Amesbury Public Schools Update

Dear Amesbury Families,

Happy Graduation Day!

This evening, the Class of 2022 will be graduating! The ceremony begins at 7pm and is held at Landry Stadium. All are invited to attend to celebrate the members of the Class of 2022!

We are excited to be able to recognize the seniors through a traditional ceremony without COVID precautions dictating what we are able to do. The seniors have enjoyed a traditional Senior Week with Sing Out, Baccalaureate, a Class Trip, and the Senior Dinner Dance. They really were excited to be able to be together in a fairly normal way.

Next week, seniors will graduate from AIHS at 5:30 pm on Friday, June 10th. As we get deeper into June there will be more celebrations of our students. This has been a challenging year in many ways and our students, staff, and families deserve to be celebrated!

As I anticipate the summer months, I cannot help but begin to think about what next year might look like. I am excited to work with my Leadership Team to develop our District Strategy, design professional development opportunities for our staff, and get prepared for another year! I will share with you that DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) has shared with us that they will no longer be making testing available in schools after the end of summer school. The impact of this is that families will need to test on their own when their child presents with symptoms. As we get closer to the start of school (No, I am not rushing it!), we will provide more clarity about this.

My final newsletter of the school year will be sent on June 17th. My plan is to send one newsletter during the month of July and one during the month of August. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to either elizabeth.mcandrews@amesburyma.org or to (978) 388-0507.

Have a fantastic weekend! Let's Go Class of 2022!

Elizabeth McAndrews

Superintendent

Building and Grounds Update

We received bids for the the HVAC units at Cashman. The bid came in approximately $60,000 higher than the amount of capital funds allocated for this, so we are working with the city to find additional funding.

The bids for the AMS Performance Center Roof also came in significantly higher than anticipated. We are revising that RFP and will go back out to bid as soon as possible.

In terms of the varsity baseball field, SLR met with Director of Facilities, Matt Bennett, and Athletic Director, Glen Gearin to complete the survey and topographical maps. We are eagerly anticipating the engineered drawings so that we can quickly go out to bid.

Max LaPointe - Division 6 - State Champion and Second in All-States

Congratulations to Senior Max LaPointe who won the Division 6 State Title for the Discus! That performance qualified him to participate in the All State Meet yesterday (6/2) which is composed of the top performers from all divisions within the state. It was during that meet that Max threw a personal record of 167' 7" which not only earned him second place in the All States meet, but also qualified him for New Englands, and resulted in him breaking the Amesbury High School record. Keep it up Max! Good luck at New Englands!

AEFI and Rain Space

APS staff has received an AEFI Grant for R.A.I.N. Spaces for each of the schools. Below is the explanation of these spaces and the reason for this $5,000 project:

In an effort to help support the current District Strategy Alignment (Superintendent Goals for school year 21-22) of “ensuring the Social-Emotional health of students and staff” our hope is to create a RAIN Space within each school building to help promote mindfulness and compassion using Tara Brach’s RAIN of Self-Compassion model:

“Recognize what is going on;

Allow the experience to be there, just as it is;

Investigate with interest and care;

Nurture with self-compassion.”

While some students may already have access to similar tools and strategies as listed in their IEP, the goal of this grant is to provide the tools and environment to proactively support the well-being of ALL students and staff of the Amesbury Public School community.

Congratulations! Thank you to these women who saw a need and ran with it!

Thank you AEFI!

Dr. Lynn Catarius - Director of Student Services

Responsibilities: Oversee the development and implementation of special education programs and services for students with disabilities.

How to Contact: catariusl@amesburyma.gov

On the Personal Side: Born and raised in Oregon. Married for nearly 20 years. Mother of two amazing teenagers - Calista a sophomore at AHS and Ben a freshman at Methuen High School. Of, and I can't forget our third child --- an 11 year old Maltese/Shih Tzu named Fenway.

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Food: Mexican Food

Favorite Movie: Hmmm....who can choose just one? I'll go with anything starring Matt Damon or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Hobbies and How I Entertain Myself When I am not at Work:

Reading - especially murder mysteries, cooking, and watching my children play sports (soccer, basketball, baseball/softball)

Larry Fedorchak - Transportation Supervisor

Responsibilities: Oversee all of the special education transportation in the district.

How to contact: fedorchakl@amesburyma.gov

On the Personal Side:

Larry has been married to Karen for 31 years. Larry's son Andrew is an IT specialist in Florida and his daughter, Lauren, just completed her Masters in Occupational Therapy and will be moving to Charlestown at the end of the summer.

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Movie: The Godfather

Hobbies and How I Entertain Myself When I am not at Work:

Music, photography, and travel. Larry is lucky because his wife is a flight attendant so he gets to travel the world.