Superintendent Gormley releases update for week of August 8, 2019

Updates include School Committee, professional development, health and wellness, and more

As we continue to enjoy some beautiful summer weather, I wanted to share some information about back to school dates, as well as school specific information for each of our six schools.

The 2019/20 school year starts on Monday, August 26th for staff, on Wednesday, August 28th for 1st-12th grade students and on Tuesday, September 3rd for our kindergarten and preschool students. On Friday, August 30th and Monday, September 2nd, the Milton Public Schools is closed for Labor Day weekend. Follow our MPS Facebook page and MPS Twitter account for news and information throughout the year. The full MPS calendar can be found here. You will find school specific information below.

MILTON HIGH SCHOOL

Principal Mr. James Jette and Assistant Principals Mr. Ben Kelly and Mr. Brian Mackinaw
Administrative Assistants Mrs. Maureen Kennedy and Mr. Brad Spindle and Ms. Meghan Connors
Homeroom assignments mailed out in August, schedules 1st day of school
New student orientation for all freshmen and new students August 26th 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Please see Mr Jette’s latest summer letter for all MHS information
MHS Open House – September 12th
MHS Athletic Website
MHS Website

PIERCE

Principal Mr. William Fish and Assistant Principals Dr. Nick Fitzgerald and Ms. Janice Mazzola
Administrative Assistants Mrs. Sandy Wyse and Mrs. Susan Higgins
Team Assignment Letters mailed the week of August 19th
New families night – August 20th at 6:30 p.m.
Schedules to be distributed on the first day of school
Back to school information night for rising 6th grade families – August 27th at 6:30 p.m.
Picture Day – August 29th
Pierce Open House – September 11th 6:30 p.m.
Pierce School Supply lists
Pierce PTO School Supply Order Program
Pierce Webpage
Pierce PTO email contact
Pierce PTO Facebook page

GLOVER

Principal Karen McDavitt and Assistant Principal Sara MacNeil
Administrative Assistant Ms. Deb Woods
Homeroom assignments – week of August 19
Popsicle PlayDate /Building Tour (Kindergarten) Tuesday, August 20, 10:00 a.m. (playground)
and Thursday, August 22 at 6:00 p.m. (playground)
Kindergarten Orientation Thursday, August 29 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (families will receive orientation time with homeroom assignment letter)
BooHoo/Yahoo Gathering (Kindergarten families) Tuesday, September 3 after drop off
Glover Open House- September 26
Glover Webpage
Glover Twitter account
Glover PTO FB Page
Glover PTO email contact

COLLICOT

Principal Mrs. Holly Concannon and Assistant Principal Mrs. Zeina Hamada
Administrative Assistant Mrs. Joanne Barker
Homeroom assignments – week of August 19
Tour for New Families (grades 1-5) Tuesday, August 27th, 2:00 p.m.
Popsicles with the Principal- rear playground – Tuesday, August 28th 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Kindergarten Orientation – Thursday, August 29th
Boohoo/Yahoo Coffee, K parents – cafeteria – Tuesday September 3rd, after drop off
School Picture Day – Monday September 29th
Back to School Picnic at Cunningham Park – Friday night, September 13th
Collicot Open House – Wednesday, September 25th
Collicot Webpage
Collicot PTO email
Collicot PTO Facebook page

CUNNINGHAM

Principal Mr. Jon Redden and Assistant Principal Mrs. Bernadette Butler
Homeroom assignments – week of August 19th
Tour for new families (grades 1-5) Tuesday August 27th – 5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Freeze Pops with the Principal – rear playground – Tuesday, August 27th – 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
PreK/K Orientation and Picnic – Thursday August 29th, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Boohoo/Yahoo Coffee, K and PreK parents – Tuesday September 3rd, after drop off
Cunningham Open House – September 19th
Cunningham Webpage
Cunningham PTO email
Facebook Page
Cunningham School Twitter
Cunningham School Instagram

TUCKER

Principal Elaine McNeil – Girmai
Administrative Assistant Mrs. Eileen Keaney
Homeroom assignments – week of August 19th
Popsicle Playdate for Pre-K, K, August 21st at 6:00 p.m., Tucker Playground
Picture Day-September 6th
Open House-September 26th
Tucker School Supply lists
Tucker Webpage
Tucker PTO email contact
Tucker PTO Facebook page

UPCOMING ALL MPS DATES

August 19–21 Welcome to Middle School Camp
August 21 Milton School Committee Meeting
August 28 First Day of School for Grades 1-12
August 30 No School
September 2 No School
September 3 First Day for Preschool and K
September 4 Milton School Committee
September 10 Instrument Registration Night
September 11 Pierce Middle School Open House
September 12 MHS Open House
September 18 Milton School Committee
September 19 Cunningham Open House
September 24 PARENT Speaker Series Inclusion Specialist Maureen Blazejewski
September 25 Collicot Open House
September 26 Glover Open House
September 26 Tucker Open House
September 27 No School-Professional Development Day

The 2019-20 calendar can be found here.

MPS SUMMER

The MPS Calculus Project held its 6th summer mathematics enrichment program this summer with over 65 MPS students from grades 8 through 12 attending. The Calculus Project is an initiative designed to increase the number of low income, African American and Hispanic American students who enroll in and successfully complete Calculus Honors or Advanced Placement Calculus. The summer enrichment courses are used by students to maintain their standing in honors level courses or to make the move to honors or advanced placement level. This year was particularly exciting because some of our first cohort of graduates came back to speak to the younger students about their experience in Calculus Project and at Milton High School.

We are proud of the hard work that our students have put in and look forward to seeing them continue to succeed in the future!

Thank you to Ms. Capasso, Ms. Bachant, Ms. Conaty, Ms. Ritten, Ms. Pompilus, and Ms. Meunier for working with our students this summer. Our students appreciate you and had plenty to say about what they liked most about the summer mathematics enrichment program: “I enjoyed digging deeper into my love for math. I also enjoyed the exposure to more kids that look like me.” “The teachers, meeting the seniors and talking about what high school is going to be like.” “Sitting together and working on worksheets, and going over the answers together.” “Being in a class where you weren’t the only non-white person.” “I got a lot of help on my summer work and I feel well prepared for next year.”

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Milton Summer Enrichment wrapped up last week with a terrific field day. MSE was recently featured in a Patriot Ledger article, which you can read here.

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MHS Math teacher Kristina Craven, English teacher Ayeola Davis, Special Education teacher Marcus Jones, and science teacher Jillian Pieciak led a group of motivated incoming 9th graders in the MHS Bridge program this summer. Over the course of the program, students completed their required Math and English summer work, wrote appreciation letters to soldiers and veterans (among other service projects), and used inquiry-based science investigations to construct their own inventions. Students also checked out their future classrooms, had visits from department chairs and other faculty members, and completed their concussion training in preparation for sports tryouts. The summer spent in the Bridge Program allowed students to have some fun, spending time with friends and beginning to feel more at home at MHS and ready to take on the high school in the fall!

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After seven busy weeks of endless fun and many great activities at Camp Cunningham, the fun will come to end on Friday. Campers enjoyed activities such as Science & Tap Dancing with Mrs. Roye, Coding & Comics with Jackson, Harry Potter Math with Rudy, Arts & Crafts with Mrs. B., Hip-Hop with Kristen, Multi-Sports with Andrew, Cooking with Mrs. Goodwin and our swimming lessons with Cullen. We enjoyed some terrific field trips to Ward’s Berry Farm, Starland, Edaville, Pirate Cruise Ship, Rock Spot Climbing, Drumlin Farm, Roger Williams Zoo and the movies.

A special thank you to our counselors this year, as they have been amazing with the campers and truly made a difference this year. Thank you also to our support staff who contributed to an unforgettable summer for the kids. Thank you to Taylor Shockley and Paisley Sargent our camp nurses who always welcomed campers with

We could not have asked for better staff and we thank you for a successful summer of Camp Cunningham.

a big smile and took care of them and thank you to CO/CU custodians for keeping the building clean and accessible. Thank you Supervisor Susan Gionfriddo and Asst. Supervisor John Leazott for another great summer at Camp Cunningham. To see pictures all of the fun at Camp Cunningham this summer, check out our website.

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The MPS staff recently shared their summer reading favorites and you can see what they are reading here.

Our students and staff have been enjoying their summer reading on the beach, in the backyard, while multitasking and in some interesting places on vacation!

Resources and assignments for grades K-12 can be found here: Summer reading requirements for Pierce can be found here. All summer requirements for Milton High School can be found here. The high school and middle school summer assignments have been posted to PlusPortals. The summer work recording sheet for elementary can be found here. These math guidelines and resources will help you support your student this summer. Have fun and keep those math skills sharp! Summer Math Letter, 1-5, Summer Math Letter, 6-8 Summer Math, 9-12 (scroll down for Mathematics)

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Please join us for our final Summertime Stories for preschoolers and incoming kindergarteners on August 22nd. Our 1st three storytimes were great successes!

HIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

The Milton High School Guidance Department is closed for the summer and will reopen on Monday, August 26th. Please contact Maureen Kennedy or Brad Spindle via email in the main office with any inquiries before August 26th. The main office can also be reached by calling the high school at 617-696-4470 and dialing 0.

Updated GPAs will be available in the fall once all summer school grades are submitted and recorded. Schedules will be given out to students on the first day of school Wednesday, August 28th, during homeroom. A welcome letter with homeroom assignments will be mailed home in late August. Freshmen and all other students new to MHS will receive their schedules at the New Student Orientation on August 26th.

All summer assignments are available on Plus Portals. You do not need a password to access this information: 2019 Summer Assignments Summer Work 2019

Enrollment in an AP course requires the student to complete prerequisite courses and mandatory summer work. Summer work was assigned to all AP students at the mandatory AP information sessions held during the school year. Failure to complete summer work may result in a student being dropped from the AP class. Please remind your student to complete their work.

Class of 2020: Please consider writing your college essay, update your activities list, complete your community service hours, do some college research and possibly visit some of the colleges/universities that you are interested in.

Don’t forget to sign up for your Senior Portrait sitting with Hayward Photography. If you have any questions or concerns please email [email protected].

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

The July 10th School Committee meeting can be watched on Milton Access TV. The next School Committee meeting is on Wednesday, August 21st.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Our staff participates in PD throughout the year, including over the summer. We’ve highlighted a few of the PD programs attended over the summer below.

At right, Pierce Science teachers Allison Meleedy, Kristin Fraine and Rachel Clancy are heading out to Spectacle Island for a field study on the effects of climate change on island species. They took a PD course through the New England Aquarium to help enhance our science curriculum with the latest research around climate change.

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Four MPS faculty attended the Learning Environments for Tomorrow (LEFT) course at the Harvard Graduate School. Sarah Whitten, Tina Greene, Mary Shapiro, and Amy Tom represented the MPS 21st Century Taskforce. The main program premise focused on reflecting and brainstorming about our people, programs, and principles to develop plans, and prototypes that would best answer our needs as a district. Facilitators presented innovative ideas around how space has the potential to positively impact learning. Our focus, “Hack the House,” involved ‘hacking’ the classroom to allow for small, but targeted spatial shifts designed to encourage collaboration.

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Our MPS administrators attended the 2019 National Principals Conference in Boston . 3 days of world class education and PD happening right here in Boston. We are so lucky to have had this opportunity in our own backyard!

HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Help your kids make choices that will support their well being. Participate in the SUPPER Project to learn how!

Are you a parent or guardian of a child in rising 5 – 8th grade?
Do you live with your child or are you in the same place as your child at least five days a week?
If YES, you may be able to participate in a research study
Families will be paid for their time
The purpose of this research study is to understand how to help young people make choices that will support their wellbeing.
We will be working with families over summer vacation (for parents/guardians of those entering 5th grade through those who just completed 7th). Please take a moment to read through the details found here and consider participating in the SUPPER Project. If you are interested, simply email the SUPPER Project team at with the subject line “Interested in the SUPPER Project” and in the body of the email include your name and the name of your child’s school. A member from the study team will reach out to you with next steps. You can also give them a call at 617-636 – 3587.

PARENT SPEAKER SERIES

Save the date for our first event in the 2019/20 PARENT Speaker Series. Inclusion Specialist Maureen Blazejewski will discuss Supporting All Learners on September 24th at Milton High School.

FOOD SERVICE

There is a terrific opportunity for part time jobs in our food services department. We are hiring for substitute positions at all schools. You’ll be serving healthy food to kids and be home when your kids are home due to the school schedule – what’s better than that?! This can be a great opportunity for parents and retirees and food service experience is a plus, but not required. The starting pay for the food service substitute position is $15.05 per hour. Please email Jackie Morgan or call (617-696-5040 X 5514) for more information.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Milton Public Schools is conducting Child Find. In accordance with Federal and State regulations, Milton Public Schools provides special education programs for eligible students designed to meet the needs of children attending not only public schools but also those attending private school at private expense and whose parents reside in Milton.

Anyone can refer a child in need. This includes a teacher, parent or guardian, or medical provider. You should refer your child for Special Education Eligibility/504 if you feel he or she has a disability and is not making effective progress/deriving educational benefit from his or her current school program. To qualify for special education, the child will be evaluated by district staff, with your consent, and if the Team determines the child has a disability, he or she may be eligible for services and or accommodations documented within an IEP or 504.

Milton Public Schools provides all children with an opportunity to participate in the public school programs using a continuous and systematic effort to identify children in need of special education services.

Milton Public Schools will arrange for screening and evaluation of those students ages 16 through 21 who have not graduated from high school and who are not now attending school or children ages 3 through 21 who are unable to progress effectively in a regular education program due to a suspected disability consisting of a developmental delay or intellectual, sensory, neurological, emotional, autism, communication, physical, specific learning or health impairment or combination thereof.

For any child who has been under medical care for mental health/emotional difficulties, a screening or evaluation may be appropriate in conjunction with your child’s health care provider’s recommendations. If you have concerns about a child, please notify your child’s principal or contact the Registrar’s office in Milton.

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Please refer to the Pupil Personnel website for additional resources throughout the school year.

TRANSPORTATION

Bus passes for all assigned students will be mailed home the week of August 19th and routes and schedules for the 2019-2020 school year will be posted on the MPS website under the transportation page. All riders are REQUIRED to present their bus pass to ride the bus every day. Students will not be allowed to board without their pass.

Please note that in the first week or two of school buses can run early or late based on traffic and new route patterns, please plan to have your student at their assigned stop at least 10 minutes early as we ask for patience as the routes settle into regular patterns for the school year.

ART AND MUSIC

Marching Band camp will be held at Milton High School on August 12-16 from 8 AM- 3 PM. Please remember that band camp is mandatory for all students who wish to participate in marching the show. This is the only week the marching band has to learn the entire show. At this point, the show is written and we are depending on your attendance! All parents/alumni invited to attend a run through of the show at 2 pm on Friday, August 16 at Brooks Field. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact [email protected].

ATHLETICS

The MPS Athletics Dept is busy preparing for fall. Please see MHS Athletics website. with all you need to know about fall athletics. Roll ‘Cats!

The MHS Field Hockey team will be hosting a car wash on September 7th, 9AM-12PM at the Cunningham School. $10/car.

The MHS Boys Basketball team will be hosting a “Cans for Cats” bottle and can drive on September 7th, 9am-12pm at Milton High School.

NEWS AROUND TOWN

Milton’s Household Hazardous Waste drop-off day will be on September 7th at the DPW Yard. As this is the first Saturday of September, and the recycling center’s typical first-Saturday opening will be moved to September 14th.

AMBASSADORS

As part of our E-blast, we highlight students, teachers or members of the community whose hard work deserves recognition. Please read about some of their accomplishments below:

VOLUNTEERS and STUDENTS: Thank you to MHS students Mercy Osifo, Osas Osifo and Gifty Johnson who joined our Pierce garden “Fairy Godmother” Beth Neville in planting flowers at Pierce Middle School Outdoor Classroom this past week. We are so grateful for all of our volunteers!

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