Principal Notes
We would like to
welcome students and families back to school.
Mr. Norton and I have been preparing for students to return through July
and August and always feel a sense of accomplishment and calm when students
finally arrive. The building is a better
place with students here participating in their leaning. In addition to welcoming you back to school,
as we progress though the year, if there is anything that you have a question
about or we can assist in any way please do not hesitate to be in touch. Our e-mail addresses are douglas.lyons@reading.k12.ma.us
and brendan.norton@reading.k12.ma.us
.
New
Faculty Joining Parker in 2014
We had a few positions
to hire for this past spring and summer as we have had a retirement, and some
moves that have created some openings.
We have been fortunate in hiring sixth grade science teacher, Matthew
Williams. Matthew is a Parker/RMHS Alum
and has been teaching fifth grade in Melrose for the last nine years. He is a graduate of Curry College and
Fitchburg State University. If you would
like to welcome Matthew back to the Parker community his e-mail address is matthew.williams@reading.k12.ma.us. We welcome Ann Rose who will be a substitute
for Mrs. Favazza, who is out on leave. Ann
is a graduate of Holy Cross and the University of South Carolina. If you would like to be in touch with Mrs.
Rose, her e-mail is ann.rose@reading.k12.ma.us.
Caitlin Carter - 8th
Grade Special Education Teacher
We also welcome 8th
grade special education teacher, Caitlin Carter. Caitlin has been teaching for the last few
years at the Dr. Franklin Perkins School in Lancaster, Massachusetts. She has experience in elementary and middle
school, special education and counseling.
Caitlin is a graduate of Boston University and Salem State
University.
We
also welcome paraeducators, David Hart and Kristin Mahoney. They will be working in the seventh and eight
grades. David Hart, is a substitue for
Peter Dolan this fall. Mr. Hart recently
returnd to the U.S. after teaching at the international school UCSI in
Malaysia, and will be working on his Massachusetts teacher certification this
fall. Kristin Mahoney has several years
experience working working in special education at the Mary Lyon School, in
Brighton. Ms. Mahoney will also be
working on her Special Education and Humanities teacher certification this
year. We are fortunate to have such
accomplished new faculty.
Teachers Teaming and Taking on the Marshmallow Challenge
We
opened school this year focusing on the theme of relationships and core
values. The focus on relationships is
simple, we feel teaching and learning is relational work. If we are able to learn about our students as
young people, engage them in what they are thinking and presenting to us in the
form of work, we will have the best opportunity possible to be effective
teachers. Our core values of Kindness,
Community and Personal Best guide us here at Parker in this work.
To get
off on the best foot and to put teachers in the position that students are in
as learners, staff participated in the “Marshmallow Challenge” at the close of
the two professional days to start the school year. The challenge requires teams to create a free
standing structure, with a fixed amount of resources, in a fixed amount of
time. The structure must support a
marshmallow at the top of the structure.
I know it sounds easy, but really isn’t. The fun part is watching highly effective, professional teachers
struggle to communicate, develop a plan and execute that plan. The take-aways are many, but in hearing from
teachers in the debrief, it was clear that they were thinking and talking more
about how this process relates to the learning process and also to activities
that teachers are asking students to participate in, in their classes. The process was a great way to end our
professional days and to remind teachers of how challenging teaching and
learning can be.
This
design-build activity is an actual activity that is done in professional groups
around the world. If you are interested
in finding out more or seeing this process in action check out http://marshmallowchallenge.com/TED_Talk.html.
