We hope you all are enjoying this so far gentle winter. We had a good turnout last Saturday for our annual Classroom Cleanup Day. In her last year organizing this event, Kathryn Klassman once again did a fantastic job managing all the details of the day, from purchasing cleaning supplies to providing babysitting in the gym. David Goosman stepped up this year as the co-organizer of this event, and he did a splendid job running the event with Kathryn, even going so far as to take on some building projects. Thanks to both Kathryn and David for all their hard work. Thanks also to all the families who showed up to help with tasks from washing tables to reorganizing shelves. The school looks great and the staff are very appreciative of this effort, especially during cold and flu season.
Congratulations to the kids in Ms. Joe-Yen’s kindergarten class who had the highest participation rate.
We also had a lot of parents come by the library for the Principal’s Coffee on Monday. Diana gave a great overview of the entrance plan she has been following in her transition into the principal’s job and she was able to answer parents’ questions about a variety of issues. Sue Masterson made us all happy by bringing the coffee and we want to thank her for all the time she has put into managing hospitality for PTO events at Zervas. Sue is also in her last year at Zervas and we are going to miss her steady presence at PTO events.
On Friday, February 8th, Superintendant David Fleishman and some members of the School Committee will be coming to Zervas at 8:30 a.m. This is a great opportunity to hear about important issues in our schools, and also to ask questions about any issues about which you have concerns. We hope to have a good turnout for this event so please stop in if you can.
Invitations have been mailed out for the Zervas Silent Auction which will take place on March 9th at the Windsor Club. The committee is hard at work planning a fantastic, Oscar themed evening and there will be lots of great items to bid on. In addition to being a great social event, the auction is one of our biggest fundraisers. We depend on donations from parents to make this event a success, so please think about making a donation. Look for announcements in Zervas notes and Zmails for more information about donations, tickets, and fun happenings at the auction itself.
We hate to keep raising the issue of the Blue Zone, but we continue to have problems with use of the Blue Zone, particularly at pick-up time. Please do not park in the Blue Zone and leave your car. If you need to get out of the car to pick up your child, then the Blue Zone is unfortunately not an option for you. And please do not block traffic down Beethoven by waiting to pull into the Blue Zone if it is full. If you are doing either of these things, you will very likely be asked to move, by Dr. Beck, a PTO Board member, or a concerned parent. Some parents have become very upset in the last few weeks when asked to follow the Blue Zone regulations and this is unfortunate. We are not trying to single you out or create conflict, but we have many parents who have told us that they are upset because they can not pull into the Blue Zone to pick up a child that is waiting for them because cars are parked there. We also have parents who have expressed frustration about the congestion in front of Zervas at pick up time, much of which could be alleviated by proper use of the Blue Zone. Please help us to keep the traffic moving by following the Blue Zone regulations.
In the next few months, we will begin to fill open slots on PTO committees for next year. We are looking especially for families in the younger grades to take on these jobs. If you have any questions about openings for next year or you have a particular interest in helping out in some area, please feel free to contact either one of us. We look forward to getting you more involved in the PTO!
Best,
Joanne and Helen
