Dear Proctor Penguins and Families,

Welcome to the 2025–2026 School Year!

What a wonderful start we’ve had! It has been such a joy welcoming back all of our K–5 students, catching up with familiar faces, and meeting our newest Penguins. A special thank you to our Kindergarten team (Mrs. Coder, Mrs. DiBuono, Mrs. Kinney, Mrs. Middleton, and Mrs. Cushman) for creating such a warm and reassuring first week for our youngest learners.

We are so proud of the way our students have jumped back into routines, shown kindness to new classmates, and helped one another feel at home. That welcoming spirit is exactly what makes Proctor such a special place. It was inspiring to watch our 5th graders take on the opportunity to support Kindergarteners at lunch, which will be an opportunity offered to all 5th graders.

Also as a reminder, every Friday is Proctor Fun Fri-YAY! Students and staff are encouraged to wear green or Proctor spirit wear to show their Penguin pride.

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead filled with learning and laughter!

This weekly newsletter will outline the following updates:

Respectfully, 

Stacy Mahoney and the Proctor Team

Please see the note below from MPY:

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) is pleased to announce that our free Parenting Solutions Library is now available in Spanish. MPY is offering this valuable resource in partnership with Peace At Home Parenting Solutions, a non-profit organization located in Mansfield, Connecticut. Peace At Home Parenting Solutions is a dynamic hub of trusted knowledge and compassionate support that inspires parents to create positive change for their children, their families and themselves. Through this new partnership, MPY is pleased to offer proven resources to help students’ families thrive. The video trainings are presented by experts with advanced degrees and present easy-to-use strategies for long-lasting change.

We’re thrilled to announce NEF’s 10th Annual Applefest Gala, a cherished fundraising event that directly supports our public schools. Thanks to last year’s fundraising events, NEF awarded $36,000 in grants to Northborough schools—funding innovative programs such as Career Forge ERM (ARHS), Visualizing Math (Melican) and Ozobots (all elementary schools) to name a few.

To help us promote this year’s event, we are sharing the attached flyer and link 

 https://northboroughed.org/applefest-gala/.

On September 2nd, during the Band Demonstration, your child will:

I look forward to working with you and your child this school year!

Rebecca Makara

5th Grade Band Director

rmakara@nsboro.k12.ma.us

To learn more about the benefits of playing a band instrument, please see the attachment to this message.

I’m excited to share information about Instrument Rental Night for our 5th-grade band students. Rental Night will be held on Wednesday, September 10th in the Melican Middle School front lobby from 6:00–8:00 PM.

Proctor families are scheduled for the 7:30–8:00 PM time block. This helps manage the flow of families across schools. However, if that time does not work for your family, you are welcome to attend at any point during the 6:00–8:00 PM window, and we will make it work.

Parents will need to pre-order instruments for pick-up. Your child will receive a form from me once they have selected their instrument, and I’ve also attached a sample for your reference.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. I’m looking forward to a fantastic year of music-making with our Proctor Penguins!

If you have questions please reach out directly to:

Rebecca Makara

5th Grade Band Director

rmakara@nsboro.k12.ma.us