Milton Public Schools: October 21, 2021

Press release from the Milton Public Schools:

Superintendent Jette

October 21, 2021

To: Parents/Guardians and StaffFrom: James F. JetteRe: Superintendent’s Weekly UpdateDate: October 21, 2021

FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

Sunday is a great day to support the Milton High School Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams at their Kids Trail Run at Cunningham Park on Sunday, October 24. There are different races for students in K-8th grades and it is a great opportunity to experience cross country. Registration is $10/person and starts at 10am on race day. 

The Town is offering a Flu Clinic on October 27. Help keep our community healthy and get your flu shot.

Next weekend The Milton Halloween Stroll is on Saturday, October 30 in East Milton Square, followed the next day by the MFE’s Monster Dash. 

The Milton Halloween Stroll

Be sure to register for The Monster Dash 5k, Fun Run & community event which falls on Halloween this year! Join us on Sunday, October 31, at Cunningham Hall. Register now! 

Be sure to register for The Monster Dash Register now! 

The MFE has been organizing the Monster Dash for over 20 years. It is a beloved community event that memorializes Sam Cichello, a Tucker Student who died in a tragic playground accident. Sam loved science so the Monster Dash funds raised go toward science in all 6 Milton public schools. Save the date and start planning your costumes! 

And, coming soon to MHS –  Live Theatre is back with Chicago! Tickets are on sale TODAY!

And, coming soon to MHS –  Live Theatre is back with Chicago! Tickets are on sale TODAY!

In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband, Amos, to take the rap… until he finds out he’s been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another “Merry Murderess,” Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the “American Dream”: fame, fortune, and acquittal. This show has it all and is guaranteed to please! Tickets are available now at this link. 

Tickets are available now at this link.  SCHOOL COMMITTEE

The Milton School Committee will be hosting virtual Community Forums next Thursday, October 28 to receive feedback from the community on the findings of the Quality Review report prepared by Cambridge Education.  This report was first shared in the Superintendent’s Blog dated September 23, 2021 and is posted on the Milton Public Schools website. 

Community Forums website

The Community Forums will be held at two different times, 7:30-8:30am and 6:30-7:30pm. (Morning session Zoom link;Meeting ID: 852 5332 7674; Passcode: 126663. Evening session Zoom link; Meeting ID: 869 3301 8294; Passcode: 077175)

(Morning session Zoom link; Evening session Zoom link;

Members of the School Committee will be joined by members of the MPS administration, and we encourage all stakeholders in the MPS community to come share your questions, perspectives, and priorities as the district moves forward to address the report’s recommendations. Whether or not you are able to attend, you are welcome to pre-submit questions or share feedback through this google form.

this google form

The regular Milton School Committee meeting is on November 3 at 7pm.  All information about attending School Committee meetings can be found on the Town of Milton webpage under School Committee. 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.

Town of Milton webpage under School Committee. Milton Access TV online on-demand HEALTH AND SAFETY

Test and Stay: Currently 59% of MPS students have completed the Opt In form for Test and Stay and Symptomatic testing. If you have not yet opted in, please consider doing so now. All details can be found here.

Test and Stay: If you have not yet opted in, please consider doing so now. details can be found here.

Superintendent Jette’s September 9, 2021 letter about the Test and Stay Program can be found here. You must OPT IN to Test and Stay to participate.  You can opt in at this link. 

Test and Stay Program can be found here. You must OPT IN to Test and Stay to participate. You can opt in at this link.

Covid Vaccination: Last night at School Committee I discussed our current vaccination rates among students. You can see the current percentages among students at the graphic at right. I am also pleased to share that the School Committee and the Milton Educators Association (MEA) have reached an agreement that all MEA members will be vaccinated or submit a vaccination waiver. We are grateful to the MEA for this important step to keep our community healthy. 

Covid Vaccination:

The proposal for the Covid vaccine for students aged 5-11 years will be heading to the FDA Advisory Panel on October 26, then it needs to go to the CDC and FDA for EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) approval. This process takes approximately a week for each (a total of two weeks following October 26). As vaccines are a pillar of our national and local Covid strategy, I urge you to discuss vaccination now with your child’s pediatrician, in anticipation of this news. We hope to be able to hold a Covid vaccine clinic in the near future but also expect that the vaccine will be widely available for children. 

Manet Community Health Center has offered both vaccine and testing clinics at MPS over the last 18 months. Manet has regular walk in Covid vaccine clinics at their local locations. All details on dates and times of the vaccine clinics can be found here. 

All details on dates and times of the vaccine clinics can be found here. 

For the time period of Thursday, October 14 – Wednesday, October 20, MPS had  15 positive student cases, and 2 positive staff cases. Each of these positive cases impacts close contacts at every school. All health and safety information can be found on our Health Services website. 

Health Services website IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES 

• Oct 23 MHS Homecoming Dance
• Oct 28 School Committee Forums 
• Nov 2 No School – Teacher PD Day 
• Nov 3 School Committee Meeting
• Nov 4, 6, 7 Chicago at MHS 
• Nov 11 No School – Veterans Day
• Nov 17 School Committee Meeting
• Nov 18 Early Release Day K-12 (PT Conf Gr 6-12 only)
• Nov 22 MHS Cabaret 

Please refer to the District-Wide Calendar of Events for times and details. The 21-22 School Year Calendar can be found here (Revised 2/24/21) Note: This calendar is intended as a guide ONLY. It may be necessary to change this schedule to better serve instructional purposes.

Please refer to the District-Wide Calendar of Events for times and details. The 21-22 School Year Calendar can be found here 

Also, please continue to refer to the MPS website for all information about Covid safety, transportation, School Committee updates, district wide presentations, Special Education information, school handbooks, anti bullying policy and reporting system, food service menus and more.

MPS website

Come celebrate Taco Tuesday on November 2 from 4-8 pm at Chipotle at 60 Newport Ave, Quincy and support the Class of 2023. Show the flyer at right or order online using code, GVV4ERR, and 33% of the proceeds from your order will be donated to the 2023 student government. The MHS Junior Class thanks you!

EDUCATION EQUITY

Senior Director of Education Equity, Somaly Prak-Martins, shares this week’s Behaving Equitably Newsletter linked here. Ms. Prak-Martins shares information about ongoing equity work, a history of the Salem Witch Trials and more in this week’s newsletter. 

Somaly Prak-Martins Behaving Equitably Newsletter linked here HIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

MHS  teachers Dan Jarboe and Megan Johnson took their Course 3 students outside to explore math concepts using kinesthetic methods. On day one, students were put into teams and asked to make themselves into points on the graph in order to practice function translations. On day two, students worked in groups to create and plot life size function graphs with sidewalk chalk.

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MHS Applied Math seniors recently learned how to calculate speedometer and odometer error based on dimensions imprinted on a car’s rubber tire. A change in tire size from the factory-installed model will cause one’s speed and mileage to be inaccurate. To see this in action, the students calculated tire circumference from their own cars and measured travel distance to see the math in action.

Brenda Redding. PIERCE PAGES

Mr. Manning’s art classes have passed the halfway point of “Inktober”. Prompts are getting challenging but students kept the creative juices flowing as you can see in the photos below.

Pierce 7th grade artists recently put the final touches on their Wayne Thiebaud inspired food drawings. During the duration of this lesson students debated about their favorite and the best fast food restaurants and ice cream stops. Lots of fun and plenty of detail went into their drawings.

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Students in Mrs. Lombardo’s math classes created tessellations to end Unit 1: Transformations and Congruence. A tessellation is any repeating pattern that can fill an entire plane without gaps using transformations.

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Connection Time is Back at Pierce! We were excited to reestablish “connection time” at Pierce. The purpose of connection time is to provide students with regular opportunities to engage with a small group of students and a staff member to develop and strengthen their sense of connection with one another and their teacher. Through these small connection time communities, students will feel safe and connected to a group of peers, have a connection with their teacher, and feel safe and comfortable with this adult in the building.

We had a special schedule on October 13 to accommodate our connection time kick-off. After that, connection time will occur once every seven day cycle for 29 minutes and will replace flex time on the day in the cycle in which it takes place.

Educators have a variety of options for engaging with their connection time group. These options include themed activities focused on school-wide initiatives; group discussions on topics ranging from current issues to simple “get to know you” activities; student check-ins; games; mindfulness activities; or flex time.

INSIDE OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Ms. Perrault’s Collicot Kindergarten students enjoyed an outside science lesson last week, learning about the parts of a tree. Students are observing one tree in the Green Space and will go every two weeks to see how it changes over the season. These young scientists loved exploring and feeling the different textures of each tree and seeing how each is different, despite having the same parts.

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ATHLETICS COMMUNITY NEWS The Milton Public Library’s  October calendar can be found here November calendar is at this link. Register for each week’s session at this link . please visit the MPL website. Spooky Stories Under the Stars at the Forbes House Museum For more information and to register, visit the Forbes House website.  Milton Cultural Council Grant application deadline has been EXTENDED!  Milton Cultural Council accepting applications community input survey massculturalcouncil.org/local-council/milton Milton Cultural Council Facebook Page MECA (Milton Early Childhood Association) Handling Your Child’s Big Feelings Parent Workshop: Register here. Literacy Fun Through STEAM with the Easton Children’s Museum:  Session 1: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: Build A Tree! register here.  Session 2: Where The Wild Things Are: Float My Boat! register here.  SUPERINTENDENT SHOUTOUT BLOG SUBSCRIPTION:  please enter your email here to subscribe

This press release was produced by the Milton Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.