Dear NAPS Community:

The North Andover Public School District is committed to providing a safe environment in schools during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We have many mitigation practices in place in our schools to help keep our students and staff healthy.

As you may know, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education lifted the state-wide school mask mandate as of February 28 and has given local communities the authority to determine mask requirements. The North Andover School Committee voted unanimously last night to make masks optional beginning on Monday, February 28. 

However, our responsibility to provide a safe environment for all staff and students still remains. This vote did not eliminate masks in school, but made masks a choice for each family to decide. Accordingly, we will support any student or staff member who feels more comfortable and safe wearing a mask.

In the event there is an uptick in COVID cases, the Town of North Andover Health Director has the authority to reinstate masking should a public health concern arise, either in a particular school or broadly in the North Andover community. 

Masks will still be required:

• on school buses per federal order

• in school health offices

• for students and staff returning from a 5-day isolation/quarantine period, during days 6-10, other than when eating, drinking, or when outside

Masks will also be recommended for unvaccinated individuals and visitors in school buildings.

NAPS will continue our current mitigation practices including frequent hand washing, distancing, ventilation, providing staff and students with at-home rapid tests and a vaccination clinic. Thank you for your continued attention to the safety of our community.

It is my hope and expectation that all personal decisions to wear a mask or not to wear a mask will be respected.

Join us for a small discussion group as we talk about mental health in an intimate setting, specifically how to support our kids, families and friends!

Wednesday, March 16

7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

NAMS Cafeteria

Masks Required 

• Event is FREE 

• Must RSVP here

  (event is limited to 10 people)

This session, we will be joined by Dr. Matthew Flynn, founder of Peak Mental Performance Coaching, LLC. Dr. Flynn works with students and athletes aiding in education and test prep coaching, and sport psychology. We are thrilled to have him join us this month! Discussion topics may include:

• Game day jitters and how to help

• Striving for a college scholarship

• Preparing to compete at the next level

• Recovering from an injury

• How to transition out of the sports world

Student Council

Our 5th grade student council has been very active this year. They could not do it without the guidance and support of our 5th-grade teachers who serve as student council advisors. They have developed spirit weeks and sponsored the annual Coats for Kids drive. We are proud that due to the collective efforts of the Thomson Community we placed #1 in the state for donations. Our student council will be recognized at an upcoming NA School Committee meeting in March. Way to go! As we get this write-up out to you, our student council and Thomson Tigers are celebrating Kindness Week.  The great kindness challenge was created and launched in 2011 by Kids for Peace, a global nonprofit based in Carlsbad, California which has 

expanded to all 50 states with nearly 17 million students participating. This week we have a variety of activities to celebrate kindness in ourselves and others. We are filling buckets with kindness examples all week and are on track to celebrate over 500 acts of kindness by Thomson students in one week. As we like to say to the students - kindness is important every day! We hope you enjoy the video put together by our student council showing students the various ways they can demonstrate kindness each day. 

Kindness Video

Cato Freeman was one of the names being considered when naming the Anne Bradstreet Early Childhood Center four years ago. His name may not have been a familiar one to many as he was an African American who died in 1853, but history reveals that Cato's ability to overcome the prejudice of the time and thrive made him a worthy candidate. 

Cato's parents were slaves who were owned by the Reverend Samuel Phillips; and when Reverend Phillips died shortly after Cato was born in 1768, Cato's ownership then passed to Reverend Phillips' son, Samuel Phillips. It appears that Cato thrived in the Phillips household given the unusually kind treatment and education provided to him, and even after slavery ended in 1780, Cato stayed with the Phillips family until 1789.  When Cato self-emancipated at age 21, he took the name Freeman and soon married and had a family of his own. It is believed that he and his wife had 11 children. 

During his lifetime, Cato was able to acquire two properties in North Andover, and was the first  African American allowed to have his cows graze on the Common. Cato was an active congregant of the North Parish church, and as the Parish musician, he played the Viol to 

accompany the choir. However, acceptance as an equal member of the church was not offered to Cato. African Americans were denied the opportunity to purchase pews at the time they were made available to white members of the congregation, and the burial ground for African Americans was located away from the main burial ground.  Cato, his wife and son are buried in the "Negro Quarter" of the cemetery.

Cato Freeman worked up until the day he died and was remembered in the most positive manner as described in his obituary: "The united testimony of all who knew our departed friend, to his extensive reading, his cultivated and well-informed mind, sterling worth and strict integrity and the many kind attentions they bestowed upon him, prove most clearly that color is no barrier to confidence and kindness." 

This priceless history of one of North Andover's most prominent citizens has been made possible through the preservation of primary documents which have been made available here through the efforts of Brian Sheehy, NAHS History Coordinator.

What's Happening at Stevens Memorial Library

Each year, the National Education Association (NEA) calls for everyone to Read Across America and “get caught reading.” We at Stevens, of course, think it is a great idea! Tell us what you read and where you were reading this March 2 to be entered in a Stevens drawing. Drawing details will be on the Library’s website on March 1. Join people in North Andover and across the country to enjoy reading something new or an old favorite. Not sure what to read? Let us help with a recommendation for books, as well as magazines, audio books, etc.

Talk to a Stevens Librarian in the Library or on the telephone 978-688-9505.

• Fill out a Reader's request for personalized recommendations.

• Browse our Digital Book Displays. 

• Visit the Children’s Virtual Room and the Teens Virtual Room for their “Newest

      Arrivals.”

• Fill out a form for a Teens’ “Blind Date with a Bag of Books” or “Surprise Bag of

     Books” (P.S. - You don’t have to be a teen to enjoy Young Adult literature.)

Let us know by Monday, March 7 what you read and where you were reading to be included in the drawings.

• Send us an email. (Photos are great, too. They might go into a display.)

• Email SmlRefServices@NorthAndoverMA.gov

• Fill out a reading slip and drop it in the box, if you’re in the Library.

 What Counts?

• Reading for yourself or to someone else (“someone” can be a pet or a stuffed animal)

• All books, graphic novels, magazines, newspapers.

What counts? (continued)

• They can be print (on paper) or digital through sites like OverDrive or Tumblebooks.

• Audiobooks count, too: a book-on-cd and an e-audiobook.

 Library Services

• No Library card, or it needs an update? Email Stevens-Circulation@NorthAndoverMA.gov

• General questions or help? Email SmlRefServices@NorthAndoverMA.gov or call the Library 978-688-9505.

• Click on E-Library for 30+ online resources in Art; Hobbies & Crafts; Health/Medical; History; Languages and Literature; Music; Science & Technology.

• Find a virtual storytime on our Youtube channel.

Your Stevens Library Card gets you thousands of e-books, online magazines and online newspapers, music, etc.

All these services and the latest updates are on the Library’s website www.StevensMemLib.org. Follow the Library on Facebook and Twitter using “StevensMemLib.”

Check if the Library building is open if the weather is questionable. The Library updates its website, Facebook, Twitter and telephone message as soon as any unexpected changes are known. The Library’s resources are available online even when the building is closed.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE CORNER

by Andrew McDevitt, Chair

Hello, 

This has been an incredibly exciting few weeks since our last update.  In January, we worked collaboratively with the Town Manager and Select Board for the largest budget increase in decades.  An increase of over 5.3 percent will help our students, faculty and staff as we continue to learn and grow.  This is more than double what we have traditionally negotiated.  I personally thank them for their partnership.  North Andover is making a significant investment in our schools. 

The Facilities Master Plan II is building momentum.  While we will learn this March if State funding will assist the new Kittredge building project, we proceed nevertheless.  Again, with the partnership of the Town Manager, we will begin design planning for both Kittredge and expanding the Middle School.  Design and building will all occur without a tax increase for any resident.  Please see the link to the latest presentation.

A COVID vaccine clinic will be held on Friday, February 25. For more information and to schedule an appointment, please click here. Making the vaccine available to families even closer to home is a positive step.  

And finally, in case you missed it, last night the School Committee voted 5-0 to remove the mask mandate in our schools effective 2/28/2022.  In consultation with DESE, our local Board of Health, and the NA COVID Task Force, it's the right decision for our community.  Masks now become optional for all students, faculty, and staff.  We encourage all to take advantage of the free COVID tests available.  We've come together as a community since 2020, and now it is time to move forward. We have amazing work to do together.

Andrew McDevitt, Chair

North Andover School Committee