MPS Staff Weekly #3

🔗MHS and Pierce - Linking Google Classroom and PowerSchool

🤸🏻‍♂️Cartwheel Cares - Mental Health Partner

💛Milton Glows Gold - Staff Code

💼MPS Employment Opportunities

👀Take a Second Look

• 💰403(b) Open Enrollment

🔗Important Links

If you are trying to export grades from Google Classroom to PowerSchool and it is not working you may need to relink classes. Here are the steps to do that for MHS and Pierce. Questions? Please reach out to AJ Melanson or Jessica Jarboe.

MPS is excited to have begun a collaboration with Cartwheel Cares, a mental health partner to schools who helps to support children and families. Through this partnership, our community will have access to monthly webinars on several different topics. We will keep you up to date on when they occur and how to register. The next webinar is titled "Social Media & Youth Mental Health" and will take place on Tuesday September 17th at 7pm. If you are unable to attend at that time, please still sign up as they will send you a recording of the webinar so you can watch at a later time. Here is the registration link. Please reach out to K-12 Director of Counseling, Jennie Beliveau (jbeliveau@miltonps.org) with any questions.

Please see the note to staff from Milton Glows Gold.

Dear MPS Staff,

Welcome back! Your dedication is at the core of what makes Milton a special community, and we are deeply grateful for your efforts. As we begin the school year, we also observe Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time when everyone in Milton plays a key role in supporting families affected by this disease.

This year marks the final Milton Glows Gold Town wide event, highlighted by the Jumping Jack Challenge from September 9 to September 27. Our collective goal is to complete 15,780 jumping jacks—one for each child diagnosed with cancer annually. We encourage everyone to participate, cheer on others, and consider fundraising for this vital cause. We'll be doing jumping jacks in the schools on Thursday, September 19.

We’re also excited for Glow Gold Day on September 27, 2024. On this day, the entire community, including our police, fire, library, and town hall staff, will wear gold to show support. The day will culminate in a football game and a blood drive, bringing us together in solidarity.

Everyone can easily get involved, just use the 50% discount code created for Town of Milton employees (MiltonisGOLD) when registering for the challenge to receive an event t-shirt that raises awareness of pediatric cancer.

Learn more and sign up at miltonglowsgold.org. Thank you for your continued dedication and for proudly wearing your Glow Gold lanyard throughout September.

With Gratitude,

Milton Glows Gold and the MCM Foundation

Each week, we spotlight classroom and school highlights on social media, our website and in MPS and principal newsletters. We can only do this effectively with your help!

• Do you have a lesson or activity you want to share with the MPS community?
• Is there a staff member or student who deserves a shoutout?
• Share your highlight with MPS Communications Coordinator Stephanie O'Keefe (email sokeefe@miltonps.org or text 401-486-1386). Just a few lines of text and a picture or two are all you need to send.
• Email Stephanie O'Keefe (sokeefe@miltonps.org) with your upcoming activity time and I will make every effort to attend and take pictures and video.

The MPS community LOVES getting a peek into our schools and classrooms. What may be a "typical" lesson for you, is a really special look at the amazing work you do every day. Help us share the MPS story with our community!

All MPS employment opportunities are posted on our website and School Spring. Details on all postings can be found here. Current postings include:

• Educational Assistant - Cunningham
• Job Coach - Educational Assistant - MHS
• ABA Paraprofessional - MHS
• Educational Assistant- Elem Library; Part time - 21 hours a week (CO/CU)
• Substitute Teacher
• Long Term Sub Elem Spanish Teacher
• Long Term Sub Speech Language Pathologist
• Long Term Sub Board Certified Behavioral Analyst - BCBA

In addition to Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System or Milton Town Retirement pension contributions, Milton Public School employees may elect to contribute pre-tax dollars to a 403(b) annuity account through payroll deductions. 403(b) accounts are the public sector equivalent of a 401k. (Please note that Milton does not have matching funds).

There are two open enrollment periods every year, in the months of September and March. During open enrollment, you can change your deductions, start deductions, and/or change investment provider. It is the responsibility of the individual employee to set up their own 403(b) account.

Please see the links below for all details on 403(b) enrollment.

In order to process new payroll deductions, all approvals from TSA Consulting Group

must be received in the Payroll Office no later than Wednesday, September 25, 2024. You should submit your paperwork to TSA Consulting Group at least one week before this deadline in order for them to process and send approvals to the Payroll Office on time.

If you miss the deadline for this enrollment, we will have open enrollment once again during the month of March 2025 for deductions beginning in April of 2025. Updated information for Spring Enrollment will be sent to your MPS email account at the beginning of March 2025. If you have any questions please email Maureen Kennedy in the Payroll Office at mkennedy@miltonps.org.