Hello Stratfield Families!

Thanks so much to everyone who joined us for our first official PTA meeting this past Wednesday. It was great to see so many new faces in person and on Zoom. 

Here’s the TLDR:

The PTA Board for ’26-’27 is now official. This year’s new board members were voted in and you can find the full list here.

We discussed the initial draft of the PTA budget. Many thanks to everyone who raised questions and shared initial feedback. We’ll be making adjustments based on the feedback we’ve recieved and sharing the next round with the board in the next day or so. Our goal is to thoughtfully steward the funds our community has shared with us, and ensure that students and teachers have the resources they need for a great year. We will likely call a special remote board session to vote on a finalized budget this week or early next. 

Committee and Event Updates were shared. It’s so exciting to see so many volunteers involved at every level in upcoming activities and initiatives! If you’ve filled out a volunteer interest form, we’ll be in touch soon to connect you with right-sized opportunities.

Unfortunately, we (accidentally!) did not record the meeting as promised. This was purely user error (::Kristyn is raising her hand over here::), but we’ll also chalk it up to our collective excitement to get going into the good stuff of the meeting! If you’d planned to watch the recording, please know that this will be handled as promised for the next meeting.

TheWalk-a-Thon Fundraiser has officially kicked off! The Stratfield Walk-a-Thon Fundraiser is traditionally one of our three biggest fundraisers of the year! This year, we're setting a lofty goal: $20,000 to support our students and teachers. Every dollar raised will go right back into the experiences that help to make the Stratfield experience special. This year we’re excited for student fundraising, in addition to Neighborhood and Corporate Sponsorships. If you own or work with a local business and you’d like to support our school, please reach out to fundraising.stratfieldpta@gmail.com.

Room Parents were announced last week. Thanks so much to everyone who volunteered for these key positions. We were able to accommodate every applicant, and we’re so excited that so many parents will have the opportunity to contribute in this way. If you’d like to reach out to your classroom team, you can view that list here.

Fifth Grade Committee will be announced this week. We’re excited to share that everyone who expressed interest in joining this committee will have the opportunity to participate. We’re working closely with SES Administration and the Fifth Grade Teaching Team to ensure we’ve got the latest guidance for this committee, and you’ll hear from us later this week.

Snacks for Staff kicks off this week! The Miller Family (Ezra, 1Fr) will be donating this month’s snacks for staff with lots of goodies selected by the teachers and staff. We’re so excited that Shannon Pascone (former PTA President, current Room Parent 5s, and mom to 5th grader DJ) will be coordinating all future Snacks for Staff. Stay tuned for the next opportunity to contribute to this celebration of our teachers in November.

Don’t forget to renew (or join for the first time!) Your PTA Membership: Becoming a PTA member (or renewing your annual membership) is the simplest way to directly support the programs, events, and resources that help make Stratfield such a special place. You can join or renew on our website here.

Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. 

Warmly, 

Kristyn + Christine

Kristyn Miller, President 

Christine Marks, Vice President

'26-'27 Stratfield Elementary School PTA

We are looking for 2 volunteers to act as onsite coordinators for the program.

When: Monday or Thursday

Time commitment: 4 weeks, 5 if make up class is needed

Details: 

1. Volunteers need to arrive by 3:20 to meet students when dismissed, take attendance and then send students to their classes.

2. During class, volunteers walk around to check on classes, take students to bathroom if needed, other support as needed.

3. Supervise dismissal at 4:40. Teachers will follow similar school dismissal procedures and help students get to their parents. The volunteer needs to wait till the last student is picked up, historically by 4:50.

4. Volunteer will have a student list with contact information and be responsible for calling parents if needed

Please email stratfieldschool.aboveandbeyond@gmail.com if you are interested!

• Parent Lauren Satlin (1st + 5th grades) for your help in prepping all of our Walkathon Backpack Mail!

• Parent Deniz Hinds (5th grade) for your willingness to volunteer again as our PTA Room Parent Coordinator.

• All of our new and returning room parents for ’26-’27. You are a really important link between parents and classroom teachers, and we appreciate your work!

• Our new and returning teacher representatives to the PTA. Meg O’Connor (1st, returning), Amy Francoletti (1st, new), and Margaret Jordan (Art, new) - we’re so grateful to you for your generous contributions of time and energy as teacher reps for the year!

• Parent Shannon Pascone (5th grade) for taking on Snacks for Staff coordination for ’26-27!

The first meeting of the PTAC is onWednesday, September 30, at 7:00 PM in the FPS Central Office Board Room. All are welcome.

The BOE met on Tuesday, September 8, and class size was the main subject. Stratfield added three sections this fall and now has an average class size of 17.2 students. That came out of the rule the board adopted in June, which automatically adds a section when a grade level comes within two students of the cap. On September 8, a proposal to lower the caps further, to 21 students in grades K-2 and 24 in grades 3-5 beginning in the 2027-28 school year, was voted down 2-6. Members who opposed it pointed to building capacity, noting that several elementary schools, Stratfield among them, are currently using every classroom they have. 

The board also gave a first read to a policy establishing a firm September 1 kindergarten cutoff starting with the 2027-28 school year, which ends the early-admission waiver some families have used. That vote is expected at the next BOE meeting on Tuesday, September 22at 7:00 PM in the FPS Central Office Board Room. All are welcome, and public comment is at the start of the meeting.  If you would like to reach out to the BOE directly, you can email them at boemembers@fairfieldschools.org. 

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Stratfield Elementary PTA - Fairfield Public Schools, CT

1407 Melville Ave.

Fairfield CT 06825