• April 9 Early Dismissal 11:30

• Tuesday 4/15 - 8th Grade Career Day - AHS - 12:20 - 2:00

• Wednesday 4/16 - 7A Spanish Field Trip - Casablanca - 12:00 - 2:30
• Monday 4/21 - Friday 4/25 - Spring Recess!!
• Wednesday 4/30 - 7B Spanish Field Trip - Casablanca - 12:00 - 2:30

🌟ELA MCAS is this week on Tuesday, April 8th and Thursday, April 10th. It is very important that your students are at school on time, with chromebooks fully charged, and have their chargers with them! We also highly recommend students getting a good night’s sleep and having a good breakfast that morning. As always, the DMS cafeteria will be open beginning at 7:50 am for students to get breakfast.

Thank you so much for your support!🌟

May 1 – Civics (8th grade only)

May 5 & 6 – Math

May 15 & 16 – STE Science Technology Engineering (8th grade only)

From the APS Technology Support page on our district website. LINK HERE

The iAndover 1:1 initiative ensures that every Andover student from kindergarten through high school has a personal computing device to provide access to technology resources including digital curriculum, our learning management platforms, collaboration platforms, productivity suites, learning centered applications and much more. Students at each level have age appropriate technology access aligned with their educational needs:

Students in grades 6-8 will utilize a Chromebook type device that they provide. Families are encouraged to purchase a Chromebook directly (so-called BYOD or Bring Your Own Device) or they may rent a Chromebook from the town for an annual fee. See the FAQ section for more details.

• All BYOD Chromebook devices must be enrolled in the Google management console. This limits the use of Chromebooks to school approved accounts during the regular school day. Students may access personal accounts during non-school hours. Devices not enrolled in the management console will be unable to connect to the school’s wireless network. See the FAQ section below for more details provided in the link below.

https://www.aps1.net/page/aps-technology-support

To everyone who brought the Doherty Middle School musical to life—
What a show! Your hard work, creativity, and talent came together to create a spectacular performance that we will never forget.

To the incredible cast—you lit up the stage with your energy, passion, and heart. Each of you brought your characters to life in a way that made the audience smile, laugh, and cheer.

To the amazing crew—your behind-the-scenes magic made everything seamless. From lights to sound to set changes, your work was essential to making the show run so smoothly.

And to the brilliant artistic team—thank you for your vision, guidance, and dedication. You inspired these students to reach new heights, and it showed in every moment of the production.

🎉🎉Congratulations! 🎉🎉

Newsies Artistic Team

Ms. Beth Kennedy, Producer, Choreographer

Ms. Jordan Caruso, Director

Mr. Trent DeBonis, Assistant Director

Ms. Stephanie Griffin, Music Director

Mrs. Christy Bensley, Rehearsal Assistant

Ms. Imani Physic, Rehearsal Assistant

Performance at the Robb Center

All of the 6th grade enjoyed the performance

On Friday, March 28, 7B students shared their Rome projects with their families and community members at the Doherty Middle School Media Center. Students displayed informational posters on a variety of topics pertaining to Ancient Rome, from fashion and beauty to military life. Each student also produced a 3D object or drawing to further illustrate their respective topics.

Pictured left to right Sachin Dwarakanath and Thomas Eraly

Thomas Eraly (8th grade, Doherty Middle School) was selected to be the Project 351 Ambassador for Doherty Middle School and the Andover community by the DMS principal Rebecca Perry. Thomas is absolutely thrilled and honored to have this opportunity! His first service project is a Cradles to Crayons clothing drive that will run from March 31-April 11. Cradles to Crayons supports Massachusetts children struggling with clothing insecurity. Thomas has worked hard to prepare clothing donation bins for Cradles to Crayons that will be placed at DMS, South Elementary, Bancroft Elementary, the AYS Cormier Youth Center, and the Town Offices. He has been working with friends; his Core 4 youth service group and AYS directors and coordinators Avre Vickers, Chris Dempsey, Robin Del Negro, and Hayato Tsurumaki at the Youth Center; principal Brenda Lee and 5th grade teacher James Selvitella, along with the South Student Service team at South Elementary; principal Beth Leavitt at Bancroft Elementary; and principal Perry at DMS. Project 351 has encouraged the ambassadors to share their "why," or motivation for service, when spreading the word about the clothing drive and other service projects. Here, in Thomas's words, is his "why": "There is a movie called Pele: Birth of the Legend that I love. I am inspired by Pele's story because it shows how he overcame childhood poverty. I think that this greatly connects to the message that Cradles to Crayons is trying to send."

Sixth-grade students Benjamin and Luke Battles, along with their mom, Sauwai, volunteer with Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

Their family is currently raising a Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) puppy named Coconut.

Coconut will be visiting our sixth-grade students, giving them the opportunity to learn about guide dog training and what it takes for puppies to become guide dogs. The assembly will include a presentation, and students will also get the chance to meet Coconut.

If you have questions, please reach out to Principal Perry.

Pictured: Coconut!

Interested in being a WEB Leader next year? WEB Leader applications are open and due on Wednesday, April 30th. If you choose to apply, join the WEB Leader Application ‘25-26 Schoology course using the code posted on your team’s Schoology page and in the hallways and complete/submit the application. Please see your team leader, Mrs. Carlton in room 234, or Ms. Murphy in room 207 if you have any questions!

WEB is a transition program designed to help 6th graders adjust to life in middle school by creating connections, community, and support from the very first day of school. Selected 8th graders participate in the WEB Leadership Academy training to become WEB Leaders, and then they serve as mentors for 6th graders throughout the entire school year. WEB exists to support a school climate Where Everybody Belongs.

For interested 7th-graders (rising 8th-graders), WEB Leader applications are due Wednesday, April 30th by the end of the school day. If students choose to apply, they must join the WEB Leader Application ‘25-26 Schoology course using the code posted on their team’s Schoology page and around the hallways, and they must complete/submit the application. If students have questions, they can reach out to their team leader, Mrs. Carlton in room 234 (kate.carlton@andoverma.us), or Ms. Murphy in room 207 (shannon.murphy@andoverma.us).

Doherty Values Challenge

🏆Championship Round: March 31-April 4

Our March Madness winner will be announced on Monday morning.

March Madness Attendance Challenge which is all about teamwork! Each homeroom will be competing for both weekly and a grand prize based on attendance.

Weekly Matchups — How to Advance:

- Each week, our Attendance Team will calculate the percentage of students in each homeroom who attended school on time (no tardies!).

- The section with the highest attendance percentage in each matchup advances to the next round.

- Students with medical notes/excuses will not be counted against the attendance.

- Eliminated teams will continue to be eligible for a weekly prize so don’t give up! Each week is a fresh start!

Thank you to the over 80 parents and caregivers who have already filled out the wellness team's phone survey. The survey closes on April 18th, and we would love to hear from as many people as possible. If you haven't filled it out, there is still time! Survey Link

We are gearing up for Career Day! Thank you to the over 60 parents and caregivers from across our three middle schools who have volunteered to present their careers at our Career Day for 8th graders on April 15th at Andover High School. We are so excited for this special event. In preparation for Career Day, our 8th graders will be filling out career interest surveys in ITT class. Feel free to ask them which career(s) came up on their survey!

6th and 7th graders have continued to work through lessons in our Character Strong program. 6th graders have been finishing up their acrostic poems, and 7th graders have been engaging with lessons on what they value and respect. Feel free to ask your child which value they chose and who in their life influenced them; many named family members as their inspirations.

Lastly, Andover Youth Center is gearing up for a great spring season. Check out their offerings for the advanced debate club as well as their April Break fun day options.

Thank you for your continued support!

• Tuesday, April 29, 2025 - The school budget will be presented as part of the total town budget for a vote at the annual town meeting.

Communication with our families is essential to the success and wellness of our students. To assist our families and help them connect with the appropriate staff who is best suited to answer questions, we have updated our “Who We Are” page on our website. The information will guide families to resources on how to reach staff with concerns and how to stay connected to news and events across the district.

What is RULER?

RULER is an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

Purpose of Morning Check In:

• Create a unified low-stakes rollout for all three APS Middle Schools
• Begin a student focus on the emotion matters mindset and discussion
• Build student relationships and community

RULER VIDEO and Website

To be completed if your student will participate in after school Extracurricular clubs. Click here for the form. The form is also available on our website.

Completed form can be dropped off at the Main Office.

List of Clubs and Activities can be found on our website under INFORMATION and RESOURCES