Mindess School Weekly Update

Dear Families,

It has been a joyful and eventful week at Mindess! As we head into the weekend, we are looking forward to continuing our celebrations and sharing some special moments from this past week.

Our Winter Solstice celebration will take place on Monday. Students will be sharing the beautiful luminaries they created, and we hope families will take time to drive through after dark to enjoy the glowing display. More details can be found below in this newsletter.

We were delighted to welcome Mr. Caira, who spent a day this week reading The Grinch to several classes. This has become a favorite tradition for many of our students, and we enjoy it every year. Mr. Caira will be back again on Monday to read to more classes—be sure to check out a photo in our highlights section!

This week also featured a wonderful band concert performed by our fourth graders. They did an outstanding job, and we are so proud of their hard work and musical growth.

A huge thank you goes to our Student Council for decorating the trees with lights to help us celebrate the Winter Solstice, adding such a festive and welcoming touch to our school. We are also incredibly grateful to our PTO for providing delicious holiday treats for our staff—your generosity and support are truly appreciated.

Looking ahead, we are excited for our much-anticipated Handball Tournament Finals! This year, we have extended an invitation to families of students who will be playing in the final game. This is an event we look forward to every year at Mindess, and we can’t wait to cheer on our students.

As we celebrate this season of light, we would also like to wish all of our families who observe Hanukkah a joyful and meaningful celebration filled with warmth, peace, and time with loved ones.

Finally, just a reminder that we will have an early dismissal on Tuesday, with students dismissing after lunch at 11:55 a.m. for the holiday break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on January 5, 2026.

Thank you, as always, for being such a supportive and engaged school community. We wish you a wonderful holiday break!

Warmly,
Kate Altman

Principal

DECEMBER

Tuesday, December 16

• 4th Grade Band Concert - 7pm to 8:00pm - AHS

Friday, December 19 -

• Winter Solstice Celebration

Friday, December 19 and 20 (rain/snow date the 22nd and 23rd):

• Families are invited to drive through and view the luminaries

Tuesday, December 23 - Early Release - After Lunch 11:55

Wednesday, December 24 - Friday, January 2 - WINTER BREAK

JANUARY

Tuesday, January 13

• Site Council - 2:30pm

Friday, January 16 - Professional Development for Staff - NO SCHOOL for Students

Monday, January 19 - NO SCHOOL - M.L.King Jr. Day

Wednesday, January 21

• Grade 5 iREADY ELA

Thursday, January 22

• Grade 4 iREADY ELA

Friday, January 23

• Grade 3 iREADY ELA

Monday, January 26

• Grade 5 iREADY Math

Tuesday, January 27

• Grade 4 iREADY Math

Wednesday, January 28

• Grade 3 iREADY Math

Thursday, January 29

• Heart Challenge Presentation - Cafeteria Heart Challenge (more information to come)

8- 8:30 Grade 4

8:35 - 9:05 Grade 5

9:10 - 9:40 Grade 3

• Please be sure to drive both loops after dark to experience the magic of the Winter Solstice.

• During Community Learning, each child created a luminary, and on Monday we will hold a whole-school assembly to learn about the significance of the Winter Solstice—a celebration observed throughout the world.

• Each child will place their own luminary on one of the circles and should be able to point it out as you drive through. Teacher names will also be labeled on the pavement with glow-in-the-dark chalk, adding to the festive experience!

We had an exciting week filled with special events, and I couldn’t resist sharing these photos to give you a glimpse of all the fun happening at Mindess! Highlights included the 4th grade band concert, several of our band students performing music throughout the school, Mr. Caira visiting classrooms to read The Grinch (he’ll be back on Monday to read to even more classes), and a huge thank you to our Student Council for stringing lights on more than 40 trees in preparation for our Winter Solstice celebration on Monday.

Reminder from the Mindess Health Office

We have seen a significant increase in illnesses, including influenza and strep throat, this week.

To help keep our school community healthy, please check-in with your child each morning and keep your child home if they are showing signs of illness. Students should stay home if they have had any of the following symptoms in the last 24 hours:

• Fever of 100.0°F or higher
  
  

• Vomiting or diarrhea
  
  

• Persistent cough or difficulty breathing
  
  

• Sore throat, especially with fever
  
  

• Rash accompanied by fever or behavior changes
  
  

• Any illness that prevents them from participating comfortably in school activities
  
  

Please ensure your child is fever-free without medication and symptoms are improved for at least 24 hours before returning to school.

Thank you for helping us maintain a healthy environment for all students.

— Mindess School Nurses

December's SEL Theme of the month is Responsibility. SEL lessons in the classroom focus on how to be responsible for your materials, yourself, your actions, and for righting a wrong. At this age students are learning how to take responsibility for their actions by understanding their role in conflicts and how to own up to mistakes. In Restorative Circle Conversations, students are learning how to make things "as right as possible". This is a great age for students to explore the cause and effect of their actions and consequences of their behaviors. This can be a positive consequence for expected behaviors or a negative consequence when they do something unexpected by those around them.

The holidays can be a difficult time for families. If your family needs any support this holiday season, please contact your child's school counselor:

Grade 3 - Amanda Walker awalker@ashland.k12.ma.us, 508-881-0166x3

Grade 4 - Melissa Mespelli mmespelli@ashland.k12.ma.us, 508-881-0166x4

Grade 5 - Meghan McGuire mmcguire@ashland.k12.ma.us, 508-881-0166x5

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.

Tick, Tick, Tick, it’s time for woodworking! Utilizing equipment and provided materials, participants will create their own little clocks! Following the direction of their mentors, participants will learn how to handle various tools in order to precisely cut the wood provided to them. Throughout the program, the creative freedom of the participants will be brought to action. They will design and customize the faces and overall designs of their individual clocks. Ready to get handy? Sign up for woodworking today!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfO8BR_lcgQCQxM2UCKDv-cCLaxBWrj9hVy6W16X9dt_hiSqA/viewform?usp=dialog

Our AMS actors are working hard under the direction of Mr. Langmeyer to bring this powerful historical production to the Little Theater. Performances will be held:

• January 23rd at 7:00 p.m.

• January 24th at 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
  
  

The show explores the true stories of more than 250,000 children who were relocated from Eastern cities to the Midwest in the late 1800s and early 1900s. With themes of resilience, social responsibility, and belonging, the production reflects on the courage of young people and the impact one person can have on others. The show is rated G, appropriate for all ages, runs 1 hour and 15 minutes, and tickets are $10 cash.

With Thanksgiving behind us and winter right around the corner... we've got Spring 2026 on our minds!

That's right, registration is now open for the 2026 Spring Baseball and Softball season.

Click on the link below to register and enter today!

Register Here

You can find all of the program descriptions on the AYBS site by visiting the links below:

Baseball Programs | Softball Programs

We've also included tentative program schedules (practice and game days) in the descriptions on our site but we've also included them below for quick reference.

2026 Schedule by Division

Baseball
Tiny Tots (Age 4) - There will be 1 session per week on Saturdays.
T-Ball (Ages 5-6) - There will be 1 practice a week on either Mondays or Wednesdays. There will be 1 game per week on Saturdays.
A (Ages 6-7) - There will be 1 practice a week on either Mondays or Wednesdays. There will be 1 game per week on Saturdays.
AA (Age 8) - There will be 1 practice a week on either Mondays or Wednesdays. There will be 1-2 games per week on Fridays and Saturdays.
AAA (Ages 9-10) - Games and practices will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Majors (Ages 11-12) - Games and practices will be held on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Softball
K-Ball (Pre-K and K) - There will be 1 practice a week - day TBD. There will be 1 game per week on Saturdays.
AA (1st Grade) - There will be 1 practice a week - day TBD. There will be 1 game per week on Saturdays.
Minors (U8) - Games are on Mondays and Wednesdays. Practices are on Saturdays.
Majors (U10) - Games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Practices are on Saturdays or Sundays.
Seniors (U12 or U14/12) - Games could be on a Tuesdays, Fridays or Sundays. All will depend on # of teams across the League. Practice 1x during the week possibly or weekends depending on game schedule.

We look forward to seeing you on the diamonds next spring and good luck with the raffle!

Note: Schedules may change depending on number of players and teams. However, we anticipate following the above format for the 2026 season.

Registration Raffle Drawing Details:
One entry per a household.
Having multiple players in AYBS programs will not increase your number of entries or chances to win.
You must have a player registered for an AYBS program by 11:59 PM EST on November 30, 2025 to be eligible for drawing.
Random drawing from all eligible entries will be held on or around December 2, 2025.
We will contact the winner directly to notify them.
No purchase necessary. Email president@aybsonline.org and include "Register Today" in the subject line for alternative form of entry.