Hello Auburn Families and Staff,
The new school year is upon us and we are excited to welcome staff on Monday, August 26th and Tuesday, August 27th to continue our preparation for the new school year. We are also anxious to welcome our students back on Wednesday, August 28th and we believe it is going to be a great school year.
I suspect the summer has been full of long days, perhaps some late nights and a more relaxed schedule for you and your child(ren). We all need this to regroup and recharge. Just a few reminders as we start the school year.
- Students of all ages need a good night's sleep. Lack of sleep can cause attention issues, behavioral issues and health issues. The Centers for Disease Control recommends that students 6-12 years of age need 9-12 hours of sleep each day and students 13-18 years old need 8-10 hours of sleep each day.
- An advisory from the US Surgeon General issued last year also noted: “The most common question parents ask me is, ‘is social media safe for my kids’. The answer is that we don't have enough evidence to say it's safe, and in fact, there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. “Children are exposed to harmful content on social media, ranging from violent and sexual content, to bullying and harassment. And for too many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable in-person time with family and friends. We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis – one that we must urgently address.”
- Regular school attendance is imperative to student academic growth. If your child struggles to come to school, connect with your child's guidance counselor or school administrator. They want to help and we want our kids in school.
The Auburn Public Schools is committed to continuous improvement and we want to partner with families to ensure the success of each student. If you have questions or concerns, your child's teacher, guidance counselor and/or administrator will be happy to help. Please reach out to them if needed.
Thank you for your continued support of the Auburn Public Schools and I hope you all have an amazing school year.
Your Grateful and Proud Superintendent,
Beth
We have spent many hours this summer working with AA Transportation regarding bus transportation for this school year. We have checked and double checked information and as noted in a previous email to all of you, we have received nearly 80 new bus applications in just the last week. All of this amounts to a very complex process to ensure the smooth and safe running of our buses each day. We ask for your patience at the beginning of the school year as drivers acclimate to the bus routes and families and staff get back into the swing of the new school year. Please remember:
- Your child must be outside and at the bus stop when the bus arrives to help the buses to stay on time.
- Bus pick up and drop off times may vary each day depending on traffic and other such issues. Please be ready and please be patient.
- Students must follow the code of conduct and students can be removed from the bus for behaviors that are unsafe. Please remind your child to stay in their seat, use a speaking voice when on the bus and to follow all directions from the bus driver.
- Students may not switch buses to go to a friends house.
- If there is an emergency with a bus, we will notify you as quickly as possible. However, we will not communicate until we clearly understand the issue so again, please be patient. We are committed to the safety of all of our students.
- If there is a significant bus delay, we will notify you as soon as possible via a one call email or text and we will also post it on our Facebook page.
If you were unable to pick up your child's bus pass this week, please note that the pass will be given to your child on the first day of school.
If you registered your child for bus transportation in the last week, and you have not been given a bus pass, your child may have been placed on a waiting list. We have received an enormous number of bus applications for current students in just the past week and we cannot include these students on the bus until we are sure there is ample space. We will contact you when we are able to issue a bus pass for your child(ren).
I wish this was a topic that did not need to be addressed anymore...but seemingly, COVID is still a bit of a thing albeit very different than a couple of years ago. Kerri Gustafson, our Lead Nurse, created a quick sheet on what to do if you get COVID. Thank you to Kerri for putting this together and let's hope none of us get it!
Dear Auburn Families,
My name is Hunter Osborn, and I'm Auburn's 2024 Project 351 Ambassador. Project 351 is an independent nonprofit organization that builds a movement of youth-led service by engaging an unsung hero from each of Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns. On September 11th, Project 351 ambassadors from around the state will come together and make 1,000 care packages to send to deployed troops and veterans in local shelters. I need your help in collecting items for these care packages.
There are 3 ways you can help:
1. Donate any of these items and drop off at your child's school: Gum, Chapstick, Granola Bars, Stress Balls, Fidget Spinners.
2. Donate directly to help fund the care packages by clicking on this link: https://givebutter.com/theambassadorfund
3. Shop this Amazon wish list and send the items to your home. Once delivered to your home, you can drop off the item at any APS. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/926M5IQ0HY5Y?ref_=wl_share
All donations must be dropped off at a donation box by 3:00 PM on Tuesday, September 10th.
If you have any questions, please reach out to me at hosborn28@auburn.k12.ma.us.
Thank you for your support and donations,
Hunter Osborn
Auburn's 2024 Project 351 Ambassador
