Beyond the Black and White is a district-wide project that aims to highlight the diverse accomplishments of Framingham Schools’ students through exhibitions of and about student work. Through a weekly distribution featuring different articles, we plan to showcase the incredible variety of talent, passion, and stories that make Framingham unique. Though the content will be moving and inspiring, our name reminds readers of the hope that they will look beyond the black and white words on the page and appreciate the people, named or unnamed, behind each piece.

We hope to celebrate not only students who are often appreciated for their academic or extracurricular achievement, but those with a wide range of different abilities, particularly students who have not been recognized. After all, diversity is a foundation for Framingham Schools!

Monday, June 3, 2019 all children who will be entering kindergarten in Framingham in September 2019 will be invited to an orientation at their assigned school for next year. Parents should keep that date available as it is very important that every child/family get to know the staff and routines of their new school. It lasts up to 2 hours and will take place in the morning, but the specific times will vary by school.

ENJOY and please make every effort to attend!! Please note—there will be no school on that day for the current Framingham Kindergarteners.

You may or may not have heard about the Resiliency for Life Program - but they are doing some incredible things. Just take a look at the program description and read about some of their Alumni achievements - it is quite impressive. Consider this your intro to the program and the benefit the program provides to some of our most vulnerable high school students.

Read more about the program in this FPS News Item!

The City is embarking on the 2020 Open Space & Recreation Plan update and needs your input! Does your family play at local playgrounds or ballfields? Do you swim at the local beaches, enjoy Farm Pond Park amenities, or skate at Loring Arena? Do you walk on trails in Framingham or explore the wooded areas of the community? Would you like to learn more about these amenities?

Please fill out the survey and consider attending the Public Visioning Workshop on Wed, May 22nd from 6-8 PM. Learn more!

Since 1972, National School Nurse Day has been set aside to recognize school nurses. The day was established to foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses in the educational setting. National School Nurse Day was celebrated yesterday within National Nurse Week.

Thank you so much to our school nurses who carry many importance responsibilities:

• Significantly decreasing the amount of days missed due to asthma, the leading cause of school absenteeism, accounting for more than 14 million missed days annually
• Managing students with chronic conditions such as diabetes and seizures to allow them to stay in class
• Identifying and treating accidents and injuries; and
• Counseling students about physical and emotional issues

While we experienced some cold weather and a few delayed starts, we were fortunate to only have one snow day this year! Please see below for a breakdown on the last day of school and half-day hours.

Last Day of School (as of April 29, 2019)

• BLOCKS: Monday, June 17th
• Kindergarten: Monday, June 17th
• Grades 1 - 11: Tuesday, June 18th
• Grade 12 (Seniors): May 16th (Last day of classes, but exams begin after that. For dates and details, please refer to the Senior Calendar of Events which is available at the High School and will be shared home in an upcoming Flyer Family Update.)

See the full news item with school hours on the FPS website.