SPS Weekly Newsletter

This week's header photo features the cast and crew of the O'Donnell Middle School Drama Club's production of High School Musical Jr. They had a fantastic performance on opening night on Thursday and have two more shows this weekend, both at the Stoughton High auditorium - Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 2pm. Click here for more information.

Stoughton Public Schools continues to foster a safe and healthy environment for all students, not only as an expectation, but also as a priority of practice. SPS is meeting regularly with our public safety officers from the Stoughton Police Department and Stoughton Fire Department on all things related to safety. To date these meetings have been productive and established priorities to work on in partnership with public safety. Although I will not provide details, it is important for students, families, and the community to know of this priority.

I also wanted to assure families about changes I am working on with the Town Clerk and Police Chief for the upcoming Election Day(s) that are held in our schools. I will not note specifics but can assure the public that changes are being made so it is as safe as possible for our students and staff while voters are in the building during the school day.

Lastly, as we continue to work on the FY25 budget, I am pleased to share that thanks to prioritizing the use of grant funding, we are able to offer the Knights of Summer camp this summer for SPS students entering grades 2-5. This popular enrichment program will be free of charge. Click on the button below for more information and to register:

We are currently working on further summer programming which may or may not include a fee-based option. I anticipate further details within the next few weeks. More updates on summer programming and the overall FY25 budget will be provided as available.

Joseph F. Baeta, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Stoughton Public Schools

The Stoughton Public Schools, in partnership with the Stoughton Historical Society, celebrated the induction of the Honorable David J. Breen, Stoughton High Class of 1982, and Erin K. Flaherty, Ph.D., SHS Class of 2008, into the Stoughton High School Hall of Fame for Extraordinary Achievement. The ceremony was held Friday morning in the SHS auditorium. Judge Breen and Dr. Flaherty are pictured above in front of the hall of fame plaques that are placed near the main entrance of SHS.

Judge Breen is the First Justice of the Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court, and prior to that was an Associate Justice of the B.M.C. He is also a former law professor, prosecutor, LGBT leader, ATM safety advocate, and also appeared in the Oscar-nominated documentary Strong Island.

Dr. Flaherty has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and contributed to the understanding of neuronal circuits. She also established how genetic mutations disrupt neurodevelopment and contribue to neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr. Flaherty is also a member of the Stoughton High Athletic Hall of Fame.

A special thanks to Kathy Lanzarotto, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent and School Committee, for her efforts in organizing the induction ceremony. We will be posting more photos soon on SPS social media. In the meantime, you can watch a replay of the induction ceremony (thanks to the efforts of SHS teacher Kevin Bechet and his video production students). And, to learn more about the previous hall of fame inductees, click here.

Congratulations to both Judge Breen and Dr. Flaherty!

Congratulations to Stoughton High senior Jarred Daughtry for being selected to play on the south team in the 2024 Shriners All Star Football Classic! The Shriners game is a north vs. south all star contest featuring some of the top high school football seniors in the state. This year's game will be played June 14 at Bentley University in Waltham.

Jarred was a captain of the SHS football team this past fall, earning Hockomock League All-Star honors. He also holds the SHS record for career touchdown passes.

"The Shriners game is an excellent opportunity for the best and brightest in Massachusetts football to showcase their talents. Stoughton has a long legacy of having players participate in the game and we are excited and proud to have Jarred representing the Black Knights this year," SHS football coach Christopher Evans said.

"The Aleppo Shriners do phenomenal work and this game is a fundraiser to support the Aleppo Transportation Fund - I highly recommend everyone take the time to look at their mission and the work they do. As an alum of the game (2006 south team), I always support and follow the game, but having a program centerpiece like Jarred Daughtry playing in the game gives it added juice," coach Evans added. "Looking forward to going to Bentley on June 14 to support Jarred and all of the other great players in their final high school game."

Stoughton High School and O’Donnell Middle School students performed at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Southeastern District Junior Festival last weekend. The SHS and OMS students were originally selected for this honor after auditioning back in December. They rehearsed last Friday and then performed in a concert last Saturday, along with other talented musicians and choir members from across southeastern Massachusetts.

Congratulations to the following OMS and SHS students (pictured left to right):

• Nico Uchani, Grade 9 - Bass, Jazz Ensemble
• Travis Remy, Grade 9 - Mallets, Concert Band
• Jackson Gosule, Grade 8 - Trombone, Orchestra
• Xaven Studer, Grade 8 - Clarinet, Concert Band
• Jakob Tran, Grade 8 - Trombone, Concert Band
• Kuba Banburski, Grade 8 - Treble Choir
• Terrence Tran, Grade 9 - Oboe, Concert Band

This guest column, by Stephanie Patton, Prevention Coordinator for the town of Stoughton, is about the results of the 2024 Stoughton Youth Health Survey. The results of the survey were shared with the School Committee at their March 12 meeting.

In February, SPS collaborated with the OASIS coalition to administer the Youth Health Survey to all SHS and OMS students. This survey is usually given every other year, but due to COVID, this is the first full survey since 2019.

The survey includes topics ranging from school connectedness to substance use, bullying, screen time, mental health and more.

The good news is that MOST OMS and SHS students are making good choices when it comes to health-related behaviors.

Most students feel connected to their school and the adults at OMS and SHS. Nearly 70% of OMS students and 78% of SHS students agreed that they have at least one teacher in the school they can talk to if they have a problem. Lots of students also answered this question as “I don’t know”, there were not a lot of "disagrees".

Most students are also choosing not to use alcohol, marijuana or vaping devices. Marijuana use and vaping behaviors are trending down since 2019, alcohol use among teens is lower than 2019, but has seen an uptick in use. Most students are not involved in fighting or bullying behaviors.

This survey helps us to identify areas of need and opportunities. This data is already being used by school administrators and faculty as we explore ways to use this information to support students. Discussions are underway about how to share this data with students in creative and useful ways. Parents and guardians can use the data in conversations with their children to provide context and as a jumping off point for questions and discussions.

Where can you find the results? Visit the OASIS webpage for some great summary slides about the data. Keep your eyes on the OASIS webpage and social media sites for additional video data presentations and quick facts as we continue to explore this data with all of you. Please reach out to Stephanie Patton, Prevention Coordinator with questions or thoughts about the data at spatton@stoughton-ma.gov.

Stephanie Patton recently interviewed Dr. Baeta on her SMAC TV show, U-Knighted for Healthy Stoughton. You can watch this episode here.

Stephanie also had O'Donnell Middle School principal Katrina Crowley as a guest on her new podcast, "Where's My Handbook?". Click on the links below to listen!

Part 1 - Where's My Handbook: Middle School: Big Feelings and Big Opportunities

Part 2 - Where's My Handbook: Middle School: Translating Middle Schoolers, "Main Charecters and NPCs"

Stoughton Public Schools will be one of more than 50 area school districts taking part in the Massachusetts Partnership for Diversity in Education (MPDE) Educator Diversity Career Fair on Saturday, March 16. The fair is being held locally, at the Blanche Ames Elementary School, 50 Spooner St. in Easton, from 10am-2pm.

Stoughton is a MPDE member district. MPDE is committed to recruiting and assisting in producing career opportunities for educators and administrators from diverse backgrounds, and forming collaborative relationships that will enhance staff diversity within MPDE member school districts.

Click here for more information and how to register to attend the career fair.

The Hansen (March 16) and Dawe (March 23) fairs will be held over the next two weekends. The Hansen School's Candyland Spring Carnival is up first, taking place this Saturday from 10am-2pm at the Hansen, 1800 Central St.

Click on the links below to see how you can volunteer to help the PTOs that organize these events for our families:

• Hansen
• Dawe

The Stoughton School Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 6pm in the conference room at the SPS District Office, 31 Pierce St. An agenda for the meeting can be found here.

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: