Cunningham Connection

Dear Cunningham Families,

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We are wrapping up October with many fun events, starting with the Monster Dash at Cunningham Park today! Students in kindergarten had an excellent prep rally for the event last week.

Shout Out: Becky Davis (parent) did an awesome job representing the Site Council for our School Committee presentation on Wednesday evening. Please visit this school committee page to view Cunningham's presentation.

Family Outreach Liaison: This week is Mrs. McKenna's last week as our Family Outreach Liaison. She will be missed for all the things she has done for families of Cunningham and in Milton. Please see her letter below.

2nd Annual Pumpkin Parade: We invite all students to join us for our second annual Pumpkin Parade! Get creative by carving, painting, or decorating your pumpkins at home, and bring them to school on Halloween morning! Pumpkins can be picked up after school on the 31st. Whether silly or spooky, we can’t wait to see your creations!

Veteran's Day Celebration:On Thursday, November 7th, Cunningham will be hosting our annual Veterans Day celebration at 9:00am in the gymnasium. If there is a veteran in your family that would be interested in attending this event, please complete this form. We will share additional information about the event with all attendees. We are also looking for parent volunteers to help set-up the night before as well as day-off, please volunteer here.

Thanksgiving Food Drive: From November 4 - 15, Cunningham School is partnering with the Milton Community Food Pantry to provide Thanksgiving meal bags for 30 local families. Donations will be accepted in your child’s classroom from November 4 through November 15. Monetary contributions are also welcome via check written out to the Milton Community Food Pantry. Let’s work together to make this holiday season special for those in need!

Click here for the flyer.

I am looking forward to a great week!

Best,

Jon Redden

jredden@miltonps.org

• October 27 - MFE Monster Dash at Cunningham Park
  
• October 31 - Pumpkin Parade (During School)
• November 4 - 10 - Fruit Center Shopping Week to Support Cunningham
• November 4 - 15 - Thanksgiving Food Drive
• November 5 - Election Day, No School, Teacher PD

• November 7 - Veterans Day Celebration
  
• November 7 - Cunningham Fall Social - Purchase your tickets here.

School News

• Monster Dash Art Winners!
  
• Cunningham Committees
• CASS

PTO News and Events

• Join the PTO!
  
• Kick In Fundraiser
• Cunningham PTO Fall Social - Save the Date November 7

District News and Events

• Fruit Center Shopping Week
  
• School Swatting Incidents

• Family Liaison News
  
• Head Lice Information
  
• Monster Dash - October 27
  

• Parks and Rec Winter Basketball
• MHS Hygiene Drive
  

Important Links

If you are interested in learning more or becoming a member of the Site Council, DEI or SEPAC committees, please use this form.

Fall CASS is off to a great start! With almost 200 students and 42 staff members participating, we appreciate everyone who is making this program a success! Just for your reference, here are the remaining dates for CASS:

MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON CLASSES will run for 6 weeks and be held on 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/18, and 11/25.

TUESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON CLASSES will run for 6 weeks and be held on 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/12, 11/19.

WEDNESDAY MORNING CLASSES will run for 6 weeks and be held on 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, and 11/13.

THURSDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON CLASSES will run for 6 weeks and be held on 10/17, 10/24, 10/31, 11/7, 11/14.

Join us at Brookwood Farm for a family mini photo shoot with Stephanie Beth Photography! Sessions are $200, and 25% of proceeds will go back to the Cunningham PTO.

Sign up now reserve your spot and support the PTO!

We are excited to be in the final push of our annual Kick-In Fundraiser! This is a wonderful opportunity to support the PTO in reaching our fundraising goals for the year and, most importantly, to help our students continue the school year on a fantastic note.

When you Kick-In to Cunningham, 100% of your donation goes to the school.

A few examples of how Kick-In funds will be used are:

• student assemblies and cultural events
• field trips
• teacher appreciation
• school-wide subscriptions
• exciting new playground enhancements
• school supplies and recess/gym equipment

We understand that not everyone may be in a position to contribute, but if your family is able, we kindly ask you to consider donating to this year's Kick-In fundraiser. Any amount, big or small, is greatly appreciated, and all contributions are tax-deductible.

To donate, you can use Venmo (@CunninghamPTO), PayPal (CunninghamPTO), or submit checks (made payable to Cunningham PTO) to the main office.

As a registered nonprofit organization, the Cunningham PTO can provide proper tax documentation for all donations upon request. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

At a recent Security meeting, Milton Police and MPS Leadership discussed that there have been several reports of local schools being "swatted" with hoax threats. Swatting is a term used to describe the action of making hoax phone calls to report serious crimes to emergency services, precipitating an emergency response when no actual threat is present. If this situation were to arise in one of our schools, we would need to implement our security procedures until the police can rule out any threat. As always, we will continue to work collaboratively with the Milton Police Department on all safety and security protocols.

A message of gratitude from Marti O’Keefe McKenna, MPS Family Outreach Liaison.

As I approach my retirement on November 1, 2024 I want to take a moment to thank all the staff, families, students and community resource leaders who have made my time here at MPS so memorable.

MPS will always hold a special place in my heart beginning as a parent watching my own four children flourish from their first day of preschool through watching them cross the stage to accept their diplomas at Milton High School.

For the past ten years it has been my privilege to serve as the Family Outreach Liaison for the Milton Public Schools. In this role I have had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people, some of you as you enrolled your little ones for preschool or Kindergarten or were new to the district. For others it was assisting you in navigating or locating resources within the community and for others it was meeting you at drop off, pick up or school events.

On November 1st I will begin a new chapter in my life as I retire from MPS. This is a bittersweet moment as I will truly miss the students, families and staff and wish you all continued success. Thank you for your support and friendship throughout my time at MPS.

Head lice are common in school-aged children and head lice have nothing to do with cleanliness or parenting skills. They are spread mostly by direct head-to-head contact that occurs when students cluster together. The best practice for prevention is regular surveillance checks by parents/ guardians at home and the hair and scalp around the back of the neck and behind the ears are likely places to find them. For your child’s well-being and to prevent further spread, you should take steps to eliminate lice from your child’s head if you find evidence of lice For further information and treatment options click on this link Head Lice: What Parents Need to Know.

24th Annual Monster Dash: The Monster Dash will take place on Sunday October 27th! Bring your friends and family for a wonderful celebration including food, games, a kids fun run and the 5k! Costumes are encouraged and prizes will be awarded. The first 700 people to register will receive a t-shirt! For additional information and details please visit our website. Check out a video from last year's event!

Click the flyer below to register for Parks and Rec Winter Basketball.

Milton High School’s chapter of the National Honor Society is running a hygiene product drive in conjunction with Hope & Comfort, an organization dedicated to ending hygiene insecurity in Massachusetts. Hygiene products are not covered by SNAP or WIC, and with their high costs, they are often sacrificed in place of other necessities. Instead of having to choose between rent and food and hygiene, our drive aims to help relieve the pressure of paying for hygiene products. We are collecting items such as body wash, deodorant, shampoo, and toothpaste. Please make sure all donations are new and sealed. Please drop donations off at Collicot from Friday, Oct. 25 to Friday, Nov. 1. Our mission is to help families facing hygiene insecurity in the metro Boston area gain access to basic hygiene products. Let’s fight hygiene insecurity together! If you have any questions please email reilly.bergin.2025@miltonps.org.

Please note: If you change your child's dismissal during the day, please call the office (617.696.4285 ext. 2012) to ensure the message is received. If you need to dismiss your child early, please avoid picking them up between 2:30- 2:45 pm. At that point, some regular dismissals have begun, the office is busy with on-time dismissal and parked cars in the driveway are disruptive to vans and buses.

• Superintendent Peter Burrows, pburrows@miltonps.org
• Asst. Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Regina Watts, rwatts@miltonps.org
• Asst. Superintendent of Finance and Operations Catherine Blake – 617 -696-5041, cblake@miltonpas.org
  
• Director of Student Services, Danielle Wetmore – 617-696-5040 ext 5572, dwetmore@miltonps.org
• Transportation – 617-696-5040 ext 5510, bus@miltonps.org
• Milton Community Schools Director, Martha Sandoval – 617-696-5040 ext 5544, mcs@miltonps.org
• Director of Food Services, Natalia Perez, 617-696-4470 ext 5514, nperez@miltonps.org
• Director of Nursing, Kim Coughlin – 617-696-4470 ext 5517, kacoughlin@miltonps.org
• Athletic Director, Mike Bierwirth – 617-696-4470 ext 5515, mbierwirth@miltonps.org
• Student Registrar, Sarina Burke – 617 696-5040 ext 5516, registration@miltonps.org
• Family Outreach Liaison, Marti O’Keefe McKenna – 617-980-7343, mmckenna@miltonps.org