Welcome Back
August 22, 2025
Transportation information for bus students is available on our website. Anticipate delays for the timing of pickup and drop off for the first few days of the school year until the routes become routine. Please be advised that it is the policy of the West Bridgewater Schools that students who live within 1.5 miles of their respective school and want to ride the bus can do so on a Pay to Ride basis and only if there is enough space on the bus. Students who are in Kindergarten are exempt from this rule. Please make sure to check the distance you live from each school your child will be attending to see if your child qualifies for the bus.
The Pay to Ride cost for the 2025-26 school year is $275. If your child does not qualify for the bus and you want them to ride the bus please contact your child’s school secretary for a Pay to Ride form. The school secretary will be in contact with Lucini’s and will let you know once they approve any additional riders and will contact you with all bussing information.
Please contact Mrs. Chmielinski with any questions or concerns regarding this policy.
Doors open to welcome students at 8:15 and the school day starts at 8:30am. Students that are dropped off by parent/guardian AFTER 8:30 will be marked tardy. Only students who are registered for Surround Care may enter the building before 8:15am. Please see information below on how to sign up for Surround Care below.
All morning and afternoon dropoff and pick-up will happen through the front lobby doors. You will see an auto lane and bus lane painted in the driveway. Please remain in your car for both drop off and pick up.
Staff will be stationed outside, in the lobby, and throughout the hallways to help direct students.
ALL walkers will be dismissed through the front lobby doors; this includes families using the Crescent St path. Parents may meet their children near the bike rack. A staff member will bring the walkers out to the end of the sidewalk.
The drivers will park along the sidewalk near the building. It is important that all drivers and passengers remain in their cars. A staff member will ask who you are picking up and will call students via a radio from the cafeteria where they are waiting. When all cars have stopped, the staff members will signal children to move toward their cars. Children must board on the passenger side of the car to avoid walking between parked cars. Watch for directions from the teachers on duty as to when to proceed. Under no circumstances should anyone park in the middle of the pick-up area.
Please be aware that buses may be loading/unloading at the same time. A staff member will signal when it is safe for you to pass the bus. Under no circumstances should you pass the bus when the lights are flashing.
Please do not use the playground during the time you are waiting.
You will see a large police presence at arrival and dismissal times for the first few days of school. This is to ensure everyone learns the new routines.
Lastly, please be patient as the first few days we anticipate everything taking a bit longer than usual as everyone learns the new routines and protocols. For the first few weeks of school, we may begin PPU dismissal earlier than 3:00.
On Monday, August 25th we would like to invite first graders and families to a meet and greet at the Rose L. MacDonald School. This will take place from 8:30 to 9:00a.m. (Please plan to arrive before 8:30 to allow time for parking and walking to the school entrance) .Please park in the back lot by the Gymnasium and enter through the front lobby doors. You will have an opportunity to meet your teacher and take a tour of your classroom. During this time we will be happy to answer any questions pertaining to the first day of school. Feel free to bring in your child’s classroom supplies during the meet and greet in order to lighten their backpack for the first day.
Sarah Bennett, School Psychologist
Elise Devilly, District BCBA
Danielle Demulis, Instructional Assistant
Ewelina Szymczak, Instructional Assistant
Erin Doherty, Special Education Teacher
All families are required to sign into Aspen and review your contact information, and review and sign off on our current polices. Please log into your Aspen account and click "Initiate" on the left side of the screen to start the review process. This is a VERY important to-do for the start of the year. Please make every effort to complete this as quickly as possible.
PLEASE NOTE: By selecting Do Not Photograph your child will not appear in any teacher classroom postings, school postings to social media and website as well as newsletter photos.
Full instructions can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_AtrvJTZ4f55M2KKi3_IBDPdaKF-mWS7xiLHdforXbs/edit?usp=sharing
If you need assistance, please send an email to aspensupport@wbridgewater.com
Great News! Massachusetts has extended Universal School Meals so all students eat FREE for School Year 2025-26. We hope your student will join us for both breakfast (snack) and lunch! Our Nutrition Staff work hard to ensure that every student is offered safe, nutritious and delicious school meals that help them grow and learn.
- Ala Carte items are an additional choice. Students must have money on their My School Bucks Lunch account to pay.
- Currently, the only Ala Carte item at RLM is milk, at a cost of $0.75.
- Lunch cards are organized by classroom and hung in pocket carts around the cafe. If students can't locate their card, they simply should get into line and their name will be entered manually.
- Snack/Breakfast is offered daily. We offer daily specials and always have cereal and graham or cheese crackers available. Students also take fruit/juice and milk is available.
- Lunch: students order their lunch in the morning with their teacher. In the cafe, as they come through the line, they choose their fruit and vegetables. We typically have at least one fresh fruit and a canned fruit plus 1-2 vegetables. Each student needs to take at least 1 of those items. Milk is always available.
- Water is available in the cafe at a filtered water bottle filling/bubbler station. Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to meals
Menus: Check out our West Bridgewater Food Services Website off of the district website for menus and more information.
Lunch choices include a choice of a Hot Entree or Daily Alternatives. All lunches come with vegetables, fruit, and milk.
Daily Alternatives:
Sunbutter and Grape Jelly Uncrustable- comes with Cheddar Goldfish, choice of yogurt or cheese stick
Bagel with Cream Cheese- comes with sunflower seeds and choice of yogurt or cheese stick
Cereal lunch- Cheerios with pretzels, sunflower seeds and choice of yogurt or cheese stick
Payment Program: While meals are free this year, we will be offering a small selection of healthy a la carte items for sale at meals later this Fall. While cash and checks are accepted in the cafeteria for these items, we encourage parents to register their student for a MySchoolBucks account at www.mySchoolBucks.com or by visiting the mySchoolBucks link on the district website. You will need your student’s 10-digit SASID (state ID) number to register.
Any Questions?
Please contact Mrs. Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director by email at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or at (508)894-1220.
We STRONGLY encourage that you provide your child with a water bottle (drip free) that he/she can use throughout the day. They are able to refill it throughout the day. We ask that you do not sent fruit juice/sports drinks etc.
As a friendly reminder for some and an introduction to others, I want to share information about our birthday traditions here at school. The night before each student's birthday, Mrs. Enos (our Reading Specialist) emails families a short video where she initiates the birthday celebration and reads a special birthday story. Then, kiddos' birthdays are announced over the intercom during morning announcements on their day (Saturday birthdays are celebrated on Fridays and Sunday birthdays are celebrated on Mondays; vacation birthdays will be announced on the Friday before vacation break starts). Students will not only hear their names and birthdays announced but they will also be invited to visit Mrs. Enos's room during snack or recess break to receive birthday gifts (a book of their choice and some birthday trinkets). Birthdays are a big deal at this age and deserve to be treated as such!
Because school is not in session during the summer for those with a summer birthday (mid-June through the beginning of September, when morning announcements started), we have opted to celebrate those particular kiddos on their HALF BIRTHDAY instead. It helps balance the number of announcements and includes them a bit more instead of celebrating all of the summer birthdays on one day at the end of the school year.
Parents - please be on the lookout for an email as messages can sometimes get lost in the junk folder.
Elsa and Cole were our first students to celebrate their birthdays last school year!
Thursday September 18, 2025 (time TBA)
What will my child be learning about this year? How can we support our children as learners? These are some of the questions that will be answered at curriculum night. Parents and guardians (not students) are invited to attend this event. Important topics of curriculum and expectations for each grade level will be addressed. Teachers will speak about the programs and materials used in each content area as well as the timeline for skills and topics that are covered during the school year. A schedule of classroom times and presentations will be sent out in the next newsletter. We look forward to seeing you at curriculum night.
Contact Info:
Principal
Email: kgoulet@wbridgewater.com
Website: https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/o/rose-l-macdonald
Location: 1 Steppingstone Drive, West Bridgewater, MA, USA
Phone: (508)894-1240
Facebook: facebook.com/RoseLMacDonaldSchool