THE PTO WEEKLY – newsletter sent via email to all PTO Members
The purpose of the PTO Weekly is to share up-to-date information with all PTO members. It includes current info on all PTO activities and often includes school news and community events.
The PTO Weekly goes out at the beginning of the school week. All updates for the PTO Weekly should be submitted to the Communications Chair via email no later than 12pm Thursday of the preceding week. The Communications Chair also keeps the PTO Website updated.
Contact: Michelle Early at
PTO MEETINGS
PTO Meetings are generally held the 1st Wednesday of each month and are open to all parents, faculty and staff at the school. Meetings are at the school at 8:30am or 7pm, depending on the month. They are another excellent way to be informed about what is happening at Winston and to meet other parents. The meetings are chaired by the current PTO President and usually include a “Head of School” update from Dr. Polly Peterson as well as reports from each committee chair.
Contact: Jennifer Corrigan at
CLASS PARENTS
At Winston, the duties of the Class Parent are fairly light and vary by grade (see below):
Lower School (A-D Core or 1st-6th grade) – 2 Class Parents for each Class are responsible for coordinating a Halloween, Holiday and Valentine class party with their teacher. Class Parties usually last a maximum of 30 minutes and should include a snack, an activity (book, DVD, craft or game), and a small themed party favor.
Middle School (7th & 8th grade) – 1 Class Parent for each class will coordinate exam snacks and recruit parent chaperones for Middle School dances.
Upper School (9th-11th grade) – 1 Class Parent for each class will coordinate exam snacks and recruit parent chaperones for Homecoming Dance and Prom.
Senior Class Parents (12th grade) – 1 Head Senior Parent and 1-2 assistants will coordinate exam snacks, recruit parent chaperones for Homecoming Dance and Prom and plan a Senior Trip (optional).
Please see the Class Parents Listing under the PTO Information tab on the red navigational bar of this website.
BACCALAUREATE
At Winston, the tradition is for an 11th Grade Parent (along with 2 volunteers to assist with serving the cake) to organize the food (finger sandwiches and varied trays, cake and punch) for the reception in the school cafeteria that follows the Baccalaureate service. Last year’s reception was catered by Sage Dining with a cake from Central Market. It can also be catered from elsewhere or food brought in by parents. It is usually held on the Sunday prior to Graduation at 3pm.
BOX TOPS
We have a Box Top Chair who sends out periodic reminders about Box Top collections, readies the tops for collection with an assistant and sends in our collected tops. You may turn in collected Box Tops anytime to the special mailbag at the school front desk.
Contact: Kathy Muntzel at and
Clara Jamison at
CATALOG FUNDRAISERS (Fall and/or Spring)
Once or twice a year, we run a catalog fundraiser. The chair(s) for these handle the administrative details of the sale.
Fall Position Open – contact . Spring Contacts: Debbie Haile at and Kathy Muntzel at
CRAFTERNOONS
The Crafternoon Chair organizes a monthly crafting themed social event held for Middle School and Upper School students in the Winston Library. These events are very popular with both boys and girls at the school. PTO members supply the snacks, supplies and expertise and donations are always welcome.
Contact: Donna Dinsmore at
EXAM READERS
Exam Readers are parents who volunteer to serve as scribes or readers for Middle and Upper School students who need those accommodations for Mid-Year and Final Exams. Serving as an Exam Reader takes little time, very directly benefits our students and is one of our most rewarding volunteer opportunities. The Exam Reader Chair helps recruit and coordinates the volunteers.
Contact: Brenda Kozakis at
GARAGE/BOOK SALE
In the spring, the PTO hosts a school-wide 1-day garage/book sale on a Saturday with items donated by the Winston School community. The Chairs for this event organize the storage and collection of donations and work with a team of volunteers to price and run the sale. Most of the profits from the Garage Sale go toward the Winston Scholarship Fund. The profits from the Book Sale help cover Crafternoon expenses and the Winston Library.
Contact: Susan Howard at [email protected]
Co-Chair & Volunteer Positions Open – please contact
GRANDPARENTS DAY
Two volunteers are needed to help with check-in on Grandparent’s Day at 7:45 a.m.
Volunteer Positions Open – please contact
HOSPITALITY
Many of our families with limited time choose to volunteer by signing up on the “I Can Bring Food” list of the PTO. The Hospitality Chair emails these volunteers to arrange donations of snacks/treats for a variety of PTO events such as Winston School Welcome Events, PTO meetings, Crafternoons, and Teacher Appreciation week.
Contact: Jennifer Stewart –
LIBRARY GUILD
The Library Guild Chair works with the Winston Librarian to organize the volunteers who work in the Library and to publicize the Birthday Book Program. In the Birthday Book Program, parents can add a library book in honor of their child. When your child’s birthday month arrives, they will be invited to select a new book from the “Birthday Book Club,” and a bookplate is placed in it honoring your child. They also display your child’s picture with the book on a special Birthday Bulletin Board in the library. Summer Birthdays may celebrate their “half birthday” in similar fashion.
Contact: Cameron Hayes at
SOCIALS
The Winston Socials Chair works with people interested in hosting Socials to organize and publicize their event. Tickets for Socials are usually sold via Paypal on the PTO Website. Hosting or Attending a Winston Social is a great way to meet others parents and supports the school at the same time. Proceeds can also be directed by hosts to benefit specific areas of need at the school.
Contact: Debra LaGassa at
START THE SEASON GIFT MARKET
The Start the Season Gift Market is a wonderful, fun way to get a head start on your holiday shopping and is a major annual fundraiser for the Winston PTO. On a Saturday in September, we rent booth spaces in our school gym, gym foyer and cafeteria to a variety of vendors. We provide the space for them to sell their items to the public and our community and publicize the event. Please make sure to invite your local friends and family to the Start the Season Gift Market!
During the market, we also run the “Happy Holidays Café” in the Winston school cafeteria that offers breakfast, lunch and desserts/snacks through the day. There is even a “Winston Booth” for selling handcrafted items donated by members of our school community.
The chair of the gift market works with a team of volunteers to organize the event. Further volunteers are needed in a variety of jobs to work the Friday night before the market and during the market on Saturday.
Contact: Pam Farrington at
Friday and Saturday Volunteers Needed – Contact Brooke Zasa at
TEACHER APPRECIATION
Making sure our fabulous Winston faculty knows how much we appreciate them is a big part of the PTO. The Teacher Appreciation Chair delivers a birthday gift to each teacher during the year from the PTO. They also arrange a holiday and end-of-year luncheon honoring our teachers, and organize events during Teacher Appreciation Week in April.
During April, we also post the Teacher Wish List on the PTO Website - a list of items requested by teachers for their classrooms. Parents wishing to contribute may make purchases using their PayPal account.
Contact: Pam Farrington at
WELCOME RECEPTIONS
During the Winston Family Fair that takes place before the start of school, the Winston PTO asks 1-2 current families from Lower School, Middle School and Upper School to host tables welcoming new families to Winston. These tables have refreshments and are located near the appropriate classroom areas. The Winston PTO also hosts an informational table with handouts and sign-up sheets in the school gym with other school organizations.
WINSTON CARES
The Winston Cares Chair attends all New Family welcome events and contacts each new family as they enter the school to answer questions and welcome them to Winston. They also organize the PTO response for families dealing with illness or death and those celebrating new births.
Contact: Brooke Zasa at