Growing By Leaps and Bounds
Martha Jones School - Westwood, MA
Matt Kuklentz, Principal
Martha Jones Motto:
Be Kind. Be Curious. Be Courageous.
Westwood Public Schools | Martha Jones School | Martha Jones PTO
Principal's Message
MJ Community,
We ended the year with a bang last week (or more accurately loud drumming). Taiko Thunder came to MJ to demonstrate the art of Japanese drumming. Students learned the history and uses of the instrument and some lucky students even got to experience drumming it! As always, a special thanks to our PTO Enrichment folks, Susan Paik and Meredith Balint, who do all the behind the scenes work to ensure our students have high quality enrichment throughout the year.
As we leave the 2023-2024 school year, I want to wish everyone a safe, restful and fun summer. Thank you for all your support through the school year and I look forward to seeing you in the fall!
Matt
Martha Jones Principal
Report Cards
Your child’s report card will be available for you to review through our Aspen/X2 portal at the end of the day, Tuesday, June 18th. Directions for accessing the report card are linked here. If you need support, you can visit the Aspen self-help site or email our Aspen support team at aspen@westwood.k12.ma.us with questions. Report cards will not be mailed home. They are printable through Aspen should you desire a hard copy.
Incoming 6th Grade Summer Reading
As in years past, TMS is asking rising 6th graders to read Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood and a second title of their choice. Here is a linked a list of recommended middle-grades titles, curated by the Westwood Public Library.
News from the Front Office
Bus registration for 2024-2025 is now open!
Please click here to go to the District webpage to register.
To guarantee a seat on the bus, registration and payment must be received by June 30th.
We highly recommend that all families register for the bus early in order to be guaranteed a seat. Since Pine Hill opened, we now have a greater percentage of students riding the yellow bus because the geographic assignment zone for Pine Hill is larger than the zones that were previously in place for Deerfield and Hanlon. Families are asked to register by June 30. After that time, bus routes are in development and students are not guaranteed a seat (unless they are new to the district).
At the end of August, the Bus Routes will be posted on the District Website and bus numbers will be in Aspen. Bus Drivers will have a list of Registered Students.
The annual bus fee for 2024-2025 has increased and will now be $280.00 per student. The annual family cap will be $770.00 for all students in grades K-12.
New Family Registration
Have you seen moving trucks coming into the MJ neighborhoods? Are there any school age children? Registration for New Families is similar to New Kindergarten registration. Here is the link that reviews the online registration process. (The information can also be found on the District webpage by entering "New Student" in the search bar.)
Important Upcoming Dates (Fall 2024)
Mon. Aug. 26 - Teacher's Report Back to MJ
Wed. Aug. 28 - School Starts for Grades 1 - 5 (Full Day - dismissal at 3:20PM)
Wed. Aug. 28 - Kindergarten Open House 9:15 - 11:15
Thu. Aug 29 - Kindergarten Half Day (Dismissal at noon)
Fri. - Mon. Aug. 30 - Sep. 2 - Labor Day Break NO SCHOOL
Tues. Sep. 3 - Return to School Full Day all grades K - 5
Wed. Sep. 5 - Early Release at Noon (No Lunch Served)
News from the MJ Classroom's
News from 3Lu (Mrs. Luskin)
With the help of parent, Josh Klaene, Mrs. Luskin's class engineered a Rube Goldberg machine. The machine was built of a few simple machines that incorporated the concepts of balanced and unbalanced to feed a cup of snacks to a couch potato!
News from 2M (Ms. Mundy)
Ms. Mundy's Class looking over their "Here I Am in Second Grade" memory books.
News from KF (Mrs. Fader)
KF has been spending time in the outdoor classroom and learning about what plants need to grow and survive. We have been making scientific observations in our plant journals and noticing how our pea plant has grown and changed.
News from Ms. Novillino
As it becomes “O-Fish-ally” Summer, in the PEER room we have been working on recapping the
year. Reviewing skills that we have learned across the year individually and as a group. Looking
back on this year, students have thoughts about favorite subjects, activities, and books. Moving
forward into summer, the students came up with five bucket list items for the summer. At Least
two had to be academic (ex. Reading books or brushing up on skills) and the other three could
be anything that the student wished to do this summer. This gave them not only a chance to
think for themselves, but have conversations with peers on things they hope to accomplish this
summer. Hope everyone had a great summer!
PTO News
LOOKOUT FARM SOCIAL FOR PARENTS OF RISING 6TH GRADERS!
5th grade parents are invited to Lookout Farm on Thursday, June 20th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm to meet, socialize, and help build the Thurston community! This is a great opportunity to meet other families from the other elementary schools in an informal setting! RSVP suggested!
If you can’t make it, but you have questions you’d love answered by a veteran Middle School parent, submit them here!
Thank You
WEBSITE & DIRECTORY INFORMATION
MARTHA JONES PTO FACEBOOK GROUP
Join the Facebook group to get the latest PTO news and updates delivered right
to your news feed! Click here to join!
Martha Jones PTO Board 2023-2024
Katy DiMare, Co-President
Kristen Donahue, Co-President
Kirsten Bulger, Co-Treasurer
Kristen Gautreau, Co-Treasurer
Mary Jason, Co-Secretary
Priscilla Stephen, Co-Secretary
Megan Mahan, Co-Social Media
Katie Collins, Co-Social Media
District & Community News You Can Use
District Programing
SEPAC
Connect with Westwood families who have children with unique learning needs. The children will be able to play while socializing!
All ages are welcome!
Please see the Westwood Special Education Parents Action Committee (SEPAC) website with all upcoming events.
School Calendar
Click this link for the Westwood 2024 - 2025 school calendar
Links to Westwood Community Resources. The link will take you to the Interface Referral Service for Mental Health Supports. This service helps to facilitate access to outpatient services. Additionally, on the page there are links to Westwood Youth and Family Services, the Food Pantry, Council on Aging, Westwood Community Chest, and many more.
Westwood Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation.
If you need this document translated, please call the Westwood Public Schools’ Student Services Department at 781-326-7500 ext. 1346 or email your request to lplouffe@westwood.k12.ma.us. Thank you.
如果您需要翻译本文档,请致电Westwood的公立学校的学生服务部在781 326-7500 ext. 1346 或电子邮件您的要求 lplouffe@westwood.k12.ma.us 谢谢你。
اذا بحاجة الى هذه الوثيقة المترجمة ، يرجى الاتصال على إدارة المدارس العامة ويستوود 'الخدمات الطلابية في 781 326-7500 ext. 1346 أو على البريد الالكتروني الخاص بك lplouffe@westwood.k12.ma.usلك. لطلب كنتشكرا
Если вам нужен этот документ переводится, пожалуйста, позвоните Вествудгосударственных школах "Студенческие службы Департамента по 781 326-7500 ext. 1346 или по электронной почте запрос на lplouffe@westwood.k12.ma.us Спасибо.