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McGovern News!
May 5, 2023
On behalf of the entire McGovern community, thank you for all of the sweet treats, flowers, delicious muffins, and snacks MEPTO provided for us this week in honor of Faculty and Staff Appreciation Week! Each day had such a special pick me up for all of us!
A very special thanks to the MEPTO volunteers who helped the Medway administration with a special project as well. We appreciate your partnership in "cricuting" our travel mugs with the Medway "M"!
The end of the school year is in sight and that brings a mix of emotions for students. We have lots of end of year celebrations coming up. If your child is feeling especially anxious about the end of the school year, please reach out to your child's teacher.
Please see below for some important announcements and remember that May 19th is an early release day! Have a great weekend.
Best,
Amy McDonald, Principal
School Safety
Ensuring the safety of our students and staff is of utmost importance, and conducting safety drills is a necessary measure to achieve that. However, we also recognize the importance of prioritizing the mental health and overall well-being of our students and minimizing school disruption.
We will continue to balance preparing for emergencies and creating a supportive and caring environment for our school community and ensure that our drills are conducted in a way that is age-appropriate and sensitive to the needs of our students. We will continue fire drills, as planned. However, we will provide more context and information about safety drills in our next Newsletter before we run any additional drills.
Principal Coffee Hours - Rescheduled !
** The May 8th Coffee Hour has been cancelled. It will be rescheduled for sometime in early June. **
The last coffee hour was focused on equity for all students. You can find the presentation here. Please reach out to Shelby Holt or Amy McDonald with any questions.
Our Amazing Artists Featured at the Permanent Art Collection
Preschool: Maggie Golden
Kindergarten: Tommy Blake
First Grade: Aliviah Santucci
Night of the Arts ! (Sign-up has been posted)
Below you will find links to sign up for three classroom visits. Please be sure to sign up for three different classes in three different time blocks. Further instructions are in the linked SignUpGenius, so please read them with care, and reach out to the Allied Arts team with any questions.
There is no sign up for the PreK afternoon on May 17th from 3:30-4:30pm (you will be organized by classrooms).
Click here to sign up for the Kindergarten night on May 17th from 5:30-6:30pm.
Click here to sign up for the First Grade night on May 24th from 5:30-6:30pm.
Hope to see you there!
Brad Shoenfelt, Wellness
Peter Malagodi, Music
Beth Ann Cornwell, Art
Stephanie Fogaren, Science
Matthew Holt, Library
Community Education
Our updated Summer Brochure will arrive in Medway mailboxes in mid-May. The brochure will feature many exciting craft, STEM and sports/fitness activities to keep your children active and having fun all summer long! Programs for high school students - College Essay Workshop, Speed & Strength Academy with Jason Shea, Field Hockey Clinic with Coach Has, and Driver’s Education with Teachers Driving Academy - are currently accepting registrations. Families may begin registering using this link now!
The Summer Adventures Camp is currently accepting applications for students ages 14 and 15 for the volunteer LIT (Leader in Training) camp opportunity. Please visit the Community Education website to complete the application, which can then be forwarded to communityeducation@medwayschools.org. Interviews will take place on Wednesday, May 17, in the Community Education office located in the Burke wing of the Burke-Memorial School.
Ice Cream Social
Book Check Out
Grade 1 Field Trip - Southwick's Zoo !
Volunteering for Field Day & Field Trips !
If you are planning on volunteering for Field Day or the Grade 1 Field Trip to Southwick's Zoo the district is requiring all volunteers to complete a CORI check (good for one academic school year) and sign off on a Confidentiality Agreement.
Families need to fill out this Google Form. The Google Form includes all the necessary documents to volunteer the CORI Form a section to upload a copy of your license, and the Confidentiality Agreement. If you are having trouble uploading the documents to the Google form you are more than welcome to drop off a paper copy or fill them out in the main office.
CORI checks for Southwick's Zoo are due by May 24, 2023 at 3:00 PM
CORI checks for Field Day are due by June 2, 2023 at 3:00 PM
Parents/Guardians will not be able to volunteer if we do not receive their CORI and Confidentiality Agreement are not received by the deadline.
Snacks and Water Bottles !
Our growing students often get hungry through out the school day. Please be sure to pack your child with enough snacks to get them through the day!
As the weather starts to warm up, please be sure to send your child in with a water bottle each day.
We are happy to provide these if students forget but we do not want students missing out on instructional time to come to the office to get them.
Medway THRIVE Parent/Caregiver Survey
THRIVE is a component of the Medway School’s Wellness Department that is committed to providing wellness-related parent/guardian enrichment opportunities. THRIVE is looking to better understand how parents/caregivers would like to consume enrichment opportunities and what topics they would like to learn more about next school year. Please share your thoughts by completing this two-three minute survey.
MassHealth Members will soon need to renew their health coverage
OLDER NEWS !
Attendance Letters
Per our handbook and the attendance letter, an absence may be considered excused if documentation is provided supporting one or the following conditions: family bereavement or serious illness in the family; school approved field trips; observance of major religious holidays; legal reasons; absence due to a doctor's appointment; absences on the day following dismissal by school nurse and other family circumstances at the discretion of the principal. Below is a link to the elementary student handbook which outlines the Elementary attendance policy and definitions of excused and unexcused absences.
Elementary School Handbook pages 16-17Please reach out to Caitlin Creed and or Amy McDonald with any questions.
Caregiver Connection & Support Group
Parking for School Events
COVID-19 REMINDERS AND PROTOCOLS
With the cold and flu season upon us, and the continuing challenges posed by COVID-19, it is important that we all stay vigilant in protecting the health of our schools. At-home testing is encouraged when your child or a family member has symptoms. Free at-home tests are available with most health insurance through CVS. If your child tests positive, please inform your child’s school nurse and follow COVID protocols around isolation and mask-wearing. We encourage you to keep your child home when exhibiting COVID and influenza symptoms and recommend mask-wearing when sick. For tips on effective mask-wearing and mask options, please click here.
Kindergarten Registration is Open
We have several events leading up to our first day of kindergarten including Summer Kindergarten Camp. You can find them here. We look forward to welcoming our Class of 2036 to the Medway Public Schools!
2023-2024 School Calendar
At the School Committee meeting that was held on Thursday, February 2, the 2023-2024 School Year Calendar was approved. School Committee also approved the 2024 Medway High School Graduation date. Click here to view!
Medway App
MPS Budget Development and Approval Process
May 8, 2023: Town Meeting
Community members are encouraged to attend Medway’s Town Meeting on Monday, May 8, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., at Medway High School, 88 Summer Street, when residents will be asked to vote on the Town of Medway FY24 budget, which will be inclusive of the FY24 Medway Public School’s budget to be used for the 2023-2024 school year.
SORA
We’re excited to remind you that the school has access to a wonderful reading resource called Sora. Sora is an online library, run through the Massachusetts Library Network, giving our students access to thousands of ebooks, audiobooks, and digital read aloud books. The service is free to all students, accessible at all times, and only requires your student’s school email and password to access it. Sora can be accessed at home via your web browser at soraapp.com/library/masslibma or download the Sora app onto your device.
When using Sora for the first time, please select our school district ‘Medway Public Schools’ from the list and then use your student’s school email address (@student.medwayschools.org) and password, this is the same password students use to log into their Chromebooks. Student’s may borrow up to 5 books at a time and keep them for 21 days or return them early if they wish to check out more.
If you have any issues accessing Sora please email support@medwayschools.org
Supporting Shriners Hospital
At least 4 families in Medway have been helped by Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston over the years. The Jackson family, the Davis family, the Fagerson family, and most recently the MacLeod family this summer. All at no cost thanks to the incredible Shriners Hospital!
Shriners hospital collects can tabs for money. If you would like to join us in thanking Shriners Hospital on behalf of these families you can collect can tabs and drop them at the fire station or police station. If you have a student at McGovern School you can have them bring them to school to drop in a container in our main office. Thank you for your support!
Follow us on Social Media!
Did you know there are several ways to follow us on social media? Please see below for our links. Please also note that we will not be interacting with our Facebook page, as it is a place for us to post information. As always, if you have any questions regarding your child and/or the school, please reach out to your child's teacher, the front office, or administration.
McGovern Elementary School: Twitter: @McGovernElem
Facebook: @mcgovernelem
Instagram: @mcgovernelem
Breakfast and Lunch
Important Dates!
May 17: Preschool Night of the Arts, 3:30 - 4:30 PM
May 17: Kindergarten Night of the Arts, 5:30 - 6:30 PM
May 19: Early Release Day, 12:00 PM dismissal K-1; 11:30 PK
May 23-25: Kindergarten Screening, appointment only
May 24: School Site Council, 3:20 - 4:20 PM
May 24: Grade 1 Night of the Arts, 5:30 - 6:30 PM
May 29: No School - Memorial Day
May 30: Southwick Zoo (rain date, June 6)
June 2: No Preschool - Arena Day
June 5: MEPTO meeting, 6:30 PM
June 9: Field Day (rain date, June 13th)
June 16: Last Day of School: 12:00 PM dismissal K-1; 11:30 PK
Do you need the Smore Newsletter Translated?
Here is the link for the master directions in English.
Here is the link for Spanish.
Here is the link for French.
Here is the link for Russian.
Here is the link for Arabic
Here is the link for Portuguese.
Here is the link for Chinese (traditional).
Here is the link for Tamil.
Here is the link for Telugu.
Haga clic en los siguientes enlaces para obtener instrucciones sobre cómo traducir el boletín.
Aquí está el enlace para español.
Here is the link for Spanish.
Veuillez cliquer sur les liens suivants pour savoir comment traduire le bulletin d'information.
Here is the link for French.
Пожалуйста, нажмите следующие ссылки для получения инструкций о том, как перевести информационный бюллетень.
Вот ссылка на русский.
Here is the link for Russian.
Clique nos links a seguir para obter instruções sobre como traduzir o boletim informativo.
Aqui está o link para o espanhol.
Here is the link for Portuguese.
單擊以下鏈接以獲取有關如何翻譯時事通訊的說明。
這是西班牙語的鏈接。
Here is the link for Chinese (traditional).
செய்திமடலை எவ்வாறு மொழிபெயர்ப்பது என்பது குறித்த வழிமுறைகளுக்கு பின்வரும் இணைப்புகளைக் கிளிக் செய்யவும்.
ஸ்பானிஷ் மொழிக்கான இணைப்பு இதோ.
Here is the link for Tamil.
వార్తాలేఖను ఎలా అనువదించాలో సూచనల కోసం క్రింది లింక్లపై క్లిక్ చేయండి.
స్పానిష్ కోసం ఇక్కడ లింక్ ఉంది.
Here is the link for Telugu.
انقر فوق الروابط التالية للحصول على إرشادات حول كيفية ترجمة النشرة الإخبارية.
هنا هو الرابط
Here is the link for Arabic