Mindess School Weekly Update

Dear Families,

Walk to School Day was a huge success! This special event for Mindess students was amazing, and they did a wonderful job participating. A big thank you to Mr. Powers and Mr. Grace for organizing, and to the Ashland Police Department for helping ensure everyone’s safety. We were also joined by special guests from the Ashland School Committee, Mr. Kendall and Mrs. Tosti, along with Mr. Adams, who greeted students as they exited the bus and began their short walk to school. It was truly a memorable morning for our community. Please take a moment to enjoy a short video of the event in the “Highlights” section below.

This week we also wrapped up our iReady assessments. Teachers will begin reviewing the data next week to guide instruction and support students’ learning needs.

We want to share that, like many districts, we have experienced a shortage of bus drivers on certain days. As a result, some routes have had to be doubled up, which may occasionally cause delays. We truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this challenge.

Looking ahead, please remember that Friday, October 10th, is an early release day. Students will be dismissed at 11:55 a.m. after lunch.

We know families like to plan ahead around MCAS testing dates. This year’s MCAS schedule is listed below—please be sure to mark your calendars.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership.

Warmly,

Kate Altman
Principal

• Early Release after lunch (11:55) on October 10th.
• No School on October 13th.
• No School on October 20th
• Conferences are October 28, 29, 30 and students will be dismissed at 10:40.

• KNO dates are scheduled and will be October 24, February 6, and May 1st. Students MUST HAVE a signed permission form from a parent/guardian in order to attend. Please see the attached flyer below with more information.

It's right around the corner with the first date being October 24th!!!!!

The other two dates are 2/6, and 5/1.

To sign your student up, you will need to fill out this form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXTzlrTxPVg23zsG6uCKAQtuIZyNGO-zsULLWkrRQHutf1ZQ/viewform

To pay, please Venmo: @ashlandclockerpto

To volunteer you will need an active CORI form, please consider signing up to join in on the fun:

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/508084AA8AF2EAAFC1-59005997-copy

The Mindess nurses will begin mandatory state screenings beginning next week (week of 9/22/25) and will continue until screenings in all grades are complete. The screenings performed in each grade are as follows:

3rd Grade: vision, hearing
4th Grade: vision, BMI
5th Grade: vision, postural (postural to be completed in Spring 2026)

While vision and hearing screenings are required by state law, parents may choose to opt their child out of BMI and postural screenings. If you'd like to opt out of either BMI or postural screenings, please fill out this form to make the nurses aware of your decision to opt out.

Please see the letters below for more information on BMI screenings (grade 4 only):

If you have any questions, please reach out to our nurses at mes_nurses@ashland.k12.ma.us.

Check out a short video of our Mindess students taking part in National Walk to School Day!

Don’t forget to visit ashland.k12.ma.us/Flyers where we feature announcements and events offered by organizations, clubs and teams throughout our community that serve to enrich the lives of our students, families, faculty and staff.