SPS Weekly Newsletter

This week's header photo features the Stoughton High graduation for the Class of 2024, held Thursday, June 6. In this photo, class valedictorian Aadil Khond addresses the graduates.

During my remarks at the Stoughton High graduation on Thursday, I shared a story with a valuable lesson that I also wanted to share with you in this newsletter.

I don’t know the author, but the story goes like this…

A popular speaker started off a seminar by holding up a $20 bill. A crowd of 200 had gathered to hear him speak. He asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” 200 hands went up.

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He crumpled the bill up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” All 200 hands were still raised.

“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” Then he dropped the bill on the ground and stomped on it with his shoes. He picked it up, and showed it to the crowd. The bill was all crumpled and dirty.

“Now who still wants it?” All the hands still went up.

He then says, “My friends, I have just shown you a very important lesson. No matter what I did to the $20 bill, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, life crumples us and grinds us into the dirt. We make bad decisions or deal with poor circumstances. We feel worthless. We may not be in a good place as life is not fair or even kind at times. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

You are valued by your family and friends, and as you look in the mirror remember your value. You matter, you will succeed, and you will reach that goal as long as you believe in your value. Keep your value.

I am proud of the Class of 2024 and their attendance at two and four year colleges, serving in the military, and joining the workforce are commendable.

This list may not be fully updated as June 1st was the new deadline for students. A number of students are serving in the military. Other students are going into the workforce and/or looking at their options.

One thing is true. A score on a test is not how we define success. We define success by what the individual does and his or her story.

On behalf of all involved with the education of the Class of 2024, THANK YOU.

To the Class of 2024, you are valued!

Congratulations and remember, “Once a Knight, always a Knight.”

Sincerely,

Joseph F. Baeta, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Stoughton Public Schools

The Stoughton High Class of 2024 had its commencement on Thursday. The weather cooperated and we were able to have a wonderful ceremony outside on the turf field at SHS. Congratulations to the more than 270 graduates! The graduates are listed below. Click here to view the list in a larger format.

Watch the embedded video below for some drone footage capturing the faculty and student processional at the SHS graduation. Thanks to Nikki Soncrant and Suzanne Jolley from Aperture and Art for sharing this video!

You can also watch a replay of the live stream of the entire ceremony here. It starts about 8 minutes in. Special thanks to Stoughton Media Access and SHS video production teacher Kevin Bechet for filming graduation!

Many more pictures from the SHS graduation (as well as Scholarship Knight, Class Night, and Party All Night Long) will be shared in the coming days on the Stoughton Public Schools Facebook page!

The special election for the new elementary school building project is this coming Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Visit the Town Clerk's website for more information about this special election.

Click on the buttons below for some helpful videos to find out more about this project. You can also visit the project website for additional resources. Additionally, if you visit the the project website, there is a tax calculator where you can see your estimated tax impact for the project.

Fifth graders from all of our elementary schools took part in the annual all-school field day on Monday. Hundreds of students gathered on the fields between the Wilkins School, O'Donnell Middle School, and Stoughton High for a number of games and activities. A group of fifth graders are pictured above at field day, along with two student volunteers from the OMS. In addition to taking part in the all-school field day, each fifth grade class had the chance to tour the O'Donnell Middle School with an OMS student leader and also listen to a presentation about making good decisions in middle school. Pictures from the tour and good decisions presentation are below.

Our friends from SEED (Science & Engineering Education Development, Inc.) were back in our elementary schools this week, visiting second grade classrooms for hands-on lessons about fossils and paleontology! Thanks to the Stoughton Cultural Council, a local agency of the state agency Mass Cultural Council, for funding this amazing opportunity for all second graders!

We are already starting to think about the fall sports season! Registration for the 2024 fall sports season at Stoughton High is now open! Click here for more information and to register.

The SHS Athletics Department is also holding a High School Sports Information Night as well as a chance to meet the fall coaches this coming Monday, June 10th at 6pm in the SHS Auditorium. We will cover all the important information for parents/guardians for high school sports as well as have individual sports information meetings with the sports specific coaches for fall (except for cheerleading - they have already met).

All athletes who will be in grades 9-12 in the fall and parents/guardians are encouraged to attend.

The summer edition of the SPS RN Newsletter is out, featuring important reminders (like making sure to pick up any medication at the nurse's office before the end of the school year), summer safety tips, water safety tips, and more. Click on the button below to check it out:

Bus Registration for the 2024-2025 school year opened on May 20 and goes through Friday, June 28. This year the bus application is located in the PowerSchool Parent Portal under Forms. Please click on the button below for more information and instructions on how to register:

If you have questions about logging into the parent portal, please contact your child's school.

If you have any other questions, please send them to transportation@stoughtonschools.org.

Another friendly reminder that with the school year underway, we want to make sure we have accurate and updated emergency contact information and health information for your child. Please log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal account, click on the forms link in the left navigation menu and update any information that is not accurate in the two forms - Current Student Information/Emergency Form and Current Student Health Information. When you have updated the information, please click on submit at the bottom of each of the forms. If your child's information is accurate, please click on submit at the bottom of each form to indicate that you have reviewed the data and it is accurate.

For updates throughout the week, be sure to follow Stoughton Public Schools on social media: