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Hardy Happenings
June 2018
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"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
- A.A. Milne
Please email PTONewsletter@hardyschool.com if you have any questions about our monthly e-newsletter, and add us to your address book to avoid spam filters. |
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Hardy Family Picnic
 What: Hardy Family Picnic
When: Thursday, June 14, 6-8 pm
Where: Thompson Elementary School (188 Everett Street)
Please join us for our traditional end-of-year celebration! The Hardy Family Picnic will take place on June 14 from 6-8 pm, thanks to our generous neighbors and hosts, Thompson Elementary School Principal Karen Donato and the Thompson PTO. Bring along a picnic dinner and a blanket. Food will not be served at this event.
Come on out and dunk our 5th graders! Win a cake at the Cake Walk! Party with our awesome school community! Admission is free, thanks to the generosity of Hardy parents. Any donations collected will go toward expenses, and any profit will return to our school for PTO programs.
Tickets for the Dunk Tank and Cake Walk will be available for purchase for $1 each, or 6 tickets for $5. The Dunk Tank will cost 3 tickets; the Cake Walk will cost 2.
The rain date for this event is Friday, June 15.
We Need Your Help! Sign Up to Volunteer
There is plenty of street parking at Thompson School.
We hope to see you there!
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Congratulations 5th Graders!
 On behalf of Hardy PTO and the entire Hardy community, big congrats to the 5th grade graduating class of 2018! The class will be celebrating with memory books, t-shirts, a special Duck Tour field trip, and of course the Moving On ceremony that will be held on Tuesday, June 19 at 8:45 am. PTO funds helped support many of these end-of-year traditions, we are proud to celebrate our extraordinary 5th grade class, and wish them all the best in 6th grade!
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5th Grade Parents: Join Gibbs PTO!
Attention 5th grade parents!
GO-PTO, the parent-school partnership for the Gibbs and Ottoson Middle Schools, seeks new Board members to serve in the 2018/19 school year. Parents of rising 6th graders are especially needed; no previous PTO experience is necessary. The Board generally meets once a month, and related duties can take up a few hours a month; there are also other volunteer opportunities for non-Board members.
This is a great way to get to know the principals and teachers and stay involved in your child’s education. Anyone who is interested should contact GO-PTO via e-mail at dearGO.PTO@gmail.com.
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PTO Elections: The Results Are In!
 The Hardy PTO elections took place during the June 5 PTO meeting, with election co-chairs Melissa Jacobs, Laura Swan, and Daniel Jalkut establishing and following a thoughtful plan that will support our PTO in future, perhaps more contested years!
We are delighted to announce that the positions have all been filled, with unanimous voting for these excellent people to re-up the roles they held this year:
- President Terry Holt
- Co-Treasurers Kate Leary and Andrew Malone
- Secretary Roslyn Fitzgerald
- VP of Fundraising Patsy O'Brien
- VP of Committees Stewart Ikeda
Congratulations--and thank you--to our officers!
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 Mark Your Calendars
Thursday, June 14 - HARDY FAMILY PICNIC - 6-8 pm at Thompson School (188 Everett St.)
Friday, June 15 - FAMILY PICNIC RAIN DATE
Friday, June 15 - LAST CHANCE FOR LOST & FOUND PICKUP!
Sunday, June 16 - FATHER'S DAY
Monday, June 25 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! (11:30 am dismissal; no lunch served)
Thursday, July 12 from 6-8 pm - Summer PTO "IDEAS-FEST" MEETING in the Fox Library Community Room (175 Mass. Ave.). The minutes from the previous meeting can be found here.
Monday, September 3 - LABOR DAY
Tuesday, September 4 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
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Last Chance for Lost & Found!
 Be sure to stop by the Hardy cafeteria to peruse the Lost & Found for any items that belong to your family. All items must be claimed by Friday, June 15, or they will be donated. I'll let our resident poet Ann Chhabra explain:
Hats, gloves, and coats oh my!
Come and claim yours before they go bye-bye!
The Lost & Found is overflowing with kid stuff,
These items have been sitting there long enough!
The cafeteria is where all lost items have been placed,
So please claim them now before the memory of them is erased.
Friday, June 15 is the last day before they are gone,
The items can't stay there forever and must move along.
You may not even realized what items have disappeared,
So you should all take a peek before all things are cleared.
The plan is to donate the leftover goodies,
So come quickly to find your socks, boots, and hoodies!!!
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Got An Incoming Kindergartener?
Let's Play!
 Spread the word far and wide--the Hardy Class of 2024 will be joining our ranks in the fall! Arlington Family Connections is organizing a series of meet-ups and play dates over the summer for kids and parents alike to meet, visit, and navigate the road to the start of school. Here's the schedule:
Sunday, June 10 at 5 pm (Magnolia Park)
Friday, July 6 at 5 pm (Waldo Park)
Wednesday, July 25 at 2 pm (Spy Pond)
Saturday, August 4 10 am to 12 pm (Spy Pond)
Sunday, August 19 at 10 am (Magnolia Park)
Monday, September 3 at 4 pm (Magnolia Park--this will be a potluck dinner, so please bring food, with ingredients labeled, or drink to share!)
All play dates are subject to change due to weather. To stay in the loop, please join the private Facebook group: Hardy Kindergarten 2018-2019.
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Hardy Construction Update
The classroom addition project is progressing as scheduled. With the loudest construction work behind us (at least before school lets out), and with MCAS complete, the final few weeks should go smoothly.
If all goes according to plan, the Lake Street playground site will be prepared in July and the equipment will be installed in August. We hope to be able to post an image of our new play structure once the order is finalized. We look forward to kicking off the year with a new playground!
Please see the FAQs page from our friends at Hardy School Council for updates on the project. If you have questions, please feel free to send them to schoolcouncil@hardyschool.com and we will do our best to answer them, or get the answers to them.
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Arlington Community News
 What: Book Sale at Maxima to Benefit Hardy!
When: Saturday and Sunday, June 9 and 10
Where: Maxima Gift Center, 212 Mass Ave.
Why: To benefit Hardy library! Discounted books will be on sale on the sidewalk and inside the shop, and $1 per book will be donated to Hardy's library through a generous arrangement the owners have made with PTO.
What: Arlington Spy Ponders Pop Warner Football & Cheering
Who: Aspiring athletes, boys and girls ages 5-10 (football) and girls ages 5-15 (cheering)
When: Practices begin in August and weekend games continue through the fall. Register by August 1 (late registration with additional fee available until August 15)
Where: Practices at Arlington fields and games in surrounding MA towns.
Why: Pop Warner is the only youth sports program that has an academic requirement for school-aged participants to achieve while they develop skills, learn good habits, and build community. This safety-forward football program offers teams grouped by age and weight for healthy competitive play.
How: Register online at http://www.APWPonders.com, or email apwcheer@gmail.com for information.
What: Rising Star Junior Quilters
When: Second Saturday of every month from 1:30-3:30 pm
How Much: $5 for an ENTIRE YEAR of participation!
Where: Cambridge Quilt Shop, 95 Blanchard Rd. Cambridge
RSVP: Email junior_quilters@risingstarquilters.org to let the group know you're coming, and to arrange to bring a snack to share.
From the organizers: "We've held our own quilt shows, made art quilts, used a quilting computer program, had raffles, and played games. We use sewing machines and sew by hand, but no prior sewing experience is needed--we can teach you!" For more information, visit http://www.risingstarquilters.org/members.html#JQ
To submit an item for Arlington Community News, please email Holly Rossi (PTONewsletter@hardyschool.com) and Terry Holt (hardypto@hardyschool.com)
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Diversity & Inclusion Group
Following the lead of Brackett and several other Arlington elementary schools, Hardy parents are forming a Hardy Diversity & Inclusion Group (DIG)! The group will begin in the 2018-19 school year.
The purpose of the elementary school DIGs to create systemic awareness and change so Diversity & Inclusion is considered across all school activities. The DIGs will work together to help parents be informed and engaged with the district’s progress on cultural competency in learning and teaching.
Interested in summer updates? Click here to sign up! Or, email HardyDIG@gmail.com.
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Get Excited for the Green Team!
 In September, the Hardy Green Team will be redoubling our efforts to be excellent stewards of our planet! This year, Arlington Public Schools earned National Green Ribbon recognition, and we are excited and inspired to advance our efforts in the areas of composting, recycling, awareness, and of course continuing our current programs like the Textile Drive and the beautiful Hardy garden.
If you'd like to be included in future mailings about Green Team meetings and projects, please email Ann Chhabra at annmastro@gmail.com to be added to our Google group.
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Snacks and Dinners for Arlington Families
Hardy is proud to partner with Arlington EATS to ensure everyone in our community has tasty, nutritious food all year long .
- HEALTHY SNACKS: We provide a continuous supply of healthy snacks available to our students. These snacks can be found in the nurse's office and your student can simply go to her office and get a snack. If you are interested in helping provide snacks or making a financial contribution to be used towards snack purchases or if you have any questions, please contact Ann Chhabra (annmastro@gmail.com) or Rebecca Saff (saff.rebecca@gmail.com)
- COMMUNITY DINNERS: Arlington EATS is excited to offer once-a-month community meals for any Arlington family that could benefit from this program. The dinners will be the second Thursday of every month and held in the Thompson Elementary School Cafeteria (187 Everett Street). We hope you will join us for a delicious meal, salad, dessert and coffee. Our pop-up pantry will be open at the dinner from 6:30-7pm and will have food for families to take home such as chicken/tofu, milk, eggs, fresh produce, and pantry items. Dinners usually take place every second Thursday of the month at 6 pm at Thompson Elementary School. The dinner will not be held this month. Instead, a robust Pop-Up Pantry will be held on Thursday, June 21 from 6-7 pm at Thompson. Visit http://www.arlington-eats.org for details.
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Focus on: Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC)
Arlington Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) is a parent group that acts as a resource for parents and advises the district regarding meeting the needs of students with special needs. We provide support and networking opportunities for parents and guardians of children with special educational needs, and offer workshops and guest speakers to help parents become better informed about special education issues. We meet regularly with school officials to participate in the planning, development and evaluation of special education programs in town. Mark your calendars with these meeting dates and discussion topics!
 Morning Meetings, 8:35am- 9:30am Jefferson Cutter House
June 12th , with special guest Sara Burd, Arlington's Director of Guidance and Social Emotional Learning.
If you have any questions, please email Michele Phelan at michele.j.phelan@gmail.com |
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Principal's Message
Hello Hardy Families,
It seems very strange to be addressing you for the last time in the PTO newsletter. The end of a school year is filled with lots of different emotions and this one in particular comes with even more. As I finish my fifth year here as a principal and my 10th year all together, I know that the reason I am able to take this next step in the district is because of the time I have spent here at Hardy. The community of parents and teachers have always been excited about the new initiatives here at Hardy. The attention we have paid to social emotional learning and wellness have allowed students to enjoy happy days at school full of feeling significant, being seen and having fun. To say I am proud of this school and all who learn and teach here is an understatement. Please know that my work at Gibbs will be because of and a continuation of the work I have done here. To be able to make school for our children developmentally appropriate, safe and supportive is the best kind of work. Being able to step into a role that will grow this work for the district is truly an honor. Even though I will just be down the street, I will miss you....very much. I look forward to meeting again at Gibbs. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting my work here and for sharing your children with me. That is the best gift. Until then, I will see you Out and About on the streets of Arlington.
Kristin
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PTO Spotlight On:
Holly Rossi
 One of the most exciting features of the monthly electronic newsletter we launched this year was the "PTO Spotlight," in which we got to meet a member of the Hardy parent community who has made a difference to our school, from PTO officers to event coordinators to committee leaders to parents who are simply inspiring human beings.
For the final edition of the year, your trusty newsletter coordinator Holly Rossi interviewed herself (myself?). Originally from Maryland, Holly is one of the many who came to Boston for grad school and stayed. A freelance writer and editor, Holly writes about health, wellness, and religion for a number of print and online publications. She and her husband Rob have lived in East Arlington since 2000, and their son Ben is a Hardy first-grader (yikes, rising second-grader now!).
What have you learned in the first year of writing the Hardy Happenings newsletter?
One thing I learned was that even in this electronic age, people love having a paper calendar to put on the fridge! I am proud of the two-pronged strategy we put in place this year, publishing both an electronic newsletter and a backpack mail notice and calendar. When it comes to effectively spreading the word about school events, a watchword is "more is more." The big picture of communications at Hardy--the website, Facebook pages, room parent emails, principal messages, newsletter, and more--reach families in a number of different ways, which is crucial to our success. The good news for families that might still occasionally say, "wait, what's happening when and where?" is that these platforms are evolving. Anyone who has feedback or ideas should always feel free to email me at PTONewsletter@hardyschool.com.
What is your favorite Hardy PTO event?
I'm highly partial to the November Book Fair, which was my very first PTO leadership experience when I was a kindergarten mom last year. All those racks of crisp, new books! They make a writer's heart sing. And knowing that the money raised is going straight back into new books for the library is a great feeling. I so admire how targeted and mindful the fundraising process is at Hardy.
I do have to say, though, that the most fun I had at any single PTO event this year wasn't in a leadership or big, time-consuming role. At the Walk-a-Thon, I stood in the rain with a garbage bag filled with melon rinds and water cups, high-fiving kids, cheering them on, and just having a blast. That chilly, wet day, I felt like "hardy" really was an accurate description of our school spirit!
Other than coordinating newsletters, writing books and articles, and standing in the rain, what do you like to do?
I love to eat, and I enable this passion by growing vegetables in my back yard--lettuce, snap peas, green beans, yellow and green zucchini, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and herbs are all in the works right now. I also live by the motto, "everything in moderation" by indulging my love of baking. In the past month, I've made a blueberry pie, a banana cream pie, tahini brownies, and a milk chocolate cheesecake. Hm, brainstorm: recipe of the month in next year's newsletter? I'll think about that one over the summer....
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We Appreciate Our Volunteers!
 As always, our volunteers brought energy, creativity, and muscle to this month's PTO events. Special thanks to:
Patti Zambardino, Heather Carey, Cedrine Bell, Lisa Grogan-McCulloch, and Terry Holt, and everyone else who worked so hard to help the Hardy Family Picnic come together and give our 5th graders their proper dunking!
Manisha Sharma, Ann Chhabra, Doris Pfaffinger, Addie Dublin, and Annie Clarke-Lauer, for representing Hardy Green Team and being recognized at the townwide Green Team celebration dinner.
Patsy O'Brien, Lisa Cleary, Doris Pfaffinger, Victoria Arthur, Michael Leen, and Linda Flynn, for planning an amazing Field Day!
Melissa Jacobs, Daniel Jalkut, and Laura Swan, for leading the PTO elections process with such thoughtful, forward-looking attention.
Ann Chhabra, for her year-long efforts to keep room parents informed and excited about everything going on at Hardy.
Bonnie Walsh, for running our Spirit-Wear effort single-handedly, all year long!
Anne Coleman, for managing our Box Tops collection this year and bringing hundreds of dollars to Hardy School!
Joe Marshall, for his generous loans of cool equipment that have made Hardy events more fun this year!
John Ellis, for helping to plan and coordinate the tree-planting project at Spy Pond Park in collaboration with the town departments and other local volunteers
For the successful 4th grade science and service learning trip to Spy Pond Park made possible thanks to the combined efforts of many generous volunteers, coordinated by Cedrine Bell and Stewart Ikeda, including Charlotte Bell; Karen Grossman, Lally Stowell, Bill Eykamp and Betsy Leondar-Wright of Friends of Spy Pond Park; Arlington Rec's Jon Marshall; Arlington Tree Committee's John Ellis; DPW's Charlotte Milan; APS Sustainability Coordinator Rachel Oliveri, and Annie Sedoc; Nurse Cara Dalton; our 4th grade teachers, classroom parents, and parent volunteers Chrissa Banner, Daniel Jalkut, Tasha Oren, Terry Holt, Eva Bitteker, Meghan Gocke, Katie Tremblay, Carlos Solorzano, Kate Leary and others.
Pete Gast, Manisha Sharma, and ALL of our 5th grade parents who are moving on. We appreciate all your efforts, and thank you for your contributions to the Hardy community!
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Get to Know Your PTO
Click here for the full list of PTO committee members and volunteer leaders.
Click here to review the minutes of past PTO meetings.
Reach out to us at hardypto@hardyschool.com to get involved, or join us at our summer meeting, Thursday, July 12 from 6- 8 pm in the Fox Library Community Room (175 Mass. Ave.)
Officers
• President Terry Holt (hardypto@hardyschool.com)
• VP of Committees Stewart Ikeda
• VP of Fundraising Patsy O’Brien
• Treasurers Kate Leary and Andrew Malone
• Secretary Roslyn Fitzgerald
• Newsletter Coordinator Holly Rossi (PTONewsletter@hardyschool.com)
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Don't Pitch Out...Pitch In!
 Box Tops = Money for Hardy School: Did you know that through Box Tops for Education, Hardy School will receive 10 cents for every box top families donate in the collection boxes at the front entrance?- Crayola ColorCycle Program: Bring your used markers to the Hardy office at any time to participate in our Crayola ColorCycle program, which recycles used markers and turns them into energy! The markers do not need to be Crayola brand.
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