Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Thank you MERSD Faculty 
for All You Do to Support Our Students and Families!

MERSD Supports Boston Strong!

The tragic events surrounding the Boston Marathon certainly cast a long shadow on our return to school from Spring break. As expected, our staff did a wonderful job of providing a welcoming and supportive environment for our students’ return. Elementary Principals reported that, while the younger children were business as usual, our upper elementary students did want to engage in some discussion. This was handled through the Responsive Classroom morning meeting routine.

At the Middle High School, the Social Studies Department developed and delivered a lesson on terrorism and its roots, and student leaders stepped forward to plan a day of remembrance event. Junior Fiona Davis took the lead in organizing a very respectful remembrance. She wrote and delivered a very thoughtful piece on the meaning of the marathon, and the Soundwaves sang a beautiful rendition of America. Click here for pictures of the ceremony and to read more about the event.  Please join us for an Evening of Jazz to benefit Boston's The One Fund -  May 23rd ~ 7:00pm in the Middle High School Auditorium.

Mr. Willis' Blog: Hit the Street for Little Feet!

Mr. Willis' Blog: Hit the Street for Little Feet!: Hit the Street for Little Feet is right around the corner!  I just registered myself and my son, Cameron, for the 5K.  We are both excited ...

Seniors Practice 21st Century Skills

Seniors are off on SCORE!  SCORE Senior Choice of Related Experience (SCORE) is a five-week internship program that releases seniors from regular classes to carry out hands-on learning projects in the career fields of their choice.  It is a bridge between the familiar world of school and peer group and the largely unknown world of work and adulthood. Through SCORE, seniors have an opportunity to learn by doing, to assess possible careers, acquire job skills, clarify what further training they need, and finally put to use what they have learned in their years of schooling.

You can learn more about the work they are doing by following them on the SCORE Blog http://scorehornets.blogspot.com.   Seniors are responsible for posting a 250-word reflection three times a week during SCORE. Y

MERSD Healthier US School Award Winners!

Core Value Spotlight – Whole Child Education:  We believe schools must establish a safe environment conducive to the development of the whole child, which extends beyond the academic core to include experiential learning, the arts, cultural awareness, and physical and emotional well being.

Manchester Essex Regional School District is being awarded the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) bronze award for Memorial and Essex Elementary. The HUSSC is a recognition award for schools that have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in both nutrition and physical education to promote a healthier school environment for children. It is a wonderful accomplishment for the food service department, the students, and the district.

ASCDWhole Child Tenet:

Each student enters school healthy and learns about and practices a healthy lifestyle.  Our school supports, promotes, and reinforces healthy eating patterns and food safety in routine food services and special programming and events for students and staff.

The Manchester Essex Regional School District (MERSD) is committed to a collaborative approach to budget planning.  Throughout the budget season, we have been working cooperatively with Boards of Selectman and Finance Committees in both Essex and Manchester in order to provide one another with on-going progress reports on our planning process and outlook. 

The FY 14 Budget represents what the district believes is needed to maintain quality and position the schools for continual improvement of the educational program and student achievement.  These needs are balanced each year with a commitment to fiscal responsibility. 

In recent years, the state has responded to MERSD’s multi-year trend of rapid enrollment growth with significant increases in state aid.  As enrollment growth now begins to slow, increases in state aid have also declined.  While this has caused budgeted town operating assessments to increase more noticeably in 2014, the average annual operating increase to taxpayers over the past three years has been just 2.2% - more than 50% lower than seen in the prior four years.  At the same time, the district continues to invest in staffing and programming to address enrollment growth and the increasingly diverse student population we serve. 

Please visit the MERSD Budget Page for details about our FY14 budget proposal and goals and to review additional budget documents.

Key Overview Documents to Review on the MERSD Budget Page

FY14 Budget Brochure

FY 14 Budget Presentation

Important Dates to Remember

Manchester Town Meeting:   April 1, 2013 ~ Memorial Elementary School

Essex Town Meeting:  May 6, 2013 ~ Essex Elementary School

The Manchester Essex Regional School District is a high achieving community committed to educating all students, inspiring a passion for life-long learning, and developing local and global citizenship.  Its success is a community effort. On behalf of the faculty and staff of MERSD, I extend my sincere appreciation to the residents of the communities of Manchester and Essex for their unwavering support of our students and our schools.  

New Principal Meet & Greet

Please Join Us

Meet & Greet with the New MEMHS Leadership Team

Patricia Puglisi ~ High School

Steven Guditus ~ Middle School

Tuesday ~ March 26th ~ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm