ForWard 9.13.26

Written By Ward Elementary PTO Newton, MA

From the Co-Presidents:

Dear Ward Families,

We hope everyone is settling into their new schedules and routines—even if the school calendar hasn’t given us a full week to practice them quite yet!

Our annual Fall Picnic on September 8 was a huge success, complete with beautiful weather and a wonderful turnout. It is always so special to see our community come together and watch the kids run, play, and reconnect on the field. A heartfelt thank-you to Katie Megrian for the tremendous time and effort she put into organizing the picnic and making sure everything ran smoothly. We are incredibly grateful!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Teacher Appreciation Kitchen Restock at the start of the school year! The staff truly appreciated having plenty of snacks and cold drinks during those busy first weeks. We are especially grateful for the generous donations of new microwaves! We would love to keep the staff kitchen stocked throughout the year. If you are able, please consider donating individually packaged snacks, seltzer, or soda at any time. Every contribution is greatly appreciated and helps give our wonderful teachers and staff a little boost during their busy days! Any donations to the staff room can be left in the office with Ms. Tempesta.

We had such a wonderful team come together on 9/9 to help brighten up the Ward Garden for our very first Gardening & Grenadine event! A big thank you to our Garden Chair, Sara O’Connor, for putting everything together. We added fresh wood chips to the walkways to make it easier for students to stroll through. The next time you're at our school, don’t forget to take a moment to admire the stunning sunflowers that students planted in the Spring—they’re really tall and beautiful this year!

An extra reminder that, along with our bi-weekly newsletter, we will occasionally send home paper announcements about upcoming dates and email reminders for specific events. You can also sign up for the PTO calendar here.

Upcoming Events:

  • Back-to-School Night - Thursday, 9/17, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM: We hope to see you all at Ward for a chance to build community connections, learn about your child(ren)’s classroom, and get an overview of the grade-level curriculum. As a PTO, we’ll share our PTO calendar for the upcoming year, provide an overview of our finances, and share our goals for the year.

    • 6-6:30 PM: Grades K, 1 & 2

    • 6:35-6:55 PM: All parents/guardians gather in the gym with Ms. Brogadir, special area teachers, and PTO.

    • 7-7:30 PM: Grades 3, 4 & 5

  • 5th Annual Fun Run - Wednesday 10/21 from 9:00 AM to 9:45 AM (Rain date 10/28): Support and cheer on students and staff as they run, walk, or stroll around the Ward Field! This is a fun Ward event that everyone looks forward to! We are looking for volunteers to help set up, distribute water, give high-fives, and take photos! We always love seeing so many parents attend this event.

  • Fall Spooktacular - Sunday 11/1, from 2 PM-4 PM: 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? We will have volunteer opportunities coming soon! Many thanks to 2nd grade parent Kerry Reynolds for her creativity in bringing this event to life for another year. Please email us at copresidents@wardpto.org if you are interested in helping to plan and organize this event.

  • Movie Night - Monday 11/2 at 5 PM (Rain date 11/10): Save the date for an outdoor movie under the stars! Wear your pajamas! Dress warmly! Bring blankets and lawn chairs! Open to all Ward Families and Neighbors/Guests. Tickets: $10 per person or $40 per family. Concessions and pizza will be available for purchase. Click here to purchase tickets and learn more. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the graduating fifth-grade class activities.

Movie Night Tickets

Sace the Date: Grade-Level Potlucks:

The Ward PTO is excited to bring Ward families together for grade-level potlucks this fall! These casual adults-only gatherings are a great opportunity for families to connect, meet others in their child’s grade, and spend time together outside of the school day. 

Please save the date for your child's grade level potluck - or dates if you have children in multiple grade! 

Kindergarten: Thursday, September 24 at 6:00PM at the home of Emily Derr and Brent Markus 
1st Grade: Saturday, October 3 from 6:30-9:30PM at the home of Jaime and Matt Wluka Switkes 
2nd and 4th Grade: Tuesday, September 22 from 6:30-8:30PM at the home of Elizabeth and Jon Loehr 
3rd Grade: TBD - please email copresidents@wardpto.org if you are interested in hosting 
5th Grade: Tuesday, October 6 from 6:30-8:30PM at the home of Jessie and Shawn Jackson 

Please plan to bring a favorite dish to share. More details to come but in the meantime, we hope you are looking forward to enjoying an evening with other parents in your grade. 

As always, please email us at copresidents@wardpto.org with ideas, questions, concerns, or suggestions on how we can help.

- Elizabeth Loehr + Elizabeth Weinberg, Ward PTO Co-Presidents 2024-26 & Jenn Epstein, Ward PTO Co-President 2026-28 

Thank you again to the many families who signed up for volunteer roles in the spring. We still have open positions and are always happy to discuss volunteer opportunities and help you find one that matches your interests, schedule, and availability. There’s truly something for everyone! Feel free to browse available opportunities here. If you still have something you are interested in that is full, please reach out - we are always happy to have more volunteers!

We are especially looking for volunteers to help with the following roles:

  • Creative Arts and Sciences Grade Level volunteers for Kindergarten and 3rd Grade - support 1–2 grade levels by coordinating engaging, curriculum-connected enrichment programs during the school year by collaborating with teachers and outside presenters. This is a great way to build relationships with Ward staff! Please reach out to co-presidents@wardpto.org with any questions about this role. We are always happy to talk! Many thanks to Jaclyn Rubin, Chloe Comins, Ilana Seidman, and Erica Soberman for supporting this important PTO work.

  • Room Parents: We’re still looking for room parents for the following classrooms: KCM, 3G, 3K, 4M, 5G and 5T. Room parents help support classroom teachers and keep families connected throughout the year. General responsibilities include 1) coordinating with the teacher to acquire classroom supplies, 2) organizing and identifying volunteers, 3) sending emails about upcoming PTO events and volunteer opportunities, and 4) coordinating teacher gifts. This is an excellent opportunity to build relationships with teachers and families and get involved in the PTO. Please sign up here.

Room Parent Sign Up

  • Staff Room Restock: If you are able, please consider donating individually packaged snacks, seltzer, or soda at any time. Every contribution is greatly appreciated and helps give our wonderful teachers and staff a little boost during their busy days! Donations can be dropped off in the front office. Thank you!

  • As we start planning for the 2026-27 school year, we are looking for a few specific volunteer roles*:

  • PTO Treasurer (Fall 2027 to Spring 2029): Help oversee the PTO’s finances by managing the budget, tracking income and expenses, coordinating reimbursements, and handling required tax filings and financial reporting throughout the year.

Please email us directly with any questions.

There's still time to sign up for the NCE classes!

Newton Community Education (NCE) offers after-school classes, making it a great way to inspire or support your child's interests through affordable, quality programs. Enrollment is limited. Sign up today! Classes start the week of September 14th.

These are on-site at Ward, so your child will be escorted to their NCE class as soon as school lets out. Your child can still attend the Ward After-School Program and take an NCE class. Just email Donna to let her know!

Early Release Day Adventures:

These are exceptionally helpful if you need childcare coverage on the NPS early release days!

Sign up for classes here
Learn more

Upcoming Event Highlights

Sign up for Halloween Window Painting!

Calling all Newton students in grades 3-8: Registration for Halloween Window Painting 2026 is now open! The event takes place on Saturday October 24 (raindate Sunday October 25). This year's event is a contest—winning painters will be chosen in each of our seven participating villages, but we celebrate every painter's work! Sign up for your spot today. Click here for more information and to register.

Paint your window, then join the party!

Once your window is complete, head to Newton Highlands for Newton’s Halloween Party, from 2–8 p.m. Come in costume and enjoy live music, dancing, circus fun, trick-or-treating and lots more Halloween spirit!   We hope to see all of our window painters at the party!  Click here for party details.

CUB SCOUTS PACK 210
Who:  Boys and girls grades K-5
When:  Tuesday, Sept 15, 6-7:30pm
Where: Carroll Center for the Blind, Tech Center, 770 Centre St in Newton Centre
What:  Kick-off Meeting with Magician and Frozen treats!Pack 210 (Friends of Hemlock Gorge) has an exciting year of activities planned including camping, hiking, Pinewood Derby, outdoor activities, community service, and overnights. We are a strong and active Pack; Scouts have a monthly Den meeting on the 1st or 3rd Thursday of the month, and we have additional fun events every month on weekends for those who would like to participate. Join to learn more at our Kickoff Meeting – we will have an entertaining magician as we connect with new friends and old, followed by parent Q&A and allergy-friendly frozen treats (pls reach out with food allergy questions).
If you cannot make our KO meeting, please join for our first Pack Hike on Saturday, Sept 19 at 1pm, at Cold Spring Park - old and new members invited!  Please email Kevin newtoncubscoutspack210@gmail.com with questions https://www.pack210newton.org/

Penguin Coding - Newton Half-Day Program

We’re happy to share that we will be offering half-day programs in Newton! The program will take place Wednesday’s from 1:00-3:30PM and includes:

  • Free play

  • LEGO robotics

  • Coding projects

  • Flexible enrollment

  • $100 enrollment fee per afternoon

Whether you want to attend every week or just once a month, sign up here.

Please reach out to us by emailing copresidents@wardpto.org

Ward Elementary PTO Newton, MA
Next

ForWard 8.30.26