From the Co-Presidents:

Dear Ward Families,

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. We are grateful to every single one of you for making Ward such a welcoming, warm, and special community. Thank you for showing up at school events, for volunteering, for donating, and for all you do to contribute to our school. We couldn’t do any of this without you!

We are very excited about the launch of our Ward Online Silent Auction, which launches next weekend. The auction will run from Sunday, December 7, to Sunday, December 14, and will include a combination of traditional auction items and “Buy It Now” ticketed experiences. We encourage you to get access to the auction site as soon as you’re able, as “Buy It Now” experiences are first-come, first-served. As we’ve shared, the auction will also include teacher experiences, which were previously part of the Teacher Raffle. Since we are no longer able to do a raffle due to state regulations, we have tried our absolute best to make as many of these teacher experiences Buy It Nows at an accessible price point. We want to make sure all interested families can participate, so please reach out to our amazing social worker, Erin Byrne, if your family or student(s) need some additional support. We have some FANTASTIC items and experiences, and we look forward to sharing them with you. Please read below for more information, including teasers of some of the items that will be included.

Speaking of fundraisers, we also want to remind everyone to save the date for our final fundraiser of the year - Mystery Dinner on May 16. This is an adults-only event, so don’t forget to line up those babysitters. While it’s still six months away, we also hope you’ll consider hosting a dinner party of 8-16 for this very special community event. We look forward to what will surely be one of the most fun nights of the year!

A couple of additional updates and reminders:

Lost and Found: The Ward Lost and Found is located directly inside the front doors of the building, to the left. It is currently overflowing!!! Any items remaining will be donated this Friday, so please make an effort to stop by sometime between now and then.
Ward Spirit Wear: Our spirit store is now closed. Orders should be in within the next couple of weeks, and we will send along an update once we have more information. If you ordered “Ward Distribution,” we will reach out to coordinate pick-up. We look forward to seeing many of you decked out in this year’s new gear, beautifully designed by our very talented Elizabeth Weinberg.
Ward Cares - Gift Card Support: As this holiday season approaches, Mrs. Brogadir is once again collecting gift cards to assist students and families in our community who need help purchasing food, winter clothing, and gifts. If it is within your budget this year, we welcome donations of gift cards to the following stores: Star Market, Stop & Shop, Market Basket, Target, Amazon, and TJMaxx/Marshalls. Gift card donations can be put in an envelope addressed to Mrs. Brogadir and brought to school in your child’s home/school folder by Monday, December 15th. Please make sure to write the card amount on the gift card sleeve. If your family would benefit from support this Holiday Season, please reach out to Mrs. Brogadir or our school social worker, Erin Byrne.

Upcoming Events

PTO Meeting with Special Guest Marc Laredo - Thursday 12/4, from 8:30AM to 9:30AM. Please join us to hear from our special guest speaker, Marc Laredo, Newton’s next mayor and the current City Council President. Let’s turn up as a community to show him how invested we are in our schools and ask the important questions about his priorities for NPS.
Online Silent Auction - Sunday 12/7 - 12/14. See below for more information!!
PTO Meeting with Superintendent, School Committee + City Councilors - Thursday 1/15 at 8:30AM

Volunteer Opportunities

Ward Library Volunteers - Our wonderful librarians are looking for help shelving books in the library every Monday and Thursday from 10-10:30AM. Please sign up here! Thank you to the many volunteers who have already signed up!
International Night - host a table! - This every-other-year tradition returns in March 2026! The International Night Committee is beginning to plan and will share more details soon. In the meantime, please think about whether you would like to showcase your culture by hosting a table. How you do so is entirely up to you - whether it’s sharing savory delights, intriguing giveaways, or finding a way to share different elements of your culture. More to come!
Mystery Dinner Hosts - Do you love to host or know a Ward family who does? Would you be interested in hosting a dinner party for 8-16 people at your home on May 16? While you certainly don’t have to commit yet, it’s never too early for us to start planting some seeds :) Reach out to Betsy Blazar (betsyblazar@gmail.com) and Emily Derr (emilyjderr@gmail.com) if you’re interested or have any questions!

You can always reach us at copresidents @ wardpto.org if you have any ideas, questions, concerns, or suggestions on how we can help you. You can also subscribe to our PTO calendar here.

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

JUST ONE WEEK UNTIL THE WARD ONLINE AUCTION!!

Look out for an email next Sunday, December 7 with a link to access our auction. The auction will be open for one week! All proceeds directly support Ward School students and programs. The auction will include two parts: 1) Traditional Auction Items and 2) Buy It Now Experiences – a set number of tickets will be available at a fixed price, so once they’re gone, they’re gone. We have some fabulous items and experiences - huge thanks to the many Ward families who have donated items and experiences.

Here are just a few teasers to get you excited!!

Auction Item Teasers

Principal For a Day
Celtics Tickets
Beauty and the Beast tickets - Disney on Broadway in Boston
Private Tour of WCVB-TV5 with Mr. Brogadir
Signed Bruins jersey
Wine baskets

Buy It Now Teasers:

Galentines’ Day Moms Night Out
Bourbon Tasting
Jewelry Making class
Hot Chocolate with Ms. Erin
K-Pop Demon Hunters Karaoke with Ms. Lauren
Kickball with Mr. Tugwell and Ms. Grindrod

Questions? Contact auctions@wardpto.org.

Celebrating 100 Years of Ward — 1928 to 2028

In 2028, our school will mark an incredible milestone: 100 years of learning, growth, and community. As we prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime celebration, we’re inviting you to play a special part.

Our centennial events will bring together students, alumni, families, and the community. To make it unforgettable, we’re building a dedicated team of volunteers and school alumni to support planning and day-of activities.

Be part of a historic milestone
Connect with other parents and staff
Help create meaningful memories for students
Show your pride in our school community

We Need Our Community. Join Us in Honoring the Legacy by filling out this form to let us know if you are interested in attending or participating in the Ward School's 100th Celebration, which will take place in June 2028.

We're currently only collecting contact information; the celebration committee will get in touch as we get closer to the event.

Interest Form

Fundraising Update:

We’ve raised over $27,000 towards our goal of $40,000. We are well on the way to reaching our fundraising goal for the year especially with two big fundraisers left: The Silent Online Auction next week and Mystery Dinner in May 16. We are beyond grateful for everyone who has donated and feel so lucky to be a part of a community who really shows up - not just with your donations but also at events, to volunteer, and to support one another. Thank you for all the ways in which you contribute to making our school the vibrant, supportive and caring community it is.

If you would still like to contribute, donations can be made in the following ways:

Check: These should be written to "Ward PTO" and can then be put in an envelope labeled "Ward PTO". Feel free to drop them off in the office yourself or send them in with your child.
PayPal: here!
Venmo: here!

Thank you for your continued support!

Ward School Garden Meet Ups!

Thursdays and Fridays (around pick-up) | 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

Come check out the garden, learn about the Weed of the Week, and help with whatever needs to be done! It's absolutely a "drop in when you can" activity, not a drop-off activity. Every kid needs a responsible grown-up with them.

Mystery Dinner Co-Chair: Our fabulous dynamic duo Betsy Blazar and Emily Derr will be coordinating this event this spring. Betsy Blazar will be graduating from Ward at the end of next year, so we are looking for another volunteer to be involved and learn from the best!
International Night - host a table: This every other year tradition is back this year! The International Night Committee is starting to plan and will share more details soon. In the meantime, please think about whether you would like to showcase your culture by hosting a table. How you do so is completely up to you - whether it’s sharing savory delights, intriguing giveaways, or finding a way to share different elements of your culture. More to come!

Upcoming Event Highlights

After-School & Weekends with NCE

Newton Community Education is offering fun and engaging programs for students this season, including Buildwave, Weird Science Television, Cinema Kitchen, Dungeons & Dragons, Comics & Digital Animation, Kangaroo Math, and Winter Swimming & Diving Lessons. If a club has already started, give us a call—we’ll do our best to include your child.

We're excited to announce the launch of Special Early Release Afternoon Programming at Bowen, Burr and Mason-Rice! Starting on October 28th, each club runs from 12:15-4:00pm and features STEAM related fun and activities.

Click here to learn more and register!

If NCE is not yet at your school, email Sarah Housman at housmans@newton.k12.ma.us and we'll work with you to get clubs started!

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

ForWard 11.30.25