Good Afternoon Meadowside Families,
We had a great second week of school and already feel like we are settling into the rhythms and routines of the year! As you settle into the school year with us, please continue to make the time to read with your children at home as you did this summer. Reading to young children is incredibly important. Aside from being fun and making everyone feel good, reading together has tremendous benefits for children of any age when it comes to the development of their own literacy skills. Whether you are reading to your child, reading alongside your child, or listening to your child read to you -- you are helping them practice their skills and further develop a love of reading that they will carry with them forever.
Our open house is scheduled for Thursday, September 15th from 6:00 - 7:45. There will be opportunities to learn about your children’s grade level classrooms as well as to meet specialists, support staff and community members. Please click here for specific details.
Attendance and Dismissal Reminders:
If your child is absent, please log in and report their absence through the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
If you have a change in dismissal, please remember to send in a note, or email your child’s teacher and our secretary Mrs. Stebbins (jstebbins@milforded.org) and our greeter Mrs. Megan Ansaldo (mansaldo@milforded.org). It is important to email all three in the case that one or more of our staff is absent that day. Additionally, please be patient with us as we ask for IDs at the beginning of the year. It is important that our staff can confirm who you are prior to releasing your child -- this is for the safety and protection of our students. As we get to know you, we won’t ask for your identification every time - however, if our regular staff is out, we will need to do so again.
Thank you to our PTA for hosting our back to school picnic last friday. It was so great to see our families enjoying the afternoon together - with each other and with staff!
Additional News from our PTA:
PTA Meeting September 13th 6pm in the Meadowside Media Center. Join us and help us plan for the Fun Run and Meadowside Mash.
PTA Membership - Don’t forget to become a PTA member, membership helps to support our programs. Sign up here.
FREE School shirt - Please sign up for your child’s FREE school shirt here, we are placing the order soon. If you have already signed up…thank you!
Meadowside Mash - We are excited to announce that our annual Trunk or Treat event is returning. More details will be provided in the coming weeks but it is never too early to start planning your trunk!
Important Dates:
- Printable MPS full year calendar can be found here.
- Thursday, September 15th: 6:00 Meadowside Open House
- Wednesday, September 21st: Early Release Day: Students dismissed at 1:25
- Monday, September 26th: NO SCHOOL - Rosh Hashanah
- Parent Teacher Conferences: October 19, 20 and 21st: Students dismissed at 1:15
News Worth Repeating:
MPS Foodservice News: Meals Will Once Again be Free – for a while
As we begin the 2022-23 school year, the Milford Foodservice department will continue to provide breakfast and lunch at no charge (for a limited time). This benefit has been made possible by federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) and the subsequent allocation to the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). We are receiving this limited funding under the Free School Meals for Children grant.
Due to the fact that this funding is limited, we will provide free meals to students until this funding source is depleted. There are many factors that will affect how long we will be able to offer free meals: enrollment, participation in the school lunch program, and the number of families registered for the Free/Reduced Price program.
We estimate we will be able to offer free meals to all students for the first few months of school. As we monitor the available funds we have left in grant, we will provide you with a 30-day notice of when we anticipate these funds will be depleted. Once the funds are depleted, families will begin paying for full-price meals, once again, as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Free & Reduced Price Meals Application: As a participant in the National School Lunch/Breakfast Programs, the Milford Food Services department is here to support you. Once the funding described above is depleted, families will still be able to apply to receive continued Free or Reduced Price meals by completing the Free/ Reduced Price Meals Application. We strongly recommend you complete the form NOW so your child's meal service will not be interrupted. The form can be found online on the district website on the Foodservice page or by clicking the links below.