Medway & Millis February 2019

February 2019 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com Page 3
New Tuition-Free Full-Day
Kindergarten Program a
Success at Medway Schools
Superintendent Armand
Pires is pleased to announce
that the Medway Public School
District’s newly implemented
tuition-free full-day kindergarten
program has been a success
so far this school year.
Prior to offering full-day kindergarten
tuition-free - which
began in the fall - parents who
wanted their children to attend
classes for the full-day had to
pay a tuition of $2,500. Halfday
kindergarten was offered at
no cost under the old system.
All students now attend the
full-day program and the halfday
program has been dissolved.
There are currently 147 students
enrolled in kindergarten this
school year.
“We wanted to remove that
barrier to make sure that all students
receive the same education
and class time as their peers,”
Superintendent Pires said. “Historically,
we’ve had about 85 percent
of the students enrolled in
the full-day K program. Meaning
that all but a small amount
of parents were electing to pay
to have their child in kindergarten
for the whole day. We believe
that all students should have
the ability to attend the full-day
program while taking away the
financial burden from parents.”
In March last year, the Medway
Board of Selectmen approved
allocating an additional
$500,000 into the school district’s
budget to pay for the cost
of offering tuition-free kindergarten.
The funds were made
available by an increase in the
Exelon power plant’s paymentin-lieu-of-taxes
(PILOT) agreement
with the town.
Superintendent Pires said that
the new program is here to stay
and the cost will be built into the
district’s operating budget in future
years.
“We’ve gotten tremendous
feedback from parents and
teachers who are happy about
the change in the program,”
Superintendent Pires said. “For
the district, this was about more
than just dollars and cents. This
was about building equity in our
education system. We as educators
truly want all of our students
to be on even footing with their
classmates from the get go. Now,
all of our kindergartners are
starting in the same place and
learning at the same pace.”
A portion of the $500,000
added to the district budget went
toward ensuring that staffing and
material levels were adequate to
meet the needs of all kindergarten
students throughout the day.
Church of Christ to Hold
Free Community Dinner and
Game Night
The Church of Christ at 142
Exchange St., Millis will offer a
Free Community Dinner and
Game Night on Friday, February
8. Dinner is served at 6:30
p.m. Following the dinner, we
will have a fun night playing
board games and sharing conversation
and fellowship. All are
invited—there will be games for
all ages. Feel free to bring family,
friends and a favorite game! The
event is sponsored by the Men’s
Fellowship group and is held in
Fellowship Hall at the church.
For more information, please call
376-5034 or visit the website at
millisucc.org.
FUND
continued from page 1
overall,) and that The Millis
Fund is designed to relieve temporary
financial emergencies
only, not chronic needs.
The nine members of the
Board of Directors meet about
four or five times a year to plan
the fund drive, create the materials
and review the applications.
The annual mailing is
also donated, so just about all of
the funds donated to The Millis
Fund benefit Millis residents.
Board members take care to personally
contact each applicant.
”The average need has continued
to rise a bit year to year.
Living in general has gotten
more expensive, even for a small
town like Millis,” says Corl.
This month, the Millis Fund
holds its annual drive throughout
Millis, traditionally centering
John’s
family owned and operated for 45 years
around the NFL’s Super Bowl
Sunday – this year on February
3rd. Contributions are welcomed
at any time, however.
(Originally, a soup bowl was literally
passed through places of
worship to gather contributions
for the fund.)
Millis residents can apply for
assistance with a simple, onepage
application, up to once
a year. These are available at
the Millis Senior Center or the
Church of Christ (Congregational)
at 142 Exchange St., says
Corl, neither of which is affiliated
with the organization.
If you would like to help your
fellow residents in need, you can
send your donation to:
The Millis Fund, 142 Exchange
Street, Millis, MA 02054.
The fund is a 501 (c3) organization
and will provide a letter
of thanks, which could serve as
a receipt.
Marine Corps League
“Once a Marine, Always a Marine”
Norfolk County Detachment
Meetings held 3rd Tuesday of each month (except July and August)
7PM Norwood V.F.W., 193 Dean Street, Norwood, MA 02062
For Membership Info contact Bill Maguire
617.710.6722
Birkenstock
repair center
Superior Shoe & Boot Repair
21E CharlEs strEEt, holliston, Ma 01746
839a Main strEEt (rt. 20), WalthaM, Ma
CErtifiED in PEDorthiCs/orthoPEDiC shoE MoDs
sPECializing in laDiEs high hEEl tiP rEPlaCEMEnt
tall Horse riding Boot Zipper specialist
www.superiorshoerepair.com
John ElhiloW, C.PED, o.s.t. (508) 429-2038
Galante’s
✻ Fridays:
Fish & Chips
Includes FREE Hot Coffee or Tea
✻ Early Bird Specials $ 4 99 2 Eggs, Homefries, and Toast.
(Mon-Fri, 6-9 am)
Wednesday is Senior Discount Day Receive 10% off.
Breakfast • Lunch • Daily Specials
320 Village Street, Medway • 508-533-4473 • www.galantesrestaurant.com
The Candy Cottage
Chocolates · Truffles · Fudge · Turtles · Gift Baskets
NUT FREE & DAIRY FREE CHOCOLATES
For that
Special Someone…
Chocolate Roses | Chocolate Pizza
Assorted Chocolates
44 Central Street, Holliston
(508) 429-5544 • www.TheCandyCottage.biz
Valentine week hours: Sun 11-4 • Mon/Tues 10-5 • Wed/Thurs 9:30-6 • Fri/Sat 10-5