MHS/WES NEWSLETTER

Dear Families,

What a wonderful start to the school year! We are so proud of how quickly our students have settled back into their routines, from morning drop-off to classroom expectations, they've made the transition look easy.

A special shoutout to our newest friends: our preschoolers and kindergarteners, who started school this week! Watching them walk through our doors for the first time is always one of the best parts of the year, and they've already shown such courage and enthusiasm.

We also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our parents and guardians who drive their children to and from school each day. We know our space at MHS is especially limited, and it takes time to learn the ins and outs of our arrival and dismissal routines. Your patience and flexibility as we all get into the rhythm of things does not go unnoticed, and we truly appreciate it.

We have a great feeling about this school year. Thank you for being such wonderful partners in your child's education, please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Here's to a fantastic year ahead!

Warmly,

Kathy Taylor, Principal

Mike Leander, Assistant Principal

We are on instagram!!! Follow us: principalkt24

MHS/WES OPEN HOUSE

Thursday, October 1st

Families are invited to join us for a special evening! Your student will be your personal tour guide, showing you around their school and classroom. Members of our PTO, Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), Local Scouts, the Ashburnham Westminster Foundation for Excellence (AWFAE) and more will be here to answer any questions.

We are grateful to once again have the help of Ashleigh Gelinas to lead our MHS and WES libraries. If you are interested in helping, please complete the survey below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDYoLae5n60l1_4tUb1cZGa6TcfYfqC9p_YYOSs4N95MwR3A/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=101736902024299894951

Second graders have done a wonderful job adjusting to the “big school” and have worked hard to learn many new routines. Each classroom is spending time building their classroom communities. We look forward to seeing those of you who are able to attend our Open House Night. It is Thursday, 10/1 from 6:00-7:00 for second grade families.

Tuesday, September 15th we will celebrate International Dot Day. The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to make her mark. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper, becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing. Second graders will spend the day creating colorful dot art and focusing on what makes them special and unique. Students are encouraged to wear clothes with dots on them.

Welcome to third grade! We are so excited to launch a wonderful new school year with our students. Third grade is an important transition year filled with big milestones. It has been wonderful to get to know each other and work to build strong learning communities. Keep an eye out for additional information about our curriculum programs in the next few days!

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year! I hope everyone had a happy, healthy, and fun-filled summer. I am very excited to be back with the students for my sixth year here at WES/MHS! I have worked hard this summer to improve upon the Physical Education curriculum and add many new activities for the students.

Classes have been going great so far. For the first few weeks, we will work on establishing classroom routines and participating in cooperative games with all grades. I learned some new challenges/games over the summer that I am excited to share with the students, especially during the first few weeks of school!

Starting soon, we will be getting into our first units. Grades K+1 will be working on Throwing and Catching while grades 2-5 will start Flag Football. In the Throwing and Catching unit, students will learn how to throw underhand and overhand, how to throw different distances, how to throw with accuracy and the proper form for catching. This unit will help develop students' hand eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills, as well as their spatial awareness which are all building blocks to the skills we will learn throughout the year.

In the Flag Football unit, students will review and build upon skills learned last year, such as proper throwing and catching techniques, throwing lead passes, strategies for creating space on offense/scoring, and defensive skills. Students will work on skill development and we will also play small sided lead up games at the end of the unit. This is a great opportunity to develop teamwork, communication and problem solving skills.

I also encourage you to be active at home! Play a flag football game in the yard, go apple picking, rake leaves that are sure to be falling soon, play pass. Not only will this be good practice for students to master skills learned in PE class, but it is also a great way to spend time together!

I am looking forward to another great year filled with lots of movement and physical activity!

Not pictured: Janine McDowell, Recess Aide

ARRIVAL

8:20 - 8:30 AM

DISMISSAL

2:55 PM

HALF DAYS - DISMISSAL

12:00 PM

AM Session 8:45-11:10 AM

PM Session 12:00-2:30 PM

Full Day Session 8:45-2:30 PM (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)

September 16: Wednesday ~ Noon Dismissal, Professional Development

October 1: Thursday ~ MHS Open House 5:00 - 6:00 PM , WES Open House 6:00-7:00 PM

Emergency Early Dismissal Policy

In the event of an unforeseen emergency that necessitates the dismissal of students prior to the end of the school day, parent notification will be provided through the automated phone and email system. Typical emergency situations that may precipitate an early dismissal include, but are not necessarily limited to, severe weather conditions, fire and absence of heat or water.

Since it is impractical for school officials to personally contact every parent in the event of an early dismissal, parents and particularly the parents of elementary age children, are encouraged to develop a clear and well-defined plan with their children in case of an early dismissal. Since children will be dismissed to their home, it is imperative that children know how to gain entry into their home and how and whom to call once they are there.

ABSENCES: Please call WES (978-874-2043) or MHS (978-874-0163) when your child will be absent or late for school. Please state your name, your child’s name, teacher, and the reason for absence. If you must speak to someone, please call after 7:45 AM. This system is to ensure the safety of your child. If we do not hear from you, we will contact you at home or work, and if we can’t reach someone we may send a school resource officer to the house to do a well child check. Absent notes are required when children return to school.

AM Arrivals: Bus drivers do not let children off the bus until 8:20 a.m. There is NO Supervision before 8:20 a.m. Walkers/students being dropped off should not arrive before 8:20 a.m. School starts at 8:30 a.m.

PM Dismissals: The school day ends at 2:55 p.m. The office needs to know your dismissal plan. If your child is a car-rider, you will be given a sign to display on your car dashboard to be used each day. Car riders will be dismissed to the cafeteria and called outside in the order cars line up. Please remain in your car. Signs will be posted. If you would like your older sibling to walk from WES to MHS pick-ups for dismissal in the afternoon, please send a note to the office and your child’s teacher.

If your child needs to be dismissed early, please send a note to his/her teacher stating the time and reason for dismissal. Early dismissals will be handled through the main office.

NOTES: Please use student’s (and parent’s) last names in all notes to the teacher/office. Please also date all notes so that we can be sure we are dealing with current messages. Notes are required for any change in dismissal. You may also email a note to mhsoffice@awrsd.org (MHS) or wesoffice@awrsd.org(WES).

MEDICATIONS: ALL Medications must be brought to the nurse by an adult at the beginning of the day. Medication is NOT TO BE TAKEN by any child on his/her own. The school nurse under the following circumstances will administer medication:

• A signed and dated note from a doctor and a parent is sent with the child’s name, dosage, reason for medication and time to be given.

• The prescription bottle is sent with only the amount which will be needed for the administration at school. (Pharmacies will dispense in two bottles if you ask.)

School Announcements:

Please make sure all phone numbers and email addresses are updated throughout the school year to ensure you receive all messages sent from the school or district.

RESTRICTIONS: Please provide the office with any LEGAL DOCUMENT which indicates any legal restrictions on the release of your child as per district policy. These restrictions CANNOT be honored unless we have a copy of the legal documents in your child’s file. Please remember that it is MOST IMPORTANT that your child knows who he/she is allowed to leave school with and restrictions of the same.

TARDINESS: It is important that your child be at school on time. Tardy students need to stop at the office for a tardy slip when they arrive later than 8:30 a.m. If excessive tardiness continues, it will be necessary for the parent and child to meet with the Principal so that we may remedy the situation.

Please reach out with any questions you may have. We are happy to help!

• MHS - Kathi McCarthy 978-874-0163 ext. 0
• WES - Liz Maillet 978-874-2043 ext 0

Grade 5 Outdoor Classroom at Camp Cody 2024

Monday, May 24th - Friday, May 28th

Each year our 5th grade students travel to Camp Cody in Freedom, NH for an outdoor classroom experience. The trip is 5 days/4 nights. Next year we are going the week of May 24-28th. We want to prepare families that the cost of this trip has increased and is estimated to be about $540 per student. More information will go home with students in a few weeks. In the meantime, please mark your calendars for October 8th at 7:00 PM for our Outdoor Classroom Parent Information Meeting. Our fifth grade teachers have prepared a presentation to explain all the details of our Outdoor Classroom experience.

For questions about transportation, please email bussing@awrsd.org and provide your child's full name, school, address, and the question/issue.

• IMPORTANT BUS NOTES for 2026-2027:

  • All students are expected to be present at their stop and visible to the driver 5 minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive. This includes all door-to-door stops as well as group stops.

  
  

  • All K and 1st Grade students must have an adult at the stop to receive them in the afternoon, unless authorization to get off the bus alone or with an older sibling has been given to the school office or busing coordinator.

  
  

  • All 2nd & 3rd Grade students must have an adult/older sibling/designated person visible to the driver when dropping off. They don’t have to be at the stop location, they can be on a porch, in a doorway, etc., as long as the driver can see them.

  
  

  • Students who miss the bus in the morning can board at any other stop along the route, but the buses will not stop if it isn’t a designated stop location, for legal and safety reasons. However, in the PM, unless there is a pass indicating otherwise, the student will only be dropped off at their stop of record for legal and safety reasons.

  
  

  • Due to transportation limitations and the increasing number of requests, separate bus trips will no longer be provided for any student group traveling to a local organization for scheduled club or activity. For any outside organization in the student’s hometown/community, if a student’s designated bus goes by the organization location, the school may issue a bus pass. If the student’s designated bus route does not go by the organization’s location, and an alternate bus has space, the school may issue a bus pass. The district CANNOT guarantee a specific drop off time (i.e. start of the outside program) or space on an alternate bus. If there is a new request from a community organization to offer bus passes to students, it will need Superintendent’s office approval via bussing.