With the weather starting to get cooler, we will be doing away with the water stations at the high school; students are encouraged to bring their own water bottles to school on a daily basis and refill at our water filtration stations.

Student pictures and IDs will be distributed to students next week. More details to come on picture retakes.

Having records of all vaccinated members of our community as well as understanding the number of students participating in the Optional Testing Program is essential. If your student is fully vaccinated, please submit proof of vaccination as soon as possible using one of the following three methods.

• Email or fax a copy (a photo is fine) to your school nurse (MHS Nurse Andrea deManbey at ademanbey@miltonps.org or Pierce Nurse Barbara Perry at bperry@miltonps.org)
• Mail a copy to the nurses’ office.
• Drop off a copy in the main office, Monday to Friday, during regular school hours.

Earlier this week DESE announced an extension of the mask requirement through November 1, 2021 and more information about vaccination rates and mask wearing after November 1. You can read their full communication here.

Please see the update on in school Covid testing from Superintendent Jette below.

We are as anxious as many of you are to get our Test and Stay protocol up and running. Test and Stay is a state run program and this DESE Webinar from 9/23/21 explains the delays in this testing program. Unfortunately, the state was delayed in both the delivery of the BinaxNOW test and securing the staffing that the state is supplying to support schools.

There are three different State testing options and we will be participating in the first two (Symptomatic and Test and Stay). Details are below.

• Symptomatic Testing: (for when individuals present symptoms while at school; individuals should not go to school if experiencing symptoms while at home): Shallow nasal swab samples are collected at school using the BinaxNOW rapid antigen test or another approved diagnostic test.
• Test and Stay (close contact testing): Shallow nasal swab samples are collected at school using the BinaxNOW rapid antigen test or another approved diagnostic test. Tests are administered daily from the first day of exposure for at least five (5) days. (Please note, the duration of Test and Stay is seven (7) days with testing occurring on school days). This testing will take place at a central location in MPS, each school day morning and will be starting soon.
• Routine COVID Pooled Testing and School-Based Follow-Up Testing: Shallow nasal swab samples are collected at school and put into a single tube (maximum of 10 samples per tube). If a group tests positive, individual Follow-Up testing with a second sample collection occurs at the school with BinaxNOW and/or individual PCR testing, as necessary.

Our September 9, 2021 letter about the Test and Stay Program can be found here. You must OPT IN to Test and Stay to participate. The link to opt in can be found here. The letter is also posted on the MPS Health Services webpage.

At this time, MPS is not engaged in pooled testing. We need a minimum of 60% of parents/guardians give consent to make pooled testing effective. We cannot test students without parental/guardian consent. We will need staffing support from the State to implement pooled testing as with approximately 4,400 students, testing them weekly will be a challenge with the current nursing staff we have. An additional challenge all institutions are facing is trying to find the RNs, LPNs and the CNAs to staff these programs and some are encouraging the State to call in the National Guard to provide the support because of the nursing shortage for this testing initiative.

This month in the Milton Public Schools, we are supporting Milton Glows Gold to show support for families impacted by childhood cancer. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month, and together with the Michael C. McHugh Foundation, the Milton Police Department, the Milton Fire Department, and many local sponsors, we are Glowing Gold at MPS. You can see some of the excitement in our schools in the video linked here.

Sign up to Run/Walk/Ride: The GOAL: Together we will run, walk and ride 1 mile for each of the 15,690 kids diagnosed with cancer every year.

Please consider signing up for one of the scheduled blood drives either at Cunningham Hall (details here) on Thursday, September 30 or at Pierce (details here)on Saturday, October 16. Appointments must be made due to Covid restrictions. Make an appointment at this link and please and use sponsor code: PIERCE or CUHALL depending on your preference.

Have some spare ‘GOLD” in your pocket? Bring it to school and drop in it our Milton Glows Gold collection buckets. We are raising funds in support of families impacted by childhood cancer. Check your couch cushions and coat pockets and help us GLOW GOLD this month!

Thursday, September 30, was Milton Glows Gold day, our students proudly wore their yellow and gold to support Milton Glows Gold!

The Milton School Committee plans to hold a 30 minute virtual listening session prior to the October 6 Milton School Committee meeting, from 6:30-7pm. The Citizen Speak portion of a regular Milton School Committee meeting is limited to 15 minutes and this listening session is being offered so parents, guardians, and community members have extended time to voice their questions, ideas, concerns, and highlights to members of the Milton School Committee. In accordance with open meeting law, there will be no responses given by School Committee members during the session itself. However, community members sharing specific questions or action items can expect to receive follow up communication from School Committee members after the session. This meeting will be recorded so that all School Committee members, including those unable to attend, may listen to what is shared. The link to attend this listening session can be found here. (Meeting ID: 847 9875 7890, Passcode: 096567). Please note that this is a different link than the one provided to attend regular virtual School Committee meetings.

Whether or not you are able to join this listening session, please share your feedback about how the School Committee can most effectively engage with you and our community.

The regular Milton School Committee meeting on October 6 will then begin at 7pm. All information about attending School Committee meetings can be found on the Town of Milton webpage under School Committee.

For more details on how you can be part of this fun day please refer to here.

There are a few open committee chairs they are looking to fill! Hope to see you there!

The Milton Public Schools values a strong home-school connection. In an effort to support and foster that connection we know families may sometimes need resources for their children and family beyond the classroom. In addition to the Milton Public School Resource Guide we will be highlighting local community resources families may find beneficial in our Family Resource Newsletter. If you need additional assistance please don’t hesitate to reach out to Marti O’Keefe McKenna, MPS Family Outreach Liaison at 617-980-7343 or by email at mmckenna@miltonps.org. All calls and emails are confidential.

The Milton Food and Nutrition Department is asking for your patience and support as we navigate new challenges. As you may be aware, we are currently faced with unprecedented shortages of food and packaging materials, massive delays or cancellations of deliveries, and some department labor shortages. Nationwide shortages and delays have affected availability of certain food items, leading to substitutions of menu items we’ve been able to offer regularly in the past. These supply issues are occurring throughout the country and are especially challenging for school systems, due to the quantity of meals we serve and the nutrition standards we follow.

All of this means that we may need to make quick substitutions to our menu(s) based upon what we are able to acquire. We know that this affects students, and we are doing our best to provide updates about menu changes when possible as soon as we identify an issue. Families with students who have food allergies are encouraged to check our online menus daily to make sure you are aware of any substitutions.

Please know that our number one priority continues to be providing healthy, nutritious, and appetizing meals for your children. We love seeing them every day and appreciate your support and patience as we continue to offer meals at no charge for all students. The good news is that free breakfast and lunch will continue throughout the school year, so please stick with us while we face yet another challenge. Your participation helps our program stay strong, and we look forward to serving you!

Director of Educational Equity, Somaly Prak-Martins, shares this week’s Behaving Equitably Newsletter. Ms. Prak-Martins shares information about trauma and its impact, Haitian migrants and more in this week’s newsletter.

The Monster Dash 5k, Fun Run & community event falls on Halloween this year! Join us on Sunday, October 31, at Cunningham Hall. Register now!

The MFE has been organizing the Monster Dash for over 20 years. It is a beloved community event that memorializes Sam Cichello, a Tucker Student who died in a tragic playground accident. Sam loved science so the Monster Dash funds raised go toward science in all 6 Milton public schools. Save the date and start planning your costumes!

With our full return in person, please remember to use caution when dropping off and picking up your students.

In the morning if you are dropping off in front of the building please pull your car all the way to the front of the circle to allow more cars off the main road and more students to get into school on time. If the front of the building is too busy you can also drop off at the Field House entrance or side entrance near the baseball fields. ALL students are expected to be seated their 1st period class at 7:50AM or they will be marked tardy. Students can be dropped off starting at 7:15AM so please consider dropping your students off prior to 7:45AM. Thank you for your help and cooperation with this.

MSAPC is offering a FREE Youth Mental Health First Aid Training. This is or anyone who lives or works with youth from ages 12-18 years. Coaches, educators, clergy, managers, parents and any other caring citizens. This training teaches a 5 step action plan that includes initial help to young people showing signs of mental illness or crisis and how to connect them with the appropriate professional, peer, social, or self-help care. Friday, October 22, 8:30am – 2:30pm, Laboure College of Healthcare, 303 Adams St. Milton. Consider using your businesses paid time off for volunteer work for this training if available! Register here: www.milton-coalition.org. Lunch and more provided!