Monomoy committee adopts updated wellness, bullying and routine school policies

The Monomoy Regional School Committee approved a package of policies on second reading Thursday, including an updated district wellness policy and a clarified bullying‑prevention process.

Melissa McGuire, director of student services and chair of the district wellness committee, presented the year’s work: a DESE‑supported wellness coach, a district assessment using the Alliance for a Healthier Generation tool, revisions to the wellness policy and new public posting of wellness minutes. McGuire said the committee focused on nutrition (including local farm partnerships), ensuring a minimum of 20 minutes of daily recess or structured physical activity, mental‑health supports and clarifying roles and triannual assessments. The wellness policy was posted to the website and put forward for a second reading on Thursday.

On motions from the policy subcommittee, the committee voted to adopt the following on second reading: JICFB (bullying prevention and intervention plan), file ADF (wellness policy on physical activity and nutrition), JF (school admissions), DMA (cash in school buildings) and DMV (personal property in school buildings). The director of student services said the bullying policy updates mostly clarified roles and reporting steps and added a flow chart to make responsibilities clearer; anonymous reporting options and a phone‑in option are available and reports are routed to the director and then to principals for immediate attention.

Chair and committee members emphasized that the policy updates were largely clarifying language rather than legal shifts. The committee recorded voice approvals for each motion; no opposition was recorded in the transcript.

The wellness committee also reported over 500 responses to a family survey this year; McGuire said the committee plans to run the survey twice next year to track changes and to pursue implementation goals in year three of the wellness cycle.

Next steps: policies adopted on second reading will be implemented per district procedure and posted materials (minutes, assessments) remain available on the district website for public review.