Message from Principal Costello

I hope you are all having a great weekend. Happy Father's Day to all of our amazing Murphy dads.

Please take a few minutes to view our updates for the last week of school.

For the last week of school, we have a unique calendar:

Monday - Full Day

Tuesday - Full Day

Wednesday - No School (Juneteenth Holiday)

Thursday - Half Day (11:50 Dismissal)

*5th grade student pickup will take place at 11:40 through the front entrance. Families are invited to arrive early and greet them for their final Murphy dismissal.

Big thanks to our amazing Parent Council members and Murphy staff members for welcoming our incoming K families at the "Kindergarten Here I Come" event. We are very excited for them to join our community. We're also excited for our Parent Council to continue with its impressive work in the fall!

Our 5th graders had an amazing time at Starland last week. This has quickly become a great tradition!

Weymouth for Inclusion, Solidarity and Equity (WISE) will be hosting an educational Juneteenth Celebration next to Tufts Library on June 19th, 12-5. Please find additional info here.

There will be a Basketball Clinic at WHS on 6/21.

Please take a look at this important information regarding Social Media and smart phones.

We are excited to host our 5th grade move-up ceremony on Tuesday June 18 at 1:30.

As part of the PBIS program, we continue our tradition of recognizing students from each room on a weekly basis for their demonstration of Respect, Owning actions, Achievement and Responsibility (ROAR). Here is our crew from last week!

Summer Math

We encourage students to take part in these optional summer math activities. Please find summer math calendars by grade level on the district website: link here. Students can have fun completing math activities during the summer months while reviewing important math concepts they learned this year. In addition, ST Math will also be available for students to access through most of the summer. There is an ST Math tracker which students can fill out while they play ST Math and take part in other opportunities (both on and offline) from the creators of the program. Please check out additional resources and ST summer math activities in the attached flyer. Students who complete the calendar and/or ST Math tracker, should return them to school in the fall for recognition. Finally, students will have access to their Big Idea accounts as well. They can practice in the Dynamic Classroom, Game Library or even in the Skills Trainer section

Summer Reading

With the end of the school year quickly upon us, we know that you are making plans for your summer activities. Please see the pdf: Summer Reading 2024 for all summer reading suggestions as well as local opportunities for reading engagement in our community. Tufts Library's Read to Bead program is especially popular! As always, we encourage you to read with your child at home to foster their love of reading and to keep their skills sharp.

Primarily with students in upper grades, we are seeing an increase in cell phone use (as well as some problematic outcomes of cellphone use such social media and photo sharing). Our message to students is that there is no time during the school day when they will need to use a cell phone and that phones should remain off and put away. This includes the bus line and while riding the bus.

If your student has a cell phone, please continue to have conversations regarding appropriate use of that phone. It is our hope that school staff and our families can work collaboratively to ensure safe use of these devices.

For more information, please see Kids and Phones: Questions Answered and 10 Tips for Cell Phone Safety.

Reminder: We hope many families get involved throughout the year (field trips, field day etc.) and encourage you to fill out a CORI form. These forms are available in our school office.

Please take a moment to view this information related to attendance. We look forward to working with all of our families on this important initiative throughout the year.

There are significant changes to our dismissal procedures. Details can be found in our Arrival & Dismissal information.

EARLY DISMISSALS

Please send in a note when dismissing your child. This helps to remind the office and the teacher of when during the day this will occur. Please do not dismiss your child early to avoid the traffic. This is extremely disruptive to the classroom when teachers are assigning homework, passing out notices, or completing other necessary tasks. When a child is dismissed by someone other than a parent/guardian, we require identification and a signature for release.

REGULAR DISMISSAL

Please send a note to the school if your child is changing their regular routine of dismissal. This includes walkers, after-school care, and the bus. Please do not leave this responsibility to your child. If a note is not received, your child will follow their routine for the specific day of the week.

Please be sure to visit the WPS Transportation Page for information regarding our bus application for SY 2023/2024. (Please note that we are beyond the official application deadline, but please continue to fill out the application, if needed.)

WPS SY 2023-2024 Bus Transportation Application

Additional Transportation Information

Our school has an established partnership with the Weymouth Food Pantry "back pack food program. If your child could benefit from this program, please take a moment to read more about our partnership with the Food Pantry

We will once again offer the free universal meal program. Additionally, it remains important for families to complete the free and reduced meals form in order to expand opportunities.

For those interested, breakfast is available each morning from 8:50 - 9:05.

The school day begins at 9:05 and ends at 3:15. It is very important that your child is here before 9:05 as structured learning time starts immediately after the second bell.

• First Bell 8:50 A.M.
• Late Bell 9:05 A.M.
• End of Day 3:15 P.M.

As a reminder, children should arrive at school no earlier than 8:50 A.M.

• The Weymouth Public Schools Health Services Department encourages that medication is administered before and after school, if possible.

• When medication is needed during school hours, there must be a physician’s order and a parental permission form with the medication in the prescribed container, or it cannot be given.

• Medication must be delivered to the school in a pharmacy or manufacturer labeled container by the parent, guardian, or responsible adult. (Medications are not accepted in such things as plastic bags.) Children are not permitted to bring medication to school.

• Please contact Ms. Boland, our school nurse, for the proper forms, which must accompany all medications.

Please take a look at this information linked below:

Universal Screening Article

Early Intervention Works

Edtech Start of Year 2023-2024 Updates

• • Tech Support for Families
  • Champions Before and After School Care - 781-812-8735 or lolee@discoverchampions.com
  • Blackboard Communications - Opt In and Opt Out Instructions
  • SEPAC - Click here for meeting schedule
  • Town Wide Parent Council - Meets the Second Tuesday of Each Month
  • Weymouth Public Schools Transportation Webpage

  
  

• Champions Before & After School Care
• Aspen Family Portal
  
• Family Engagement Center (Registration)
• Backpack Program - Food assistance for students in need