PTG Highlights: Fall Fundraiser, Fall Fest Raffle, Picture Day, Turkey Trot, PTG Meeting, PAL, New Family Evening, Book Fair, Happening at Alcott

PTG Fall Fundraiser: Get a head start on holiday shopping with our fall fundraiser! The selection combines the best of all fundraising worlds: kitchen, candles, food, gift wrap, home decor, baking, jewelry, games, cleaning, and tech gifts. There is something for everyone to enjoy! Keep an eye out for catalogs coming home in backpacks this week. The fundraiser runs from October 1 - October 14 and you will have the product in time for the holidays.

Fall Fest Specialty Raffle: Do you love coffee? If so, you do not want to miss this! The PTG is announcing a VERY special raffle item for the Alcott Fall Fest! An Alcott family has generously donated a Breadstand Household Machine, a professional café machine simplified for home use, to support the PTG and Children's Programs. The retail value for this item is $2,199.00. Please note that this raffle will be separate from the Basket Raffle. Tickets will be $10 each with no limit to how many you can buy and can be purchased on the Owl, at school dismissal on Tuesday October 15th, and at Fall Fest on Saturday October 19th. The drawing will take place at around 3:45 pm at Fall Fest, but you do NOT need to be present to win this amazing prize! Winners will be contacted by phone or email to claim the prize. Click here to purchase tickets today!

School Picture Day: School Picture Day is Thursday, October 17th (Rain Date October 18th) Coffee Pond Photography will be taking our annual school pictures. Please keep an eye out for order forms coming home in your child's backpack NEXT WEEK.

Wanted: Picture Day Volunteers!! Please join us to help our kids look their best on Picture Day- Thursday, October 17 (Rain date is Oct. 18)!! We are looking for volunteers starting at 8:45am. Any amount of time you can help is much appreciated. An added perk of helping out- seeing your kids take their annual photos!! Please sign up here.

Turkey Trot: It’s back! The Alcott School Turkey Trot is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 from 9:30-11:45 at the Emerson Track. This event has raised over $112,000 in the past 23 years. Our pledges this year will be helping Open Table and the Concord Recreation Department Scholarship Fund. Please note this is not a PTG fundraiser. 100% of what we raise goes directly to the charities! Please click here for more information. Volunteers are always appreciated! If you are interested in helping with the event, please contact Tim Gaudreau at tgaudreau@concordps.org by Friday, October 25, 2019.

PTG Meeting & Decaf with the Principal: Please join Principal Krakow at 6:30pm on Oct 7 in the Alcott Faculty Room for a (decaf) coffee and conversation. Make it an evening and stay for our October PTG meeting, which begins at 7:30. We have many important activities to discuss along with various ways you can get involved in our school community no matter how much (or little) time you have!

Parent at Lunch (PAL): The next PAL is 10/25. There are still openings for 4th and 5th grades! Sign up to join your child at lunch using the PAL Google document. Please remember, in order to attend PAL, you must have an approved CORI on file with Alcott.

Alcott Fall Fest Volunteers: New slots have been added for both before and during the event- also the raffle sales slots are now only 30 minutes. We need your help to run this important fundraising event, which supports children's programs and Alcott activities all year long. Fall Fest includes a book fair, food, fun, games, crafts, entertainment, and the ever-popular raffle baskets! This year's event is at Alcott on Saturday October 19th from 1-4 pm with set up from 10-noon and clean up from 4-6 pm. Click here to learn more and please consider volunteering at this important event, you can sign up at: 2019 Fall Fest Volunteer Sign Ups

Parent Social - Thank you!: Thanks to all who attended our Parent Social last Friday- it was so great to see everyone come together to socialize and to support our community! If you have questions about how to get involved with the PTG, please contact Elena Sukharsky at connectviaword@gmail.com.

New Family Evening: New or feeling new to Alcott? Missed the New Family Coffee? You are invited to a New Family Evening on Thursday, October 10th from 7:30 to 9:00PM at Trail’s End Cafe. Come meet other new (or newly returning) families, have light appetizers, and ask questions or share tips about Alcott! This event is for adults. To RSVP for this event, please click here.

Alcott Book Fair: Kicking off at Fall Fest on 10/19, the Alcott Book Fair is a great way to create some reading buzz, support Alcott programming and donate books to classrooms. We need volunteers during the classroom visits on Monday October 21st through Wednesday October 23rd. You can sign up at: 2019 Book Fair Classroom Visit Volunteers

Concord Integrated Preschool (CIPS) Openings for 2020-2021: CIPS is hosting an OPEN HOUSE on Thursday, October 22nd from 6:30-7:30PM at the Ripley Building (120 Meriam Road). Children welcome! CIPS is designed to foster a love of learning through a positive first school experience. We provide the foundation for lifelong learning by encouraging children to become independent, self-confident, and inquisitive learners. Our program provides educationally enriched and stimulating environments, where children learn through play and developmentally appropriate activities. CIPS offers highly trained staff and an exceptionally creative curriculum. Full and half day classes available. Please visit us our website preschool.concordps.org or brand-new Twitter page at Concord Integrated Preschool@ConcordIPS.

HAPPENING AT ALCOTT
Oct 7: Decaf with the Principal & Evening PTG Meeting
Oct 8: METCO Late Bus
Oct 10: New Family Evening
Oct 11: Alcott School Spirit Day (Color Day Theme)
Oct 14: No School - Columbus Day
Oct 16: Fall Fest Event and Raffle Ticket Pre-sale Ends
Oct 16: Parent Meeting in Boston (at the Kroc Center)
Oct 19: Alcott Fall Fest
Oct 19, 21-23: Book Fair
Oct 25: PAL
Oct 29: Turkey Trot
Nov 6: Conferences (No School)
Nov 11: Veteran's Day (No School)
Nov 12: METCO Late Bus

PTG Highlights: Parent Social, New Family Evening, Fall Fest + Book Fair, Workshops, Happening at Alcott

Parent Social: Come mingle with friends TOMORROW at the Alcott Parent Social!! Click here for details and to RSVP - please let us know if you can make it!

New Family Evening: New or feeling new to Alcott? Missed the New Family Coffee? You are invited to a New Family Evening on Thursday, October 10th from 7:30 to 9:00PM at Trail’s End Cafe. Come meet other new (or newly returning) families, have light appetizers, and ask questions or share tips about Alcott! This event is for adults. To RSVP for this event, please click here.

Alcott Fall Fest Event and Raffle Tickets On Sale Now! Event tickets are available for purchase online beginning today! NEW this year, you can also pre-purchase raffle tickets! Spend less time standing in line to buy raffle tickets and more time enjoying the event. Purchase your raffle tickets online here and pick up them at the check-in desk on your way into Fall Fest. Pre-sale raffle tickets are $20 for 25 tickets and $40 for 50 tickets (day of event raffle tickets are $1 each) and come with pre-printed name stickers. Simply put the stickers on the tickets and put the tickets in your favorite theme baskets. Click here for a complete list of basket themes and to purchase tickets. Winners will be announced at 3:30 at the event. You do not have to be present to win; winners will be notified via email and/or text. The pre-sale ends on Wednesday October 16th.

Alcott Fall Fest Volunteers: The Alcott Fall Fest needs many volunteers before and during the event - will you help? This is a great way to meet other parents while also supporting our school community. The Fall Fest is Alcott's primary annual fundraiser and supports children's programs and Alcott activities all year long. Fall Fest includes a book fair, food, fun, games, crafts, entertainment, and the ever-popular raffle baskets! This year's event is at Alcott on Saturday October 19th from 1-4 pm with set up from 10-noon and clean up from 4-6 pm.

Help is needed in many areas including raffle ticket sales, food sales, games, crafts, set up and clean up. If an hour is too long, consider sharing a sign up spot with a spouse or a friend. Any time is appreciated! We know that many families have busy Saturday schedules with sports and family activities, but we hope that you will find some time before or after other activities to join us that day. Many students attend in their sport uniforms before or after games. Click here to learn more and please consider volunteering at this important event, you can sign up at: 2019 Fall Fest Volunteer Sign Ups.

Alcott Book Fair: Kicking off at Fall Fest on 10/19, the Alcott Book Fair is a great way to create some reading buzz, support Alcott programming and donate books to classrooms. Please keep an eye out for Book Fair Volunteer Sign-ups, which are coming soon!

Alcott Before/After School Workshop - Registration closes this week! Looking for before or after school enrichment for your child? Register before it closes this Sunday 9/29. Click to view the list of fall workshop offerings here. Come try out Before School Sports, Bollywood, STEM with Lego’s, Stop Motion Animation, Mindfulness and more. Register online at Family ID, or click here for complete registration instructions. All classes are held at the Alcott School. Financial Aid is available, and all requests remain confidential. Any questions, contact the PTG workshop coordinators at alcottworkshops@gmail.com.

HAPPENING AT ALCOTT
Sep 26: Fall Fest Event and Raffle Tickets Pre-sale Begins
Sep 27: PAL, Parent Social
Oct 7: Evening PTG Meeting
Oct 8: METCO Late Bus
Oct 10: New Family Evening
Oct 14: No School - Columbus Day
Oct 16: Fall Fest Event and Raffle Ticket Pre-sale Ends
Oct 19: Alcott Fall Fest
Oct. 19, 21-23: Book Fair
Oct. 29: Turkey Trot
Nov. 6: Conferences (No School)

PTG Highlights: Fall Fest, AmazonSmile, Art Room News, Clothing Recycle Bin, Chess Club, Library Help Needed, Principal Coffee, Parent Social, Workshops, Happening at Alcott

Alcott Fall Fest Planning Meeting: You are invited to join the Fall Fest Planning Committee for a meeting and coffee on Wednesday September 25 at 9:30 at the home of Lynn Morel, 8 Ash Street. Please RSVP to alcottfallfestvolunteers@gmail.com if you can attend, but drop-ins are also welcome. We hope to see you there! More information about Fall Fest is posted here. Volunteer opportunities are also posted at this link: 2019 Fall Fest Volunteer Sign Ups

AmazonSmile: Do you shop on Amazon? If so, one easy way to support our PTG is to shop through smile.amazon.com. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of all qualifying purchases to a charitable organization of your choice. There is no catch and no extra fees, all you have to do is shop through the 'smile' link!

From the Art Room: Welcome back!!!! Kids have been busy in the Art Room these first few weeks of school, drawing and building with paper, scissors, and glue. I'm looking forward to an exciting year of exploration, discovery and creation, using all kinds of art materials. Be on the lookout for a new installation in the hall! For more information about the Art curriculum, visit the Alcott Art Page. Please feel free to email me at bgordonoconnor@concordps.org with any questions or concerns. Happy September to all! - Barbara Gordon, Alcott Art Teacher

Clothing Recycle Bin: Do you have old rags, clothing and shoes that can't be re-used or donated? Consider dropping them off in the fabric recycling bin at Alcott!! They even take STUFFED ANIMALS/TOYS!!!! View the flyer for more information.

Alcott Chess Club: The Alcott Chess Club has kicked off successfully, but It is not too late to join in the fun! The club meets Thursday mornings, 8AM in the Faculty Lounge. Stop by and check it out. Click here for more information or contact Ken Belt at alcottchess@hotmail.com or 617-332-4483. Chess is for everyone. It's your move.

Library Call for Volunteers: Many of the volunteer spots have been filled for the 2019-20 school year; a big thank you to all who have offered their time for this important role! Currently, there are still volunteer spots open for Mrs. Gleason's 4th grade class on Wednesdays from 10-10:50AM. As a library volunteer, you'll help with checking books in and out, assisting students, shelving and shelf reading. This is a great opportunity to be meaningfully involved in your child's classroom. Even if your time is limited, we can maybe help make it work. Training is provided. If you are interested in volunteering, please click here.

Coffee with the Principal: Our new principal Naomi Krakow will be hosting several informal meet and greets for families throughout the year, with the first one taking place on Friday, September 20, 2019 at 9:30am. Come meet the principal and ask questions!

Parent Social: Please join us for the 2019 Alcott Parent Social on Friday, Sept. 27th at the Ryan's house on 27 Birch Dr. Come catch up with old friends and meet some new ones!! Learn about the PTG and how we support our students and teachers. Don't forget to bring a dish to share and your favorite lawn chair! Please RSVP and indicate what you're bringing - Parent Social Sign-up

Alcott Before/After School Workshop Registration is Open! Looking for before or after school enrichment for your child? Click to view the list of fall workshop offerings here. Start your child’s day off right with a new Mindfulness class, or feel good participating in the community service/Kindness workshop. Stretch your body with Before School Sports or Bollywood dance. Stretch your mind making Stop Motion movies or STEM with Legos. All classes are held at the Alcott School. Financial Aid is available, and all requests remain confidential. Register online at Family ID, or click here for complete registration instructions. Any questions, contact the PTG workshop coordinators at alcottworkshops@gmail.com.

HAPPENING AT ALCOTT
Sep 20: Principal Coffee
Sep 25: Alcott Fall Fest Planning Meeting
Sep 27: PAL, Parent Social
Oct 7: Evening PTG Meeting
Oct 8: METCO Late Bus
Oct 10: New Family Meet & Greet
Oct 14: No School - Columbus Day
Oct 19: Alcott Fall Fest