Lane Notes

August 27 - Meet and Greet your Teacher - see details below

September 2 - First Day of School (full day)

September 15 - Back to School Night for Grade 3 parents, 6 - 7 pm

September 16 - Back to School Night for Grade 4 parents, 6 - 7 pm

September 17 - Back to School Night for Grade 5 parents, 6 - 7 pm

September 29 - School Pictures (more details to come)

We hope everyone had a good summer and we look forward to greeting your children later this week at the Meet and Greets or on their first day of school.

This newsletter will be emailed out to parents/caregivers at the start of each week, usually on Mondays (or Tuesday in the case of a Monday holiday). In addition, Superintendent Chuang will include a link to the newsletters, for your reference, in his newsletter each week.

On Wednesday, August 27, families are invited to Lane School to meet their teacher and see their classroom. This is also a great time to bring in school supplies. If your ordered school supplies through BEST/The Write Stuff, those orders have been delivered to Lane and you can pick them up in the cafeteria and bring them to your child's classroom. If you are not able to attend on August 27, pre-ordered kits will be delivered to the appropriate classrooms at the end of the day.

The schedule is as follows:

Grade 3 12:00 - 12:30 pm

Grade 4 1:00 - 1:30 pm

Grade 5 2:00 - 2:30 pm

Please do not worry if you are not available to come to your Meet & Greet. School supplies can also be brought on the first days of school, and if anyone needs help finding their classroom on those first days, there will be plenty of Lane Staff around to help them 🙂

School Supply lists for this school year were sent out with the classroom placement emails. Here are the lists again for your reference.

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Children need healthy meals to learn. Bedford Public Schools offers healthy meals every school day at no cost to all students. We receive funding for this through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Lunch and breakfast at no cost for our students is now permanent. We need your help to keep providing free meals to all students in future years.

Completing the meal benefit application can:

 help sustain free meals for our school(s) by increasing access to Federal funding

 drive funding for educational programs in our community

 help provide free summer meals to all kids, and free meals to kids in childcare in our community.

Families who qualify for free or reduced-price meals for their children can also be qualified for Sun Bucks (formerly Summer EBT) starting in the summer of 2026. Sun Bucks provides extra money for groceries during the summer months when kids aren’t in school. Your participation can help your family and your community. The information you provide is confidential. We follow strict federal rules to keep your information private. If you are not receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and have been approved for free or reduced-price school meals, you may be eligible for SNAP which provides monthly financial assistance to purchase groceries to Massachusetts residents who qualify. Find out if you are eligible for SNAP today by calling Project Bread's FoodSource Hotline at 1-800-645-8333 and a counselor can help you apply over the phone. You can also apply on your own online at DTA Connect: https://dtaconnect.eohhs.mass.gov/apply

Please see the attached letter, instructions, and application form for more information. Any questions should be directed to Bedford Public School Nutrition Department at 781-275-7588

Printed copies of these forms are available in the Lane School Office.

All adults (over 18 years of age) that are volunteering and/or visiting the school for programming must have a valid CORI, SORI, and signed confidentiality agreement on file before volunteering/visiting.

Starting 9/20/24, the district adopted a 3-year expiration for the CORI/SORI. If your last CORI/SORI was processed on 9/20/24 or after, it is valid for 3 years. If you submitted your most recent CORI/SORI before that date, you will need to fill out new forms this school year, and they will be valid for 3 years. You may call the Lane Office or email us to check if you have a valid CORI/SORI on file.

To be in full compliance with our HR Department and the State, all CORI/SORI forms MUST BE SUBMITTED in person, with a valid picture ID, ONLY by the person whose name appears on the form. Forms will not be accepted via kid mail, email, or spouse, etc.

Please plan ahead and allow at least 1 week for processing, so that you don’t get stuck and are prohibited from volunteering.

Forms are applicable for all 4 schools in the district, so you only need to fill out forms at one school (i.e. if you fill out forms at Davis, you do not need to fill out forms at Lane).

Membership Toolkit

Stay up to date with all of the latest school and community events with BEST/PTO by joining Membership Toolkit today! If your family is already registered, make sure you update/review your family’s information and email preferences for this year. Head over to bestpto.membershiptoolkit.com to get started.

BEDFORD SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council)
SEPAC is a group of parents & caregivers of children receiving special education support and/or children with disabilities. All parents & caregivers welcome! We meet for support, education, networking and resource sharing.
Email: bedfordmasepac@gmail.com
Facebook group: https://www.facebook. com/groups/BEDFORDMASEPAC/

Cell Phones and Smart Watches

If a student brings a cell phone or smart watch to school, it should stay in their backpack during the day. Of course, we understand that some students may need their devices for medical reasons, and we're always happy to work with families to make the right accommodations.

Bus Policy
Please note that it is district policy to bus Lane students to their home address or to that of a regularly scheduled caregiver.

Bus transportation is not to be used for play dates or extra-curricular activities.

*On the first day of school, your child will bring home a Lane Transportation Plan form. Please complete this and return it to school the next day. Thank you!

Dismissal Changes
At the start of the school year, all students will be given a yellow Lane Transportation Plan form for caregivers to fill out and return to the school. If, on a given day, your child’s dismissal is different from what you have indicated on the yellow Lane Transportation Plan form you turned in, please notify the main office via:
- a note sent in with your child
- email Becky Ricci rebecca_ricci@bedfordps.org (you can also copy your child’s teacher)
OR
a phone call 781-275-7606.

If your child is attending an after school program, a music lesson, etc. after school, in addition to notifying the office, please remind your child in the morning of their dismissal plan in the afternoon. Thank you!

Absences and Late Arrivals and Early Dismissals
Please note that ALL absences and late arrivals must be reported to the office, by 9 am on the day of. If it is a planned absence/late arrival, you can let us know ahead of time so you don’t have to remember the day of. You can call the main number, 781-275-7606, and leave a message on the Absence Line at any time of day or night (if your child will be arriving late, the message can be left on the Absence line as well). Your message should include your name and a call back number, your child’s name & teacher, and the reason for the absence or late arrival. Alternatively, you may email the information to Becky Ricci rebecca_ricci@bedfordps.org
If we do not have notification from you regarding an absence, you may receive an automated call, email, and text message from School Messenger, asking you to call the office as soon as possible.
Early Dismissals
Please also let the office and your child's teacher know about early dismissals the morning of (or earlier. You may send in a note with your child (which the teacher will send to the office) or your may email or call first thing in the morning. This way the teacher and your child can be prepared for the dismissal time, and not rush to get homework assignments and get their belongings packed up. When you arrive at the office, we will call your child's classroom and have them come to the office to meet you.

Exempt Absences
When a student is absent for medical reasons (doctor’s note required), religious observance (parent call required), court appearance (court documentation required), funeral, or suspensions from school, then that student’s absence is classified as exempt. An exempt absence does NOT count toward the allotted absences of Chapter 76, section 1 of the Massachusetts General Laws. (Please see the Lane Family Handbook for more information)