East School Parents Fund $35,000 in New Playground Equipment for Kindergarten, First Grade

Thanks to the generosity of East School parents, kindergarteners and first-graders on Little Brook Road as soon as April will enjoy new playground equipment that’s designed both to provide fun and stimulate the senses. The Board of Education at its regular meeting Monday night voted 8-0 to accept a $35,000 gift from the East School PTC that will go toward a rollerslide, grab bar, hand hold/leg lift and other equipment from Delano, Minn.-based playground design firm Landscape Structures. The figure includes the relocation in the playground of a popular “fire truck” and introduction of new woodchips that will be needed for the site, according to PTC Co-President Patty Zoccolillo and East School Principal Kris Woleck. Weather-permitting, the new gear will go in over April Break, Zoccolillo said. “I just wanted to mention once again the incredible generosity of our parent body,” she told the school board at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School.

Board of Ed Welcomes Kristine Woleck, East School Principal

The Board of Education on Monday formally welcomed the new East School principal to that leadership role in the district. School officials appointed Kristine Woleck to the position one week ago, the same day Jan Murphy was named principal at West. Murphy was unable to attend the board meeting, held in New Canaan High School’s Wagner Room. There, retiring New Canaan Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mary Kolek described Woleck as “an instructional leader of the highest caliber.”

“She joined the district in 2002 as a math specialist at South School, and after two years, we really recognize her talents and her contributions at the district level, and she was promoted to the district math coordinator at our elementary level, and she served as our district math coordinator from 2004 to 2011,” Kolek said. “During that time, Kris certainly took a leadership role in terms of looking at how to develop and implement high-quality curriculum, instruction and assessments in professional development.