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Be Kind. Be Curious. Be Courageous.
Welcome to the Martha Jones School. We want students at the Martha Jones School to Be Kind to themselves and to others; We hope that they will Be Curious about learning and the world and people around them; and we ask that they Be Courageous when called upon to do the right thing, to stand up for themselves and others, to take risks and be adventurous, even when it is hard and to not be afraid to fail. I am delighted to welcome you to Martha Jones.
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Message from the Principal’s Office
Happy Chinese New Year - To those of you celebrating the New Year, I hope you have a wonderful holiday as you head into the Year of the Ox. The second animal of the Chinese zodiac, the ox denotes the hard work, positivity and honesty that will be manifested in all of us in the coming 12 months, according to astrologers. 
If you celebrate the Chinese New Year and would like to share information about the holiday and/or your family traditions around the new year, I know the teachers and students would love to learn more about it. You can reach out to your child’s teacher (or me) to do a zoom presentation in class if you are interested.
MCAS - This year the students in grades 3, 4 & 5 will participate in MCAS. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is requiring MCAS to be administer this year, but have reduced the number of sessions from 2 sessions each of ELA and Math to 1 session of ELA and Math in grades 3, 4, & 5 and from 2 sessions of Science to 1 session of Science in grade 5.
The sessions will be conducted at the end of April through the middle of May. Once we finalize the exact schedule and the plan for administering the test remotely to our at home students, I will communicate that information out.
WPS Proposed FY ‘22 Budget - Some of you may have attended last week’s School Committee Budget meeting where Supt. Parks presented the proposed FY ‘22 Budget. The FY ‘22 Budget Executive Summary is linked here for your convenience. Additional budget information can be found on the Westwood Public Schools District Website (under the District tab).
MJ Girls Scouts Support Our Health Care Workers
Westwood Girl Scouts have been collecting "cookie share" donations for the healthcare heroes at Beth Israel in Needham. Our fifth grade Girl Scouts visited the hospital last week and made our first delivery. The donations are ongoing and we plan to do more. Mrs. Orsillo, one of our MJ parents, is a nurse at BI and she helped us make this happen.
Masks - Thank you for continuing to encourage your children to wear their masks (reminder, they must be at least two layered masks), wash their hands, and remain physically distanced when in school. When purchasing masks, please be sure the mask fits over your child’s nose and under chin and stays in place. It is frustrating for students when their masks constantly slip down and they are receiving numerous reminders to pull their masks up. Sometimes if the mask is too big, it is helpful to tie the ear loops to tighten them up and some children’s masks are just too small for some of our students. We realize finding the right mask, that fits well, is challenging and appreciate your support in making sure the masks are doing the job of keeping your child and other children safe. 
Valentine’s Day - Just a reminder that students will not be allowed to hand out Valentine’s Day cards this year. I know students look forward to this each year, but we are working to avoid having students share paper and access any items that are touched by multiple people. Thank you.
Announcements
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Please click here to be directed to the link with instructions for ordering lunches online
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In case you were looking - the MJ Tutor List can be accessed in the "Forms & Documents" section - just use "Tutor" as the key word in the search window and you'll be brought right to the page :)
Update - 2/24/2021
MARTHA JONES PTO MEETING
Tuesday, March 2 at 7 p.m.
Our next PTO Meeting is Tuesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. This meeting will be held over Zoom and a link will be sent out on the day of the meeting. Our final PTO meeting of the year will be May 4 at 7 p.m.
THANK YOU TEACHERS!
This February the PTO joins the Martha Jones community in showing our appreciation for our teachers and staff. Throughout the month, students and parents wrote notes to everyone at Martha Jones to express their thanks. We capped off the month by welcoming teachers back to school from February break with a box of Girl Scout cookies. The PTO purchased 60 boxes of cookies so every teacher and staff could receive one. A very sweet and well deserved treat! A special thanks to Jen Camelio for the awesome cookie wrappers.
MABEL’S LABELS
Go to campaigns.mabelslabels.com and enter “Martha Jones PTO” as the fundraiser you would like to support. By purchasing any of the labels via our fundraiser, you will receive free shipping (labels are mailed directly to your address) and the PTO will receive 20% of your purchase.
ELECTRONIC BOX TOPS - COLLECTION ONGOING
Download the Box Top App and scan receipts within 14 days of purchase. Click here for more information about how to download the Box Top app and scan your receipts. Each Box Top is worth 10¢ for our school.
SHOP AmazonSmile ON THE APP
Support Martha Jones with every purchase
The Amazon Shopping app now supports Amazon Smile! Simply download the newest version of the Amazon Shopping app, go to settings, turn on Amazon Smile and choose the Martha Jones PTO as your charity. After you’ve done that, every purchase you make will automatically support the Martha Jones PTO at no cost to you.
You will find the exact same prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the Martha Jones PTO.
MARTHA JONES PTO FACEBOOK GROUP
Did you know Martha Jones PTO has its own Facebook group page? Join the Facebook group to get the latest PTO news and updates delivered right to your news feed! Click here to join!
PTO CONTACT FOR EVENTS, NOTICES
If you have an event or notice for our PTO update, please email it to PTO Co-Secretary Amy Amatangelo at amyamatangelo@yahoo.com
