In anticipation of another fun filled, educational trip to Nature’s Classroom for our 8th graders this coming Fall, we are offering a spring fundraiser. This online fundraiser will run from April 7th- 28th. Students will have the opportunity to share links to their personal pages. If you would like to support a 7th grader in their fundraising efforts, ask them for their link! Or you can use the link below to shop and contribute to the general Nature’s Classroom Scholarship Fund.

https://www.shopfund.com/Shop?sid=1711273&t=GS&utm_campaign=sbshare&utm_medium=generic&utm_source=transactional

Effective immediately, Superintendent Haas has directed all Maynard schools to remain locked in the afternoons after secretaries have left. This is to protect the students and staff who remain in our buildings for after-school activities. At Fowler, this is typically around 3:15 pm that the doors will be locked and no one will be in the main office to hear the doorbell. In this case, people wishing to gain admittance may call the phone numbers listed on the sign on the front door. Central Office works later and will be able to buzz you in.

Dear Fowler Families

Grade 4-5 will take ELA MCAS next Wednesday and Thursday. Please review the important dates listed below. Each day, students will take a section of the test that is un-timed. They will be able to take as much time as they need to complete the test. If your child is sick, please do not send them to school on test day. Your child will not do their best. Also, if a child starts a test and gets sick and has to stop, they cannot go back to complete the test. We have a limited time period to let students do a make-up for any test session missed due to absence. If you have questions or concerns on test day, you can call the school the morning of testing.

Your child's teachers, this year and in the past, have prepared your child for this exam. We are confident that they will do well. You can support your children in their preparation for the MCAS exam by ensuring that they get plenty of rest, have eaten breakfast either at home or in school, and arrive to school on time.

We know that everyone's best is different, and we encourage each child to do their best. Please support your child by making him/her feel confident in doing their best. Many students feel very anxious about these tests, so encouraging yet low-key support is the best way to help. Be sure your child gets enough sleep. Make a favorite breakfast on test days. Be sure your child leaves to come to school in a good mood...please, no arguments before school. Wish your child a great day... "Do your best today just like every day! That's all that's important...that you can say: I did my best." All this impacts test performance. We ask that you do not use "negatives" (i.e. If you don't pass the test, you won't go to the next grade). This only increases the anxiety, and it is not true. Surprisingly, I have heard this comment from children in past years. It is important to see what students know and can do so we can help them to continue growing as a learner. That's what MCAS is all about.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Mike Barth, Principal

IMPORTANT TEST DATES:

Grade 4:

ELA: April 12-13, Math: May 10-11

Grade 5:

ELA: April 12-13, Math: May 10-11, Science: May 17-18

Grades 6-7:

ELA: April 25-26, Math: May 15-16

Grade 8:

ELA: April 4-5, Math: May 8-9, Science: May 17-18

PMC KIDS Rides are a way to include young cyclists in the mission of the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC) annual bike-a-thon to raise money for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Since 2005, the PMC KIDS Rides have raised over 9.3 million dollars through Dana-Farber’s Jimmy Fund. The PMC KIDS Rides Program engages youth in philanthropy, instills the value of working for the benefit of others, and promotes athletic fitness and physical activity. The program enables children between the ages of 3 and 13 to ride their bikes and solicit sponsors to donate money to cancer research. 100% of all money raised at this event will go directly to Dana Farber via the PMC.

Green Meadow School

Many students have joined the BASEC and/or Boy’s and Girl’s Club during the school year and continue through the summer months. Based upon information from last year’s summer programming, the Green Meadow Elementary School will be scheduling an Integrated PK session to run from July 5 - August 3, 2023 (Monday-Thursday) and an English Learner (K-3) program from July 5 - July 27 (Monday-Thursday). The programs will be based on the availability of staffing.

The Fowler School

The Fowler School does wish to offer enrichment activities once again this year with an anticipated enrolment of 25-40 children in grades 4-8.

The program would be held for three weeks, Monday to Thursday, from July 10th through July 27th.

The day will run from 8:00 to 11:30 am, and children will have a free play time, Math focused activities session, ELA focused session, a snack and read-aloud time, and a STEAM activity time.

Email msoler@maynard.k12.ma.us or dhatch@maynard.k12.ma.us

Maria Soler and Denise Hatch

Maynard High School

Maynard High School proposes offering three summer programs. One program is designed to support EL students, another program is a credit recovery Summer School, and the third program is a theater program.

The EL enrichment program would be for 10 days in July on July 5-6, 10-13, and 17-20 from 8:30-12:30. Breakfast and lunch would be prepared by students as a learning and socialization activity each day.

The Summer School Credit Recovery program would run from July 10th through July 28th, Monday through Friday. Hours would be from 8:30-11:45 for students, with two sessions per day separated by a short break.

A high school summer theater workshop would run from Monday, July 31st through August 11th from 8:00 am-Noon.

This is a friendly reminder that per the Maynard Wellness Policy, which receives its directives from state and national standards, no student should be coming to school with any outside beverages other than water. We have seen an uptick in Dunkin Donuts type beverages and as much as we love to see our students coming in extra caffeinated, we kindly ask that you leave these beverages to life outside of school. This also includes any energy drinks and even that new swanky Prime beverage.

We are kindly asking that all student drop offs and pickups (before and after school) take place on the far side of the building by the sports fields. Please follow the road behind the school to arrive there.

When this protocol is not followed, it poses a serious safety risk to our students and our teachers.

A thousand thank yous in advance!

Families, we've already put our MCAS dates on the calendar for you to reference.

Grade 4:

ELA: April 12-13, Math: May 10-11

Grade 5:

ELA: April 12-13, Math: May 10-11, Science: May 17-18

Grades 6-7:

ELA: April 25-26, Math: May 15-16

Grade 8:

ELA: April 4-5, Math: May 8-9, Science: May 17-18

If you live with food allergies, every meal can be a worry. Whitson's, our food service provider, is trying to reduce that worry with allergy-friendly food signage. In the cafeteria, look for signs like this. It clearly lists the allergens in the dish. The online menu, linked below, shows allergens, and is also interactive, allowing students to review the dishes and leave feedback. Whitson's hopes this information makes it easier to plan ahead for each week's meals, especially for those managing a food allergy.

The Green Meadow Elementary School project team has submitted its second MSBA submission! This submission is called the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) and it advances the initial existing conditions verification, educational visioning & programming and Owner / Community coordination into multiple design alternatives, shows MSBA the design alternative evaluation process taken by the project team, and highlights which design alternative was ultimately selected at the end of the process.

Below is a link to a Google Drive folder that contains the previous Preliminary Design Program (PDP) submission as well as the recent PSR submission. As always, we thank you very much for your attention to the project, and we’ll continue to keep you informed as the project moves along the MSBA process!

GMES Google Drive Link