ForWard 03.05.23
Upcoming Events
Now - March 24, 2023
Student Council Drive for Boston Refugee & Immigrant Assistance Center
Tuesday,Mar 14, 2023
Override Election
March 27 - April 7, 2023
Teacher/Staff Experience Raffle
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Mystery Dinner
Thursday May 4th, 2023
Ward Art Show
Sunday, May 7, 2023
Newton Serves
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Ward Night at the Red Sox (tickets on sale now)
See all events on our Calendar
News
From the Co-Presidents
Thanks to Ward Parent Jon Levin for his time and energy coordinating a fabulous community-building event Friday evening at the BC Hockey Game. Community members toured the locker room and cheered the Eagles to an exciting win together and a great time was had by all!
The backbone of our PTO are the parents and family members that are so incredibly generous with their time and talents. Our mission, ForStudents, ForFamilies, ForWard, takes many hands to accomplish and we are so lucky every year to collaborate with many of you. It is time now to plan for the 2023-2024 school year and we need your help! Please consider volunteering in the year ahead. We have SO many different types of opportunities and ALL of these roles are critical to our success.
It is important to note that we are actively seeking a Co-President (or two!) for school years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. Caitlin and Susan are completing their 2-year terms and Rashi looks forward to collaborating with a new partner in her second year. We would like to identify a co-president soon so that we can support a seamless transition. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to copresidents@wardpto.org - we look forward to connecting!
Thank you for your continued support of Ward PTO. It takes a village and we love this village!
Caitlin, Rashi & Susan
Override Stand Out, Voting and FY 24 Budget Updates
Following last week’s school committee budget meeting, many are wondering what they can do now to impact change.
VOTE: Early voting is open all week at City Hall and voting day is March 14th.
STAND OUT: Join Ward Staff Members this Wednesday, March 8th, from 7:50-8:05 for another peaceful “Say Yes” rally in front of Ward School.
TALK TO OTHERS: Many of your friends and neighbors may still have questions about the override - take time to spread the facts and encourage others to also vote.
Bottom line of the FY 24 Budget Update Presentation given at the March 1st School Committee Meeting? Every student in Newton would be impacted.
We realize that some of the “advertised” cuts hit closer to home for some than others but please stop and consider that especially a small elementary school like Ward is a tight knit community of learners. If your child does not directly receive a particular service or engage in a particular activity/curriculum, there is almost guaranteed indirect benefit of more adults/aides/teachers/professionals in the classrooms. There is an absolute benefit to the greater community if all students are being met where they need to be during the school day. Please stop and consider all of the things that are working well for your child(ren) this school year: class size, teachers, additional learning opportunities, interventions, reading groups, instrumental practice, access to SEL curriculum and social workers, and so much more! Then consider how well our school is being run - our kids go to school in a well-maintained (tho, yes, old!) building with incredible administration and related services.
Now, please review the impacts of the the proposed FY 24 Budget Presentation:
Elementary Education Possible Reductions
● Enrollment based-reductions for elementary classrooms already built into base budget
● Classroom teachers and aides, increase maximum class sizes in grades 2-5 to 29 students (-$1,215,000)
● Supplemental and/or enrichment programming (-$78,500)
● Administrative positions (-$139,000)
● Reduce instrumental offerings (-$185,400)
Secondary Education Possible Reductions
● Enrollment-based reductions to middle school and increases to high school staffing already built into base budget
● Middle school teacher reductions to increase team sizes up to 100 students (-$1,020,000)
● High school teacher reductions to increase percentage of classes
over 25 students (-$714,000)
● 10% reduction to after school athletics and enrichment programs at middle school and high school (-$288,000)
● Proportional reduction of Career and Technical Education expenses
(-$45,000)
Teaching & Learning Possible Reductions
● ELL staffing ($150,000)
● Instructional software ($100,000)
● Supplemental and enrichment program coordination ($80,000)
Student Services Possible Reductions
● Personnel (-$2,200,000)*
○ Increase special education caseloads
○ Increase guidance and counseling caseloads
○ Decrease social emotional learning (SEL) supports
○ Do not fill current SEL Administrator vacancies
● Professional development, membership fees, instructional supplies
(-$32,000)
● Contracts (-$130,000)
*Maintains compliance with special education regulations
IT & Library Possible Reductions
● Instructional Software (-$18,000)
● 1:1 Device Program reduction (-$100,000)
● Summer Intern (-$10,000)
● Personnel (-$80,000)
Operations & Administrative Possible Reductions
● Administrative Assistants (-$395,000)
● Custodians (-$155,000)
● Possible Fee Proposal (-$345,000 to -$725,000)
Spring Mystery Dinner Save The Date: 4/29/23
This is the most fun you’ll ever have as an elementary school parent/caregiver!
When: Saturday, April 29th 6pm - midnight
What: A progressive style dinner party and fundraising event for Ward PTO
Who: Adults only! Line up your childcare now! It’s an event you will not want to miss!
How can you help? Great question! If you are interested in hosting: appetizers, dinners or dessert. Please let us know. Appetizers and dessert are 75-125 ppl. Dinners are 8-12 people.
This event is made possible by the generosity of our hosts! It’s a wonderful way to meet and get to know our Ward community. Sign up to host! Questions? Bekka Cirel (Rebecca.cirel@gmail.com) or Tracy Buckner (bucknertracy3@gmail.com)
Ward Night at the Red Sox
Join Ward Community Members for a fun night at Fenway on June 1. Tickets on sale now. Contact Jon Levin with any questions: jonathan.levin@gmail.com
FREEDGE Volunteers
The Ward efforts to support the Newton FREEDGE continue. Thank you to our “regular” drivers - we could not do this without you! The PTO and Ward Staff have some open slots to get us through these final days of winter and into spring. Just a friendly reminder to sign up when you are able. (Sign up here .)
Community Notes & Announcements
A Cappella April!
A Capella is coming to Newton South High School on April 1. This one-night only event features pop and R & B a cappella group Ball in the House, with special performances by Newton student groups: Bigelow Beats, Brown Middle School A Cappella, The Northern Lights, and The Melocotones. Tickets are $15/adults and $10/students. Seating is reserved. Proceeds from this event will be used for future Creative Arts & Sciences programs. Purchase tickets at Seat Yourself: https://newtonps.seatyourself.biz
Summer Basketball Camp
A Step Ahead Basketball Camps are back for its 27th consecutive summer in Newton. Camps are for boys and girls ages 7-15 and take place at both the Brown Middle School and Mount Alvernia Academy. Space is limited...
Since 1997 ASA has been serving the Newton community offering camps, clinics, skills training and AAU basketball. We hope to see you soon: Register at: Summer Camps / Contact: Coachb@asahoops.com"
Ivy Math: Free Online Tutoring Session for Ward Families
IvyMath is providing all Ward Elem families with a free online math tutoring session and an in-depth parent conference to discuss your child's strengths and weaknesses and how they compare to grade level. IvyMath will also create a custom learning plan that maps out the exact areas your child should be focusing on in math. You'll have the opportunity to ask questions, and understand what your child needs to feel confident and stay on track in math this year.
The IvyMath tutoring session, parent conference, and learning plan are free for all Ward Elem families. Popular times fill up, so please register quickly! Signup now at: IvyMath.com/Boost
For more community notes: https://newtonptocouncil.org/category/community/
And please continue to follow the PTO on Instagram @wardelementary_pto