Fitzy's Flyer
May 20, 2022
Weekly Principal Update
Greetings FitzGerald Community,
We hope that everyone had a wonderful week!
Please see below for some FitzGerald School updates:
1. FitzGerald Community Garden- The FitzGerald Community Garden is beginning to flourish once again! Recently, Joe Vanaria, from Anthony Vanaria and Sons Landscaping, came and donated time and materials to cleaning out the garden and getting it ready to plant in again. We are so grateful to him and his team for completing this for our school! Thank you to the many parents and staff who have worked collaboratively on organizing what is needed for us to replant and begin utilizing this area once again. As of now, we currently have some perennial plants, flowers, chive, garlic, herbs, and strawberry plants that are growing . We hope to plant seeds this spring to begin growing items such as carrots, sunflowers, pumpkins, watermelons, etc. We can't wait to begin having students learn more about our community garden in the coming months. We will be looking for volunteers to help water the garden over the late spring and summer months. Please be on the look out for a sign up sheet coming out soon. Thank you!
2. The Last Walking Wednesday of This School Year is Next Week!- This coming Wednesday, students are encouraged to start their day with a fun and active walk in the morning. Bus students will be able to depart the bus a short distance from the school and walk, with staff supervision, to the school. To participate, students must have a signed ticket with a parent/guardian signature. All participating students (walkers and bus students) should bring a completed ticket to school this Wednesday, as it will be collected and counted to see which classes have the most participation and earn the award of the "Golden Shoe" for their classroom for the week! We had 78% of the school participate this past Wednesday and 2 classes won the Golden Shoe Award for 100% participation!
Thank you for your continued partnership! Have a great weekend and enjoy the warm weather!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Santillo and Mrs. Lamoly
Healthy Waltham Food Pantry Dates for May
Additional School Updates
Voluntary Weekly At Home COVID-19 Testing Procedures
Participating students will receive a new test kit next week. Please use this kit for Wednesday May 25th and Wednesday June 1st. Please only report positive results to Mrs. Young, FitzGerald School Nurse. Negative results do not need to be reported. Thank you!
Voluntary Weekly At Home COVID-19 Testing Opt In Form
Daily COVID-19 Attestation Form
Please review the attestation form below each morning before your child departs for school. Please contact the School Nurse if you have any questions on symptoms.
REMINDER
1. 1 extra mask for your child's backpack in case it is needed at any time
2. A filled water bottle clearly labeled with your child's name
Thank you!
Fitzy Parent University Workshop Update
This month, Mrs. Santillo held an additional Coffee Talk on the evening of May 3rd for open Q and A on school items, in replacement of a workshop. Next month's structure will be a Fitzy University on ways to support learning during the summer months. This workshop will be held virtually on June 7th at 6:00pm.
Upcoming "Fitzy Fun Run" Volunteer Information
*CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!*
The FitzGerald Fun Run is scheduled for Thursday, June 16th and we need your help to make this year's event a success!
We are looking for:
Sponsorship committee chair & volunteers
Sponsorships
Raffle donations (gift baskets, gift cards, etc...)
Registration Committee Volunteers
Volunteers for T-Shirts
VOLUNTEERS, VOLUNTEERS, VOLUNTEERS!
If you are interested and available to help with anything, please reach out to Chrissy Young at christineyoung@walthampublicschools.org
"Fitzy Fun Run" Participant Sign Up Link- Sign Up Below to Walk/Run on June 16th!
PTO News
1. PTO Board Positions: We are looking for new parents to join the PTO board and have a variety of positions available. Reach out for more information at fitzgeraldpto@gmail.com
2. Flamingos: Be on the lookout for flocks of flamingos taking up residence in the FitzGerald community! This is a fundraiser to support our 5th grade class, but any FitzGerald student can be "flocked." To request a flocking, please email the PTO at fitzgeraldpto@gmail.com and send $20 to our venmo account (@FitzGerald-PTO).
3. Field Day: June 10th. If you're interested in joining the committee, please reach out to fitzgeraldpto@gmail.com
4. PTO Parent Directory: View the directory at https://www.fitzgeraldpto.com (password: FitzPanthers138). If you would like to share your information for our parent directory, please send an email to fitzgeraldpto@gmail.com
5. Fitzy Wear: Our school Fitzy Wear store is open! Please see information in English and Spanish. Here is the ordering website: fitzgeraldelementaryspiritwear.com
6. Raise Right Program Information: ShopwithScrip has rebranded and is now RaiseRight.com. Please support this gift card fundraiser for our school.
7. Next PTO Meeting Date: June 7th, 6:30pm
"Fitzy Fridays" at FitzGerald!
FitzGerald School Council Information
Our FitzGerald School Council meets monthly to discuss school-related items such as our School Improvement Plan, the overall budget, etc. We have a representation of parents (5), faculty/staff (5), and a community member, on our School Council. Each month, our meeting minutes that have been approved by the School Council will be shared in this monthly update section.
Meeting Minutes from April 2022
(minutes approved 5/3/22)
Next School Council Meeting: October 2022
Virtual Coffee Talks
Mrs. Santillo will host virtual Coffee Talks every Monday (on school days only) to answer questions parents/guardians may have. The times each Monday will be:
9:00am
12:00pm
Here is the virtual meeting link:
Upcoming Dates
5/30/22- No School
6/20/22- No School
UPDATED- 6/21/22- Last Day of School
Waltham Public Schools 2021-2022 Calendar
James FitzGerald Elementary School
Email: jennifersantillo@walthampublicschools.org
Website: https://www.walthampublicschools.org/fitzgerald/
Location: 138 Beal Road, Waltham, MA, USA
Phone: 781-314-5680