Tuesday, December 17- Winter Chorus Concert (9:00am for students and staff ONLY, 6:30pm for Chorus Families)

Wednesday, December 18- Grade 3 SAFE Program, School Committee Meeting

Friday- December 20- District 1/2 Day.....Dismissal at 11:45

Monday, December 23-Wednesday, January 1- Holiday Vacation Week

Friday, January 17- Professional Development Day (No School)

Monday, January 20- MLK Day- No School

Thursday, January 30- Tanglewood Marionettes Presentation @ 9:30 am

Dear DES Families,

I am writing to inform you that our Powerschool Parent Portal providing family access to students' online grades from Trimester 1 will be closing Friday, December 20. This is a routine procedure, and we encourage you to review your child's grades and progress as soon as possible.

Please ensure that you have logged into your family portal and checked your child’s grades before the access window closes. If you encounter any issues with accessing the system or are in need of any assistance, feel free to reach out to our support team directly by emailing parentportal@douglasps.net.

We appreciate your partnership in supporting your child's education, and thank you for staying engaged with their progress.

Wishing you all the best throughout the holidays,

Ken Haynes

Happy last month of 2024! This month’s trait is Mindfulness/Stress Management. By integrating mindfulness and stress management practices into the school day, we’re providing students with the tools they need to cope with challenges, focus on their learning, and build emotional resilience. During classroom lessons, we will be practicing mindfulness techniques such as breathing, grounding, guided imagery, stretching and brain breaks. We will be reading the stories “A Little Peaceful Spot” and “My Peaceful Place” and then creating our own individual peaceful spots/places. I have included the links for the stories, along with a helpful article on other benefits and activities to practice mindfulness and stress-management techniques together at home.

Article: https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-for-kids/

A Little Peaceful Spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yybn8qhPVaw

STEM Classes will be participating in an hour of code in December. The Hour of Code is a worldwide movement that aims to demystify coding and show that anyone can learn the basics.

Last March, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released updated guidelines for the management of common viral respiratory illnesses such as RSV, the flu and Covid-19. The new guidance brings a unified approach to the management of these illnesses and no longer recommends a specific period of isolation.

Please DO NOT send your child to school if they exhibit any of the following symptoms:

• Fever: 100.4 F (38 C) or higher

• Cough: Persistent or severe; wheezing; shortness of breath

• Sore throat (not related to seasonal allergies): especially if accompanied by a fever

• Body aches not related to a known injury or activity

• Nausea and/or vomiting

• Diarrhea that is not attributable to a known cause, i.e. a dietary sensitivity.

• Fatigue, if significant and not attributable to a known cause such as getting to bed late or a busy weekend.

Your child CAN return to school once:

• They have been fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication

AND

• They have overall improvement in their symptoms

* Please note that the 5 day isolation period for students who test positive for Covid-19 is NO LONGER in effect. Return to school and work are now based on improvement of symptoms and absence of fever (as noted above).

**For illnesses involving diarrhea and/or vomiting, PLEASE keep your child home until they have gone at least 24 hours without experiencing these symptoms.

Steps YOU Can Take to Help Prevent Illness:

• Stay up to date with vaccination: (Flu; Covid 19) to protect against serious illness and hospitalization.

• Practice good hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes, washing/sanitizing hands often and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.

• Avoid close contact with others who are sick

• Take steps for cleaner air such as bringing in more fresh outside air ,purifying indoor air and holding gatherings outside, as able.

Our school community appreciates your cooperation in following these guidelines to help our students remain healthy and productive learners. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Warm Regards,

Melanie Brundage, RN, BSN, NCSN

(508)476-4200; ext. 5

Mbrundage@douglasps.net

The Worcester County Chapter of the Knights of Columbus is running a "Coats For Kids" campaign. They have several coats they are looking to donate to students in need. We also have several new backpacks and school supplies that were generously donated for students. If your child is in need of a new winter coat, a new backpack, and/or school supplies, please reach out to either Nurse Brundage at mbrundage@douglasps.net or Ms. Wallen at awallen@douglasps.net.

The following weekends will be designated as our recharge weekends:

October 11-14

January 24-26

May 23-26

The following guidelines will be put in place to ensure that everyone has the ability to recharge:

1. I will ask staff not to check emails, correct exams, or grade projects during these weekends. I want them to be able to step away for a weekend and recharge.

2. Athletics and Activities – There will be NO practices or activities that relate specifically to the Douglas Public Schools during these weekends with the exception of a practice on Sunday if there is a game on Monday. These practices cannot start before 3pm on Sunday.

3. Teachers will follow the guidelines set below:

1. Ensure that long-term assignments are not due on the Monday or Tuesday following the Recharge Weekend.

2. Educators will NOT increase student workload leading up to the Recharge Weekend.

3. Teachers will adequately plan their lessons and assessments around these weekends.

4. Educators will not assign any schoolwork over the weekend.

5. Educators will not schedule exams or quizzes on the Monday following the Recharge Weekend.

6. Advanced placement classes may still assign work.

Students should also be able to step away for the weekend and be able to relax physically and mentally.

Should there be a major issue that you need to connect with us on, please contact your building principals and they will work with you to address any issues. We are all cognizant of the stresses that are on all of us this year and hope these monthly breaks can offer some relief.

Douglas Public Schools offers a number of extra-curricular and after school programs throughout the school year that require fees for participation in these programs. This includes athletic program fees, SAT and PSAT fees, Advanced Placement (AP) fees, after school program fees, among others.

In the past the school district utilized the eligibility for free and reduced lunch which was based on the free and reduced lunch application, to determine eligibility for fee waivers. Due to recent changes that have occurred, we are no longer able to utilize the free and reduced lunch applications throughout the entire district for this purpose.

As a result of this, the Douglas Public Schools has adopted new procedures for the fee waiver process.

There are two process by which you may be eligible to receive a fee waiver:

1. Direct Certification

• If you are eligible through Direct Certification (DC) which is a state process whereby children are directly certified by state agencies that administer programs such as SNAP, TANF/TAFDC, and FDPIR, please complete the Fee Waiver Form and the Sharing of Information Form (see attached). Both of these forms are required as we are not allowed to share information regarding Direct Certification without the Sharing of Information Form completed. Please mail (or bring) the completed forms directly to:

Douglas Public Schools

Business Office

Cortney Keegan, Business Manager

21 Davis Street

Douglas, MA 01516

Please do not send the forms in with your children or to the schools.

Once we have reviewed and/or verified eligibility through Direct Certification, we will notify you regarding your eligibility status for a fee waiver.

1. Supplemental Low-income Data Collection Form

• If you do not think that you are eligible through Direct Certification, please carefully review the Supplemental Low-income Form, page 2, that details the household and income requirements for eligibility.

• If you meet these requirements, please complete the Supplemental Low-income Data Collection Form, Fee Waiver Form, and the Sharing of Information Form. If you do not meet these requirements, there is no need to complete the form as you are not eligible for a fee waiver.

• If you do fall within the household and income levels we will need to verify the income according to the supporting documentation listing on the form. Upon request, we will mail you a self-addressed stamped envelope in which you can send us the required documentation in order to verify your income (see attached). You only need to provide what is necessary to substantiate the income (one recent month’s income). You can also bring the documentation to the Business Office (located in the Central Office of the Middle School).

Please do not send any forms or documentation to the schools through your children. These forms must be sent or delivered directly to the Business Office. The Central Office and Business Office are separate from the Schools.

After verifying the income, we will notify you regarding your eligibility status for a fee waiver.

If you have any questions, please contact Cortney Keegan, Business Manager at 508-476-4037 ext. 1 or email ckeegan@douglasps.net. Attached is additional information.

Dear Families and Caregivers,

We are excited to announce a significant update in our school's student information system. To support our ongoing efforts to streamline communication and enhance the overall educational experience, we have transitioned from iPass to PowerSchool for starting this school year. Powerschool is a leading and user-friendly platform for student information management that will allow you real-time access, a communication hub, and a user-friendly interface. Attached are instructions as to how you can download the app and create an account.

As part of the new Student Information System, we are excited to announce the new parent portal self-service registration process. The new process requires you to create and manage your own parent portal account as well as password resets to help make it more efficient. Please follow the steps attached for creating accounts and linking students. Important things to note regarding your parent portal account:

• Please only create ONE account. You do not need to create a new account for adding/linking additional students or siblings.

• You do NOT need to create a new account every year or re-register every year.

• If you forget your password after signing up, please use the “Forgot Username or Password?” link so that you can reset it yourself.

• Please do NOT create a new account if you forgot your password.

• Do NOT share your password with anyone else. If additional parents/family members want access, they can create and set up their own account and link to the student(s)

• You will need an Access ID and Access Password to link your student(s). Please email parentportal@douglasps.net to get that information.

As is the case with any major software conversion, we are trying to minimize any issues that you may experience. We have created the following email for PowerSchool support if needed (parentportal@douglasps.net). Should you have any questions or issues, please use the above email to let us know.

Thank you,

Domenic Sergio

Director of Technology

Douglas Public Schools

To avoid any confusion and/or potential safety concerns at the end of the day, all dismissal changes should be provided in writing and signed by the parent/guardian. If a change is requested without a prior written notice, it must be made no later than 2 hours before the end of the day with the exception of an emergency/urgent situation. No late change requests other than emergency/urgent situations will be allowed. For safety reasons, once students have loaded the buses, students will not be removed from a bus.

We are kindly and respectfully asking all parents who drop off their child in the morning to please avoid parking along the left side of the driveway as those spaces are reserved for staff and visitors. We greatly appreciate your help and cooperation with this!

The PTO is looking for parent volunteers to assist with PTO sponsored events! The PTO helps out our school TREMENDOUSLY by sponsoring activities, fun family nights, and even helps fund student rewards and prizes throughout the year. They couldn't do all that they do without the help of parent volunteers. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Katie Wall at DouglasSchoolsPTO@gmail.com.

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) is pleased to announce its new, free MPY Parenting Solutions Library. MPY is offering the MPY Parenting Solutions Library in partnership with Peace At Home Parenting Solutions, a non-profit located in Mansfield, Connecticut.

Peace At Home Parenting Solutions is a dynamic hub of trusted knowledge and compassionate support that inspires parents to create positive change for their children, their families and themselves. Peace At Home Parenting Solutions specializes in empowering parents with evidence-based strategies to foster nurturing connections that safeguard their children's mental well-being.

With more than 30 specialists focused on child and adolescent development, including specific issues such as difficulties in school, mental health challenges, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ identity formation, handling racism, navigating grief, and other matters parents and our partners identify.

The 24 library presentations focus on the topics below. Each presentation includes a 10-minute videos and handouts.

· Inspire School Success for Elementary, Middle and High School Students

· Parenting Principles for Progress Not Perfection

· Mental Health Knowledge and Skills

· Support Your Anxious Child Library

· ADHD and Autism: How to Help Your Child Thrive

The Home Parenting Library may easily be accessed using the link on MPY’s home page (www.mpyinc.org). No log in or passcode is needed.

We are committed to the well-being of our students, staff, and families to create a safe and healthy learning environment. In support of our ongoing commitment, we partnered with Care Solace to provide an additional layer of care for our community.

Care Solace helps individuals find mental health care providers and substance use treatment centers. Their Care Companion™ team is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and 365 days per year to quickly connect you to carefully verified providers in your community.

Students, staff, and families may access Care Solace services in two ways:

• Call (888) 515-0595 at any time. Support is available in 200+ languages. A dedicated Care Companion™ will help you every step of the way to research options, secure appointments, and follow up to make sure it is a good fit.

• For an anonymous search, answer a few questions to get matched with an extensive list of care providers at www.caresolace.com/douglas.

Care Solace is now available for use at no cost to you. This service is available to staff, their families, students, and their families. They will connect you with providers accepting all medical insurances including Medicaid, Medicare, and sliding scale options for those without insurance. All information entered on the Care Solace tool is completely confidential and securely stored.

Please note, this service is an optional resource available by choice and is not mandatory to use. Care Solace is not an emergency response service or mental health services provider. In the event of a life threatening emergency, please call 9-1-1 or the National Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-8255.

If you are interested in counseling-related services for your child, yourself, or another family member, please contact Care Solace for valuable assistance. This is a complimentary resource provided by Douglas Public Schools.

Email: khaynes@douglasps.net

Website: https://es.douglasps.net/
Location: 19 Davis Street, Douglas, MA 01516, USA
Phone: 508-476-4200