As always, I would like to share an image of our most current Graduates.

This image defines success, dedication, and hard work. It symbolizes the collaborative efforts of so many individuals that have come together to ensure that our students, your children, achieve the goal that they set out to accomplish on their first day of kindergarten. It motivates me as an educator to provide the necessary supports and structures so that all of our students get to experience what graduation looks and feels like, as it is an experience that they will carry with themselves for the rest of their lives.

Congratulations to the Class of 2022 on their success and thank you to everyone that supported making their dream a reality!

It is with great enthusiasm that I get to send out our first summer update for the 2022-2023 school year to our Woolie families and community members.

This school year kicks off on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, and the planning, excitement, and anticipation for the upcoming school year is in full effect within the walls of Millbury Memorial Junior-Senior High School (MMJSHS). We pride ourselves on our Woolie students being provided with an environment that promotes inclusivity and active participation through a variety of co-curricular activities and leadership opportunities throughout the school year.

We feel as though these opportunities, in addition to the rigorous and robust academic selection that we offer, creates the foundation for our students to grow socially, academically, and emotionally. At MMJSHS we are rooted in our core values and beliefs: Academic Curiosity and Growth, Citizenship, Independent, Lifelong Learners, and Respect and Responsibility. These core values and beliefs, in addition to Woolie Pride, are embedded in our day-to-day activities throughout the school and are at the forefront when making decisions that impact student success.

Please do not hesitate to contact the administration, a counselor, or our teachers with questions, comments, or concerns. Two-way communication is crucially important to the success of our students.

In closing, I look forward to an amazing school year that is filled with memories that will last a lifetime.

Warm regards,

Chris Lowe

For our newest members of the Woolie community at the Junior-Senior High School, we would like to welcome you all. As with all buildings within our District, we pride ourselves on our Woolie students being provided with an environment that promotes equity, inclusivity, and active participation through a variety of co-curricular activities and leadership opportunities throughout the school year. We feel as though these opportunities, in addition to the rigorous and robust academic selection that we offer, create the foundation for our students to grow socially, academically, and emotionally.

At MMJSHS we are rooted in our core values and beliefs: Academic Curiosity and Growth, Citizenship, Independent, Lifelong Learners, and Respect and Responsibility. These core values and beliefs, in addition to Woolie Pride, are embedded in our day-to-day activities throughout the school and are at the forefront when making decisions that impact student success.

Please do not hesitate to contact the administration, a counselor, or our teachers with questions, comments, or concerns. Two-way communication is crucially important to the success of our students.

Families should be receiving end-of-the-year report cards early next week as hard copies will be mailed out this week. Grades are available in X2 via the portal.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Diane Dearborn, our guidance department administrative assistant, at ddearborn@millburyschools.org.

Our AP summer course work has been shared with all of our AP students prior to the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year.

All AP summer work should be completed prior to the 2022-2023 school year.

***Any request to drop an AP course must be made no later than July 8th, 2022. Any request after this date will not be granted.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our AP Coordinator, Mrs. Sarah Comeau, at scomeau@millburyschools.org.

Our office staff and administrators will be out of the buildings on Fridays, as our offices will be shut down. If you need anything or are in need of coming to the school please plan on doing so Monday - Thursday.

Mrs. Diane Dearborn, our guidance office administrative assistant, will be available on Tuesdays during the summer months to assist with guidance-related requests.

If you have questions, please email her at ddearborn@millburyschools.org.

Mrs. Mulligan, my administrative assistant, who is also our school registrar, will be handling registrations and withdrawals on Wednesdays during the summer months.

If you have any questions, please email her at nmulligan@millburyschools.org.

Students who have their license and car registration may purchase a parking sticker with Mrs. Biernacki in the main office beginning at 8:00 am and ending at 2:00 pm on August 1 - August 4 and August 8 - August 11.

Cash or check payable to Millbury High School is accepted. The cost of a parking sticker is $100.00 for the year. Students must bring their ID and Registration to complete the parking permit process.

Students must have an MHS parking permit to park on school grounds. Please see the student handbook for information regarding student parking at MMJSHS. These permits must be visible on either their front or rear windshields.

If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Biernacki at pbiernacki@millburyschools.org.

Our freshmen orientation will be taking place on August 23. In the upcoming days/weeks, our freshmen class advisors will be connecting with the class via student email to present more information regarding the event.

We will be hosting our annual Ice Cream Social event for our incoming Woolies on August 23, 2022, at 6:00 pm. We will have an informational presentation prior to enjoying some ice cream and refreshments.

More information will be shared out in the upcoming days/weeks.

The first day of school for Millbury Jr./Sr. High School students is Wednesday, August 31, 2022. Start time is 7:40 am at the Jr./Sr. High School. Students will be allowed access to the building at 7:20.

Upon entering the building, students should go directly to their first-period class for that specific day.

Students will be considered late for school if not in their first-period class by 7:40 am.

Our school photos will be taking place during the first week of school as done previously. We will be sharing out the finalized schedule in an upcoming mailing.

Our Parent Conferences are tentatively scheduled to be held on the following dates:

October 20, 2022

March 9, 2023

The dates for these events are selected in order to provide first and second-semester teachers an opportunity to meet with parents/guardians to allow for more in-depth conversations with teachers. More information on how to schedule a conference will be provided closer to the conference dates.

We will be sharing out additional information regarding these events as the dates approach.

During the 2021-2022 school year, we were fortunate to announce that the District would be outfitting all students at the Jr./Sr. High school with a school-issued Chromebook, officially making us a 1:1 school! This had been a process that we had been working towards throughout my tenure in the Millbury Public Schools. We were so happy to provide this opportunity to our students.

This addition of technology will help us shape our classrooms to become technology-enhanced and allow us to use a blended-learning approach that supports 21st-century learning expectations and styles.

Students are expected to bring their devices with them daily to the school. Devices must be charged and ready to use at the request of the classroom teacher. Each classroom will be outfitted with charging stations, so students should keep their individual chargers home as to not potentially lose it during the day.

Students who choose to use a non-school-issued device will still need to use the school-issued device for days in which they are participating in the Statewide MCAS testing.

It is important to take care of this device and treat it in the same manner that you would a textbook as these devices will be turned back into the District at the completion of your child's senior year.

With the addition of this technology upgrade, we have outlined our new Responsible Use Policy (RUP) in our student handbook (page 7). This RUP is aligned district-wide and is differentiated to support the needs at each of the three buildings in district.

As part of our core values and beliefs, we feel as though the RUP supports our efforts to promote digital citizenship as a primary responsibility of what we do here at MMJSHS.

Student schedules will be available to view on the Portal shortly. In addition to the portal availability, students will be receiving a copy of their schedule in the mail, as well as a copy on opening day. Student schedules are not available for viewing yet. We will send out a notice when the schedules go live.

Please contact your child’s guidance counselor with scheduling questions or concerns. Counselors will be in the office starting August 16th for the scheduling of appointments.

Stephanie DeLucia (Guidance Director) x6023 - sdelucia@millburyschools.org

Ann Meservey x6102 - ameservey@millburyschools.org

Heidi Desautels x6103 - hdesautels@millburyschools.org

MaryEllen Courtney (Jr. High) x5114 - mcourtney@millburyschools.org

Ashlee Cabral x6101 - acabral@millburyschools.org

Taryn Holman x6201 - tholman@millburyschools.org

Diane Dearborn (Guidance Secretary) x6104 - ddearborn@millburyschools.org

School progress reports and report cards during the year will be available to view on the parent portal. A hard copy of the report cards will be mailed home at the end of the school year. If you would like a hard copy of either report please contact Nikol Mulligan via phone or email (nmulligan@millburyschools.org). Your initial request will be in effect for the year.

Throughout the school year, we will be using multiple forms of communication in order to keep all stakeholders up-to-date with the happenings at the Jr./Sr. High School. Our primary communication method will be to share information via email, however, there will be times in which we will communicate via phone calls and/or text messages, etc. In order to keep these lines of communication open, it is imperative that you have an updated and active email address, as well as updated contact information (including but not limited to a telephone number, mailing address, etc.) on file with the school. There is an opportunity to update that information at the beginning of the school year with a packet that will be sent home with your student. This information can also be shared directly with any of our office staff. Please do not hesitate to contact them and share the necessary information with them. I will be sharing out a monthly newsletter with parents/guardians that will look similar to this which will be emailed out and shared via a link on our website.

Speaking about websites, we have also recently overhauled our school's website. We have also recently relaunched our Facebook page which can be followed @mjshswoolies. We will be using this as an additional source of communication.

In addition to these links, you can also follow us on Twitter:

Chris Lowe: @clowe_millbury

Abbey Rigney:@abbeyrigney

Millbury Jr./Sr. High School: @mjshswoolies

MMJSHS Athletics: @wooliepride

Greg Myers, Superintendent of Schools: @gmyers_millbury

Kate Ryan, Director of Pupil Services: @mps_SpecialEd

Lizz Boutiette, Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction: @lifelonglearnLT

Below you will find a brief overview of what the School Council is and represents. I encourage all stakeholders to participate in the School Council as it offers multiple perspectives into the happenings of a school building and community as well as shared responsibilities in progressing the school forward. If you are interested in participating on the school council, please send a letter of intent email to my administrative assistant, Mrs. Nikol Mulligan, at nmulligan@millburyschools.org.

School Council Overview

The Law:

A school council is a representative; school building-based committee composed of the principal, parents, teachers, community members and, at the secondary level, students, required to be established by each school pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 59C.

Council Membership:

The principal is responsible for establishing the membership of the School Council “pursuant to a representative process approved by the superintendent and school committee,” and to define the size and composition of the council. The following stipulations were considered when the junior-senior high school council was established:

1. Parents “have parity with professional personnel on the school councils.”

2. “Not more than 50% percent of the council shall be non-school members.” Non-school members” are defined as members who are “other than parents, teachers, students, and staff at the school.”

3. The membership of the school councils “should be broadly representative of the school building and community.”

As with each year, our school council works to make adjustments and modifications to the student handbook here at MMJSHS. Attached you will find a link to the 2022-2023 Student Handbook. This will be available on the school website as well.

As part of our opening week packet for students, there is an online sign-off sheet that is required to be signed by all parents/students.

Be on the lookout for more gear that will be available during the year through fundraisers and extra-curriculars!

The Millbury Public Schools ensures equal employment and educational opportunities for its employees and students and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity (M.G.L. c. 151B and 151C, Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX), or on the basis of disability (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973/ADA) or homelessness. In addition, the Millbury Public Schools does not discriminate against its employees on the basis of age (M.G.L. 151B/ADEA) on the basis of veteran's status, or genetic information.