We're nearly there! Another school year is drawing to a close. Today we say farewell to our Kindergarteners with their last school day. Then next Monday, June 23, Grades 1-5 are doing it all again. 5th Grade Clap Out next Monday and will finish the Hardy experience in style for our 5th Graders. But before then, remember this Thursday is Juneteenth and Friday is the Ice Cream Social!  There's no school on the 19th but there is a fantastic Hardy PTO Garden Team Plant Sale!

As we celebrate and farewell our 5th Graders we also share our grateful thanks to many caregivers and families who have contributed so much over this year and others. This includes Lisa Cleary, who has led the superb management and delivery of Field Day year in and year out for 7 years and Marloes Rozing who has done everything from contributing to Safe Routes to School activities, to tidying Lost and Found, and contributed so much. Cat Suarez will be missed for her baking and bake sale skills. Lisa, Marloes, and Cat are but three 5th Grade caregivers of so many who have volunteered their time and made our Hardy community more inclusive and cohesive. Thank you to all 5th Graders and 5th Grade families who are moving on from Hardy - may you go well in your future endeavors!

We also share our grateful thanks to 'old' PTO board members and a hearty welcome to new board members. Thank you to Ashlin Bolton and Rachel Miller who have dedicated hours of time and energy to their respective roles as VP of Fundraising & Comms and Board Secretary. We literally couldn't have done it without them! Thank you for your time, dedication, care, memes and words!

And many congratulations to our new Board! Thank you to all who have taken on a role this coming year:

• President- Becky Gibree 
• Treasurer- Brian Gibree
• VP Fundraising- Lisa Morella
• VP Communications- Jen Toole
• VP Diversity and Inclusion- Abi V

There is still opportunity to join as Co-President/VP or Secretary and to contribute to activities and groups like our Buddy Families Program and Green Team.

 Why join?

• Build lasting relationships with other families and staff

• Help shape the events and programs that make Hardy special - examples are Trunk or Treat, Harvest Fest, STEAM Fest, Muli-cultural Fest, Field Trips, Workshops

• Support our students and teachers in tangible, meaningful ways - examples are Teacher Appreciation Week, Treat Train, School Supply delivery

Positions and committees can be reviewed here. If you're curious or ready to get involved, please reach out to our President Becky Gibree or reach out to any board members or committees (emails are here). 

As the school year is in its last days there are still opportunities to celebrate the community, contribute and volunteer. Joining the Board is one way. If you would like to help out with one-off requests that pop up from Hardy and the PTO - Become a Hardy Helper - learn more & sign up here!  Or perhaps that may be something for this September and you are looking forward to joining in the fun of Hardy PTO's End of Year Ice Cream Social, Friday June 20? 

Thank you for being part of what makes Hardy such a wonderful community! You have made it an awesome year. Thank you to everyone who has contributed, showed up, and celebrated our Hardy Community. May you have a wonderful and relaxing summer!  

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.

JUNE UPCOMING EVENTS:

- Mon., June 16: Kindergarten last day - It's a full day!  Bring bubbles and sidewalk chalk and celebrate the kiddos last time down the Kindergarten steps!

-Tues., June 17: Incoming Kindergarten screening

-Thur., June 19: No School - Juneteenth

Hardy PTO - Native Plant Sale @10am at Hardy

-Fri., June 20: Incoming Kindergarten screening

APS Elementary Instrumental Programs Sign Up Deadline

Hardy 5th Grade Moving Up Celebration

Hardy PTO End Of Year BYOB Picnic & Ice Cream Social @6.15pm

-Mon., June 23: Last day of school for Grades 1-5 - 11.30am early release!  5th grade clap out happens on the Chandler St playground - feel free to bring bubbles.

Safe Routes to School Family Travel Survey Closes

Reminder from Nurse Sarah:  Please pick up your student's medication on or before the last day of school!

Then we start all over again, Tuesday, September 2 

for the first day of the 25/26 school year!

Note: if you already have a regular shopping time at EATS, you may shop during the vacation lunch times as well while your kids are not in school.

If you have any questions, please contact Shalini Sreedhar at ssreedhar@arlingtoneats.org or by phone at (781) 330-6976.

Families can expect to be notified of their students' class/teacher assignments for the 2025-26 school year in mid to late August via USPS mail.

Once you receive your assignment you can update your child's information in the Hardy PTO Directory and start connecting with your future classmates.  Hardy's Facebook group is also a great place to connect with other families.

The Hardy PTO will be ordering many school supplies to help reduce back-to-school supply lists for families. Supplies will be delivered directly to teachers.  This is funded by YOUR direct donations each fall - so thank you!

Depending on the grade, some students may not receive any additional supply lists from teachers prior to school starting, as they have already been purchased. Some grades may still receive a shortened supply list.

Examples of items students may still need: headphones, pencil box, and notebooks.

Teachers will also be requesting the cleaning supplies they will need for their classrooms which may include tissues, paper towels, wipes (baby wipes, Wet Ones, Lysol, etc).  The PTO will also be running a collection for these items to supply the non-homeroom classrooms (e.g., music, art, special education, supported learning center, reading/math specialist spaces, etc.)

Families will still need to provide a backpack, lunch box if your student plans to bring lunch, snack, and a water bottle.

 MA Safe Routes to School Family Travel Survey - June 4-23

Arlington Public Schools is committed to supporting safe and efficient travel for all students. APS is partnering with Massachusetts Safe Routes to School to better understand how APS's 6,113 students travel to and from school each day. Please complete a brief, anonymous 2-minute Family Travel Survey. Your feedback will help improve transportation safety and planning across the district.The survey is available in multiple languages and is open from June 4-23.

Our Safe Routes to School Team are also looking for a new Coordinator to work alongside Ashley - if you would like to volunteer please let us know! It would be great to have someone from the Lake St neighborhood or from the 'other' side of Mass Ave bring your experience and expertise!

Jing-Huey is organizing parent led groups to support the music programs at APS.  If you are interested in participating, please email her at: jwei@arlington.k12.ma.us

Find out more and sign up at this link!

The monthly PTO meeting, held in person at the Hardy Library and over Zoom, is a great place to learn about Hardy events, curriculum, and issues, and to hear directly from our principal as well as our teacher representative(s). 

The PTO president provide an agenda which includes a budget update from the treasurer, updates from committee leaders, and new business (upcoming events, PTO-sponsored programs and spending). 

You can participate in the conversation or just listen in. All are welcome. All are encouraged to participate. All Hardy caregivers are officially voting members.  

If you have a question or topic you would like to discuss at the meeting (time permitting), please email president@hardypto.com in advance.

Minutes from past meetings can be found here.

All are welcome!

As part of this effort, Hardy's Green Team have been awarded Bee the Change Pollinator Seed Packets by the Commonwealth as part of MA Green Team Awards for Environmental Leadership in Schools. Our Garden Team are going to put these to good use!

Anyone interested in joining the Green Team or helping lead Green Team efforts, please email Emily Lapolice (greenteam@hardypto.com)

Most of the plants are from seeds that were winter-sown by Hardy students in January. Seeds were either purchased from Prairie Moon, harvested from Garden Team Leader Alham Sadat's garden, or kindly donated by Arlington gardeners. The remaining plants are from thinnings from the current Hardy garden.

 All proceeds will go to the Hardy PTO. Some of the plants we will be selling include Lupinus perennis, many native asters, Eutrochium purpureum (Sweet Joe Pye Weed), Geranium maculatum (wild geranium), Ceanothus americanus (New Jersey Tea), Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed), Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed), Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod), Baptisia australis (wild blue indigo), Liatris Aspera (Button Blazing Star), Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells), Corydalis Sempervirens (Pale Cordydalis), Rudbeckia Hirta (Black-eyed Susan), Aquilegia canadensis (Columbine), Antennaria plantaginifolia (Pussytoes), Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver's Root), and some mountain mints.

Weed removal - If you're at the sale and have your gardening gloves, try and remove some of the Swallowwort growing along the Chandler Street fence. The Green and Garden Teams will love you for it!

We are in good shape as we welcome a new PTO VP of Fundraising, Lisa Morella and thank Ashlin Bolton (former VP of Fundraising) and Julia Twarog (former Treasurer) for all their work over this last year. Thank you to you all and to all who contributed and supported Hardy PTO fundraising efforts over the 2024/25 year. And welcome Lisa!

If any caregivers, teachers, or staff have any outstanding expenses for the PTO to reimburse, please use this form to submit the expense information and receipt.

As we look to the last days of the school year, please remember Hardy faculty have put their classroom wishes and Amazon wish lists in this Google Sheet. The PTO is buying school and classroom supplies ready for the new school year.

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! 

Do you have any questions? Contact PTO Treasurer Brian Gibree at treasurer@hardypto.com.

The Co-President supports the PTO President in leading the Parent-Teacher Organization and ensuring that its goals are met. This role is vital in maintaining continuity, assisting with leadership duties, and stepping in when the President is unavailable. The Co-President also helps oversee committees, maintain communication among members, and contribute to a positive and collaborative school community. A parent of an incoming Gibbs student would be preferable.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the President in planning and running PTO meetings and events.

• Preside over meetings in the absence of the President.

• Help manage PTO communications, including emails, newsletters, and social media updates.

• Serve as a liaison between parents, teachers, school staff, and the PTO board.

• Assist in the coordination of volunteer efforts and event planning.

• Participate in budget planning and financial oversight with the Treasurer and President.

• Attend and contribute to PTO-sponsored events and school functions.

• Learn the President’s duties in preparation for possibly assuming the role in the future.

• Ensure smooth transition and continuity of leadership if needed.

Check out https://www.gibbsottosonpto.org/home to learn more.

Have a school-related or community announcement that would be of interest to the Hardy community? Please contact newsletter@hardypto.com.

52 Lake Street

Arlington, MA, 02474

Hardy PTO Website