All Around APS

Dear APS families and staff,

Each month, I will share “Take 2” - a conversation with two members of the APS staff. These interviews create the opportunity to learn more about our dedicated staff, why they love working with our students and how they support the APS community. Check out the video to hear from this week’s “Take 2!” interviewees, Nicole Popczuk-Hansen and Rose McPherson! Many thanks to Dr. Mary Ellen Cobbs for her recommendation to highlight the fantastic West Elementary front office team!

We hope you enjoy!

Dr. Magda Parvey

Superintendent

Each week, Mrs. Chaves’ classroom becomes a busy television news studio staffed by student council members working hard to share the important things High Plain Elementary staff, students and families need to know!

This year’s reporters Mayra Vajhallya, Elina Hazarika, Henie Jo, Atharv Babbar, and Maddie Thomas are fifth graders and seasoned professionals, sharing school and community news. Their segments include upcoming birthdays, sports, interviews, and weather. There is also a popular mindfulness segment to promote a harmonious environment at HPE and to share helpful tips on how to balance emotions.

Students work on their writing and reading skills like professional journalists, honing their craft in front of a camera to create a newscast that airs each Friday in all High Plain classrooms. Principal Leveque shares the recording with families in her weekly newsletter. The students feel more confident each time they appear on camera and Mrs. Chaves is proud of how their personalities shine a little more each week. Check out this Friday’s episode!

For the last few weeks, the premier A Cappella group Ball in the House visited every APS elementary school, to share their love of music with our fifth-grade students. Fifth graders learned about Motown and Black Music in America and performed the Temptations’ My Girl with the group at a schoolwide assembly.

We appreciate the support of the Andover Coalition for Education, Andona, and the schools’ PTOs for this opportunity. Thank you to our music teachers for preparing and working with our students.

Dance Team. Hadley Tedesco, (West Middle, grade 7) and her sister, Charlotte, (Sanborn Elementary, grade 5) will join Emily Rourke (Wood Hill Middle School, grade 7) and Raya Angelova (Bancroft Elementary, grade 5). While in Prague, they will compete against and meet dancers from approximately 30 countries around the world. The team is going for Gold this year! Best of luck to Hadley, Charlotte, Emily, and Raya - it will be an amazing experience!

The APS 2024-25 School Year Calendar is available on our website.

• Friday, November 1, 2024 – Kindergarten Conferences – NO Kindergarten classes
• Tuesday, November 5, 2024 – Teacher Conferences - Grades K-5 – NO SCHOOL
• Monday, November 11, 2024 – Veterans’ Day – NO SCHOOL

• Thursday, October 31, 2024 - Diwali

Please join us for our first English Learner Parent Advisory Council (ELPAC) virtual meeting of the 2024-2025 school year on Thursday, October 24th from 12-1 p.m. All parents, guardians, and families of our Multilingual Learner students are invited! ELPAC is a voluntary gathering of parents, guardians, teachers, administrators, and community members from Andover to advocate for the education of our Multilingual Learners. To RSVP for the October 24th meeting, click here.

Join members of the Andover SEPAC at Panera Bread on Saturday, October 26th from 9:30-11:30 a.m. for an informal community chat. As always, all are welcome. The Andover Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is parent led and run, aiming to build a community of support for parents on the Special Education journey by having regular meetings, workshops, and support groups.

Event Information: SEPAC Parent Coffee

When: Saturday, Oct 26, 2024, 09:30 AM

Where: Panera Bread, Peters Street, North Andover, MA, US

We are pleased to offer the flu vaccination to both students (grades 4 through 12) and staff in each school building. This opportunity is being provided by Remedium Pharmacy and their staff. All insurance paperwork and vaccine administration are provided by Remedium.

If you would like to participate in this opportunity – please follow this link for dates at each school and to fill out the information for each child or staff member receiving the vaccine.

West Elementary and Shawsheen Building Committee members will welcome the community for brief tours on Saturday, October 19th. All in the community are invited to attend. These tours will begin at 9 a.m. and leave every 15 minutes until approximately 10:15 a.m. We encourage you to join to see this beautiful educational facility.

Before the pandemic, screen use, anxiety, and social problems (like bullying and fighting) were top concerns for parents. The last few years have made some of these issues even more challenging. This talk with Dr. Elizabeth Englander of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center will examine challenges in school, like bullying, friendship skills, and mental health, and how the ways kids use screens, gaming, and social media can impact these challenges. We will discuss how to move forward, how to partner with your child's school, and how to help you be most productive in guiding children towards optimal social and emotional health.

This event is for parents and caregivers of students in grades 4-12 and will be held at the Collins Center at Andover High School on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. We hope you can join us for this important discussion.

The School Committee met on October 17, 2024. Items on the agenda included a vote on the 2025-26 school year calendar, an update on the work of the Permanent Town Building Advisory Committee’s work regarding improvements to Andover High School, an introduction by Dillinger RAD on the upcoming redistricting process, and the first reading of the Superintendent’s evaluation process and goals for the 2024-25 school year. Prior to the regular business meeting, the School Committee participated in a workshop by the Teaching and Learning team, who presented detailed data on the district’s MCAS results and accountability report.

Meetings are held in the School Committee Room at Central Office, 30 Whittier Court – 2nd floor and are broadcast live by AndoverTV via Andover public access television (Comcast Channel 6 and Verizon Channel 43) or by streaming from www.andovertv.org. Please visit the School Committee Meeting – Agendas, Presentations, and Videos webpage for more information.

The next School Committee meeting will be held on November 7, 2024. Agendas are posted up to 48 hours in advance on the district’s website.

Sanborn Elementary’s school nurse, Lisa Slattery, is this week’s recipient of the APS Staff Shout Out! Mrs. Slattery was recognized during the Thursday, October 17th School Committee meeting. The nurse was nominated by Jessica Tamarin, who highlighted Mrs. Slattery’s care, empathy, compassion, patience, and organization in keeping Sanborn students healthy. Thank you for all you do for Andover students!

The School Committee is seeking nominations for the APS Staff Shout Out. This is an effort to recognize our extraordinary staff who embody the mission, values, and vision of the Andover Public Schools. Please share your nominations here. Selected staff will be announced at each School Committee meeting. We look forward to hearing how our staff have made a meaningful impact on your student(s).

At Thursday’s meeting, the School Committee voted to approve the 2025-26 school year. School Committee policy IC/ICA defines how the district’s annual calendar is prepared in accordance with standards set by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). The first student day of the 2025-26 school year is Wednesday, August 27, 2025 (Tuesday, September 2nd for Preschool and Kindergarten students). The calendar also contains six (6) early release days for staff professional development on the following days: October 1, 2025; December 3, 2025; January 28, 2026; March 11, 2026; April 8, 2026; and May 6, 2026. We will share the APS holidays and observances list with the community when we have received input from local religious leaders in the coming weeks.

Much like “office hours,” School Committee informal forums allow for an interactive dialogue with the Andover community. These meetings have no set agenda and are attended by two members of the Committee. All members of the Andover community are welcome and encourage to attend to discuss any item under the purview of the School Committee. The next School Committee Informal Forum will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. at Memorial Hall Library. More information on upcoming Informal Forums can be found here.

We wanted to share some anticipated topics for discussion at School Committee meetings for this fall. This list represents typical annual votes or updates on various agenda items and is not meant to be a complete list of agenda items. This summary is meant to help inform the community when certain topics may be discussed annually on the agenda. We advise reviewing agendas for specific dates and topics. Agendas are posted on the district’s website 48 hours in advance of School Committee meetings.

November

• Annual budget calendar*
• Annual budget planning assumptions* (long range financial planning model)
• Capital Improvement Plans (as part of annual budget planning)

December

• Town Meeting Warrant Articles* (varies based on town meeting agenda)

* topics where two readings occur to ensure sufficient feedback is provided.

The School Committee recognizes their responsibility to reflect and represent the diverse needs of the community. There are a number of ways to provide input and feedback on issues under the purview of the School Committee. Please visit this page to learn more about the different ways you can connect with the School Committee.

With October here, it means that it’s time for the ACE Scarecrow Festival. For two wonderful weeks, downtown Andover will be lined with Scarecrows ushering in autumn and getting us in the fall spirit. This year’s event will take place from Saturday, October 19th to Saturday, November 2nd. Families are invited to join ACE at the kick off on Saturday, October 19th from 10 a.m. to noon in front of Old Town Hall to enjoy some yummy fall treats, get information about the Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt and to learn how you can grow your school’s pumpkin patch.

This year, about 40% of the scarecrows will be created by school groups.To learn more about ACE and how you can get involved in the Scarecrow Festival, please visit www.aceandover.org.