In the fall, I began speaking with the PTO about the possibility of creating a Winthrop Elementary page on Facebook. Facebook is another way to foster communication between school and home, and will be specifically geared toward the learning that takes place here all day long!
The e-Notice is a great way to know about all the events and happenings in our school and in our community, and is delivered straight to your mailbox each Monday.
The website has specific information you may need (forms, notices, calendars, etc.) However, you have to go to website and search for what you want.
My blog contains more detailed information about activities going on at school, or in the educational community. You can subscribe to my blog and have it delivered directly to your in-box, or online reader. The other option is just checking it when you’re interested in a topic.
Now, with our Facebook page members of the school community can “Like” us and have little bits of daily learning posted directly on their Facebook wall!
For those of you already on Facebook, a page is quite different from a personal profile. There are no friends on our page, and you can’t see any one person or personal information. Individuals can “Like” our page and therefore see what is posted. They then have the ability to respond to posts. The Winthrop Facebook page will never have student pictures, but will have posts that contain photos and explanations of student work, experiments, or places in our school where a great deal of fabulous learning is taking place.
For those of you not already on Facebook, consider joining. It’s just one more way to stay connected with your children and Winthrop Elementary School!
Mrs. Allen coordinates our plastic bag recycling at Winthrop, and recently has begun to foster a relationship with Jessie Schmitt, the new recycling coordinator for the city of Melrose. You may have read about a new offering in the weekly e-Notice and want to know more about it, so here’s the scoop!
Last year I received a FREE energy assessment of my home and it was a FANTASTIC experience. A very friendly and knowledgeable person came and showed me with a heat sensing tool where I was losing heat and spoke with me about how I could prevent it. He also gave me free fluorescent lightbulbs which gave off a nice warm glow, changing my perception of fluorescent light forever. Best of all, he told me about 2 things that made it possible for us to get blown-in insulation in our home: 1) a $2000 rebate, and 2) a NO-interest loan for the remainder of the cost. We did it, and house is noticeably warmer and quieter. Best part, we did not have to go into our savings to do it. I am paying back the loan $52 a month. I would urge anyone who doesn’t have an insulated home to take advantage of this incredible program. Feel free to talk with me if you have any questions.
And now, the icing on the cake: For every person who signs up for a free energy assessment through this unique Winthrop school web link, the PTO will receive $10. What have you got to lose except your cold toes?!?
This program is sponsored by the Melrose Energy Commission in partnership with Next Step Living (NSL.) Here is a Melrose Free Press article on the program.
Each year the Winthrop PTO coordinates a holiday “Giving Tree.” This is a completely anonymous process that is supported by both the families of Winthrop and the staff. This year’s tree was unveiled at the Holiday Bazaar and has been well received, but there are still ornaments if your family is interested in helping out. Feel free to stop by the school and chose an ornament, or if you can’t get into school, email me (mherrera@melrose.mec.edu) and I will pick one for you and send it home with your student. We will continue to collect until December 20th, 2011.
It’s been a great start to the annual Holiday Bazaar – students in Kindergarten and 1st grade have completed their shopping, and 2nd graders are just getting started! The younger students have shopped with the help of their older “book buddies” and the amount of parent volunteers selling, manning the cash registers, and wrapping presents is awesome. It’s a great day to be a student at Winthrop Elementary School!