The latest announcements from the Principal and the PTO...

Tango Mango/Zervas week still going strong

Posted on May 21, 2013 by zervaspto in From the PTO

There are still a few days (until May 24th!) during which your purchase at Tango Mango will help to support Zervas 5th Graders.

Present the attached flyer or just mention you are part of the Zervas community when making payment and Tango Mango will donate 20% (how great is that?) of all purchases made back to the 5th grade class of 2013. All funds raised will used to cover costs associated with the 5th grade graduation. Thank you for helping out.

Tango Mango is located at 1191 Center Street, Newton.

Color Day is Coming – Tuesday, June 11th – Volunteers Needed

Posted on May 21, 2013 by zervaspto in From the PTO

Come join the fun while helping to make Color Day a success once again this year!  We are looking for parents to help run stations for a shift or all morning (there are plenty of us who have fun staying all morning!).  Below are the time slots we will need help with:

9:00-10:30 – help with the stations  ****these are the most important to fill
10:30–12:00 – help with the stations  ****these are the most important to fill

Please follow this link to sign-up online:           

Any questions?  Please email Len Brown at lenxbrown@yahoo.com or Meryl Miller at merylt@rcn.com

Interested in becoming a newsletter editor?

Posted on May 21, 2013 by zervaspto in From the PTO

Handy with WordPress or interested in learning? We’re looking for one or more Zervas parent volunteers to work on editing the ZMail weekly newsletters next year. Please contact Caroline at cwilsonsemail@gmail.com for more information.

Attention 5th Grade parents

Posted on May 21, 2013 by zervaspto in From the PTO

Still humming the tunes from Jungle Book? Want to watch the show again (and again) when ever you wish? High quality widescreen DVD copies of last night’s production are available at the affordable price of only $7.00 plus shipping.

Please download the order form here.

Library Gift Book Sale

Posted on May 21, 2013 by zervaspto in From the PTO

The Library Gift Book Sale is coming. The sale will be held Outside  the Main School Entrance (weather permitting) or in the Main Hallway during the week of June 3rd.

Come and support our bi-annual event to restock our library. A variety of subjects and categories have been chosen by Ms. Broderick to best support teachers, students and classroom curriculum. With your generous donations ($15 per book), it will be possible to continue to purchase relevant, up to date fiction and non-fiction materials, which will improve the average age of our library collection.

Stop by the display table and choose a book to dedicate to someone, OR complete the order form (will be sent home in school folders) to request a particular subject or category of book. A bookplate honoring your teacher, administrator, or family member of choice will be added inside the book, along with a personalized message.

We are also looking for volunteers to help at the sales table. If you are able to help us for just 50 minutes from 8:10 until 9:00am during the sale week (June 3rd – 7th) please sign up using this link:

Contact Erin Broderick (erin_broderick@newton.k12.ma.us) or Lou Bonegio (tubons@gmail.com ) with any questions!

Monday June 3rd – Friday June 7th
8:20 – 8:50 am

Lost and Found

Posted on May 14, 2013 by zervaspto in From the PTO

Please check the Lost and Found for your children’s belongings. The Lost and Found is located in the short hallway leading to the girls’ bathroom.

Principal’s Letter

Posted on May 6, 2013 by zervaspto in From the Principal

Dear Zervas Families,

As I write this to you, I am very much struck by the fact that there are only about 35 days of school left in this school year! It seems amazing to me that the year has flown by so quickly. This is always an exciting time of year in schools; students are deep in their learning with engaging projects and activities; while at the same time teachers are aware that things will be winding down soon. As we come to the end of this year, we are also deep in preparation for the next. Here are a few items to keep in mind…

Planning for next year
With the Superintendent’s budget recently passed, we can start our planning for next year. We are pleased that there will be no cuts to the budget and that we will be able to maintain our class sizes and programs. We know that we will have 3 Kindergarten classes, 3 First Grades, 2 Second Grades, 3 Third Grades, 2 Fourth Grades and 3 Fifth Grades for the 2013-2014 school year. In the upcoming weeks, we will solidify teaching assignments as well as classroom placements for students. Please remember that, if you choose to provide information about your child regarding next year’s classroom placement, all forms need to be returned by Friday, May 10. Thank you.

P.B.L.I. is back!
As we end the school year there will be a variety of events for parents and families to attend to celebrate all of the accomplishments made by our students. I know that your children’s teachers will be working hard to plan for these and will notify you about when specific events take place. One very special school-wide event will be our P.B.L.I. Sharing. Sponsored by the work of the School Council, P.B.L.I. (Project Based Learning Initiatives) aims to increase our focus on engaging students in projects and lessons that promote critical and creative thinking skills. This year’s school-wide theme is “Our Natural World” which will involve students and teachers in hands-on, thematic projects. Students will work on these projects throughout the month of May and we will have an P.B.L.I. All-School Sharing on Tuesday, May 28. Families are invited in at 8:20-9:30 a.m. for this event. We hope to see you all there!

Zervas School Fair
I look forward to seeing everyone at the Zervas Fair this weekend on Saturday, May 11. Hopefully some of the wonderful weather we’ve been having will stick around for this event. I remember coming to the Fair last year and being so impressed with the excitement, engagement and enjoyment of the children, families and staff. I am looking forward to bringing my family again this year!

MCAS
May brings with it another round of MCAS testing for students in grades 3, 4 and 5. Here is the upcoming schedule:
May 6 & 7 – Grade 5 – Math
May 9 & 10 – Grade 5 – Science
May 13 & 14 – Grade 4 – Math
May 15 & 16 – Grade 3 – Math

Wishing you all a wonderful spring!
Diana

Co-Presidents’ Letter

Posted on May 6, 2013 by zervaspto in Co-Presidents Letter

Dear Zervas Families,

We can’t believe that its May already, and that we have less than two months left to school! We had a very busy April, and ended the month with Newton Serves, where dedicated Zervas parents and children helped spruce up the grounds around the school. Thank you to Ron Abel and Caroline Wilson for leading this effort, and to the many volunteers who came out to lend a hand.

We hope that many of you enjoyed walking to school last week as part of the Walk to School Day. There are so many benefits to walking to school, and we thank Joe Sypek for his efforts in raising awareness and coordinating this program for the last three years.

The Zervas Fair is coming up this weekend, Saturday May 11 from 11am – 2pm, and is a wonderful way for your children to spend a few hours (or more) participating in fun games both inside and outside of Zervas. Helen Haley and John Denninger have tirelessly led our Fair efforts year after year, and they need lots of volunteers to help run a successful fair. Please consider working a short, one hour shift at the fair – its fun and we can’t do it without you! Please see the sign up link in the next announcement, or else e-mail volunteer@zervaspto if you can help out.

And finally, your PTO is busy planning for next year and we need your help! There are several committee chairpersons and board members moving on, and we really need your help to keep doing what we do. Please contact either one of us at pto@zervaspto.org, or Amy Waksler at amywaksler@gmail.com if you are able to help out next year. We are happy to try to find the right fit, whatever your schedule and interests – so please reach out to us so we don’t have to beg!!!!

Hope to see you at the Fair!

-Joanne and Helen

The Fair cannot run without volunteer help

Posted on May 6, 2013 by zervaspto in From the PTO

Zervas Fair Desperately Needs Volunteers!  We want to put on a fun, fantastic spring fair for the kids at Zervas, but we need your help to do it!  Right now, we only have 5% of the volunteer spots filled for the Zervas Fair.  We need to fill dozens more slots in order to put on the fair.  Please volunteer for an hour or two so we can make sure the fair is a success.  We welcome Zervas alumni to come back and volunteer so please encourage your middle and high school students to volunteer!

We’re using VolunteerSpot  to schedule volunteers for the Fair.

1. Click this link: http://vols.pt/kNoMSL or the button above to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots – VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!
4. Enter your info! When you’re done signing up please make sure you enter your name (especially if it’s not obvious from you email) and a phone number so we know who you are and can call if we need to.

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you’re having trouble signing up or prefer not to use your email address, please email Helen Haley at haleyhe@gmail.com and she can sign you up manually.

Upcoming Events

Posted on May 6, 2013 by zervaspto in From the PTO

Saturday, May 11, 11:00am – 2:00 pm, Zervas Fair
Monday, May 13, 7:00pm, PTO Executive Board meeting
Monday, May 27, Memorial Day – No School
Tuesday, May 28, 8:20 – 9:30 am, P.B.L.I. All-School Sharing
Wednesday, May 29, 6:30pm, Zervas School Council meeting
Monday, June 3 – Friday, June 7, Library Gift Book Sale
Tuesday, June 11, Color Day
Wednesday, June 12, 6:00pm, Family Picnic