I hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend and took time to reflect and remember those who so bravely served to protect our country. To all of the servicemembers in our community, thank you.

Graduation is Sunday, June 5th at 2:00pm at Brooks Field, with a rain date of Saturday, June 4th. If you are unable to make it to Brooks Field to see the ceremony in person, you can watch it live on Milton Access Cable.

If you have not already done so, please take this short survey about communication in MPS. Please help us learn about our strengths and areas which need improvement by sharing feedback on our communication practices. Thank you for your responses.

The Milton Parks and Recreation Department is holding community service sign ups for grades 9-11 in the MHS cafe on Wednesday, June 1 st from 2:20 – 3pm for all 2022 summer programs. If your child is unable to attend this meeting, please email bdevore@townofmilton.org after June 1 to see if there are any available weeks left for community service. Space is limited so please make every attempt to attend this meeting.

Per current CDC guidelines, after testing positive for COVID, students and staff are returning to school on Day 6. (Day 0 is the date of positive COVID test or start of symptoms). As a reminder, returning students and staff must continue to wear a well-fitting mask at school through day 10.

We continue to practice mitigating strategies, including promoting ventilation with open windows and doors and running rooftop units to increase the number of fresh air exchanges. With the upcoming spring weather, we will also take advantage of outdoor space when possible.

We are excited to share with you that Milton High School will continue with our one-to-one Chromebook initiative (1:1) for all ninth and tenth grade students next year. In adopting this model, all ninth and tenth grade students will receive a school-issued Chromebook that they will take to and from school on a daily basis. Ninth and tenth grade students will not be allowed to bring their own device to school.

All current eighth-grade students will be asked to return their loaned Chromebook and charger to Pierce Middle School the last week of school. Students attending MHS this fall will receive their Chromebook in advisory on the first day of school. All 9th grade students will keep their school issued Chromebook throughout the summer and 10th grade year.

Optional Chromebook insurance will be offered to all students loaning a Chromebook. It is highly encouraged to purchase insurance for their school-issued Chromebook. If insurance is declined, students are held responsible for damage beyond reasonable wear and tear as outlined in the Loan Agreement. Information on how to purchase Chromebook Insurance and 1:1 Chromebook initiative for the 2022-23 school year will be shared in the coming weeks.

PARTICIPATE: Mark your calendars! Tuesday, June 14 will be our final SEPAC meeting in the Milton High School Library, 6:30-8:30. We will be meeting live with refreshments, a guest speaker, while we connect before the summer and vision for the 2022-23 school year.

ADVOCATE: Please fill out this brief, 3 question SEPAC Survey 2022 to inform our visioning process for 2022-2023.

EDUCATE: In reviewing our year, one of the exciting happenings was a therapy dog event at Tucker. Roger, Babson University’s therapy dog, has been a huge asset on the Babson campus, and having seen the power of what dogs can do, MPS parent and Babson employee Marybeth Flakes wanted to bring therapy dogs to the Tucker community. Roger from Babson was joined by Marley, trained therapy dog of a Tucker family and other therapy dogs. Apart from Marley, the rest of the dogs are trained by Golden Opportunities for Independence (GOFI). Over 80 students sign up for the therapy dog event at Tucker - it was beyond successful, allowing so many children and families to experience these amazing dogs firsthand.

Please see below from MPS Athletic Director Ryan Madden. It’s been another great week for Milton High School Athletics!

For those wondering about Fall Sports, see below for information.

• Football tryouts start Friday, August 19th.
• All other Sports tryouts start Monday, August 22nd.
• All students must have a valid physical on file in order to try out. Physicals are valid for 13 months.
• Registration will open in June, with payment due before tryouts start in August.
• Tryout dates and times will be posted on August 1st.
• An email with more information about coaching staff will be sent to families soon.

Save the date for the Milton Music Fest and Fireworks on Saturday June 25th on Hutchinson Field! This free event kicks off at 5PM with activities for the whole family. After an evening of live music the most spectacular Fireworks will go off at 9:45PM. Come back on Sunday for Celtic Sunday on June 26th. From 12:30- 7PM we will offer a wide array of Irish music on the big stage and the trad tent on the small stage. Food and beverages are available to purchase both days. Visit our website WeareMilton.org for the most up-to date information.

The schedule (found at this link) for the Milton Parks and Recreation 2022 Summer Concert Series concerts has been released! All concerts are from 6-7 pm at the Baron Hugo Gazebo on the Town Green at the Town Hall.

The 2022-23 One Page School Year Calendar (Draft) linked here has been approved by the School Committee. Please note that this calendar is intended as a guide ONLY. It may be necessary to change this schedule to better serve instructional purposes.

Our Milton High Library is open by 7am every morning so students can access all the amazing resources the library has to offer! Librarian J Troy is always on hand to help guide students in the right direction!

Throughout the school year, members of our MPS community celebrate and observe various religious holidays. We adjust homework expectations as needed as you can see in the document linked here. If there is a religious holiday that we have missed, please email Superintendent James Jette.

For Family Technology Support click HERE

Chromebook Troubleshooting

Is your family having internet issues or need assistance to access the internet in your home? Please go here for more information.

As discussed at a recent School Committee meeting, the Milton Public Schools has updated our school incident reporting forms so people can specify incidents on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion and more. The Milton High School incident form can be found here and each school has a form linked on the front of their school’s website and they are also linked on the front of the MPS website, the MPS Education Equity page and MPS Anti-Bullying page.

Milton Coalition shares the following resources for our Milton Community:

How to access mental health care: tips and resources. https://www.milton-coalition.org/accessing-mental-health-tips-and-resources

New national helpline for anyone playing a supportive role in the life of a young person struggling with substance use. Drugfree.org also has parent support on-line and parent coaching. Helpline is bilingual (English/Spanish) and is available M-F 10-10, Sat & Sun. 12-5. To connect with helpline: Text CONNECT to 55753 to contact a specialist. To provide you with support specific to your needs, you will receive a link to a brief, confidential survey in response. A specialist will reply directly to your message within 24 hours. For more information, see https://drugfree.org/get-support/

Please visit our Family Resource Newsletter to find valuable family support resources including Therapy Matcher, Compass Helpline, Quincy Family Resource Center (including Milton), Aspire Health Alliance and New Directions Counseling Center.

In addition to the Family Resource Newsletter please visit Milton Public School Resource Guide. 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.