Weekly Newsletter

Dear Morris Families,

As we transition into the third trimester we have many wonderful events planned to close out the school year. Please be sure to check out the list below and mark your calendars.

We sincerely appreciate all the community members who joined us for Read Across America Day. Your time and enthusiasm made the day truly special for our students!

PTO Meeting, March 11th

There is a PTO meeting on Tuesday, March 11, at 6:30 p.m. We hope to see everyone there! For those of you who are unable to join us in person the zoom link is below.

Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 870 4189 5038

Passcode: 417652

Important Dates & Reminders

• Half-Day Dismissal: March 14th at 11:45 AM.

• Report Cards Sent Home: March 14th. If you have any questions regarding your child’s progress, please feel free to reach out to their teacher. Thank you for your continued support!

Winter Lost and Found
Our Winter Lost and Found will melt away by March 14th! Please stop by before then if your child is missing an item.

Attendance Reminder
If your student is absent, please call the attendance line by 9:30 AM at 413-637-5570. Please do NOT notify your teachers through Class DoJo that your child is absent from school. We kindly request that you call the attendance line.

Fun Friday Reading Theme Days
We are celebrating reading all month long with special dress-up days and activities!

• March 14th – Book Character Day (½ Day): Students and staff are encouraged to dress up as their favorite book character. Classes will also have time to read with their buddy classrooms, and each student will receive a bookmark to decorate together.

• March 21st – Llama Llama Pajama Day: Everyone can wear their coziest pajamas and bring a small blanket or towel. Teachers will schedule a 15–30 minute DEAR (Drop Everything and READ) time.

• March 28th – Hats Off to Reading Day: Students and staff can wear their favorite hat as we wrap up our month-long reading celebration!

We encourage families to join in the excitement by reading together at home and talking about favorite books. Thank you for helping us foster a love of reading in our school community!

Food and Nutrition Program Audit
The Office for Food and Nutrition Programs for the state of Massachusetts is conducting its annual audit of Lenox Public Schools. Our cafeteria staff works tirelessly to prepare delicious breakfasts and lunches for our students. Please remind your child to take a fruit or juice and milk daily as part of their meal. Encouraging good nutrition helps support healthy learning!

Special Education Parent Advisory Council Meeting
The Lenox Public Schools' Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) and the Federation for Children with Special Needs are hosting a training on Understanding the Massachusetts Individual Education Plan (IEP) on March 13 at 5:30 PM. The state recently revised the IEP for the first time in over 20 years. This presentation will cover each section of the IEP and how it supports students. Please see the flyer attached to the email for more details.

Congratulations to the Special Education Department

This past week our Director of Student Services, Brian Kelley, and Superintendent William Collins met with the Chairperson of DESE’s Integrated Monitoring Review (an Audit of Civil Rights and Special Education) to discuss the audit findings.

This comprehensive audit examined several key areas, including:

• Licensure and professional development for special education educators and related service personnel;
• Parent, student, and community engagement, with a focus on compliance with Child Find requirements;
• Facilities and classroom observations;
• Implementation and oversight of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs);
• Instructional time and learning outcomes; and
• Equal access to education.
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The audit involved responding to extensive requests for policies, procedures, practices, interviews, and supplying hundreds of pages of supporting documentation. Director Kelley spent countless hours over the last six months collecting the documents, providing evidence, and authoring written responses to each and every question.

Although it is challenging for any school district to navigate this process with only a few findings, the Chairperson’s enthusiastic feedback indicated that achieving a "no findings" status is an exceptional accomplishment.

Thank you for your continued support of our school community!

As part of our ongoing commitment to student safety, we want to inform you of an additional step in our background check process. To further ensure the safety of our students, anyone submitting a CORI request—including employees, volunteers, subcontractors, and others—must now also complete a DCF Background Check Form.

• As CORIs expire part of the new process will also be a DCF Background Check Form.
• All new CORI request will include a DCF Background check.

• 3/11 PTO Meeting - Morris Library 6:30 p.m.
• 3/13 SEPAC Meeting at Morris School 5:30 p.m.
• 3/14 Report Cards Sent home to families
• Early Release 11:45 a.m.
• 4/1 Science Fair - Details Coming Soon
• 4/10 SEPAC Meeting at Morris School 5:30 p.m.
• 4/11 School Dance - Details Coming Soon
• 4/15 Fifth Grade Shakespeare Play at Shakespeare & Co.
• 4/17 Morris Talent Show - Details Coming Soon
• 4/18 Early Release 11:45 a.m.
• Stay tuned for Screen Free Activities May 5th -11th
• 5/8 Books Before Bed
• 5/15 SEPAC Meeting at Morris School 5:30 p.m.
• 5/20 Parent Night for incoming Sixth Grade Families @ LMMHS 5:30 p.m.
• 5/21 Kindergarten Information Night for incoming K students
• 5/22 Art Show and Chorus Concert
• 6/3 Fourth and Fifth Grade Band Concert
• 6/5 Field Day - Rain date 6/6
• 6/10 Last Day of Kindergarten (May change based on snow days.)
• 6/16 Move up Ceremony Fifth Grade 1:30 p.m. (May change based on snow days.)
• 6/17 Last day of school. (May change based on snow days.)