Thank you again for your efforts preparing your child for our first full week of school. It was great seeing students actively engaged in their learning, and working together to think critically and problem solve. It certainly feels like a more normal school year!
A reminder that we have our Curriculum Nights:
Monday, September 19th 6:30pm (Grade 5)
Tuesday, September 20th 6:30pm (Grade 6)
We will have a brief presentation in the gym, where we will share about the academic and extra curricular programming that is available here at Sherwood. Parents will then head to team to meet their child's teachers and learn more about their school day and learning experiences.
A reminder that this event is for parents and guardians only.
We look forward to seeing many of you this week!
Picture Day: This Thursday 9/22
Picture Day will take place on Thursday, September 22nd.
All students will be photographed using green screen technology allowing you to choose which background you prefer. For best results, please refrain from wearing green clothing or accessories. Proofs will be sent home within a few days.
Late Bus Starts This Week
We are thrilled to announce that we will continue to offer FREE late bus services for students at Shrewsbury High School, Oak Middle School, and Sherwood Middle School starting Monday, September 19th, 2022. Late buses will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The buses will depart from SHS at 3:30pm and from the middle schools at 4:00pm.
This is a limited service with fixed bus stops. It is not intended to provide service to all neighborhoods due to financial limitations.
There are three bus routes with centralized stops coming from each campus. Please look at the middle schools map or high school map to decide which route and stop is best for your family. Please know that times are approximate and the actual time your child gets off the bus may be different from the time posted in the schedule. Parents are responsible for making arrangements for their students to get home from the centralized bus stops.
While there is no charge for this service, families will need to sign up for the late bus via the middle schools Google form or the high school Google form. You can sign up for your student(s) to take the bus home regularly or only as needed. In order to sign up, you will need to know the bus route (red, green, or blue) and the bus stop number where the student will get off the bus. Please consult our color-coded map before you access the Google form.
SHS students will also be able to sign themselves up. We ask that you sign up by noon on the day your child will take the bus. You will need to complete the Google form for each child in your family who will take the late bus.
Please contact April Yu (transportation@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us) with questions.
Wishing everyone a safe and successful school year!
SPS Transportation Team
No Homework Weekends
In the interest of helping to foster well-being with our students and their families this year we will expand the “No homework weekend” calendar first instituted by Shrewsbury High School districtwide. Given that per district policy students at the Elementary level are not assigned homework on the weekend or over vacation breaks, this change means that there will be no homework assigned on the following holidays.
New Resource for Students and Families: School Pulse
Shrewsbury Public Schools is excited to be launching a new initiative for our students at Sherwood Middle School, Oak Middle School and Shrewsbury High School. ‘SchoolPulse’ is a Positive Psychology tool that provides weekly inspirational podcasts, check-ins, and the best Positive Psychology skills available. This will be done through text, three times a week. Participation is voluntary. Your child’s responses are completely anonymous (meaning we do not have their personal cell number or any personal information).
Some additional features include:
This service is entirely voluntary, and students can opt in and opt out anytime.
The child has access to an individual dashboard (accessed through their text), that shows their check-in responses in the moment and longitudinally.
The school will receive a general electronic report demonstrating the overall emotional pulse in the school. There is no individual data available to the school or district.
These texts are completely free.
Data shows that students who utilize and interact with SchoolPulse improve their thinking and feeling, and those who improve their thinking and feeling, ultimately improve behavior and academic performance.
You are welcome to participate as well. Simply text the word “Demo” to 78573, to see how SchoolPulse works. Enjoy!
If you want to find out more about SchoolPulse, simply go to www.schoolpulse.org.
Speech Team
The Sherwood Speech Team will start soon! Sixth grade students have the opportunity to participate in competitive speech activities as part of the Speech Team. Practices are in-person on Mondays from 3 - 4 PM. Competitions are typically on Sundays and will start in January.
To learn more about competitive speech and to find out how to sign up for the team, all interested 6th graders are invited to attend an information meeting on Monday, October 3rd, right after school. Please plan on taking the late bus home (sign up in advance!) or arrange for transportation home at 4 PM. For more information about competitive speech, please check out the Sherwood website (it’s on the Activities page) and/or check out the Massachusetts Middle School Speech League website at https://mmssl.weebly.com/
Important Reminders
Student Absence
All parents/guardians must inform the office if their child will be absent or late to school. SPS requires that you telephone us either the night before or first thing in the morning on the day of the child’s absence at 508-841-8670. If we have not received a call to report an absence, the school will be in contact with the parent to confirm the child’s safety.
Dismissal
If you are dismissing your child early, you must call the Main Office at 508-841-8670 (instead of emailing team teachers).
Anonymous School Safety Tip Line
This anonymous form can be used to submit information that may be helpful in ensuring the safety of students, faculty, and property of the Shrewsbury Public Schools in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. The form creates an electronic email alert to several staff members of the Shrewsbury Public Schools. It does not go to the Shrewsbury Police Department.
Staff email alerts are generally monitored Monday through Friday during business hours of 8am to 4:30pm. If the information you have is TIME SENSITIVE, please call 911 for assistance. If you wish to speak to a representative from the Shrewsbury Police Department and your concern is not urgent you can reach them 24/7 by calling 508-841-8577.
PTO NEWS
SHERWOOD/OAK/SHREWSBURY APPAREL ORDERS
The PTO is offering Sherwood, Oak, and Shrewsbury apparel to purchase through October 3rd! We have t-shirts, hoodies, and 3/4 sleeve raglan t-shirts in various colors with Sherwood, Oak, or Shrewsbury logos. Orders will arrive and be distributed directly to students at school in late October. Place your order here: https://bit.ly/SMSapparel2022
**We are only offering online orders at this time.
**Credit Cards are charged by Spectrum Apparel Webstore - please make sure you note this so you recognize your credit card charge.**
FOOD TRUCK NIGHTS
Thank you for everyone who joined us at the Oak Food Truck night on 9/14! We will be planning 2 Food Truck Nights for late next spring and hope the weather cooperates next time for us to host both nights!
OCTOBER PTO MEETING
The October PTO meeting will be on Monday, October 3rd @ 7PM in the Oak Media Center.
We have many items to discuss and plan, and would love more input as well as volunteers to help make these happen!
Upcoming events and fundraisers include:
Sherwood Fall Night Out, Fair Trade Caravans fundraiser, Danielson Florist holiday wreath sales, Sherwood and Oak Spelling Bees, and much more!
https://www.facebook.com/events/519681450064176/
The SMS PTO serves BOTH Sherwood and Oak and we would love to have parents from grade 5-8 join us.
SMS PTO FACEBOOK PAGE
The SMS PTO does not send notices home with students as you may have been used to in elementary school. Instead, we provide info via the weekly newsletters from Mr. Kelly and Mrs. Burak, and we post info, events, and other items of note via our Facebook page. Please be sure to find us and like us to keep up with us!
Kristen Ward
Email: krward@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us
Location: 28 Sherwood Avenue, Shrewsbury, MA, USA
Phone: 508-841-8670
Helen Kvaracein
Email: hkvaracein@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us
Location: 28 Sherwood Avenue, Shrewsbury, MA, USA
Phone: 508-841-8670
Sherwood Middle School
