ForWard 10.20.24
From the Co-Presidents:
It feels like the school year just started but we are already more than halfway through October! Today’s Fall Spooktacular was the perfect way to recognize the autumn season and upcoming Halloween holiday. The weather could not have been more beautiful and it was so nice to see our community come together to celebrate. Special thanks to Kerry Reynolds for having the vision to create the Spooktacular and organizing this event. We also want to thank the many volunteers for making this happen: Caitlin Cusick, Emily Derr, Jennifer Epstein, Ishani Ganguli, Helen Huang, David Ismay, Jonathon Leib, Katie Megrian, Janavi and Roopali Misra, Melissa and Harold Prokop, Sandhya Rao, Brian Reynolds, and Drew Strobert. We are also so grateful for everyone who contributed to the 5th grade Food Drive, thank you!
The Ward Fun Run is this week and we can’t wait!! We hope to see many of you at the field at 9AM on Thursday. If you’re planning to come, we could use a few more volunteers - thank you!! So far we’ve raised $9,920 and are 76% of the way to our $13,000 goal. Wow!!! Thank you so very much to everyone that has donated. This is a great opportunity to get friends and family involved in fundraising for Ward by sharing our Venmo (@WardPTO) with “Fun Run2024,” your child’s name, and classroom in the note or share your child’s page. See below for other ways to donate and registration information. Every little bit truly helps- and I know we all want to see Ms. Brogadir out there in her dolphin costume when we reach our fundraising goal!!
The Ward Garden Committee invited 2nd graders to visit the garden last week to see how successful the sunflower plants (which had been sowed in 1st grade) had grown. They discussed the life-cycle of sunflower seeds and harvested some plants that will dry indoors so the seeds can be planted in the Spring. Thank you so much to Heba Haddad for leading this educational program and Christelle Naud-Ravard for volunteering that day.
As we near the end of potluck season, we wanted to extend our thanks to our third grade hosts Christina DiNardi and Kevin Woo. Marisa Morrison and Mike Simone will host the final potluck this year for second grade on November 11. Thank you so much to all our hosts. You are all amazing!!
As always, please email us anytime at copresidents@wardpto.org with your 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!!
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! Thanks for being a part of this fun event!
The 3rd Annual Ward Fun Run is this Thursday! Huge thanks to all 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 66% of Ward students are registered - we are so close to earning that whole school pajama day!! 4M is in the lead with 85% of students registered but 3K and KM close behind with 79% and 74% respectively - and 1C and 4G are right behind them. It’s going to be a tight race to see which class earns those coveted 15 minutes of extra recess!! Check out the class leaderboards here.
We are very hopeful that we will see Ms. Brogadir out there in her dolphin costume with your continued support and donations!!!
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.
To donate: If you still want to participate, there are two ways to go. While the Fun Run is on Thursday 10/24, we’ll be collecting donations for the Fun Run through the end of the month.
Most convenient: Register your child here and you can easily share the link with friends and family. Or share our Venmo deets @WardPTO with “Fun Run2024,” your child’s name, and classroom in the note.
Most valuable: pay by cash or check, 100% of which goes to the PTO.
Make checks out to Ward PTO and add a note stating “Fun Run 2024,” your child’s name, and classroom.
Put the cash or check in an envelope labeled “Kristin Golden, Treasurer - Ward PTO” and give it to the front office staff.
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. The PTO spends $70 per student on these experiences alone. 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. Thank you for your support in making these special events happen for our kids.
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
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.
4th annual Family-Friendly Halloween Bike Ride for kids/tweens - Sunday October 27 at 4pm. The vision for this family-friendly ride is to gather bikes, costumed kiddos/tweens and families to meet at Newton Centre Playground and do a 3ish mile ride around Newton (mostly on the Carriage Way). Safety Marshalls will lead us on a 3ish mile loop on the Carriage Way ending back at Newton Centre playground. Post ride we will have a snack pot luck and prizes for best costumes, riders etc. Everyone is invited to the post-ride celebration whether riding or not. Note: This is a ride at your own risk kind of event. All kids must have a grownup with them. This event is organized by Ward parent Jonathan Leib. More information about the event can be found here. '
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!
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 28 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
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 required. 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/
Please reach out to us by emailing copresidents@wardpto.org