September 5, 2023

Once again welcome back to the 2023-2024 school year. I am excited for a wonderful year and am looking forward to seeing the impact you all have on our students.

Please make sure to stop by your mailbox before the first bell to pick up student schedules and a flyer all students should receive for picture day. 

As you start the year building classroom relationships please take some time to review the emergency evacuation route from your class. Remind students they should exit quickly and quietly in the event of a fire drill and that they should stay with you. A reminder to let Linda know if you need an orange folder with red/green cards.

Attached is the September menu for the AHS cafeteria.

If you are looking for a modified day schedule, remember you can click on the day on the AHS calendar and the schedule will be linked there. The schedule for Friday, September 8 can be found by clicking B day.

If you have a 9th grade class please remind them to fill out the field day survey during x-block time (end of 2nd period) on Tuesday, September 5. It is important we have lunch information for all students. 

Have a fantastic week! The schedule and location of assignments for the 9th grade culture building day will be shared later in the day on Thursday. Plan to dress comfortably!

Ashland Cultural Council grant

The Ashland Cultural Council Announces FY 24 Grant Application Cycle September 1, 2023 - . October 17, 2023.

Each year the volunteer members of the Ashland Cultural Council (ACC), under the guidance of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), encourage

corporations, organizations, schools, and individuals to apply for grants that support cultural activities in Ashland and neighboring communities. These grants can support a wide range of artistic projects and activities including, but not limited to, exhibits, festivals, field trips, artist residencies, performances, workshops, and lectures. ACC!s cultural projects have taken place in schools, community centers, libraries, elder care facilities, town halls, parks and wherever else townspeople come together for the vitality of the community.

Between September 1 and the deadline, October 17, applicants may access the Mass Cultural Council's online Grants Management System to complete and submit applications to the Ashland Cultural Council and other local councils as well. Grant applications must be submitted to the Ashland Community Council through the online system by the deadline, October 17, 2023, at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Application information can be found at the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s website: https://massculturalcouncil.smartsimple.com/s_Login.jsp

Local guidelines and complete information on the Ashland Cultural Council can be found at,https://www.ashlandmass.com/236/Ashland-Cultural-Council. The Ashland Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community.

Classes/workshops that might be of interest:

MPY Website Update - www.mpyinc.org

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) has updated our website to provide greater benefits to our members. MPY will maintain its commitment to bring cutting-edge information and high-quality professional development trainings to member school districts. Professional development continues to focus on mental and behavioral health, social and emotional learning, trauma-sensitive classrooms and building a school culture that supports anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

MPY’s newly updated website provides members with an easy process to register and apply for PDP and/or CEUs for webinars and conferences. Each individual participant from member schools will have their own MPY account, with a unique username and passcode. Participants will establish their account on MPY’s website.

For virtual webinar series, members will automatically be registered for all 5 sessions and may view the virtual training sessions live (synchronous) or by viewing the recordings (asynchronous), which will be available for 7 days following the live webinar. MPY’s website includes a user dashboard, which will show all webinars and conferences attended as well as PDP and CEU certificates.

MPY members will continue to have access to our popular On-Demand Library of over 50 presentations facilitated by MPY’s expert speakers.

Please distribute this information to your school staff as soon as possible so that they can register for upcoming programs.

REGISTRATION

●       Members will no longer use their district’s username and passcode to log in.

●       To register, please share the following invitation with your staff: https://massachusettspartnershipsforyouth.com/dashboard/?invite=49a841d65df22d51980de6109d853b43

●       Members will be asked to create a unique username and password. MPY will approve members’ accounts within 24 hours.

●       Registration is required for every webinar series, whether viewed "live" or recorded. New this year, participants will be able to register once for all 5 sessions.

●       Registration for each event must be completed on MPY’s website.

●       For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org with any questions regarding registration.

VIEWING RECORDED WEBINARS

●       To help accommodate members’ demanding schedules, MPY will make the recorded webinar available for 7 days following the live webinar.

●       Following each webinar, MPY will email registered participants a link to view the recorded webinar.

●       Once the viewing period has expired, MPY cannot reshare the link.

APPLYING FOR PDPs/CEUs

●       Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and are awarded for most MPY professional development. PDPs are issued to members who have attended a minimum of 10 hours of training from a specific webinar series.

●       Continuing Education Units (CEUs) may be awarded upon approval by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA).

●       PDPs and CEUs will be awarded to participants who attend all 5 sessions and pass a quiz following the 5th session. Participants may apply for PDPs/CEUs whether they view the webinar "live" or view the recorded webinar within 7 days.

Questions may be directed to the following MPY staff members:

             

Membership, Webinars and General Questions - Margie Daniels, Executive Director, margie@mpyinc.org

 

In-Service Workshops - Amy Welch, Prevention & Education Coordinator, amy@mpyinc.org

 

Webinar and Conference Registration - Bonnie Mullen, Services Coordinator,  bonnie@mpyinc.org

 

PDPs and CEUs - Lauren Hurton, Office Manager, lauren@mpyinc.org

 

MPY wishes you and your staff a successful 2023 - 2024 school year. Thank you for continuing to support MPY.