January, 2018
The East PTO Digest is a monthly recap of all the great activities, events, and initiatives the PTO sponsors - thanks to your Annual Appeal contributions.  A big thank you to Heidi Collins and Ashley Kalish this month .  Special thanks to Mrs. Breen for her contribution to this month's edition.   We hope you enjoy it!
Events





Sweetheart Dance
East girls and their sweethearts danced the day away at the Sweetheart Dance on Sun, Jan. 28.  To see more pictures from the Sweetheart Dance, click here:  eastschooldance.shutterfly.com  and enter Password:  east02043
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Social Media Presentation
Safety Officer John Walden discussed the impact of social media on our students during a presentation at East School.
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Education Forum
The All Town PTO hosted a Q&A night with a panel including Superintendent Dr. Gallo, Assistant Superintendent James LaBillois, principals from each of the Hingham public schools, representatives from the Hingham Police Department, School Committee and Board of Selectmen.  To view the Education Forum in its entirety, click here.
Getting To Know . . .
Karen Breen (Third Grade Teacher)
Q:  What do you enjoy most about teaching?
A:   There are many reasons I love being a teacher. What I love most about teaching is that I can learn something new every day. Every day is different than the next day. I am constantly learning new teaching strategies, ideas and skills. Not to mention that we are continually taking part in professional development all the time. It's a profession that allows you to be creative and work with a variety of different students each year. Our job serves a purpose. We get the opportunity to touch the lives of our students. Hopefully we can contribute to making a positive impact on their lives that they will carry with them forever. Now how many jobs can you say can do that? One other reason for me is that I hate to sit down. I like to always be moving. This certainly goes with teaching. I love it!

Q:  If you weren't teaching, what would you like to be doing?
A:   Yikes, that's a tough question for me. I really struggle with this question because I have wanted to be a teacher ever since I was in the second grade. I remember my dad put a giant chalkboard in our basement and filled it with old wooden desks from a parochial school in Milton that closed (now Curry College.) I would invite all the neighborhood kids into my basement to play school. My mom would provide them with homemade brownies for snack time. (Looking back now I think the kids only came for her brownies.) I know I love organizing. So maybe I would like to be someone's assistant. I think I would enjoy that. Even better it could be a part time job. Then, since I would only be working part time, I would have time to train for the Boston Marathon. That would be a dream to me!

Q:   What is your favorite family tradition?
A:    There is nothing that I enjoy more than being with my husband and 3 daughters. But even more so, being with my 6 older siblings, who are truly my 6 best friends. I have 15 nieces and nephews between the ages of 20 and 30. They certainly know how to make the holidays fun. They have been training my younger girls quite well!! We are very fortunate that we are together every holiday. Our most favorite time is every summer, we choose the first weekend in August to all be together down in Harwichport. We share a family home and a few siblings have their own homes in the same neighborhood. It begins on Friday evening where we all meet at The Allen Harbor Yacht Club. On Saturday morning all bright eyed or not, most of us run the Irish Pub Road Race. Then we spend the day on the beach. By late afternoon, we venture back to my sister's house, we have a cookout and the Ferrucci Family Olympics (my maiden name). This consists of all sorts of fun games. We have lots of good food and delicious beverages! The winning team gets free breakfast the next morning from our favorite Bonats Bakery in Harwichport Center. It is a weekend we all look forward to every year.

Q:  What is your favorite childhood memory?
A:   I remember when I was a 4th grader at Glover Elementary School in Milton, our science unit was observing the process of chicken eggs hatching in an incubator. We even had to sign up to take turns going in on the weekends to turn the eggs. Finally, after many weeks babysitting the 20 eggs, 12 hatched and 6 baby chicks survived. They were born 2 weeks before school got out for summer. I wanted to take one home in the worst way. I begged and begged my parents. Finally, my parents gave in and on the last day of school one baby chick came home with me. My siblings named him Perdue. My dad and brothers built him a wooden pen so that when he was big enough he would live outside. That summer I learned the proper responsibility for caring for him each day. He loved our fenced in yard. He loved running around our pool area eating all the bugs. When my mom's friends came over to play tennis, she always yelled at me to put him in his pen because he would chase the ladies around. He even chased our cocker spaniel around, who didn't care for him. By the end of the summer a family friend that owned a farm came and visited. He suggested that it was time for Perdue to go to a real farm and live a more normal life. When I returned to 5th grade that September, I went in with a scrap book of pictures and journal writes regarding my summer experience caring for Perdue.
We Need You!
When parents get involved, kids do better! Click here to visit the East PTO website and sign up for one day events or ongoing committees! 

Give once. Your kids benefit all year long. All of the PTO field trips, events and programs are funded by your generous contributions!

STAY CONNECTED:      
For questions, or if you have content you'd like to share for an upcoming Digest, please contact Kathie Cronin at kcronin99@comcast.net or Sarah D'Souza at sarahjdsouza@yahoo.com.