2009 Annual Report.pdf - Town of Milton

In January, students and faculty from the Milton Public Schools participate
in a town wide, interfaith celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at the Temple
Shalom in Milton. This annual event features a performance from our high
schools “MLK Scholars,” a panel discussion; an essay and poetry contest; and
a musical performance of the Milton High Gospel Chorus.
The Milton Public Schools are also fortunate to work with M-PACE. This
group, (Milton Partnership for Arts and Cultural Enrichment) awarded grants
to fund cultural activities. During the 2008-2009 year, these activities included:
Riverside Theatre Works Poetry and Music workshops for students in Grade 3;
a trip to the Boston Symphony for students in Grade 4; a visit to the Museum
of Fine Arts for students in Grade 8; and a performance of Macbeth at the MHS
auditorium to be presented by Shakespeare Now Theater Company. A total of
12 grants were awarded, which cover each grade level and offer a variety of
experiences.
In collaboration with the Milton Council on Aging and the selectmen’s office,
our town has begun a Senior Tax Work-Off program. Our schools have
been privileged to have a group of Milton’s Senior Citizens volunteer in our
schools as volunteers through this program.
The Tucker Elementary School has also had a long-standing partnership
with Milton’s Council on Aging through their Director Mary Ann Sullivan. This
pen pal partnership has proven to be one of the more successful programs of its
kind. Throughout the school year, third-graders correspond with “their own”
senior citizen, assigned through the COA office. In the springtime, the pen-pals
meet for a luncheon at the Walnut Street center.
The Milton Public Schools and Fuller Village piloted a new Milton Senior
Citizen Volunteer Program with a large group of residents from Fuller Village.
Our second grade teachers and elementary librarians welcomed a volunteer into
their classroom once a week. We were most appreciative of the help of these
very talented individuals.
We are grateful to the Milton Rotary Club for their wonderful project involving
our third- and fourth-graders in a community project. Rotarians organized
a tile-painting session in the fall at the Pierce Middle School. Students
were given a six-inch tile and allowed to paint a scene from their favorite book
on the tile. More than 200 students participated in this project, and the finished
tiles were used to create a mosaic wall when the new Milton Public Library
opened in the springtime.
In May, the Milton Public Schools worked with the Milton Police Department
and Milton Hospital to host an event, “Parenting Your Teen in these Tough
Times.”
259