Monday, January 16, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and in the Milton Public Schools, we honor Dr. King’s legacy in the week leading up to MLK Day. Many of our students are participating in service projects in school this week, as well as helping with the opportunity (from MICA, linked here) to assemble Blessing Bags on Monday. Younger students are creating art in honor of Dr. King while our older students have written essays using the prompt of MLK’s quote “There Comes a Time When Silence is Betrayal.” Please take a moment to read these three excellent essays by MHS students Griffin Angus, Katie Scott and Florian Zoll. A group of Tucker 4th graders and MHS Chorus students will also be singing at the Milton Interfaith Clergy Association’s annual celebration at the Concord Baptist Church on Monday evening. All are invited to attend this in person event, or to watch on the livestream. As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, January 16 in honor of MLK Day and Tuesday, January 17 is a late start for students, with all schools starting 2 hours later than the regular start time.

MPS Preschool Information Night is tonight, Thursday, January 12, 6:30 p.m. The event is virtual, and the link to attend is here.  All 2023-24 Preschool information is posted on the MPS website.  The MPS preschool pre-registration questionnaire will be open tonight through January 26 and the preschool lottery, if necessary, will be Friday, January 27. We hope to see many future MPS preschool families at the presentation tonight!

MPS Kindergarten – Welcome to the Class of 2036! Kindergarten Information Night is on Thursday, January 26 at 6:30 p.m. This evening is virtual (please note the change from a previous announcement) and the link to attend is here. We ask all Kindergarten families to complete the Kindergarten pre-registration questionnaire at this link  prior to January 22. At the presentation on January 26, MPS administrators will share information about school assignment, kindergarten curriculum, important dates and more.

Pierce Players Presents State Fair: The Pierce Players will perform its production of State Fair for the Milton community on Thursday, January 19 and Friday, January 20 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 21 at 2:00 p.m. in the Pierce auditorium. The students in the cast and crew are excited to share their hard work, and they are looking forward to a packed house! Tickets are on sale now at this link.

MPS Need To Know

Important Dates

• Jan 12 Pre-School Info Night
• Jan 12 Pierce Summer Program Night
• Jan 16 No School – MLK Day
• Jan 17 Late Start for Students/Morning PD
• Jan 18 School Committee Meeting
• Jan 19, 20, 21 Pierce Players Presents State Fair
• Jan 21 MMEA All-State Auditions
• Jan 25 SEPAC Meeting
• Jan 25 School Committee Forum on Equity
• Jan 26 Kindergarten Information Night

Pierce Summer Program Night: The Pierce PTO is hosting a Summer Program Night on Thursday, January 12 from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the Pierce cafeteria. Local businesses will be in attendance to share information about everything from summer camps and memberships to lessons and internships for children of ALL ages. Representatives from Mel-O-Drama, The Weymouth Club, Boy Scouts, French Immersion Summer Program, Goldfish Swim School, Milton Art Center, R3Bilt Fitness, Muscle and Flow, Everwood Day Camp, and many more will be in attendance. Please email Pierce PTO parent Jackie Mullen at [email protected] with any questions.

School Committee Forum On Equity 

On Wednesday, January 25th, from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., the School Committee will host the third of four public forums for the Milton community. The forum will provide an overview of the MPS Strategic Plan and a 30 minute presentation on Equity in Learning, a pillar of the MPS Strategic Plan. Following the presentation by MPS faculty, community members will be invited to ask questions and share comments about Equity in Learning. MPS administrators, faculty, and School Committee members will respond to questions and comments and share their perspectives on the issues.

The public forum will be held at the Council on Aging, at 10 Walnut St, just behind Town Hall. The meeting will be hybrid, with attendees able to participate in person and through Zoom at this link (Passcode: 168556).

Office Of Pupil Personnel Services

During the week of February 28, 2023, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Public School Monitoring (PSM) will conduct a Tiered Focusing Monitoring Review of Milton Public Schools. The office of Public School Monitoring visits each district and charter school every three years to monitor compliance with federal and state special education and civil rights regulations.

• Areas of review related to special education include student assessments, determination of eligibility, the Individualized Education Program (IEP), Team Process, and IEP development and implementation.
• Areas of review related to civil rights include bullying, student discipline, physical restraint and equal access to school programs for all students.

All details on the visit, community feedback and public access to the reports can be found here.

Milton Foundation For Education

Breaking News! The Milton Foundation for Education is excited to announce that this years’
Celebration for Education will be held at The Beat on Saturday, May 6, 2023. The Beat is a fun, new event space located just 5 miles from Milton on Morrissey Boulevard, in Boston’s historic former headquarters of the Boston Globe. Save the date to join the fun!

MPS Good To Know

Milton SEPAC

The Milton SEPAC shares the following updates.

SEPAC sponsored Federation for Children with Special Needs workshops have been scheduled and are awaiting final confirmation – but pencil these in! These are excellent workshops – Eligibility on February 16 in the evening  and Understanding the 504: March 7 in the evening –  are free and offered virtually.

We welcome you to join us at our next meeting (January 25, 2023, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., via Zoom – link to follow.)  Did you know you have a SEPAC school rep who meets monthly with your school principal to discuss staffing, programming, and issues of inclusion? Find your school rep here. Please visit  the SEPAC website for updates, information, and links to resources.

Elementary Digital Citizenship Days

In February, MPS will hold the fourth annual elementary school Digital Citizenship Days.   All elementary students will take part in several engaging digital citizenship lessons during these exciting days.  The lesson topics include digital footprints, internet privacy,  copyright, cyberbullying, and creating passwords.

The Digital Citizenship Day lessons will be facilitated by family volunteers, and we need family support!  Each elementary class will need at least one and, ideally, two volunteers. All details on volunteering and lessons can be found here. Thank you for volunteering for this important initiative.

MPS Nice To Know

Cunningham 4th Grade Science

In preparation for their upcoming FOSS unit on energy and electromagnetism, Mme. Mushin’s Cunningham 4th graders completed a Mystery Science investigation about electricity. Students were challenged to test and retest how to create their own flashlights using a battery, aluminum foil, and an LED light. Just like Thomas Edison, who tested thousands of lightbulb models before finding one that works, they persevered and helped each other succeed. Bravo!

MHS Environmental Science

Ms. Meg Tabacsko from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) came to MHS this week to visit Ms. Plunkett’s Environmental Science classes. Ms. Tabacsko presented the wastewater process that takes place from our own community and at Deer Island. Students were able to observe all stages of the wastewater process with hands-on demonstrations and see everything from waste water to sludge to fertilization products made as a result of the treatment process that have even been used within our own community. Thank you to the MWRA for this valuable presentation.

December Vacation Camp

December Vacation Camp was a big success with our students, with four jam packed days of fun events and activities. Students enjoyed art and STEM with Ms. Roye, cooking with Ms. Conley, practiced soccer skills with Super Soccer Stars instructors, enjoyed a magic show by Awesome ROBB , participated in a Jenga challenge and held their own end of  year countdown and New Year celebration. Stay tuned for details about February Vacation Camp!

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 Parks and Rec is offering a February Vacation Baseball Program for children ages 5-11. Join Director Brendan Morrissey (MHS Varsity Boys coach)  and the MHS Baseball Team for this terrific clinic. All details and registration info can be found here. 

Middle Schoolers – Join the fun at the Wildcat Den this month! Find the schedule here. 

Milton Girls Softball encourages children in Kindergarten through Grade 8 to register for the 2023 Spring Season. All details can be found at www.miltonsoftball.com.

Milton Youth Lacrosse registration is open! All details at www.miltonlacrosse.org.

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

• Join VITFriends, a Boston Vitiligo Support Group, in the Story Hour Room for an energetic and informative storytime on Thursday, January 19 at 4:00 p.m.! Part of an awareness and education initiative, this storytime geared towards ages 5-7 will help kids learn more about vitiligo through reading. Register today!

Milton Academy is holding a 2023 summer camp open to students in rising grades 1-6. All details on the camp can be found here.