Colonial Park Weekly News

Dear Colonial Park Families -

Happy almost Saint Patrick's Day! How exciting that Thursday is our first day of Spring? I think we are all looking forward to some warm days ahead.

Our National Reading Month Spirit Week was a great success! Staff and students had fun dressing up for each day's theme, and we enjoyed hosting local author DawnMarie Anzalone on Thursday. Looking ahead to the upcoming week, World Down Syndrome Day is marked each year on March 21 and has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The 21st day of March was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome. This year, Colonial Park is going to "Rock Your Socks" to show our support for World Down Syndrome Day. We are looking forward to seeing lots of mismatched, colorful, crazy socks!

Just a reminder, our playground structure is closed until 2:45 each day. Our students use the structure right up to dismissal, so we ask that our preschool families do not use the structure until after K-4 dismissal. Also, please monitor your child (of any age), either from inside the playground area or directly outside the fence, while they play to assure everyone interacts safely. Thank you in advance!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Best,

Rosa Flynn

facebook.com/CPStoneham

Keeping with our "Spring is in the Air" theme, all Colonial Park staff will be hosting a spring themed day for students on our next Early Release Day, Friday, March 28. Grade level teams will be partnered with specialists and/or support staff, and students will rotate through three spring themed activities. The PTO will also be providing popsicles for students to enjoy during lunch. We can't wait!

*Upcoming Town Meetings

3/20 at 6:30pm Stoneham School Committee meeting - at Central Middle School or via zoom.

3/25 at 7pm at the Town Hall Hearing Room or via zoom.

Zoom links for these meetings can be found on the Stoneham Calendar. Our town is continuing to face a budget crisis that will directly impact our students and community. If you have questions or concerns please reach out to the PTO at colonialparkpto@gmail.com

*Superintendent Finalists

The School Committee has announced three finalists for the position of Superintendent of Stoneham Public Schools

There are scheduled meet & greets and interviews with these finalists, that the whole community is invited to attend:

Peter Cushing will be visiting Stoneham on Tuesday, March 18th at 4:00 pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.

Mark McLaughlin will be visiting Stoneham on Wednesday, March 19th at 4:00 pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.

Kristin DeFrancisco will be visiting Stoneham on Thursday, March 20th at 4:00 pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.

The School Committee will be conducting public interviews starting at 5:00 pm on each day. The interviews will be recorded and then aired or available for streaming on Stoneham TV beginning Friday, March 21st.

*Fun Run - On Friday, April 18, the Colonial Park PTO will host our annual Fun Run! Proceeds from this event will support field trips and classroom enrichment opportunities for our school. This event will be a school wide effort, with all students participating in the Fun Run. In addition to raising funds, we hope the Fun Run will be a great opportunity to encourage physical activity and working together towards a greater goal. We will begin rolling out the annual Fun Run on Monday, March 24th.

We would love your help in the planning! Join the Fun Run Committee and help to plan prizes, decorations, and activities! Email ColonialParkPTO@gmail.com if you are interested in joining!

*Fun Run Sponsors - We are looking for businesses to help in sponsoring for our annual Fun Run! This is our largest fundraiser for the year, and there are a variety of levels for sponsorship. As a non-profit organization, under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, all contributions are tax deductible. This event will provide an opportunity to promote your business to the families of over 1100 students in our district while supporting the teachers and students of our public schools. Please email colonialparkPTO@gmail.com if you are interested in sponsoring.

*Calareso’s Fundraiser --Colonial Park PTO has partnered with Calareso’s in Reading again this year! If you're looking for fresh produce, flowers, spring decorations, pies, ice cream, or lots of other yummy groceries, purchase your certificates through the Colonial Park PTO and we will receive 25% of the total amount! Certificates do not expire, so stock up now for future use. ! Certificates can be purchased from March 17-April 4. Order forms will go home this Monday, March 17th.

*Rock Your Socks - World Down Syndrome Day Friday, March 21st. To show support for World Down Syndrome day we are wearing mismatched colorful crazy socks to school on Friday, March 21st.

*Girls on the Run - registration is now open for our Spring Girls on the Run Team! Girls on the Run is a physical activity-based positive youth development program dedicated to empowering girls in grades 3-4 through engaging, dynamic lessons and physical activity. Girls on the Run inspires girls to build confidence, set goals and use their voice to become leaders.

The team will meet every Monday and Thursday from 2:45 to 4:15, from March 31 to June 2. Each day targets specific life skills (competence, confidence, connection, character and caring). Girls on the Run has implemented a new curriculum, “Hello, Mountain Mover!” which focuses on building confidence to do hard things. The big culminating event is a celebratory, non-competitive 5K which will take place on the Boston Common. Over the course of the program, the girls set running goals which help prepare them for crossing the finish line!

Click here for the flyer and more information or visit www.girlsontherunboston.org. If you have any questions, please email Ryan at ry.tollefson@gmail.com.

We all know how quickly the spring passes, so I wanted to share fourth grade events that have already been planned.

Monday, June 9 - Grade 4 Student Step-up Day to Central Middle School, 1:10 to 2:10

Wednesday, June 11 - Grade 4 Moving-on Ceremony, 9:00am

I will continue to share important dates as they are added to our calendar.