At This Wedding, 'U' Had to be There

'Q' and 'U' are married during a ceremony involving the Fales Elementary School Kindergarten classes.

A wedding at the Fales Elementary School on Friday brought tears to the I's. "Q" and "U" were pronounced "quwa" by Kindergarten teachers Kathy Lay, Heather Hummel and Nancy Stanton -- and their students -- during outdoor ceremonies. And only "R","S" and "T" will separate the happy couple (in the alphabet). "U" vowed to make "Q" its "partner in the making of the words," and promised to stand beside "Q" except when beginning its own words. "Q" vowed to make "U" its partner in making words, and to always have "U" next to it "before any other letter of the alphabet." Numerous parents attended, as did Principal Maryann Stannard, School Superintendent Marianne O'Connor and Westborough High School fine arts teacher Matt Lefebvre. Students took …

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Fales Students are Mighty Hedgehogs

The elementary school's new mascot -- named Annie -- was unveiled Friday.

Fales Elementary School students are Mighty Hedgehogs. Annie the Hedgehog -- named after Annie Fales -- was introduced to students and staff Friday during the school's weekly meeting in the auditorium. Fales' new mascot was chosen through a school-wide vote in November, after which all students were asked to draw "what they thought the hedgehog should look like," Principal Maryann Stannard said. Local artist Ginny Orlando then designed Annie based on visiting Fales and photographing the drawings, Stannard said. "Each and every one of you hold a piece of this mascot," Stannard said. The final design was revealed on a screen on the stage as Stannard, Orlando, third-graders Alex Deluca and Jared Antone and several staff members turned their …

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Fales Prepares for Biggest Annual Fundraiser

The silent and live auction is Friday night.

Fales Elementary School students will benefit from a parents’ night out this Friday night. The Fales Parent Group’s annual silent and live auction is from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday at the Knights of Columbus. Admission is $25, which includes appetizers, dessert and coffee. Organizers hope to raise $15,000 for school enrichment programs and classroom needs, says Sara Dullea, who co-chairs the event with Jen Lasch. Last year’s fundraiser raised $13,000, Dullea says. “It’s always nice to get out, leave the kids at home and hang out with your fellow parents,” she says. Several hundred items will be available from local businesses and families, Dullea says. Among the items are Red Sox tickets; a painting by local artist J. Barry Hanshaw; spa packages…

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Fales Students' Drive is Quite a Feat

The school collected more than 600 new and gently used shoes.

In late January, Fales Elementary School first-grade teacher Jennifer Quinlan-Flynn brought a surprise to the school’s Westborough Food Pantry drive. “I put the food in I brought from home. And then I put my shoes in,” Quinlan-Flynn says. “The kids said initially they were surprised. But then, I said, ‘Well, why do you think I might have done that?’ And they could easily connect. Somebody said, ‘Well, some people don’t have food that they need. Some people don’t have shoes that they need,’ which was exactly it.” Fales collected more than 600 new and gently used shoes – including about 550 pairs – during a drive Quinlan-Flynn spearheaded over the weeks leading up to February vacation. The drive focused on Kindergarten and first-grade …

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At Westborough School, Election Won By a Nose

The hedgehog is Fales Elementary's new mascot after defeating the owl on Monday. The firefly was a distant third.

One election winner in Westborough on Monday probably won't get pats on the back. They would hurt. The hedgehog became the Fales Elementary School's mascot Monday when it defeated the owl, 128 to 127, on a school-wide ballot, Principal Maryann Stannard said afterward. The firefly was a distant third with 29 votes after failing to drum up any buzz. Students voted in the school computer lab, where they pressed 1 for firefly, 2 for hedgehog and 3 for owl on a response card, Building Technology Specialist Kari Addington said. Each student received a special "I voted - Kids Vote Too!" sticker, Stannard said. The campaign began with third graders presenting persuasive pieces during an Oct. 26 school meeting, she said. Last Friday, Kerry Ciccone'…

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Fales Playground's Newest Addition Has Students Having a Ball

The Westborough Woman's Club donated a hoop for lighter-weight balls.

Since the school year started, Fales Elementary School students have had another incentive to use the school playground. The Westborough Woman's Club donated a new hoop for lighter-weight balls, Principal Maryann Stannard said Thursday. The club had e-mailed looking for ideas for “something that the schools could use to help enhance the school, but also enhance the community," she said. “I had wanted to add more to the playground, and so presented this as an option," Stannard said. The hoop went up at the beginning of school, she said. “It’s been very popular," Stannard said. "In fact, it’s so popular that the parent group is now going to help us out and purchase one for the other end of the building, the back of the building, for that …

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Westborough's Fales Elementary School Electing Mascot

The November election will be part of character-building efforts there.

A November election at Westborough's Fales Elementary School this year will build character. Who will be the school's first mascot? "It being an election year, we thought that that would be a fun activity," says Principal Maryann Stannard, who is in her third year here. "Fales has never had a mascot. So, we just thought that that would be the right time to do it." The Westborough public schools' first day of school is Aug. 29. The mascot election will allow students, as their parents prepare for the November presidential and state elections, "to see how the process works, a little bit," Stannard says. The election also will be part of character-building efforts at Fales this year, Stannard says. The school "developed a character education …

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Bugs Fill The Halls of Fales Elementary School

You'll find them in the kitchen; you'll find them in the halls. You'll find them in the woodwork or climbin' up the walls.

  On Thursday morning, May 24, second grade students at Fales Elementary School were putting finishing touches on the annual production of Goin’ Buggy. The students performed for fellow classmates, a dress rehearsal for the family production planned for Friday, May 25. “We started doing the show in 1992, but it was a different version of an insect themed show. I remember playing the piano for that first show,” said Westborough Public Schools Superintendent Marianne O’Connor, who was a second grade teacher at Fales Elementary School at the time. “We started doing the current version in 1993.” O’Connor, Gail Moore, Michele Malhoit and Carol Alcusky were the original second grade teachers who introduced the annual production in 1993, she said…

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Patch Facts

5 Things You Need to Know Today: April 28

The cost of owning a vehicle is nearly $9,000 a year, according to a new report.

  Each morning, Westborough Patch presents “5 Things You Need to Know,” a collection of announcements, events, reminders and odd little ditties to help you organize your day. What will you be doing today?   1. George’s Coney Island Hot Dog in Worcester is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The owner, Kathy Tsandikos, is putting together a book of memories and invites anyone to submit stories via Facebook, email or mail to The Coney Island Project, 158 Southbridge St., Worcester, MA 01608.  2. The cost of owning and operating a vehicle in the US increased 1.9 percent over the past year, reported AAA. In its annual study, AAA reported that the average costs rose 1.1 cents per mile to 59.6 cents per mile, or $8,946 per year. The average …

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