Dear Lower School Families,
Wow! It was so great to see so many parents joining in our wonderful Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration! Thank you to our teachers and children for their hard work. And, thank you for choosing to begin the day with us and for sharing our celebration of love and community. As I listened to the children and the teachers presenting, I couldn’t help but think about how happy Dr. King would have been to hear the beautiful thoughts and reflections that were shared.
On the topic of reflection, as I often do at the start of each year (school and calendar), I reflect on my goals, and also on the goals I have for our children and our School. This year, as I was thinking about all that we have to be thankful for, I couldn’t help but also think about all that we still need to do. In this vein, I have made a short list of things that I wish for you, our students, and our School:
- Read and respond to School emails. We try hard not to inundate you with information, but once a week, we send you this newsletter with information that is germane to the coming week. Read the newsletter so that you know what’s happening—it is intended to prepare you, as well as your child, for the week(s) ahead.
- When picking up and dropping off your children, please put down the phone. Your children are either leaving you for the day or have been waiting all day to see you, and we see their crestfallen faces when they realize they don’t have your undivided attention. Take time to connect with your children during these times of transition—you will see results in spades.
- I share two resources that I find helpful as a parent and that underpin our work. The first is an article about the nine things that the parents of successful children do. I read it at least annually in my own parenting. The second is a TED Talk about raising successful children without overparenting them. The balance is, indeed, delicate!
- Finally, please respond to our Diversity & Multiculturalism survey. Your feedback is important, and a robust participation in the survey will be a helpful guide for us as we proceed in this realm.
Kindergarten Quilt about the activities of children around the world.
Thank you for indulging me in these requests. I know that together, we are a stronger and better community, and that working together, we can continue to make every child and family feel as essential to the community as you are.
In today’s Lower School Newsletter, you will find a note from our nurses, continued tweaking of our work with PickUpPatrol, reminders about upcoming events, and more.
Please make sure the January 24 Fireside Chat with Todd Bland is on your calendar. Finally, thank you to Andrea Ptaszek and Keegan Johnson for coordinating last weekend’s Skating Party.
Have a good long weekend,
Racheal
The Week Ahead
No Classes in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 15—When we return to school on Tuesday, we will follow a Tuesday schedule.
MLK Brunch, Monday, January 15, 10 a.m., Caroline Saltonstall Gymnasium
Lower and Middle School Geography Bee, Thursday, January 18, 4 p.m., Thacher
Trustee Weekend, Friday and Saturday, January 19–20
Fireside Chat with Todd Bland and Racheal Adriko, Wednesday, January 24, 6:30 p.m., Thacher (please note the new location)—Head of School Todd Bland and Lower School Principal Racheal Adriko welcome parents to join us for an informational night about the strategic direction of the School, as well as an opportunity to have any questions you have about Milton Academy answered.
Friday, January 26 is no longer an Early Release—Students will stay in school until 3 p.m.
News and Announcements
Health Notes from our Nurses—We are now in the height of cold and flu season. We encourage you to keep your child home if he or she isn’t feeling well. Sending a sick child to school puts other students and their families at risk of illness (and for the immunosuppressed, colds and flu present great risk). Remember that our policy is that:
- Look for signs of illness before children leave for School in the morning.
- When children show signs of a cold or have a temperature or sore throat, they should be kept home until the acute phase passes.
- If a child becomes ill during the School day, we will send them home for temperatures of 100.5 or greater.
- Before returning to School, students must be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
- All cases of contagious disease in the family, or exposure to a contagious disease, should be reported to the School.
PickUpPatrol Update—PickUpPatrol is now fully up and running! Thank you for your cooperation and patience as we continue to streamline the use of this app across the Lower School. If you haven’t yet logged into PickUpPatrol, please make some time over the weekend to do so, as it is imperative that we are all using one program. Some user notes:
- Review your child’s default plan to confirm that it is current.
- If you don’t have any changes to your child’s regular dismissal plans, please don’t indicate that in the “changes” section. We will assume that if there are no notes, your child will follow his or her regularly scheduled plan.
- If you change the plan to “pick up,” note the name and location of the person picking up. We can’t always tell who “me” is.
- Kindergarten parents, indicate where your child will go when he or she leaves campus. For example, if your child will leave at noon, then indicate “JB Pickup line.” If your child will attend Extended Day, then indicate how he or she will be picked up at 3 p.m.
No Assemblies January 26, February 2, February 9, February 16
- On January 26, February 2, and perhaps on February 9, students will participate in electives in lieu of having a whole school assembly.
- On February 16, students and teachers across the Lower School will visit the Grade 2 Family Museum in lieu of assembly. Parents are welcome to join us in the Junior Building for this walk-through.
Important Reminders
Community Skating— Click here for the schedule. Community skating is a really fun weekend activity with children and their friends!
Please note that Community Skating hours have shifted for this upcoming weekend. There will be no community skate on Saturday; Sunday’s community skate is from 10–10:50 a.m.
Events Coming Up
Early Release Day, Friday, February 2—Lower School students will be dismissed at noon. ASP special programming is available.
Lower School Concert, Thursday, February 8, 6:30 p.m., CSG—Mark your calendars for the musical event of the season! To accommodate friends and relatives, we have moved our concert to the CSG. We’re looking forward to sharing the evening with you.
Grade 2 Family Museum, Thursday, February 15, 8:15-10 a.m., Grade 2 Classrooms.
No Classes in Observance of Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 19.
Report Link sent to Parents—Week of February 26
Grade 5 Parent Meeting followed by Grade 5 Student Wax Museum, Wednesday, February 28.
Parent Conferences, March 1 and 2—The registration link will be shared on Thursday, February 1 at 10 a.m.
Egyptian Parade, Assembly, Share, Celebration, Thursday, March 8, 1 p.m., Greenleaf and Thacher.