Do you need translation? / Թարգմանության կարիք ունե՞ք։ / 你需要翻译吗？/ 翻訳は必要ですか？/ ¿Necesita traducción? / Você precisa de tradução? / Tercümeye mi ihtiyacınız var?

You can translate this audio recording using Google Translate. Click here for more information.

This week's family news includes:

1. RISE Students and Staff of the Week!
2. Unified Arts Back to School Night- Thursday, October 17th, 6:30pm-8:00pm
3. Grade 5 Fundraiser
4. School Pictures and Retakes
5. Picture from Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day
6. Reminder About Smartwatches- Off and Away!
7. Health Office Update
8. PTO Fundraiser
9. SEPAC Trunk or Treat
10. Important Dates- October
11. Repeat Information: October School Theme, Attendance Reminders, PTO and Lunch Menus

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Dear Parents and Families,

We would really appreciate your help to donate money to the victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. These hurricanes destroyed thousands of people’s homes, properties and lives. Miller students will be participating in a fundraising project. From October 10th to the 18th, we are accepting coins and small bills to reach our school-wide goal of $2,024. The money we collect will be given to a reputable organization who is able to get much needed supplies to the people who need it.

Thank you,

Grade 5 Students

Please remember the following expectations about smartwatches and other electronic devices. This language is also found in our school handbook (linked here).

USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Electronic devices including phones, cameras, music listening devices and smart watches must remain off and in the student’s backpack.

Our Health Office is seeing a sharp increase in the number of students who are reaching out to home, to report that they are not feeling well or got injured, resulting in their parents coming to pick them up. This is occurring without these students ever having been assessed by the Health Office.

In some instances, the Health Office has evaluated the student and determined that they are medically cleared to return to class, and have established a plan to follow up with the student and connect with the family if needed.

As you can imagine, it creates a lot of confusion when a parent shows up to dismiss their student because they're not feeling well, and the Health Office doesn't know anything about it, especially when they are told that the dismissal can't be excused because they were never assessed by the Health Office. Additionally, when a plan had been set for the day between the Health Office and the family, and students end up reaching out on their own, it circumvents the plan.

For this reason, the nurses wanted to send out a clarification that if a student request to text or call home because they are not feeling well, that communication will come from the Health Office. If it is determined that the student is unwell enough to need to be dismissed, the Health Office will connect with the family. If they end up back in class, that is a good sign that the Health Office has determined that this student has been cleared to return to class. Please avoid having an agreement with your student something to the effect of "go to the nurse if you aren't feeling well and you will be dismissed". Instead, please remind your student to go to the Health Office for assessment so that the nurse can make the call instead.

Hello HPS Families and Friends,

We are so close! With just one week left in our Direct Giving fundraising campaign, we want to take a moment to thank you for your incredible support so far. Your generosity has brought us so close to reaching our goal, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

But we’re not there yet!

As the campaign comes to a close next Friday, Oct 18th, we need one last push to reach our target. This is your chance to make a lasting impact. If you haven’t had the opportunity to donate yet, now is the time! Every contribution—no matter the size—helps us get one step closer to reaching our $5,000 goal.

Here’s how you can help in this final stretch:

• Donate Today: Every dollar counts and helps us reach our goal!
• Learn More & Spread the Word: Share our campaign with friends, family, and colleagues. A simple share can make all the difference!

Thank you once again for your unwavering support. Together, we can achieve something truly remarkable. Let’s finish strong!

With gratitude,

Holliston PTO Executive Board

October

14- No School- Indigenous Peoples' Day

17- Unified Arts Back to School Night 6:30pm-8:00pm (this is a family event)

19- SEPAC Trunk or Treat

21- Start of the PTO Read-a-thon

23- Student Advisory Council @7:45am & RAMs One-Acts

• 8:30-9:10: Grade 3 & Nam

• 9:20-10:00:Grade 4 and Dowling/Sullivan

24- RAMs One-Acts & Unified Arts Back to School Night

• 8:30-9:10: Grade 5

25- Picture Retake Day

30- Evening Conferences

31- ½ Day for Students- ½ Conferences

PTO Read-a-thon: October 21-November 15

Miller School Calendar

HPS District Calendar

During the month of October our school will be connected by the theme "Expect Greatness".

**World Smile Day- Today, Friday, October 4th:

World Smile Day is a fantastic opportunity for everyone around the world to use the universal language of the smile. Smiling is a gesture that is understood across the world, whether you speak the same language or not. Sharing your smile makes you feel good, and makes the other person feel good too.

World Smile Day happens on the first Friday of October every year. The theme of the day is “Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile.” The aim is to bring a bit of joy to the world by encouraging people to do random acts of kindness for each other. If everyone does one thing to make someone else smile, the world would be a much kinder and happier place

We have purchased smiley face stickers for all Miller staff and students for Friday. Everyone is encouraged to make an extra effort to put a smile on the face of classmates and colleagues! (click here for more details)

**"The Great Wall of Miller" has been "built" on the wall between the multipurpose room and the library. This is a place to post reasons why Miller School students and staff are GREAT (to go along with our theme of "Expect Greatness"). Any staff member can post something and there are paper stars in the office you can use OR you can share your ideas on something else. There are really no rules here except that we want this wall to highlight the GREATNESS of Miller!

**Indigenous Peoples' Day, Monday, October 14, 2024: As you know, Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes the strength and resilience of Indigenous communities since European ships first arrived in North America in 1492. It’s also a time to celebrate the cultures, traditions and contributions of Native people in the U.S. today. Lynda Canal has created this slide with links to books that can be read to/with/by students to build awareness and recognition of this day (Click HERE! ).

At Back to School Nights this year we shared our efforts to support students and families with student attendance. You may recall learning that each school has formed school-based attendance teams who meet weekly to review student attendance totals and to determine family outreach and interventions as needed. We are grateful for your support and we have seen an improvement in attendance this year thanks to you!

The following action steps are taken by Miller's attendance team:

• Weekly Monitoring:

-Students with 3 absences contacted by nurse

-Team reviews students with 5 absences and/or tardies

• Monthly Monitoring:

-ALL families receive a monthly attendance update for their student(s) notifying them of totals.

• Quarterly Monitoring:

-Students with 10% or more absences and/or tardies

-Email notification sent to all families

As noted in the "monthly monitoring" families can expect a monthly update about their student's attendance that will be sent via email on the first school day of the month. We expect this communication to begin next week.

As a reminder, Miller doors open for students at 7:15AM (7:10AM for breakfast) and the first “bell” sounds at 7:25 AM. The second “bell” sounds at 7:30 AM. Students are considered tardy when they arrive after 7:30 AM. We ask for your assistance in assuring that your child consistently attends school and is on time to begin the school day.

1) Donate to our general fund through our current “Keep What You Love” campaign

2) Become a PTO member - join or renew your membership.

3) Support one of our many fundraisers. For more information, click the links below:

• Box Tops for Education

• Raise Craze

• Mabel’s Labels

• Minted