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Dear Countryside Families,
We hope you all had a wonderful summer. On behalf of the Countryside PTO, we are thrilled to welcome you to the 2025–2026 school year!
We would like to express our gratitude to Maria Kechri and Adam Lipson for their dedication and hard work as co-presidents this past year and introduce ourselves as this year’s co-presidents. Tera Hickle (mother of Beau, a 4th grader) is continuing for one more year, joined by Melissa Hagerstrom (mother of Hazel and Bodhi, 3rd grader and 1st grader, respectively) and Steve Lee (father of Brayden, a 4th grader).
We firmly believe that effective communication is the cornerstone of a successful PTO. We are all here for the same reason: our children! Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or ideas you would like to discuss.
Our aim is to cultivate a vibrant and engaged community. We look forward to connecting with each of you through regular bi-weekly updates and occasional email blasts regarding upcoming events, opportunities to get involved, and all the wonderful things happening at our school.
The PTO will be planning many exciting events and community building activities this year. We are here to support and enhance the educational experience at Countryside, helping our children and their teachers continue to attain excellence in education. As parents/guardians you are all automatically Countryside PTO members and your involvement is highly welcomed and appreciated!
There are many ways to be an active PTO member: attending monthly meetings (in-person or virtually), volunteering at events, and/or simply coming to any of the social gatherings we have planned. We hope you will help strengthen our Countryside community and get involved in the PTO! We will be sharing a list of events soon where we are looking for event co-chairs/volunteers as we kick off the year—stay tuned!
Looking ahead, please join us and our principal for the upcoming events:
Tuesday, September 2: Welcome Back Parent Coffee at 8:20 a.m. after drop off in the Upper Cafeteria.
Wednesday, September 10: This year’s first PTO meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Library.
Monday, September 15: Countryside Welcome Back Picnic (Rain Date 9/18).
Thursday, September 25: Back to School Night.
We can’t wait to meet new faces and reconnect with familiar ones at our upcoming PTO events! Your involvement and enthusiasm make our school community special and we are eager to collaborate and create memorable experiences together.
Warmly,
Melissa, Steve, and Tera
PTO Co-Presidents
copresident@countrysidepto.org
Coming Up
Coming Up
Tuesday, September 2
First day for students, 8:10 a.m.
Welcome Back Coffee for Parents and Caregivers, 8:20 a.m., in Upper Cafeteria
Wednesday, September 10
PTO Meeting, 7:00 p.m., in Library
Monday, September 15
Welcome Back Picnic (Rain date: September 18)
Tuesday, September 23
No School, Rosh Hashanah
Thursday, September 25
Early Release Day, Dismissal at 12:10 p.m.
Back to School Night
Updates
Updates
STUDENT DIRECTORY - MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT
Please update or create your account information and directory publishing preferences for the 2025–2026 school year. We are looking to have as many families enrolled in this platform as possible this year.
Click on the Register/Login button
If you have forgotten your password, you can click on "I forgot my password" to reset it
Click on the Parent/Family and Student Information form and update as needed
Complete the Directory/Publish Preferences
Note: You can also download the Membership Toolkit App for easy directory access!
PTO MEETING
Please join the PTO on Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m. We will meet in the library, or you can join via Google Meet. Please contact Casey Allen for the meeting address, the link to join via Google Meet, items you would like to put on the agenda, or to ask any questions. This meeting is open to all Countryside parents/guardians. We always welcome new involvement and volunteers. We hope to see you there!
WELCOME BACK PICNIC
Save the Date! The Countryside Welcome Back Picnic will be on Monday, September 15, time to be determined. Given ongoing construction at our school, this year our event will be at a different location. Food and drinks will be available for purchase, plus space to picnic and connect with other families. Stay tuned for more details!
This event depends on volunteers to make it a success, so please consider volunteering. A sign up form will be shared soon!
Thank You
Thank You
WELCOME BACK BREAKFAST FOR OUR TEACHERS
Our teachers and staff have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming school year! Between meetings, trainings, setting up classrooms, and preparing the school, they took a well-deserved break to enjoy the PTO's Welcome Back Breakfast with bagels, pastries, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and hot chocolate. We appreciate all their hard work before students arrive to start the new school year!
Thanks to Beth Harmon, Melissa Monokroussos, and Tera Hickle for organizing the breakfast.
Community Notes
Community Notes
NCE FALL CLUBS FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS
Newton Community Education is the place for after-school fun this fall! NCE offers clubs and classes designed to help elementary schoolers discover new passions and make friends outside the classroom. Kids can learn to play chess (beginner through advanced), build and create in Buildwave, learn cheer basics, or take swimming lessons—and that’s just a small sample of the enriching programs NCE offers! Visit our website to explore the full catalog of clubs!
CUB SCOUTS PACK 210
Who: Boys and girls grades K–5
When: Thursday September 18, 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Where: Carroll Center for the Blind, 700 Centre St. in Newton Centre
What: Kick-off Meeting with Reptiles of New England and frozen treats!
Pack 210 (Friends of Hemlock Gorge) has an exciting year of activities planned including camping, hiking, Pinewood Derby, outdoor activities, community service, overnights, and monthly Den meetings. We are a strong and vibrant Pack! Scouts are encouraged to attend one meeting per month, and we have additional fun events every month. Join to learn more at our Kickoff Meeting. We will have an interactive and educational session meeting our scaly friends, followed by parent Q&A, and allergy-friendly frozen treats (please reach out with food allergy questions). Please email Kevin with questions, or visit our website.
You can find info about upcoming engagement opportunities in and around Newton at NPS Community Notices page here.
Useful Links
Useful Links
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