Calling all SWES Families!
The PTC will be hosting SWES Family Night: Festival of Cultures & Mini Scholastic Book Fair on Dec 1st. We are looking for families who are interested in signing up to host a country by making a poster and table display showing off the unique and interesting characteristics of different countries.
We are thrilled to officially kick off of our first ever Sunita Williams Elementary School Fun Run program! Beginning today, students can begin fundraising ahead of the big event taking place Saturday, October 22nd at 3:00 PM.
Our goal is to raise $5,000 to support our Teacher Enrichment Grant Program and other curriculum-based activities.
At the event, student participants will be challenged to complete 20 short laps around our school. We hope to raise $1 per lap or $20 total per student. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 classes raising the most funds. And, the grade-level with the most donations will get a special in-school reward (to be announced soon!).
This is a friendly competition, promoting wellness, character, leadership, and community. All SWES students are welcome to participate, regardless of ability. Anyone unable to run can still fundraise by collecting donations for HIGH FIVES!
We understand if your family is not able to financially support a runner right now. You can still be involved by simply SHARING about our fundraiser with friends and family online at MYBOOSTER.com. Sharing IS supporting!
We hope everyone can come and cheer on our fabulous student runners at the Fun Run on 10/22. Your support helps the PTC continue to provide important programming to our students, teachers, and staff at SWES.
Welcome to the Wildcat Connection!
Here you’ll find the latest and greatest about events, in school happenings, and community updates.
Check back often as this page is updated regularly.
After a two-year hiatus, we are happy to announce that the school has brought back its lunch volunteer program!
Volunteers help our K-2 students in the lunchroom by serving fruit, veggies, milk, and other a la carte items. Once all children have received their lunch, volunteers assist students’ with various needs including opening milk, helping with small spills, and cleaning tables once children are dismissed at the end of their lunch period.
Please arrive five minutes before your slot begins. ALL VOLUNTEERS MUST COMPLETE A CORI FORM BEFORE THEIR FIRST SHIFT.
Lunch Volunteer Times
- K DeMaria and K McKenna: 11:00-11:25
- K Watts and K Miceli: 11:25-11:50
- 1st Grade: 11:20-11:40
- 2nd Grade: 11:45-12:05
We greatly appreciate your help!
We’ve revamped our spirit wear model this year! Thanks to our new vendor, Amerasport, we are thrilled to bring you more, new choices and more flexibility with year-round shopping.
Spirit Wear makes a great holiday or birthday gift and it’s perfect for everyday wear. Plus, it will come in handy during our SWES spirit weeks, which occur twice a year and are led by our 5th grade classes.
Shop anytime on the Sunita Williams Spirit Wear site. We will also have a few items on display at upcoming events.
We can’t wait to see all the new gear on our learners and their families!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!
As part of our Welcome Back to School initiative, the PTC will provide breakfast and lunch for teachers and staff returning to school for Professional Development days before the official start of school.
We are looking for volunteers to bring in breakfast items on Monday, August 29th. Store-bought and homemade items are welcome!
Sign up for to drop an item here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0C44ACA92EA4F94-thankful
INSTRUCTIONS
PLEASE DROP OFF AT SWES FRONT DOOR BY 8:00 AM.
Store-bought and homemade items are welcome!
For breakfast items/fruit, please write in the comments the item name/description of the food you are bringing.
No need to provide utensils or plates - the PTC will provide compostable plates and utensils for the breakfast.
The Sunita Williams School Toolbox Store is open! Let School Toolbox handle the school supply shopping for you. Each grade has created a box with all the items your student(s) will need for the 2022-2023 school year.
Please visit schooltoolbox.com and enter Sunita Williams Elementary in the search bar.
A portion of the proceeds from each box to help end childhood hunger. School toolbox has partnered with Feed My Starving Children for 1box = 1 meal and they have provided over 850,000 meals to children across the globe.
Questions? Please email April Crawford at aacrawford44@gmail.com!
We are looking for volunteers to help us water our raised beds over the summer!
Why should I sign up?
The fifth grade watering brigade kept the plants alive through the end of the school year (thank you!), but now that summer is here we are looking for families to help out so that our plants make it through the hot summer months!
What's the commitment?
Families can sign up for a week at a time, but don't worry! Throughout the week you will only need to water three times at MOST, less if there is rain in the forecast. Watering the raised beds takes less than a half an hour to complete, so you're really only committing to an hour and a half if you think about it! When you sign up we will send you a short detailed video explaining everything. Bonus points if you want to pull weeds from the raised beds while you're there, but that is optional!
How do I sign up?
Click on the following Sign Up Genius to pick a week! Sign up for one week or multiple weeks - we'll take all the help we can get!
Thanks in advance, and feel free to contact Teri Boardman with any questions: teri@volantefarms.com
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our wonderful co-president of three years, April Crawford.
April has been an incredible asset to the PTC. Her energy, passion, and commitment to our organization is unmatched. We will miss her as a leader but couldn't be happier that she will continue to support the PTC in other capacities, including as chair on many committees and as our in-school liaison.
Please take a moment to read April's letter to the SWES community and join us TONIGHT at 7:00pm for April's last PTC Meeting as co-president.
A letter from our outgoing PTC Co-President to the SWES Community
June 7th, 2022
To my fellow SWES parents and caregivers and SWES faculty and staff,
Tonight will be my final PTC meeting as your Co-President. It is hard to believe that I first stepped into this role 3 years ago at Hillside. We have had quite the journey since then! We lost a beloved staff member in the Spring of 2019, transitioned to a new school, weathered the COVID pandemic, prepared for the upcoming farewell to Mr. K upon his retirement, and experienced worldwide events that shook us as a community and as individuals. Through it all, SWES community members have rallied around each other in support.
It was always my hope in accepting this role to aid our teachers, bring families together, build community, and assist our children in developing a love of learning. And I’ve found it inspiring to see everyone come together for the same goal of community well-being. I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your unwavering support of the PTC. Whether it be running a committee, serving pizza at an event, contributing an experience, or donating funds to help our causes, all of it mattered and it all was so appreciated.
I also want to thank the Hillside/SWES faculty and staff for their partnership with the PTC. Your kindness and participation in our initiatives allow us to do what we do best! I would like to thank Mr. K who has been alongside the PTC every step of the way and has strongly championed us and our endeavors. And of course Lori Donovan who is and always has been a partner in our work. Thank you for the advertising of our events, assistance with logistics, and everything in-between. It really does take a village!
You are all in wonderful hands moving forward with your Co-Presidents Kim Kaplan and Kim Karelis. To Kim Kaplan, it has been a pleasure to work alongside you these last two years. Thank you for your patience, creativity, and persistence. To Jenna White, Debbie Medvinsky, and Kim Karelis, our amazing board members, thank you for all of your time and dedication to the PTC for the last several years. I am so fortunate to have worked with such an incredible team!
I hope you all have a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you around Needham and at PTC events next year!
Be well,
April Crawford
Please join us for our final PTC Meeting of the 2021/2022 school year!
Join Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4347662594?pwd=M1JtcVdZQlp6MWJRelV4UkFSbE1kUT09
Meeting ID: 434 766 2594
Passcode: wildcats
Ever heard the story of "Three Little Pigs" from the Big Bad Wolf’s perspective?
Join The Fringe Theatre’s joyful, family-friendly performance of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?, an American Panto, on May 27th (7:30pm), May 28th (2:30pm and 7:30pm), June 3rd (7:30pm) and Jun 4th (2:30pm).
What’s a panto? Here’s our take.
The SWES PTC invites all past and present SWES and Hillside families, as well as the general public, to join in a special celebration of our beloved Principal, Mr. K, who will retire at the end of this school year.
Mr. K has been a dedicated and passionate leader in the Needham education community for more than 27 years, including 11 years teaching 5th grade at Hillside School and then Principal at both Hillside & Sunita Williams.
Read more about Mr. K in the PTC’s Press Release HERE.
OPEN HOUSE
Tuesday, June 14th 2022
3:30-5:30 PM
Sunita Williams Elementary School
*School grounds will be open to all during the celebration*
We look forward to seeing you there!
Questions? Email us at SunitaWilliamsPTC@gmail.com.
Tuesday, May 24th, 12-1:30 PM
Zoom • Meeting ID: 617 696 9653 • Passcode: 383531
All parents and guardians are invited to join for updates from the district special education administrators and our topic of the month, the Elementary Executive Function Curriculum. The final portion of the meeting is reserved for parent-to-parent discussion to share experiences and develop areas of common interest.
The PTC would like to congratulate SWES special needs educators, Kim Connolly and Hardeep Jassal, on their well-deserved recognition by SEPAC this year.
The annual SEPAC Awards recognize exceptional teachers, specialists, administrators and other staff members in Needham who go above and beyond in their work with students with special needs. The 2022 SEPAC Awards were given out at a special ceremony on May 12, 2022. The event carried many emotions for teachers and students as we close out another unique year in education.
You can watch part or all of the Awards Ceremony at https://www.needhamsepac.org/about-us/sepac-awards.
Full list of this year’s winners:
Katie Brady, Needham High School
Sarah Burton, Mitchell
Emily Charton, Eliot
Kim Connolly, Sunita Williams
Lauren Gosline, Pollard
Luisa Gouthro, Pollard
Kim Hoffman, Eliot
Hardeep Jassal, Sunita Williams/Newman
Lisa Mancino, Pollard
Heather Murphy, Newman
Thank you to all that participated in our spring Scholastic book fair and big thanks to the 40+ volunteers for all their help!
If parents still have money left in their eWallets, the online portion of our fair continues until May 16th (where our school continues to earn 25% in rewards). After that, anything left in eWallet accounts can be used towards other Scholastic purchases (like your classroom’s monthly Scholastic book club where we earn 2% in rewards) or at the next Scholastic book fair.
We did discover a quality issue with one of the titles where the binding was falling apart. If anyone would like to exchange their book for new one, please contact Grace (gracemacchan@gmail.com) and Scholastic will send a new copy.
Come on by to our first carnival at SWES! A long-running PTC sponsored event at Hillside is making its debut at Sunita Williams on Saturday, June 4th. This is a fun, community-building event for the entire family. Hope to see you there!
Inflatables
DJ
Games for all ages
Prizes
Carnival treats
$20/per family. Cash only at the door.
4:00 - 6:00PM @ SWES playground
Volunteer opportunities available!
The Spring Carnival committee is looking for volunteers to help make this event a success. Sign up for a slot below.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4cacad22a5fa7-swes1
