May 13th E-blast

From: Mary C. Gormley
To: Parents/Guardians and Staff
Re: E-blast Update
Date:  May 13, 2015

FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

The Milton Public School 2016 Budget was approved at Town Meeting’s May 7th Meeting (the presentation is posted on the School Committee’s Budget page on www.miltonps.org).

The Finance Subcommittee of the School Committee meets with Dr. Glenn Pavlicek, Assistant Superintendent for Business Affairs, Janet Sheehan, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Human Resources and me every Tuesday morning at 7 am in the Superintendent’s Conference Room.  Members of this year’s Finance Subcommittee were Mary Kelly (chair), Leroy Walker, and Mike Zullas.  Finance Subcommittee and Central Office personnel work collaboratively to prioritize the needs of the district in order to develop a budget that provides our teachers with the instructional texts, materials and supplies and professional development necessary to maximize the individual potential of every PreK-12 Milton Public School student.

The Finance Subcommittee and Central Office personnel monitor the budget all through the year by  examining quarterly reports and discussing presentations on financial issues such as Athletics and Clubs and Activity Fees,  Food Service, Transportation, Consolidated Facilities,  etc. through the year.

We begin in October to develop the budget  by analyzing our student achievement data, meeting with curriculum leaders and principals across the district to prioritize our goals and initiatives,  study  student enrollment, examine state and federal mandates and costs and, ultimately, to determine our needs for the upcoming year.

The Finance Subcommittee works with and communicates all through the school year with the Town’s Warrant Committee. The Warrant Committee is a volunteer group of citizens appointed by the Town Moderator.  (For details on the Warrant Committee, please scroll down to my Ambassador Page below or see their page at www.townofmilton.org).  The Finance Subcommittee and Central Office personnel listed above present our budget to the Warrant Committee at least twice during December and January to the Warrant Committee.  The Finance Subcommittee, Central Office Personnel and Warrant Committee monitor each stage of the development of the State budget as it directly impacts the funding available to the Town and helps to determine the level of funding that the Warrant Committee ultimately recommends to Town Meeting.

Summary of FY 16 Budget

Our FY 16 budget is $40,747,500, a 3.5% increase over our FY 15 budget, but $347,000 less than our requested amount.  This level of funding will allow us to continue our advancement initiatives of Early Literacy, Closing our Proficiency Gaps, and expanding Science and STEM education.  It will also allow us to add two needed Special Education positions in the district.  It will, however, result in the loss of two teaching positions (one at each of the Middle and High Schools), one administrative assistant position in the Central Office, a reduction in duties of a Middle School Vice Principal, and several non-personnel spending reductions.  As indicated in our Town Meeting presentation, these were difficult choices that had to be made and underscore the need for the kind of team approach to budgeting that we use in the School department.  For further details, see our posted budget presentation.

Update: On Wednesday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee released its recommendations for the Commonwealth’s FY 2016 Budget.  The Governor had originally proposed to eliminate the Full Day Kindergarten Grant program which helps to fund Milton’s Kindergarten.  The House had restored funding for the program, but the Senate has now recommended reducing the funding from $18.6 million dollars to $1 million, effectively eliminating the program.  If the grant program is eliminated, tuition for Full Day Kindergarten in Milton will need to rise from $3,700 to $4,300, effective next fall.

We encourage all Milton residents to contact the Senate, urging them to restore funding for this program.  If the Senate does not restore funding, we will need to contact members of the House and Senate Conference Committee to have them restore funding.  Please let your Senator and Representative know how important Full Day Kindergarten is and urge them to restore funding for these grants.

To contact Senator Brian Joyce: brian.joyce@masenate.gov or call 617-722-1643.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE UPDATE

There have been no School Committee meetings since my last E-blast. The next meeting will be held Wednesday, May 20th at 7 pm in the Milton High School library.

CURRICULUM NEWS

The following was submitted by Pierce Middle School Spanish teacher Christine Shea:

This was our first year administering the National Spanish Exam. Seven students signed up to take the exam and the results are outstanding!!  More than 157,000 students took the exam across the country.  The following students received Honorable Mention, which is given for scoring at or above the national average: Daisy Johnson- 8th grade, Janelle Descopins- 8th grade and Elizabeth Francis- 7th grade. In addition, the following eighth-grade students received the Gold Medal, which is given for scoring in the 95th percentile or higher:  Sophia Li Raquel Gallagher Katharine Barrett

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The following item was sent to us by Milton High School English teacher Michael Young:

I am proud to announce that on Friday the New England Scholastic Press Association, headquartered at Boston University, issued the school newspaper, The Elephant in the Room, two journalism awards:  a “Meritorious Achievement” award in scholastic editing and publishing; and a personal achievement award given to Anne Marie Grudem for her illustration “Senioritis.” The newspaper staff has worked hard this year to legitimize and professionalize the school news source.  The two papers that we submitted along with the many individual pieces resulted from hours of writing, investigating, and editing.  The editors involved in the laying-out and revising of the two submitted papers include the following: Katrina Kourtelidis, Amy Savino, and Joshua Kery. The other contributors (writers, artists, and photographers) include Colman Lydon, Taylor Avery, Anne Marie Grudem, Aman Negassi, Meredith McGroarty, Matt McAuliffe, Liam Connolly, Javana Samuels, Delens Ducheine, Nathan Liberty, Margaux Rose, and Katrina Ramkissoon.

The students who attended the BU ceremony and symposium took classes to better their understanding of editing, leadership, publishing print and online news, advertising, and photoediting, just to name a few topics. They also heard a Pulitzer prize winning photojournalist from South Africa discuss his book “The Bang Bang Club,” about South Africa’s rise to democracy.

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We recently received news that Collicot student Tyler Kennedy placed second in the state as an individual competitor at the recent Massachusetts Future Problem Solvers bowl. Tyler placed 2nd  in the Junior Division of the Global Issues Problem Solving – Individual competition. Congratulations to FPS Coach Lori Henry and Tyler!

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The following item was sent to us by Pierce Middle School Latin Teacher Danielle Huebner:

Please join me in congratulating the following Pierce Middle School students, who performed very well in the most recent administration of the National Mythology Exam and the National Latin Exam.

National Mythology Exam

  • Athena Gold Award of Excellence and Gold Medal for perfect score: Sam Dunnington (6th), Connor Foley (6th), Ben Karol(6th) and Catherine Le (7th).
  • Silver Medal: Jennifer DoDai (6th), Abigail Files (6th), Veronika Lin (6th), Anna Crowley (7th), Michael Daly (7), Mary Howley (7th) and Shaylen Vangestel (7).
  • Bronze Medal, Brendan Cullen (6th), Jack Elliot (6th), Abigail Tran (6th), Shea Flanagan (7th), Molly Murtagh (7th), Jonathan Truong (7th), Eleanor Baldwin (8th) and Suvan Shukla (8th).

National Latin Exam

Intro Level (grades 6 and 7)

  • Achievement Award: Nicole Dragon (7th), Shea Flanagan (7th), Mary Howley (7th), Catherine Le (7), Molly Murtagh (7th), Wendell Pierre (7th)

Latin Level I (Grade 8)

  • Gold Medal and Summa Cum Laude Honorable Merit Award: Suvan Shukla (8th).
  • Magna Cum Laude Honorable Merit Award: Daniel Flaherty and Jack Long (both 8th)
  • Cum Laude Honorable Merit Award: Molly Baker, Jackson Hoy, Grace Jacobsak and Tina Nguyen (all 8th)

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The following item was submitted by World Language Director Martine Fisher:

Congratulations to the following students, who recently passed the DELF Exam (Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française.) This is an official qualification awarded by the French Ministry of Education certifying a level of fluency in French. This certification is officially recognized by the European Consortium for Foreign Languages, and constitutes the equivalent of the American TOEFL. Such certification is useful for school records, as well as college and job applications in French-speaking countries. Scores are valid for life.

The DELF is designed to assess the communicative skills of a candidate in a real situation using authentic documents, and evaluate  her or his linguistic know-how (writing a letter, asking for information, exchanging opinions).  The exam assesses the four language skills (listening comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking skills and writing) and has two levels (B1/B2). The oral test has been administered by trained instructors from the French Cultural Center of Boston (Alliance Française).  Please help me to congratulate the following students, all of whom were students of Anne Pons.

B1: (At this level, the user becomes independent. He/she can maintain interaction: he/she can understand and maintain a discussion and give his/her opinion. He/she is capable of dealing with situations likely to arise in daily life)

Christopher Chinman , Monika Cormack, Noura Darouichi, Olivia Erickson, Benjamin Johnson, Andrea Juzyca, Olivia Keohane, Maggie Kleiman, Alanna Loria, Julia McDougall, Alexander MacIsaac, Elizabeth O’Connor, Jaqueline Ruscito, Mackenzie Stanley, Julia Sullivan and Olivia Taber.

B2: (A B2 user has a degree of independence that allows him/her to construct arguments to defend his/her opinion, explain his/her viewpoint and negotiate. At this level, the candidate has a degree of fluency and spontaneity in regular interactions and is capable of correcting his/her own mistakes.)

Emma Pred-Sosa, Jillian Eckard and Shane McLaughlin.

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I am happy to report that the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association has awarded Caroline Morton, a Cunningham second-grade French Immersion teacher, the 2015 New Teacher Commendation. This is an award that recognizes new teachers who demonstrated excellence in teaching as well as involvement in school community and professional activities.  MaFLA, which received a great number of nominations this year, announced that Ms. Morton was selected by the MaFLA Awards Committee for the strength of her teaching and service. Great job!

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Milton placed first regionally in the Continental Math League Euclidean Division for both 4th and 5th grade. Below are the top-scoring students for each grade:

Grade 5: Collicot: Rachel Steinberg and Jonathon Waldmann. Cunningham: Anna Hamblet, Lucia Dwyer, Kiley Fitzgerald and John Clancy. Glover: Jake Lippert and Rohan Meier. Tucker: Max Hollingsworth, Stella Yuan, Alex Paxhia, Luke Shields and Elle Anthony.

Grade 4: Collicot: Wes Morisette, Connor Mannion, Ethan Putman, Mary Mullen and Lok Ye Young.  Cunningham: Raina Sohur, Hokulani Panerio-Langer, Abigail Tangher and Kiera Glazer.  Glover:  Harrison Dolgoff. Tucker: Logan Do and Nicholas Reason.

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Congratulations to the following members of the National Honor Society. The most recent inductees were honored during last month’s Scholastic Honors Night.

Inducted in 2015: Shareen Alsebai, Sindhu Banerjee, Dylan Banh, Alexis Belash, Ava Berg, Leah Bohmbach, Isabelle Bongiorno, Madison Brown, Megan Caljouw, Nolan Carvalho, Catherine Casaz, Olivia Chin, Emily Chow, Sophia Cousineau, John Cremmen III, Mary Cronin, Miranda Czwakiel, Mairead Dambruch, Allegra DeNooyer, Maeve Doyle, Sarah Dragon, Katherine Driscoll, Danielle Dumais, Simon Eder, Audrey Erickson, Ariana Ferrante, Shannon Fitzgerald, Greta Freking, Anne Grudem, Liam Halloran, Emma Heller, Liam Hines, Lydia Horan, Hope Huban, Mikalia Jackson, Charles Karoff, Joshua Kery, Fanhao Kong, Cole Kroninger, John Lenane, Maryanne MacIsaac, Anna Mahoney, John Mazzarella, Kathleen McAuliffe, Matthew McAuliffe, John McGrath, Kristen Mills, Sarah Monderer, Elizabeth Murphy, Brandon Musto, Sabrina Najarian, Lara Nasser, Colette Nourie, Tatiana Perez, David Perkins, Derek Perkins, Erica Poon, Madeline Scott, Hailee Sullivan, Amanda Thorne, Kalyani Twyman, Kendall Van Allen, Ashley Vaughn, Tyler Volpe-Knock, John Walker, Owen Walsh, Anthony Wong and Michael Wyatt.

Inducted in 2014: Vincent Chan, Gabrielle Che, Christopher Chinman, Renee Chiu, Kevin Conway, Monika Cormack, Elisa Coutant, Noura Darouichi, Madelyn Driscoll, Timothy Eberhardt, Jillian Eckard, Albert Enyedy, Olivia Erickson, Jake Fahey, Anna Gaden, Eric Hale, Mitchell Hause, Julie Henry, William Hess, Emily Hutchinson, Madeline Hoy, Kristen Ingraham, Vanessa Joyce, Andrea Juzyca, Christian Kackley, Micaela Keating, Meredith Kelly, Olivia Keohane, Maggie Kleiman, Katrina Kourtelidis, Anna Lamb, Julia MacDougall, Alexander MacIsaac, Shannon MacLeod, Oceane Marescal, Tansy Massey Green, Denis McAuliffe, Shane McLaughlin, Rebekah Mondelus, David Mullen, Caitlyn Murphy, Elizabeth O’Connor, Julia Pelletier, Emma Pred-Sosa, Liam Queally, Caitlin Rodensky, Edwin Rodriguez, Jacqueline Ruscito, Garrett Sager, Javana Samuels, Anne Schindler, Hannah Shepard, Christina Similien, Marmarah Similien, Caitlin Smith, Christine Stafford, Mackenzie Stanley, Julia Sullivan, Ciara Swan, Olivia Taber, Roger Tejeda, Alexis Umeh, Kathryn Weidmann, Matthew Wong and Lisa Yuan.

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Congratulations to the following Century Club Students, who were also recognized as part of Scholastic Honors Night. The Century Club honors 100 of the school’s top academic achievers.  Students are selected on the basis of their unweighted class rank at the end of term three.  The membership is as follows: 40 seniors,  30 juniors, 20 sophomores, and 10 freshmen.

Freshmen: Ryan Au, Shane Berry, Peyton Carvalho, Eva Chow, Ornella Ebongue, Chiara Ferrante, Heidi Freking, Domenic Jancaterino, Gigi Jiang, Timothy Karoff, Abigail Lang, Julie Le, Griffin McLaughlin, Hue-Ninh Nguyen.

Sophomores: Andrew Arcieri, Julia Butler, Allison Carey, Mariah Conway, Camille Coutant, Matthew Dicarlo, Mary Driscoll, Michael Eberhardt, Lucia Hainline, Anthony Hancock , Gregory Hebard, Alexis Higgins, Erisha Joseph, Sarah Lam, Nicholas Marinilli, Aislinn O’Brien, Emily Possi, Isabelle Ruesch, Hannah Solomon, Christina Tougias, Alice Truong  and Maya Watanabe.

Juniors: Shareen Alsebai, Sindhu Banerjee, Dylan Banh, Alexis Belash, Megan Caljouw, Benjamin Clark, Allegra DeNooyer, Katherine Driscoll, Danielle Dumais, Simon Eder, Audrey Erickson, Ariana Ferrante, Shannon Fitzgerald, Anne Grudem, Liam Halloran, Emma Heller, Lydia Horan, Hope Huban, Mikalia Jackson, Joshua Kery, Cole Kroninger, Maryanne MacIsaac, John Mazzarella, John McGrath, Sabrina Najarian, Colette Nourie, Madeline Scott, Amanda Thorne, Tyler Volpe-Knock and Michael Wyatt.

Seniors: (an asterisk indicates the student was a member of the Century Club for all 4 years)  Vincent Chan *, Christopher Chinman, Renee Chiu *, Molly Concannon, Kevin Conway *, Noura Darouichi, Shawn Dowds, Timothy Eberhardt, Jillian Eckard, Albert Enyedy *, Anna Gaden *, Delaney Glinner, Alden Hebard, William Hess, Madeline Hoy, Vanessa Joyce, Micaela Keating, Meredith Kelly, Maggie Kleiman, Katrina Kourtelidis, Julia MacDougall, Shannon MacLeod *, Oceane Marescal *, Tansy Massey Green *, Denis McAuliffe *, Shane McLaughlin *, Patrice Miller, Caitlyn Murphy, Elizabeth O’Connor, Julia Pelletier, Emma Pred-Sosa, Caitlin Rodensky, Garrett Sager, Javana Samuels, Christina Similien, Marmarah Similien, Christine Stafford, Sadia Suhail, Kathleen Sullivan, Alexis Umeh, Gillian Veneto and Matthew Wong.

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Congratulations to the following members of the Class of 2016, who were recognized with Junior Book Awards Students at the recent Scholastic Honors Night event:

Simon Eder, Sindhu Banerjee, Joshua Kery, Cole Kroninger, Shareen Alsebai, Allegra DeNooyer, Nolan Carvalho, John Lenane,Tyler Volpe-Knock, Kathleen McAuliffe, Liam Halloran, Megan Caljouw, Danielle Dumais, Emma Heller, Emily Chow, Audrey Erickson,

Kristyn Swift, Samantha Antoniewicz, Anne Grudem, Mikalia Jackson, Leah Bohmback,

Kristen Rundlett, Hope Huban, Brandon Musto, Harry Kong, Maryanne MacIsaac, Madeline Scott, Greta Freking, Kalyani Twyman, Sabrina Najarian, Sarah Monderer.

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 If you have a child who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2015, please be sure to complete the registration process. Visit this link: http://www.miltonps.org/about-student-reg.php For additional info, please email MPS Registrar Jane Barrett at: jbarrett@miltonps.org

UPCOMING EVENTS

Please note the Town Of Milton Youth Sports Information Night will be held on Friday, May 15th at Tucker Elementary School from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Parents and guardians are invited to come and meet representatives from many of our local sports leagues and outdoor programs and learn about the many opportunities for Milton athletes and would-be-athletes!  This event will also feature guest speaker Jarrod Chin Northeastern University’s Center For The Study Sport in Society.

Representatives from the following groups are expected to be on hand: Milton Park & Recreation Department, Milton National Little League, Milton American, Cal Ripken Baseball, Milton Babe Ruth, Milton Youth Softball, Milton Youth Soccer, Milton Youth Lacrosse, Milton Jr Wildcats Football & Cheerleading, Milton Mustangs Football, Milton Rugby, Milton Field Hockey, Friends of Milton Crew, Egan Swim Center Shamrock Swim Club, Milton Wrestling, Milton Youth Hockey, Gaelic Football, AAU Baseball – The Milton Knights, Milton Metro Basketball and the ‘Girl Power’ Running Club. For more information, please contact Larry Rooney, Athletic Director Milton High School: lrooney@miltonps.org

STUDENT WORK:

I would like to share a letter that was received by Glover Elementary School Head Custodian Tom Malloy from one of the Glover students, Jalyssa Coley:

Dear Mr. Malloy,

The Glover Elementary School has read a book called One Hen and we learned that we should “pay it forward,” to our community and you! I have noticed that you have been having to clean up the messes in the cafeteria and in our classrooms. And I also noticed that  the 5th Grade classrooms having lunch in the cafeteria haven’t noticed that you are the one to come in the room and clean the mess from all the other grades.

I’m here to speak for all of the classrooms to say we are sorry. If you are having a bad day, you can read my “P.S.” that is below to show you we care and we are trying to “pay it forward.”  The students of Glover Elementary School are proud to present us “paying it forward” to you. Just know that we all know you are there for us. So you should know we are there for you.

P.S. I’m going to say “Thank You” every day. Just know it came from the heart.

FOOD SERVICE NEWS

The following item was submitted by Food Service Director Jackie Morgan:

The celebrations across the district were historic on Monday- May 4th to celebrate the hard working food service staff as Super Lunch Heroes.

Cunningham/Collicot food service staff arrived to a cafeteria decorated with cards, banners and posters celebrating the seven food service employees.  The students presented the staff with paper flowers with thank you notes on every pedal and a platter of treats.  During all of the lunches students thanked and smiled coming through the line and made each food service employee know how much they are appreciated.  Food Service manager Debbie Abdon stated “It was the best day ever”.

Tucker School food service staff was called to the Principal’s office in the morning at 9am with some concern but when they arrived the surprise of a life time greeted them in the conference room of a reception for them that they didn’t need to prepare.  They were handed cards from the students and a reception of treats and sweets was awaiting them.  They were so surprised.  Food Service manager Pat McIsaac said “It was an awesome way to start the day”.

Glover School Food service staff had beautiful fresh flowers arrive from the Principal and her staff.  They were so surprised and delighted.  The children all wished the staff thanks during the serving line.  Food Service Manager Sandy Zalios said “We had the beautiful flowers all week which made us all feel so special”.

Pierce Middle School staff was greeted in the morning by the top three administrators with boxes of beautiful chocolates and great praise of thanks from the entire school.  The students were so kind and nice coming through the line all day thanking all of the ladies for their hard work.  Food Service manager Connie Catinella said “It was such a wonderful surprise and all of the food service staff was so touched to be recognized”.

Milton High School food service staff was asked to come out in the cafeteria by Principal James Jette at the end of first lunch.  He asked for the student’s attention and they silenced immediately when the saw the nine food service staff being recognized.  Principal James Jette thanked each of the staff for their hard work, dedication and positive attitudes.  The entire first lunch of 300 students gave the food service staff a standing ovation.  Other students made posters of the staff in their uniforms with Superman logos on their shirts.  Food Service manager Elaine Rico Moore stated “The staff were very touched and really appreciated the students standing and clapping for them.  The poster was very touching and it made us all look so skinny.”

Between preparing healthy meals for our students, adhering to strict nutrition standards, navigating student food allergies and offering service with a smile, school nutrition professionals are true heroes! School Lunch Hero Day was the perfect opportunity to recognize the hardworking professionals in school cafeterias. The School Nutrition Association has partnered with Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of the “Lunch Lady” book series, and Random House, to remind everyone—directors, managers, parents, students, and school staff —that school nutrition employees are superheroes that deserve recognition.

The day aims to showcase the ways in which school nutrition professionals make a difference for every child who comes through the cafeteria and the Milton Public Schools did an amazing job celebrating our Super Lunch Heroes.

PARENT LIAISON NEWS

The following item was submitted by Marti O’Keefe McKenna, MPS Family Outreach Liaison.

Are you looking for some fun activities to do with your pre-schooler during the summer months?  The Milton Public Schools has partnered with the Milton Public Library and Milton Early Childhood Alliance to bring some exciting programs.

Summertime Stories for children age birth to 6 years old along with a parent or caregiver.  Miss Sara, Milton Public Library Children’s Librarian will read stories, sing songs and engage children at four sessions held around town.  On July 2nd and August 6th the story time will be held at the Tucker Elementary School Playground (rain location will be in the gymnasium).  On July 16th and August 20th, story time will take place at the Cunningham Hall.  (Please park across the street at Collicot School).  If the weather is nice be sure to bring a blanket as we will be outside.  All sessions begin at 10:00am.

On Thursday, June 4th (rain date 6/11/15) Milton Early Childhood Alliance will be sponsoring a Children’s Concert at the Baron Hugo Gazebo at Milton Town Hall, from 6:00 – 7:30pm.  Incoming kindergarteners are encouraged to wear their “I’m Going to Kindergarten” t-shirts that they will have just received at their kindergarten screening May 26-29, 2015.  This is a great opportunity for incoming kindergarteners to meet new friends who are also going to be starting kindergarten in the Fall.

The office of the Family Outreach Liaison will be open during the summer months.  Please feel free to reach out with any questions you might have about the upcoming school year or if you are in need of a resource.  My contact information is: Marti O’Keefe McKenna, Family Outreach Liaison, 617-696-5040 ext. 5588 or mmckenna@miltonps.org .

HEALTH NEWS

Margaret Gibbons, Director of Nurses, has some reminders from the Health Room

As we begin summer (without much spring) I would like to remind parents/guardians about two very important health concerns for our children and youth – hydration and sun protection.  Our students spend a large amount of their out of school time playing sports, exercising with friends on bikes and skate boards, and just in the neighborhood having fun.  All this is exactly what we all want and have waited for since the first snowflake!  However, keeping our children adequately hydrated can be a challenge.  Water either from the tap or in packaged bottles is only part of the solution.  The loss of electrolytes from activity and sweat requires more that water.  A significant number of headaches that children complain about are caused by dehydration.  An inexpensive substitute to expensive sport drinks is a combination of half water and half juice in a water bottle.  This also cuts down on the sugar in drinks.

In the same vein, all of us, but especially the children need to use sun protection.  I encourage all parents / guardians to discuss this with your pediatrician, however, sun screen should be part of any outdoor activity no matter how little time the children are outside.  We have an opportunity to have this become second nature to this generation helping them into adulthood without having had a sunburn!  The basic rule is to apply about 20 minutes before going outside and then reapply again in a few hours or as needed if swimming or sweating.  Demonstrating good habits with your children from an early age promotes and encourages a healthy response to many health issues that can last a very long time.  Happy, healthy and safe summer!

SUMMER PROGRAMS

The brochure for the Milton Public Schools’ MSE (Milton Summer Enrichment) program has been posted. Please click here to view:

Brochure: http://www.miltonps.org/documents/MSE2015Brochure.pdf

At A Glance: http://www.miltonps.org/documents/MSE2015AtaGlance_000.pdf

NEWS AROUND TOWN

The  Twelfth Annual  DPW Open House will be held on Saturday,  May 16th from 10am to 1pm at the DPW Yard at 629 Randolph Ave. The DPW Open House celebrates National Public Works Week and the thousands of men and women who provide and maintain the infrastructure and services collectively known as Public Works.

At this fun-filled, free family event, Milton residents can enjoy hotdogs and cotton candy as they learn about what the Milton DPW does every day to maintain our roads, water, sewage, drainage, and solid waste systems.   Children can climb aboard DPW trucks to honk the big horns and marvel at the recycling magic of BJ Hickman, who will be performing at 11.30 am and 12:30 pm.

In addition, the 12th annual “Larry DeCelle Friend of the DPW Award” will be presented to an individual or organization whose actions exemplify outstanding community service in the public works arena. In the spirit of reuse and re-cycling, BikeMilton (www.bikemilton.org) will at the yard, be running a used bike sale from 10am-4pmBikes may be donated Friday May 15th 5-6:30pm and on the day from 8.30-10am. Proceeds from the sale will be used to promote safe cycling in Milton.

  • Sustainable Milton will also be at the event, helping to give insight to recycling, reuse, and conservation measures to give a new lease on life to unwanted items
  • button cell batteries, thermometers and thermostats containing mercury (recycling   these keeps hazardous substances out of our waste stream)
  • More… Residents wanting to save money on their water bills and conserve water can order rain barrels at our event. Special pricing for Milton residents – ($60/$65) is available. See www.greatamericanrainbarrel.com or call 800-251-2352 for more information There will be no barrels available for pick-up at the event. For those wanting to reduce trash sticker costs and turn yard waste and veggie peelings into soil for the garden, subsidized Earthmover compost bins will also be available for $42 (checks payable to Town of Milton please).

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The following item was sent to us by Patti Dobrindt, Co-Chair of the Milton Road Race:

Save the Date!  The 38th Annual Milton Road Race will be held on Tuesday, June 9th at 6:30pm. This 5K/10K event is held rain or shine and is sponsored by Milton Junior Woman’s Club. As many of you know, the proceeds from this race go directly back into our community in the form of grants to local non-profits and scholarships to graduating Milton seniors. This year, we were able to give out a record amount of scholarship money based on the success of last year’s race. A great deal of that success was due to an amazing turnout of student runners. We are hoping to have even more student (and faculty!) participation this year. There is a team registration function if schools are interested in setting up teams for their student/faculty. Please register at: www.miltonroadrace.racewire.com

MILTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Spring is here – and so are fun things for kids to do at the Milton Public Library!  In addition to our regular story times on Tuesday and Wednesday, we have these exciting programs for the young people in your life happening during the week of May 24 – 30:

Monday, May 25th

LIBRARY CLOSED

Saturday, May 30th  from 2:30 – 3:30 pm

Walkalong Gliders for Youth, Ages 8-11

Learn how to build and fly your own walkalong glider… indoors! Kids ages 8-11 are invited to join presenter Philip Rossoni for hands-on glider building and piloting – a fun way to get people interested in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) topics involved in aviation. Registration is required. Sponsored by the Friends of the Milton Public Library. * This program will be repeated at 3:30 for ages 12+.

Don’t forget to check the library web calendar for a listing of the many programs we offer year-round. Information about and registration for all of our programs can always be found on our online calendar at www.miltonlibrary.org, or by calling the Children’s Room at 617-898-4957 during business hours. Also, like the Milton Public Library on Facebook and get updates right in your news feed! Please contact the Children’s Room if you have questions about any of our programs or services.

To see a complete listing of library events, please click here:

http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=MILTONPL

ATHLETICS

The Milton High School Boosters club is hosting the 37th Annual Varsity Letter Banquet held on Wednesday, June 3rd at 6pm in the Milton High School Copeland Field House (doors open at 5:30 pm). This banquet celebrates the accomplishments of our varsity athletes by recognizing them with a banquet dinner, awarding letters and pins to all members of the varsity teams, and awarding 17 scholarships to senior athletes that contribute positively to the MHS athletics program and the Milton community.  Please contact Kerri McCarthy at kbee312@msn.com  or Donna Conroy at donnac8363@aol.com if you would like to volunteer or have questions. Parents, siblings, friends and the Milton community can purchase tickets online at www.miltonboosters.com. Tickets are $20 per adult and $5 per student/child (varsity student athletes received a free ticket in the mail). Please plan to join us as we honor our varsity letter winners and teams.

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The Boosters are sponsoring a car wash on Saturday, May 16th to benefit the MHS Girls Softball team. This car wash will be held at the Cunningham Elementary School, 44 Edge Hill Road. Please stop by and get your car washed by the girls softball team between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm.

The following athletic update was submitted by Athletic Director Larry Rooney:

Baseball: Baseball is 9-5. The offense has been anchored by junior Colin Rooney and seniors Jason Turner and Denis McAuliffe. Pitching has been great.  Kevin Murphy, Lloyd Hill, Jared Macleod, Sam Jacobsak, and Brandon Musto have all contributed valuable innings. We have all league games left in the schedule vs Walpole, Braintree, NNHS, and Wellesley.

Softball: The MHS Softball team record stands at 3-9, and there has been much improvement in many areas of the team.  With eight games in the next two weeks, the team is looking to add several more wins and to keep on improving.  Freshman Jenna Conroy is not only the leading hitter on the team but one of the top hitters in the league at .518.  Junior Caroline Johnson is hitting .450 and also one of the top hitters in the league.  Senior pitcher Julie Henry has pitched most of the games and has been awesome.  Monday May 18th at 7PM is senior night vs.  Wellesley.

Rugby: Currently undefeated, 6-0, with wins over Newport, Algonquin, Wilbraham & Monson Academy, Hanover, Essex County and Marshfield. We are currently the Massachusetts Division 2 Sevens Champion, beating Brookline in Cup Final 32-10. Our leading scorer is Ugo Nwanekezi with 55 points. The JV teams is 4-1 with wins over Belmont, Marshfield, Essex, Xaverian and one loss to BC High. The last regular season game is Wednesday, May 13th at 5pm at Brooks Field vs Scituate. (Senior Night) The Div 2 State playoffs are at Brooks Field on Tuesday, May 19th and the State Finals are Saturday, May 23rd.

Crew: MHS Boys and Girls Crew will be heading to the Mayor’s Cup in Medford on Saturday where the Wildcats will compete against about a dozen teams and try to defend their title as the champs of the boys’ and girls’ varsity fours and eights cups (four cups in total)! The very next day just down river in Malden, the Cats will be taking on just over a dozen teams in the annual Moose on the Malden Regatta where the Wildcats hold several titles as well.

Boys Track: The boys track team defeated Dedham him last Wednesday to run its record 2 and 3. It looks forward to competing in the Division III state relays this weekend and equaling its performance from last year as a second place finisher.

Boys Tennis: Last week, Boys tennis recorded a big 4-1 victory over Weymouth. Both doubles teams: #1 Dubs: Gianni Rodriguez & Matt Wong and #2 Dubs: Buddy Chinman & Ray Chen led the way for Milton with quick, straight set victories. The victory was capped by the strong play of Sean NgPack at 3rd singles and freshman #1 singles play of Mike Gates.  Milton is 3-5 in league play and will host Norwood & Weymouth today and Friday.

Girls Tennis: The Girls’ Tennis Team has played nine matches so far.  Our record is three wins and six losses.  We have seven matches left to play, 5 away and 2 at home.  The #1 singles player, Olivia Johnson, has 4 wins and 5 losses.  Six of our Varsity players will be graduating next month.

Boys Lacrosse: Record:  0-12. Highlights: Senior Shane Kelley, Sophomore Dylan DiManno, and Freshman Tommy Noonan lead the offense, while Senior defenseman Sean Hickey and Junior goalie Ben Clark anchor the defense. What’s next:  Over the next two weeks, the Wildcats will play six home games, including three Bay State Conference opponents.  The team is looking to end the season on a high note and winning their first game of the season.

Girls Lacrosse: Milton Varsity Girls Lacrosse team won their last two games. 13-11 win against Weymouth and 15-13 win against Brookline. These were important league games and the girls worked hard to end the games successfully. Hannah O’Leary has been an outstanding midfield player with aggressive play in the transition leading to much of the team’s success! The speed of Julia Scannell and the composure of both our attack players and defense players has contributed to their success. Weymouth game goal scorers: Caitlin Smith 3 goals 1 assist, Emily Kosak 2, Devin Coulter 2, Julia Scannell 1 goal 1 assist, Kelly Shea 1 and Morgan Beglet contributed an assist. Brookline game goal scorers: Katie Abbott 4, Morgan Begley and Julia Scannell each had 3, Emily Kosak and Caitlin Smith both added 2, and Kelly Shea with 1.

Girls Track: The team is 2-1 and will compete against Norwood tomorrow. At the recent meet against Dedham, the girls won easily. As a whole, there were 29 personal best performances at the meet! Some of the big ones were: Ornella Ebongue reclaiming the Freshman record in the Discus with a throw of 91 feet, which is almost good enough for a top three at Milton. Abigail Jean Baptiste had PRs in winning the Long Jump and Triple Jump with marks of 16′ 5.5″ and 33′ 8.5″ respectively. Taylor Burns had a PR in the High Jump with a mark of 4″ 7″. Colette O’Leary nearly broke the school record in the 400m with a time of 59.8. The school record is 59.7! Ruby Baker had a PR in the 400m by over two seconds with a time 74.6s.  Five girls (Dayajna Roache, Abigail Jean Baptiste, Andrea Juzyca, Atheanna Pierre and Ashley Thermidor-Payne) went under 29 seconds in the 200m! Dayajna Roache had her best race of the season winning the 100m dash in 13.5. Oceane Marescal had a PR in long jump by over 1″ jumping 14′ 5″. Athletes of the Meet are Saron Kindle for her determination and PRs in both the 100m and 200m races running 15.1s and 30.9s respectively and Isabel Belash for her very successful multi event day, who also had 15′ PR in the Javelin Throwing 90′ 7″ and won the 100m hurdles. Coaches Invitational:  Abigail Jean-Baptiste had a strong performance in the 100m dash, running 13.11, her fastest time ever. Alexis Belash and Mairead Dambruch ran PRs in the 800m with times of 2:28 and 2:32 respectively. The 4x100m team of Andrea Juzyca, Abigail Jean-Baptiste, Dayajna Roache and Atheanna Pierre ran a season best 51.9 in the 4x100m relay.  Athletes of the Meet:  Josie Cousineau had an amazing race in the freshman mile, running for a 14s personal best with a time 5:40. The time is good enough to qualify her for states. Andrea Juzyca broke her school record in the javelin twice and left the meet as the 2015 Coaches Invitational Champion!  An amazing accomplishment considering the best athletes in the state were there.

AMBASSADOR PAGE

Students:   As many of you know, we recently concluded the annual Town Meeting,  held in the Charles C. Winchester auditorium at Milton High School. Part of the tradition of Town Meeting is the participation of some of our high school students. During the multi-night event, students in the jazz band entertained Town Meeting Members in the lobby before the start of the event, a pair of students played a violin duet, and several students performed the National Anthem on-stage before the call to order. I would like thank the following students for their participation, some of whom agreed to provide musical entertainment, despite their obligations with AP tests, sports, clubs and part-time jobs.  I am very grateful to the following students: Jazz Band: Michael Wyatt, Matt Nolan, Shane McLaughlin, Mairead Dambruch, Leizel Werner and Liam Hines. Violins:  Hannah Solomon, Alice Truong and Liezel Werner. National Anthem: Monika Cormack, Liz O’Connor, Jackie Ruscito, Harry Kong, Kris Fort and Garrett Sager.

Staff:   Please join me in Congratulating Nathan (Ted) Randall, Social Studies Teacher at Milton High School and Mary Lou Bradley, Nurse at Tucker Elementary in being named the Norfolk County Teachers Association Honor and Service Awards recipients respectively. Ted and Mary Lou have given over 35 years of service to the Milton Public Schools and will be honored at the NCTA Banquet to be held on June 2nd  at Lombardo’s in Braintree

Volunteers:  Now that Town Meeting is concluded, I would be remiss if I did not  thank some of the hardest-working volunteers in the town of Milton – the members of the town’s Warrant Committee. This is a volunteer group of citizens appointed by the Town Moderator.  Developing the budget for the entire town requires an exhaustive amount of meetings and preparation. I am very grateful to the following citizens for their time and patience during the course of the entire year, and especially during Town Meeting. Thanks to:  Ted Hays, Chair,  LeeMichael McLean, Secretary, Richard Boehler, Jean Eckner , Chuck Karimbakas , Michael Maholchic, Philip Mathews, Steven McCurdy , Jim Potter, Jonathan Schindler, Kevin Sorgi, Darnell Turner and Betty White.

The Milton Public School system is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the provision of quality educational programs for all students.  The Milton Public School system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, age or sexual orientation.

 

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