Activities

The Halloween Festival is an annual Bancroft tradition. It’s a chance for kids to wear their costumes, see their friends, and get excited for Halloween!  This typically takes place the Sunday prior to Halloween, outdoors at Bancroft, where we have games, prizes, dinner, music, dancing, scavenger hunts, and more!  Click here to see photo galleries from past events.

We arrange for at least one, if not a few, Bancroft themed nights at local sports games for students to sit together and cheer on the teams while they wear their Bancroft spiritwear. In the past we’ve visited the UMass Lowell River Hawks hockey, Merrimack College hockey and basketball, and while the Lowell Spinners (who sadly no longer have a team, so we’re open to suggestions for baseball!).

Come and join us for an evening of great wine, great company and great fun at Bancroft’s Wine Tasting. Enjoy whites, blushes and reds as you journey through wines from the United States and abroad. Appetizers will also be served. All wine is donated by your hosts and all proceeds go to benefit the Bancroft School.  This event will be scheduled on a night in January, February or March.  Check the calendar for more details!

Bancroft students are invited to bring their best talents and perform on stage! The cafetorium is always packed for this popular spring event.  Past acts have included dancing, singing, lip syncing, comedians, magic shows, gymnastics, martial arts, instrumentals and more!  Check our our photo galleries to see past events.

The Spring Fling is a fantastic annual dance where students get to bring their families for dancing, snacks, raffles, photos, and other fun.  There’s always a theme; past years include Gold & Glitter, Out of This World, Welcome to the Jungle and Under the Sea! This event is typically held on the evening of the half day in May.  Check out photos from past events here.

The Fun Run & Ice Cream Social gives Bancroft families one last fun chance to hang together out before school closes for the summer.   This event is a wonderful way to bring the community together for a healthy, fun afternoon.  Even if you don’t have a family of runners, there are plenty of ways to participate!  Family sponsors and committee and race day volunteers are all needed. Check out photos from past events here.

Traditionally held the day before the last day of school, fifth graders have a moving on celebration in the morning where their families are invited to watch them cross the stage, perform in the chorus or band, and see a slideshow of their time throughout Bancroft.  After taking part in some celebratory treats, students go offsite for an all-grade party to celebrate their achievements together.

In addition to the Wine Night and Progressive Dinner, we have a number of opportunities throughout the school year that are meant for parents and guardians only (sorry kids!) so that our community can get to know one another better.  This has included flower arranging nights, grade specific get togethers at local restaurants, walk and talks throughout the town, and more.

Throughout the year, the principal has several events that the PTO helps support including Bingo for Books (play bingo to win free books!), Board Game Night (bring your own board games and hop from table to table to play with your friends), and Makers Night (student made group art projects and STEM experiences).

The PTO provides funds for teachers to enhance their curriculum by providing unique cultural opportunities to entire grades or full school assemblies.  Past experiences have included visits from authors, storytellers, museums, and more. Check the PTO Calendar for the current year’s list of Cultural Arts, or check out the past year’s Cultural Arts photo gallery.

The Bancroft Learning Labs are before and after school programs sponsored by the PTO which allow students to sign up for fun and enriching classes of interest to them. Courses are taught by parents, local businesses and some staff. Past offerings have included math enrichment, building with Legos, martial arts and other fun activities. These take place in the fall (October-December) and the spring (February-April).  Stay tuned to our website, newsletter and social media accounts for announcements related to catalogs and signups!

Heritage Night is an annual celebration of the different cultures that make up the Bancroft community.  The event provides a fun and interactive way for Bancroft students and their families to learn about different cultures and includes informational booths from various countries, live cultural performances and ethnic foods provided by families.  Students receive passports and are encouraged to stop by each table, have their passports stamped and learn something new about each country.  We even have a digital cookbook that brings together Bancroft family recipes to share with one another!  This traditionally occurs on a weeknight in November.  Click here to see photos from past events.

Bancroft’s annual science fair offers students a fun opportunity to showcase their science experiments to fellow students, parents and the greater Andover community.  We provide posterboards to each group of one, two or three students who then build out their hypothesis and present to our “scientists” and their families on this evening in February.  Click here to see photos from past events.

Town officials, community leaders, retired teachers and other community members will visit Andover classrooms during American Education week to share their love of reading.  Traditionally held in mid-March, kids make signs to welcome their guests, escort them to their classrooms, and are read to by our community volunteers for an hour, after which they are treated to a small reception in the lobby.  Click here to see photos from past events.

Each year we work with an outside production company as well as a Bancroft teacher to put together a school play for 3rd – 5th graders to participate in.  Rehearsals are typically held in the mornings before school twice a week, culminating in an all-school show as well as an evening production for family and friends.  Click here to see photos from past events.

The PTO supports these groups in their efforts to encourage Bancroft students, staff, faculty and parents to think and act responsibly and aggressively in matters relating to natural resource consumption, processing and disposal.

Throughout the year we treat our staff to show them how much we appreciate them, providing a beginning of the year breakfast, Winter luncheon, Staff Appreciation Week (where themed goodies are distributed throughout the week as well as a luncheon!), and an End of Year lunch.  We try to sneak in a few little things here and there throughout the year as well :).

1-2 members of the PTO board/community are involved with the school’s C3 Committee, helping to promote community awareness and promote diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our school.  We have assisted with several initiatives throughout the year, including calendars in December and February promoting giving and kindness, displays for Women’s History Month, and more, as well as work with the committee to build out Heritage Night to truly represent our school and its community.