AMS Weekly Update

Good Afternoon,

We had a busy but exciting short week at AMS! A reminder that there is no school tomorrow, November 1st, in observance of Diwali. Happy Diwali to all who are celebrating. Grades for Term 1 close on Wednesday, November 6th. Please note that the iPass rankbook and grades tabs will be temporarily closed as teachers finalize Term 1 grades and comments. It will reopen on November 15th at 3:00 p.m. for report card review.

Also, there is no school on Tuesday, November 5th, as teachers will be participating in a full day of professional development.

This week, AMS proudly hosted a unified Bocce tournament on Tuesday afternoon, where our athletes did an amazing job! Special thanks to Kelly-Ann Romano and Tom Hilli for their dedication to our team, as well as to our wonderful 8th-grade student leaders who stepped up to help and referee the event.

We also celebrated Red Ribbon Spirit Week with high participation from both students and staff. Anything but a backpack day really brought out the creativity and we had students carrying their items around in all sorts of options! In advisory today, students had the option to sign a voluntary pledge to take a stand against youth substance use. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we held a trivia game for teachers during advisory, and the excitement was contagious! When the question was announced over the PA system, students cheered as their teachers tried to be the “right caller” to answer. It was great to see students engaged in the fun, especially as they tried to be the “5th caller.”

I’m incredibly thankful for our hardworking faculty and thrilled to introduce more fun events to encourage a positive school culture.

For those with students participating in Halloween events this evening, please remind them to stay safe.

Enjoy the long weekend, and please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Erin Lachapelle

AMS Principal

Picture Re-takes

Any student who did not have their picture taken on the original picture day or who wants a re-take will have their pictures done on November 7th.

Message from Nursing:

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We want to let you know about the upcoming health screenings at the middle school and give you the opportunity to opt your child out. In November, we will begin to screen students for scoliosis. Screening will take place for all grades between November 15th and November 21st.

Postural screening is done by examining a student's spine. Students will be asked to remove upper body garments. Female students will remain in undergarments, bras, or camisoles. If at any time during the screening, your child is uncomfortable with the process, he or she should let the screener know so adjustments can be made for modesty's sake. This screening will be done by the school nurses in a private setting.

The postural screening is part of routine physical exams, so if you (or your child) are not comfortable or this is already being done by their primary care provider, please feel free to opt them out by clicking on the link below and filling out the Google opt-out form.

https://forms.gle/s5XKT7gfJbHYpe537

Thank you. Please email ams_nurses@ashland.k12.ma.us with any questions!

Best,

Cori Jones, RN, Lisa DeRubeis, RN and Anne Gately, RN

AMS Winter Sports Registration

Winter sports registration is now open! Use this link to register for AMS basketball, available for boys and girls in grades 7-8. If you have any questions, please contact Athletic Director Kevin Anderson at kevinanderson@ashland.k12.ma.us

Decisions At Every Turn (DAET)

DAET is part of a regional prevention group, CMSAPC (Central Massachusetts Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition). This group has provided, and continues to provide a large portion of DAET's funding in recent years. Through this collaborative work, we have made great progress in growing our partnerships with other communities, including Natick, Northborough, Westborough, Southborough, and Hudson. We look forward to providing regional prevention programming & education for youth and their caregiving networks through our collaborative funding.

CMSAPC is seeking parent feedback on our cannabis prevention campaign survey. Feedback will influence the direction of this regional campaign, targeted at...

• Educating parents & caregivers on the risks of youth marijuana/cannabis use
• Encouraging honest & open family communication
• Improving the perception of harm associated with youth cannabis use by both youth and parent/caregivers.

You will find a graphic with a QR Code attached to this email. Here is the survey link-

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CMSAPC

Monday, November 4th-B Day

Tuesday, November 5th-NO SCHOOL-Teacher Professional Development Day

Wednesday, November 6th-C Day

Thursday, November 7th-D Day

Friday,November 8th-E Day

Friday, November 1st-NO SCHOOL (Diwali)

Tuesday, November 5th-NO SCHOOL (Election Day) Professional Development for Staff

Monday, November 11th-NO SCHOOL (Veterans' Day)

Wednesday, November 27th-Early Release

Thursday, November 28th & Friday, November 29th-NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

I will provide an opportunity in every weekly update for parents and guardians to recognize the amazing work of our faculty and staff. If your student comes home and shares an incredible learning experience or stories about their teachers, please take a moment to fill out the google form linked here. This will allow me to recognize the faculty and staff members and share the positive experiences that students are having with the community.

"Huge shout-out to our amazing teachers & staff who participated in this week’s Spirit Days! Your enthusiasm brought smiles and excitement to the entire school. Students loved seeing you embrace the themes each day—they were thrilled to share in the fun and see you joining in! "

GIRL POWERED

Girl Powered is a program designed specifically towards females in Ashland Middle School. The focus within this program is to create positive mental awareness utilizing fitness techniques. During this 8 week program, females will be educated, trained, and assisted on basic strength training using free weights, plate weights with bars, body weight activities, cardiovascular activities, along with injury prevention and safety awareness within a fitness facility. They will associate mood and mental health awareness within fitness activities and develop self assessments to regulate mood management. A pre and post assessment will be utilized to determine students mental and physical health during this program. Assessments will be utilized to provide students with individually designed goals related to their mental and physical needs.

Keep a lookout for sign ups!

Please reach out to Dee Mastromatteo, AMS Wellness Teacher or Kelly Roy, AMS Adjustment Counselor with any questions.

Dmastromatteo@ashland.k12.ma.us

Kroy@ashland.k12.ma.us

Unified Sports

AMS is proud to be recognized by Special Olympics Massachusetts as a Unified Champion School. If your child is interested in participating in unified sports please reach out to Kelly Romano at kromano@ashland.k12.ma.us

Best Buddies

Best Buddies is a social club created to foster one-to-one friendships between middle school students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Through their participation, students with and without IDD form meaningful connections with their peers, gain self-confidence and self-esteem, share interests, experiences and activities. Best Buddies helps to create an inclusive middle school culture for all students early on in their educational development. We meet the first Wednesday of every month from 2:45-3:45 in room 119. Please join by filling out this online form: www.bestbuddies.org/join and contact KellyAnn Romano with any questions at kromano@ashland.k12.ma.us.

AMS Student Council

Student Leaders is now officially AMS Student Council! Meetings will be held Wednesday mornings, at 7:15am in Mrs. Steinbrick’s room. If students are unable to make it, please let Mrs.Steinbrick know. This meeting is for current student leaders. Interested in joining but not a student leader? Stay tuned for more details! "

Math Counts

Club meets on Monday afternoons in Room 222. Please reach out to Karen Bernier with any questions kbernier@ashland.k12.ma.us

Chess Club

The AMS Chess Club meets every Monday after school from 2:45 pm- 3:45 pm in rooms 208, 210, & 211. Please email Mrs. Sadana gsadana@ashland.k12.ma.us or Mr. Van Wyhe rvanwyhe@ashland.k12.ma.us with any questions.

Art Club

Please reach out to Mrs. Micucci with any questions. rmicucci@ashland.k12.ma.us

Diversity Club:

Diversity Club will have its first meeting on October 17th in the Art room. All are welcome! Please reach out to Mrs. Micucci with any questions rmicucci@ashland.k12.ma.us

Drama Club

Drama Club has started !!! AMS Theater Company will be producing

The Seussification of Romeo & Juliet ! It is a comedy.

Email any questions to : elangmeyer@ashland.k12.ma.us

Yearbook:

Open to all grades. Yearbook will meet on Wednesdays after school in room 142. If you have questions please reach out to Ms. Collins mcollins@ashland.k12.ma.us

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As the fall season progresses, we are excited to share our November menu with you, featuring

the nutrient-packed Massachusetts Harvest of the Month: Kale!

This month, our menu includes delicious side dishes that highlight the wonderful flavor of kale,

such as Kale Caesar and a Kale and Cabbage Slaw.

Kale is a versatile and highly nutritious leafy green that will be prominently featured in our

meals throughout November. Locally grown in Massachusetts, kale is an excellent source of

vitamins A, C, and K, as well as fiber and antioxidants.

For more information on the benefits of kale and fun recipe ideas, please visit the Massachusetts

Harvest of the Month page: Massachusetts Harvest of the Month - Kale.

We are committed to providing fresh, locally sourced produce to our students, supporting local

farmers, and ensuring the best nutritional quality in our meals. We encourage you to incorporate

kale into your meals at home to enjoy its many health benefits.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for trusting us with your children's nutrition and well-

being. We look forward to a healthy and delicious month!

Warm regards

Regina Wilkinson

Director of Nutrition Services

Ashland Public Schools

Email: rwilkinson@ashland.k12.ma.us Phone: 508-881-0165

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.