As we keep preparing for Spring to actually arrive (maybe today?) there is so much coming up in these next weeks. Remember to mark your calendar for April Vacation. That starts this week, on Friday, April 18. There is no school until Monday, April 28. Today is the last day to register for Arlington Eats vacation food support and there are still spaces in some local camps, see the calendar below for more. And check out some of the Arlington250 activities and events (and road closures!) over the break. Before we break however, we're celebrating the awesome creativity of Hardy students, teachers and staff at Hardy Arts Night, this Wednesday, April 16 from 5.30pm-7.30pm. The following day is the first day (morning) for drop off of goods for our awesome Savers FUNDrive. When we return from April break, May gets going with Caregiver Coffee, Treat Train, Maxima Shopping Day and the 5th Grade hosted Glow Party open to all on Friday, May 2. That's before we get into Teacher Appreciation Week the following week from May 4-9. It's going to be busy! Then Saturday, May 10 is the 3rd Annual District-Wide Pride Celebration at Arlington High School. Amongst many activities and celebrations, we'll be celebrating APS Pride Logo Winner: Hardy 5th Grader Odile Clarke-Lauer and her beautiful logo. |
| APS Pride Logo Winner: Hardy 4th Grader Odile Clarke-Lauer Congratulations to Odile for her logo being chosen to be used as part of Arlington Public School's Pride celebration on May 10th! Click here to register for the event. Check out the logo on the PTO website and in Principal Saunders' latest update here alongside so much great info! |
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For any questions you may have, remember to please reach out to PTO president, Becky Gibree (president@hardypto.com) or our school admin Ms. Mary Bellerose (mbellerose@arlington.k12.ma.us). You will also find great resources on the Hardy PTO or Hardy School websites. |
- Tues., Apr. 22 - Hardy PTO Flatbread Fundraiser @ Saccos -Sat., Apr. 26: FunDrive dropoff @10am Children & Young Adult Book Sale @ Robbins Library from 9am-1pm - Mon., Apr. 28: FunDrive dropoff & collection @2.40pm
MAY UPCOMING EVENTS: - Fri., May 2: 3rd grade hosts Treat Train Caregiver Coffee (any grade/caregiver to host) 5th Grade Hosts: Glow Party @6.30pm in the Hardy Gym for all students (not drop off) PTO Fundraiser - Maxima Shopping Day - Mention Hardy at the checkout! - Sun., May 4: Jim Swan Memorial 5th Grade Trash Pick-a-Thon @ 2 pm - Mon., May 5:FunDrive dropoff & collection @2.40pm - Mon - Fri, May 5 - 9: Teacher Appreciation Week (donations of gifts, drinks, desserts, and volunteers needed throughout the week) - Fri., May 9: FunDrive dropoff & collection @8.10am - Sat., May 10:3rd Annual District-Wide Pride Celebration @11am FunDrive dropoff @10am - Mon., May 12: Nurses Day - Tues, May 13 : SEPAC Meeting @7.30pm - Wed., May. 14: May PTO Meeting @ 6.30pm |
Arlington EATS is offering free pre-packed bags of groceries to any family with kids in Arlington schools who could use extra food support over April break. Vacation lunch bags will be available to pick up on Thursday, April 17 and Friday, April 18 at Arlington EATS, 117 Broadway. Sign up here by April 14 or call 339-707-6757 ext. 6. |
Click the image above to volunteer! |
| Arlington SEPAC Casual Coffee Chat this Tuesday with Hardy SPED Coordinator Louisa Popkin! |
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Have a special education question or would like to make a connection? Casual coffee chats with Louisa started in December last year. The next planned chat is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 15 at 8AM at the Hardy Cafeteria, details are in the PTO calendar. SEPAC Survey Thank you to everyone who filled out the Annual SEPAC Survey! Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is a parent group that acts as a resource for parents and advises the district regarding meeting the needs of students with disabilities. SEPAC meetings are the second Tuesday of the month, alternating morning (9am) and evenings (7:30pm). Check their brochure and schedule of meetings. |
HELP RAISE FUNDS & HAVE FUN! |
| Water Bottle Fundraiser Lake St crossing guard Linda Carella is doing a fundraiser to benefit the Hardy PTO. For every $20 water bottle ordered, $5 will be donated to the PTO. Place your order here. Thank you for your support Linda! |
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VOLUNTEER AND SHOW APPRECIATION |
May Treat Train - 3rd Grade Join the Hardy PTO Treat Train to deliver some snacks 'n love to Hardy Staff during the first Friday every month! Each grade level is assigned a different month to host - March is 3rd Grade's turn. Please see dates and donation / volunteer requests in the sign up below. Let's show our staff how much we appreciate all that they do! Click here to volunteer to donate or deliver. |
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May's Caregiver Coffee - Any Grade Can Host! Each grade has hosted a caregiver coffee on the first Friday of the month this school year. When it's cold, it's held in the Hardy staff lounge, otherwise you'll find us on the Chandler St playground Responsibility includes picking up 2 boxes of coffee and bringing it to the Chandler St playground and ensuring any trash and leftovers are handled. Any Grade is able to host on Friday, May 2 and two volunteers are needed. Will it be you? Please sign up here. |
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Teacher Appreciation Week - May 5-9 Thank you to Jennifer Kupiec for planning and coordinating the upcoming Teacher Appreciation Week. The week will be a coordinated and fun way to appreciate Hardy teachers and staff. We're looking for donations including items for the teacher/staff raffle, gift cards (favorite item!), gifts, nice pens, post-its, wine, beer, coffee, fancy snacks/candy and treats for treat day - gluten free & with gluten. Sign up here to donate items or help! And if you are looking for thoughtful gifts don't forget PTO fundraiser Maxima Shopping Day on May 2! You can always check out Teacher preferences here! |
Look out for volunteer & other opportunities As the school year enters its last months look out for opportunities to celebrate the community, and to contribute and volunteer. There will be opportunities to volunteer and support at Field Day on June 6 - help make it a fun and inclusive day for all. Perhaps you have skills, time or energy you could contribute to the PTO - would you like to do some fundraising or support the Hardy Community in other ways as a member of the PTO board? Or are you just looking forward to joining in the fun of Hardy PTO's End of Year Ice Cream Social, Friday June 20th? Save the date and see more below! |
Kindergarten Registration Registration for the 2025-2026 School Year launched in February. Click here for more information and to register. If your child will be in kindergarten at Hardy in the 2024-2025 school year, consider joining the grade-specifc Facebook group to connect with other families and share useful information: Hardy Arlington Kindergarten 25-26 (Graduates 5th Grade 2031). Please share with any families you know with incoming kindergarteners! Kindergarten screening will be Tuesday, June 17, 2025 and Friday, June 20, 2025. Exact dates for each school will be shared by the principal later this spring. |
| Hardy Green Team Update Get Ready for FUNDrive starting this Thursday, April 17! Hardy is participating in a Savers FUNDrive this spring as a fundraiser for the PTO! We will be collecting gently used clothing, books, and household goods that Savers will buy from us. It’s an incredible way to keep usable items out of landfills, help families clean out their closets, AND raise money at the same time! 🙂 |
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Collection dates go through April and early May, please click here to see the full flyer. If anyone is interested in helping, please reach out to Emily Lapolice. Stay tuned for more details and email greenteam@hardypto.com if you have questions or would like to help! |
| Hardy Garden Team Update Looking forward to Spring Planting! The Garden Team are putting their grant of $500 worth of garden center supplies, a Vitamix, cooking hot plate, food utility cart, garden wagon, gloves and tools to good use with Spring cleaning and planting. Winter sown seeds have sprouted and are growing ready for Hardy garden plantings later this month! |
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Treasurer's Update: Hardy Auction Wow! Wow, the Hardy Caregiver's Night Out and Centennial Auctionon March 29 at Donut Villa was a huge success with approximately $19,000 raised. Thank you Hardy community! There are already new pieces of furniture in the library with more great materials on the way! Needing some time out of the house next week? Make the most of fundraising day at Sacco's BowlHaven and American Flatbread in Davis Square on April 22. Remember to book a lane if you are planning to bowl and eat that day - it's Spring Break! Then as we get back into the swing of school, you can always prep for Teacher Appreciation Week at Maxima Shopping and PTO fundraising day on May 2. Remember many companies will match tax-deductible contributions made by their employees and some will provide matching funds to support employee volunteer hours. Most of these programs match contributions dollar for dollar, and some will even double or triple the amount of your gift! Please consider corporate matching, learn more here. And thank you to all of you who support Hardy PTO and our community in this way! As we start looking to the last months of the school year remember Hardy faculty have put their classroom wishes and Amazon wish lists in this Google Sheet. Do you have any questions? Contact PTO Treasurer Brian Gibree at treasurer@hardypto.com. |
May PTO Meeting - Wednesday, May 14 You're invited to the May installment of our monthly PTO meeting. Join at 6:30pm in person in the Hardy Library or via Zoom. Find details on the PTO Calendar. All are welcome! Curious what happens at a PTO meeting? Please read this month's meeting notes here. And consider taking a role on the PTO board! |
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UPCOMING SCHOOL & DISTRICT EVENTS |
COMMUNITY NEWS & ACTIVITIES |
| Remember Arlington 250 Events! Arlington250 is a multi-year commemoration, recognition and celebration of the Town’s history from its colonial beginnings as the village of Menotomy to the present day. Check out re-enactments and heaps of activities over this next week. |
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ACE Offering - Hardy Improv Spring Class |
| Donate to Hardy PTO We appreciate donations to our PTO at any time. Every amount helps! Your donations directly fund the many PTO programs that support and enrich our Hardy School community, and are tax-deductible. Donate here! |
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| Visit the Hardy PTO Website Visit the Hardy PTO website to sign up for PTO emails, access the student directory, check the calendar, learn more about our programs and events, and find out how you can get involved. |
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| Get the Membership Toolkit App Download the Membership Toolkit app for streamlined access to the Hardy Student Directory and other PTO info on your mobile device. Visit the App Store, Google Play, or search for "Membership Toolkit" wherever you download apps! |
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Have a school-related or community announcement that would be of interest to the Hardy community? Please contact newsletter@hardypto.com. |
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