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Medford Ma Public Schools

Monday, March 25, 2013

Medford Kindergarten Informational Meetings

Two meetings will take place in April.

Informational meetings for parents of incoming Medford Public Schools kindergarten students will be held April 9 and 25, according to a post on the school department website. The April 9 meeting will be held at the Medford High School library from 7 to 8 p.m. Open houses will be held immediately before and immediately after the meeting at the Medford Family Network Center. The April 25 meeting will take place at the Medford Public Library from 7 to 8 p.m. More information on the meetings is available here. More information on kindergarten registration is available here.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Schools Support Gender Identity Guidelines; Penta Raises New Concerns

Superintendent Roy Belson said discriminatory behavior won't be tolerated "in any way, shape or form."

The Medford School Committee affirmed its support Monday for following state guidelines on a new gender identity law. However, the Medford city councilor who originally brought the guidelines and the law to local attention has reversed course on his support, saying the guidelines aren't based on the law. Superintendent Roy Belson discussed the guidance issued by state Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester in February for dealing with the law passed last year that "was promulgated to prevent discrimination based on gender identity." The Medford City Council discussed the measure last week at their meeting, with Councilor Robert Penta expressing support at the time for the guidelines but also concerned about its impact on all Medford …

Alexa Mase

11:54 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013

Because I am in favor of human rights, I fully support the recommendations of this bill.   more ›

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Kindergarten Registration Packets Mailed This Week

Enrollment is for children who will be five years of age by Aug. 31.

According to a post on the school department website, Medford kingergarten registration will begin this week, with registration packets to be mailed starting Monday. Enrollment will be for students who will be 5 by Aug. 31 of this year. Registration will be held at the Parent Center, located in the main lobby of Medford High School, during the weeks of April 1, 8 and 22. If you'd like a registration packet, e-mail Marianne Ford at mford@medford.k12.ma.us with your child’s name, address, and date of birth.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Council Discusses Transgender Bill's Impact on Medford Schools

An 11-page memo was the subject raised by Councilor Robert Penta.

The Medford City Council discussed at length Tuesday the impact of recent state legislation on transgendered students in Medford schools. City Council Robert Penta wanted the council to discuss the bill, referred to on the council agenda as the "Massachusetts Stealth Bathroom Bill," because he believes it could have a major impact "on every homeowner who has a child in the public schools."   Penta said state Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester issued an 11-page memo last week regarding the law (UPDATE: Read the memo here), which was passed last July. There is a requirement that schools "need to accept a student's gender identity choice," according to Penta, who also said he spent time discussing the bill with the Massachusetts …

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Kim

10:36 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013

As a person who is neither a fully functioning male or female I take exception to CeCe's comments about not having a third gender and would hope that a person of limited worldly experience would refrain from definitive statements as "..either male or female, end of story. .. this person would do well to work for a while in any major maternity ward to witness the many different types of human …   more ›

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

'Who’s Your School Breakfast Star?' Writing Contest

Medford school students encouraged to take part in contest on nutrition next month.

On its website, Medford Public Schools posted the following information about an upcoming writing contest open for students in grades 1 through 12 with a focus on nutrition: National School Breakfast Week is March 4-8, 2013. School Nutrition Association is encouraging students in grades 1-12 to answer the following questions: “If you could enjoy school breakfast with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?” “What healthy school breakfast food would you want to share with them and why?” Whether they’re dreaming of waffles with Grandpa, fruit with the President, cereal with Justin Beiber, or French toast with Serena Williams, we want to hear about it! Three national winners will have their submissions published in School Nutrition …

Friday, February 22, 2013

Security Upgrade Coming to Medford Schools

New security cameras, "higher-visibility" monitors being installed at Medford Public Schools.

A significant upgrade is coming to the security systems within Medford Public Schools, according to Mayor Michael McGlynn. McGlynn first discussed the upgrades as part of the series of projects to be paid for by a $3.2 million interest-free loan from the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA). McGlynn told the Medford City Council the upgrade would cost $150,000. At last week's mayoral press conference, McGlynn went into more detail, reading a report from Jack Buckley, the city's owners project manager. "Safety in our schools is a major issue," McGlynn said. The report from Buckley, as read by McGlynn, follows: We're in the process of upgrade the security cameras that are installed throughout our schools. The new system uses secure …

Giovana

2:25 pm on Thursday, May 2, 2013

Lets keep this in a positive way...I believe it is great to have a new system working soon. We will always have problems and different points of view. Why not to start with some peace and by appreciating what is being done? I think is an awsome start! Get people/ parents to learn how to act in dangerous situations. A community can do great things together. We don't need to pay someone to watch …   more ›

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Online School Lunch Payment Available

New program available to parents through mySchoolBucks.com.

Medford Public Schools are introducing a new program through mySchoolBucks.com that allows parents to deposit funds into their student's meal accounts.  Starting Jan. 23, the school meal service in Medford schools changed to an electronic meal ID system. Here is more information posted by the school district: mySchoolBucks offers… Money deposited into mySchoolBucks.com will usually arrive at the school by the next morning. You can set your low balance settings to remind you when it’s time to add more money, or set up recurring payments so the system will automatically add money to the account when your balance reaches the threshold you set. Getting started is easy! Visit www.mySchoolBucks.com and click the “REGISTER FOR A FREE ACCOUNT” …

Ken Krause

12:04 pm on Tuesday, February 26, 2013

This is welcome progress, but could this system also be used for students' monthly bus passes? It seems silly that in the year 2013, the only form of payment accepted for the student bus passes is a money order.   more ›

Monday, February 4, 2013

Bloomberg Donates $50K to Medford Schools

New York City mayor is kicking in cash for his hometown schools, according to Boston.com.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a 1960 graduate of Medford High School, is donating $50,000 to Medford Public Schools in memory of his late mother, according to a Boston.com report. Superintendent Roy Belson told Boston.com the funds will be used as part of the $3.3 million technology program upgrade that is currently taking place at the schools. Belson said this is a departure from Bloomberg's usual practice of making anonymous donations in Medford. The Medford School Committee will take up the donation at tonight's meeting, which takes place at 7 p.m. in City Hall. Here is the agenda.

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