Following this week’s positive COVID-19 case in our school, we want to again remind all families that NPS STRONGLY ENCOURAGES families whose students are participating in in-person learning to enroll their student(s) in the COVID-19 testing program. Testing is one of the best ways we have to quickly identify infection and reduce the possibility of in-school transmission. Testing began at Mason-Rice last week, but it’s not too late to join! 

Here are 3 reasons to enroll:

1. It’s easy to sign up! Complete the Consent Form in the Aspen portal for your child to participate (here’s the link!). 
2. It’s painless to administer! This is NOT the “touch your brain” swab! This is a sample taken from the front of your nose with a Q-tip like swab. It’s super-fast and painless. Students are sent home on Monday with an at-home test kit. They swab their nose on Tuesday morning and return the test to school that morning. Easy peasy!
3. It makes a difference! The more students who participate, the better data NPS has on infection rates in our community. This means NPS can quickly identify infection, reduce the risk of in school transmission, limit quarantines, and keep our schools, athletics and other important activities open for the rest of the year!.
4. Bonus reason: This testing program is FREE to all families! 

Note: Once you enroll, it may take a week for your child to receive their first Monday kit.

Also note: The asymptomatic pooled testing, detailed here, is a separate consent process from giving consent for Nurse Becky to administer a rapid Covid test in school should your child becomes symptomatic at school.

Thank you all for doing your part to keep our kids, teachers, and community safe!

Our AuthorFest came to a great conclusion this past week with Brian Lies. Previous guests were Vita Murrow, Eric Velasquez, Jerry Craft, Susan Tan, and Scott Magoon. Many thanks are owed for such a successful event!

Thank you to our amazing parent community for funding this wonderful event! It is because of money raised through the Book Fair, the Annual Fund, and other fundraisers that we were able to host these authors and provide every Mason-Rice student with a book! 

Thank you to all the room parents for organizing book read-alouds/discussions.

And most importantly, a HUGE thanks to Martine Bennett and the entire CAS team for working tirelessly to make this event happen.

Mason-Rice FORJ has had a successful year thus far! We’ve held monthly meetings, grown our listserve to 30 interested parents and attended city-wide workshops.  We’ve focused our energy on learning, listening, and connecting this year. We want to invite anyone who is interested in continuing this work and being part of connecting these conversations to action within our Mason-Rice community come to our upcoming meeting: Thursday, April 29th at 7:30-9:30pm.

Zoom: ID 883 2079 1344

Passcode: [see e-mailed Notes]

As we close this year, we are seeking new leadership! If you are interested in thinking through our meeting agendas and connecting with other Mason-Rice parents to support our community to talk about race and racism, please email Janelle Phillips.

A+ Magazine is an annual publication that showcases original works by current Mason-Rice students, including stories, poems, drawings, comics, puzzles, jokes, photos, interviews, reviews and more! All submissions are welcome!! This year, A+ Magazine will be published online and in full color, accessible to all Mason-Rice families at no charge! Click here to see to see last year’s A+ Magazine.

How to submit your work: Email submissions to A+ Magazine. Artwork or photos should be in jpeg format. Be sure to include student’s name and grade with submission.

Also, all 4th and 5th grade students are invited to submit artwork for the magazine’s cover! The parent editors will determine the final cover, but all cover entries will be included in full size and in full color in the issue. 

Parents are expected to review all of their child’s submissions to assure appropriateness of content, being mindful that the audience includes kindergarteners, parents, grandparents, teachers, and family friends of many backgrounds. Students are representing Mason-Rice through their work.

Submission deadline: Friday, May 14th. 

Questions? Email the A+ Magazine team.

The STEAM team met last week to imagine how M-R can host a STEAM event despite the restrictions of Covid. We are planning an end-of-year, STEAM-inspired outdoor family fun day that will be held on a weekend in June, and we’d love your help in planning it! We don’t know what the activities will be yet, but we are envisioning an event with multiple stations, multiple time slots (to meet COVID-protocols), and lots of fun. 

We need more parent volunteers! Can you help? Please reach out to Sharon Topper or Molly Perencevich. Ideas welcome!

We encourage families with children supported by an IEP or 504 to join the Newton Special Education Parent Advisory Council (Newton SEPAC), an all-volunteer organization of parents of children with disabilities in the preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, and in private schools who meet to ask questions and share knowledge about special education programs, issues, policies, regulations, and resources. We maintain an online discussion group and meet monthly online. If you are interested please reach out to Lindsay MacAuley Friedberg for more information.

The Mason-Rice Spirit Store is still open!

T-Shirts @ $15: We have t-shirts in two styles: navy with the Mason-Rice logo in color on the front or heather blue with the Mason-Rice logo on the back. Available sizes include: 

• Kids sizes S, M, L
• Adult sizes S, M, L 

Sweatshirts @ $30: We also still have some hoodies available. Sizes include: 

• Kids size L
• Adult sizes XS, S, and M

To purchase, email Katie Gaines. All proceeds go to the Mason-Rice Fifth Grade Graduation Fund.

Mason-Rice’s annual online auction is usually the PTO’s biggest fundraiser. This year, because of the pandemic, we are not hosting the auction. Instead, in each week’s Notes, we are spotlighting the amazing businesses that have generously supported our auction year after year. We hope that now, during their time of need, you will consider patronizing those who have consistently supported our PTO.

Don’t forget to support the previously-spotlighted businesses! You can find them in the past Notes on our PTO webpage.

Camp Cody (in Freedom, NH) is a premier traditional New England summer camp with 2 and 4-week sessions for boys and girls.  At our spectacular location, campers develop independence, build self-confidence, make friends, and have great experiences. Check out our website for videos, photos and more information here.