It was wonderful to see so many Parker families at Back to School Night this past Thursday. This evening allows for caregivers to meet the amazing staff and get a glimpse of what their children experience each day at Parker. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

On Monday of this week, we will be administering ELA iReady testing, which is used establish reading benchmarks. As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, these assessments are not graded, but rather are used to inform instructional and assessment practices, as well as interventions. Results will be shared with families once all assessments have been completed. Please have students bring earbuds to school on Monday due to the incorporation of audio breaks throughout the assessment.

Parker's After School Activities begin this week! It is not too late to sign up. Please see the list of activities and registration form below. Students who are attending the Grace 7 Nature's Classroom or Grade 8 Boston Field Trip should turn in their permission slips to their homeroom teachers.

This Friday, September 27th, is an Early Release Day for staff professional development. Students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m.

Have a wonderful week.

In partnership,

Jill Story

Principal

If you were unable to attend Back to School Night, please review the presentation I shared with families. One of the items I shared with caregivers is who to contact when you have questions pertaining to your child. When you have questions about...

• grades, assignments, behavior, or peer interactions, you should reach out to your child's teacher or the Team Leader;
• the implementation of your child's IEP, you should reach out to your child's case manager;
• IEP services, evaluations, or the scheduling of meetings, you should reach out to the Team Chair;
• 504s, you should reach out to the assistant principal;
• medical concerns or diagnoses, you should reach out to the nurse;
• your child's schedule or building procedures, you should reach out to the principal.

Grade 8 Boston Field Trip: October 17, 2024

Students will head to Boston for a scavenger hunt followed by a lunch cruise on the Spirit of Boston. Permission slips went home last week and are due September 23rd. The cost of the trip is $110. At this time, we have enough staff to chaperone the trip and will not need parent chaperones.

Grade 7 Nature's Classroom Field Trip: October 23-25, 2024

Permission slips were due 9/20 (final deadline is October 1st). The cost of the trip is $375. Full payment is due October 1st ($325 remaining if you already paid the $50 deposit). Please see the slides below from the Parent Information Night.

We will need several parent chaperones for the Nature's Classroom trip. You will be required to travel on the bus to and from the field trip and supervise students during free time and overnight in the cabins. Interested parents will be entered into a lottery and notified of their acceptance by October 4th. Please complete the following survey if you are interested in chaperoning.

If either of these trips present a financial hardship, please contact Dr. Story.

I am seeking volunteers to be part of Parker's School Council. The School Council will meet once a month (second Monday of the month unless there is a holiday), beginning on October 15th at 5:30 p.m. The main purpose will be to guide the development of the School Improvement Plan and advise on the school budget. If you are interested in serving on the School Council, please email Dr. Story at jill.story@reading.k12.ma.us to indicate your interest and confirm availability.

We wanted to inform you that our District METCO Director, Mr. Kurtis Martin, will be leaving the role and transitioning to the Boston Public Schools in their “Operations Leader” role. This role will come with a significant increase in job scope and salary. It is with deep gratitude that we thank Kurtis for his leadership service, and impact on the METCO Program. We have decided to name two of our current METCO SACs as co-interim METCO Directors for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year: Elementary Interim Co-Director - Cindy Marte, and Secondary Interim Co-Director - Jerika Santiago. These leaders will remain in their current METCO SAC roles and receive a stipend for their additional responsibilities as co-interim METCO Directors. The co-interim director role represents the best path for investing in our own leaders and minimizing impact on our students. We will move forward with a process to hire a permanent METCO Director in the spring of 2025.

Once again Parker Middle School will be offering a before and after school activity program. We are also fortunate to have the Parker Middle School PTO partly sponsor these student activities. The fees are listed in each activity (see attachment below). There is a maximum activity cost of $90 for a student who signs up for more than one day per week of activity. Please add supply fees separately. Payment may be in cash or check (please make checks payable to Parker Middle School). If costs or fees present a hardship for any family, please contact the principal. For the safety and security of our students, regular attendance is expected. Activities are on a first-come, first-served basis. In the event an activity is under-enrolled the offering may be cancelled. Please remember to make pick up arrangements for each scheduled activity. There will be no after school activities on release days, or in case of inclement weather.

Hi! I’m Dhanya Bhola, a junior at RMHS and a former student at Parker. I’m offering tutoring for middle school students who need help with their classwork and homework. I can also assist with test and quiz preparation, as well as organizational skills. I believe that learning effective study habits in middle school sets the foundation for success in high school. I would be available Monday and Wednesdays 3:30PM-5:00PM at the Reading Public Library.

If you’re interested, please email me at dhanya.bhola@rdgstudent.com. Thank you!

Many students ride their bicycles to school. Please remind your children that they should not ride their bicycles through the parking lot or driveway due to vehicles entering and exiting the school parking lot. Students have been reminded to walk their bicycles along the sidewalk until they have reached Temple Street.

For students who take the bus, please note that the bus is an extension of school; therefore, all Parker MS behavior expectations apply. Students should be seated and respectful on the bus to ensure a safe ride to and from school. Your support in reinforcing this message is appreciated.

Pathways to Restorative Communities is offering a workshop in Restorative Practices for Caregivers this fall in person at the Worklery, 441 Main Street, Third Floor, Melrose, MA

Wednesdays from 7-9 PM: October 9, 16, 23, 30, 2024

Go to: https://bit.ly/3X7cWGK to learn more and register

📌 HAPPY FALL! Please see our Welcome Letter for all things related to PTO.

📌 PTO MEETING: Join us for our next PTO meeting, Tuesday, October 15 at 7 p.m. at Parker Middle School and via zoom. Take a sneak peek at our upcoming agenda. All are welcome!

📌 STOCK THE STAFF ROOM: Help us stock the staff room with lots of treats for our fabulous Parker staff! You can ship items directly via Amazon, or drop off to the Parker Main Office by October 1. https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/9SIGJF3WBXVI

Would you rather the Parker PTO shop for you? Donate here: https://givebutter.com/StaffRoom and we will buy the snacks on your behalf!

Thanks for helping us shower the staff with delicious snacks to power them through the day.

📌 THANK YOU: Thanks to everyone who visited Dandilyons last Friday to support our 1st restaurant night. Dandilyons is generously donating 10% of all sales back to the Parker PTO!

📌 DONATION REQUEST: Check out what the Parker PTO accomplished last year! All of this was entirely made possible because of family donations.

To make this a successful year, the PTO is asking for a donation of $100 per family. We are sensitive that this may pose a financial burden, so please contribute as you are able to do so. Your support is greatly appreciated!

📌 THANK YOU: We appreciate the Parker families that have submitted their PTO donations for matching gifts through their companies! Please consider checking with your employer as to whether your PTO donation can be matched as this provides extra funds that the PTO can put towards enrichment and activities for this school year.

📌 SAVE THE DATE!

• TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2024: Stock the Staff Room deadline - Drop off or ship snacks to Parker to treat our awesome staff.
• TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2024: PTO Meeting, 7pm. In person and zoom.
• COMING SOON: Parker apparel sale!

📌 WAYS TO STAY CONNECTED:

• Email: parkerptopres@gmail.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ParkerPTO
• Instagram: @ParkerMSPTO, www.instagram.com/parkermspto
• Parker PTO webpage: tinyurl.com/ParkerPTOpage

iReady Reading - 9/23

Parkapella Auditions - 9/24

Team Chair Meet & Greet - 9/25, 9 a.m.

Early Release @ 12:30 p.m - 9/27

Attendance Letters - 10/1

Middle School Jazz Band Auditions - 10/9

To learn more about Reading SEPAC, please visit our website: Reading SEPAC Website

Should you wish to receive our monthly newsletter, please send an email to SEPACReading@gmail.com

Please note that Reading SEPAC IS OPEN TO ALL parents/caregivers and not only families who have a child with special needs as we offer various opportunities to connect with other families and provide learning experiences.

Tackling the Patterns of Anxiety, Depression and Avoidance:

Come join us virtually for a presentation by Lynn Lyons on Tackling the Patterns of Anxiety, Depression, and Avoidance. She will share the following. Registration is required for this event.

• Strategies for managing anxiety, moods, and social pressures, including school avoidance;

• Strategies for prevention and collaboration;

• What may make problems worse;

• What are better approaches

• Please click here to register for this virtual event with Lynn Lyons.

If you need to connect with your child's teachers, please reach out to the Team Leader as the primary point of contact. Team Leaders will be communicating regularly with families throughout the year.

TEAM LEADERS:

Team Synergy - Jane Costa (jane.costa@reading.k12.ma.us)

Team Unity - Elisabeth Bean (elisabeth.bean@reading.k12.ma.us)

Team Justice - Andrew Spinali (andrew.spinali@reading.k12.ma.us)

Team Integrity - Steve Olivo (steve.olivo@reading.k12.ma.us)

Team Inspire - Julie Merrill (julie.merrill@reading.k12.ma.us)

Team Endeavor - Brian James (brian.james@reading.k12.ma.us)

On Wednesdays, students will have Advisory. During Advisory, students meet in smaller groups with an assigned Advisory teacher. The goal is to foster a sense of belonging for all students through the implementation of curriculum that is designed to reinforce Parker's core values of kindness, community, and personal best.

Please be aware that any medication must be brought in by parents and signed in with a nurse, with the exception of epipens and inhalers which may be brought in by students. Please note that all medications require a physician order and parent consent. You may upload any medical documentation, including copies of orders and physicals, privately through the health portal here. Please see illness guidelines here. If you have any medical questions that you would like to discuss with the nurse, please contact kate.shmulsky@reading.k12.ma.us.

Health Services Updates: The Health Services Department would like to share some important reminders. Parents/guardians/caregivers should review the RPS illness guidelines here. If your child requires medication at school, including an Epipen or inhaler, ensure you complete and submit this form. Reading Public Schools utilizes the SNAP Health Portal for electronic health records, allowing secure uploading of medical documents and private messaging with school nurses; an email has been sent to parents with login details and the portal can be accessed here. Kindergarten vision screenings will start next week; if your child has had a vision screening in the past 12 months, you may opt out by contacting your school nurse with documentation. Additional spots have been added to our flu and COVID Vaccination Clinic on 9/27/2024 at Coolidge Middle School. Schedule your appointment here.

Please be sure you have completed the following forms in the Parent Portal:

• The Technology Agreement is necessary for both a parent and the student to fill out in order for students to then be assigned a personal 1:1 computer to use for the year (students must be logged into the Portal to see their agreement; they will be guided in this process once back at school). Computer use will be limited until both the parent and the student have signed this contract.

• Pupil Information Form (completed by the primary parent)
  

• Contact Form (completed by all adult-type parents).

• Laptop Take Home Form: The PRIMARY contact receives this form to allow families to request permission to take the laptop home. Once this form and the above are completed, a Parker student may request a charger from either the tech lead or the main office. The charger must be returned at end of year.

Access to the portal can be found on the Parker website (https://parker.reading.k12.ma.us/en-US) by clicking on the PlusPortals button. Your username should be your personal email. If you have questions about your account, please contact Linnea Frye: linnea.frye@reading.k12.ma.us

Jill Story, Principal

Email: jill.story@reading.k12.ma.us

Beth Simpson, Assistant Principal

Email: beth.simpson@reading.k12.ma.us

Website: Walter S. Parker Middle School
Location: 45 Temple Street