From the Co-Presidents:

Dear Ward Families,

We sincerely thank all our wonderful families for your fantastic support during this year’s Ward Online Silent Auction! Your eager bidding and generous donations directly fund vital school programs, classroom supplies, and memorable student experiences. We truly appreciate the community spirit you bring to these events—your involvement not only helps us achieve our goals but also deepens the connections that make our school uniquely special. Thank you for making this year’s auction a great success! The auction closes at tonight 10 pm,, so you still have a few hours to place bids on our traditional auction items!

Speaking of fundraisers, our Spirit Store successfully raised $588 from selling a total of 137 items! For those who opted for the Ward Pickup location to receive their orders, we’ll be in touch soon to provide details about the pickup location and time. We will ensure that all pickups happen before the winter break in time for you to give these as holiday gifts.

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:

Ward Cares - Gift Card Support: As the holiday season approaches, Mrs. Brogadir is once again collecting gift cards to help students and families in our community who need assistance 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.
Underwear Drive: Please consider contributing to Cocotree Kids underwear drive! Cocotree Kids is a Massachusetts non-profit that collects and distributes underwear to at-risk and underserved youth in the state. Underwear is one of the most needed but least donated items to shelters and youth-focused organizations because it needs to be new for legal and hygienic reasons. Link for our Amazon Wish List. To learn more about this organization please visit this link.
NPS Community Math Night: If you were unable to attend the event on November 12, this slideshow recaps all the details!

Upcoming Events

PTO Meeting with Superintendent, School Committee + City Councilors - Thursday 1/15 at 8:30AM
NPS Info Session at Bigelow Middle School - Monday, February 9, at 6PM - Save the date for this information session, which will help parents make sense of all the data we are receiving on our students’ academic performance. NPS Literacy Specialists will lead these meetings and the Q&A and will bring together families from the other two schools that feed into Bigelow Middle School (Ward, Underwood, and Lincoln-Eliot). More information to come as we have it!

Volunteer Opportunities

Ward Library Volunteers - Our wonderful librarians are looking for help shelving books in the library every Monday and Thursday from 10-10:30 AM. 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 with 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

HOURS LEFT TO BID ON THE WARD ONLINE AUCTION!!

The auction will be open for until 10PM tonight! All proceeds directly support Ward School students and programs.

There are still some wonderful Buy It Now ticketed events to purchase and auction items left to bid on.

Auction Item Highlights

Principal For a Day
Secretary for the Day
Disney on Ice - Floor seats were just added!!!
Private Tour of WCVB-TV5 with Mr. Brogadir

Buy It Now Highlights:

Galentines’ Day Moms Night Out
Jewelry Making class
Kickball with Mr. Tugwell and Ms. Grindrod

Questions? Contact auctions@wardpto.org.

Ward is heading to TD Garden to watch the 18x World Champion Boston Celtics take on the Chicago Bulls

What: Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls
Where: Section 327 Balcony at TD Garden, Boston
When: Wednesday, February 11th, 2026, 7:30 PM

Tickets are $100 each, with limited availability—so if you are interested, text Kevin Woo at 857-472-1092 to reserve your spot and pay via Venmo. Transportation is not provided.

SEPAC: Upcoming Events. These are open to anyone who may be interested!

Newton SEPAC Open Board Meeting: Tuesday, December 16, 2025 @ 8 pm. Zoom link here.

Community Conversation with Rep. Jake Auchincloss: Newton SEPAC hosts this event and will take place on December 17 at @6:30PM. Congressman Jake Auchincloss will discuss how federal changes may affect services, protections, and supports for children and adults with disabilities. He will also take questions. Register online here.

Understanding Basic Rights in Special Education, hosted by Newton SEPAC, features guest speaker Attorney Alicia Warren. Wednesday, January 21, 2026 @ 7 PM. Register Online

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 will share an new update once the auction closes but we are well on the way to reaching our fundraising goal for the year especially with one big fundraisers left: 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

NAA Basketball Clinic (Dec 29–Jan 2, Grades 4–9)

Join the NAA Basketball Clinic over winter break! Each day focuses on a core skill: ball-handling, shooting, finishing, footwork, defense, and game situations. Led by NAA alumni and current college athletes, the clinic provides high-quality instruction, positive mentorship, and a fun, supportive environment. Families may register for the full week or individual days. Scholarships available.

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 12.14.25