Hi Zervas Parents,
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are enjoying the beginning of December! It was great to see so many of you at the Turkey Trot on November 19th. Over 200 kids ran this year in either the One Mile Fun Run or the 5k, and many of them were Zervas kids. Great job, kids!
Speaking of the Newton Turkey Trot, we have many Zervas parents to thank for taking on the big task of organizing this event. All proceeds raised will be contributed to the Newton Food Pantry. Priya Wagner quarterbacks the event and has an impressive team of past and present Zervas parents to help her including Liz Beckett, Caterina Betancourt, Ken Danila, Amy Penna, Kyle Pond, and Tim O’Brien. Thanks also to all those parents and alums who volunteered to help the race run smoothly: Tony Abbiati, Kristin Knuutilla, Jillian Queen, Erin Grabowski, Barbara Talvitie, Edie Knight, Elisa D’Andrea, Kathleen Kenslea, Carla Brigham, Elaine Whalen, David Canter, Caroline Whalen, Genna Wagner, Maggie Kenslea, Maisie Brigham, Teddy Hoppe and Daniel Beckett. It takes a village to run a Turkey Trot!
Earlier in November, Peter Malagodi and Ken Mignone organized the Zervas Variety shows. Thanks to them, Kindergartners through Fifth graders were able to show off their talents and creativity in a laid-back, low-risk environment. Thank you for two great nights, Peter and Ken!
Thanks to Lisa DePalma for hosting our first parent coffee of the school year! The parent coffees are held in various homes throughout the year and are a great way to connect with each other, especially now that many of us don’t see each other at drop-off or pick-up. Mark your calendar for the next parent coffee on Wednesday, January 11th at Barbara Talvitie’s house.
Here are a few things to keep in mind for December:
Don’t miss the Principal Coffee with Diana Beck at the Waban Library Center on Tuesday the 13th at 8:30am. Diana will update you on what’s going on at Zervas. You can also drop off cookies for the Holiday Cookie Swap for the Zervas staff that morning. If you’d like to donate cookies, but can’t make it to the Principal Coffee, reach out to Bindiya Stancampiano at bindiyaa@hotmail.com to arrange a drop-off at her house.
Amanda Zurick is organizing a Toys for Tots drive of new, unwrapped toys for children newborns through age 12. Toys for children 0-2 and 9-12 are especially needed. Toys may be dropped off at the Zervas at Carr School lobby, at the Principal Coffee on December 13 at 8:30 am at the Waban Library, or at the Parent’s Night Out at Season’s 52 on December 8 at 6:00-8:30 pm. Please contact Amanda if you have any questions at azurick@gmail.com or 617-233-3255.
Here’s a little more information about the Parents Night Out this Thursday, December 8th: Stop by the bar at Seasons 52 in Chestnut Hill between 6:00 and 8:30. Mingle with Zervas parents, have a drink, and drop off a toy or two!
Speaking of gifts, if you would like to give a holiday gift to your child’s teacher, consider donating a book to the Zervas Library Holiday Gift Drive in the teacher’s name. You will be supporting our Zervas Library by selecting from hundreds of expertly chosen (by Ms. Kinney) titles. Each book donated will contain a bookplate with a personal dedication honoring a Zervas staff member of your choice. Visit this link by December 20th to choose a book to donate. If you have any questions please contact Ms. Kinney or Lou Bonegio.
While shopping online this month, consider using Amazon Smile and selecting the Zervas PTO as the charitable organization! See this link for more instructions.
Looking ahead to 2017, please mark your calendar for Family Game Night on Wednesday, January 25th at Carr. More details will follow. And book your sitter for the annual Zervas Auction on Saturday, March, 25th. This year’s theme will be Mardi Gras and as always, the evening will be filled with delicious food and drink, exciting auction items, and opportunities to meet and mingle with other Zervas parents.
If you have any questions or suggestions, do not hesitate to contact us at pto@zervaspto.org.
Thank you,
Alicia Collins & Jessica Davis
PTO Co-Presidents
