News from the Middle

Medway Middle School will hold our annual Open House on Tuesday, September 20th. We are excited to welcome our families to Medway Middle School for our first full in person Open House in three years. The event will run from 6-8pm. Please note this is an adult event.

Students will bring home individualized schedules for parents on Monday. Please be sure to take a photo of the schedule or pack it in your bag so that you know where to go for each session. A sample of schedules for each grade level can be found below. More specific details about the event will appear on your child's individual Open House schedule.

Open House Sample Schedule

Please note that our Book Fair will be open from 5:30-7pm the evening of Open House.

We are pleased to share that Medway Middle School now has a Facebook and Instagram profile. Please take a moment to follow us!

Medway Middle School:

Fb: @medwaymiddleschool

Twitter: @medwaymiddle

Insta: @medwaymiddle31

Please note that we will not be engaging in back-and-forth dialogue on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, but will use these platforms to share information with our community. We hope that these changes will allow our families to receive regular reminders and updates about the events that are happening at Medway Middle School.

It's Scholastic Book Fair time again! We will be hosting a book fair from September 19- September 23rd. Online shopping extends to October 2nd. You can find our online book fair at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/medwaymiddleschool. If you created an eWallet for your student for the fall fair, you can add to that balance.

Note that our Book Fair will be open from 5:30- 7pm the evening of Open House. Please note this event is adult only.

If you have any questions, contact Mrs. Reynolds (sreynolds@medwayschools.org) or Mrs. Stoval (cstoval@medwayschools.org)

Is your child stuck on a homework question? Do they need help preparing for a test? Are they too shy to ask a question during class? PAPER is here to help!

Paper connects students to a real human tutor 24/7, 365 days a year, on ANY subject through live chat features. Students can also hand in any written work (essays, lab reports, writing prompts, and more) and receive feedback in less than 24 hours.

Full access to PAPER is available to students now!

Go to Paper.co Log in using the upper right-hand log-in button and then sign in using SSO.

As we all know, the past few years have been unprecedented for our schools and our students. Despite our best efforts, students started this school year at very different levels. In order to best support our students' individual learning needs we, as a school community, will be using a program called IXL.

IXL has thousands of skills that match and support what we are learning here in school. IXL also provides insights into your individual child’s progress. In order to help your child progress and excel, each week, we expect that students in grades 6-8 to practice two recommended skills until they reach a proficiency level of 80 or above. This is an expectation in both ELA and Math. Students have flexibility in how they would like to fulfill this homework assignment. These skills can be completed in one sitting or over the course of the week.

To ensure that this learning is personalized, students should be working on their personalized ELA and Math recommended skills, during the time they are on IXL. These skills are specifically picked just for your child in order to provide the necessary foundational skills for continued learning.

For further information on how you can support your child with IXL please see the parent handout linked here. Your continued partnership and support are appreciated. Should you have any questions about IXL, do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher.

Please read the 2022-2023 Medway Middle Student- Parent School Handbook. It has important information for students and families. Please complete this Google Form to confirm that your family has reviewed the Handbook.

We are pleased to announce that Middle School Clubs and activities will begin the week of September 26th. A list of clubs and activities offered at Medway Middle School can be found here.

We will offer a late bus on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for students who need transportation home after clubs and activities. Please note that students who do not qualify for the bus during the school day may not take the late bus home. Additional information about the late bus will be shared next week.

We will highlight additional information about Clubs and Activities at our Open House Night

School Photo Day will take place on October 19th. We will be partnering with Geskus Photography this year. Information about ordering school photos will be shared in our next newsletter.

We appreciate the effort that our students are putting into getting to school on time! We recognize that this is a family effort. Thank you!

As a reminder, for safety reasons, cars are not permitted to drop students off in the circle in front of the school while buses and vans are transporting students. Please use the gravel lot entrance and drop students off at the regular student drop-off location.

Medway Schools and Public Health Department have partnered to offer a COVID-19 and influenza vaccine clinic. The COVID-19 vaccine will be offered to children ages 6 months to 11 years old, and the flu vaccine will be offered to anyone over 3 years old. The vaccine clinic will be held at the Burke-Memorial Cafeteria on October 6 and November 3, from 3:30-6:00 PM. For more details and to register, please click here.

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, Famly Partner at You Inc., will facilitate a monthly group to support caregivers of children with mental health concerns and create peer connections. The first meeting will occur at the Medway Public Library on September 28 at 6:30 PM. For a complete meeting schedule, topic descriptions, and to register, please click here.

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.

Chromebook Insurance

For all Grade 5-12 families: Due to the high repair rate during the 2021-22 school year, the cost to insure devices has risen from $20 per year to $32. If you wish to purchase insurance, please visit the Insurance and Break/Fix website for more details, repair costs, and access to the insurance purchasing portal. We have secured one to four-year insurance options through Worth Ave Insurers. Please note that the insurance policy does not cover lost or stolen devices. The policy does not cover the charging unit. Charger replacement is available at $20 per charger through the Technology Department.

We encourage all families of students with district owned 1:1 devices to secure insurance and to also discuss the proper care of devices with their children. Stressing that these are school-owned, that families are responsible for the cost of repair, and that vandalism will not be tolerated are important. Damage inclusive of keys being pulled off the keyboard, carving into the device, disassembling, cutting cables, or personalization (stickers/writing), is not allowed. The cost of repairing the device is the family's responsibility, up to the full replacement value [$350] of the device. Any damage deemed as vandalism will not be tolerated and is subject to disciplinary actions including loss of device use and suspension.

Children need healthy meals to learn. Medway Public Schools offers healthy meals every school day. During the 2022-2023 school year, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch at school. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has provided money to do this for one year through the State budget. We need your help to ensure our district receives all the financial resources for which it qualifies. Please fill out and submit the application for free and reduced price school meals.

If many families fill out and return this form, we will get more money from the federal government for free school meals now and in the future. We will also get more money for other school programs. Filling out this form also helps our community provide free summer meals to all kids, and free meals to kids in childcare. The information you provide is confidential. We follow strict federal rules to keep your information private.

September 19-23- Book Fair

September 20- Medway Middle School Open House 6-8 pm

September 26- School Closed, Rosh Hashanah

September 27- MMS Clubs and Activities Late Bus Begins

October 5- School Closed, Yom Kippur

October 10- School Closed

October 12- School Council Meeting

October 19 - School Photos