Thursday, March 22, 2012

News and Info

Principal Notes

We are certainly back in the swing of things after the February Break. We have completed high school course selection with eighth graders, we have started visiting elementary schools to prepare for the grade 5 to 6 transition and we have completed a wonderful musical production of Guys and Dolls. Progress reports were posted to Edline last Friday and it looks like we will escape the winter season without a snow day!

Grade 5 Transition Meetings

We (Beth and I) will be traveling to Birch Meadow, Eaton, Barrows and Killam in the coming weeks to meet in the evening with fifth grade parents, to talk about the transition from grade 5 to 6. As you will hear me say “…sixth grade is one of the best things we do here at Parker…” The sixth grade teams are expert at setting students up to succeed in their learning. Significant time is spent at the beginning of the school year getting students organized, setting up lockers, binders and notebooks and getting students acclimated to the middle school. In addition, to the parent meetings, the spring and summer calendar with opportunities for fifth grade students and parents are as follows:

Parent Meetings:

May 3rd – 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - Open House for Parker students and families (Grade 5 families are welcome to walk through)

May 10th at 7:00 p.m. - Parent Information Evening at Parker

April 4 @ 7:00pm - Welcome to attend PTO Meeting

May 2 @ 7:00pm - Welcome to attend PTO Meeting

Student Meetings/Opportunities:

May – Grade 6 students visit elementary schools to talk to fifth graders

May 14th – 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. - Instrument Petting Zoos @ Coolidge – Barrows & Birch Meadow

May 15th – 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. – Instrument Petting Zoo @ Coolidge - Joshua Eaton,
Killam & Wood End

June 4th - Move-Up Day - 5th Graders visit Parker

July/August – Parker Tour Dates TBD

August 13th to 16th Welcome to Parker Program

August 20th to 23rd – Welcome to Parker Program

The first day of school is Wednesday, August 29th.


Guys and Dolls:

The Guys and Dolls Production was amazing. The play was so well cast, just when you were struck with the performance, the acting or singing of one of the students, you would ask, “…wait a minute, is that is really Cam Dieselman, Haley Malstrom or Jane D’Entremont? Or, did you or anyone know for that matter, that Mark Lucas could sing like that?” The conversation went on like that each time the show was performed. The audience members were checking and re-checking their programs to see who they were watching. Convinced that they had never seen or met the student, one staff member shared, they had to check to check the program to see who Miss Adelaide was? The kids were sensational, their hard work and the work of Jenny DiMuzio, Leigh Barrett and Nancy Katz Stone was evident throughout the production. The idea and creativity on the part of Jenny and Rick DiMuzio to include live music or a music pit was brilliant.


Jane D. and Travis G. as Miss Adelaide and Nathan Detroit


Chris M. and Tim O. as Benny Southstreet and Big Jule and the gangsters “…shooting craps…”


Haley and Cam as Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson


The cast of Guys and Dolls Jr. Parker Middle School –March 2012

Thank you to the drama parents, teachers and chaperones who made the production go off without a hitch. And special thanks to all members of the cast and crew for demonstrating remarkable focus and commitment to put together a memorable three days. Thanks!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Exchange Students Visit Parker 2012


Kathryn, Mia, Ella and Olivia

The months of January and February were alive with cultural exchange. Students in grades 6-8 from Korea attended classes at Parker, lived with host families, visited the YMCA each afternoon and took many trips around the Boston metro area. Later in January, the school welcomed six rising 8th graders from Ecuador for three weeks who also stayed with a host family. Both sets of students had experiences they won’t soon forget. Similarly, Parker students had daily opportunities to learn about the cultures and traditions of two nations, very different from our own.
Highlights from their visit:

• 6th graders visited the Boston Science Museum to see the Pompii Exhibit
• Parent Visitation Day
• Many Parker students attended the Korean Cultural Celebration Night at Coolidge
• The Parker Dance at the end of January was a big hit with many of the Korean students

The visits ended last week with a pizza party, good wishes, and hopes to stay in touch. When I reminded students to exchange email addresses, many said they already had been talking on Facebook.


Julie, Tae Won, Kayleigh and Ida

Declan, Michael, Ben and Simon

Dan, Sara and James

Sara, Emma and Haley

Students writing good wishes.

Parker with friends from Ecuador

Marcela, Maria Isabel, Christina and Claire