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McGovern News!
October 14, 2022
We were bummed that we couldn't get our "Walk to School Day" in today but as you have read, we have rescheduled the event for Friday, October 28, 2022. We did not include a rain date on the original permission slip, so please complete this electronic permission slip as soon as possible, but no later than Friday, October 14, 2022. This will give us ample time to plan the rescheduled event. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher.
Please see the updates below and have a great weekend!
Best,
Amy McDonald, Principal
Principal Coffee Hours
I am pleased to share that the first coffee hour will be held on Monday, November 14th from either 9:00-10:00 am OR 4:00-5:00 pm (it will be the same presentation at each time slot). I will provide families with an update on our beginning of year data as well as talk about our new literacy curriculum, myView.
Please mark your calendars for upcoming coffee hours this year:
November 14, 2022
December 12, 2022
January 23, 2023
March 13, 2023
May 8, 2023
I hope to see families at our first coffee hour of the year!
Student Absences
Elementary School Handbook pages 16-17
Pin Codes Coming at Lunch
Did you know that Massachusetts is one of only five states continuing to offer school meals at no charge to all students with the passage of the FY23 State Budget? Participation last school year was definitely up! In terms of funding, the USDA has provided additional temporary per meal reimbursements this school year for both lunch and breakfast on top of higher than usual per meal rate increases. All meals this school year will be reimbursed at the “free” rate.
Importantly, while all school meals will be served free of charge to all students and reimbursed at the “free” rate this school year, student income eligibility must be reestablished, and all meals must be recorded.
Since the FDA requires that we track breakfast and lunch "purchases", we will implement a 2-step change in the cafeteria. The first phase will begin the week of October 17th and the lunch staff will scan students' bar codes when a student gets a lunch. The bar codes are kept by the lunch staff; students will not be given a bar code directly. There should be no change for students or any impact on lunch during this phase.
The second phase will include sending a letter home to families along with a child's 4-digit pin number and a sample pin pad to practice at home. We will send these letters home during the week of October 24th. We will give students multiple weeks to practice before we ask students to input their own numbers, which will happen on December 5th. Your child's 4 digit pin will be the same number they use for the duration of time they spend in Medway Public Schools. Please practice with your child at home so they become independent with punching in their code. If this is challenging for your child and he/she is unable to do this independently, please reach out to the school so we can help. No child will be denied lunch if they cannot enter the pin code. Rather, an adult will assist them. Our goal is to get as many students as possible to be independent with this task.
As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.
Family Conferences
In addition to your student's classroom teachers, specialists, special educators, administrators, and service providers will also be on hand during these times to meet with families if they would like. As always reach out to any teacher your student has with questions or concerns.
Our conference dates are below. You'll see that we are offering an evening conference this year. The hope is that this provides an opportunity for families to attend conferences that otherwise could not. However, we can not provide an entire class of families with an evening conference. Conferences will be in-person, and we believe this is the best way to have conversations. If families can not meet in person we can provide virtual conferences as well.
11/8: Afternoon Conferences (half day for students)
11/9: Evening Conferences
11/17: Afternoon Conferences (Half day for students)
Caregiver Connections and Support Group
A high percentage of Medway youth are learning to manage their mental health concerns, and most are supported by a parent or caregiver. Those caring for children with mental health concerns often feel overwhelmed with figuring out how to best support their loved ones while finding time for self-care. Paula LeBlanc, Family Partner at You Inc., will facilitate a monthly group to support caregivers of children with mental health concerns and create peer connections. The next meeting will occur at the Medway Public Library on October 26 at 6:30 p.m. For a complete meeting schedule and topic descriptions, please click here.
Picture Day is Coming !
Retakes will be held on Tuesday, November 8th.
Information on how to order prints will be sent out next week.
Please click here to view the Geskus Families FAQ's for our upcoming picture day.
The Book Fair is Coming!
More information to come !
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!
COVID-19 and Flu Vaccine Clinic
School Van Drivers
The district is currently hiring two drivers for 7D vans. Pay is up to $25/hour and the position is benefits eligible. The position is for four hours per day, and summer work is available but not mandatory. Interested candidates can email transportation@medwayschools.org or call 508-321-4728.
MEPTO Pumpkin Fair is this weekend!
Reminders!
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
T.H.R.I.V.E. Speaker Series
This school year, Medway T.H.R.I.V.E. is offering opportunities for parents/guardians to learn how they can promote student self-efficacy and sleep. Joanie Geltman, MSW, will share best practices for growing children’s self-efficacy, and Judith Owens, MD, will help parents and guardians understand the impact of sleep on academic and athletic achievement. Full event details can be found here.
Breakfast and Lunch
Guardian and Student Information Review Process
MPS requests that all guardians complete the Online Registration process, better known as the “beginning of year packet”, within the Parent Portal. Please complete the application by September 30, 2022. Completing the online registration ensures we have the most accurate and up to date information for your child(ren) and helps us stay in touch with families. To access the Online Registration Process, please login to the Parent Portal via a computer. This is the URL address https://medwayma.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/medway.jsp then choose MORE > Online Registration from the left menu. Follow the prompts to review and confirm the information we have on file. Please note that it may be difficult to complete the forms via a smartphone. Guardians without a portal account can email parent@medwayschools.org for an activation code.
Important Dates!
October 19: School Site Council, 3:20-4:20 PM
October 20: THRIVE Event: Promoting Self-Efficacy with Elementary Students, 6:30 at Burke-Memorial
October 24: MEPTO Meeting, McGovern Elementary School
October 26: Picture Day
October 31: Halloween
November 3: COVID-19/Flu Vaccine Clinic, 3:30-6:00 PM- Burke-Memorial School
November 4: Arena Day, No Preschool Classes
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