Westford Elementary PTO Programs

Arts & Education Programs

Arts & Education is our term for the special PTO-sponsored assemblies our children attend during school. The goal is to have the children experience many different categories of arts education:

music, drama, dance, storytelling, hands-on art and more!

Due to school budget limitations, our children may not have the opportunity to experience these arts-related programs if it wasn't for all of the hard work and contributions of our Arts & Education Committee and you, both in terms of fundraising and volunteering your time. Download the Arts & Education Programming letter for Abbot, Day or Crisafulli for details about the events at each school.

2009-2010 Arts & Education Programs

This year, the Arts & Education Programming Team is excited to support on-going programs and present new workshops that we hope will enrich the lives of students, support the work of teachers, and build a caring community. We encourage you to attend any or all of these programs this coming year. Thank you for supporting the PTO by contributing your time, energy and resources to the fundraisers throughout the year that make these programs possible! For more info about AEP, to volunteer on the AEP team, or to help out at an upcoming program, please contact Marcia Caster (Gr 3-5) or Heidi Tierney (K-2).

DATE	SCHOOL	GRADE	PERFORMER
Oct 2	Robinson	K	Rhythm Kids - Tom & Dan Foote, of Rhythm Kids, will take the Kindergartners on an imaginary trip to the rainforest of Ghana while sharing their love of African drums.
Oct 16	Robinson	Pre-first, 1st	Ralph Masiello - better known as the "the Ickybug man", will share his life experience as an illustrator with 1st graders at Robinson. Mr. Masiello shows examples of his original artwork and also discusses the printing process.
Oct 23	Miller	K	Rhythm Kids
Oct 28	Miller	1	Emilie Boon - Children's author and illustrator, Emilie Boon, shares examples of her artwork in various stages of book production. Students will use Emilie's signature crayon-and-watercolor technique to create their very own accordion-style mini-books.
Nov 13	Day	3	David Coffin: Exploring the Early Woodwind Instruments - This engaging presentation covers the history of the recorder from the primitive ocarina through the medieval gemshorns and the recorders of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Mr. Coffin brings an extensive collection of recorders and other early woodwind instruments that he plays and shares with the students.
Nov 19, 20	Nab	1	Emilie Boon - Children's author and illustrator, Emilie Boon, shares examples of her artwork in various stages of book production. Students will use Emilie's signature crayon-and-watercolor technique to create their very own accordion-style mini-books.
Dec 4,7	Stony Brook	Open to the public	NYC's Premier A Cappella Group, Blue Jupiter will be performing their holiday show "Scattered Flurries.”
Dec 8	Nab	1st/pre-first	'Weather Wonders': Gary Gustafson - a local resident and Meteorologist returns to Nabnasset with a very engaging presentation about weather.
Dec 11	Day	5	Historical Perspectives: 'Ben Franklin' - Students will relive Ben's life through his years as an inventor and Revoluntionary. Franklin delights audiences with his early days of mischievous adventure growing up in Colonial America. Students will learn how his earlier years influenced his later greatness. Ben's story will ignite the natural curiosity of all students and also challenge them to ask, "Why, What if, and What can I do to make a difference?"
Jan 13/14	Day	3	Top Secret Science" States of Matter
Jan 22	Robinson	1	Weather Wonders
Feb 5	Robinson	K	Michelle’s Menagerie : Live Animal Show
Feb 9	Day	4	Wingmasters: World of Owls
Feb 10	Crisafulli	4	Wingmasters: World of Owls
Feb 11	Abbot	4	The Native American Perspective by Dan Cripps: "Cultural Diversity" - Dressed in clothing of the western plains of the 1800’s, Dan Cripps sits inside a 13 ft. tipi with each classroom. The students will learn about the land, the animals, and the people of North America.
Feb 12	Nab	K	Rhythm Kids
March 2, 3	Miller	K	Mrs. Junkbox / Eco-Art
March 4	Nab	1	Wingmasters: Birds of Prey
March 5	Robinson	1	Wingmasters: Birds of Prey
Mar 3, 5	Crisafulli	3	Top Secret Science : 'States of Matter'
All Westford K-5 families are invited to a special, family presentation of Robert Rivest's "Healthy Choices" show which is open to the community and takes place on March 19, 2010 at the Blanchard Middle School Auditorium. Appropriate for families with children of all ages. FREE event. Sponsored by Lowell General Hospital, Dr. Mark Gilchrist of Pediatrics of Chelmsford, and BOOST Fitness of Westford.
March 8, 18	Abbot Crisafulli Day	3	Robert Rivest's "Healthy Choices" - Robert Rivest, one of the most prolific mime artists in the world & founder of the Rivest School of Mime, will present a high-energy, comedy and mime show for all third graders at the Abbot, Day, and Crisafulli schools. This Wellness curriculum-based assembly will inject "health topics with humor" and discuss mindful choices about food, exercise, entertainment & safety.
March 11	Abbot Crisafulli	5	Historical Perspectives: Ben Franklin
March 11	Miller	1	Weather Wonders
March 19, 22	Miller Nab Robinson	2	Historical Perspectives: 'Helen Keller'
May 13	Abbot	3	David Coffin: Exploring the Early Woodwind Instruments - This engaging presentation covers the history of the recorder from the primitive ocarina through the medieval gemshorns and the recorders of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Mr. Coffin brings an extensive collection of recorders and other early woodwind instruments that he plays and shares with the students. This presentation ties in with the 3rd grade unit of sound and also introduces them to the recorder, which they play in 4th grade.
May 6	Abbot	4	Techsplorations: "Electricity and Magnetism" - An exciting show that uses audience participation with fun props and spectacular demonstrations to teach the basic laws of electricity and magnetism.
May 6	Abbot	5	Techsplorations: "Simple Machines" - Using a 12' long lever, 3' tall gears and pulleys, a catapult, and a hand crank music machine, demonstrations will show how all simple machines help us do work by trading distance for effort. This is a whole new way to get students excited about simple machines.
TBD	Abbot	5	Colonial Historical Program - An actor/author will guide the children through a historic journey with colonial and real life stories to enrich the students understanding of Colonial times.
TBD	Abbot	3	Delivering States of Matter - The students will investigate the physical properties of solids, liquids, and gas. Dry ice and liquid nitrogen make learning the five changes of matter very dramatic. Shatter flowers and rubber balls, have fun with crazy chemistry!

If you enjoy the arts, then consider volunteering for the Arts & Education Committee. We are looking for volunteers to help greet performers at school on days of scheduled programs, help preview performers at other schools in the area, and work with the committee to plan future programs. The time commitment is small, and we have a lot of fun!

Credit Programs

Schools can earn money from various "cash back" rebate programs for things you may already be purchasing. When enrolling, select ANY of the six elementary schools we represent - the funds go to the same place.

Collect General Mills Box Tops for Education

In exchange for box tops collected from participating General Mills and Betty Crocker produsts and their partners, our schools get rebate checks. So please save these, and send them into school with your child for deposit in the bright yellow boxes in their classroom/suite, or at community locations in Market Basket and the J.V. Fletcher Library. Don't forget to ask relatives to collect them too!

Donations

Last year the Invest in Your Child program replaced BoostPTODrive. It has proven to be a great success. Although there is an Invest in Your Child push in the fall and spring, donations are welcome anytime. See the Invest in Your Child form. We happily accept donations from businesses and organizations.

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