Hardy Elementary Newsletter
August 12, 2025
Class Placement Assignments
Hello Hardy Families,
I hope you are having a wonderful summer. We are hoping to release class placements via Power School on Friday, 8/15. If there's a delay, I will reach out again to let you know of the new timeline. We do expect that you will see your child's class placement by 3 on Friday, 8/15.
Welcoming New Staff
Eric Jones will be our new assistant principal. Many of you had the opportunity to meet him on the family forum during the hiring process.
Laura Albert is our new team chair. She will be taking over for Heather Johnson. She will be chairing many of the IEP meetings, and she will be the contact person for families for special education topics.
Madison Pozner is our new social worker. She will be working with grades 3-5.
Annabelle Dunn is not new to Arlington. She is transferring from Stratton as our new Multilingual Educator.
We have two new Kindergarten teachers - Sofia Morgante and Sophie Thoft-Brown. Erin Tieuli has taken a job within the district as a multilingual educator.
Mary DiMaggio is our new 4th grade teacher.
Melissa Navarro is the new district wide Augmentative and Alternative Communication Specialist.
Greg Smith is our new math coach. Julia Turner (formerly 4th grade teacher) will be our new literacy coach.
Vicki Hill will be teaching PE at Hardy this year. However, she is not new to the district. She's looking forward to being in just one school!
Nikki Shine is not new to Hardy. However, we are welcoming her to the full time librarian role.
Julia McNeil will be teaching first grade this year. Same space!
We are planning a staff who's who board to help with getting to know everyone!
Roof Update
We almost have a new roof! They will begin removing some of the barriers and scaffolding. The work will continue on solar panel installation. I'm not sure at this time how this may impact arrival, dismissal, and playground usage. I will update again when I have more information.
Back to School Open House
Thursday, 9/25
Back to School Open House will take place on the evening of Thursday, 9/25. This year's format will not require that you hire a babysitter. We encourage you to bring your child to Open House. Your child will take part in showing you their learning space and give you a tour of the school.
PTO Website and Information
Check out the Hardy PTO Website for information on how you can join PTO, support the Hardy School, find out about upcoming fun events.
There is a PTO meeting on Wednesday, 8/20. It will be mostly virtual due to the construction at Hardy. There's a caregiver (no children) option at Becky Gibree's home. More information is available on the PTO website or on the Hardy PTO Facebook Page.
First Days of School
The first day of school for grades 1-5 is Tuesday, 9/2.
Kindergarten first days begin with half class. This allows for a more gradual adjustment and additional support for each incoming student.
Kindergarten First Day:
Last name A-L will attend Kindergarten on Tuesday, 9/2. Last name A-L will not attend on 9/3.
Last name M-Z will not attend on 9/2. Last name M-Z will attend on Wednesday, 9/3.
Hardy School Contact Information
Principal: Gretchen Saunders - gsaunders@arlington.k12.ma.us
Assistant Principal: Eric Jones- ejones@arlington.k12.ma.us
Administrative Assistant: Mary Bellerose -mbellerose@arlington.k12.ma.us
Main Office Number - 781-316-3783