GRADES 1-12:  First day is Wednesday, September 1st.

PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN:  First day is Tuesday, September 7th.

School day start and end times for each grade level are found on the Academic School Calendar (lower right-hand side) and as a link under Students & Families > School Hours & Cancellations as well as a link at the bottom of the District and each School's Home Page.

PRESCHOOL and ELEMENTARY SCHOOL levels

• Back to School information, including teacher assignments, from all of the elementary schools will be sent out electronically via email on Monday, August 23rd.
  
  

MIDDLE SCHOOL level

• PCIS and PSMS will mail home assignments via USPS on Friday, August 20th.
• PCIS Walkthrough Day is scheduled for Friday, August 27th from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.
• PSMS Open Door Day is scheduled for Tuesday, August 24 and Wednesday, August 25 from 9:00 – 10:30 A.M.
• For more information, visit PCIS's Announcements Page and PSMS's Announcements Page

HIGH SCHOOL level

• Students received their schedules before the end of last year and will receive a fresh copy on the first day.  
• For incoming Freshman, more information will be available at FRESHMAN ORIENTATION:
  • PSHS Freshman Orientation:  Thursday, August 26th from 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • PNHS Freshman Orientation:  Thursday, August 26th from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
• Schedules will also be available through the student and parent portals in Aspen the day before school begins.
  
• For more information, visit PSHS's Announcements Page and PNHS's Announcements Page

*For all, it’s important to make sure if there were any changes to your mailing address over the summer that you inform your child’s school.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS provide the needed supplies.  There are no recommended supply lists.

SECONDARY SCHOOLS 

PNHS, PSHS, PCIS, and PSMS have posted their recommended supply lists on their web pages.  When you are on the school home page, click on ABOUT OUR SCHOOL and select ANNOUNCEMENTS.

ELEMENTARY and SECONDARY lunch menus are available via a global icon "Meals" visible on every website page as well as via Our District > Food Services and weekly in the local newspaper Old Colony Memorial starting with the week before school opens.

Do you need information about how to pay for lunches or apply for free/reduced meals?  That information is found under Our District > Food Services in addition to being available when you use the "Meals" global icon.

Bus schedules are now available on our Transportation Page.

If you have a question regarding BUS ROUTES, BUS STOPS or BUS TIMES, please contact the First Student Dispatch office at (508) 830-4144.

View a printable PDF of School Year 2020-21 Open House Dates

The easiest way is to STAY CONNECTED with our Google Calendars, through our Social Media pages, and with the use of our Mobile App.

Social Media:  You can Follow Us by clicking the links which are listed at the bottom of every page of our website (scroll down to the bottom).  For individual school Facebook and Twitter accounts, scroll down on the School's Home Page.  Look for the "Stay Connected" heading.

Academic and School Calendars 

A printable PDF of the full academic calendar is available under Community > Academic Year Calendars

Interested in seeing your child's school calendars?  Check out Students & Families > Calendars at a Glance.

Download our Mobile App 

• Access the iOS App (iOS App Store
• Access the Android App (Google Play Store)
• Or, you can search for "Plymouth Public Schools" and make sure you pick the app with our logo from the selections.  Title: Plymouth Public Schools, MA
• More information on our Mobile App is available at https://www.plymouth.k12.ma.us/Page/4105.

For all this information right at your fingertips, download our Mobile App which is available for iOS and Android devices.

• Access the iOS App (iOS App Store
• Access the Android App (Google Play Store)
• Or, you can search for "Plymouth Public Schools" and make sure you pick the app with our logo from the selections.  Title: Plymouth Public Schools, MA
• More information on our Mobile App is available at https://www.plymouth.k12.ma.us/Page/4105.

For Summer Happenings information, visit our "Summer Happenings" page listing information on Summer Reading, AP Work, Math Summer Work, and our Summer Learning Guide.

August 25, 2021

Dear Plymouth School Community,

Next week, our schools will experience the energy and excitement of a new school year. We look forward to welcoming our students back full-time and continue our commitment to providing safe, healthy and supportive classrooms for our students and teachers. 

After a year and a half, the COVID-19 rules and restrictions feel burdensome and never-ending. Many would like to lose the masks and return to normal as quickly as possible. We will get there eventually, but it is going to take more time. As always, health and safety remain our top priority in Plymouth, and educating children in person without interruption continues to be our goal. 

There may be different approaches to health and safety in area public school districts. In Plymouth, we will be following the recent mandate by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requiring all students ages 5 and older, as well as all staff, to be masked in schools. Preschool students will be strongly encouraged to wear masks, taking into consideration children who cannot properly wear a mask for developmental reasons. We will also be requiring all visitors to remain masked while in our school buildings.

Many of you have questions about the upcoming school year; please see the attached PPS Back to School FAQs to learn more.  

The pandemic will continue to challenge us, but there is so much to look forward to in the upcoming school year! Plymouth is an incredible community, and I feel blessed to work with our students and staff in the Plymouth Public Schools. 

I want to thank you for your continued patience and support. As always, if you have any questions at any time, please feel free to reach out to me or your school administration.

I look forward to welcoming you all back soon.

Sincerely,

Christopher S. Campbell, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

In the new school year, everyone will return to in-person learning and remote learning is no longer an option. These changes increase pressure on existing space in our schools, making it more challenging to physically distance children when eating. Outside remains an excellent option for eating whenever possible. Inclement weather is one of our greatest challenges in schools, and our principals and educators will do their best to maintain greater physical distances when eating whenever possible.

Yes. Whenever possible, seats should be assigned, and we recommend keeping students in desks rather than tables for now. In some cases it may be necessary to use tables. We must continue our contact tracing efforts, so assigned seating in classrooms remains important. 

Hot lunches will be available as soon as possible. There are no further restrictions on pre-packaged items.

Yes. When possible students should be social distancing when eating.

Yes. In addition, every school now has at least one hydration station for refillable water containers.

Additional cleaning protocols will be in place if/when there is a positive case in a given area.

No.

Yes.

There is no exemption with the exception of a medical exemption from a doctor. 

Students who continually refuse to wear a mask will be referred to the administration and may result in disciplinary action.

No. There are no religious exemptions regarding the wearing of masks.

Yes. Students can ask for individual mask breaks or teachers may give whole class mask breaks.

Yes. Masks are required during any indoor instructional time

Yes. By federal public health order, all passengers are required to wear masks on school buses at this time. In addition, all PPS school buses must have windows open at least 2 inches at all times. For more information, here is the CDC’s Order. 

No. Masks must be worn and worn appropriately at all times. The only exception is for students with disabilities or students with other health related issues with a medical note signed by a medical doctor.

Yes/No. For any sport or activity that is hosted inside all persons must be masked. Any sport or activity that is hosted outside persons do not need to wear masks. (ie: volleyball, masks must be worn, soccer masks do not need to be worn)

Unfortunately, remote learning is no longer an option in the upcoming school year per the Commissioner of Education. Please refer to the DESE COVID-19 guidance issued on May 27, 2021, page 4.

Districts will no longer be able to offer remote learning as a standard learning model. As noted above, districts and schools will be required to be in-person, full-time, five days a week this fall. Pathways that existed prior to the pandemic for offering virtual learning to individual students in limited cases will remain available to districts and schools. These include home/hospital tutoring programs due to a documented medical condition, single district virtual schools, and other narrow circumstances.

Additional cleaning protocols will be in place if/when there is a positive case in a given area.

Yes. All visitors to school buildings must be masked. Masks will be made available at each building. 

Yes, these will be in-person with masks.

No. But everyone must be masked.

Virtual meetings are still allowed. Parents should be given the option of an in-person or virtual meeting.

Yes. However, everyone must be masked indoors.

Last year we dedicated significant resources to saliva-based PCR testing with limited participation. We will continue to explore appropriate testing strategies, including those being offered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

School Personnel: 

If a staff member has any symptoms, they should call their supervisor and report the symptoms and stay home from school. Staff should follow up with their Health Care Provider for further evaluation and testing. Staff who become ill while at school will be sent home immediately. 

Students and Families: 

Before coming to school or getting on the bus: Families should assess their child’s state of wellness. If the student has any symptoms of COVID-19, they should stay home from school. The family should notify their school nurse that the child will be absent and the reason for the absence. The school nurse will follow-up with the family regarding the child’s symptoms, when the child was seen by a medical professional and any testing that was done.

We are waiting on State guidance regarding procedures for collecting this documentation. More information will be forthcoming.

Massachusetts COVID-19 Travel Guidance suggests that if you are vaccinated there are no restrictions on domestic travel, and you can travel freely.  Here are the CDC’s recommendations for unvaccinated people, We ask all PPS families and staff to follow the State’s travel guidance. Qualifying special conditions include serious family emergencies/illnesses, deaths, and custody arrangements.  If you have questions, please contact your principal or school nurse.   

Below is a summary of the most recent guidance issued by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and supported by the and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH) and elected and appointed State officials:

August 13, 2021: As a follow up to the guidance released on July 30 and to the information released by DESE on the statewide COVID-19 testing program, the Commissioner of Education released DESE and DPH's testing and quarantine guidance for districts and schools for the fall. 

• New Test and Stay program will allow asymptomatic close contacts to remain in school and participate in sports and extracurriculars so long as they take a rapid antigen test daily, wear a mask, and follow other guidelines as noted in the document. 
• All school-wide distancing requirements are lifted. 
• If districts do not have Test and Stay available, or an individual or family chooses not to participate, a close contact will need to quarantine at home for at least 7 days from the point of exposure. 
• The list of close contacts who do not need to participate in testing and quarantine protocols has been updated to include individuals on school buses when students are masked with windows open, regardless of distancing. In addition, the following groups continue to be exempt from testing and quarantine: asymptomatic, vaccinated close contacts; classroom close contacts spaced at least three feet apart while students are masked; and individuals who have had COVID-19 in the past 90 days. 
• The COVID-19 symptoms list has been updated (with more symptoms being identified as COVID-19 symptoms only when "in combination with other symptoms"), along with some points of differentiation in COVID-19 symptoms necessitating a PCR test for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Individuals with COVID-19 symptoms should continue to stay home until symptoms resolve. 
• Districts and schools may continue to test students with mild symptoms with BinaxNOW tests, if available. So long as these tests are negative, individuals with mild symptoms should remain in school. 
• As noted last year, if a student tests positive or presents COVID-19 symptoms during the school day, they should be masked, and when feasible, be in a separate room with the door closed until they can be picked up. 

As a reminder, all health and safety requirements issued by DESE from the previous school year have been lifted, and all schools are required to be in-person full-time, five days per week.