SPS Weekly Newsletter

We are excited to share the latest edition of the SPS Weekly Newsletter with our families, students, staff, and community members! A new edition will be sent each Friday when school is in session, sharing updates, previewing upcoming events, and showcasing the amazing work being done in our schools. This week we feature Dr. Baeta's weekly message, OMS National Junior Honor Society inductees, award winning Marching Black Knights, Halloween photos, and more!

Let me start this week with TRANSPORTATION. No topic has been more controversial than bus transportation, both yellow bus and special education.

The yellow bus service is provided by a third party vendor and the drivers are not SPS employees and the buses are not property of SPS. Yellow bus transportation was provided until last winter by charging families a fee to ride. The School Committee and previous administration took a serious look at the family fee and eliminated the fee and moved 100% of the line-item cost into the operational budget. This was a great decision for families. To that end, the School Committee and administration at that time decided to implement for the current year a process that included meeting a deadline via a “signing up” process. This was done in order to be as equitable as possible. Unfortunately, deadlines were not met by families which caused some students to not get a seat. We continue to attempt to address this issue daily.

Lastly, we will be publishing this process in the spring of 2024 for the fall of 2024 ridership.

Special education transportation is a totally different process and issue. First, the decision to provide special education transportation is made by the IEP Team which consists of parents, educators, and even advocates. This decision is based on many factors.

As a district we utilize third party vendors for special education transportation. This has not been easy as both the availability of vans and mini buses, as well as finding drivers are both very difficult. We continue to look at various options to try to address this topic as well.

Please continue to work with us as we find solutions to a very difficult issue.

Joseph F. Baeta, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Stoughton Public Schools

The O'Donnell Middle School held its National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony Monday evening. The National Junior Honor Society recognizes outstanding middle school students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship. Congratulations to the 32 OMS students inducted! The inductees are pictured together in the first photo. The returning OMS NJHS members are pictured together in the second photo. Click here for a photo gallery from the induction ceremony.

The OMS National Junior Honor Society inductees are photographed above. The current NJHS members are photographed below.

The Stoughton High Marching Black Knights ended its competition season last weekend by being recognized as one of the top bands and color guards in the state and in New England! This season's show for the Marching Black Knights, titled “Dawn to Dusk”, features the music of The Beatles (“Here Comes the Sun”), Max Richter (“On the Nature of Daylight”), Henry Mancini (“Moon River”), and Van Morrison (“Moondance”).

Last Saturday at the USBands New England Championships in New Britain, CT, Stoughton won the MA Group IV A State Championship and came in 2nd place overall in all of New England in Group IV A!

And, last Sunday at the MICCA State Finals in Quincy, Stoughton won a gold medal!

Congratulations to the members of the band and color guard!

It was great to see all of the creative Halloween costumes earlier this week! Wilkins School first graders are pictured here, dressed in their costumes, doing some pumpkin-related math activities on Halloween.

Click on the photos below to see more Halloween photos from our elementary schools and the Jones Early Childhood Center:

Students weren't the only ones dressing up! Staff members were also in the Halloween spirit!

Gru (a.k.a. Dawe School Principal Mr. Cancellieri) and his Minions (a.k.a. Dawe School staff) are pictured here at the Dawe School Halloween Parade on Tuesday!

The South School staff earns an A+ for these creative and fun Halloween costumes!

Hi Barbie! Gibbons School staff are pictured here at the Gibbons Halloween Parade in Barbie and Ken costumes. Click here for more Gibbons staff photos.

Keep in mind that students have two days off from school next week:

• Tuesday, November 7, 2023 - No school for students (staff professional development day)
• Friday, November 10, 2023 - Veterans Day observed (all school offices and buildings will be closed)

And while we are on the topic of schedules, don't forget to "fall back" before you go to bed on Saturday and turn your clocks back one hour! Daylight saving time officially ends at 2am on Sunday, November 5, 2023.

Dr. Baeta will be providing the following office hours at the Superintendent’s Office, located at 31 Pierce Street in Stoughton:

• Tuesday, November 14th from 8:30-9:30am

• Thursday, November 16th from 5:00-6:00pm

The Stoughton High School Theatre program will be presenting "Into the Woods" November 17-19 at the SHS Auditorium! Can't wait for this show! Click here for tickets and for more information.

The O’Donnell Middle School PTSO Craft & Vendor Fair will be held on Saturday, December 2, 2023. The OMS PTSO is looking for student crafters who are interested in having a vendor table. There is no cost for students to have a table!

Fill out this form by November 15 if you are interested (this form MUST be filled out by a parent/guardian; high school students may fill out their own information).

*If you are using the QR code on the flyer to access the form, be sure to hit the skip advertisement button to be taken to the form.

Stoughton Public Schools students have the opportunity to take part in a free Futsal academy at the Stoughton High School gymnasium Monday nights in November and December. Futsal is a soccer-based game played indoors on a hard court. The sessions for 5-8 year olds and 9-12 year olds are full, but there is still room available in the session for 13-17 year olds. Click here for more information and to register.

There is no charge for Stoughton Public Schools families. Space is limited and is filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Are you or someone you know looking for part-time work? Our school bus transportation provider, First Student, is hiring school bus drivers for Stoughton. For more information and to apply, click here.

The Stoughton Public Schools will be holding the Annual Title 1 Family Orientation Meeting on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 3:15pm at the Wilkins School (1322 Central St.). Please click here for more information. This meeting is open to all members of the Stoughton Public Schools community and Stoughton residents.

Another friendly reminder that with the school year underway, we want to make sure we have accurate and updated emergency contact information and health information for your child. Please log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal account, click on the forms link in the left navigation menu and update any information that is not accurate in the two forms - Current Student Information/Emergency Form and Current Student Health Information. When you have updated the information, please click on submit at the bottom of each of the forms. If your child's information is accurate, please click on submit at the bottom of each form to indicate that you have reviewed the data and it is accurate.

For updates throughout the week, be sure to follow Stoughton Public Schools on social media: