Concluding our 2022-2023 School Year

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On Board Newsletter June 2023

On Board Newsletter, Summer 2023

As we conclude the 2022-2023 school year, I am filled with happy memories. While we navigated some challenges throughout the year, we joyfully returned to beloved GCS traditions and created new social opportunities. I enjoyed seeing many of you at the Family Picnic on June 13th – such a fun way to celebrate our year together. Thank you to all of the Room Parents and families who donated time, talent, and items to support the school. Volunteerism truly helps make GCS the wonderful community that it is. Thank you especially to our outgoing Board of Directors members: Laura Cummings, Vice President (and former President); Colleen Neff, Treasurer; and Kelly Lopez, Member-At-Large (and former Public Relations and Buildings and Grounds Co-Chair). We are so grateful for your expertise and service to GCS over the years. I wish you all a relaxing, peaceful, and fun summer. I hope to see many of you at GCS Camp!

With gratitude,

Kaitlyn Brokaw, Board of Directors President

Want to have fun and help GCS grow? Join the Board!

The GCS Board of Directors supports daily school operations and assists the staff in creating a strong community for the entire school. Members play an important role in fundraising efforts and spearheading many fun events. Get an inside glimpse at how it all works, experience a stronger connection with the staff and teachers, and make some great new friends!  Interested?  The Board of Directors is always looking for new members to join our team!  Feel free to speak with any Board of Directors member, or join us at our upcoming meetings in August and/or September.

We have a positive, fun group of parents/guardians happy to jump in and welcome you on board. Please reach out anytime!

Buildings and Grounds Update:

The 2022-2023 school year was full of action for Building & Grounds. Thanks to the efforts of many, our greenhouse is fully functional, we have picnic tables for outdoor meals and crafts, there is a new patio in front of Sam’s Shed, the yellow slide platform has been replaced, and more!

We are extremely honored to receive a $2,500 grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts. This grant focuses our efforts to “Dig Deeper” into our school wide conservation efforts. With this grant, we have added compost tumblers to reduce waste, rain barrels to minimize town water use, and gardening tools, as well as “Big Dig” excavators and a mud kitchen on order for students to explore and play in our natural environment.

A big thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time as part of the Fall Fixup and Spring Spruce Up! With your help and muscle we were able to tackle a laundry list of items that ultimately saves money for the school. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

As Building & Grounds Co-chairs, we take great pride in making sure the playground is fun and safe. We look forward to continuing to work on Building and Grounds in the 2023-2024 year. If you are interested in pitching in with any tasks or projects, please reach out to buildingandgrounds@grotoncommunityschool.org. We would love to hear from you!

Laura Hankin & Jess Barie

Parent Representative Update

The GCS Board of Directors would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the 2022-2023 Room Parents. Their handwork, time, care and dedication helps keep our GCS community thriving. They are always ready with fundraising efforts, classroom projects, teacher appreciation efforts and more. We couldn’t do it without you. Thank you for a wonderful year!

We would also like to show great appreciation to our generous GCS Volunteer Bakers. Their continuous support throughout the year “stocking the fridge” for healthy snacks for our wonderful sensational staff members, as well as many other events is always greatly valued. We are always so overwhelmed by your generosity. Thank you to all.

Questions? Reach out to Beth Christoforo, Parent Representative at: parentrepresentatives@grotoncommunityschool.org

Fundraising Update – Every Bit Counts!

We are grateful to GCS families for your willingness to volunteer your time and participate in our fundraisers. The fundraisers provide services, activities, or fun products for your family while helping to keep our tuition rates affordable. Plus, they provide meaningful opportunities to participate in your child’s educational experience. We had a very successful year again this year, raising a total of $15,618! Thank you for your continued support and generosity!

 

2022-2023 Board of Directors

Kaitlyn Brokaw, President

Laura Cummings, Vice President

Linda Kosinski, Director

Lisa Stafford, Assistant Director

Terri Martin, Full Day Coordinator and Summer Camp Director

Colleen Neff, Treasurer

Justine Mannix, Secretary

Brie Weider and Abbey Lambert, Public Relations

Laura Hankin and Jess Barie, Buildings and Grounds

Lindsay Guaraldi, Kaitie Phinney and Melissa Sulprizio  Fundraising

Beth Christoforo and {open}, Parent Representative

Otonye Braide-Moncoeur and Kelly Lopez, Members-at-Large

 

Contributors to the 2022-2023 Annual Fund

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the generous contributions to this year’s Annual Fund. Your donation makes a difference for every child at GCS. This year’s donation is directed to our Exceptional Teacher’s Fund!

There is still time to donate! The 2022-2023 Annual Fund runs through Aug. 31. 

Donate here now

ALUMNI

John Ellenberger* and Patti Thompson

Elizabeth Reeves

Joshua Kosinski

Ryan Kosinski

Molly* and Rocco Laurano

Carlo Perrotti

Jennifer Tramontozzi

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jessica* and Dan Barie

Scott and Kaitlyn* Brokaw

John and Beth* Christoforo

Rick and Lindsay* Guaraldi

Laura* and Monty Hankin

Chris and Justine* Mannix

The Moncoeur Family

The Neff Family

Barton and Kaitlin* Phinney

Joe Walch and Laura* Cummings

 

CURRENT FAMILIES

The Abraham Family

Dan Courcy and Mandy Callahan

Michael and Carrie Eubank

Jonathan and Heather Gerteisen

The Howell Family

Priyanki and Mihirraj Joshi

Cassidy and Karla King

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Kujala

The Maillet Family

The Tirella Family

Caitlin and Virgil Vaillancourt

Catherine and Brian Wong

 

FRIENDS OF GCS

Hologic Charitable Fund

Timothy and Rowe Luca

Gerard and Linda Luca Tarpey

 

GRANDPARENTS

Robert and Donna Halloran

Stephen and Miriam Helfgott

Lenore Miller in Honor of Gabriel and Jacob Miller Quinn

John and Janet O’Brien

Mr. Albert Stone

Chuck and Kathie Vella

Mary B. Wills

 

MATCHING GIFT CORPORATIONS

AbbVie Bioresearch Center

Agilent

BAE Systems

Red Hat

Bose Corporation

Google, Inc.

Hologic Charitable Fund

Microsoft

Millipore

Thermo Fisher

Viasat

Z Zurich Foundation

 

PAST BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael and Jennifer* Burke

Dave and Sarah* Eisenklam

Cynthia Lane-Hand

The Healy Family

Agnes McKinney

Mary and Ned* Mitchell

The Moeser Family

Paul and Hannah* Pugh

The Resca Family

The Riggert Family Fund

The Roberts Family

Scott and Trisha* Winroth

Clay and Susan* Yost

 

PAST FAMILIES

Jonathan Blandford and Rosanna Yuen

Ray Ciemny

Peter and Jean Cunningham

The Dagle Family

The Dewing Family

David and Mara Edgar

Jarred and Amanda Gagnon

The Gibney Family

Joe and Tracy Guth

Lee Muir-Hamen and Mark Hamen

The Herberich Family

Eric and Danielle Hillenberg

Thomas and Christine Horsman

Cliff Maxwell

Steven Onishi and Dawn Alling

Rajesh and Priya Palakkal

Mike and Martha Resch

Joan Denaro and Carl Rodrigues

David and Pamela Stone

Steven and Jennifer Stone

Alfred and Kristen von Campe

Doug and Hannah Woodbury

 

PAST STAFF

Jean Brady

The Rubens Family

Bruce and Jolene* Zukauskas

 

PAST TRUSTEES

Stephen Lane

Rob* and Laura Moore

Peter* and Andrea Myette

 

STAFF

Jennie* and Steve Fitzkee

Rick and Noreen* Keras

Linda Kosinski

Jon and Lorrie* Morgan

Katy* and David Niose

Paul and Inga* Nuccio

David Quintin and Bonnie Stanton*

Lisa Stafford

Meghan* and Steve Zocchi

 

TRUSTEES

John* and Diane Amaral

Kathleen and Randall* Barron

Scott and Betsy* Kehoe

Deborah* and Scott MacDonald

Mark and Stephanie* Morrison

David Moulton

Bryan and Natina* Perrotti

*Indicates past or present service to Groton Community School