WE MADE IT! Congratulations to your child/ren and to all of the people in your support network. For this year in particular, it is no small accomplishment to have arrived at the last day of school! I want to thank all of you for your patience and support throughout this year. It has been a learning experience for all of us. But I am proud of how we managed this incredible challenge. The last couple of months, where students were back full in-person, were absolutely wonderful! I am confident that all of us can find something positive that we can take from our respective pandemic experiences. I am looking forward to building on those positive experiences as we move forward and emerge from the COVID world.

Yesterday, I participated in a Zoom meeting with the Commissioner of Education, Jeff Riley, during which he told us that, at this time, he fully expects to have a “regular’ school year next year. That means no masks, no social distancing, and even a return to chorus and band classes being taught in the “normal” way. He did caution us that he will be working with medical professionals throughout the summer to ensure that this is still our trajectory. Commissioner Riley also shared that we will receive guidance at the end of July or beginning of August. I anticipate taking a brief hiatus from this newsletter until early August when I can provide important information about our return to school for the 2021-2022 school year.

I sincerely hope that all of us, students, staff, families and even administrators can find time to relax and take care of ourselves. I wish all of you a happy, healthy, restful, and safe summer! Looking forward to working with all of you again next year!

Take care,

Elizabeth McAndrews

Superintendent

This past week, Amesbury Public Schools has had many celebrations marking the movement from one grade span to another in a different building. Although each ceremony had to be somewhat reinvented, the happiness and pride was evident on the faces of all students moving up! Congratulations to our current 4th graders, 8th graders and of course, AIHS and AHS graduates!

There has been a lot of information sent home to families regarding summer opportunities for their child/ren. I want to try to clarify some of the confusion around the numerous, but different opportunities that we are able to provide this summer. First, there is the Extended School Year (ESY) programs that are offered every year through the Special Education Department for students who have "extended school year" on their IEPS. If this describes your child, and you have questions, your contact person is Dr. Lynn Catarius at (978) 388-0531 or catariusl@amesburyma.gov.

If your elementary or middle school child is not on an IEP OR does NOT have ESY on their IEP, the program described above is not for them. Instead, this summer, we are able to offer an Summer Support Program in August. Students were selected based on information in this year's MAP data. This is not a required program. The contact for this program is Lyn Jacques at (978) 388-0507 or jacquesl@amesburyma.gov.

At the high school levels, each principal has designed a range of opportunities for students. If you have a child at the high school level, please contact that school's principal if you have any questions.

The first day of school for all students is Wednesday, September 1, 2021. Students will attend school for Wednesday and Thursday of that week and will enjoy a four day weekend. School will resume after the Labor Day weekend on Tuesday, September 7th. I expect that we will return fully in-person next year. I am certain that there will be guidance released that outlines which safety protocols will be in place for the start of the school year. Once that guidance is released, I will share it with all of you.

I have included a link to the 2021-2022 School Calendar.

On Tuesday, June 22nd, a Player/Parent meeting for fall sports participation will take place in Landry Stadium at 6pm. At this meeting, families of prospective athletes will be able to learn about the MIAA rules that govern high school athletics, meet the coaches, and learn about summer opportunities. Please make every effort to attend if your high school child is interested in participating in athletics at AHS for the 2021-2022 school year.

Start Dates for all sports (times and locations will be provided by coaches):

August 20th - Football and Golf

August 23rd - Cheering, Cross Country, Field Hockey and Soccer

Registration takes place through Family ID. Please use this link to register your child.

http://www.familyid.com/amesbury-high-school