From the Co-Presidents:

The first month of school flew by and we are looking forward to another fun and busy month ahead!

In the spirit of planning ahead, we are excited to share that this year’s Mystery Dinner will be on Saturday, May 10. Please save the date and get those babysitters lined up!! And while it’s still 7 months away, it’s never too early to let us know you may be interested in hosting :). If you’re new to Ward, feel free to reach out with any questions about what this fun adults-only community event and fundraiser entails. More to come!

Thank you so much to everyone who has already generously donated to the Ward Fun Run. Just two weeks into fundraising, we’ve raised $5,505 dollars and are 42% of the way to our $13,000 goal. Amazing!! As a reminder, this $13,000 (or $70/student) will cover the cost of our Creative Arts and Sciences programs and bring three in person learning experiences to each grade level. (More below or go to our Events page for more information.)

As we continue with potlucks, we wanted to extend our thanks to our kindergarten hosts, Colin + Ellen Murphy, our first grade hosts, Mary Jo + Dave Grossman, and our fifth grade hosts, Danielle + Justin Lappen. We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful families at Ward willing to open up their homes to bring the community together - and it’s just so nice to spend time with parents outside of drop offs and pick ups!! We will wrap up potlucks with third grade this week and second grade next month.

These emails seem to be becoming a series of thank yous but it’s impossible to avoid! Everything that happens at Ward is made possible because of each one of you - your time, your thoughts, your ideas and your commitment to making Ward the wonderful school community it is. If you haven’t yet, we’d appreciate you taking just a couple of minutes to complete this brief survey with your feedback on the PTO to help us plan and prioritize. And, as always, please email us at copresidents@wardpto.org with any ideas, questions, concerns, or ways we can help.

- Elizabeth Loehr + Elizabeth Weinberg, Ward PTO Co-Presidents 2024-26

Volunteer Opportunities

Thanks to all our volunteers. We couldn’t do any of this without you!!

Fall Spooktacular: Do you have a chili recipe you love? Do you love to face paint or do temporary tattoos? Have a fun game you want to set up? Or maybe you just want to bring the hot chocolate :) Please sign up here and help us make this fun event possible.
Fun Run: We’re looking for volunteers on the morning of Thursday, October 24 to help set up, pass out water, give high fives and take photos! We always love seeing so many parents show up for this event. Thanks for being a part of this fun event!

The Fun Run is Back!

The 3rd Annual Ward Fun Run is just 3.5 weeks away! Thank you - again - to all of our donors. We have some big fundraising goals this year so we can continue to provide the supplies, programs, and tools our teachers and students need to thrive and every little bit counts! Thank you!!

We’re incentiving participation in the following ways:

The class with the highest percent of registered students (regardless of fundraising) gets 15 minutes of extra recess.
If at least 80% of students are registered, the whole school gets a pajama day.
When we reach our fundraising goal of $13,000, Ms. Brogadir will dress as the school mascot for the Fun Run!

Currently 43% of Ward students are registered with 4G and 4M tied with 55% of students registered - but 1C and 1S are close behind!!! Check out the class leaderboards here.

To register: Returning Ward families can login here with your credentials and click “add to event”; if you did not register your child(ren) last year or are new to Ward please register here. All students are welcome to participate in this fun community event regardless of fundraising or registration and will receive a 2024 Fun Run t-shirt.

What are we raising funds for? Any donations will be put towards our Creative Arts and Sciences (CAS) programming which brings three in-person learning experiences (authors visits, Mass Audubon, The Discovery Museum, for example) to each grade level. We’re hoping to reach our fundraising goal of $13,000 that would cover the cost of our CAS expenses and accounts for 15-20% of our PTO budget.

HUGE thank you to our amazing Fun Run Sponsors - all of whom are also Ward families: 1) Christina DiNardi Realtor, 2) Hakata Nagahama Ramen, 3) MERSI Opthalmalogy, 4) Grossman Marketing 5) Renee Moran Medical Aesthetics. We so appreciate your support and look forward to seeing these logos on our Fun Run t-shirts and supporting your businesses in return. Thank you for helping to make this special event possible. And one more huge thank you to Caitlin Cusick for making these sponsorships happen!

The Fun Run is a shining star example of what our school can do because of parent volunteers and community participation. With that being said, we cannot talk about the Fun Run without mentioning Penny Ismay and Lexi Sullivan. Their ideas, planning, and leadership are so appreciated and we are just so grateful.

For more information and answers to FAQs, please go to the Events page on our website.

To volunteer, see below or sign up here.

Questions about the Fun Run? Please contact Penny Ismay (Bea’s Mom, 4M) or ismay@bc.edu or Lexi Sullivan (Jojo, 4M + Aug’s, 1C) mom at lexilee180@gmail.com.

Upcoming Event Highlights

Fifth Grade Food Drive for the Newton Food Pantry - starting Tuesday, October 15th through the Fall Spooktacular. Drop off needed canned goods and pantry items at school drop off daily culminating with a final drop off at the Fall Spooktacular. See below for more information on what items are needed and how to contribute. Questions? Email Katie Shearer at shearer.katie@gmail.com.

Boston College Women's Soccer vs. Florida State (Wear Pink Night) - Saturday 10/12 at 7PM: Join us for an exciting "Night Under the Lights!" as we cheer on Boston College, pink clothing optional. It's a perfect opportunity to come together as a community, enjoy some fall soccer, and connect with fellow Ward families. Dress accordingly and we hope to see you there. Address: 885 Centre Street, Newton, (behind the law school on Boston College's Newton Campus). Free Entrance and Free Parking. No tickets required. See you there! Questions? Email Kevin Woo at wootaiwain@hotmail.com.
Fall Spooktacular - Sunday 10/20 from 2-4PM: We encourage your kids (and you!!) to wear your costumes and meet us on the playground to celebrate together. Interested in being a part of this fun event? See Volunteer Opportunities below for more information or sign up here. Many thanks to Kerry Reynolds for her creativity bringing this event to life.
PTO/Principal Coffee - Monday 10/21 from 8:30AM-9:30AM: We are looking forward to this opportunity to focus on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) at Ward. What is SEL? What does it look like at Ward? We will be joined by Principal Becca Brogadir, Social Worker Erin Byrne, School Psychologist Meghan O’Brien, SEL Interventionist Megan Power and Nurse Deana Salameh. We hope to see you there!
Fun Run - Thursday 10/24 at 9am: Click here for more information and to read FAQs. Questions? Email Penny Ismay at ismay@bc.edu or Lexi Sullivan at lexilee180@gmail.com.

International Walk-Ride-Roll to School Day

International Walk-Ride-Roll to School Day, Wednesday, October 9

Will you walk, roll, bike or ride the bus this year? Choose what works for your family to celebrate International Walk to School Day. Held annually, this event joins together students from over 40 countries. Visit www.NewtonSafeRoutes.org for more information about active transportation in Newton and Safe Routes To School | Mass.gov to access educational information.
Please report any obstacles on your route to Newton 311 or keren.wainger@gmail.com

Community Highlight - SEPAC

WHAT IS SEPAC?

Does your child have an IEP or 504 plan? Are you interested in getting support services for your child? Then you need to know about the Newton Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) at NewtonSEPAC.org.

We are a volunteer organization of parents of children with special needs from preschool through high school. We run an online forum where parents and caregivers can ask each other about special education programs, issues, policies and resources both within and outside of the public school system. We work directly with the school administration regarding our children’s special education through our school liaisons, meetings with the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, and by attending Newton School Committee meetings.

We hold monthly board meetings that are open to all families whose dates and Zoom links are listed on our website NewtonSEPAC.org under the "Meetings" tab. In the meantime, you can join our "Newton SEPAC" Google Group by clicking on the link on our website. On this online forum, you can post any questions or concerns about anything related to your child with special needs. We also use this group to publicize local/online presentations and conferences as well as DESE policy updates.

Other ways to contact the SEPAC:

Email: Info@NewtonSEPAC.org

Facebook: Newton Special Education Parents - SEPAC

SEPAC AT WARD

As the SEPAC Liaison for Ward, my role is to answer any questions and discuss any concerns about your child's special education services and evaluations at Ward. As a SEPAC member, I can also help with any issues outside of NPS relating to your child's disability including private therapies and evaluations, community resources, and social opportunities. You can always contact me directly for more information about the SEPAC or with any questions or concerns about your child:

Tabatha Flores, tabflores@gmail.com

New IEP Form Workshop Series by the Federation for Children with Special Needs

October 7 and October 28 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Introduction to the New IEP Form, October 7, 2024
6:00-7:30pm
Review and understand the new IEP form and understand why changes to the form were made.

Crafting Effective Student/Parent Concerns, October 28, 2024
6:00-7:30pm
Student/Parent Concerns is an opportunity to have your concerns included and addressed in the IEP. You should carefully draft your concerns in writing in preparation for the IEP meeting. Let’s look at some of the steps involved.

Registration is for both presentations in this series. It is not necessary to register for each date separately.

The Federation for Children with Special Needs is funded by grants which require us to collect data. Our registration is confidential and used to ensure we are supporting all communities. We do not share personal information nor do we sell to third parties.

Click here to access the registration: https://fcsn.org/event/new-iep-form-workshop-series/