PTO Meeting Minutes

hardy pto agenda minuteS

December 10, 2025

For Your InformatioN

Open PTO Positions & Committee Leads

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DIG) - need another committee chair
Safe Routes to School - need another committee chair

Multicultural Fest planning

Survey requesting participation has been shared by Principal Saunders via email:
Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/u/3/d/1TbY15ygutQb5zGOC-2Hi75HEJ0vgl67jLZyJZ7pFHZA/edit

THANK YOU!

Thank you to those that donated to the Essentials Drive, the Rainbow Alliance Arlington EATs food drive, and the 3rd grade grade Treat Train

Caregiver Coffee will pause for the December and January due to the holidays

MEETING MINUTES

Hardy Helpers
- Looking for ideas for how to assist Hardy as caregivers and volunteers
- Need assistance with school grounds improvement
Request for space at Hardy for Drama Club
- Principal Saunders working to assist with utilization of space during school hours
- Evening play performances would require the procurement of a permit
Principal’s Report - Gretchen Saunders

- Teacher Gift Policy
  - $50 or less from an individual family once per year
  - One class gift per year for up to $150 or less; class gift cannot be given multiple times a year
  - Classroom donations don’t count as a teacher gift if it’s exclusively for students use
- School Quality Plans presented on 4 Dec 2025 and praised for their collaborative nature
  - Plans focus on math goals, academic discourse, and belonging for students and families
- A culture calendar will be displayed on the two bulletin board near entrance of school beginning in January 2026
  - Currently working on a format and taking suggestions from families on what should be included on the display
Teacher Representative Reports - Emily Vecchione & Laura Ribiero
- Kindergarten
  - studying weather and finalizing a meteorologist visit for end of January
  - Finished unit on lowercase letters and blending sounds together for words
  - End of module celebration to be announced after Christmas break
- 1st Grade
  - working on counting large quantities of items
- 2nd Grade
  - learning about paleontologists and fossils
- 3rd Grade
  - reading poems about frogs and choices poets made in writing patterns
  - students are writing their own porquoi tales about frogs
- 4th Grade
  - celebrated reaching their Safe, Kind, and Responsible tickets goals
  - researching defense mechanisms of specific kinds of animals
- 5th Grade
  - class earned Safe, Kind, and Responsible tickets and utilized them to engage in relaxing activities in the classroom
  - Going to Boda Borg on 16 Dec 2025
  - Presented monologues from the perspective of a character from Esperanza Spalding
  - Students have been participating in social, emotional learning lessons through the Second Step Program
    - First unit was about goal setting
    - Second unit was about dealing with hard emotions

Committee Updates
- Treasurer - Brian Gibree
- Fundraising - Lisa Morella
  - Closed out the Direct Donation Drive
  - Auction scheduled for 28 February 2026 from 7 - 10pm at Donut Villa
    - Save-the-date to be created
    - Call for items and services to go out to parents and caregivers
  - Good turnout for Shopping Day at Maxima which happened on 10 December 2025
  - Goldfish Swim School event scheduled for 24 January 2026
    - Sign up begins 1 January 2026
  - Committee reached out to Yes, Plastic free for collaboration
  - Committee reached out to local hair salon that agreed to do a product day where a percentage of sales would go to the PTO
  - Suggestion was made to utilize 67th day of school to ask for donations of $6-$7
- Enrichment
  - Chris Poulos scheduled for 6 March 2026
  - Teachers have begun planning spring field trips
- Safe Route to School
  - Families are encouraged to submit drawings for Yard sign contest which starts in January
    - There is a form to submit and parents/caregivers must sign to give permission for Safe Routes to use image that students have drawn
  - Pedestrian safety lesson plans available for 2nd grade teachers to coordinate with in-class lessons
- DIG/Green Team
  - Sponsoring a coat drive to send winter gear for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
  - Committee is connecting with Green Teams across APS and sharing available resources
  - Committee welcomes donations to DIG library and little library in front of school
- Events to Plan
  - Teacher Appreciation
    - Lunch for teachers planned for January 2026 and breakfast for teachers planned in March 2026
    - Something is being planned every other month to give teachers and staff something to look forward to
  - March Treats - Jennifer Kupiec working on Dunkin Donuts donation
    - Potentially hosting a parent cookie contest, but keeping in mind the time of year, so brainstorming other ideas for treats
  - Literacy Night - one evening during March 16-20, 2026
  - 5th Grade Skate Night - date TBD, but tentatively planning for March 2026
  - Book Fair - week of March 16-20
  - Hour of Code - date is dependent on MCAS schedule