March 2011 Archives

Update: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the 2011 auction. Please see our Auction 2011 news article and image slideshow.

The 2011 Pompo/Center "A Roaring 20's Auction Gala" will be held on April 8, 2011 at Wedgewood Pines Country Club. Come dressed in your favorite flapper or gangster attire, or in cocktail attire. This is going to be a fun filled night not to be missed!

Get Your Tickets Now! Tickets are $35 per person for a fun filled night with other parents and teachers from the Pompo and Center community. We are serving Hors D'oeuvres, passed appetizers and a great Mash Potatoes martini bar–it will have a variety of mash potatoes with all different toppings such as caramelized onions, broccoli and cheese, and more. Plus a cash bar. Get your tickets now, and don't get left out in the cold, at:

• Stow Ace Hardware (in the Stow Shopping Plaza)
• Donna Linstrom (Pompo School nurse)
• Rick Connelly at 897-3632 or auctiontix@stowpto.org

We Need Volunteers! To run this auspicious event, we must have help from you! We currently do not have nearly enough already signed up. The assignments are deliberately not time intensive, and will provide you with plenty of opportunity to enjoy the evening!

Please sign up to help now, but certainly by Monday April 4th at:

Our auction page now has the full program listing of all silent and live auctions.

Perhaps the most touching aspect of the auction is the bids for class plates and class gifts. These are handmade by your own children and are one-of-a-kind. Imagine the look in your child's eyes when he or she learns you won her class gift or plate?

We have a link to a special page with all the classroom gifts including descriptions and many with pictures which we will be adding to in the coming days.

This auction is our main fundraiser–happening once every two years–which allows us to bring in outside arts and cultural programs for each grade that are not funded by the school budget, one extra field trip each year that would not be possible without PTO funding, and items not part of the school budget like the replacement of the art program's kiln, library books and periodicals, and playground equipment.

So please come and help support the Stow PTO. And while you are doing that, have yourself a good time! This is not an event to miss!

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The 2011 Arts Buffet Festival was another big hit with young artists around town! For its 9th year in a row, the Center School gym was transformed into a sea of creativity. Young artists tried their hands at an array of arts and crafts to make and take home. With 16 different projects there was something for everyone from Recycled Art to Mosaic Tile. Touching on many different mediums, the young artists learned how to make their own paper, sculpt clay, paint with watercolors, and even learned how to knit! All these activities and many more were greatly enjoyed while our Center School musicians wowed us with their musical talents! Marion Rayner transformed the cafeteria into a stunning Art Show displaying a piece of art work from every student K-5. A fun-filled and creative day was had by all!

The festival was co-coordinated by Gretchen Hunter and Stacey Almy. They would like to thank the many, many volunteers from parents and Girl Scout Troops, to middle school and high school students - all of whom dedicated many hours to make this event come to fruition. A special thanks to Judy Dyer for coordinating the music, Marion Rayner for setting up the Student Art Show, Custodians Dave and Alan for all their help, and Mary O'Brien for her continued patience and help with all the Newsletters throughout the year!

For more information, visit our Arts Buffet Festival page.

Update: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the staff appreciation week. Lin Winin reported that it was quite a success and the teachers truly appreciated everything we did!

The Stow PTO will be holding Staff Appreciation Week for the Pompo and Center Staff the Week of May 2nd. This year we will host a breakfast on Monday, May 2nd, a luncheon on Wednesday, May 4th, and a light lunch and Dessert Bar on Friday, May 6th—it's our way of saying a big thank you to the staff for all their hard work!

Parents are needed to provide food for the event and to help with setup, serving and cleanup at both schools.

To volunteer, please click on the appropriate links below. Please note there are separate sign ups for Pompo and Center.

For Pompo, please sign up here:

For Center, please sign up here:

We need your help to make this a special event for the staff!

Thank you!

Questions? For Pompo: Kathy Flinkstrom at kflink@comcast.net. For Center: Kim Seatter at k.seatter@earthlink.net.

Update: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the staff appreciation luncheon. It was a success and the teachers and staff appreciated what we all did.

The annual Hale Staff Appreciate luncheon will be held Thursday, May 5th in the Hale Library. We are calling on all the parents to lend a hand. It is a fantastic way to show how much you appreciate and care for your student's teachers.

We need salads, desserts, soups, stews, and much more; all sorts of delicious things to tempt the school staff's taste buds. If you aren't a cook, how about donating some time on the day to set-up, serve or clean-up? Do you think it's a great idea but are already too busy? You could make a small monetary donation to offset some of the expenses for the day.

We need your help to make this a special event for the staff, please say you will help in some small way.

Please sign up at:

Feel free to contact us with any questions or ideas that you may have about the luncheon. Email Amanda Bennett at stowfolk@comcast.net or Maryanne Talpey at halevicechair@stowpto.org.

On St. Patrick's Day, hence all the green, students at Pompositticut and Center Schools came together for the "Topping Off" ceremony. Students and townsfolk signed the "final steel beam" which will be placed in a prominent location in the interior of the ongoing addition and renovation of Center School.

In a show of school spirit, "PC" the penguin, mascot for the school, showed up and even signed the beam. The final image in the slideshow is of Margaret Tindall, wife of beloved custodian Corky Tindall, signing the beam. Images by Paul Trunfio

Here is an earth friendly and beautiful way to support the Hale Middle School PSG!

The Flower * Power fundraiser offers a wide array of hearty plants and vegetables for your home garden, and every purchase is 100% guaranteed! Hale students will receive their sales materials on Tuesday, March 15th and the fundraiser ends on April 4th.

Purchases can also be made online using this link:

Hale Flower Power Fundraiser Online

If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl Wood.

Lip Sync '11, in it's 23rd year, was a smashing success with two shows, Grades K-2 and 3-5, and 47 total acts for 142 kids, including "mystery acts" by the Pompo Penguin and the ever-popular "Cotton Eyed Joe" dance to close out the show. The shows were coordinated and produced by Linda Harmon and Paul Trunfio, with emcees Jen Gero and Stephen O'Riordan (for the Grades K-2 show) and Maureen Hogan (for the Grades 3-5 show). We would like to thank the many volunteers who stepped forward. Without you, and you know who you are, these shows could not have happened.

This year's Lip Sync shows were dedicated to Lyle "Corky" Tindall for his care, support and dedication to the students, teachers, parents and the Town of Stow over the past 16 years. He will be greatly missed!

For a few extra "best of" images, see: Lip Sync '11 on Apple Country Living

For a video of the closing "mystery guest" acts, visit: Lip Sync '11 "Penguin" on YouTube

Show broadcast times on Stow TV (will run March 9 - March 22, Comcast Ch. 9, Verizon Ch. 32):

For more information, visit our Lip Sync Page.