March/April 2019

Dear Little School Families,

As Robin Williams said, “Spring is nature’s way of saying Let’s Party!”

We did just that at Music Bingo on March 8th. We all had so much fun singing and dancing the night away – all for a great cause: our kiddos!! We raised over $7,000 which will directly fund our PTO activities this spring including teacher stipends, field trips, Enrichment programs, and so much more. Special thanks to Jenn Vant and her entire team for coordinating yet another seamless event!

As Spring arrives, stay tuned for details on our Mother’s Day Plant Sale as well as details about volunteer opportunities for Teacher Appreciation week (May 6-10) and on Field Day. Watch your inboxes and your kids’ backpacks for more information soon!

Finally, it's not too early to think about joining the PTO next school year in a leadership role. Please reach out to me if you are interested. There is a lot of opportunity to help out in big and small ways.

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com

PTO President

February 2019

Dear Little School Families,

It was fantastic to see so many of you at Bingo Night on January 18th! The Fundraising Committee hosted a boisterous and exciting evening of pizza and bingo for the whole family. Thank you to Kate Schulz and all of the volunteers for making this event happen!

Also on January 18th the Little School kicked off Kindness Week with the presentation, “Kids for Kindness”. Thank you to Emily Lazure for coordinating this fantastic presentation and bringing Michael "Tuba" Heatherton to our school. Read below for more details and ask your children about I-CARE!

Lastly, save the date for our adult spring event, Music Bingo! It will be on Saturday, March 8th at the Moose. We hope you’ll be able to join us for an evening of singing, dancing and camaraderie celebrating the Little School. Please visit our website, www.littlepto.org, to purchase tickets. If you’d like to help plan this event please reach out to me…many hands make light work! Special thanks to our four sponsors: Carla Herrick of Century 21 Northeast, Rebecca George of Edward Jones, D.R. Lessard Plumbing & Heating, and Farrelly Realty Group.

I hope everyone is had a fun and safe February Vacation!

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com

PTO President

January 2019

Happy New Year Little School Families!

I hope everyone enjoyed peaceful and healthy holidays with family and friends. 2019 is already off to a busy start here at The Little School!

Wrapping up 2018, we had a wonderful Holiday Concert attended by so many family and friends. Thank you to all who enjoyed an item from the bake sale or participated in the raffle - we raised just over $1400 to support our Enrichment Programs!

We kick off 2019 with three events in January. It all starts with Family Bingo Night on January 18th at the Moose. Kate Schulz and the Events Committee are hard at work preparing for a fun family night out. You should have received ticket information via backpack and email last week. Sign up early – this fun family event has sold out the previous three years! Visit our website to buy tickets now.

Our second January event is the Adult Kowloon Komedy Night on January 25th, co-sponsored with the Batch PO and Hood PA. Details went out via email and registration is online through our website. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or didn’t receive the email!

Our third January event is a Half Day event on January 30th. This will be a Valentine’s pottery experience at The Moose, hosted by the able staff of Look What I Made. Stay tuned for details!

I wish all of you a healthy and happy 2019!! I hope to see you at a future PTO meeting or event, and would love to hear your new ideas. Email me any time!

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com

PTO President

December 2018

Dear Little School Families,

I hope all of you enjoyed the long Thanksgiving weekend filled with laughter and love among family and friends. Here at the PTO we are certainly grateful for the support and friendship of our extended Little School Family!

Once again Trivia Night was a fun-filled evening for parents and teachers to come together in friendly competition. Special thanks to Kate Schulz and her amazing team of volunteers for coordinating another seamless event. We hope to see everyone back again next year!

Our annual Thanksgiving Pie Sale was a huge success. We are especially proud of the 62 pies donated to the North Reading Food Pantry (8 more than last year!). Your generosity is consistently overwhelming. Thank you to Courtney Mello and Erin Soroko for coordinating this sale.

The annual Winter Concert was this past Tuesday, December 11th. This is always a wonderful opportunity for our children to showcase their musical talents and hard work. Special thanks to Adriana Guzzo for coordinating a very successful bake sale! Congratulations to the Begley Family and the Lobello Family, winners of the two raffle items!

Lastly, save the date for two fun events in January. Our 3rd Annual Family Bingo Night will be Friday, January 18th at the Moose. We hope you can join us for an evening of family fun!! Also, our we will be joining our friends from the Batch and the Hood for another Paw Prints Night out. This year’s event is Kowloon Komedy Night on Friday, January 25th. Registration is online at tinyurl.com/KowloonKomedy.

I hope to see you at a future PTO meeting or event, and would love to hear any new ideas. Feel free to email me or any other Board member if you are interested in getting more involved!

Wishing you Peace and Joy this holiday season!

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com
PTO President

November 2018

Dear Little School Families,

What a busy Fall at the Little School!!

The 3rd Annual Halloween Bash was a HUGE success again this year. Special thanks to Jenn Vant and her entire team of volunteers who worked to host a spectacular party! A sold-out crowd enjoyed games, dancing and contests in our Little School Café. Hopefully everyone recovered in time for trick-or-treating!

Our Apparel Sale wrapped up this past weekend. Thank you to Elena DeAngelis for spearheading this initiative once again. We will all be a tiny bit warmer than usual in our Little School sweatshirts and NR Hornets hats this winter!

Our Pie Sale is in its last week. Please see the link on our website to place an order for these delicious pies. Purchase for yourself, friends and family; and donate to our own North Reading Food Pantry.

Trivia Night is coming up on Friday, November 16 at the Moose!! Please join us for a fun, friendly competition to find out which team knows the most random information! There are also some great prizes and silent auction items including a weekend in Maine (thank you, Beckwith Family!). Buy tickets online or send in your registration info to Kate Schulz. You don’t want to miss it!

Finally, I hope all of you enjoy rest, relaxation and joyful hearts as we approach Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all of you...my cup runneth over. I hope to see you at a future PTO meeting or event, and would love to hear your feedback. Email me any time!

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com
PTO President

Sept/Oct 2018

Welcome Back Little School Families!

Can you believe that the kids have been back to school for four weeks?? Hopefully all of you are getting settled into the Autumn routine. The PTO has been busy with back to school events and planning for a fantastic year ahead.

What a fun time we had at our annual Back-to-School Family Fun Night on September 14! So many of us enjoyed reconnecting with friends after the summer break with dancing, pizza and ice cream.

Our next big event is the All School Halloween Bash on Sunday, October 28 from 3:30p-5:30p in the Little School Café. Mark your calendar for this spook-tacular event and be on the lookout for more details soon. Then we have our first adult-only evening, Teamwork Trivia Night, on Friday, November 16. Book a babysitter now so that you can enjoy this exciting event! Ticket forms will be sent home via backpack and will also be available on our website, www.littlepto.org.

We are pleased to offer Little School Apparel again this year. We can’t wait for you to check out the new apparel choices, along with new offerings of North Reading Hornets gear. There is something for everyone!  The sale will run October 22 – November 2, online only. More information to follow via backpack.

October and November are going to be exciting here at the Little School! I hope to see you at one or more of these events or at a future PTO meeting. If you have any questions, comments or new ideas please share them with me - email me any time!

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com
PTO President

May/June 2018

Dear Little School Families,

It’s hard to believe, but we are nearing the end of the school year! It has been a busy month and the PTO is still going strong. The end of the year has many field trips and enrichments, in addition to our planter sale and Little Laps. And, of course, Arts Night is a highlight of May. We hope you enjoyed the evening celebration of our children’s visual and performing arts skills!

Our planter sale wrapped up just in time for Mother’s Day. Thank you to Kate Schulz for coordinating with Larry at Wagon Wheel Nurseries to provide us with these gorgeous planters delivered right to school. We love this beautiful and convenient service!

Our final big event of the year is Field Day and Little Laps – Ninja Warrior Edition. Mr. Nackley and Michelle White are working to create a fun and challenging obstacle course for all of our children. We are looking for volunteers to help at Field Day (Tuesday, June 12th) so if you have a valid CORI check, please to sign up to volunteer.

We will vote on next year’s PTO Board at the June 13th meeting so PLEASE get those nomination forms in – there is a role for everyone and we would love to have you! Finally, we wish our 5th graders all the best as they move up to Middle School! Wishing you a fun-filled and safe summer with family and friends!!

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com 
PTO President

April 2018

The birds are singing every morning and the sun is warmer. Despite some lingering snow piles, Spring is here!!

Our Comedy Night was a great success – thank you to all who attended and bid on our silent auction items. We shared a lot of laughs all while raising money for our general PTO account that funds teacher stipends, amazing enrichment programs, and so much more. Special thanks to Jenn Vant and her entire team for coordinating yet another seamless event!

As you might remember, the Comedy Night committee decided to exclude the Teacher Gifts of Time from the silent auction at the event and so the PTO hosted its first ever online auction last week! THANK YOU for helping to make this a HUGE SUCCESS!!! We are so excited about this more modern and equitable way to involve all parents who want to bid on these experiences.  It was very fun and exciting to watch the bidding unfold over the week. Special thanks to Stacey DiCarlo, Michelle White and Amy Darling for their tireless work on this new event!

Looking further ahead toward the end of the year, we will again have our Mother’s Day Planter Sale in May as well as our biennial event, Little Laps - Ninja Warrior Edition, coinciding with Field Day. Watch your inboxes and your kids’ backpacks for more information soon!

Lastly, it's not too early to think about joining the PTO next school year in a leadership role. Please reach out to me if you are interested. There is a lot of opportunity to help out in big and small ways.

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com
PTO President

March 2018

Dear Little School Families,

It is hard to believe that it is already March - February flew by! Hope all of you are enduring the prolonged winter weather and taking advantage of the extra time at home with the kiddos.

We are very busy working on our 2nd Annual Comedy Night! Mike Koutrobis will be back to emcee the event with three new comedians. Our raffle baskets look amazing and and during the event, we will have many silent auction items, including those always popular teachers' gifts of time. Grab your friends and get your tickets now to join us for a hilarious night out!

As Spring arrives, stay tuned for details on our Mother's Day Plant sale as well as our biannual Little Laps Walk-a-Thon. And it's not too early to think about joining the PTO next school year in a leadership role - please reach out to me if you are interested.

Hope to see many of you on March 17th!!

Linda Emery
PTO President

February 2018

Dear Little School Families,

It was fantastic to see so many of you at Bingo Night on January 19th! The Fundraising Committee hosted a fun and exciting evening of pizza and bingo for the whole family. Thank you to Kate Schulz, Jenn Vant and all of the volunteers for making this event happen!

On January 18th the Little School hosted an anti-bullying presentation by Johnny the K. Thank you to Emily Lazure for coordinating this fantastic presentation. Read below for more details and ask your children about it!

Lastly, save the date for our adult spring event, Comedy Night. It will be on Saturday, March 17th at the Moose. We hope you'll be able to join us for an evening of laughs and camaraderie celebrating the Little School and St. Patrick's Day. If you'd like to help plan this event please reach out to me...many hands make light work!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe February Vacation!

Linda Emery
ljm0818@hotmail.com
PTO President