Hi everyone within FLRSD,
As fall is settling in, and with so much going on around us the following story is timely for many reasons. Although it first was shared with me many years ago, never before has its meaning been more appropriate, especially the line “she thought for a moment and realized nothing changed other than HOW PRESENT I WAS”. It reminds me of the Ferris Bueller quote- “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you will miss it”.
I hope the story, if you choose to read it, resonates with you and that we all look to remain present in the moment. After all it helps in every aspect of our life- relationships, conversations, friendships, teams and even in our work. Staying present and invested in the moment is a habit of mind we must continue to teach our students.
The Boston Globe recently published an article focusing on various viewpoints of students. So much of what was said was filled with depth, passion and honesty. Their voice needs to be heard and with both honest concern and clear hope for their future, yet students also talked about the need to remain present in a world that seems to see right through people. Dinner table conversations have gone by the wayside replaced by devices, conversations with friends over text are the norm, person to person contact is becoming a lost art and of course, the anger, vitriol and discomfort that is displayed even before someone finishes a verbal stream of thought, is what our students are forced to reconcile with. And they deserve better!
As we head into another week, I, as always, want to thank our Maintenance, Food Service and Custodial Crews who diligently and with great focus help keep our schools clean, running smoothly and our students fed. Our Assistant Principals, Principals, Team Chairs, Teachers, Nurses, IT and Library Media Staff, Counselors, Paraprofessionals, Staff, Secretaries, Schedulers, Coaches and Advisors who continue to stay present and invested when they could easily opine the negatives. Our Central Office Administration/Staff, School Committee, Town Officials, Employees and community partners who are working daily behind the scenes to help FLRSD thrive and like the women in the story, help brightly color the world of our students and together the future of our school community will continue to shine brightly.
Be well, be happy and most of all be … present.
Have a wonderful week everyone,
Alan
Alan Strauss, Superintendent
Follow us on instagram @FLRSDsuper
PTO and SCHOOL COUNCIL
I encourage anyone who is interested in becoming involved in our school district to do so by joining the PTO at either AES, FES, GRAIS or FLMS or reach out to our Principals in all 5 schools regarding becoming a member of the school council. You also may send any questions to astrauss@freelake.org.
DIVERSITY COALITION
The Diversity Coalition will be holding its first meeting on October 24th at 6pm in the lecture hall at the High School. Please contact Principal Ward at mward@freelake.org or myself with questions.Thank you to everyone who reached out and expressed interest- we look forward to seeing you.
MCAS
Your students’ MCAS results were mailed out on Friday, 10/6, we encourage you to reach out to your building Principal to get clarification on any questions you have. MCAS is one important measure of student achievement, we recognize there are many other factors that pave the way for student success. Keep in mind that currently DESE has determined that a student must pass MCAS in high school in order to graduate. Our task is to prepare them to confidently reflect their understanding on these or any other high stakes assessment. We are proud of the energy and effort both staff and students apply in their daily learning environments that allows them to be successful.
AES WINDOWS PROJECT
All of the windows within AES have now been installed and the doors are in the process of being installed. I again want to thank the voters in Lakeville for supporting this project. And I must that those who have been involved - Greg Goodwin, Chief O'Brien, Nate Darling and Ari Sky.
AES Window Project 10.6.2023.pdf
ARHS GIRLS SOCCER & BOOSTERS Awareness Game
Granted the Varsity Girls soccer team is an incredible 10-0-1, but this shout out is for their recent mental health awareness game. Information was distributed to all players and fans with a focus on understanding that it is not a weakness to ask for support, but rather strength, and that “it is ok to not be ok”. The idea of this game and the donations that were brought in, were to support the tragic suicide of Whitman Hanson soccer player Ava Patete.
The fact that the girls program, led by Coaches Walter Seaberg, Nicole Graf, Mike Pollino, and our boosters wanted to do this, is another example of the power of collaboration, kindness, empathy and the understanding that we are all interconnected. To teach and to reach others while supporting a cause at another school is what community is all about. Well done everyone!
This is better than any victory- although we all root you on, to keep on winning!
NATIONAL PRINCIPALS (and ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS) MONTH
Thank you to our Principals: Ms. Pineault, Mr. Ward, Dr. Sullivan, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Oliveira, Mrs. Dessert, Mr. Gallant and Mrs. Sentes for the impact that they have on their building, our students & our community.
BREAKFAST IS HERE
We are excited to announce that beginning Tuesday October 10th, breakfast will be served for the first time at both the Middle School and the High School. Please note that students who arrive late to school will not be able to be served as our incredible food service staff must begin to prepare for lunch. I want to thank our Food Service Director Andrea Fay for working with such enthusiasm and positivity to make this happen, despite all her department already has on their plate.
Freetown Lakeville Regional School District School Links
Please click on the link(s) below for district information and easy access to your child’s school news
FLRSD: News | Freetown Lakeville Regional School District
ARHS: Apponequet Regional High School News
FLMS: Freetown Lakeville Middle School News
GRAIS: George R. Austin Intermediate School News
AES: Assawompset Elementary Schools News
FES: Freetown Elementary School News
Below please find links to important forms and information. These are located on our website but hope this may assist you in locating them quickly (we will continue to add to this and if you have suggestions on what would be helpful to add please let us know) Thank you for the latest suggestions!