the U.S. National Parks. Questions Contact AlcottGeoQuestCommittee.

National Charity League is kicking off its annual Pajama Drive for Cradles to Crayons. Every winter, C2C partners with the Bruins to collect pajamas for area children in low income and homeless situations. We are collecting new children’s pajamas in any size from baby to big kid. Consider having your children help choose pajamas so they can make a connection to helping a child in need. The drive starts on Monday at Alcott and continues until March 15th. New pajamas can be dropped in the collection box in the Alcott lobby. Thank you!

HAPPENING AT ALCOTT
Feb 12: METCO Late Bus - Bowling Event
Feb 13: PTG Meeting
Feb 15: School Spirit Day – Favorite Sports Team Apparel
Feb 16 – 24: February Break

PTG Highlights: Bus Depot L&F, SEPAC Event, METCO Bowling, Middle School Info Session, Volunteer Opportunities

These are what we currently have in our Lost and Found box at the Bus Depot: Red lunch bag has initials TRM in it, lots of gloves, hats, mittens and snow boots! A blue winter coat, a girls jean jacket, a Stranger Things sweatshirt and a green bead bracelet. Please contact April Healey, Dispatcher to inquire about missing items. 978-461-3981 or ahealey@concordps.org.

ADHD AND DYSLEXIA: UNDERSTANDING, IDENTIFYING, AND SUPPORTING YOUR CHILDREN WHEN THEY HAVE EITHER OR BOTH. Hosted by the Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District Special Education Parent Advisory Council. Has your child been diagnosed with ADHD and/or dyslexia? Do you think your child may have both?Would you like the opportunity to ask questions of an expert? If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, please join us for a presentation and Q&A session with Dr. Roberto Olivardia PhD who is a Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. In his private practice, Dr. Olivardia specializes in the treatment of ADHD, executive functioning issues, and issues that face students with dyslexia. Dr Olivardia is an active member of Decoding Dyslexia-Massachusetts. When: Thursday, February 7th from 10:00 - 11:30 am. Where:  Conference Room 4, Ripley Building, Meriam Road. For planning purposes, please RSVP via Eventbrite at our website.

Calling all METCO Family Friends! Please join us for an afternoon of bowling, pizza, and games. We will meet at the Acton Bowladrome between 12:45 and 1pm on 2/12. There will be pizza served for lunch, 2 games of bowling, and a $5 gift card for each Buddy. We will leave the Bowladrome by 2:30pm in order to make the 3pm late bus. *Each child attending will need transportation to this event and at least 1 adult per Buddy pair to stay at the event. Please RSVP by 2/10 with names of children attending. Siblings are always welcome, but will need to be paid for separately. Please rsvp for siblings as well because I will need to count them in our #s. Please RSVP to the Evite link HERE to make sure we have accurate #s. Make sure to include name of adult attending and names of all children (including siblings) that will be participating.

Information Session: Planning for a new Concord Middle School Building-2/14, 9:30-11am: The Concord School Committee invites you to an information session regarding proposed plans for a new middle school building.  Join us to learn about the recommendations, ask questions, and provide feedback. Funding for a Feasibility Study and Schematic Design of a new building will be up for a vote at Town Meeting, beginning April 8.  Between now and then, the School Committee will host a series of Information Sessions and Public Forums to ensure that everyone has a chance to become familiar with the options for moving forward. The full schedule will be announced soon and will include daytime, evening, and weekend options. To get educated early, join us Thursday, February 14, 9:30-11am at the Ripley Administration Building, Conference Room 4. Questions? Email the Concord School Committee at concordschoolcommittee@concordps.org. We hope to see you there!   

The PTG needs YOU! We have a number of positions open and many programs that will be unable to run without volunteers! Please contact cbdriscoll@comcast.net OR jane.baldini@gmail.com for more information! We really appreciate your support! Cheri Driscoll and Jane Baldini, PTG Co – Presidents

HAPPENING AT ALCOTT
Feb 1: Students Progress Reports Published in the Aspen Portal
Feb 12: METCO Late Bus
Feb 13: PTG Meeting
Feb 15: School Spirit Day – Favorite Sports Team Apparel
Feb 16 – 24: February Break