Back to school information.
1. PDF: Acton-Boxborough 2012/13 Bus Routes 2. Still shopping? Frugal Family: Back-to-School Shopping Strategies 3. Back To School Photo Gallery: Your First Day 4. School Bus Surveillance Cameras Implemented for Acton-Boxborough 5. How to Use Acton Patch this School Year
In this Article:
A new plan to ensure childrens' safety and well-being on their rides to and from school is now in place.
Acton-Boxborough school buses are now equipped with surveillance cameras to ensure the safety of your children, to monitor the bus drivers accountability, and to curb bullying. According to J.D. Head, Acton-Boxborough Facilities & Transportation Director, 30 new buses, leased for the next five years, will feature four monitoring cameras capturing outside traffic activity and inside bus activity. There will be no audio recording from any of the cameras for legal reasons. "The cameras are a natural trend in technology for the vehicle," said Head. "At least once a day there is some kind of a phone call that comes into the Transportation Department that is in one way or another a he said she said type of event. So what this system does is …
Is it possible to go overboard with the back-to-school celebrations?
In denial that school starts this week? Well whatever you do, don’t go on Pinterest and search for “back to school.” Because if you have time to read this, you’re probably not busy building a kindergarten time capsule. And I’m just going to go ahead and assume you haven’t “baked” a complicated back-to-school “cake” out of pencils and rulers and assorted Crayola products (unless, perhaps, you were “baked”). Know the Back-to-School Fairy? Booked your house as a stop for the Magic Bus? Me neither. And if someone’s hosting a neighborhood back-to-school tea, chances are good it’s not you. Surely you’re not standing around your kitchen waiting for a batch of Red Candy Melts to, well, melt—so that you can dip Oreos into it and make a bouquet of “…
9:58 am on Monday, August 27, 2012
I thought a new pair of shoes was enough! Guess that's Old School. more ›
School starts next week. The requisite buying spree doesn't have to break the bank.
The kids of Acton will soon be donning new outfits, tossing backpacks over their shoulders and stepping onto buses. Parents will be attempting to capture the first-day-of-school smiles with their iPhone cameras. What are they doing now? They’re enjoying their last moments of freedom. They’re swimming, hanging out with their friends, and eating ice cream. And they’re shopping. Here are suggestions for stretching back-to-school dollars. Take inventory of what you’ve already got. Have the kids try on all their clothing to see what still fits. Wash the backpacks and see how they look. Find all the school supplies and decide what is still usable. Make a list of what’s needed. Kids who are kindergarten-aged and older can understand the …
In this Article:
Back to school bus routes for Acton and Boxborough students.
The 2012/13 Acton-Boxborough and Acton Public School bus routes. Courtesy of Facilities & Transportation Director, J.D. Head.
Five things principals, educators, PTA members, parents and students need to know.
The school year is approaching, and Acton Patch will be there to cover all the big news for all of Acton's schools. But we can’t do it without your help. To make sure you get the most out of Acton Patch this school year, we invite you to get active in the news-gathering process. There are five things you can do to make sure your school and its students get all the coverage they deserve from Patch: You can also become a blogger and share your personal experience as a teacher, student, parent or school volunteer directly with Acton Patch readers on a regular basis. To find out more about bogging and or using Patch this school year, just email Patrick.Clark@Patch.com.
Check out these photos of local people and Patch editors on their first days of school and add your own to the gallery.
We've all been there: the first day of school. And if your parents owned any sort of picture-taking device, there is likely evidence of said first day lying around your home somewhere (or perhaps in a place of honor on Mom's living room wall). With Acton-Boxbororugh students getting ready to head back school, we thought it would be fun to take a closer look at that special milestone. We've asked a few fellow Patch editors to share photos of themselves or their kids on the first day of school—be it preschool, kindergarten, elementary school or even college. Now it's your turn. Simply click the "Upload Photos and Videos" button at the top of the image gallery above and upload photos of you and/or your kids to the gallery. Put the year it was…
5:36 pm on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Oh my gooooodness! What an adorable kid. more ›
Do you remember your favorite lunch box? Today's kids have as many options as ever but nothing will take the place of the Partridge Family or Scooby-Doo.
Lunch boxes have changed in design and shape over the years, but the basic idea is the same. Along with space inside for a cold drink, sandwich and snack, the cover is devoted to a favorite cartoon, character, TV show or movie. That's why Justin Bieber and Darth Vader and Japanese cartoon characters are staring out at shoppers from the shelves of Target. Back in the '70s, the lunch boxes were aluminum. In the '80s, they gave way to plastic. Vintage lunch boxes now are highly collectible. They are displayed as collections in people's homes, and sometimes they get their own art gallery shows. (Yes, I've gone to one.) Do you remember a favorite lunch box? What was it? Have a picture handy? Share it with Patch!
Acton students log a great deal of time doing homework. Is this time well spent?
NOTE: This article was originally published on Patch in 2011 but we wanted to re-feature the article because it is an interesting topic of conversation since the new school year is soon to begin. In March, the documentary Race to Nowhere was shown at the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School. In the audience were approximately 750 parents, students and other interested locals. The film addresses what its director, Vicki Abeles, feels is the current state of affairs for our children: overscheduling, unrealistic demands to perform, lack of adequate sleep, competition in all areas, and intense pressure to position oneself to gain acceptance to prestigious colleges. Within a week of the film’s showing, parent, Alex Horovitz, penned a …
In this Article:
A few things you need to know about heading back to school. Information courtesy of the Acton Public Schools website.
It's creeping up on us. The summer is just about over and you know what that means... Opening Day will be Tuesday, August 28 (7:23 a.m. for the High School and 7:30 a.m. for the Jr. High). Grades 8, 10, 11, & 12 will start their first day of school on Wednesday, August 29. What Time Does School Start? DOUGLAS & GATES: 8:30 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. (Thursdays - 12:15 p.m. dismissal) CONANT, McCARTHY-TOWNE, MERRIAM: 9:15 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (Thursdays - 1:00 p.m. dismissal) School Lunch Prices: Acton School Lunch Price: $2.50 Acton-Boxborough School Lunch Price: $2.35 Milk only: $ .50
Mike Holmquist
3:51 pm on Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Not just to monitor the bus driver's accountability but the accountability of your children. Like the article said it's a measure to curb the "he said she said" factor. I'm sure if you were a bus driver you'd appreciate it plenty. more ›