Superintendent Sheehan releases updates for week of January 26, 2022

This week’s highlights include A Message from Dr. Peter Burrows, Kindergarten Information Night – Tonight, Thank you to the MFE!, MPS Celebrates the Lunar New Year, Collicot 5th Grade Buddies, 1st Grade Artists, MHS Theatre – Feb 3, and more.

From The Desk Of The Superintendent

As many of you know (see the School Committee communication sent on Monday) the Milton School Committee unanimously approved a contract with Dr. Peter Burrows to become the new Superintendent of the Milton Public Schools effective July 1, 2023. Dr. Burrows will be visiting the district for several days next week, meeting with Central Office and District Leadership to ensure a smooth transition. Dr. Burrows has asked me to share the note below with the Milton community.

Dear Milton Community,

With my position becoming official, I wanted to share just how excited I am to come to Milton to be your superintendent. Having visited a family member in Milton for many years, I knew that Milton was an exceptional community. This was emphatically confirmed on my visits over the last month as I met with students, staff, and community who are all clearly invested in the real success of all students and are ready to do what it takes to maintain the excellence of the Milton school system while tackling the entrenched disproportionality of student outcomes that confronts us.

I will begin on July 1, and will be coming down to make the transition over the next months to facilitate that process. I look forward to meeting all members of the community over the next months and years, and will share further communication over the summer as I work to make connections and better understand the way forward. Thank you for the opportunity to lead in Milton. Go Wildcats!

With gratitude,

Peter Burrows

As the Interim Superintendent, it is my pleasure to be among the first to welcome Dr. Burrows to Milton.  I am confident that he will be an outstanding leader who works with all stakeholders towards the continued success of the Milton Public Schools. I  hope you will join me in welcoming Dr. Burrows to Milton!

MPS Need To Know

Important Dates

• Jan 26 Kindergarten Information Night
• Jan 27 Wildcat Fun Night
• Feb 1 Early Release Day
• Feb 1 School Committee Meeting
• Feb 2 SEPAC Meeting
• Feb 8 School Committee Forum on Budget

MPS KINDERGARTEN – Welcome to the Class of 2036!

TONIGHT! 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. At the presentation on January 26, MPS administrators will share information about school assignment, the kindergarten curriculum, important dates, and more.

Milton Foundation For Education

We are so grateful to the MFE and the recent generous grants they have funded in each of our schools. As items arrive we look forward to sharing them with you. One recent arrival? 1475 headphones to be used in all six of our schools!  Quality headphones are an expensive item and this grant totaled $28,000! Students in the MHS Achieve class are busy preparing the headphones for each school. The sets of headphones will be distributed to Pierce Teams, elementary grades, multiple MHS departments, academic support teachers and technology teachers. Thank you to the MFE!

How can you support the MFE and the work they do on behalf of our students? Attend this year’s Celebration for Education 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!

French University Presentation For MHS Students

We are excited to offer our MHS students the exciting opportunity to hear directly from and learn more about four French Universities.  Students and families are invited to attend (in person or virtually) on Tuesday, February 7 at 6:00 p.m. in the MHS Library (or via zoom, link to follow). This live webinar will be in English and will include representatives from:

• Sciences Po Paris
• Sorbonne University
• Université Paris Sciences et Lettres
• Université Paris Saclay

This presentation is organized by MPS World Language Director, Ms. Zeina Hamada, in collaboration with the French Consulate and the French Cultural Center in Boston. Consul General Mr. Mustafa Soycourt and Marceau Crespo de Nogueira , the Consulate’s Educational and Cultural Project Manager have partnered to bring us this live webinar presentation. The Consul and his team will be attending the webinar from the Consulate and Ms. Hamada and other MHS teachers will be watching from the library. All are welcome to attend and the link to the webinar will be posted on the MPS website closer to the event.

MPS Good To Know

Wildcat Fun Night

Looking for a couple of hours to yourself without your kids? On Friday, January 27th from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., drop MPS students in grades K-5 off at Wildcat Fun Night at the Glover Gym. (Glover Gym is located at the side of the building not the main entrance). What to expect?

• DJ spinning tunes for the kids
• Learn some new dance moves led by MHS Dance Team
• Face Painting
• Make your own Valentine Card Station
• Gym Games led by Dance Team

Cost:  Only $10 per child! Cash or Venmo accepted at door.  Sign up here to guarantee a spot for your child Walk ins also welcome if space is available. Sponsored by the Milton High Dance Team. See you Friday for a fun night!

Neighbors Helping Neighbors 

Tucker, Glover, Cunningham and Collicot are holding cereal and soup drives this winter in support of our neighbors who utilize the Milton Community Food Pantry.

• During February, students are invited to donate soup.
• During March,  the schools are collecting cereal.

The Milton Food Pantry would appreciate it if donations could include healthy options. Students can bring their donation to school anytime throughout the month. The community is welcome to drop off donations to any elementary school lobby during school hours. Thank you to the PTO volunteers for organizing these food drives!

The pantry serves an average of 106 families during each week they are open and is experiencing a shortage in these items. For families who may be in need of food assistance, the Milton Community Food Pantry will be open Feb 4 and 18 and March 4 and 18 from 9:15 a.m.  – 11:15 a.m. The pantry is located in the Parkway Methodist Church, 158 Blue Hill Parkway.

Save The Date – Harlem Wizards

The MHS Senior Class is hosting the Harlem Wizards at MHS on March 8, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are available now at harlemwizards.com.

Preschool Information 23-24 School Year

• Information Night Recording from January 12, 2023
• PDF of Preschool Info Night Presentation 
• 2023-2024 Preschool Overview
• 2023-2024 Preschool Fact Sheet
• 2023-2024 Important Upcoming Preschool Dates
• 2023-2024 Tuition Assistance Information and Application
• 2023-2024 MPS Preschool Pre-registration Questionnaire (Must pre-reg by Jan 26)
• Preschool Lottery, if necessary – Friday, January 27, 2023

Children attending an MPS Preschool Program must be three years old on or before August 31, 2023. For more information, please call Marti O’Keefe McKenna, MPS Family Outreach Liaison, at 617 980 7343 or email Mrs. McKenna at [email protected]

Pierce 8th Grade In Dc

MPS Nice To Know

MPS Celebrates The Lunar New Year

Thank you to MHS National Honor Society students Jamie Lo and Alicia Wong for kicking off the Lunar New Year celebration at Collicot with a read aloud about the holiday. In honor of the Year of the Rabbit, Collicot students created a traditional wishing tree in the first floor hallway. Students were given a Red Envelope containing a special token and a small piece of paper. Students took time with family to draw and share a wish for this year on the back of this paper and brought it back to school to hang up on the tree. Please take a moment to watch our Collicot students wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Pierce 6th grader Isabella Chiu helped her English class celebrate the Lunar New Year by bringing in an embossed envelope with $1 for every student in the class. Bella explained how her family celebrates, the meaning behind the envelopes and taught the class to say Happy New Year in Cantonese. Thank you to Bella for sharing your family’s holiday with your classmates!

At Cunningham, Mrs. Qiu and Mrs. Chen taught Mrs. McKay’s 4th graders about the history of Chinese New Year and read a book about the Chinese Zodiac. They also brought crafts and activities for students to try. Students made lanterns, cut paper into Chinese characters, practiced writing Chinese characters, and practiced with chopsticks. Students also received lucky red envelopes!

Glover students enjoyed Mrs. McDavitt’s read-aloud “Chloe’s Lunar New Year” during morning announcements.

Ms. Watrous’ 5th grade Cunningham class was excited to welcome their classmate Jimmy’s parents, WeiLin Chen and Jie Huang, for a variety of interesting and exciting activities. Thank you for sharing your time and family traditions with the class.

MHS Theatre One Act Performance

MHS Theatre invites the community to a free benefit performance (donations welcome!) of four student directed scenes and a performance of their one act submission “Badger” for the METG Competition Festival. Please see the description of “Badger” below and please join us at MHS on Friday, February 3 at 7:00 p.m. for an evening of theater.

In 1944, four young women take newly available jobs at one of the largest munitions factories in the United States: the Badger Ordinance Works. Facing dangerous work with highly flammable powder as well as insidious sexism, the women form an unlikely friendship through joy and heartbreak. A vibrant ensemble brings the factory to life as each of the women confronts not only the challenges of entering the workforce in the darkest days of World War II, but also who she is and what she truly values. Unforgettable human stories make the era immediate in this captivating ensemble drama.

Collicot 5th Grade Visits Kindergarten

Collicot 5th grade visits with Kindergarten buddies continue to be a highlight for both students and teachers. In the most recent visit, 5th graders used what they are learning in science and led a lesson on mixtures and solutions. Each group was given a variety of materials  (i.e. sequence, pom poms, paper clips, feathers, and bingo chips). The older students explained that each of the materials was going to be used to create a mixture. Kindergarten students then mixed all the materials, learning that a mixture is two or more materials mixed together. After creating the mixture, 5th graders talked about how the items could be sorted and separated. One of the tools students used to separate the materials was a magnetic wand. Kindergartners were quick to see that the materials could be separated by color, texture, size, and material (metal/non-metal).

Not only are these visits with the Kindergartners fun and exciting but it allows time to assess fifth graders’ knowledge of science concepts in an organic way. Being able to explain what they learned to five and six-year-olds shows a great understanding of the material.

Tucker 5th Grade Idioms

Mrs. England’s Tucker 5th graders have displayed their understanding of idioms in the halls of Tucker with engaging and interactive posters. Colorful illustrations show the literal meaning of the idiom with a half sheet inviting students to lift and read the meaning of common idioms. The entire school is having fun learning what a variety of idioms mean. Can you match the idioms below with their meaning

Milton Community Schools

Our Winter Optional Enrichment classes have started and students are having a ball!
Students are enjoying Ja Shin Do with Ms Camille , beginner Mandarin with Ms. Melody, Super Soccer Stars with Mr. Isaiah, and Lego Challenges, Lego Adventures, Business Sharks and Kids Newsroom through Right Brain Curriculum

1st Grade Artists 

Glover 1st graders had fun and showed off their art skills with royalty self portraits. All hail the Glover Kings and Queens!

Tucker 1st graders are proud of their flower pot paintings inspired by the artist Clementine Hunter. They read the book, “Art from her Heart”, about the artist and looked at her flower paintings

MHS Athletics

Please see below from MPS AD Ryan Madden.

The Milton High School Boys & Girls Ski Team kick-off the 2023 race season with a roar! The Wildcats placed 5 boys and 3 girls in the top 3rd of Giant Slalom racers at Ski Ward on Tuesday evening.

• Top Milton Girls: Bowie Garvin – 31st, Alessandra Tuozzolo – 44th, & Abbe Taugher – 46th.
• Top Milton Boys: Ben Catudal – 12th, Liam Higgins – 30th, Casey Olsen – 36th, Dan Hipp – 44th & John Ghelli – 45th.

Tuesday’s Giant Slalom race at Ski Ward was the 1st time in over 5 years that the members of the boy’s team earned points in both races! The Ski Team’s next Giant Slalom race will be Tuesday, Jan. 31st at Ski Ward.

If you weren’t able to make the Basketball Game last Wednesday, you missed a great performance from the Dance Team at halftime! See Twitter for the video. Only a few weeks into their inaugural season as a Varsity Sport, Coach O’Toole has done a great job preparing them. The team is  excited for their first competition in two weeks!

Girls and Boys Hockey both beat Wellesley yesterday! The Girls won 4-0 behind a stellar showing in net from Lila Chamoun, earning their first win over Wellesley in 8 years. Sarah McGillivray scored twice and assisted as well. The Boys won 4-0, with two goals from Sean McDougall – against a previously undefeated Raider Team – to improve their chances of making the tournament! Thank you to Riley Donovan for the Girls Hockey pics below!

The Track Teams had a strong showing on Sunday evening with the girls taking home a team trophy for their runner up finish and the boys finishing in 13th out of 21 teams. Both teams fought for every point with many of our athletes performing season and personal bests. The team looks to continue their positive momentum. They are just one month from All-States!

Congratulations are in order for the Shuttle Relay Team (pictured above) of Claudia O’Neil, Donna Gauvin, Elana Pukel and Shakura Lynch! On their way to a victory the foursome also set a new school record (previous record was from 2008) and qualified for the New Balance Championships in Boston on March 11-12!

Girls Basketball loved having the Pierce Girls Basketball team join our practice this week.  MHS Captain Kate gave some words of advice to our future ‘Cats!

Superintendent Shoutout

Congratulations to MHS students Atticus D’Alessandro, Tim Fay, Lucy Hays and Claudia O’Neill who auditioned for and were accepted to the MMEA All State Festival last week! This is a tremendous achievement as students first had to be accepted to the MMEA Eastern District Festival in November and then have high enough scores to qualify for All State Auditions. Atticus, Tim, Lucy and Claudia will be performing at the MMEA All State Concert at Symphony Hall in Boston on Saturday, March 4. Bravo!

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 American Baseball registration is now open for players ages 4-12. With T-ball through the Majors Division there is an opportunity for everyone to play and develop with friends. Please visit miltonamericanbaseball.org for more information.

MECA offers Stories and Friends Meet Up: Signs of Winter. Meet and connect with other families with young children and enjoy some winter fun! We’ll meet at the Visitor’s Center at Houghton’s Pond, enjoy some stories and songs, look for animal tracks in the snow, and complete a fun, hands-on snowman activity. Children will have the opportunity to meet Ranger Dan, who will read the StoryWalk® posted on the grounds. Registration is not required; however, you will need to sign in upon arrival. Please dress for both indoor and outdoor weather. A free animal tracks activity will be distributed to the first 35 children who sign in that morning. This program will meet on Saturday, February 18th, at 10:30 a.m. at 860 Hillside Street in Milton. Many thanks to our Kindergarten T-shirt sponsors for their generous support of this program!

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 February 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.

• Kids in Grades K-5 are invited to come meet and read to a lovable (and a very good listener!) volunteer dog on Saturday, February 4 at 2:30 p.m.! Each child will have the opportunity to read to the dog in a private, 10 minute session to practice their reading aloud skills. Sign up today!
• Calling all teen cooks! The Milton Library Teen Program is hosting a hands-on vegetarian cooking class with local chef and cookbook author Didi Emmons on Thursday, February 23 at 3:30 p.m. Registration is required; visit our website for details.

The Teen Program is also always looking for volunteers, If you’re a high schooler looking for some community service hours, please reach out to Tyler by email at [email protected], or swing by the Teen Room during after school hours to learn more.

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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.