Need Translation? | ¿Necesita traducción? | Precisa de tradução?

ENGLISH: Need translation? Just click "Translate" at the top of your screen!

ESPAÑOL: ¿Necesita traducción? Haga clic en "Translate" (traducir) en la parte superior de la pantalla.

PORTUGUÊS: Precisa de tradução? Clique em “Translate” (traduzir) no topo da tela!

Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year!

We are so excited to welcome you and your student(s) back to Stapleton. Whether this is your family's very first year with us or you are a longtime Stapleton family, we are thrilled to have you as part of our school community.

While we each took some time to relax and connect with family and friends this summer, we are incredibly excited for the year ahead. The 2026-2027 school year marks our third year together as Stapleton’s administrative team. We look forward to continuing to partner with our students, staff, and families to make Stapleton a place where every student feels welcomed, supported, challenged, and proud to belong.

Throughout the school year, our weekly caregiver newsletter will be sent each Sunday at 6:00 p.m. When there is a Monday holiday, the newsletter will be sent on Monday at 6:00 p.m. These newsletters are an important way for us to share upcoming events, reminders, celebrations, and other important school information.

As you can imagine, there is a lot of information in this week's newsletter as we prepare to open our doors for a new school year! Please take some time to read through it carefully, as it includes important information to help you and your student(s) have a smooth and successful start.

We look forward to seeing our grades 1-5 students on Wednesday, August 27th for the first day of school.

We know the beginning of a new school year brings excitement, anticipation, and lots of questions.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Lisa DiDonato, Principal (ldidonato@framingham.k12.ma.us)

Jackie Carrasquillo, Vice Principal (jcarrasquillo@framingham.k12.ma.us)

Address: 25 Elm Street

School Hours: 8:50 AM Doors open. The bell rings and classes start at 9:05. We begin dismissal procedures at 3:20 PM.

School Phone Number: 508-626-9144

Nurse's Phone Number: 508-782-6602

Stapleton Website

August 26th: First Day of School Grades 1-5

August 27th-31st: Kindergarten screenings

September 1st: No School, Staff Professional Development

September 2nd: Fisrt day for Kindergarten

September 7th: No School

September 16th: K-5 Open House at 6PM

Drop-off / Pick-up

• If your child is a car pick-up at dismissal, families must notify the office, noting the first and last name of the person picking the child up. It is helpful if you provide the full names of any adult allowed to pick up your student.

• Caregivers must remain in their car during the arrival/dismissal process and drive to the back of the building.

• It is helpful if caregivers place a piece of paper in your car window with the student's name and grade.

• Caregivers will have their ID available so staff can cross-check the dismissal list prior to students being escorted to the appropriate car.

#4: Location for parents/guardians who are in a car, driving to pick up their students, entering the back of the school from Maplewood Street. Parents will stay in their car and have their ID ready. Please turn onto Maplewood Street where the yellow arrow inside a green circle is indicated on the map above, then follow the yellow arrows around to the back of the school until you arrive at the student dropoff / pickup area labeled with the #4 on the map above.

If your child is walking to and from school:

The walkers' arrival / pickup area is marked as #1 in the map above. Please also see the pictures below.

• Arrival: Caregivers may drop students off at door #15 (facing Elm Street - the door is labeled with #15 on it). Staff will be present to greet you.

• Dismissal: A staff member will walk students out door #15 to awaiting caregivers. Staff will check ID’s and crosscheck them from the list from the office.

Safety First: Please Use the Crosswalk
For everyone’s safety, please remember that there is a crossing guard on duty at both arrival and dismissal.

We kindly ask that all students, families, and staff use the designated crosswalk—even if it takes a few extra moments. Modeling safe behaviors helps keep everyone protected and teaches our students the importance of following safety rules.

Thank you for doing your part to keep our school community safe!

Here is the link to the school store! This store will stay open year round! 

https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/stores/stapleton-elementary-school-3091280 

We now have two water bottle filling stations in the building on thee on the third floor and a newly installed station outside the cafeteria, on the main floor. While we continue to have several traditional water fountains throughout the building, we encourage students to bring a labeled reusable water bottle to school each day so they can easily stay hydrated throughout the day.

Parent-Teacher Home Visits: These visits provide meaningful opportunities to build relationships, learn more about our students and their families, and strengthen the sense of community that makes Stapleton so special. Last year, we were proud to surpass our goal of 33 home visits, and this year we hope to continue that momentum by visiting and connecting with as many families as possible. If you receive a call inviting you to participate in a home visit, please consider joining us. Thank you for helping us continue to build strong, meaningful connections with our community.

The beginning of the school year often brings warm temperatures, which can make our school building quite warm throughout the day. While most of our classrooms have air conditioning, we want to make sure students are comfortable and prepared for the warmer weather.

Please help your child come to school ready for warm days by:

• Sending a refillable water bottle each day. We are excited to now have two water-filling stations available for students!
• Dressing in lightweight, weather-appropriate clothing so students can remain comfortable throughout the school day.
• Keeping in mind that students will continue to have outdoor recess and other outdoor activities when conditions allow.

We will monitor weather conditions and follow the guidelines below for recess to ensure students can safely enjoy time outside.

Hello and welcome to the new school year! I’m looking forward to working with you and want to share some important information regarding medications and health records.

Medication Drop-Off:
If you are dropping off medications on the first day of school, please go directly to Door 18, which is the outside entrance to the Nurse’s Office. I will have a desk set up there to make medication drop-off as easy and efficient as possible.

In order for medications to be administered at school, I will need the following:

• Doctor’s orders
• For students who require an EpiPen or inhaler, an up-to-date Allergy/Asthma Action Plan is also needed from the doctor

As always all medications need to be brought in by a parent/guardian and cannot be sent to school with the student.

I will also need up-to-date physical examinations and vaccination records for all students.

All completed forms can be emailed to me at bmurray@framingham.k12.ma.us.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. I am more than happy to help in any way I can!

Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the school year!

For the past three years, the Tarselli family has generously cared for and maintained the beautiful pollinator garden they created at Stapleton. What was once an unused strip of land has been transformed into a vibrant space that adds beauty to our school and provides an important habitat for pollinators.

We are incredibly grateful for the time, effort, care, and personal resources the Tarselli family has dedicated to creating and maintaining this special space. Thank you for your continued commitment to making Stapleton a more beautiful place for our students, staff, families, and community to enjoy!

School council is looking for a new member!

We are seeking a caregiver representative to join the Stapleton School Council this year. The School Council is a collaborative group made up of caregivers, staff, community members, and the principal who work together to support continuous school improvement.

The council meets once a month for one hour to review school data, discuss progress toward our School Improvement Plan goals, and provide input on priorities and initiatives that support our students and school community.

If you are interested in becoming more involved and sharing your voice and perspective, we would love to have you join us! Please reach out to Principal DiDonato if you are interested or would like to learn more.

Students are not permitted to use cell phones or smartwatches during the school day. We have included smartwatches in this policy because many models now have the ability to text, call, and take photos, just like cell phones. If a student is found using their phone or smartwatch during the day, they will be asked to put it away. If the issue becomes persistent, the device will be held in the office until the end of the day, and caregivers will be notified.

Thank you for your support in helping us minimize distractions and maintain a focused learning environment.

As we begin a new school year, we will continue our shared focus on our student-centered goal:

“As a Stapleton student, I believe in myself and take an active role in my learning.”

Last year, we worked together to introduce this goal and bring it to life in our classrooms and across our school community. Our students became familiar with these words and began to understand what it means to believe in themselves and take ownership of their learning.

This year, our goal remains the same, but our work will continue to deepen. We will build on the strong foundation we established by creating even more opportunities for students to take academic risks, persevere through challenges, reflect on their progress, and celebrate their growth.

The bus transportation information is now available in Aspen/X2. Please log in to find your specific information. If you do not see any bus information, but you believe your have an eligible rider, which is a child that attends grade K-6 AND lives over 2 miles from your school, please contact the Transportation Office at trans@framingham.k12.ma.us.

As a reminder:

User Name and Log In

Your Aspen/X2 username is your student’s 6 digit student ID. (For newly registered families the student ID was included in your welcome email. )

The original password is your student’s Date of Birth in the format YYYYMMDD.

Please be sure to change the password as soon as you are able to login.

Eligible students that need a bus

If you do not see any bus information, but you believe you requested a bus AND your student is an eligible rider, which is a child that attends grade K-6 AND lives over 2 miles from your school, please contact the Transportation Office at trans@framingham.k12.ma.us 

Ineligible students that need a bus

If you do not see any bus information and your child is ineligible, which is a child in grade K-6 that lives UNDER 2 miles from school or a child in grade 7 -12, at this time we can not offer a seat on a bus. If your child is ineligible and not on a bus please hold off on contacting the bus office because we must, by law and School Committee policy, work with eligible students first. If you have submitted a request for a bus we have your request and are working on placing your child on a bus as soon as possible. 

Need a bus but did not submit a request

If you have not submitted a transportation request and your child needs transportation, please fill out this new request form. Do not submit through Aspen/X2. Please note, since it is past the deadline to request a bus, we will not be able to provide a bus right away. Our office will be in touch with you regarding the request.

Opt Out Form/Student no longer needs a bus
If you did request a bus but now do not need a bus please fill out this opt out form.

To learn more about the bus tracker app, please click here.

Thank you,
Framingham Public Schools