Dear Underwood Families,
Welcome to February. We would like to begin this letter by reiterating Dr. Talukdar’s comments about the distressing news lately including the release of the video of Tyre Nichol’s killing and the mass shooting in Monterey Park on the eve of the Lunar New Year. The Underwood PTO supports the mission of building a community of respect and empathy at our school based on awareness, understanding, and celebration of our individual differences and similarities. Dr. Talukdar will be presenting at our virtual event on February 16, 2023 at 7pm: Community Conversations at Underwood: Let’s Talk About Race (Advantages & Disadvantages). We encourage you to attend and bring your questions.
Since our last letter to you in early December, the Underwood PTO has been working toward our goal of building community and supporting one another. Returning to December, we are thrilled to announce that we had a record year for our virtual gingerbread house event with fifty-seven entries! Our esteemed judges (Lacey Grimm and Dr. Talukdar) were so overwhelmed with all of the students’ wonderful entries that we increased the prizes from three to nine! Thank you so much to everyone who participated. It is truly heartwarming to us to see so many families coming together to enjoy one of our community building events.
Also in December, the Underwood PTO provided 20 gift cards of $100 each to support families in our school community during the holiday season. We were able to provide this direct support to families thanks to your participation in our membership and giving day drives. Thank you.
Turning to the spring, we are looking forward to a busy agenda– beginning this weekend with our inaugural UnProm at the Elks on Friday evening! If you have not RSVP’d to UnProm, it is not too late: https://bit.ly/unprom2023! We will have music, drinks, dancing, and a fabulous silent auction. All Underwood parents and guardians as well as Underwood Staff are invited. We hope you will join us. Please feel free to email underwoodpto@gmail.com with any questions.
Following UnProm, on Sunday afternoon we will be hosting a family event, Underwood Goes to Boston, aimed at strengthening community ties between families living in Newton and Boston. We hope you will join us for ice skating followed by Valentine’s Day craft making. See additional detail and RSVP here: https://forms.gle/BmaB6yFB6MqVfqwA9
Finally, please consider attending the NPS budget forum on Wednesday, February 8th, at 7:00 pm in the Newton North Auditorium (457 Walnut St.) (also live streamed on NewTV). This presentation will include information on the proposed operational override and its impact on the FY24 budget.
For more information about the purpose of the override and its impact should it pass or fail after the Special Election on March 14th, you can follow this link: Override | City of Newton, MA (newtonma.gov).
Best wishes,
Margaret Silva and Maggie Elitt
PTO Co-Presidents
underwoodpto@gmail.com