ALCOTT NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thank you to our community for such a wonderful year so far! March was a great month for Alcott with two major events: the Multicultural Night and Book Fair/ Math Museum. A huge thank you to those who showed up to represent their cultural heritage at Multicultural Night and share it with the entire community. A special thanks to Megha Mathur and Melissa Karcewski for organizing this special night, to the local businesses that donated food including Karma and Chang An, to Principal Krakow and the Facilities Staff including Mike Dodge and his Staff! Our community showed up in such a big way that night willing to share of themselves (and share amazing food, photos, and art) including (and I apologize in advance for anyone I am missing): Emily Ferrara, Maura Clark, Adam Sharkawy, Jessica DesNoyer, Vennetia Prevost , Karyssa Bud, Bethany Pires, Monika Desai, Veronica Ludensky, Karmen Ramos, Yan Liu, Holly, Abe and Bruno Gibbons, Besaira Pimentel, Juer Marine, and Dominique Bellegarde. This was a special event and hopefully the beginning a long tradition at Alcott. Book Fair was another huge success and a special thank you to all the parents and guardians who volunteered but especially Shannon Stoval and Dr. Erika Santoro for all the planning and execution, and to Jess Reed, our Treasurer, and generous donors who ensured that every child walked away with a book! It all culminated last night for Book Fair and Math Museum. Basak Ulker Karbeyaz, Elena Sukharsky, Jenny Saccardo and their team of volunteers (parents and middle schoolers) paired with Vice Principal Moon to create a magical night at the Math Museum.
Alcott Before School Sports Session #5 (Spring): Our final session of the school year starts Monday, 4/24 and continues for 6 weeks. 5th grade and 3rd grade please note makeup dates on registration site for classes missed on 5/29 (Memorial Day) and 5/31 (Field Day). Grade distribution is as follows-
Monday - 5th grade; Tuesday - 4th grade; Wednesday - 3rd grade; Thursday -1st and 2nd grade. 8 am start in the Alcott gym. Registration is currently open, click this link Concord Recreation Registration. Thanks- Tim Gaudreau, Alcott PE Teacher
Alcott Chess Club: It's Tourney Time! Are you ready for some fun and games? After your return from April vacation begins the annual Alcott Chess Tournament. Prizes and fun guaranteed for everyone. It's for all Alcott students. We want to see you there! See the attached flyer for details. Fill it out and send it in to be in the tournament. It's the memory of a lifetime. Email alcottchess@hotmail.com.
A Note From Art Teacher: Happy Spring, Everyone! Just a friendly reminder to send those reusable green Art Bags back to school. Kids can drop them off in the Art Room any time. Thank you so much! Barbara Gordon
2022-2023 Alcott Yearbook on SALE now through April 23rd: It's time to order your Alcott yearbook! Your elementary-schooler is sure to treasure this fun keepsake of the 22-23 school year. The yearbook price is $35 if ordered by Friday, April 14th. The price will be $40 after that date through Sunday, April 23rd. Order online at coffeepond.com. The password is hellobronson (all lower case, no space). Don't miss out--order today!
Also from the yearbook team: Your Photos Are Needed! Please submit any Alcott-related photos you would like to be considered for the 22-23 yearbook by April 13th to alcottyearbook01742@gmail.com.
If you have any questions, please email as well. Photos at the highest resolution possible are appreciated!
5Th Grade Collection To Benefit Open Table: For the next two weeks, 5th graders will be working together on a community service project to benefit Open Table, a local food pantry and meal program whose mission is to provide fresh food and household supplies to keep families healthy. From April 3rd to April 14th, Grade 5 students are hosting a school-wide collection of items currently needed at Open Table, and we need your help to make it a success! Each grade is being asked to bring in different items on the Open Table wish list. For example: Kindergarten should bring toothpaste and toothbrushes, First Grade should bring toilet paper, Second Grade should bring paper towels, Third Grade should bring shampoo and conditioner, Fourth Grade should bring Dishwashing Detergent, and Fifth Grade should bring laundry detergent and deodorant. Students can bring your donations to school and drop them off in the bin outside the classroom. All donations will be sorted and packed by fifth graders and delivered to Open Table before April vacation. Please see this flyer for more information. Many thanks for your support of this great organization!
SPRING PTG News:
As we enter this phase of the Spring, we start to think about next year. As some of us roll off the Board, and those who have volunteered move into leadership roles, we are looking to bring in the next generation of Alcott PTG volunteers! Our PTG is a wonderfully rich and diverse group of parents and guardians who work both in and outside of the home - giving a few hours to the PTG planning of events, enrichment, fundraising and community building is a great way to become part of the community, get to know new people and be part of your child’s education. There are open positions ranging from an hour a month all the way up! Please email our Vice President, Melissa Karcewski, melissahun@gmail.com, if you are interested in helping and hearing more about where you can help!
APRIL EVENTS/ SAVE THE DATES:
Be on the lookout for the Alcott Appeal, which is our annual fundraising appeal to our members. This year we are raising specific funds for needs around Recreation Equipment and Playground Repairs - stay tuned! ALSO - please SAVE THE DATE of Saturday May 6 for the Alcott Parent Social. Specific Concord location and time to be announced soon!
The latest Alcott Spring Wear is live with a FLASH SALE for March 30th to April 16th! The store features the annual 2023 End of Year T-Shirt with student names K-5 and 2 new sweatshirts in cool colors for Spring! Please shop to support the Alcott PTG. Don't miss out on these fun styles and t-shirt to commemorate the year! Youth and adult sizes are available and merchandise will be delivered to Alcott classrooms by the first week in May. Please contact maryellen@maryellenmills.com with any questions. Thank you! You can access the store through the Alcott PTG website or through this link.
School Budget Cuts TOWN MEETING. The Alcott PTG is inviting Parents and Guardians to Participate in the School Budget 2023-2024. For those who are new to the issue, the School Committee is asking for a 4.7% increase, not adding any new services to cover the cost of inflation. The Finance Committee for the Town of Concord (FINCOM) voted for a 3.3% increase, meaning our Schools would have to make $600,000 in cuts. The FINCOM had asked Dr. Hunter to come up with what $600K in cuts would look like. On the list of what is at stake includes the following:
- Eliminating Librarian Positions: potentially sharing one librarian between all three Elementary Schools and the two Middle Schools
- Eliminating or Reducing the 3 Elementary School Technology Specialists and the 1 Middle School Technology Specialist position
- Eliminating or Reducing 2-4 Tutor Positions
- Eliminating or Reducing Professional Development for the Concord Teachers
- Eliminating or Reducing the K-8 Special Education Coordinator
- Reducing Buses/ Eliminating Service to those within 2 miles of the Schools
- Eliminating School Sponsored Field Trips
- Elimination or Reduction of the STEAM Lab/Data Coordinator position
- Elimination or Reduction of the Elementary School Instrument Program (Band and Orchestra)
If you want to weigh in on School Budget cuts, please mark TOWN MEETING, SUNDAY, APRIL 30th, 1:00pm and VOTE on Article 17. As a PTG, we take no positions on a town vote, but encourage the participation of our members to voice their concerns in either direction. A vote for Article 17 would approve the 4.7% increase as proposed by the School Committee, and a vote against would mean cutting the School Budget as proposed by the Finance Committee.
MCAS Schedule: As a reminder, MCAS begins at the end of March and continues through the middle of May. Specific test dates are as follows:
April 10 and 11 - Grade 5 ELA
May 4 and 5 - Grade 3 Math
May 9 and 11 - Grade 5 Math
May 15 and 16 - Grade 4 Math
May 18 and 19 - Grade 5 STE
Alcott Twitter - Follow Alcott on its new Twitter account!
Update on the Middle School Project. The full schedule is here.
Calendar and important dates
***Every Wednesday is now a half-day***
April 14: Alcott Spirit Day - Pajama Day
April 17-21: April break, no school
April 30: Town Meeting on School Budget
May 6: Alcott Parent Social
June 2: Ice Cream Social
CPS/CCRSD 22-23 School Calendar can be found here
IN THE COMMUNITY
The Town of Concord’s Annual Holocaust Remembrance, co-sponsored by the Concord-Carlisle Human Rights Council, will take place on Sunday, April 23rd at 7:00 PM at the Concord Town House. The event will also be accessible via a Zoom Webinar for those not able to attend in-person. This year, we are honored to welcome Sara Cohen, a member of Concord’s Kerem Shalom. Sara was born in Athens, Greece in 1948 to parents who had survived the Holocaust. The Cohens emigrated to the United States in 1956 and settled in Boston. Sara was an art teacher and grant writer in the Boston Public Schools for 32 years and was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship. In her retirement, she began a second career creating documentaries, specializing in interviewing Holocaust survivors in an effort to memorialize their stories. Her documentaries have been featured in local cable TV programs and have been presented in numerous venues in Boston, New York, Athens and Israel. Sara will share her family’s story and reflect on growing up in the Boston area as a child of Holocaust survivors and as an immigrant from Greece. The event will also be recorded and available for viewing on our website, cchumanrights.org.
Concord Conservatory Presents Southern Rail, A Bluegrass Concert, Saturday, April 29th, 7:30 pm—Get your tickets now for an evening of fun and high-spirited Bluegrass in Concord. Experience bluegrass with riveting harmonies, irrepressible good humor, and sparkling banjo, guitar, and mandolin solo work on Saturday, April 29th at 7:00 pm when the Concord Conservatory of Music presents the band, Southern Rail. CCM faculty member Rich Stillman (banjo and harmony vocals), Jim Muller (guitar and lead vocals), Sharon Horovitch (acoustic bass and harmony vocals), and John Tibert (mandolin and harmony vocals) give us rich vocals on beautiful and creative bluegrass arrangements. Purchase $25 General Admission at ConcordConservatory.org or at the door and free for kids age 18 and under. info@concordconservatory.org (978) 369-0010 CCM is the area's non-profit community music school at 1317 Main Street in West Concord.
Visit the Concord Museum on Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 17, to take part in free family activities on the Museum lawn and inside the Museum. All activities are free, and museum admission is free all day thanks to the support of the Highland Street Foundation. Visit the Acton Minutemen in an encampment outside the Concord Museum on Patriots’ Day and see them drilling with muskets to prepare for battle, cooking over a firepit, and demonstrating colonial spinning and sewing. This program is generously supported by the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati. Inside the Museum, families can celebrate the start of the American Revolution by exploring artifacts in the galleries and visiting our drop-in activities to learn about life and craft in the colonies. Visit a craftsperson demonstrating various objects that were made of horn during the colonial period, including powder horns and everyday items like cups and combs. Beware of a Redcoat from the British Army roaming the galleries looking for Provincial rebels! Talk with him about the experiences of the Redcoats on April 19, 1775. The Minutemen encampment and Museum activities will begin following Concord’s Patriots’ Day parade (ending approximately 10:00 a.m.) and run until 4:00 p.m. Parking is limited at the Museum; additional parking can be found along Lexington Road or in downtown Concord, an easy quarter-mile walk.
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!