I hope everyone has had an enjoyable long weekend. In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, I wanted to share a quote from one of his articles in the Morehouse College campus newspaper about the importance of education:

"Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction. The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically."

Truly, an educational aim at Parker Middle School is to teach students to critically examine and analyze evidence and draw meaningful conclusions. Our goal is not to teach students what to think, but rather how to think, so that they can be curious and thoughtful citizens in their school, town, state, national, and global communities.

Caregivers of 8th graders, please mark your calendars for Future Freshman Night at Reading Memorial High School this Thursday, January 23rd, at 6:30 p.m. Check your email for a letter that was sent home on January 7th with all the details about high school planning and course selection.

A reminder that Quarter 2 ends on January 24th, and the new quarter begins on January 27th. Students will receive Q3 schedules in homeroom next Monday.

In Partnership,
Jill Story

Principal

THE WEEK AHEAD:

No School: Martin Luther King Jr. Day - 1/20

Future Freshmen Night (RMHS) - 1/23, 6:30pm

S1/Q2 Grades Close - 1/24

ON THE HORIZON:

S2/Q3 Begins - 1/27

Challenge Day (Endeavor) - 1/29

Challenge Day (Inspire) - 1/30

RMHS Freshman Arts Orientation - 1/30 @ 7pm (RMHS PAC)

Early Release (12:30pm dismissal) - 2/7

PTO Meeting - 2/10 @7pm

Math Team Meet (Melrose) - 2/13

February Vacation - 2/17 - 2/21

Parker Musical - 3/6, 3/7, 3/8

Teacher In-Service (No School) - 3/10

Students recently completed the midyear i-Ready Reading and Math diagnostic tests. i-Ready is an online program that helps identify each student's strengths and areas for growth, which assists us with personalizing supports and monitoring their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform instruction.

The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions based on student responses. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.

This is the second time we administered the i-Ready assessments this year. Sixth and seventh grade students will also take the assessments in the spring, when eighth graders are taking STE and Civics MCAS exams. Please see the letter below with information about how to access your child's iReady results.

From now until February break, we will be participating in the “Coats for Kids and Families” Drive.

We are looking for adult and children sized warm winter coats. Each year, Anton’s Cleaners aims to collect 50,000 warm winter coats to provide to individuals and families in need. Coats are cleaned by Anton’s Cleaners and made available to a network of over 90 distribution partners made up of local nonprofits, social service agencies, and schools to ensure the coats are given to those who really need them!

Please donate your coats to the large box next to the main stairs on the first floor.

All 8th graders are invited to learn about the arts at RMHS. There will be an opportunity on January 30 at 7:00. Please refer to this letter for more information!

Reading Lacrosse Association (RLA) is a recognized 501C non-profit that serves over 400 boys and girls annually. Visit www.readinglacrosse.org for more information and to register.

📌 PTO MEETING: Please join us for our next PTO meeting, Monday, February 10 at 7 p.m. via zoom. Take a sneak peek at our upcoming agenda. All are welcome!

📌 READING CULTURAL COUNCIL GRANT: Parker PTO just received some exciting news - we have been awarded a $900 grant for the purchase of 6 African drums that will be used in the Parker music program! We need to extend a huge thank you to Sue Fitzgerald for writing the grant on behalf of Parker, and to Ms. DiMuzio for her work in this process as well. This will be a wonderful addition to the music department!

📌 CONGRATULATIONS: As announced by Dr. Milaschewski last month, we wanted to extend a warm Parker congratulations to Dr. Story for being named permanent Principal and Ms. Simpson for being named permanent Assistant Principal of Parker Middle School. We are grateful that both Dr. Story and Ms. Simpson have been serving in their roles as interim principal and interim assistant principal since this past summer, and are happy to know that they will be able to continue the great work they are doing in a permanent capacity. Please congratulate both of them on this exciting news!

SAVE THE DATE!

• M, 1/13: PTO Meeting, 7pm. Via zoom.
• F, 3/21: Corey the Dribbler - https://www.academicentertainment.com/dribbler

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

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!

Past Events:

Recorded events that are available on the Reading SEPAC Website:

• The Right to Read Panel Discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw_oIuqkUt0

• The New IEP Presentation

• MCAS & Students with Disabilities Presentation

• Multi Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Presentation
• Review tiered system of supports and provide examples
• Outline effective communication channels with your team and school

***Should you wish to reach out to Reading SEPAC anonymously, please use this form

Reading METCO is excited to announce that we will be hosting a roller-skating event for our middle school and high school students and parents at Roller World in Saugus on Thursday March 20th, from 5:00pm-7:00pm. This will be a fun opportunity for students to hangout and mingle after school hours. This allows space Reading and Boston resident parents to meet and engage with one another. Pizza and drinks will be provided. If you are a parent unable to attend, please feel free to send your child with money to buy any additional items that they may want. Please also keep in mind that we are not responsible for your child's money if they do bring it.

You must register for this event as it is on a first come first serve basis. Here is the link to register for this event- Roller World Registration Link

Details for Roller World--

Date: Thursday March 20th, 2025

Time: 5:00pm-7:00pm

Where: Roller World, Saugus, MA- 425R Broadway, Saugus, MA, 01906

BOSTON RESIDENT PARENTS/STUDENTS- this next message is for you-

If you would like your child to attend this event, you must sign your child up through the link provided in this email. If you do not want/signup your child for this event, the school bus will still be taking your child home at the regular after school time of 2:30pm. Additionally, if your child will be attending this event and you're unable to pick your child up by 7:00pm, METCO will be providing transportation back to Boston. However, as their parents/guardians, if you're able to come join the event, we would love that!

As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Kindly,

Jerika and Cindy

Friends of Reading METCO is a volunteer group of Boston and Reading parents, working together to make connections between families and support the METCO program in our District. Contact ilka@ilkawalkley.com if you’d like to know more.

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.

If you test positive for COVID-19, you should isolate from others while you are ill.

You may begin to resume normal activities with precautions if:

1. You have not had a fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medicines; AND
2. Your other symptoms are improving

For at least the first 5 days after you resume normal activities, take these extra precautions:

• Avoid crowded indoor spaces. Wear a mask anytime you are indoors around other people

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.

Avoid spending time with people who are at increased risk for severe disease

Here is more information about COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.

Here's a link to the Massachusetts DPH Respiratory Illness Dashboard

Respiratory illness reporting | Mass.gov

Please see the attached document for information about how to request transcripts and letters of recommendation if your child is applying to private or technical schools.

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