Superintendent Sheehan releases updates for week of December 15, 2022

This week’s highlights include 8th Grade Info Night at MHS – Tonight, Inclement Weather Reminders, Milton SEPAC Meeting – Tonight, MHS Field Trip, Tucker 1st Grade Spanish Project, MPS Substitute Opportunities, and more.

From The Desk Of The Superintendent

The dusting of snow this week is a good reminder that winter weather is on its way for the next few months. On Wednesday of this week, all MPS families and staff were sent an email outlining our procedures in case of a weather related two hour delay or full cancellation of school. Please take a moment to review the letter here. If you did not receive the email and need to update or confirm your current contact information, please contact your school’s administrative assistant via email.

The overall safety of our MPS community is an ongoing priority and this week, the MPS Security Committee, composed of Principals, MPS Administrators, and Town of Milton, Milton Fire and Milton Police representatives, held a regularly scheduled meeting. This group meets bi-monthly (and more frequently if needed), to review safety procedures, discuss new concerns, plan for future safety drills and staff training, evaluate communication protocols and more. Thank you as always to the Milton Police and Fire Departments, our partners in keeping our school community safe.

Finally, I hope all 8th grade families will join us TONIGHT, Thursday, December 15 at 6:00 p.m. in the MHS Auditorium (25 Gile Rd) for an opportunity to learn about all that Milton High School has to offer your student. You’ll hear about course offerings, academic and extracurricular programs, athletics, and activities that prepare students for college and life beyond high school. Current 8th grade students, parents, and guardians are invited to this information session and a tour of Milton High School. We can’t wait to welcome these new Wildcats to Milton High School!

Please read below for information about tonight’s December SEPAC meeting, the MHS Cabaret on December 20, MPS substitute opportunities, classroom highlights, Athletic news and more.

MPS Need To Know

Important Dates

• Dec 15 SEPAC Meeting
• Dec 15 MHS 8th Grade Information Night
• Dec 20 MHS Cabaret
• Dec 21 School Committee Meeting
• Dec 23 No School Winter Break Begins
• Jan 3 School Resumes
• Jan 4 School Committee Meeting
• Jan 5 Katie Greer at Pierce

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

MHS Winter Cabaret: MHS Music students have been hard at work preparing acts for our annual Winter Cabaret! The Winter Cabaret is an evening of music which will feature a variety of student run ensembles, original works and solo acts. It will be held on Tuesday, December 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the MHS Auditorium. Donations will be accepted at the door to support our programs. We hope to see you at MHS for a wonderful night of music!

Katie Greer at MPS: On January 5, 2023, Internet Safety Expert Katie Greer will be returning to Milton to speak to all of our Pierce and MHS students during the school day. That evening she will speak to adults about Keeping Students Safe in a Digital World at 6pm in the Pierce auditorium.

Katie knows it can be daunting being a parent in this digitally driven time and will update parents on the latest tech trends, safety issues, and tips on how to help our kids have a productive and healthy relationship with technology. This presentation is open to all Milton parents and guardians.

Preschool and Kindergarten – Important Dates

• Preschool Information Night – Thursday, Jan 12, 2023
• Preschool Pre-registration – Thursday, Jan 12, 2023 – Thursday, Jan 26, 2023
• Preschool Lottery, if necessary – Friday, Jan 27, 2023
• Kindergarten Information Night – Thursday, Jan 26, 2023
• Kindergarten Pre-registration Questionnaire Link – please complete prior to Jan 22, 2023

School Committee 

The next regular School Committee meeting will be on December 21, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. At this meeting, the School Committee will share updates on the Superintendent Search. All information (including agendas and links to attend) about 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.

Milton SEPAC

Milton SEPAC shares the following information.

Do you know who your school rep is? Each month your Milton SEPAC school rep meets with your principal to discuss issues of staffing, programming, inclusion, and collaboration. Lately MPS has been experiencing a lot of staffing and programming developments that have an impact on our children’s educational experience. To find out more, come to our next SEPAC Board Meeting TONIGHT, Thursday, December 15, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. online at this link. Attend to find out what is happening in your building and how to connect with your school rep.

Free At Home Covid Tests

MPS school nurses will distribute free COVID test kits next week to staff and students who are interested. If you are interested in free COVID tests, please see below for details.

• Elementary: Test kits will be distributed to students in their classrooms. Please email your school nurse with your student’s name/teacher by Friday, December 16 to ensure that a test kit is sent home with your student.
• Pierce and MHS: Test kits will be available in the main lobby during Advisory periods. An announcement will be made on Monday and Tuesday that interested students should come to the main lobby and pick up a test. Please speak with your student in advance and ask them to pick up a test if you’d like them to participate.

MPS Good To Know

MPS Substitute Opportunities

Food Service: Are you looking for part time work that compliments your child’s school day?  Earn $19.15 an hour for a Food Service substitute on call position! Call Natalia Perez at 617-898-1051 for details.

Nursing: If you are interested in substitute school nursing at MPS, please email Kim Coughlin, Director of Nursing at [email protected] for details. The rate for substitute school nurses is $120 per day.

Classroom: On call daily substitute teachers are needed for all schools and the rate for daily substitutes is $110 per day. This is a great way to work during your child’s school day, when it works for your schedule. Details and the application are at this link.

Milton Community Schools

December Vacation Camp registration closes on Friday, December 16. All information on Vacation Camp can be found on the MCS website. Don’t miss out – join the fun with friends over break!

MPS Nice To Know

MHS Field Trip

Students in the MHS Achieve and Launch programs took a trip to the South Shore Plaza this week for some holiday shopping and lots of real world math practice. Students demonstrated skills they have been practicing in class including adding item costs, calculating sales tax, next dollar up, and finding exact change. Other real world skills included self-checkout, navigating the mall directory, and enjoying the food court. We are looking forward to more community outings this year.

MHS Key Club

For the 5th consecutive year, members of the MHS Key Club coordinated holiday cards for deployed troops. Club members designed hand made cards and distributed them to MHS students to be personalized. MHS students wrote 200 cards filled with messages of appreciation and holiday wishes. This year, Ms. Crowley’s Pierce Seminar classes contributed an additional 70 cards as part of their unit on gratitude. All cards were mailed to service members deployed on a US Navy ship. We are grateful to our service members and their families and hope that these cards will help to lift the spirits of US Sailors who will be spending the winter holidays at sea.

Pierce Model Un

Pierce students Sadie Cambria, Madyn Dwyer, Sara Khan, and Avery Squiciarino participated in the December Invitational Model UN Conference at Northeastern University this past Saturday. They debated on the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with middle school students from twenty three organizations and discussed how AI can strengthen food security around the globe. Our Pierce students made connections with other students, engaged in debate on real world issues, and came up with some very creative solutions to the challenges of AI. Thank you to our students who represented MPS and Pierce well!

Tucker First Grade Spanish

Students in Señora Brown’s first grade Spanish classes have been learning colors and numbers, and recently put their knowledge to the test. They were challenged to create a “color by number” collaborative mural with the help of 4th and 5th grade student leaders in the English Innovation Pathway, who also take Spanish. Tucker student leaders showed responsibility, patience, and leadership and they helped first graders read and identify the colors and numbers. Our 1st graders were happy to have such helpful “big kid” visitors and worked really hard to accurately complete their own parts of the mural. Señora Brown looks forward to planning more leadership opportunities for older students in Spanish class in the future.

MHS Spanish Human Rights Tree

The MHS Spanish VI class has been learning about human rights and how they are connected to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After reading and discussing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, students created their own Human Rights Tree. They used leaves to share important human rights that people need to live in dignity and justice, and used roots for conditions students consider vital to make human rights flourish. Since the celebration of Human Rights is observed on December 10 (the day in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) the class displayed their work for all to reflect on this day.

Tri-m Swag

Tri-M, the music honor society, and FAME (Friends and Advocates of Music Education) have teamed up to put several student designed music symbols on a range of different items, from t-shirts and sweatshirts and coffee mugs. Check out the merchandise shop here and order gear for your favorite musician!

Calling All MHS Alumni

Are you a Milton High School alum?  If so, we need your help!  In an effort to better prepare our students to be more college and career ready, please complete this short survey.  In addition, please forward the survey link to any MHS graduates who may not read the MPS Blog.  We would like to have feedback from as many alumni as possible.  Thank you for your time and help!

MHS Athletics 

MHS Winter Sports are underway!

Girls Basketball got things started last week with a win over Dedham and then the Girls Hockey followed up with a win over Fontbonne/Boston Latin.

The Track and Field Teams travel to the Reggie Lewis Center tonight for their first meet.

Our new Dance Team is in full swing, with nearly 20 students participating this year. We are excited to see what they can do in their first season!

You can find updates on our Twitter @Milton_Wildcats_. Be on the lookout for our December Athletics Newsletter next week.

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 Chess Club will be at the Milton Public Library January 10 – March 21. International Master David Vigorito has been teaching chess to Milton students for over 12 years. The winter session starts on Tuesday, January 10 and there are two different levels with classes at 5:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Details can be found here. Space is limited! Questions? Email [email protected].

Milton Soccer: Registration is now open for our spring 2023 soccer programs.  Please visit our Milton Soccer website  for all details on programs or to register (or use the direct registration link).  Please note that the grade 9-12 registration will open in March. The deadline to register is January 7^th (on January 8^th waitlist and late fees apply).

The Milton Public Library’s calendar of December programs can be found here. Visit the Milton Public Library in December for some terrific programs! To learn more and to register for programs for kids, teens, and adults, please visit the MPL website.

• Who said snow was just for outside? Join Ms. Tory in the Story Hour Room anytime between 1-8PM on Thursday, December 22 for a sensory activity with Fake Snow! Create a variety of snowshapes with miscellaneous materials for some afternoon winter-fun.
• Need help finding books to read over Winter Break? Try our BookMatch for Kids! This reader’s advisory service helps anyone in grades K-6 find their next favorite read. Fill out our form to tell us a little more about you, and we’ll email you a list of 8-10 books we think you’ll really like. Find the form here.

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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.