Superintendent Sheehan releases updates for week of October 13, 2022

This week’s highlights include MHS Day of Service, MHS Trail Run for Kids, Technology Coffee Hour, MHS No Hate Tour, Pierce Drama Field Trip, Pierce Art, and more.

From The Desk Of The Superintendent

They say you can’t go home again, but our MHS Freshmen did just that on Wednesday, with many of them participating in a Day of Service in the community – specifically in their elementary schools. While MHS sophomores and upperclassmen took the PSAT and SAT during the school day, many MHS freshmen spent the morning volunteering in class, at recess, in the garden, and at lunch, helping with everything from math and spelling to four square and opening milk cartons. This was an excellent opportunity for our older students to have a meaningful volunteer experience and for our younger students to enjoy some time with the “big kids”. Overall, this was a fantastic morning for all involved! Thanks to all who hosted our students in their classes to make this day possible.

You may have noticed more foot and bike traffic on Wednesday as our schools celebrated Walk and Roll to School Day. This bi-annual day is a great reminder that many of us could walk or bike more often and start the day with a burst of outdoor exercise. Hopefully, there will be an uptick of walkers and bikers enjoying the fall weather in the next few weeks.

Please read below for information about important upcoming MPS dates and events, a reminder from the School Committee about policy ILD (Student Submission to Educational Surveys and Research), information on the new Milton Community Health Social Worker, a Technology Coffee on October 27,  Monster Dash registration, classroom highlights and more.

MPS Need To Know

Important Dates

• Oct 13 Pierce Comedy Night
• Oct 17 MHS Swing FORE Sports
• Oct 19 Flu Clinic at Pierce
• Oct 23 MHS XC Trail Run for Kids
• Oct 26 Milton School Committee
• Oct 27 Technology Coffee Hour
• Oct 28 Late Start Day/Morning Teacher PD
• Oct 30 MFE Monster Dash
• Nov 1 No School Teacher PD Day
• Nov 2 School Committee
• Nov 5 Milton Holiday Shop

MPS Calendars: 2022-23 One Page School Year Calendar and Link to MPS Monthly Calendar.

Milton will hold a Seasonal Flu Clinic for the General Public on Wednesday, October 19 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Pierce Middle School, 451 Central Avenue. New spots have been added and  all details including registration are here. 

Come support the Milton High School Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams at our Kids Trail Run at Cunningham Park on Sunday, October 23. There are races for students in K-8th grades, and this is a great opportunity to experience cross country. Registration is $10/person and starts at 10:00 a.m. on race day. The MHS XC team hopes to see you there!

Technology Coffee Hour: It’s often overwhelming being a parent/guardian today in our technology-driven society. Keeping up with the latest trends and dangers can often seem like an impossible task. On Thursday, October 27th from 9-10 am in the Collicot/Cunningham cafeteria, all MPS families are welcome to join a discussion on how we can keep our students safe in the digital world. Areas of discussion will include managing devices at home, monitoring student devices, finding ways to put devices down, talking to students about privacy…and more! Come share ideas, ask questions, and build a support system to help keep our students safe in the ever changing digital world.

The MFE’s Monster Dash is on Sunday, October 30, at Cunningham Park! Register now and save the date for this fantastic family event. The Monster Dash supports science education in all six schools and is held in memory of Tucker Elementary School student Sam Cichello who died following a playground accident in 1999.

Coming in November – Beauty and the Beast! Tickets are on sale now at this link for Milton High School Theatre’s production of Beauty and the Beast!

On Saturday November 5th from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at Steel and Rye, join our school PTOs, MHS Boosters, MHS FAME and more for the 2nd Annual Holiday Shop. Shop all things Milton and MPS in one stop shopping!

School Committee

The next regular School Committee meeting will be on October 26, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. All information about attending School Committee meetings can be found on the Town of Milton webpage. You can watch School Committee meetings live on Milton Access TV online, live on Milton Access cable channels (Comcast 22, RCN 15) or watch on-demand in the days following the meeting.

MPS Good To Know

Family Resources 

This week we want to highlight a new resource for residents of Milton. The Town of Milton has hired a new Community Health Social Worker, Anne Grossman, MSW, LICSW, who will be working through the Milton Health Department. Ms. Grossman is available to assist Milton families who may be in need of mental health and well being resources, case management, food insecurity services, check ins and employment resources. She is available M-Thurs 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m – 1:30 p.m. and can be reached at 617-898-4982 or [email protected]. Ms. Grossman looks forward to connecting and working with the community!

Please visit our Family Resource Newsletter or Milton Public School Resource Guide to find other valuable family support resources.  If you need additional assistance, please reach out to Marti O’Keefe McKenna, MPS Family Outreach Liaison at 617-980-7343 or [email protected]. All calls and emails are confidential.

MPS Employment Opportunities

Open MPS positions are always posted on the employment page of our website. There are school day and after-school positions available, and we are always looking to increase our substitute pool.   Check out this link and see if there is a fit for you!

In addition, we are hiring kitchen substitutes (on call position). Substitutes earn $19.15 an hour and work part-time in a flexible schedule during the school day. Please call Natalia Perez at 617-898-1051 if interested.

MPS Nice To Know

Milton High School

MHS had the pleasure of being a host for The No Hate High School Tour. Now in its 22nd year, this is an incredibly impactful educational program that uses the energy and excitement of action sports to deliver critical bullying prevention tools, techniques, and information to students in a relatable, peer-to-peer manner. The program features top BMX stars that teens admire performing high-energy action sports shows on campus while speaking to the students about their own experiences with bullying, overcoming obstacles, being an ally, inclusion, kindness, surrounding yourself with positive influences, problem-solving, and other important subjects that really resonate with teens.  As you can see in the video linked here, our own Mr. Mackinaw was an active participant in today’s show!

There was a great turnout for the first Best Buddies party of the year! Club members had fun celebrating autumn and catching up with friends. The next party will be held in late October. All are welcome!Please email Dr. Conaty for details on Best Buddies.

Pierce Pages

Forty Pierce 8th grade Drama students recently traveled to Boston’s Huntington Theatre to see the new, Broadway-bound musical, SING STREET! Students also participated in pre-show activities at the theater and a Q&A session with the actors. The day got rave reviews from our students!

Mrs. Aliberti’s 6th graders have completed their “square challenge” collages. Students were guided by the Studio Habit of Mind: Stretch and Explore and inspired by illustrations from Michael Hall’s book in which the humble square is transformed. Students discussed varied, experimental ways that they could treat their paper in preparation for making the collage – such as crumpling, tearing, and hole punching, among others. In addition to different paper treatments, students explored myriad ways of approaching the construction of their collage with the singular requirement that they had to use the entirety of the colored square (or squares) they selected – NO paper scraps in the trash. Some students really reached out of their comfort zone, others struggled with using all of the tiny scraps, but all created playful, experimental art. Many viewed the activity not as a challenge but as a fun approach to making art.

Pierce Latin students had fun using their knowledge of Greek and Roman Mythology to create family trees of the Gods and Goddesses.

Inside Our Elementary Schools 

Mrs. Chen and Ms. McDonough’s Cunningham 5th graders are learning about “Living Systems” as part of their first science unit.   Students learned about Earth’s systems and are now studying ecosystems as part of the biosphere.  As you can see in the pictures below, students observed their worm systems with varying levels of comfort!

Athletics

Thank you to Roy Chambers, who takes photographs at many of our MHS events. You can see a sampling of Roy’s recent pictures below and to see more of his work – and our athletes! – follow him online and on the Milton Boosters Facebook page.

Ben Catudal, Johnny Gillooly, and Rogan Pater represented the Golf Team well with a 3rd place finish in the Bay State Conference Golf Tournament at Wellesley Country Club. Rogan  sunk the first eagle of his career on the 9th hole during the tournament!

Swing Fore Sport is almost here! Milton Booster’s annual ‘Swing Fore Sports’ fundraiser is on October 17 at Granite Links!  Details can be found here.

Community News & Events

Please use the links below or visit the MPS Community News & Events page for information on these terrific community events and opportunities!

Milton comes together to crush substance use at Mike’s 5K on 10am on Saturday, October 15th.  

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, Oct. 29th from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Milton Police Station, 40 Highland St.

As part of their community assessment, the Milton Coalition is asking parents/guardians of children in grades K-12 to complete this brief, anonymous survey about youth health and well-being

The Milton Early Childhood Association’s Fall Newsletter is linked here and filled with free children’s programming, parent workshop, resources and information, farms to visit this fall, corn mazes, a fun fall activity to do at home, and some great fall book titles for your children!

The Forbes House Museum has planned a Weekend BARN-anza on October 22 and 23!  We’ve planned a bonanza of barn-related events. Day 1 – Barn Tour and Lunch Program, 11am start. Day 2 – Halloween Barnfest, 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. All details are here.

Brookwood Community Farm’s Annual End of Season Sale is November 20.  Please mark your calendar to stock up on produce and more for storage or maybe for any upcoming holiday feasts and gift giving.

The Milton Public Library’s calendar of October programs for kids can be found here. The MPL website is linked here.

• Comic and Graphic Novel fans! Take part in this month’s Graphic Novel Book Club for Grades 3-5 on Wednesday, October 19 at 4:30 p.m. Register today!
• Join Ms. Tory in the Story Hour Room on Thursday, October 20 for a special fall-themed drop-in craft: salt painting! This program is an all day drop-in event for ages 3+, so no registration is required.

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The Milton Public School system does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, gender identity, transgender status, gender transitioning, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its programs, activities or operations. These include, but are not limited to, admissions, equal access to programs and activities, employment, provision of and access to programs and services, as well as a selection of volunteers, vendors, and employers recruiting at the Milton Public Schools.  We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, students, volunteers, subcontractors, and vendors. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Human Resources Dr. Garth McKinney, (617) 696- 4808/4809.