Sprague PTO Update

What a week! The Cookie Walk was a roaring success! 

Elizabeth Young absolutely knocked the cover off the ball this year. The event brought us together as a community in a fun and energetic atmosphere. The set-up was beautiful and engaging (I loved the historical photos from around town), and the programming was fun and entertaining (my girls raved about David Hall, the magician). 

The financial numbers are not final quite yet, but suffice to say we significantly exceeded our revenue and profit target for the event. These funds will go towards enhancing the Sprague experience for our children. Thank-you Elizabeth for all of the hard work. You not only put together a phenomenal event, but you also created a plan for how the Cookie Walk can continue to be successful for future years.

This event was successful because of a lot of hard work from many people. I encourage you to read through and personally thank as many of the people as possible. Also, please let me know if I have forgotten to thank someone.

A strong leader always has a strong team behind them and Elizabeth was no exception. Thank-you Julie Knudson, Bram Young, Julia de Peyster, Jill Fischmann, Melissa Martin, Jenn Fallon, Jenn Yu, Aileen Russell and Marissa Rosenbaum, and anyone else who pitched in behind the scenes to help Elizabeth. All of you are amazing and Sprague is so much better because of all your effort.

Thank-you Julia de Peyster for helping to administer the raffle (results announced Monday). This was a significant under-taking given the volume of tickets bought. Processing all the raffle entry forms submitted prior to the Cookie Walk took an all-out effort on the part of Julia. Your positive 'can-do' approach is inspiring and you always bring an element of fun to all that you do.

Of course the Cookie Walk required a great deal of thought and coordination concerning funding and payment collection. Thank-you Melissa Martin and Jill Fischmann for all the effort you put into planning and coordinating the handling of money. Your calm demeanor and willingness to stay late to ensure all the funds were properly accounted for at the end was huge.

Another huge job was pulling together all the people to help set-up, support and clean-up the event. Thank-you Aileen Russell for coordinating all the volunteers for the event. People who stepped up to help out at the event included Marissa Rosenbaum, Wade Ju, Jen Bowers, Jennifer Yu, Jenn Fallon, Carrie Reepmeyer, Betsey Weintraub, Eileen Brackenbury, Becca Cahaly, Nur Hamzaogullari, DD Marcoux, Annie Newman, Joanne Hinchley, Michelle Frost, Kirsten Stevenson, Eunice Groark, Jean Walsh, Andrea Scampini, Cindy Shorris, Maura Miele, Angie Gakidis, Phyllis Theerman, Sue Maggioni, Mason Smith, and Marie Schiller. 

Thank-you Jenn Fallon for coordinating the cookie production and room parent communications. Thank-you Claire van der Elst for helping to get the word out about baking, volunteers and event details. Thank-you to all the parents who baked cookies for the Cookie Walk! We ended up with about the perfect number of cookies and your festive wrapping helped elevate the atmosphere of the event.

Thank-you Kate Naughton for organizing the Spirit Shop for the event. The PTO made a healthy profit and now all of us can show our Sprague spirit with pride. Helping Kate pull off this amazing feat were Dulcey Connon, Lisa Neighbors, Susie Ellis, Janet Goujiamanis, Amy Chase, Jennifer Voldins, Jacqie Stathis, and Carolyn Carroll. Thank-you to all of you for volunteering your time and effort in support of the school!

Thank-you Carrie Reepmeyer and Karyn DeVito for working out the best possible solution for the METCO students so that they could participate as much as possible.

Thank-you Sprague PTO Board and all the parents who attended the planning meetings. Your thoughtful input helped fine-tune the event and ensure its success.

Thank-you Ms. Snyder for your support in helping to plan the event, as well as during the Cookie Walk. Your willingness to help coordinate the usage of the school was a huge help.

Thank-you to the custodians, Mr. Grady, Mr. Carter and Mr. Glorioso, for supporting the set-up and clean up of the Cookie Walk. It was a lot more work for you and we really appreciated your thoughtful and positive engagement. 

Thank-you Mr. Hagar-McKee for the music, explanation on how to set-up the sound system, and the music stands. Thank-you Ms. Stabnick for having your students create the back drop for the Photo Booth. Thank-you to all the teachers who provided easels from their classrooms for displaying the posters from the Wellesley Historical Society during the Cookie Walk.

Thank-you Ms. Webb for taking pity on a hungry father during the set-up of the event. The sandwich was delicious and the apple you gave me from the cafeteria tasted like it came from the Hesperides themselves!

Thank-you Wellesley High School Key Club for adding much needed man hours for the event. 

Finally, thank-you WCCC for your flexibility during the event. 

Everyone played their role beautifully and it showed big time during the event. As you can see, this was an enormous undertaking that Elizabeth and her team orchestrated. Again, thank-you Elizabeth for creating a memorable Cookie Walk experience for all of us!

Warm Regards,

Matthew McKay
Sprague PTO President