November Paw Print
PRINCIPAL’S CORNER NOVEMBER 1, 2026 | Volume 3, Issue 3
Dear Families & Caregivers,
Welcome to November!
For those that celebrate Halloween, we hope you enjoyed a happy and safe weekend full of treats and only a few tricks!
Last Friday’s Fun Run was PHENOMENAL! Hats off to all of the folks involved from the PTF. I thought the morning was filled with fun, music, laughter, and families connecting. This event encompasses our Blanchard Community and the feelings of what an active PTF brings to a school…we are lucky to have such an amazing community! We raised over $32,000—WOW! I look forward to hosting community events that will highlight some of the incentives that our students reached.
Please watch for correspondence regarding School Council. I will be looking for a parent representative to fill one of the vacant, two-year positions. The School Council reviews the budget and drafts the annual School Improvement Plan to present to the School Committee.
At Blanchard, we are outdoors year-round! As a general rule, we utilize the child care weather watch wind-chill factor chart as a guide during outdoor recess in winter months. It is a delicate balance between air temperature and wind chill that determines when we initiate indoor recess as we dip below 20 degrees. This can fluctuate during the day from lunch to lunch; therefore, students should be prepared. Some grades also frequently explore the outdoors outside of formal recess times, so the adage applies: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Please ensure students come to school prepared.
As we enter November, I want to take a moment to reflect on the wonderful start we’ve had to the school year. It’s hard to believe how quickly the fall has flown by! Our students have settled into their routines, friendships are growing, and our classrooms are full of curiosity, creativity, and collaboration.
Around the school, our custodial, office, and cafeteria teams have also been working tirelessly—keeping spaces clean, welcoming, and safe every day. We are grateful for the care they show to our students and staff.
Please read the "Reminders from the office" section below. It is important that families follow the guidelines for early dismissal and end of day dismissal.As we move into this season of gratitude, I am reminded daily of how fortunate we are to be part of such a supportive and engaged community. Thank you for all you do to help make Blanchard a place where our STARR values—Support, Teamwork, Attitude, Responsibility, and Respect—are lived out in meaningful ways.
All my best,
Reminders from The Office:
Homeroom begins promptly at 8:50 AM for grades K-6 and ends at 3:20 PM, except on Wednesdays dismissal is at 12:50 PM.
Please use Pickup Patrol to report any absences, late arrivals, early dismissals, and changes in dismissal plans. Pick up patrol will notify the office and your child’s teacher. To report an absence, click on plan change, then dismissal options. Scroll all the way down. You are able to select absence here.
Cut off time for dismissal changes is 2:30. Unless it is an emergency, please do not call the office after 2:30 to make a change.
If you are changing your child's dismissal to parent pick up, please put it in pick up patrol. Even if you have told your child, the office must be notified of the change in order for your child to be sent to parent pick up. This applies to all dismissal changes- we need confirmation from parents in order to change a dismissal plan. We cannot change it based on student reporting alone.
NOVEMBER EVENTS
11/4 Veterans Day Assembly. Blanchard honors local veterans! Wear your Red, White, & Blue11/5 Evacuation Drill
11/5 Author Visit for grades 5 & 6
11/6 Inflatables! Thanks to the PTF, students will have inflatables outside at recess time.
11/11 Veterans Day- No School
11/20 Community Coffee
11/26 & 27 Thanksgiving Recess- No School
Michael J. Votto, Principal
Pronouns: he/him/his
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT FOR FALL FEST!
It was wonderful for so many people to attend the Fall Festival and to have our Blanchard Community
together on such a beautiful weekend!
THANK YOU TO:
PTF Event Organizers: Chiara Montaguti and Lenai Camacho
A special thank you to ALL the caregivers, PTF members, and current and former students who
volunteered. This event would not have been possible without your incredible help and support!
Our sponsor: Love Where You Live Kristin Hilberg.
All our donors: Donelan’s, Carlson Orchards, Dollar Tree, Bloom Dance Center, Acton Fit Body Boot Camp, and Stop and Shop.
ANNUAL FUN RUN!
Thank you to all who donated and supported the Fun Run!!
We had an INCREDIBLE Fun Run this year, raising $33,115 - 132% of our stretch goal!
62% of students registered for the Fun Run this year, earning our students a pj/comfy clothes day! In total we received 657 donations from 27 States and 7 Countries!
Your generosity and efforts earned our students a staff inflatable costume race, extra recess for the whole school, Busy Bee inflatables at recess, a SkyDome Planetarium at Blanchard, and duct taping Mr. Votto to a wall! New this year-since we hit our Reach for the Stars goal, students will also get to slime Mr. Votto too!
This funding will help with our enrichment programs and other activities for Blanchard Students! Watch our Enrichment Spotlight to see these dollars at work.
A special thank you to Kristin Hilberg - Love Where you Live Realty - who donated to cover our platform fees and a water bottle for every student at the run; Busy Bee Jumpers for donating our recess inflatables; and Boxborough Police and Fire for handing out popsicles all morning. A big thank you to our PTF members, parent volunteers who wore the Bulldog costume, DJ’d, and photographed our event, and to all the parents who came to cheer on our runners! This was a true community effort and we are so thrilled at how everyone came together to support our students!
Special thanks to Ashley Jayne, PTF Vice President, for organizing the event!
PTF Enrichment
Grants Spotlight: Sixth Graders engaged in a mock archaeological dig and post-dig lab with real archeologists! Excavation sites were set up outside and students worked together to find artifacts. On another day, they engaged in a post-dig lab where they analyzed the artifacts and learned what archeologists do after an excavation. What a wonderful hands-on experience for our students that brought Social Studies to life!
Upcoming Grants: Kindergarten students began their year-long mindfulness and yoga lessons!
Fifth & Sixth Graders will have an author visit with Jen Calonita on November 5.
SIP N’ SHOP
November 13th | 5-7PM
Wish | 525 Mass Ave in West Acton
Please join us for shopping at Wish! 15% of all proceeds go to the Blanchard PTF! Holiday releases are already happening so expect some great shopping for all your holiday gatherings!
SAVE THE DATE: STUFFY SLEEPOVER
December 16, 2026
Have you ever wondered what goes on at Blanchard overnight? Your favorite stuffy can get a sneak peek! On December 16 we will host our annual Stuffy Sleepover! For $5/animal, you can choose to have a stuffy sleep overnight at Blanchard and get a note and photo the next day of what trouble they got into! Details to follow via email.
Reminder: Call for Volunteers
There are many opportunities to get involved throughout the year:
attend a PTF meeting, join an events committee, or volunteer to help at one
of our events! Interested? Fill out this form and we’ll contact you! Sign Me Up!
Stay Up to Date with the PTF
Sign up for our newsletter by emailing digmedia@blanchardptf.org
Visit our website www.blanchardptf.org
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@BlanchardPTF)
Box Tops for Education
Traditional Box Tops clips are phased out in favor of an electronic version!
No more clipping! Download the app and search 01719, Blanchard Memorial.
Simply scan your store receipts for credit!
PTF GENERAL MEETINGS
Virtual at 7:30 PM
EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO ATTEND!
All Blanchard parents and guardians are automatically members of the PTF community with rights to attend and vote at meetings. Agendas are posted a week in advance on our website.
Save the date for our upcoming VIRTUAL meetings (Teams link will be sent out prior).
November 24th
January 26th
March 9th
May 18th
June 8th
BLANCHARDPTF.ORG