Shaw Community Update

Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, and Community Members,

As we approach the final weeks of the school year, we'd like to pause and acknowledge the dedication and perseverance of our students, staff, and families. Our teachers consistently go the extra mile, providing outstanding instruction and compassionate guidance to our students.

We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to our support staff, whose tireless efforts behind the scenes ensure our school runs smoothly. From custodians and bus drivers to office personnel, your contributions are essential and deeply appreciated.

To our parents and families, thank you for your unwavering support and partnership. Your involvement in your child's education significantly contributes to their success, and we are incredibly grateful for everything you do for our school community.

And to our students—we are so very proud of each of you. You've demonstrated resilience and determination through every challenge, and your commitment to your education is genuinely inspiring.

As the school year draws to a close, let's continue to encourage and support one another, finishing this year strong. Together, there is nothing we cannot achieve.

Your input and support continue to be invaluable to us. Our doors are always open, and we encourage you to reach out to us at any time.

Warm regards,

Andrew Tuccio & Erin Rosenkranz
Raymond E. Shaw Leadership Team

Shaw’s spring Scholastic Book Fair will take place May 13 - 20. Visit the book fair homepage to set up your student's ewallet for a convenient cash free payment option.

To make this a successful book fair for our students, please use this SignUp Genius link to volunteer.

You may have noticed a shiny new Little Free Library outside the school... SURPRISE! We were 1 of 200 schools in the country to be gifted a library along with 200 books from Penguin Random House Publishing to help the Little Free Library Organization celebrate their 200,000th book-sharing box. Check out this special announcement to learn the full details and see if you can spot Shaw on the map. A special thank you to Ms. Kelley's third grade class for helping fill the library. This little library is the next step in bringing the #wooliebooklove to the Millbury community and the hope is that all residents and anyone who finds themselves at our sweet school will enjoy this new treasure. The library is intended to be self-sustaining and relies on the honor system of people taking a book and leaving a book. While on school grounds, this library is not for Shaw library books. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Happy Reading!

Millbury Public Schools School Calendar 2024-2025

Hello Families,

May is Better Hearing & Speech Month! To support Better Hearing & Speech, I have provided some tips/ideas on ways to enhance your child's communication skills at home using a book/picture book. Check out the ideas below!

Kindly,

Stephanie Hermann, M.S., CCC-SLP

Shaw Elementary is excited to continue to offer Girls on the Run in the Fall of 2025. We need parent volunteers to help coach this program. The program begins the week of September 22 and will run two days a week for 8 weeks. The celebratory 5k will be on November 16. If you are interested in coaching or would like more information, please contact Tonia Alger

The use of personal electronic devices is prohibited in school. Devices that are in school shall be turned off and placed in the student’s locker for the duration of the school day. This applies to all personal electronic devices including but not limited to cell phones and smartwatches. The expectation at Shaw is that students keep their devices turned off and kept in their bag while it is stored in their locker for the duration of the entire school day. Students are also not allowed to use such devices on school buses. We appreciate your support.

The following can be be found on page 98 of the Millbury Public School District Handbook:

Consequences:

• 1st offense
• Item will be confiscated and given to an administrator.
• Parents/Guardians will be notified of action and may be required to retrieve the confiscated item.
• Student may have a consequence deemed appropriate by administration.
• 2nd offense
• Item will be confiscated and given to an administrator.
• Parents/Guardians will be notified that the next infraction may result in an in school suspension.
• A parent/guardian must retrieve the confiscated item.
• Student will have a consequence deemed appropriate by administration.
• 3rd offense
• Item confiscated will be given to an administrator.
• Parents/Guardians will be notified.
• Student will have a consequence deemed appropriate by administration.
• Parent/Guardian must retrieve the confiscated item on the last day of school.

The Shaw Spirit School Store is open, and we need your help to keep it going. Shaw’s school store allows students to use their Woolie Bucks to purchase various fun and educational items. We're seeking your support to help start keeping it stocked. If you’d like to help enhance our selection, please consider donating items from our Amazon Wishlist. Your generosity will benefit our students, giving them more choices and encouraging DREAM behavior. Some more expensive items will be used for school-wide raffles as part of the school store. Thank you for supporting our school community!

The Millbury Parents Club will have its February meeting on Tuesday, May 13th, at 7 p.m. location TBD.

As usual, they will have our Kidz Korner open. It will be staffed by members of the National Honor Society, who will be available to play and do crafts with small children. We hope to see you there!

Third Grade Community Meeting this month was all about TEAMWORK! We took advantage of the warm weather and had our meeting in an outdoor classroom space for a nice change. After reading A Little Spot of Teamwork, classes broke into smaller groups to try the Human Knot challenge! During our debrief students concluded that communication and staying calm were the keys to success in the activity.

Our fourth graders have been lighting up the classroom—literally! As part of their exciting science unit on energy, students transformed into budding engineers and built working flashlights to demonstrate how electrical energy can become light energy. The energy in the room was electric as students proudly tested their creations!

But the innovation didn’t stop in science. In English Language Arts, students brought their learning full circle by writing a SCIENTIFIC TEXT that included clear, step-by-step instructions on how to build an electrical circuit. They also designed colorful, informative posters to help others understand the process.

This hands-on, cross-curricular project combined creativity, critical thinking, and real-world problem solving—and our fourth graders rose to the challenge with enthusiasm and bright idea.

Fifth grade students are currently exploring the process of composting in their science classes by comparing homemade composters to a store-bought composter. In small groups, students were asked to choose their own compost container from recycled materials such as glass jars, cardboard boxes and plastic containers. They then collected vegetable and fruit scraps from the lunchroom and added these organic materials to the soil. Over time, they will carefully observe and record the changes. This project encourages teamwork, environmental awareness and critical thinking as students will analyze which composter breaks down organic material most efficiently and why.

Get ready for a fantastic May at Shaw!

First off, our recent Nature's Classroom trip in Charlton was a huge hit! Students embraced their outdoor learning, despite the snow they woke up to on their last day. Through hands-on activities, they not only boosted their learning but also built teamwork and a love for nature. A big thank you to our amazing teachers, staff at our school, and parent volunteers (especially those overnighters) who made it happen, and a special shout-out to MPC for covering the daily bus transportation costs!

Looking ahead, Grade 6 Math MCAS testing starts on May 6th and continues on May 7th. We're encouraging all our students to shine! Parents, please help them get plenty of rest, a nutritious breakfast, and ensure their devices are fully charged each day.

Please enjoy the latest issues of our school newspaper, Woolie News Jr., published by Mrs. Hahn’s 6th-grade elective classes.

Woolie News Jr. (vol. 1, issue 5)

Woolie News Jr. (vol. 1, issue 6)

Do you have a band instrument that is no longer being used?

The band program at Shaw Elementary would like to provide the opportunity for every student, regardless of financial need, to learn how to play an instrument.

What type of donations are needed?

We are interested in brass, percussion, and woodwind instruments that are typically used in the elementary school band setting such as flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and snare drum.

Does the age and condition of the instrument matter?

Yes! Trying to learn how to play an instrument that does not work properly can be frustrating for a student. For this reason, we need to limit instrument donations that are of brand name (not purchased online or through a box store), in good to excellent condition, and no more than 15 -20 years old.

How do I make my donation?

Instrument donations may be dropped off with the Shaw Elementary office staff to be forwarded to Mr. Rollins.

bryt Family Resources & Support

The bryt model is grounded in the recognition that communication with, and support for, a student’s family is a core element of supporting that student—a “need to have” rather than a “nice to have.” This belief is so essential to us that family engagement is the only aspect of bryt to which we have assigned both a Team Leader and a sub-team of dedicated part-time coordinators. bryt’s Family Engagement Team works directly with school teams to help them support the families of the students in their bryt interventions through consultation and professional development, and provides a range of supports and resources directly to families.

• Parents Supporting Parent 2024-2025 Offerings

Cartwheel Clinical Services

Dear Millbury Families,

As a district we are committed to supporting the overall well-being of our students and believe mental health is an important part of overall health.

We currently partner with Cartwheel to support the mental health needs of our students via virtual therapy with licensed clinicians. Up until now, a student had to be identified and referred for these services by our school team.

Today, we are pleased to share that you can now request these services directly for your child. Oftentimes, families are the first to recognize that their child might need mental health support so we want to make it as easy as possible for your family to access these services.

Here are some signs to look out for to determine if your child might benefit from this support:

• Changes in mood or behavior

• Changes in eating or sleeping patterns

• Declining academic performance

• Withdrawal from friends or activities

• Increased anxiety or stress

• Expressing feelings of sadness or hopelessness

• Experiencing transition (related to life, family, peers, school)

• Exposure to a traumatic event

What types of support are available through Cartwheel, you ask?

All services are via telehealth:

• One-on-one evidence-based therapy (students in grades 3-12)

• Parent guidance sessions for parents/caregivers (students in all grades)

• Psychiatric evaluation and medication management (students in all grades)

• Family therapy

• Intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization services through our partner organizations

Cartwheel also offers care coordination, webinars, and referrals to other providers if needed.

Check out these FAQs about the types of challenges Cartwheel can support, how it works, and more.

Fill Out This Form if you feel your child may benefit from any of the offered services.

We understand how overwhelming navigating the mental health journey can be, and we want to do whatever we can to minimize that burden through our valued partnership with Cartwheel. This is our second contract year with them and when they recently announced that they were piloting a family identification pathway, we were so excited. Their services and guidance have been an invaluable asset to our mission to support our students holistically. Should you have any questions about this program, the services offered, or Cartwheel in general, please don't hesitate to reach out to a member of the counseling team.

Thank you,

The Shaw Clinical Team

Do you want to help promote the love of reading for students at Shaw? This year at Shaw we will once again have The Birthday Book Cart. Every day after a student has their birthday recognized during morning announcements they will get to choose a book they WANT to read and keep from The Birthday Book Cart. If you would like to support The Birthday Book Cart you can purchase a book from our Amazon Wish List or please feel free to drop off new books or donations to purchase new books at the main office at any time.

We are thrilled to continue offering lessons from the Choose Love curriculum to all students at Shaw. This curriculum teaches foundational concepts and skills of social-emotional learning through lessons on courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion in action. Click the following link for an introduction to Choose Love.

Curriculum information can be found on the District's Office of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment website.

• District Curriculum Resources

• MA Curriculum Frameworks

School Nutrition Services is looking forward to a great year! We are mainly going digital. Please fill out the following information if you would like to sign your children up for half-day lunches or to sign off on sharing information with other departments in the district.

• Half-Day Lunch Order Form
• Millbury Nutrition Services Website
• Millbury Nutrition Services Facebook

Email: shawadmin@millburyschools.org

Website: https://shaw.millburyschools.org/
Location: 58 Elmwood Street, Millbury, MA, USA
Phone: (508) 865-3541
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raymond.shaw.3150

The Millbury Public Schools ensures equal employment and educational opportunities for its employees and students and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity (M.G.L. c. 151B and 151C, Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX), or on the basis of disability (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973/ADA) or homelessness. In addition, the Millbury Public Schools does not discriminate against its employees on the basis of age (M.G.L. 151B/ADEA) on the basis of veteran's status, or genetic information.