Sprague PTO Update

Dear Sprague Community,

Suffrutescent. This word took down our fearless Sprague Spelling Bee team, despite their expansive brains. The pronunciation by the announcer may have been a bit off, leading our team down the wrong road, but we'll give credit to the Bates PTO who managed to fight through the acoustics in the Sprague gym and spell it correctly. Thank-you Kim Khoury, Julia de Peyster and Brian Hagar-McKee for all the hours of studying and preparation. You represented Sprague well!

On Tuesday we had two members of School Committee, KC Kato and Matt Kelly, talk with parents about the upcoming special election on December 9. Residents of Wellesley will be asked to approve funding for renovations to Fiske, Schofield and the Middle School. Susan Snyder also presented Sprague MCAS scores, which were very strong. If you would like to learn more about the scores, and were unable to attend the meeting, please send Ms. Snyder an email.

Also on Tuesday we held our November board meeting for the PTO. Karin Sodervall was officially voted in as Co-President. Thank-you Karin! Kirsten Stevenson updated everyone on Creative Arts and Sciences. DD Marcoux wanted to thank all the parents who helped with Nature Walks this fall. Ms. Snyder provided an update on the school, which included the start of the installation of the 'Buddy Bench' on the playground (the area recently prepared by the shade structure).

The board approved a small increase in the previously approved gift for fourth grade study aides to cover shipping expenses. The board also approved the creation of an Innovation Fund that will support technology purchases for the school. The fund was seeded with a $15,000 gift that will initially go towards the purchase of laptops. Due to the size of the school, it was determined through conversations with teachers and school officials that Sprague had a shortage of laptops. The purchase of laptops is consistent with the district's technology vision and curriculum. In the future, the desire is to enhance the district's technology plans within the parameters of the curriculum through this fund.

Melissa Martin presented the Treasurer's report, noting the financial position of the Sprague PTO remains healthy after making these gifts. The board also approved a modest increase in expenses associated with PTO-sponsored events, such as coffee and donuts at presentations for parents. Please contact me if you have any questions about the items discussed at the board meet.

Please MARK YOUR CALENDAR for 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11 as the date of  

COOKIE WALK. 

The doors open to the gym at 2:30p with activities and shows starting 

late enough to allow for families from other schools to attend.

On Thursday Elizabeth Young hosted a kick-off meeting for preparations of the Cookie Walk. It was a productive meeting with lots of good ideas and productive discussions about the best way to organize the event. Thank-you to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussion. 

The collection of items for Cradles to Crayons this week was awesome! Thank-you to everyone who donated items. Also, thank-you Jenn Friedman, the exuberant fifth graders who helped, and the rest of the Cradles team for reminding all of us each morning to bring our donated items to the school. The volume that was picked up at the school on Friday was incredible. The Sprague community should feel quite proud of our generosity.

Thank-you to everyone who has come in and looked through the Lost and Found! There has been a noticeable reduction in the height of the piles and I'm sure the articles of clothing were overjoyed to get washed and reunited with their owner. At the end of the month we will donate what is left in the Lost and Found to Cradles and Crayons.

Kate and Robert Naughton have been busy working on the Sprague Turkey Trot T-shirt design. Please fill out the Turkey Trot Form if you would like to buy a shirt! Deadline is Monday, November 10 to order shirts.

Warm Regards,

Matthew McKay
Sprague PTO President