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Come to the Pompo/Center School Picnic... a 40+ year Stow tradition!

The annual picnic bash will be Thursday June 7th from 5PM-7:30PM at Stow Community Park (Snow Field) on Old Bolton Road (with a rain date of June 8th). Parking will be at the Bose lot which is a short 5 minute walk to the field.

Please make sure to bring your own picnic and a blanket. We will have homemade desserts, cold drinks, and slush for cash only purchase (no tickets). All items are $1. We will also have DJ music, dunk tank, raffle baskets, "PC" the penguin, face painting, field games and much more!

We Need Volunteers! Our annual picnic extravaganza is not possible without the help of volunteers. Please sign up now for a 30 minutes shift, but definitely before May 30th at:

Click on the image below for a printable PDF of the picnic flyer.

For any questions, please email Rick Connelly or Paul Trunfio at picnic@stowpto.org

← Picnic Home

May 12, 2012 Update: Thanks to all those who helped make Staff Appreciation Week a wonderful treat for the teachers!

The Stow PTO will be holding Staff Appreciation Week for the Pompo and Center Staff the Week of May 7th. This year we will host a hot luncheon on Tuesday, May 8th and a light lunch with desserts on Thursday, May 10th—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: Deidre Lawe at deidre@stowpto.org. For Center: Kathy Flinkstrom at kflink@stowpto.org.

Welcome back to school! It is going to be an exciting year.

The Stow PTO at Pompo-Center is planning several new community-building efforts in addition to all the events, programs, and support activities with which students, parents, and teachers are familiar. We also have a new school building project that is well underway, with some students probably moving this Winter. And we have an energetic new administration in principal Mr. Kevin LaCoste and assistant principal Mrs. Karen Donato.

We want to call the Pompo-Center community's attention to some beginning of the year important SPTO and school dates:

• Stow PTO Parent Mixer/Fair 
  Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 (7:00PM - 8:15PM in the Pompo Gym)

  Please join us for a parent-only "meet and greet" to usher in the new school year for the Pompo and Center Schools community! The evening will be a fun opportunity to "Mix" with other parents over refreshments and to share your experiences of the first weeks of school. There will be an informal walk-around "Fair" so that you can learn about the major activities of the SPTO. Chat with SPTO members and share your ideas with our new Social Committee, new Science Enrichment Committee, School Spirit, Services, Fundraising, Lip Sync Show, Arts Buffet Festival, Pompo-Center Picnic, and more.

• Stow Schools Directory Information Form 
  Due: September 9, 2011

  Once again, the Stow PTO is compiling and distributing the printed K-8 student directory to all families. In order to be in our "must have" directory, each family needs to complete this form and return it to your school office. When you fill out your form, consider an ad or well wish message to support the cost of printing the directory.

• Stow Schools Directory Cover Art Contest
  Due: September 9, 2011

  Student artwork adorns the Stow Schools Directory and the entire school community looks forward to the unveiling of the cover contest winner every year! Unleash the artist in your child and encourage him or her to submit artwork for this year's directory. The winner/s will be announced and will receive a gift certificate to The Paper Store.    Many other entries will be featured in this year's Directory as well as a photo slideshow on our site!

• Volunteer Sign-Up Form 
  Due: September 19, 2011

  Become involved in the Stow PTO at Pompo-Center! Our annual Volunteer Form is the gateway to becoming active in the SPTO. We need help in so many ways. Please consider volunteering. It can be personally rewarding as well as help in building a more vibrant school community.

Our first Pompo-Center SPTO meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, September 20th at 7:15PM in the Pompo Library. We hope you can join us!

Again, welcome to another year at Pompo-Center!

For SPTO questions or comments, please contact co-Chairs Paul Trunfio or Kristen DeLuco.

Update: Please see our Welcome Back to Pompo-Center! posting for the beginning of the 2011-12 school year. It contains important back-to-school information.

Become Active in Stow PTO in 2011-12

We know it's a busy (and exciting) time of year. But before you head off on well-deserved vacations, we hope you can take a few moments to help us as we plan for next year. We are all aware of the many changes happening at Pompo-Center, and your SPTO will continue to play its role in helping to strengthen the school community.

All the familiar functions of SPTO will stay in place, including Services, Arts & Cultural Enrichment, Fundraising, Lip Sync, Arts Buffet Festival, Auction (in 2013), and the Pompo-Center Picnic. We just completed allocating $79,000 from funds raised this past year, and a snapshot of how your money was spent is available at Pompo-Center PTO 2011 Allocations.

For next year, based on feedback we have received, we are planning to add efforts in:

• Science Enrichment with after-school groups and a "Science Evening" led by parents

• Social Committee to have more opportunities for the school community to get together in informal social settings, be they parent-student dances, game nights or other events

• Spirit Committee to boost school spirit through themed days and more

• Music Showcase performance recital with Stow Friends of Music

And we are open to other ideas! But we cannot do any of them without your help! None of what the SPTO does would be possible without the dedication of an army of volunteers.  So, thank you to everyone! We are looking to recruit both mothers and fathers who may be interested in being active in SPTO. There is something for everyone! There are jobs large and small. Together, we are part of a team of parents who play a crucial role in helping our schools come alive.

For Fall 2011, we will be having an informal SPTO Mixer-Fair with refreshments on September 13, 2011 in the Pompo Gym at 7PM. This will be an opportunity to socialize with other K-5 parents, learn firsthand what the various functions of PTO are and consider becoming involved. Our first formal PTO monthly meeting will be September 20, 2011 also at 7:15PM at Pompo. All are welcome!

Thank you for a wonderful year, have a great and safe summer, and see you in the Fall!

For more information, feel free to contact incoming co-Chairs Kristen DeLuco or Paul Trunfio

Update: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the 2011 picnic. Please see our picnic homepage for an image slideshow.

The Pompo/Center "Picnic in the Park" will be Thursday June 9th from 5PM-7:30PM at Stow Community Park (Snow Field) on Old Bolton Road (with a rain date of June 10th).

See our Picnic Flier that came home with all students.

Please make sure you bring your own picnic (as we will not have food like past years) and a blanket. We will have homemade desserts, cold drinks, and ice cream for purchase. We will also have DJ music, dunk tank, raffle baskets, "PC" the penguin, face painting, field games and much more!

We Need Volunteers! The picnic will not be possible without the involvement of volunteers. Please sign up now for 30 minutes shifts, but definitely before May 27th at:

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact picnic coordinators Jane Bolinsky, Amy-Jo Conant or Alison Wallace at picnnic@stowpto.org

← Picnic Home

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!

← Auction Home

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.

The 2011 Arts Buffet Festival will be held on March 26, 2011 at Center School. This is an annual event that is fun for the whole family! We need your help! We need volunteers to help man the event as well as specific recycled items for some crafts projects.

For more information and to sign up through Volunteerspot, visit our Arts Buffet page.