PIERCE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Family Update
April 29, 2024
Dear Pierce Families,
This week’s newsletter includes details about upcoming events in and around the school community. If you would like to view this newsletter in another language, you'll find the translate button at the top right corner of the document.
Please do not hesitate to be in touch with any questions.
Sincerely,
William Fish, Ed.D.
Principal
Upcoming Dates
- May 4th – MFE Celebration for Education (5:00 p.m.)
- May 9th – AMPlify Arts fair (Pierce cafeteria @ 5:00 p.m.
- May 13th & May 14th – Science, technology & engineering MCAS (grade 8 only)
- May 16th & May 17th – Math MCAS (grades 6-8)
Congratulations to Bernadette McEvoy, Pierce Teacher of the Year!
Pierce Teacher of the Year Bernadette McEvoy had a full crowd of supporters when her family surprised her with her award last week! Nominations received by the MFE called her “a ray of sunshine,” a “genuine cheerleader” and “lifelong supporter of her students,” and mentioned how she “makes teaching and learning an adventure.” Thank you, Ms. McEvoy, for being a steady and trustworthy adult for your middle school health class students! The MFE will honor Bernadette along with our other winners at our Celebration for Education May 4th.
Teacher Appreciation Week
Pierce will be joining schools across the country to celebrate the entire staff. We would greatly appreciate any support the families can provide whether it is donating food/treats, gift cards, money through Venmo (jacqueline-mullen-4) or offering to help set up and clean up. The sign-iup links are listed below. Please bring donations to the main office by the morning of the daily event. Thank you all so much!!
This is what the week looks like:
Monday
Soup & Salad – The staff will be treated to salads and crockpots full of delicious soups. Please use this link to sign-up and donate: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0444ADAE28A7FC1-49307968-souper
Tuesday
Café Tuesday – The PTO will be providing a mobile café. Staff will be served coffees, lattes, teas, hot chocolates, etc. Breakfast will also be provided. Please use this link to sign-up and donate breakfast items: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0444ADAE28A7FC1-49323052-cafe
Wednesday
Catered Lunch – The PTO will be providing a catered lunch from Buck & Bloom.
Thursday
Thank You/Gift Card Thursday – Please send messages of appreciation to Pierce staff members in the form of emails, written messages, verbal messages, pictures, etc. Please donate gift cards to be raffled off each hour to staff members. The more gift cards we have, the greater the chance most of the staff members can win. To donate gift cards, please use this link to sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0444ADAE28A7FC1-49315492-winthursday
Friday
Treats Friday – The staff will be treated to scoop of delicious homemade ice cream donated by The Ice Creamsmith in Lower Mills. To donate additional treats, please use this link to sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0444ADAE28A7FC1-49315585-treat
If you have any questions, please email the PTO at Piercemiddlepto@gmail.com.
8th Grade End of Year Celebration Dates
We are working on planning several events to celebrate our 8th graders later this spring. Below please find a few key dates for your calendar.
June 13th: 8th grade social (6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Pierce cafeteria)
June 14th: 8th grade awards assemblies (8:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m., Pierce auditorium)
June 14th: Field day (12:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Kelly Field)
There will be four 8th grade awards ceremonies on June 14th.
8:00 a.m.-8:45 a.m.: All 8th grade students; parents/guardians of students receiving awards at the whole-grade ceremony will be invited to attend this event too
9:00 a.m.-9:45 a.m.: Orion team awards; all Orion students and Orion parents/guardians are invited to attend
10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m.: Phoenix team awards; all Phoenix students and Phoenix parents/guardians are invited to attend
11:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m.: Aquarius team awards; all Aquarius students and Aquarius parents/guardians are invited to attend
MFE Celebration May 4 - Last Call for Tickets!
This is a friendly reminder to get your tickets now. Milton’s Celebration for Education is quickly approaching which means final arrangements have to be made. Kindly register now to secure your spot!
PIerce Visits Tucker
Earlier this week, 25 Pierce 8th graders in Mr. Lore's Intensive Study (IS) English class walked to Tucker to share writing they have been working on. Our Pierce students engaged first graders in Mrs. Driscoll's class in whole group and small group presentations of children's books the 8th graders authored.
This was a culminating event of a unit in which the 8th grade students read and studied the genre of children's literature and trade books in particular how illustrations connect to text. Each student group wrote and illustrated a children's book with topics ranging from friendship, conflict, differences, and more.
During the closing conversation, Mrs. Driscoll's 1st graders shared that they really enjoyed the fun way the older students used pictures to show the characters and the lessons that they learned. After returning to school, the 8th graders shared that they were impressed by the respect shown by the younger students and that the questions they had were funny and never-ending!
In June, the Pierce students will return to listen to some writing from the Tucker 1st graders. Thank you to Mr. Lore, Mrs. Driscoll, and all the students who worked hard to create this partnership!
Earth Day Planting
Thank you to Ms. Cassels' students who did a wonderful job planting flowers in honor of Earth Day!
AMPlify Arts Showcase
Save the Date! Pierce Middle School's Second Annual AMPlify Arts Showcase will take place on Thursday, May 9th, 2024 from 5pm - 7pm in the Pierce Cafeteria. This event will showcase and celebrate the incredible skills and talents of Pierce students in the visual arts and music - you won't want to miss it!
Congratulations to the winner of our student designed AMPlify Arts logo contest, Emily Zheng. Emily's design was selected by student vote.
Youth Art Exhibition
Each year, in celebration of Youth Art Month, the National Art Education Association and its state chapters host a Youth Art Exhibition honoring student artists. This year, 8 of our young artists have artwork featured in the online exhibit.
Please help us celebrate those students by visiting the Pierce Middle School Gallery to see their work and if you are so inclined, leave those students a note about their artwork. Follow this link to see all of the galleries and select the Milton hyperlink to find Pierce.
Congratulations to the following students whose work was selected for the exhibit: 8th graders Ray Abraham and Maddie Foley; 7th graders Nolan Hunt, Juliette Van Riet, Naomi Maliel, and Catheline Daniel; and 6th graders Belle Do and James Huang.
Milton Green Up
Sustainable Milton and the Milton DPW are hosting a town-wide Green Up from May 3-5. We would love our students to be involved with Greening Up around town! Get your teams together today, sign up at this link or by scanning the QR code below.
In addition, Sustainable Milton is hosting a Green Fair on Saturday, May 4 from 11am-3pm at Town Hall. Hope to see you there!
Private School Plans
If you have made the decision to send your child to another school (private, parochial or different school district) for next year, please contact your child's school counselor with that information. We are in the process of planning next year's classes/teams and need to have this information as soon as possible.
Extended School Year - Summer 2024
ESY 2024 is quickly approaching! For more information, please refer to our 2023 ESY website. We are looking forward to a fun and educational summer for all students receiving special education services! Please be on the lookout for registration information from your child's Team Chair or Liaison.
Please note that in order to attend ESY Services, your child’s IEP must be returned signed to your building’s Team Chair. Any questions or concerns regarding ESY should be emailed directly to esy@miltonps.org.
MCAS Dates
The dates of the spring 2024 MCAS administration are as follows:
Grade 8 STE – May 13th & May 14th
Grades 6, 7 & 8 Math – May 16th & May 17th
Grade 8 civics field test – May 30th
Family Resources
Please reach out to Marti O’Keefe McKenna, Family Outreach Liaison, at (617)980-7343 or mmckenna@miltonps.org with any questions you might have about MPS programs, the upcoming school year or if you are in need of a resource. All calls and emails are confidential. All updates on Family Resources – food, heating assistance, health insurance, financial assistance, contacts – can be found at this link.
Reporting Student Attendance
Families are asked to complete this form to communicate information about their student’s attendance. The form can be used to report student absences, tardies and dismissals.
District News and Events
Milton Summer Enrichment
It's time to sign up for MSE!
- MSE runs from July 1-26 at Milton High School (no programming July 4th + 5th)
- Enjoy MSE favorites including tennis, Engineering is for Everyone, and Wildcat Soccer.
- New classes for Summer 2024 include MSE:Taylor's Version, The Wiffle Wizards, Learn to Draw for Beginners and more!
- Collicot and Cunningham technology teacher Sara Doherty will be teaching some exciting classes including Storytelling with Kibo Robots, Creative Projects with Google Apps, and Creative Coding with Scratch
MSE is a fabulous ways to spend some of your summer days. Milton Summer Enrichment (MSE) registration is open on Family ID and the MSE 2024 Brochure is linked here. Join the summer fun at MSE!
Grace + Grit 5K
Please join us for the third annual Grace+Grit 5K which is being held on Saturday, May 18th at the Glover School. This race is held in honor of Katie Crowell, Glover’s past PTO president, who was an amazing member of our community.
Visit https://racewire.com/register.php?id=14048 for additional information.
Helpful Contacts
Ms. Janice Mazzola, Assistant Principal, jmazzola@miltonps.org
Dr. Matthew Maré, Assistant Principal, mmare@miltonps.org
Mrs. Erin Jaquette, Grade 6 School Counselor, ejaquette@miltonps.org
Mrs. Lisa Veldran, Grade 7 School Counselor, lveldran@miltonps.org
Mrs. Erica Benjamin, Grade 8 School Counselor, ebenjamin@miltonps.org
Mrs. Myriam Francoeur, School Adjustment Counselor, mfrancoeur@miltonps.org
Mrs. Lynne Henry, School Adjustment Counselor, lhenry@miltonps.org
Mrs. Kara Sheridan, School Adjustment Counselor, ksheridan@miltonps.org
Ms. Amanda Gray, Special Education Team Chair, agray@miltonps.org
Dr. Seth Harmon, Special Education Team Chair, sharmon@miltonps.org
Mrs. Marti O'Keefe McKenna, Family Outreach Liaison, mmckenna@miltonps.org
Mrs. Sandra Wyse, Administrative Assistant, swyse@miltonps.org
Mrs. Kristen Lesser, Administrative Assistant, klesser@miltonps.org
Pierce Middle School
Email: wfish@miltonps.org
Website: https://www.miltonps.org/pierce/
Location: 451 Central Avenue, Milton, MA, USA
Phone: (617)696-4568