McGovern News

As fall settles in, teaching and learning are in full swing at our school. We are thrilled to see our students making remarkable progress every day, embracing new challenges and growing in their understanding. The energy in the classrooms is palpable, and it's exciting to witness students' achievements as they continue on their educational journey.

Our annual participation in our school's Walk to School this morning was such an amazing turn out! It was wonderful having the majority of our students join together, and some with their families, to all walk together to practice in self-care and build a sense of community! October is filling up with so many experiences on the horizon, please read below for information and updates of what's in store!

As we say each morning after our pledge of allegiance:

I can!

You can!

We all can!

Have a great long weekend, and enjoy the lovely fall weather!

In partnership,

Shelby Holt

Last week's Curriculum Night was such an amazing success! It was wonderful to see everyone there, and to be able to meet some new families as well. Your partnership truly makes such a big impact on your child's education, and we are privileged to have such a strong McGovern community! I am sorry if we missed you last week, but please see this slideshow presentation that was shared at our Curriculum Night so you can still be included in what we look forward to as we continue into the school year!

We could not have asked for a more beautiful fall morning to have as we participated in our annual to walk to school! The students were so excited to be able to join their peers and teachers along with their families to all go to school together. We look forward to this event each year, and enjoy the pictures below that were shared from that morning.

On Tuesday, November 10, McGovern will be hosting an in-school assembly to help our young learners understand the significance of Veterans Day (November 11) and recognize the service and sacrifices of those who have served and continue to serve our country.

As part of this meaningful assembly, we would love to welcome McGovern family members who are veterans or currently serving in the military to participate and share their experiences with our students. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to hear directly from members of our own school community about their service and the important role they play in our country and community.

If you are a veteran or currently serving in the military, and are interested in participating in our assembly, please reach out to Mrs. Holt at sholt@medwayschools.org by Friday, October 23.

This assembly is intended to be a curriculum-related learning experience for students, and while we are not look to host publicly to all families, we are looking forward to honoring and learning from the members of our McGovern community who have served and continue to serve our country.

As we plan ahead to Veteran's Day on Wednesday, November 11, we would like to create a meaningful display bulletin board for the month of November honoring the veterans in our greater McGovern community. We would love families with active service members or veterans to send in a photograph of their special veteran in uniform (with their kids if possible!). Our intention is that these photos will spark conversations that teach kids about these special members of our community.

Please submit a 4" x 6" photo by Wednesday, October 28, with your child's name and room number, as well as which branch their special veteran/active duty member served on the back of the photo so we can properly return them. Thank you to all in our community who have served!

The eagerly awaited McGovern Fall Book Fair returns, courtesy of our partnership with Scholastic! Mark your calendars for the week of October 26, when our school library will transform into the book fair. Throughout that week all students in grades 1, kindergarten and preschool will visit the book fair during their library time.

Please click to view McGovern's Book Fair Time Table and this Book Fair flyer.

Quick Links & Tips for a Seamless Experience:

• Payment Options: We highly recommend using the eWallet for our students, please click the button below for details on how to set up. We also accept cash, credit, and checks.

• Volunteer Opportunity: Would you like to be a part of your child's Book Fair experience? Sign up here to volunteer and assist their class. Please note that all volunteers must have a current CORI clearance, which expires every academic year. If you have any CORI-related questions, feel free to reach out to amrice@medwayschools.org for clarification.

• Share the Fair Donations: You'll see an option to "share the Fair." This is an option to make a difference by making a donation, a full percentage of which goes toward our book scholarship fund and buying new books for the library for everyone to enjoy.

• Donations to Classrooms: You have the option of supporting your child's classroom by contributing to their teacher's or class's eWallet.

• Tax Information: Please note that there will be tax applied at the book fair. Scholastic recently reclassified as a retailer, resulting in tax collection at the register. We will educate our students about this during the fair, helping them understand how tax is a common part of the shopping experience for adults as well.

Be sure to create an account on the dedicated Scholastic Book Fair website to explore book trailers, online purchases, and setting up an eWallet to create your own shopping experience.

We are thrilled to embark on this literary adventure during the Book Fair Week and deeply appreciate your support in fostering a love for reading among our students.

Please remember that approximately twice a month there are no preschool classes as it is an Arena Day. This is when we complete assessments for students in an IEP evaluation cycle, hold IEP meetings, and/or conduct training. Arena days are always held on a Friday, and the upcoming arena days are:

• October 9
• October 23
• November 13
• December 4
• December 18

• January 22

• February 5

• March 5

• March 19

• April 9

• April 30

• May 14

• June 4

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has updated requirements which now require that students are provided school lunch on early release days. For the Medway Schools this will include 9 days for elementary students and 8 days for secondary. Please anticipate an update from your child’s school. The requirements can be found here that students be provided lunch on early release days.

Wednesday, October 21 is the first early release date for McGovern Elementary School.

As you may recall, Medway Schools formed a School Start Time Committee last spring. This Committee, made up of teachers, family, and student representatives, is charged with making a recommendation to the School Committee on whether to maintain or alter school start times. To make an informed decision, the Committee is looking for family input and asks that you please review the research on school start times and complete this survey by October 9

With news of recent measles outbreaks reported across the country, public health officials are sharing resources to help keep school communities informed. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health recommends that all youth receive two doses of the MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) vaccine, which offers strong protection against the virus, and encourages families to stay up to date on routine childhood immunizations. If you have questions about your child’s records or would like to schedule an immunization, we encourage you to contact your child's pediatrician.

The Medway Foundation for Education (MFE) is a non-profit organization charged with raising capital to fund innovative, educational projects throughout Medway’s public schools. Using the money generated from community events, contributions, and educational grants, MFE will allocate funds through a grant process to teacher-sponsored projects.

Visit our Facebook page to see some of our recent grants! If you want to support us you can send a donation through Venmo:

@MedwayFoundation last 4 digits are 8182.

For more information on becoming a volunteer, please contact one of our board members

by email, medwayfoundationforeducation@gmail.com.

Thank you,

Tara Ricciardelli: President

Kristen Walker: Vice President

Natalie Hachem: Vice President

Lisa Treacy: Treasurer

Christine Miller: Board Member

Jonathan Minnaert: Board Member

Please see below for the upcoming 2026-2027 MEPTO meeting dates and opportunities to stay connected and involved in our school community. All MEPTO meetings will being at 7 pm.

• October 14, 2026 - Middle School presentation room
• January 11, 2027 - High School guidance office or library
• April 12, 2027 - Middle School presentation room

The Medway SEPAC started our annual Trunk-or-Treat with one important goal in mind: to create a fun, welcoming, and inclusive community event where all of our children can come together, see familiar Medway staff, connect with our town organizations and our sport school teams, and simply enjoy being together.

This year's Trunk-or-Treat will be held on Friday, October 16 at 4:30 PM at Medway High School. Please click the flyer below for more information about the event, as well as registration. Please register for this event by October 2.

Medway Schools has partnered with Care Solace and Cartwheel to support the mental health of students and their families:

• Care Solace offers mental health care coordination services and can help connect you, your child, and extended family members with appropriate community-based mental health providers. Whether it's counseling, therapy, or other mental health services, Care Solace can help you find the support your family may need. To access Care Solace's coordination services, simply reach out using the following options:

• Call 888-515-0595: Their multilingual helpline is staffed 24/7/365.

• Visit www.caresolace.com/medway: On their website, you can explore mental health providers independently or click "Book Appointment" for personalized assistance through video chat, email, or phone.

• Cartwheel is a teletherapy service that supports students in grades 3-12 and families in grades K-2. For more information about Cartwheel’s services, please click here. To complete a self-referral form, please visit this site.

For the last several years, Medway Schools have collaborated with the Massachusetts Partnership for Youth (MPY) to provide professional development for our staff. MPY now offers a library of 10-minute videos and handouts for parents. Over 24 offerings include tips for parents regarding school success, student mental health, and more. The library can be accessed for free by clicking here.

As required by Massachusetts Department of Public Health regulations, 105 CMR 200.000, school nurse Stacey Grimm and a second nurse will be conducting the following screenings:

• Grade Pre-K: vision screening, near and distance vision

• Grade K: hearing screening, near and distance vision screening, stereopsis

• Grade 1: hearing screening, near and distance vision screening, stereopsis, height and weight

These screenings will take place the week of November 2-6, 2026. Every effort will be made to protect student privacy during the screening process.

You do have the right to “opt out” of the screenings. Please notify Nurse Jessie in writing, (letter or email) by October 28th if you wish to opt your child out of a certain screening.

If you have any questions, please contact nurse Jessie Tower via phone 508-533-3243 ext. 5354 or email jetower@medwayschools.org.

Medway Public Schools Religious & Cultural Observances 2026-2027

English

To open the SMORE newsletter, click on the link above. Then, to translate the SMORE newsletter, click on the “Translate” button at the top of the page. Use the drop-down menu to select your language. The newsletter will then be translated.

Portuguese

Para abrir a newsletter SMORE, clique no link acima. Em seguida, para traduzir a newsletter SMORE, clique no botão “Traduzir” no topo da página. Use o menu suspenso para selecionar seu idioma. O boletim informativo será então traduzido.

Spanish

Para abrir el boletín SMORE, haga clic en el enlace de arriba. Luego, para traducir el boletín SMORE, haga clic en el botón "Traducir" en la parte superior de la página. Utilice el menú desplegable para seleccionar su idioma. Luego se traducirá el boletín.

Arabic

لفتح النشرة الإخبارية SMORE، انقر على الرابط أعلاه. وبعد ذلك، لترجمة نشرة SMORE الإخبارية، انقر فوق الزر "ترجمة" الموجود أعلى الصفحة. استخدم القائمة المنسدلة لاختيار لغتك. سيتم بعد ذلك ترجمة النشرة الإخبارية.

Haitian Creole

Pou ouvri bilten SMORE a, klike sou lyen anlè a. Lè sa a, pou tradui bilten SMORE a, klike sou bouton "Tradwi" ki anlè paj la. Sèvi ak meni ki dewoule a pou chwazi lang ou. Lè sa a, y ap tradui bilten an.

• Community Update from the Superintendent, monthly
• McGovern News from me, bi-weekly
• Teacher newsletters, bi-weekly

All community updates and the McGovern News will be emailed and can also be found on the district and school websites or through our Medway Public Schools app which can be accessed through the QR Code below. Teachers will email their newsletters directly to their class.

Friday, October 9: Arena Day (No Preschool)

Monday, October 12: Indigenous People's Day - No School

Wednesday, October 14: MEPTO Meeting, 7 pm in the MMS Presentation Room

Wednesday, October 21: Early Release

11:05 am Preschool Dismissal

12 pm Kindergarten & 1st Grade Dismissal

Friday, October 23: Arena Day (No Preschool)

October 26-30: Fall Scholastic Book Fair, during Library block

Sunday, November 1: Daylight Savings, turn the clocks 1 hour back

Tuesday, November 9: School Site Council Meeting, 3:20-4:20 pm

Wednesday, November 11: Veteran's Day - No School

Thursday, November 12: School Picture Retake Day
Friday, November 13: Arena Day (No Preschool)

Tuesday, November 17: Parent/Teacher Conference Night, 5:30-7:30 pm
Wednesday, November 18: Early Release (Elementary Only)

11:05 am Preschool Dismissal

12 pm Kindergarten & 1st Grade Dismissal

Wednesday, November 25: Early Release

11:05 am Preschool Dismissal

12 pm Kindergarten & 1st Grade Dismissal

Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving Day - No School
Friday, November 27: Native American Heritage Day - No School