Principal
Notes
May
25, 2015
What a beautiful
Memorial Day weekend. I hope you all had
an opportunity to rest and connect with family and friends. For us, teachers and principals this is a
hectic time of year, the weather is slowly changing, and students who have
worked hard all year can sense the end.
Each year at this time students prepare themselves for the transition to
summer and their new grades in different ways.
Some hunker down and are focused while others want to slow up a bit
before the finish. Overall, teachers and
students have been amazing this year working and presenting themselves as
engaged and serious about finishing well.
In observing classes this past Friday eighth graders were presenting
science projects, building mechanized cars in engineering, writing a comparative
analysis in social studies, and writing about an influential person in their
lives in ELA. Really nice to see at this
point in the year, we are exceedingly proud of how the students have progressed
this year. You will get a glimpse of
this at our Open House on June 4th where 7th and 8th
graders will present their work in Student Led Conferences.
Parker
Community Day - 2015
On
May 9th PTO organized the 10th annual Community Day. The event has changed over the years starting
off with a road race and pancake breakfast to the simple focus on
beautification and cleaning of the school grounds. This year thirty plus students, parents and
faculty spent the morning raking, cleaning and spreading new mulch. We
hope you notice, and enjoy the change. Special thanks to Mrs. Leone and
Mrs. Tompkins for coordinating the donations and volunteers. A great day
had by all!
Transitioning
Up – May/June 2015
In the past weeks we
hosted the parents of rising sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to talk about moving
up to the next grade level, the differences in the schedules, expectations and the
changes in the academic work. The common
themes in all of the presentations and conversations are that the teams of
teachers in grades six through eight are remarkable. They get kids, they are committed to their
work, and they have a connection and professional respect for their
teacher-teammates. This connection and
respect, or chemistry that exists on the teams has created the conditions where
students moving up haven’t slipped, but have continued to progress and be
challenged at a high level. A change in
this years’ parent meetings we included student tours at the end of our presentations. We think that students are the absolute best
representations of our work, and they explain so well what it is like to be a
sixth, seventh or eighth graders at Parker Middle School. Our seventh grade student tour guides can be
seen below.
If you were unable to
attend these information evenings, and you have questions please do not
hesitate to drop Brendan Norton or me a note at brendan.norton@reading.k12.ma.us
or douglas.lyons@reading.k12.ma.us.
PTO
Update - May 2015
As we close out the
year, and as I reflect on the accomplishments of the PTO, I am again reminded
that we couldn’t do a fraction of what we do without the leadership and parent
volunteers who participate on the Parker Parent Teacher Organization
(PTO). The PTO for the last several
years has raised an average of twenty five thousand dollars a year to student
support field trips, teachers and teams, presenters that have supported the
middle school curricula, visiting authors, the library media center, as well as
the fine and performing arts. In the
past few years the PTO has had fundraisers that have supported both the PTO and
the Understanding Disabilities Organization.
This small gesture of support for Understanding Disabilities (UD), and
the Arts has been representative of the PTO leadership’s desire to broaden
support to organizations that support student learning outside of the
classroom. We have been fortunate to
have such skilled, capable leaders for the past two years. PTO President, Marianne Tomkins and Treasurer,
Christine Powers have been remarkable at refining how we raise and track PTO money. They have also been instrumental in
increasing the number of parents participating in and committing resources to
the PTO.
Additionally, the PTO
Officers and Committee Chairpersons, Heather McCubbin, Secretary, Christine
Parks, Newsletter, Stacey Leone and Lisa Keegan, Friday Night Activities and
Family Day, Kelley Bedingfield, Publicity, Diane Cohen, Magazine Drive, Janelle
Ortiz, Retail Fundraising, Heather Soracco, Family Directory, and Demetra
Tseckares-Restuccia and Laura O’Neill, Outdoor and Indoor Beautification have
graciously given their time and effort to make Parker a more welcoming,
accessible educational community. For
all of your work and effort, the teachers, administrators and students
sincerely thank you!
If you are thinking
about being involved next year we still have open positions. We need a Secretary, and Publicity/Photo
Person. Moreover, the PTO Leadership is
looking to eliminate the Magazine Drive this fall and to replace the slowing
magazine fundraiser with a direct appeal through donations and PTO Membership
Dues. This is a bold move, but one that
is necessary as the demand for print media becomes less and less. We are excited about this move away from magazine
subscriptions being our largest fundraiser.
If 80% of the Parker Families participate by simply committing to pay
the annual Family PTO Dues of $40.00, we will minimally reach our fundraising
goal for the 2015-2016 School Year.
HR
and Staffing
It has been a busy
spring at Parker with staff taking leave and new personnel filling in as
substitutes. Mrs. Fox will be going on
Maternity Leave on Friday, May 29th, while Mrs. Peterson will be
returning from Maternity Leave on June 7th. Special thanks to Katianne Williams who has
filled in for Mrs. Peterson during her leave.
Mrs. Williams is very skilled and has quickly distinguished herself as a
new teacher with great instincts. Moreover,
we have several veteran teachers and faculty members who will be retiring this
year. Mrs. Kalmakis, and Mrs.
Piantedosi, will be retiring at the end of the school year, while Mr. Gomes and
Mrs. Ketlak will be retiring in the fall.
Please don’t miss the opportunity to recognize these exceptional staff
members. We recommend using the REF
Teacher Tribute Program at www.readingef.org. The deadline has
been extended until TUESDAY,
June 18th. The Teacher Tribute Cards will be delivered at
the end of the school year. All proceeds
from the Teacher Tribute Program support teacher grants and awards through the Reading
Education Foundation.
