Colonial Park Weekly News

Dear Colonial Park Families -

The weather has definitely been unpredictable, but please remember we try to get our students outside as often as possible, for both morning arrival and recess, unless the temperature and/or wind chill is 20 degrees or below. We encourage everyone to come to school prepared, with hats, scarves and gloves, to stay nice and cozy while getting fresh air!

It was a pleasure to see so many families at our Parent/Teacher Conferences last week, and thank you for supporting our Book Fair. I would like to extend a huge thank you to Karine Dalton and Karen Mole for organizing our Colonial Park Book Fair last week, and to all the volunteers who helped our students when they visited. We are so grateful for everyone's hard work making the Book Fair such a success!

Mrs. Kuhn will be hosting our Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 10, for families in grades K-4. The concert will begin at 9:00am, and there will be PTO sponsored refreshments in the cafeteria immediately following the conference until 10:30. Guests will be invited into the building after morning arrival has concluded at 8:30. We are also asking families to make every attempt to remain until the end of the concert, so our older students have a full audience to hear them perform. Thank you in advance!

Just a reminder, we have several opportunities available to give back to our community.

• Project 351 Food Drive - We are combining this food drive with our annual Pajama Day the day before December break! Annabella Obongono, last year's eighth grade Project 251 representative, is continuing her work with Project 351 and has organized a Food Drive to benefit our community. Below is a flyer which lists the First Church Stoneham Food Pantry's most needed items, and we are encouraging everyone to bring one item on Pajama Day.The donation box is located in our lobby and collections are welcome through December 20.

• Giving Tree 2024 - We still have plenty of opportunities available if you are able to support this year's Giving Tree, which supports both our families and Casa Myrna, Boston's largest provider of services to survivors of domestic violence. Attached please find the link. All gifts must be returned by Friday, December 13. Please return gifts unwrapped with the code clearly written on a piece of paper taped to the gift.

• "Socks for Seniors" drive is collecting warm socks (funny holiday styles and traditional tube socks) for seniors in need, shut-ins, nursing home residents and elderly housing residents. There is a drop-off box in our lobby.

• Coats for Kids and Families Drive - Colonial Park is excited to be part of Coats for Kids again this year! If you have coats (in good condition) that your family has outgrown, please consider dropping them off in the bin in the school lobby. Coats will be professionally cleaned by Anton’s Dry Cleaners and distributed to kids and families in need. All sizes are welcome (infant through adults).

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Just a reminder, our last day of school is Friday, December 20, and we will return on Monday, January 6. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Best,

Rosa Flynn

facebook.com/CPStoneham

*Upcoming School Committee Meetings - The Colonial Park PTO highly recommends that everyone who is able to attend the upcoming Tri-Board and School Board meetings do so, either in person or by joining virtually. These meetings will be discussing the 2025-2026 school year budget and it will have a large impact on our community. Please join us December 10th at 6:30 for the tri-board meeting, and December 12th for the School Committee meeting at 6:30. Both meetings will take place at the Central Middle School Media Center. You should have received information from your Room Parents this week with more information, we encourage you to thoroughly read that email and help to take action.

*Stoneham Chamber of Commerce Gift Certificates- Chamber “Shop Local Shop Stoneham” Gift Certificates make a wonderful, flexible gift for birthday celebrations, holidays, giving thanks, welcome to the community and employee appreciation. By purchasing gift certificates through the Colonial Park PTO, 20% of your purchase amount will be donated back to the school. Chamber gift certificates are redeemable at participating chamber member merchants. Restaurants, fitness, pet supplies, and more! Please return the slip that was sent home last week with your children by 12/9 if you are interested, if you are in need of another form please reach out to the PTO!

*Winter Concert and PTO Sponsored Breakfast 12/10 - Join us for a brief breakfast in the cafeteria following the Winter Concert 12/10 at 10am. The Winter Concert will start at 9am and run through 10am. We encourage everyone to stay for the duration of the concert to support all grade levels. The PTO will have baked goods, coffee, and hot chocolate. It is a great chance to connect with other parents and enjoy a nice treat post-concert.

*10th annual Socks for Senior Holiday Sock Drive - Running now through December 13th! The Stoneham Council on Aging along with the Stoneham Senior Center is sponsoring the “Socks for Seniors” drive with a goal to provide all seniors in need with a warm pair of socks for the holiday. Although traditional socks are always welcome and appreciated, the funnier, funkier holiday socks and styles are always a fan favorite. You can stop by the Colonial Park lobby to drop off donations.

*Coats for Kids and Families- Running now through December 20th! As the weather is cooling, and you’re pulling coats out of your closet, Colonial Park is once again participating in the Coats for Kids and Families collection. Winter coats, used and new, of any size can be placed in the bin in the school entrance way. Collections are cleaned by Anton’s cleaners and then distributed to those in need. Thank you for your consideration and generosity!

*Box Tops for Education - Our Fall Leaderboard earned 500 Box Tops for our school! First Grade made the biggest leap in earnings, going from 11 to 151! Keep up the good work! The impact of completing the monthly challenges was very noticeable in helping earnings.

Second Grade was the highest earner with 262 Box Tops! Second Graders will receive Colonial Park themed items this week.

• Box Tops has a monthly challenge that doubles you earnings if you reach your goal, just click “Accept Challenge”
• Bonus Offers this month: buy 2 get 4 on Old El Paso shells and Lucky Charms, buy 3 get 6 on Progresso soup, buy 4 get 8 on Annies.

Use this referral code to sign up and remember to scan those receipts! https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=OTB65U72

*Would you like to be part of Goldie’s Group? -- Goldie’s Group is an important part of our Colonial Park community. Throughout the year, PTO has a number of volunteer opportunities and we need the help of our community to get things done! Whether you have an hour to spare once a year or once a week, we would love your help! Do what you can, when you can. Tasks may include helping out in a classroom, photocopying papers, helping at an event, setting up for an enrichment activity, and more! As opportunities come up, we’ll send an email with what we need help with, you email us back if you can help. It’s as easy as that! Click here to sign up!

Let's kick-off our Winter Break with our Annual Pajama Day on Thursday, December 20! All staff and students are invited to wear a favorite pair of pajamas on the last day before vacation, and we are encouraging everyone to bring an item for our Project 351 Food Drive. Please note, December 20 is a full day.

Project 351 Food Drive

The next SEPAC Meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 16. The meeting is virtual, and all are welcome!