News from the Middle
Volume 1 Summer Edition August 14, 2025
Welcome
I hope this message finds you and your family well and that you are enjoying the summer months. At Medway Middle School, we have spent the summer both rejuvenating and preparing for an exciting 2025–2026 school year.
As we look ahead, there is much to celebrate—most notably, the launch of our new school schedule. Below are some key highlights:
A Consistent Monday–Friday Schedule- Medway Middle School is now aligned with the other three schools in the district, moving away from our former 6-day cycle.
Connections Block for All Students- Students will participate in a Connections Block designed around the five core competencies of social-emotional learning: Self-awareness, Self-management, Social awareness, Relationship skills and Responsible decision-making.
Mustang Block for Grades 5 & 8- The Mustang Block is a dedicated instructional period designed to support each student’s individual needs. During this time, students may: receive support services, work directly with their classroom teacher for targeted instruction, participate in small-group interventions with a math or reading specialist. This flexible learning time ensures that all students have access to reinforcement or extension. .
Additional Core Time for Grades 6 & 7 One day each week, students meet with their core teachers twice in one day. This opportunity allows for extended learning projects, additional direct instruction, and small-group work to support differentiated learning.
Daily World Language instruction in Grade 8.
We are excited about these enhancements to student programming and recognize that change can be challenging. Please reach out to your child’s guidance counselor with any questions about the new schedule.
You can expect regular communication from us, including our twice-monthly newsletter, News from the Middle, to keep you informed about school events, programs, and celebrations.
As August draws to a close, please see the important updates and reminders below.
Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!
Student Schedules
Official student schedules will be released to students in Infinite Campus at the end of the day on Friday, August 15, 2025. All students have Infinite Campus accounts. Families also have access to the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
Our counselors have worked diligently to create schedules that meet student needs and create balance in classes. As you can imagine this is a complicated process. As such, we will not be able to accommodate any requests to change classes to be near a friend or to be with a specific teacher. Should your child have a hole in their schedule or services are inadvertently left off of their schedule, please fill out the Google Form next to your child's counselor's name. Our Guidance Counselors return to work for the year during the week of August 25th and will respond to you at their earliest convenience. Please do not email our counselors directly about concerns as filling out the form will be the most efficient way for them to respond to scheduling questions.
Mr. Marcus Hatt, Mhatt@medwayschools.org- Grade 8 and Grade 6 A-Gi
Mrs. Kelsey Yim - Kyim@medwayschools.org Grade 5 and Grade 6 Gr- Mc
Schedule Questions/Concerns- Yim
Mrs. Taralyn Turner- Tturner@medwayschools.org - Grade 7 and Grade 6 - ME - Z
News from the Nurse
Mrs. Jennifer Goulet will be joining our faculty as our school nurse this year. Please contact her prior to the start of school if your student has medical concerns, individualized care plans, or medication orders. All medications and medication orders should be delivered to the nurse prior to the start of the school year.
Families are encouraged to contact Nurse Goulet to schedule an appointment. Health information, immunization requirements, and medication administration forms are available on the district website. Thank you.
Jennifer Goulet
508-533-3230 x 4123
Open School Afternoon
Doors to the Middle School will be open to all students and their families from 3-4 pm on Monday August 25th. During this time, students can come into the building, visit their classrooms, try out their lock on a locker and practice navigating the hallway. This time is reserved for self-guided tours, however, administrators will be on hand to help and answer questions.
Student Lockers
All students are expected to use a lock to secure their items during the school day. Students are encouraged to bring in their own locks and to practice with them before the first day of school. We recommend traditional combination or pin locks. Students should not use locks that require a key. Please note that our lockers fit standard locks.
Middle School Sports Update
Meet the Coach Night
Our Meet the Coach Night for registered middle school student-athletes will be held on Wednesday, August 27th at 6:00 PM in the Middle School Auditorium.
Attendance: All registered student-athletes and at least one adult family member.
This event is only for middle school teams.
8th graders participating on high school teams do not need to attend.
Season Start Date
Practices for both middle school teams begin on Tuesday, September 2nd (first day of school).
Coaching Contacts
For sport-specific questions, please reach out to our middle school coaching staff:
Cross Country: Sara Caton – scaton@medwayschools.org or Laurie Ladouceur - lladouceur@medwayschools.org
Volleyball: Ken Magarie – kmagarie@medwayschools.org
Physicals
Physicals are valid for 13 months. Please email scanned copies to jparcells@medwayschools.org (they will be forwarded to the Middle School nurse).
Payments
Online payments ($235.00) can be made via Unipay Be sure to select the sport with an "MS" in front of the sport name for middle school.
Registration Availability
Middle school Cross Country is still open for registrations! Volleyball is full. If you are one of the 18 on the volleyball roster and have decided not to participate, please let me know right away so we can call up the next person on the waiting list. To register for Cross Country, visit Arbiter Sports Registration.
Required Annual Online Registration - Ensuring Up-to-Date Information for a Seamless School Year
Annual Information Review - Available Now! - It is mandatory that all families review the information on file and acknowledge the school's policies, procedures, and student responsibilities as outlined in the Student Handbook annually. To make this process flow as quickly and easily as possible, we encourage all families to utilize the Parent Portal to complete the review. Please log in to the Parent Portal and choose More > Registrations > and choose Start in the Existing section for the 2025-26 Student Registration. Review all the information listed within the tabs, pleats, and submit when complete. Please complete this review before August 30th.
** Note that if 5th grade parents complete the Annual Information Review Paperwork prior to August 15th, their child will receive their Chromebook during WEB Orientation. **
Handbooks, Policies, and Student Responsibilities
Included in the Annual Information Review, families are required to acknowledge that they have read and understand our policies, procedures, and student responsibilities. For more information regarding this process and all of these documents, please visit our website here. Both parents and students must review these guidelines and understand the expectations.
Student Device Responsibility
Students will receive a new Chromebook device to use during their years at Medway Middle School. It is essential that students understand that this devices is being loaned to them. Like a library book, students are asked to keep this devise in good shape during the time they are responsible for caring for it. To keep devices in good working order, we want to remind students and parents of the following responsibilities:
Handle devices with care at all times. Keep devices protected when not in use.
Avoid eating or drinking near the devices.
Charge devices nightly to ensure they are ready for school use.
Malicious damage of any kind will not be tolerated.
Keys missing from keyboards.
Rubber bumpers pulled off devices.
Carving into the case, opening the device in any way, or damaging internal components is unacceptable.
Students should not place stickers or other decorative items on their device.
During the school year, we request that families continually review the state of their student’s school-issued device to ensure it is in the best possible condition and not being vandalized. For more information on our expectations for the care and use of school-issued devices, please visit our informative website here.
Optional Device Insurance:
Optional Insurance - We are changing our optional Chromebook insurance program in 2026. Currently, families pay $30/year to Worth Ave Group, but with few claims filed, most of the premiums ($19,000) do not benefit our students. To better support students and streamline repairs, we plan to offer an optional in-house insurance program.
Key Benefits Include:
$29/year in-house plan, or $87 for 4 years (for 5th and 9th grade).
Faster repairs – 48 hours vs. 8+ weeks with external insurance.
Funds stay in Medway, helping cover repair costs, device replacements, and tech staff support.
Families without insurance will pay full repair costs, but can opt in for future coverage. If you already have Worth Ave Group Coverage… No problem. Your device will remain covered until the policy ends, and our IT team will continue to send those repairs out per the current process.
To purchase insurance now for the 2025-26 school year, click here.
WEB Orientation- Tuesday, August 19th from 8 am - 12:00 pm
"WEB” (Where Everybody Belongs) is a middle school orientation and transition program that welcomes 5th graders and makes them feel comfortable throughout the first year of their middle school experience. Built on the belief that students can help students succeed, the program trains mentors from the 8th grade class to be WEB Leaders. As positive role models, WEB Leaders are mentors and student leaders who guide the 5th graders to discover what it takes to be successful during the transition to middle school and help facilitate 5th grade success.
WEB Objectives
- To expose students to a variety of individuals at school in positive situations
To teach students that by working together they can be successful and enjoy one another
To help create a supportive and positive atmosphere
To empower 8th graders to serve as role models for 5th graders
To increase academic success through support of peers
To develop leadership skills in students
To allow successful older students to pass on positive traditions to younger students
Student Lunch:
Students will have the opportunity to have lunch in the Middle School Cafeteria during WEB Orientation. Food Services will be providing pizza for our students. Gluten free pizza will be available for students with allergy concerns. Parents are asked to fill out this form if you would like to request gluten free pizza for your child or if your child has other dietary needs that we need to consider for the WEB orientation. Students may bring a lunch from home if they do not want a pizza lunch.
WEB Drop-off Directions:
Students should be dropped off for WEB by using the entrance closest to the gravel parking lot and following the directions on the diagram in the photo below. Staff members will be present to greet students and send them to their orientation leader. Carpooling is STRONGLY encouraged.
WEB Pick Up:
We will be utilizing our traditional pick-up procedures for WEB Orientation. Due to the number of students that will be participating in this event, we will utilize a staggered dismissal.
Dismissal times are listed below.
12:00 pm: Students in Ms. Lindsey, Mrs. Drummey and Mrs. Taccini's Homerooms
12:10 pm: Students in Mrs. Wenson, Ms. Harmon and Mrs. Cromwell's Homerooms
12:20 pm: Students in Mrs. Waugh and Mrs. Kelley's Homerooms.
If you are carpooling, and students are not scheduled for the same pick-up, students will be dismissed as a group with the student in the time slot of the latest homeroom class whose parent is responsible for the group pick up. If your child is scheduled to be picked up at 12:10 or 12:20 pm, please do not arrive at Medway Middle School before that time. You will be asked to loop through the pick up line if you arrive prior to your designated pick up window. This process typically takes longer than we would like as it is new to parents and students. We appreciate your anticipated understanding.
Families are asked to enter the same parking lot they entered for drop-off and line up as indicated in the photo illustration below. Please fill in section 1 first, followed by 2, etc. Staff will be there to guide you through the dismissal procedures. As a reminder you arrive to the pick up location before your designated time, you will be asked to loop around the parking lot so that we can keep traffic moving.
Important Dates
August 19 Grade 5 WEB Orientation 8-12 (Dismissal - 12-12:15pm)
August 25 - Grade 5 Open School Morning (10-11am)
August 26- School Wide Open School Afternoon (3-4 pm)
September 2- First Day of School
September 11- Curriculum Night (Adults Only) 6 pm
September 23- School Closed- Rosh Hashanah