The McCarthy Memo
The Weekly Newsletter for McCarthy Families 9.3.23
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Labor Day
Observed the first Monday in September, Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.
Important School Information
School Hours
8:00am to 2:30pm
Doors open at 8:00am
Breakfast is served starting at 8:00am
Classes begin at 8:15am
Dismissal begins at 2:30pm
Main Office Phone:
508-626-9161
This week at a Glance
MON Sep 4
- No School - Labor Day
TUE Sep 5
- Students Return from Holiday Weekend. Doors open at 8:00am
WED Sep 6
- First Day of Kindergarten
THU Sep 7
FRI Sept 8
- September Community Meetings for Students - during the day
Upcoming Dates and Events
Tue Sept 12
- BOKS session one begins
Wed Sept 13
- PTO Meeting in the McCarthy School Cafeteria
Tue Sept 19 Early Release Professional Development
- Dismissal begins at 12:05
Mon Sept 25
- No School: Yom Kippur
Mon Oct 2
- Professional Development - No School for Students
Wed Oct 4
- Curriculum Night 6:30-8:00
Thu Oct 5
- Early Release 12:05 Parent Conferences
- No Homework Day
Mon Oct 9
- No School: Indigenous People's Day
Important Dismissal Information and Updates
PLEASE READ!!
Please take a few minutes to review this Dismissal Section of our Newsletter. It was a successful week but we need YOUR HELP with some of the details! Thank you!
We Need your Child's DISMISSAL INFORMATION!
Are they taking a bus?
Attending after school programming?
Meeting you at the WALKER DOOR?
Meeting you at the FAMILY PICK UP area.
Students WILL NOT BE DISMISSED FROM THE OFFICE AFTER 2:00PM.
Early Dismissals MUST take place before 2:00pm. If you child has a doctor appointment, dentist appointment, or other excusable dismissal, you MUST dismiss them before 2:00pm
Important Safety Protocols for Dismissal
- When picking up your child, IDENTIFICATION will be required until we get to know you.
- Students WILL ONLY BE DISMISSED to adults YOU have identified that have pickup permission.
- If someone other than a guardian is going to pick up your child, please send a note, an email, or Remind message to your child's TEACHER IN THE MORNING. You can also email office staff before NOON:
- Ruth Bolden at rbolden@framingham.k12.ma.us
- Denise Pagliccia at dpagliccia@framingham.k12.ma.us
- If your dismissal change occurs DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, you MUST CALL THE OFFICE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING
Picking up your child after school? Where do you go?
GYM DOOR/Walk and Pick Up
Located on the right side of our school. YOU MUST PARK AND WALK TO THIS AREA.
FAMILY PICK-UP AREA
Located at the front of our school. YOU MUST DRIVE THROUGH THIS AREA.
STUDENTS WILL NOT BE DISMISSED AT THE OFFICE AT THE END OF THE DAY.
GYM/WALKER DOOR Pick Up - PARK and Meet
Park and Meet Your Child
Families can meet their child at this door, beginning at 2:30. Families will need to PARK in our Front Parking Lot and walk to this location. Students MUST be dismissed to a guardian or a person who has been given previous permission to dismiss the student. IDENTIFICATION will be required until staff get to know you.
Family Pick-Up - DRIVE THOUGH ONLY!
Pick-Up Begins at 2:35. Families can arrive anytime before 2:45pm
McCarthy dismisses at 2:30. Please DO NOT arrive before 2:20pm
Please complete the Family Pick-Up form and place it on your dashboard each day.
You can arrive ANYTIME between 2:30 and 2:45 each day. **If you come at 2:40, the line is much quicker!
When arriving:
Turn right into McCarthy School from Flagg Drive.
SLOWLY proceed down the driveway in the marked lane, pulling up to the cone and/or car in front of you.
Please pull all the way up to the car in front of you and stay in your vehicle.
PLEASE NOTE: All Drivers will be asked for identification until we get to know you.
If someone other than a parent/guardian is picking up, please notify the office in advance. We will ask them for Identification.
Please PAY ATTENTION to the car in front to keep the line moving.
- Proceed to the end of the driveway, and turn LEFT or Right onto Flagg Drive
- IDENTIFICATION will be required until staff get to know you.
Please use tremendous caution when you pull away and are driving on our campus. We have walkers, visitors, busses, children and their families all trying to get safely to school.
"In the Know... Teaching and Learning at McCarthy School!
Each week in this new section of our newsletter, families can learn a bit about what students are learning at each grade level. This will contain highlights from the week, pictures from classrooms, and more!
Grades 1-5 The First 10 Days of School
During the first 10 days of school, all classrooms will focus on Social Emotional Learning across the district. Teachers will follow the district provided lessons to support students in learning the school rules, practicing academic and behavioral routines, celebrating identity, and most importantly, building trusting foundational relationships in their classrooms.
All students began their day with an extended Morning Meeting. Morning Meeting is an engaging way to start each day, build a strong sense of community, and set children up for success socially and academically. Each morning, students and teachers gather together in a circle for twenty to thirty minutes and interact with one another during four purposeful components:
- Greeting: Students and teachers greet one another by name.
- Sharing: Students share information about important events in their lives.
- Group Activity: Everyone participates in a brief, lively activity that fosters group cohesion and helps students practice social and academic skills
- Morning Message: Students read and interact with a short message written by their teacher. The teacher crafts the message to help students focus on the work they’ll do in school that day.
Goals of Morning Meeting
- Set the tone for respectful and engaged learning in a climate of trust
- Build positive community by fulfilling students’ need to belong, feel significant, and have fun
- Model and practice social-emotional skills
- Review or practice academic skills or content in a way that gets students interested in the learning to come
Learning Names of people in our community!
Learning about your name!
Sharing about your name!
Additionally, this week, all grades participated in grade level appropriate activities in support of developing classroom routines and creating classroom rules and norms. Students (and teachers!) practiced our new process for dismissal and learned how to evacuate the building. We even participated in a Fire Drill with the Framingham Fire Department!
Mindsets and Routines for Literacy and Math were started. Classes discussed and practiced expectations for:
Perseverance
How to collaborate with others in partners or trios
Academic discourse- how to have academic based conversations
What to do when teacher is working in a small group; how to work independently
How to use math tools
i-Ready
Teachers embedded the Character Trait of the Month theme of Responsibility into all activities and in supporting students as they learned, practiced and modeled cafeteria and hallway expected behaviors.
News of Note
New Food Service Breakfast and Lunch Menu System Information
The Department of Food Service is happy to introduce a new menu system called Nutrislice. This new menu system allows parents, students and faculty to view menu items, calorie counts, product formulation statements, allergy information and much more. There will also be a mobile app available to all for quick and easy access.
Access the Web Version: Framingham Public Schools Menus on Nutrislice.
Download The App: The app is called Nutrislice and can be downloaded for free!
- On a mobile phone? Visit the appropriate app store link: iOS App Store or the Google Play Store.
- On a computer? Simply scan the QR code and choose which app store to visit.
- After opening the app, write 'Framingham' in the search bar and choose our district.
- To be able to change the language settings in the app, click on the 3 lines on the top right corner once in the app and click on ‘select a language’.
- If you would like to receive Push notifications with important information, follow these steps:
- Have the Nutrislice app installed on their phone
- Allow notifications from Nutrislice on their device permissions.
- Favorite one or more locations.
Need printed menus? Just visit the website, choose your child's school level and the desired menu. On the upper right corner there is a print icon that will take you to a page where you can print the Menu. There you can also choose what language you would like the menu to be printed.
Tip! For a better view choose landscape on the right before printing.
Attendance Matters! We want YOUR CHILD in school EVERY DAY!
Click the image below to read more about the importance of having good attendance!
Media Release Forms
The Framingham Public School District uses images and/or videos (‘media’) of students and student work to showcase educational activities and programs (including before and after school and vacation programs), as well as to inform the community of the Framingham Public Schools experience. Photographs, videos, and/or the name of your child may be included in publications (print or digital), news releases, and on District maintained websites or social media accounts.
If you DO NOT give Framingham Public Schools permission to use your child’s name, image, or school work in any public display or presentation, please complete the digital Google Form (Photo / Video Opt-Out | Exclusión de foto/video | Formulário de Exclusão de Mídia (Foto/Vídeo) or print, sign, and return the form(s) listed below to the appropriate place based on your school(s).
Printed Forms
Printed forms can be returned to your child's Homeroom Teacher
Please note that FPS does not control the disclosure or use of photographs or video taken by participants at events that are open to parents, community members, and/or the news media. Additionally, this form does not apply to students participating in public events, like academic competitions, performances and athletic events. Student photos and names from these events may be published by news media.
Upon receipt of this signed opt-out form, school staff will document your child’s status (Media Opt-Out) in the X2 Student Information System for the current school year.
From Nurse Beatty....
Click the image below for Nurse Beatty's Back to School information!
Join our McCarthy School Parent Teacher Organization... the PTO!
Please join our hard-working Parent Teacher Organization. Our PTO is a group made up of parents and teachers who pool their talents to provide practical support for McCarthy School. Please check back often for updates, announcements, and information about upcoming events!
CLICK HERE to learn more about the McCarthy PTO
Want to stay updated on school events? Click here to be added to our PTO email list!
Follow them on Facebook (@mccpto) or Instagram (@miriammccarthypto) to stay up-to-date on everything happening with the McCarthy PTO.