NPS Engage 10/26/2026

Dear Natick Public Schools Community,

Last week, nearly 200 participants joined our Elementary Curriculum Night to learn more about teaching and learning in our elementary schools. Thank you to the families who participated and to the educators who shared their expertise. These opportunities to connect help strengthen the partnership between our schools and families in support of student learning.

Thank you also to the community members who completed the survey in our last Engage about preferences for Superintendent Listening and Learning Sessions. Your feedback showed strong interest in evening meeting times, with a majority of respondents preferring a virtual format. Caregivers also expressed interest in separate sessions for elementary and secondary families. Your input is helping us shape these opportunities for conversation, and we will share details about the first few sessions in the next Engage.

Tonight at 6:00 PM, we invite the community to participate in the public forum on the Memorial School Educational Design as part of the ongoing building project. You can attend in person or join virtually using the link in the School Committee Spotlight below. We welcome your attendance as this important process moves forward.

Also tonight, SPARK Kindness will host Sarah Ward at Kennedy Middle School at 7 p.m. for her informative presentation called “Building Executive Functioning Skills: Practical Strategies to Help Kids Become More Independent.” This presentation offers families practical ideas for supporting children’s growing independence.

Throughout this edition of Engage, you will also find wonderful student highlights ranging from our incredible Natick High School math team to our dedicated Safety Patrol leaders at Memorial Elementary. Their accomplishments, leadership, and care for others remind us of the vibrant learning community we share and the many ways our students contribute to it each day.

Sincerely,

Melissa Spash
Superintendent of Schools

Thank you to all the families who joined us virtually for our Elementary Curriculum Night last week! It was wonderful to see so many parents and caregivers log on to learn about the curriculum and the work happening in our classrooms. This was our first Curriculum Night, and thanks to you, it was a huge success.

If you weren't able to attend, we've got you covered. You can view the presentation slides here: Elementary Curriculum Night slides. A video recording of the evening will be available soon.

We were also pleased to offer live interpretation in Spanish and Portuguese. Recordings of the Spanish and Portuguese sessions will be shared shortly as well.

Thank you for your continued partnership in your child's learning. We look forward to seeing you at future events!

On September 28, the Natick School Committee formally voted to approve the new K–12 Code of Conduct, establishing a School Committee-approved framework for student rights, responsibilities, behavioral expectations, and responses across all Natick Public Schools.

The Code represents an important step toward greater consistency, clarity, fairness, and accountability across our schools. Central to this framework is the principle of supportive accountability, which emphasizes clear behavioral expectations, opportunities for learning and growth, and meaningful accountability for student actions. The Code establishes a consistent, progressive approach to responding to student behavior, balancing appropriate consequences with supportive interventions that encourage responsibility, reflection, and positive decision-making. Grounded in our district's core values of Belonging, Character, and Excellence, this framework reinforces our shared commitment to safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environments.

The Code has also been incorporated into our updated student handbooks, providing families and students with clearer, more accessible information about rights, responsibilities, behavioral expectations, and disciplinary procedures while promoting greater consistency across the district.

As we move forward with implementation, we look forward to partnering with families to reinforce shared expectations and foster safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments for all students.

Natick Public Schools is in the process of updating our Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan (BPIP) to strengthen our practices for preventing, reporting, investigating, and responding to bullying and cyberbullying across our schools.

As part of this process, we invite families and community members to review the Draft Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan and share their perspectives. Your feedback will help inform the final plan and support our ongoing commitment to safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environments for all students.

We encourage you to share your feedback through our Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan Feedback Form.

Thank you for your continued partnership in fostering a school community grounded in belonging, respect, and safety.

Brown students enjoyed a performance by Manguito: A Musical Journey Through the Caribbean. They learned about traditional rhythms and dances from Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and even had the opportunity to dance, sing and play music with the performers. What a great way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! Huge thanks to the Brown PTO for funding this event and to our Cultural Arts Chairs Marina Breed and Colleen Standish for coordinating the details.

Memorial Elementary’s fourth-grade Safety Patrol members took the spotlight at last Monday’s School Committee meeting! Joined by Principal Ms. Ghilani and Assistant Principal Mr. Marra, the students shared what they do and what they’ve learned about leadership along the way.

Each student applied to the Safety Patrol by writing an essay. Now, they work alongside teachers to help keep arrival, dismissal and hallways safe, serving as role models through their safety, respect, and kindness each day.

Every student had a part in the presentation, bringing their teamwork and leadership to life. Thank you, Memorial Safety Patrol, for showing us how students can make a positive difference in their school community!

On Tuesday, October 13th, the Natick High School math team took home first place in the WPI Invitational Math Meet, beating out over 200 students from nearly 50 high schools! Congratulations to math team members Ben Sawatdiphong, Brian Sun, Vlad Vynarchuk, Atticus Rando and Math Team Advisor Ratty Amaravadi on this extraordinary showing!

An extra congratulations goes to Brian Sun, who scored 2nd place in the Individual Student Round!

On Thursday, October 15th, 29 Natick High School students attended a very special edition of the James Otis Lecture series hosted by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). As attendees of this annual lecture series, students heard from panelists including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer (Ret.), noted author Sarah Isgur and renowned Constitutional historian and Yale Law professor Akhil Reed Amar debate topics related to the federal court system. Below are a few pictures of their trip to Boston for this special experience.

Thank you to Maggie Hale and Cindy Crohan for providing this amazing opportunity to our students!

🔗 Watch The NHS Band Performance Here

About Our Presenter

Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP has over 30 years of experience in the treatment of executive dysfunction. She is an internationally recognized expert on executive function and presents seminars on the practical strategies she has co-developed called the 360 Thinking Executive Function Program. Sarah has presented to over 2,200 public and private schools and organizations across the globe.

Learn more about Sarah Ward here.

Join us tonight, Monday, October 26th, for our School Committee Meeting! This meeting will be devoted to the Memorial Elementary School Educational Program, including a public forum for community members to share their perspectives. A School Committee vote is scheduled for November 2nd.

We invite you to attend in person or virtually. You can find the agenda and links to the virtual log in on our School Committee Page HERE. Agendas are posted by Thursday evening on the Thursday before the meeting.

Upcoming: On the November 2nd meeting we will be discussing the 2027 start date and there will be a presentation from the Natural and Synthetic Field Turf Study Group regarding their findings and field study report. More information about this can be found below.

🔗 Visit the School Committee Webpage Here

The School Committee invites all community members to listen and engage in the Memorial School Educational Program process. Please see the timeline below that lists the specific and important dates over the next few weeks to engage in this process. Please note the special meeting devoted only to the Educational Program on October 26th.

The Educational Program helps guide planning for Memorial Elementary School by describing how the school’s spaces can support teaching, learning, and daily operations. It addresses curriculum, grade and classroom organization, scheduling, and practical needs such as lunch, transportation, safety, and community use.

These educational needs help inform the proposed building layout, including where learning spaces are located, how they will be used, and the staffing and equipment needed to support them. The overview below highlights the key areas that connect educational planning with building design.

At Spring Town Meeting, in 2024, the Natick Public Schools requested $200,000 which was approved for a field design of the High School's "JV Field" (practice field). The full design has been on hold since the Fall Town Meeting in 2024 based on an advisory against using synthetic turf. In January of 2026 the Superintendent of Schools and Town Administrator requested the establishment of the Natural and Synthetic Turf Field Study Group. This group has been meeting in the months since. Starting November 2nd, the School Committee will be discussing the High School practice field over a series of meetings and would love community input.

• November 2: The chair of the Natural and Synthetic Turf Field Study Group will present a summary of its findings and report to the committee. It's report and research can be found on the town website here.
• November 16: The NPS Athletic Director will present a needs assessment for the practice field at the High School.
• December 7: The School Committee will have its initial discussion on the practice field based on the previous presentations.
• December 21: There will be an opportunity during this meeting for a public forum where members of the community can provide feedback and thoughts on the practice field.
• January 11: The School Committee will vote on a recommended design scope for the practice field.

Help shape the future of the former Johnson Elementary School -- this is a key opportunity to provide significant input on the project direction. Join the Select Board for a presentation on project updates, live polling, Q&A, and small-group discussions — in person at Morse Library or join remotely (via Pegasus or Zoom).

🔗 Learn More Here

Join us Sunday, December 6th at 9AM for a fun run around the neighborhood to support our NHS Cross Country and Track & Field athletes. This is our 5th annual! Run, walk, stroll – all are welcome. Dress in your favorite costume. Raffles, Great Prizes, Music, Hot Chocolate, Local Vendors. USATF Certified 5K course. Run by volunteers. Part of the proceeds support Spark Kindness. It’s a really fun community event and a great opportunity to get outdoors with family and friends. Come Run for Fun!

🔗 Register Here