National School Counseling Week 2022, “School Counseling: Better Together,” sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), was celebrated this week to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems and how students are different as a result of what school counselors do. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.

The special week honoring school counselors provides recognition for school (guidance) counselors who “implement comprehensive school counseling programs, a vital part of the educational process for all students as they meet the challenges of the 21st century,” according to Barbara Meyer, Director of School Counseling 6-12 for the Milton Public Schools.

In a proclamation, James Jette cited school counselors for being actively engaged in helping students examine their abilities, strengths, interests and talents; for working in a partnership with parents and guardians as they encounter the challenges of raising children in today’s world; for focusing on positive ways to enhance students’ academic, career and social/emotional development; and working with teachers and other educators to provide an educational system where students can realize their potential and set healthy, realistic and optimistic aspirations for themselves. School counselors are certified, experienced educators with master’s degrees in school counseling. The combination of their training and experience makes them an integral part of the total educational program.

“School counselors work with all students to remove barriers to learning by addressing students’ academic concerns, career options and social/emotional skills,” said Jill Cook, ASCA executive director. “School counseling programs help to increase student achievement and provide a much-needed resource for students, parents and guardians, teachers and administrators. School counselors are integral to student success.” In Milton, school counselors are aided by school adjustment counselors, social workers who are clinically trained to help students manage their social/emotional well being. School counselors serve all students, addressing college & career readiness, academic concerns and social emotional issues, while adjustment counselors serve the mental health needs of a limited population.

As part of its celebration for National School Counseling Week, Milton High School and Pierce Middle School recognized their counselors through small tokens, notes, and announcements, and will enjoy a special lunch on the last day of the week. Parents and guardians or community members with specific questions or concerns about school counseling programs should contact the school counselors at their local schools. More general information can also be found on ASCA’s website, www.schoolcounselor.org.

Leonice Bernard, Scott Devlin, Rich Guarino, and Lisa Spinelli make up the team at MHS along with Adjustment Counselors Jennie Beliveau, Mary-Bianca Mattocks, Kenny Adelman and Caitlin Hansen at MHS.I also want to recognize Breanne MacFarland and Nicole Lesenechal who serve as Adjustment and School Counselor interns at MHS. These interns work with our students under the guidance of our professional staff and we are grateful for their contributions to our school community.

We are grateful for our Counselors who are vital components of our school community. Please join me in recognizing them during School Counselors Week.

Thursday the MHS cheer team competed in the Bay State Conference at Weymouth High School. They had a strong performance coming in 4th overall advancing onto the regional competition at Bellingham HS Sunday, 3/6. They will be hosting a Friends and Family showcase the Friday before 3/4 at 4 pm in the HS Field House, come show your support before we are sent off to regionals.

In January the Elephant in the Room sent several submissions of newspaper articles, art, editorials, infographics, and humor to the New England Scholastic Press Association's Localizing Contest. This annual contest invites local high school newspapers to send work that qualifies as localizing -- that is, anything that takes a global, international, or national story and relates it to the school and local community. I am proud to say that we had three winners:

Kevin Carberry for his satirical, Covid related article, “School Buckles-Down On Gym Class Sneaker Mandate”;
Abigail Raymond for her infographic, “Milton High Dress Code"; and Mia Gilmore for her Global Warming article, “Could Milton be turning into a beach town?” in which she interviewed sources at the Blue Hills Weather Observatory.

A huge congratulations to these students for raising awareness and boosting our paper's reputation in the Greater Boston area.

Music students from Pierce Middle School and Milton High School are successful at SEMSBA Auditions! This past Saturday, our music students traveled to Abington High School to audition for the SEMSBA music festival ensembles alongside students from over 30 communities in Southeast region of Massachusetts. In total, forty students were accepted to the two festivals! These students will be performing in the Senior and Junior SEMSBA festival ensembles later this year:

Senior SEMSBA- MHS

Band- Lucia Dwyer, Brynne Mershon, Claudia O'Neill, Stella Yuan

Chorus- Carle Bleau, Kiera Earner, Isabelle Feloney, Lucy Hays, Julia Mangum, Roisin Queally

Strings- Camille Donovan, Nora Hegarty, Lucie Lloyd Faber, Isabel Murley, Ha-Yen Ngyuen, Aoife Ruth, Adriana VIllar

Jazz- Emily Bohlin, Tim Fay, Bella Fiske, Max Hollingsworth Hays,

Junior SEMSBA- MHS

Band- Colin Glazer, Naimh Guilderson, James Goodman, Ronan O'Connor

Junior SEMSBA- Pierce

Band- Tess Carroll, Bora Ceranoglu, Jesse Deleo, Madyn Dwyer, Sebastian Gobbi, Gwen Johnston, Eliot Leemen-Weil, James Malec, Jordan Munsey, Sofie Profit, Layla Raymond, Aasya Tahir, Nate Turner

Strings- Luke Gimbrone-Naviloff, Avery Squiciarino

A HUGE Congratulations to all of these students for their hard work and dedication!

Dear Class of 2022 -

I write with an update on senior scholarships. First, the MHS Senior Scholarship Application 2022 is now available. By taking five to ten minutes (that’s all!) to complete this brief survey on Naviance, you will automatically qualify for almost a hundred scholarships sponsored by local families and organizations. Also make sure that your Senior Portfolio is thoroughly completed, as we occasionally send that to scholarship donors who want to find out more about you, and review it ourselves. To find the scholarship application, log onto your Naviance account, go to About Me, My Stuff, My Surveys, and "MHS Senior Scholarship Application 2022" will appear. Complete this survey by midnight on the Friday before February break (the 18th) to qualify!

Secondly, there are a handful of scholarships with separate applications available for your consideration. They can also be found in Naviance (highlight the Colleges tab, see Scholarships and Money on the right, and select Scholarship Search). There are currently (7) scholarships posted, with more being added in the next few weeks. Copies of the scholarships can also be found in Guidance.

The Scholarship Selection Process:

1. The process varies according to the stipulations of each individual award.

2. Actual selection is performed in several different ways: representatives from some organizations select their recipients from the application forms; some are selected by a high school faculty ballot; some groups prefer the scholarship co-chairs to screen appropriate candidates.

3. There are scholarships that are chosen independently, such as those voted by the faculty, department and club awards, and organizations that simply inform us of their recipients.

4. This process is complex, yet is carried out in a professional, fair, and unbiased way.

The culmination of this effort is Senior Awards Night, which we will hold on Tuesday, May 31st. This is the occasion when town organizations, service clubs, scholarship donors, and the faculty at the high school recognize seniors receiving awards for scholarship, service, and participation at Milton High School and the community.

Long live the Class of 2022! Please send any questions our way, and good luck!

Sincerely,

Senior Scholarship Co-Chairs

Scott Devlin

Jennie Beliveau

Graduation is around the corner. This means we need to order your caps & gowns. Cap & Gown is $25. Please make payment out to Milton Public Schools and turn it in ASAP please. Payments are due by February 15th. This letter was sent to all seniors and their families in early January listing all upcoming events and deadlines.

If payment for caps & gowns come in after February 15th it will be considered late which means you owe $30. DON'T BE LATE!

If you need assistance with payment please email Patty at ppauris@miltonps.org.

Any questions please reach out to Patty Pauris, Senior Class Advisor, ppauris@miltonps.org

• PARTICIPATE The “New Insights on Tourette Syndrome” workshop was attended by 60 parents and educators from MPS. Workshop leader Susan Conners has Tourette Syndrome and works as a national educator and advocate. Ms. Conners shared critical insights into diagnosing Tourette as a neurological disorder; this understanding is foundational to building positive learning relationships and inclusive environments for all! Recent studies suggest that one in one hundred children are being diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, and there are three times as many boys than girls who have it. We are now beginning to understand that, like Autism, Tourette Syndrome is a spectrum disorder. For those who missed it, there is a link in Superintendent Jette’s weekly district newsletter.

• ADVOCATE : One more thank you to Karen Cahill and Tracy Grandeau for holding a meeting space on Thursday, January 20 to discuss staff transitions and concerns. Over ten parents attended. We appreciate how much time and care has gone into assuring that everyone understands the changes that have occurred and how each student’s needs are being met. Please let your school reps know if there are any additional concerns: Jennie Mulqueen and Jenny Sheehan,

• EDUCATE - Starting to think about summer? Sped Child and Teen Camps

Milton School Building Committee Family and Community Forum: Please join members of the Milton School Building Committee, along with Superintendent James Jette, Pierce Middle School Principal Bill Fish, and Collicot School Principal Holly Concannon for a virtual Family and Community Forum on either Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 7:30 pm or Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 4 pm.

The Committee will share current information about the need for a new school building, an overview of our proposed site, consideration of options for grade configuration for a new building, and progress that has been made to date. All details and links to attend can be found here.

The 21-22 one page School Year Calendar can be found here. (Updated February 4 to reflect the February 4 snow day)

Save the date! Milton Public Schools considers the health and well-being of our students a priority. With that in mind, we are partnering with the Department of Public Health to host school vaccination clinics for your eligible children ages 5 and up. These clinics will offer the Pfizer vaccine as an initial vaccine, second dose or booster. Clinics will be held on Saturday, March 5 at Milton High School and Saturday, March 26 at Pierce Middle School. All details and registration information can be found at this link.

Along with DESE and DPH, Milton Public Schools Administration strongly urges all eligible individuals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and booster if eligible. You can check in with your local CVS, Walgreens, your Primary Care Physician (PCP) or your child’s pediatrician. Other options for vaccine locations can be found here and here.

This Resource Guide contains contact information to link families and youth to mental health, substance use and trauma hotlines as well as to emergency and outpatient therapy, family and group support programs, substance use disorder treatment, culturally competent care, and social services.

Tax season has begun and Noreen Kearney Dolan, Fund Coordinator for the Milton Residents Fund, asked that we share this resource with MPS families. MyFreeTaxes, a product supported by United Way, helps people file their taxes for free while getting the assistance they need. The site will point you to either an in-person VITA site in a local community or will provide you with access to the website to file your taxes for free – with no income limits. Volunteer help is a phone call away.

MPS knows that families may sometimes need resources for their children and family beyond the classroom. 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.

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.