Blog

We hope everyone enjoyed the (hopefully last!) taste of winter this weekend. We know we’re all looking forward to warmer weather starting next week, just in time for our PTO-sponsored Camp4Real afterschool club! For more details, please see the Camp4Real section later in this newsletter.

We are also gearing up for our Hollymead Talent Show, that will be held on March 26th at 4:00 on the black top. We are so thankful to our wonderful volunteer Talent Show coordinator Katie Arostegui for all of the work she has put into helping Hollymead’s talented students prepare for the show! Please plan on coming out to support our students on the 26th. 

A few more reminders for important days in the upcoming weeks:

• Friday, March 18th – Teacher Work Day (no school for students)
• Wednesday, March 30th – Dining Night Out – Torchy’s Tacos
• Friday, April 1st – Half day for students
• Saturday, April 2nd – Sunday, April 10th – Spring Break
• Wednesday, April 13th – Hollymead PTO Meeting
• Monday April 25th – Friday April 29th – Scholastic Book Fair

Finally, don’t forget that 2021-2022 yearbooks are on sale now (flyers went home in folders last week)! The last day for flyer ordering is April 1st and the last day for online ordering is April 3rd. 

Thanks, as always, to all of our volunteers, as well as all of the families, caregivers, staff, and students that make the Hollymead community so great. 

Go Hornets!

Hollymead PTO Co-Presidents

Meagan Gregory and Crystal Pariseau

Read more

Happy (almost) March! Now that the weather is getting a little warmer it certainly feels like spring is just around the corner. The third semester is flying by!

This coming week is Read Across America Week and all Hollymead students are invited to participate by showing their bookish spirit! The theme schedule for the week is as follows:

• Monday – Hats Off to Reading (wear a hat)
• Tuesday – PAWSitively Wild About Reading (wear animal-print clothing or clothing with an animal on it)
• Wednesday – Team Up for Reading (wear a sports shirt)
• Thursday – Snuggle Up and Read! (Wear pajamas)

As a reminder, Friday, March 4th is a Teacher Work Day so there will be no school for students. 

We also wanted to extend a big THANK YOU! to everyone who donated to our most recent Stock the Lounge for Hollymead staff. And of course thank you to our wonderful Hospitality volunteers, Shannon Hall and Allison Argawal! We’re so grateful to be able to show such appreciation for our awesome Hollymead staff!

A few additional dates for your calendars include:

• Wednesday, March 2nd – PTO Board Meeting (7:30 PM)
• Friday. March 11th – Kids Night Out (6:00 PM)
• Saturday, March 26th – Hollymead Talent Show (4:00 PM)

Events are definitely starting to pick up as the weather (and COVID numbers!) improve, and we’re excited to hopefully be able to host more events this spring. As we solidify more events, we will be sure to keep you updated through newsletters and social media. Stay tuned, and go Hornets!

Meagan Gregory and Crystal Pariseau

Hollymead PTO Co-Presidents

Read more

Happy February! We hope everyone is enjoying the nice reprieve from winter weather we’ve had this week.

All families and caregivers should have received a copy of the Hollymead Directory in the past few weeks. We’d like to take a moment to thank our Directory volunteers–Tara Goodrich, Jonelle Kinback, Rachel Cann, and Kate DeLuca–for putting everything together and making sure that this year’s Directory was such a success! If you see any of these wonderful volunteers around the neighborhood or at school pick up/drop off, please be sure to thank them for all of their time and expertise!

Thank you, as well, to everyone who attended our February Dining Night Out at Skrimp Shack! We love to see everyone coming together to support both Hollymead and a local business. As always, thank you as well for our DNO volunteers Nicole Felini and Kristen Jones for putting the event together!

Finally, please save the date for our next Hollymead Talent Show, which will happen in-person, outside on March 26th (rain date: April 16th). More details will be going home in folders soon!

Wishing everyone a fun-filled weekend of football and Valentines,

Hollymead PTO Co-Presidents

Meagan Gregory & Crystal Pariseau 

read more

Hopefully everyone managed to stay warm during our snow this past weekend; and here’s hoping this is among the last major weather events of the school year!

As January winds to a close we want to extend a massive “thank you” to our amazing Hollymead community for everything everyone is doing to keep our kids safe and in school. From the teachers who keep the kids engaged in the classroom each day, to the staff who brave the cold with our kids during dropoff/pickup and outdoor recess/lunch, to the parents and caregivers who have shown tremendous support for our school during yet another unconventional year, to our kids who enthusiastically show up to school each day–every one of you helps make our community a wonderful, nurturing, caring place in which we all can thrive. Despite the weather and the continued health concerns of the past month, we’re really looking forward to the second half of the school year and the exciting opportunities that we hope will be able to go off as planned!

To that end, Camp4Real is currently in session and is going well so far! In addition, please save the date for our next Hollymead Dining Night Out at Skrimp Shack on February 9th from 4:00 – 8:00 PM. More info about this DNO can be found further down in the newsletter. 

Also, please remember that we have a PTO Board Meeting on February 2nd at 7:30 PM. We hope you all can join us!

Until then–Go Hornets!

Hollymead PTO Co-Presidents

Meagan Gregory and Crystal Pariseau

read more

Happy new year! We’re all excited to be getting back into our school routines, and are so thankful for all our students, staff, families, and caregivers who are helping to make the return to school safe for all. We hope that everyone has had a wonderful first week back!

We have a few exciting events planned for the first few months of the year:

• January 19 – February 3: Camp4Real is back! There is still space to register your child for either the All Stars (3-5 Grade) or Rising Stars (K-3 Grade) sessions, all of which will take place outdoors at Hollymead. See below for more details and the registration link. 
• February 9: Dining Night Out at Skrimp Shack! Thanks to our amazing Dining Night Out chairs, Nicole Felini and Kristen Jones, we will have our next DNO at Skrimp Shack located in the Rio Hill Shopping Center. More details will be coming home in a flier, but please hold the date for February 9th. 

Thank you again to all of our chairs and volunteers, as well as all our families, caregivers, and staff members who make up our wonderful Hollymead community.

Go Hornets!

Meagan Gregory and Crystal Pariseau

Hollymead PTO Co-Presidents

Continue Reading

Happy December, Hollymead,

We can’t believe that in just a few short weeks we’ll be off on Winter Break! As students and teachers are planning their own ways to celebrate the holidays in school, we have a few PTO-sponsored events coming up to round out 2021:

• On Wednesday, December 8th we will have a Dining Day Out at Martin’s Grill. It’s a half-day for students, so you can plan your after-school lunch or dinner at Martin’s Grill. A percentage of all sales will go to Hollymead on the 8th!
• On Friday, December 10th, Hollymead will be hosting a Kids Night Out. Weather permitting, the event will be held outside (and so far the weather is looking great!)

Thank you to everyone who has participated in a fundraising events or donated to the PTO this year. We’re excited to share that we were able to grant funds for three grade-level grants at our PTO meeting on December 1st. Thanks to this community’s generosity, we were able to help purchase materials for tee-shirt decorating for second graders, new books for third graders, and new “Genius Hour” supplies for fifth graders. Thank you again!

Relatedly, as you go about your holiday shopping this year, don’t forget to:

• Collect and scan those Box Tops receipts! Box Tops recently added tons of Betty Crocker mixes to its list of eligible products just in time for holiday baking!
• Use Hollymead’s code when shopping at Shutterfly or Mabel’s Labels!
• Set up Hollymead as your designated charity on Amazon Smile.

We are hoping to host more in-person events in the spring, and your donations will help make it possible for everyone to attend and have a great time as a Hollymead Community!

Until then, thank you for all of your support, and Go Hornets!

Your PTO Presidents,

Meagan Gregory and Crystal Parisea

read more

The last time we wrote we were prepping for Halloween, and now, in what seems like a blink of an eye, we’re getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for this year already, and in the spirit of the holiday, we’d like to take the time to give a few shout-outs this month. So, without further ado, thank you to:

• Our Hospitality Chairs, Alison Agarwall and Shannon Hall, who have been keeping our teachers and staff stocked with snacks.
• Our Attractions Book volunteer, Kate DeLuca, for running our successful recent fundraiser, netting nearly $2,000.
• Our Dining Night Out volunteers, Kristen Jones and Nicole Felini, who schedule the delicious meal nights that bring extra business to our locally owned restaurants while raising funds for Hollymead.
• Our SpiritWear volunteers, Tiffany Lynch and Jonelle Kinback for getting a storefront set up in time for orders to ship before the holidays.
• Our copies volunteer, Briana Reid, who copies the flyers that are sent home with students to remind families and caregivers about important upcoming events
• All of our Hollymead teachers and staff who do an amazing job of keeping our kids safe and healthy during this school year
• Our community for always being so generous in support of our Hollymead Hornets!

As we head into the last month of the year, please keep the Hollymead PTO in mind for charitable donations. The PTO supports several initiatives designed to ensure that all of our Hollymead kids have the very best educational experience. Most recently we were asked to fund two teacher grants (one for a book series for 3rd Grade and 5th Grade “Genius Hour” supplies) thanks to our community’s generosity. In the second half of the year, we hope to sponsor a few larger projects to help improve our school, as well as (hopefully!) a spring Fun Fair. Remember that you can donate to Hollymead’s PTO either with a check or through the PayPal link on our website. 

Thank you all again for being such an awesome community. We wish all of our staff and families a happy Thanksgiving!

Meagan Gregory and Crystal Pariseau

read more

Hello, Hollymead families and caregivers!

We hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather! Thank you to everyone who came out to our movie night on Friday. We loved finally being able to get together (safely!) and enjoy some time with the broader Hollymead community. We hope to be able to do one or two more COVID-conscious events before the end of the year, so stay tuned!

Speaking of upcoming events, we hope that everyone can join us for our next PTO Meeting, which will take place on November 3rd at 7:30PM. During this meeting we will be discussing important initiatives such as community-building events, fundraising opportunities, and how we can use PTO funds and resources to best serve the Hollymead community. All meetings will be on Zoom for the rest of the calendar year, so please feel free to join us virtually and help us brainstorm upcoming PTO activities!

Thank you again for all of your support and engagement. Go Hornets!

Hollymead PTO Co-Presidents

Meagan Gregory and Crystal Pariseau

read more