The Hoot

Family Trivia 1/19/23

Family Trivia is back!!  Join us Friday, January 19th from 6:45-8:30pm for the Underwood Community Family Trivia Night! Our second annual Underwood Family Trivia Night will be hosted by the famous Gillette Stadium Announcer Mike Riley of Titan Trivia! Trivia challenges will be child and family friendly questions and visuals appropriate for the K-5 crowd. Participation of all ages will be encouraged.  Please register your family below with a recommended donation of $20/per family: https://bit.ly/uwd-trivia-11924 How it works: 1) RSVP ASAP: Due to the nature of team trivia we need to limit the number of teams that can participate 2) Doors open at 6:45: Registered families arrive and grab a table to form a team with other participants (max 12 people/team). The PTO will help facilitate forming teams as needed.  3) 7-8:30pm Team trivia will run for 90 minutes with a READ MORE

GINGERBREAD DECORATING WINNERS

Thank you to EVERYONE who participated in our 4th annual Gingerbread Decorating party! Special thanks to our festive host, Lisa Wong!  There were 34 entires this year, and Dr. Talukdar and Ms. Rickelle had  Category:  Most Colorful  WINNER!! :  Olivia and Charlotte Jaroszewski Honorable mention:  Kassad Peters Category:  Funniest  WINNER!!:  Bronwyn Jackel Honorable mention:  Kobe Wong Category:  Most School Spirit WINNER!!:  Jake and Emmy-Sophia Miloslavsky Honorable mention:  Laurel Souza Category:  Most Creative Most Creative was perhaps one of the more challenging categories as there were so many to choose from!  WINNER!!:  Henry Padgett Honorable mentions:  Myra Bajwa, Lily Moore, and Logan Silverthorne View ALL the houses here:

Spirit Week – 12/18-12/22

Next week, December 18-22 is SPIRIT WEEK at Underwood! Students can take part in one or all days! Also, please note that student participation is optional. 💚💚💚 Monday, 12/18: 🌈Rainbow Day🌈 K- Red, 1-Orange, 2-Yellow, 3-Green, 4-Blue, 5 PurpleTuesday, 12/19: ⚽ 🏈Sports Day🏀⚾ – Wear your favorite sports team jersey or sports colorsWednesday, 12/20: 🎩🎀Hat/Hair Accessory Day👒🧢- Wear your Favorite Hat or Hair AccessoryThursday 12/21: 💚💚Underwood Day💚💚 – Wear Green to Show Your School SpiritFriday, 12/22: 😴Pajama Day💤 – Wear your comfortable pajamas  

Annual Membership Dues Appeal

Dear Underwood Families,   We hope you have enjoyed the start to this school year and were able to attend our annual Back-to-School Picnic!  The mission of the Underwood PTO is to support the provision of optimal growth opportunities for our students and to encourage communication, collaboration, and community among parents, staff, and neighbors. We accomplish these important goals through, among other things:  direct support to teachers and staff; Creative Arts and Sciences programming for students; budgeting for technology updates; community events such as the Back-to-School Picnic and Carnival; and support for other programs, such as Understanding our Differences, which support our goals. In 2023-24, the PTO is planning to provide nearly $50,000 in estimated support. Our budgeted breakdown of expenses this year for some of our key programs is:  We cannot support these initiatives without your help. Historically, our membership dues have READ MORE

Kindergarten 2024-2025 Registration Information

Note from the NPS – Ayesha Farag, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education for Incoming Kindergarten Families Welcome to the Kindergarten Class of 2024! In order to register for kindergarten in September 2024,your child must turn five years old prior to September 1, 2024. This means that your child must be fiveyears old on or before August 31, 2024. To assist us with planning for the coming year, we ask that you complete a short online survey which canbe found here to let us know your plans for your child’s school registration. Providing this informationnow helps us to plan for staffing and support in your child’s potential school for the upcoming schoolyear. Even if you will not be registering your child to attend kindergarten in the Newton Public Schoolsor are unsure, information about your plans is incredibly helpful for our planning READ MORE

District-Wide Standout for Newton Educators

Parents Stand-Out in Support of Our Teachers, Friday 11/3, after Drop-Off What: Parents/Guardians Stand-Out in Support of Our Teachers – Adults & Kids Wear BlueWhen: Friday, November 3rd, right after Drop-Off, will take 10 min.Where: Outside UnderwoodSpecial Instructions: Adults and kids wear blue on Friday! Bring a sign with a message of support to our teachers! Fill out a Postcard here to be delivered to Mayor Fuller! Contact underwoodpto@gmail.com with questions or if you need a postcard!

Underwood School Spirit Store

It’s here! The all new Underwood School Spirit Store! This all new print on demand store allows you to order the school spirit clothes and accessories you want, in the perfect sizes. Unlike a traditional school store we can offer a variety of styles, images, colors, and items – without have to hold onto inventory that might go unsold. You can check out the new school Store here and save 10% on any order placed in November with code welcome!

New England Camp Fair 2023

Did you know summer camps in New England start accepting registrations in October? Don’t miss out on the best camp opportunities for your kids! New England Camp Fair 2024 will take place on November 4, 2023 from 11am-2pm at the Underwood School in Newton, MA (101 Vernon St, Newton, MA 02458).  Join us for this annual event, featuring 35+ day and overnight camps, including traditional sleep-away options and sports-, arts-, and special interest-focused camps! There are also over $20,000 in prizes in the camp fair raffle! Follow us on facebook to learn when new camps are added! CAMP FAIR FAQs If you have done a Google search, you know there is a dizzying array of camps serving kids ages 5–14 in the greater New England area. In addition to traditional day and overnight camps, today you can find themed camps READ MORE

Crocodile River Music

COMING SOON! November 2 – CAS Performance Series Presents Crocodile River Music Underwood’s Creative Arts & Sciences (CAS) committee is excited to welcome Crocodile River Music on November 2 for two performances of Dakar-Bamako Express.  We are pleased to share that this year’s Performance Series is open to parents and caregivers. Performances will be at 8:30am for grades K-2 and at 9:30am for grades 3-5 in the Underwood Gymnasium. Please fill out the following Google form if you wish to attend so that we know how many seats to set. Sign Up Here CAS programming is made possible through PTO funding and coordination among all of the volunteer CAS grade reps – Hai Ly Burk (5th), Melanie Chan (4th), Lana Bilzerian (3rd), Bung Wang (2nd), Brooke Hegarty (1st), Alex Slater (Kindergarten), Caryn Izhar and Lisa Wong (Co-CAS Chairs). Dakar-Bamako Express, named after the railway that connected READ MORE

Call for Candidates!  Underwood School Council

Are you interested in joining the Underwood School Council?  The School Council is a great way to get involved with important decisions that affect our children. Mandated by state law, the Council serves as an advisory board to the principal. Members include the principal, 2 faculty/staff and 2 parent/guardian representatives, and a community member. School Council provides a forum to discuss and advise the principal on issues that arise throughout the year, including programmatic matters; the school improvement plan; safety and building maintenance issues; and other relevant topics. During the 2023-24 school year, we will meet 5-6 times through June. The Underwood School Council is a separate entity from the PTO. School Council focuses on programmatic, operational, and budgetary issues, while the PTO provides social and community support and curriculum enhancement activities.Parents/guardians are elected for 2- or 3-year terms to School Council. In NPS, we recommend staggered READ MORE