Greetings FitzGerald Families!

We have had a wonderful first week at FitzGerald School!

We ended the week with an All School Assembly for Grades 1-5, where we emphasized the importance of having a growth mindset and sharing ways in which we can strive to use this type of mindset every day at FitzGerald.

We look forward to welcoming Kindergarten students on Tuesday September 3rd! Class placement assignments for Kindergarten will be coming out at 3:30pm today via email. Please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Santillo (jennifersantillo@walthampublicschools.org) if you are a Kindergarten parent/guardian and do not get an assignment sent to you this afternoon.

The FitzGerald PTO will be holding a Kindergarten Parent/Guardian Coffee after drop off on Tuesday morning. The meet up will be on the FitzGerald playground area at 8:45am and coffee and refreshments will be provided. This is a time to meet other Kindergarten parents/guardians and to take a moment to celebrate such a wonderful milestone together.

Please keep in mind that on Tuesday September 3rd, the area outside of FitzGerald School will be very busy during morning drop off and afternoon pick up. FitzGerald is a voting location, so we will have many voters coming in and out of the gym. Please allow plenty of time in the morning and afternoon, as traffic may be more than usual.

There is no school tomorrow, Friday August 30th, or Monday September 2nd, in observance of Labor Day.

We look forward to seeing everyone next week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Santillo, Principal- jennifersantillo@walthampublicschools.org

Mrs. Lamoly, Assistant Principal- julielamoly@walthampublicschools.org

In Grade 3, students have the option to play a string instrument (orchestra).

In Grades 4 and 5, students have the option to either play a string instrument (orchestra) or a band instrument.

Today, Grades 3 and 4 had instrumental demonstrations by the music staff. Grade 3 saw the string instruments and Grade 4 saw the band instruments.

Sign up forms will be coming home with more information and providing students the option to sign up for instrument lessons during school hours.

Don't forget! If 70% of students in Grades 1-5 bring back their reading challenge coloring page, we will have a raffle for a few different prizes: 1. Principal for a Day (1 winner), 2. Assistant Principal for the Day (1 winner) , 3. Pie the Principal or Assistant Principal (2 winners per grade)!

Here we go FitzGerald School!

Link to Reading Challenges in English & Spanish

General Information:

Between 8:25am-8:42am and 2:55pm-3:15pm, the Beal Road side of FitzGerald School is a live drop off and pick up area. If you will be dropping off or picking up your child during these times, please use the Warren Street entrance to Beal Road to keep all traffic flowing in one direction and ensure student safety.

Drop Off:

Drop off is from 8:25am-8:42am. Cars may pull into either of the two curb cuts in front of the school on Beal Rd. Members of the school staff will be outside to greet students. Students will exit their vehicles and walk down to the middle entrance door to enter the building. All walkers/drop offs will enter in the Beal Rd. side of the building.

Adults accompanying a walker in the morning may walk their child to the outside middle entrance door on Beal Rd. Students then enter into the building independently once arriving at the school entrance door. A parent that drives their child, but would like to walk their child to the door, should park on Beal Rd. (not in front of the school) and then walk their child to the Beal Rd. entrance door.

At 8:42am, the homeroom bell rings. Any student arriving after 8:42am will need to enter on the parking lot side of the building. Students that arrive after 8:42am are marked tardy and will need to check in at the main office.

All bus and van students are dropped off between 8:25am and 8:42am on the parking lot side of the building.

Pick Up:

The parking lot side of the school is for buses and vans only and is not a live pick up area. All walkers and pick ups will dismiss on the Beal Rd. side of the building.

Kindergarten, third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade students who are walkers or pick ups will exit out the middle entrance door on Beal Rd. (the same door as morning drop off). Kindergarten parents should wait in the area at the bottom of the stairs. Third, fourth, and fifth grade parents should wait on the grass area at the top of the stairs.

First and second grade students will exit out the gym door (on the left side of the building on Beal Rd.). Parents should wait on the grass area outside of the gym door.

If your child will be a pick up or a walker each day, please share with your child's teacher who the adult(s) will be that will have permission to pick up your child. Please keep in mind that students in Grades Kindergarten, first, and second grade will need to have an adult present before they can depart the building.

There is no double parking on Beal Rd.

Bus Students:

Please note that all Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students must be accompanied by an adult at the bus stop for all bus pick up and drop off times. Any K-2 student that does not have an adult present at the bus stop at drop off will be brought back to the school by the bus driver.

Thank you in advance for your help with following the drop off and pick up procedures and for keeping traffic flowing during these very busy times of the day.

Dear Families,

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! The PTO Board hopes you all had an amazing summer with your family and friends and are as excited as we are to get the school year started!

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a nonprofit organization made up of parents who give their time, services and monetary donations to improve the learning environment for students, teachers and their families. We raise money to purchase school programs, additional school resources, supplement field trip activities, and provide fun family events throughout the year.

We are lucky to have some amazing volunteers on our board already but do still have TWO open positions. If you'd be interested in hearing more about how you can help with the Director of Communications or Director of Finance roles, please don't hesitate to reach out.

We pride ourselves on communication. We have many ways for you to get the information you need. Please visit our website www.fitzgeraldpto.com, which is currently being updated for this school year, join our FaceBook Group, and follow us on Instagram. Look to this space and those listed above for more information about upcoming activities!

Volunteering comes in many shapes and sizes - whether you can volunteer one hour or countless hours. We are always looking for help. That includes volunteering at various events or a variety of other opportunities. Please consider joining one of our active subcommittees or taking on one of the two open board positions.

We would love to see you at our meetings every other month in the cafeteria at 6:30 pm. Our first meeting will take place on Wednesday September 18th. All those who attend, in person or virtually, will be entered into a gift card raffle for the soon to be relaunched FitzyWear store.

We look forward to meeting you and working alongside you to make this the best school year yet!

Dan Strafford

President, FitzGerald PTO

FitzGeraldPTO@gmail.com

Dan Strafford - President

Deirdre Georgoudis - Treasurer

Chesley Muniz - Secretary

Open - Director of Communications

Francesca Romagnolo - Director of Events

Open - Director of Finance

Stefanie Glaude - Director of Fundraising

Ann Tierney - Director of Fifth Grade

Rex Baker - Director of Enrichment

UPCOMING EVENTS: K Coffee Meetup: Tuesday, September 3rd at 8:45am at the Playground. Come meet up with other parents and members of the PTO for some coffee, chatting and volunteer signups!

Stay in touch! PTO website – Facebook – Instagram

The FitzGerald School Council is a group that includes parent, staff, and community representatives that discuss items such as budget, School Improvement Plan, etc. Approved meeting minutes are posted in the Fitzy's Flyer office communication.

The first FitzGerald School Site Council update will come after the start of the school year.

*Breakfast and Lunch are available for free again for all students next school year!

** All students should bring one snack and a water bottle to school each day.

Every Friday is "Fitzy Friday" at FitzGerald! Everyone is invited to wear Fitzy Spirit Wear or the colors blue and/or yellow to school, if they would like to!

Thursday August 29th- Kindergarten Classroom Assignments Sent Out

Friday August 30th- No School

Monday September 2nd- No School

Tuesday September 3rd- First Day of School for Kindergarten

Tuesday October 1st - Initial Picture Day

Tuesday November 19th - Retake Picture Day

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Clever is an app we use at school that makes it easy for students to access many online learning programs and resources with their Waltham Public Schools Google account. Students can also access Clever at home on a personal device. Click HERE for directions.

Email: jennifersantillo@walthampublicschools.org
Website: https://www.walthampublicschools.org/o/fitzgerald
Location: 138 Beal Road, Waltham, MA, USA
Phone: 781-314-5680