Dear Cunniff Families,

Happy April Vacation (almost)! I hope you all have a wonderful week next week while our school team is recharging. We had so much fun at Musical Bingo on Wednesday evening - thank you so much to those of you who were able to attend, and all of the amazing donations. This was an incredibly successful fundraising event that will support our 5th grade end-of-year events and experiences!

As you have seen in communication from our PTO, our Fun Run is coming right up after the break! In this last whole-school fundraising push for the year, we are really hoping to get our numbers up! Please see below for more details, and THANK YOU for all of your wonderful support!

A note about our parking lot: As you know from the posted signs, our parking lot is for staff only from 6am to 6pm each day. Most importantly, please do not pull into or park in the parking lot during drop-off and pick-up. This is a safety issue, and we greatly appreciate everyone working together to keep our students, families, and staff safe.

A note about our field: We will be opening our field on Tuesday, April 28th! We know that having the field closed through most of this year has been a concern, and we are deeply appreciative of your patience and understanding as we have been able to give our new sod time to get established and grow - this will mean that the field stays in good condition for longer! Our students will be able to use the field during recess, and our teachers will be going over expectations for the field in Morning Meetings on April 28th. We also know that many families use the field before and after school, and on the weekends! We ask that you make sure not to use any cleats when playing on the field, and to make sure that grass does not get pulled up. We will continue to monitor the field closely, and may need to close it periodically if any issues arise.

As always, please read through the rest of the newsletter for important details and goings-on, and send questions my way.

Have a wonderful week away from school next week!

My best,

Julia

We are thrilled to announce that we will be having a school-wide Wellness Week this year, that will culminate in our annual Fun Run (please see info from our PTO for more info on the Fun Run itself!)! Throughout the week of April 27, we will be engaging in wellness-related activities throughout the school.

That week actually kicks off with an extra day of vacation for all of our students (WPS staff will be engaging in professional development that day to prepare for the end of the year). See below for what the rest of the week has in store!

Wednesday, May 20 & Thursday, May 21: STE (5th Graders only)

Whether you have time to volunteer, ideas to share, or would like to make a donation, we would love to have you involved. Join us, meet other families, and help make a meaningful impact in our school community!

Would you like to give back to Watertown?

The Watertown Community

Foundation is kicking off its annual volunteer event, Watertown Helps Out, for

the 12th straight year. With the support of local company sponsors and the City

of Watertown, community service projects throughout the month of May will

connect people who live and work in Watertown to nonprofits that need help.

There are currently more than 400 volunteer opportunities available!

Volunteer opportunities include sorting clothing donations for Eco Fest, staffing

the Watertown Community Paddle and Herring Fest, clean-up of the

Watertown–Cambridge Greenway, assembling hygiene kits for people

experiencing homelessness, planting Memorial Day flags at local cemeteries,

sprucing up the Miyawaki forest, painting faces at Watertown Pride, and much

more. New projects will continue to be added over the next few weeks and

throughout May.

Sign up today at https://signup.com/go/uDCBscE to volunteer in our community!

The Watertown Business Coalition and the Watertown Public Schools are thrilled to partner

again to bring together the 2nd Annual Community STEM Night! Join us on Wednesday, April

29th from 5:30 - 7:30pm at the Watertown Middle School.

Enjoy interactive exhibits in the cafeteria featuring:

● WPS teachers and students highlight STEM curriculum and clubs

● The WHS Robotics team

● Student opportunities in the WHS Career & Technical Education programs

● Refreshments prepared by the WHS culinary students

● WPS graduates learning and working in STEM fields

● HATCH Makerspace, the Watertown Free Public Library’s Bookmobile, a green screen

activity from Watertown Cable Access Corp...and so much more!

Also featuring 3 panel discussions in the auditorium starting at 6:15pm:

● Hear from Sam Ghilardi of Watertown Bio give an update on the Watertown Life Science

sector

● Learn about what’s growing in the state of the art hydroponic WPS Freight Farm

● Hear about the Green Energy Career Awareness program brought to the WHS Career &

Technical Education department and Lemelson-MIT thanks to a $250k grant from

MassCEC.

Students and families of all ages will find something fun to learn, interact with, and explore!