Mindess School Weekly Update

Dear Mindess Families,

Happy Friday! We are looking forward to a fun and busy stretch here at Mindess as we wrap up the week and head toward February vacation.

Tonight is Kids Night Out, and we are excited to welcome students for an evening of fun. Please be sure to review the flyers below for pickup times. As a reminder, cell phones should not be visible during the event so students can fully engage and enjoy their time together. One quick winter note—we often notice that coats tend to get misplaced during the February KNO, as students typically arrive and head straight into the building and then leave directly to their cars at dismissal. If you feel comfortable, you may want to consider leaving coats in the car to help avoid lost items. This is simply a suggestion, and we appreciate your help however you choose to manage it.

Next week, our fifth-grade students will be participating in puberty lessons with Ms. Plichta. Fifth-grade families should have already received communication about this experience. If you have not, please feel free to reach out to your child’s classroom teacher or Ms. Plichta directly. This information is intended for Grade 5 families only.

Next week will also be our final week before February vacation, which begins on February 14. Before we head out for the break, students will take part in our annual Jump-a-Thon, a long-standing Mindess tradition and an event our students always look forward to each year.

Thank you, as always, for your continued partnership and support. We hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the excitement of the days ahead.

Warmly,
Kate Altman

Principal

For additional information please see the Ashland PTO website.

February

Friday, February 6

• Community Learning

• KNO

Tuesday, February 10

• Site Council - 2:30pm

Friday, February 13

• Jump-A-Thon

Monday, February 16 - Friday, February 20 - NO School - February Break

Thursday, February 26

• Clocker Classic - 6pm - AHS

Students were actively engaged in Community Learning today, participating in a lively Readers’ Theatre experience. Community Learning takes place once a month and brings together students from three grade levels to learn side by side through a variety of fun, collaborative, and educational activities that build connection, confidence, and a love of learning.

A note from our school nurses:

Massachusetts state law mandates that all fourth grade students have a complete physical exam form on file in the school health office. A physical exam done after September 1, 2024 will meet this requirement. Please ensure that the nurses have an up-to-date exam form for your child. You can fax a copy of the form to 508-881-0189 or email it to mes_nurses@ashland.k12.ma.us.

Please call the health office at 508-532-8045 if you have any questions.

January's SEL Theme of the month is Empathy. SEL lessons in the classroom focus on how to put yourself in other's shoes and recognize how they might be feeling. In third grade, kids are learning to look at facial expressions and body language to guess how someone might be feeling. In fourth grade, students are learning to related to the feelings of another by thinking about how they have felt in a similar situation. By fifth grade, students work on thinking not only about how someone else might be feeling, but also what they can do to improve situations around them. Our restorative circles this month focused on making New Year's Resolutions about classroom expectations- what they can do better to make school be successful for all. Empathy is one of the biggest skills we try to get all students to work on at this age.

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.

Saturday, March 21

10:00 AM—4:00 PM

LibraryAshland Public Library66 Front St, Ashland, MA, 01721

Click here for more information.

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.