Click "View In Browser" for linked table of contents!

January

1 New Year’s Day/Vacation

9 School Committee

10 Grade 7 Middle of the Middle Dance Party - PTO sponsored

17 PD Day-District, No School for Students

20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day-No School

23 School Committee

28 RAMS & Miller Band Concert @ HHS 7 PM

February

8 School Committee

10 Challenge Day - 7th Grade

11/12 HHS Moving Up 8th-9th-Tours

17 Presidents Day/No School

17-21 February Vacation

Interest Forms Due by Friday, January 10th 2025

Today, during RAMS Block, 7th-grade students learned about Challenge Day—an optional day-long event offered exclusively to 7th graders, which will take place during the school day on Monday, February 10th.

What is Challenge Day?

Challenge Day is an organization that helps young people connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and communities. The day-long, interactive Challenge Day program provides teens and adults with tools to break down the walls of separation, inspiring participants to live, study, and work in an environment of acceptance, love, and respect.

Using highly interactive and energetic activities, Challenge Day leaders guide teens through a carefully designed exploration of the ways people separate from each other, while modeling tools for creating connection and building community.

Challenge Day programs increase self-esteem, shift dangerous peer pressure to positive peer support, and reduce the acceptability of teasing, oppression, and all forms of violence.

This is the second year that RAMS and Holliston High School are participating in this program. To join, students must complete the interest form linked below by next Friday, January 10th. As we are limited to 100 student participants, a lottery system will be used if more than 100 7th-grade students sign up. Challenge Day has also had a positive impact on adults who have participated, so we encourage parents to consider volunteering by signing up through the form below. Feel free to explore the linked resources and media clips to learn more!

Interest Forms Due Friday, January 10th!

Please fill out the form(s) below to indicate if you are interested in participating in Challenge Day.

Introduction from Mr. Seth Golder, our new Library/Media Specialist who will be starting at RAMS and HHS later this month.

I am thrilled to be joining the Holliston community as your new Library Media Specialist at RAMS and HHS! For the past seven years, I have taught 5th and 6th grade ELA and Social Studies in Foxborough, and prior to that, I taught 5th grade in Lexington and Worcester. I am eager to connect with students through literature, helping them discover stories that inspire, inform, and empower them. My goal is to create a welcoming space where students feel supported in their learning journeys, whether diving into a great book or exploring new research skills. I currently live in Franklin with my wife and two kids, and I look forward to becoming a part of this vibrant community.

7th Grade Middle of the Middle Dance Party!

Next Friday, the PTO is sponsoring the 7th Grade Middle of the Middle dance party! Please see the flyer below for more details.

A reminder to families that doors to Robert Adams Middle School open at 7:50 AM each morning. Students are required to wait outside until that time, regardless of weather, as there is no supervision before then. Please plan your child's drop-off accordingly. Thank you for your cooperation!

We’re excited to announce that yearbook ordering is open for the school year! Using this link on the school’s website you can order a 2024 - 2025 Robert Adams Middle School yearbook for your child. The price is 25.00 and you will need to enter Robert Adams Middle School on the Yearbook Forever site.

Yearbooks will be distributed in early June, and online ordering closes at the end of April. Please don’t wait to order - we’d love to secure a yearbook for your child now. We will have a few copies to sell in person in June, but last year we ran out! The only way to guarantee one for your child is by ordering online by April 30th.

Any questions? Email Ms. Malloy or Ms. Ditto Kustwan

This Year’s Theme is: COMMUNITY...  Together We Can Achieve Greatness!

Being an active member of your community means you care about others and helping one another. Unity means joining together to achieve great things. Together you can make a positive impact in your school, neighborhood and community. Together, we can achieve greatness!

The POSTER submission deadline is Friday, January 24, 2025. The PSA submission deadline is Friday, April 25, 2025. For additional information, please contact MPY Executive Director Margie Daniels, at margie@mpyinc.org or Wendy Leone at wendy@mpyinc.org.

Upload Poster and PSA Submissions on our Website.

Each participant must complete the student application form signed by a parent/guardian consenting to the student's involvement in the Poster/PSA Project. The form is available to download below and can also be found on MPY's website (linked above). School staff are responsible for collecting the permission slip and keeping them on file. When uploading a student’s project, please check the box acknowledging receipt of the signed permission slip.

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.

781-587-3409

margie@mpyinc.org

www.mpyinc.org

By now you have likely heard about our efforts to support students and families with student attendance. Each school has formed school-based attendance teams who meet weekly to review student attendance totals and to determine family outreach and interventions as needed. We are grateful for your support!

Weekly Monitoring:

Students with 3 absences contacted by nurse

Team reviews students with 5 absences and/or tardies

Monthly Letters:

ALL families receive a monthly attendance update for their student(s) notifying them of totals.

45 Day Letters:

Families of students with 10% or more absences or tardies will receive a letter detailing attendance totals and inviting collaboration to support improved attendance. These updates will be sent approximately every 45 days, or sooner if additional communication is needed.

As a reminder, RAMS doors open for students at 7:50AM and the first “bell” sounds at 8:03 AM to remind them to report to homeroom. The second “bell” sounds at 8:05 AM. Students are considered tardy when they arrive after 8:05 AM. We ask for your assistance in assuring that your child consistently attends school and is on time to begin the school day.

Robert Adams Middle School is seeking paraprofessionals. At RAMS, paraprofessionals will work with students, individually or in small groups, to provide instruction, supervise, and share positive energy. The impact paraprofessionals have on the educational system is immeasurable, and we at RAMS greatly value our paraprofessionals.

Interested applicants can apply using THIS LINK.

If you are curious, please connect with us. You may know a new retiree, a recent college graduate, or a caring and positive person who would love to work with students. Contact Karen Manning (manningk@holliston.k12.ma.us) or Ryan Holland (hollandr@holliston.k12.ma.us). Please share this plea far and wide as you see fit. Thank you in advance!

Reminder to Students

Please remember to bring wired headphones or earbuds to school for class activities. Wireless headphones are not permitted. Having the right equipment helps ensure everyone can participate fully. Thank you!

How To Report Absences and Tardies

If your child will not be in or late to school, you have several options for reporting your child's absence or tardiness. Please be aware that if you report your child's absence or tardiness by 9:15 a.m., you will not receive a notification from Bright Arrow indicating that your child has been reported absent.

• Call in your child's absence tardiness. Our RAMS Absentee mailbox is (508) 429-0657; press option 3. Please leave your child's name, grade, and reason for your child's absence.

• Email us your child's absence or tardiness. Send an email to ramsattendance@holliston.k12.ma.us. Again, please leave your child's name and grade and the reason for your child's absence.

• If you are dismissing your child early, please be sure to fill out the online dismissal form linked below!

RAMS Clubs & Late Buses

Dear RAMS Families,

Our after school clubs are underway! A list of our clubs can be found on the school website, so be sure to check it out in the "ACTIVITIES" section.

There are two late buses: A and B, and they arrive at 4:00 p.m. Clubs will run until 3:30, and after that, students can head to the lobby to wait or go outside for the buses. Walkers, bike riders, and parent pickups can leave at 3:30. If students are being picked up between 3:45 and 4:00 p.m., their ride must use the loop on the side of the building to allow buses to pull in and safely load students.

If you’re unsure about which bus your child should be on, they can visit the main office before 3:30, where Mrs. Ahronian will be happy to assist. Please remind students that after 3:30, they should either be in the lobby or outside, as wandering the building is not allowed.

There will be supervision from 3:30-4:00 while students are waiting for the late buses, so rest assured everyone is covered!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the front office, Ms. Manning, or Mr. Holland.