MCAS update

We are in week 2 of the Language Arts MCAS.  The students have been wonderful. It’s not easy to take any test, never mind a high stakes one like the MCAS.  Thank you being mindful of the testing days and for helping your son or daughter be well rested each morning.  The teachers have also been wonderful.  It hasn’t been easy for them either as they have had to adjust their teaching schedules to accommodate the testing.  I think we will all be grateful for next week when the testing is over.  Hopefully, April will bring warm sunny days and a chance for us to start getting outside at lunch again. 

Also as we move into April we will be thinking more and more about next year.  Transition meetings have already started. We have held meetings at each elementary school for the grade 5 transition and the high school staff has been great about reaching out to our students and parents for the grade 8 transition.  Please check Edline for more upcoming transition information as well as important upcoming dates to mark on your calendar.  As a reminder, you are always welcome to join us at our PTO meetings held on the first Wednesday of each month. Our next meeting will be held on April 6^th at 7:00.  If you have any questions or if Doug or I can be of assistance please don’t hesitate to call.        Cathy & Doug

Cathy O'Connell coconnell@reading.k12.ma.us   781-944-1236 x302

Doug Lyons dlyons@reading.k12.ma.us     781-944-1236 x301

SRI Winter Meeting by Meghan Lockwood

Thanks in large part to the generosity of the PTO, a group of Parker teachers attended the School Reform Initiative Winter Meeting in New York City in mid-January. The colossal blizzard that arrived on January 12th caused the five of us—Sue Kalmakis, Meghan Lockwood, Tanya McDonald, Sean Musselman, Jen Webster—to scramble to rearrange travel plans, but we all eventually arrived, eager to participate in the conference.

The School Reform Initiative (SRI) is an amazing organization that improves student learning largely by creating teacher learning communities within schools. The organization’s mission states that SRI “creates transformational learning communities fiercely committed to educational equity and excellence.” SRI members commit to sharing our work in the belief that by making our work public, sharing resources, and holding one another accountable for creating the best possible educational experiences for our students, we will improve our teaching practice and thereby our students’ learning. We often use SRI protocols (http://schoolreforminitiative.org/protocol/) in our meetings and professional development activities at Parker.

During the conference, we spent the bulk of our time in small groups, using SRI protocols to have structured conversations about our practice. Each participant brought a piece of student work, teacher work, or a dilemma from their practice for the group to workshop. We benefited from sharing work with and hearing the perspectives of teachers and administrators from all over the country. Our work in these groups will make us better facilitators and participators in this type of work back at Parker. Several of us also had the opportunity to visit a school deeply engaged in this work, the University Neighborhood Middle School in the Lower East Side. We left this school visit and the conference feeling inspired to continue working together to make Parker an ever more vibrant learning community. We are truly grateful to everyone who helped give us this opportunity.

Principal Notes

Principal Notes
01/21/2011

Another snow day! I, like our students, await the news in the morning to see if the town of Reading is listed on the scroll at the bottom of the news cast indicating that there will in fact be no-school due to snow. I don’t know if there are more places in Massachusetts listing their closures, but it certainly feels like there are a lot of schools and it takes a long time to get to the R’s. Most times I get “the call” with the automated Connect Ed message from Dr. Doherty and my first response is “…Yes! A day off; a day to catch up on work; a day to do all of the things I have yet to get to.” Maybe a great opportunity to write Principal Notes…

Student Behavior/Health and Wellness

In an effort to keep parents informed and most importantly to keep students safe, I need to report that there continues to be incidents and reports of alcohol use at the middle level. This includes students in grades six through eight. Students have reported that they have been able to get alcohol at home without their parent’s knowledge or from older siblings. These incidents have been few, but are more than enough for us to be concerned about student safety. Our intent is not to alarm or catch students doing things wrong. To the contrary, our goal is to teach kids to have confidence and to make good decisions when confronted with information or situations that involve alcohol. I include this information in our newsletter and blog in the hope that you would take some time to talk to your children about what they are seeing and hearing about alcohol.

The administration and the guidance staff are working with Erica McNamara, Director of the Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse (RCASA) and Tom Zaya, the Head of Health and Wellness at the high school to plan a presentation for Parker students about alcohol awareness. More information will be sent out when the event is scheduled. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Cathy O’ Connell or me at 781.944.1236. Thank you for your help with this issue!

Student Update

On Thursday, January 6th we welcomed six students to Parker Middle School from South Korea. The students are part of a Korean Exchange Program and are staying with host families in Reading and will be here until January 26th. This has been a great experience for our guests and for our students here as well. The students, seventh graders, Min Jeong Kim, Soo Bin Kim, Young Bin Kim and eighth graders Sae Hyun Lee, Hyun Ki Kim and Min Kyung Im have had full schedules, participating in classes here as well as traveling and visiting Colleges and Universities in and around Boston.

Eighth grader and student leader, Jenna Choi who was born in Seoul Korea, has been instrumental in welcoming our guests; translating when necessary and helping them negotiate and figure out their new school schedules. In a lunch to welcome the students to Parker, the students from Korea talked with Parker students about the differences in their school schedules at home compared to here in the U.S. A few of our eighth graders were amazed at the amount of time that students in Korea spend leaning and studying. Our students are learning as much from this exchange as our guests!

We would like to especially thank Parker Host Families Mr. and Mrs. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, and Mr. and Mrs. Friedmann. Without you participating in this program we would not have been able to welcome and learn from these extraordinary young students from Korea. Thank you!

Exchange Update: On February 7th, we welcome seven students from China who will be spending a week with us as well.


Budget Update reported by Parker Budget Parent Sarah Fennelly

The Budget Process is well underway. The Superintendent’s FY 12 Recommended Budget was presented to School Committee on Monday, January 10th. Dr. Doherty and the Director of Finance and Operations, Mary Delai have worked tirelessly meeting with administrators, teachers and stake holders in the community to develop three budget options or proposals for the School Committee to consider. The options are a “Level Services Budget”, a “Level Funded Budget” and a 0.5% reduced budget that the town Finance Committee has suggested all departments consider.

The “Level Services Budget” proposal would require an increase of 2.7% over the FY 11 Budget (or just over one million dollars). A “Level Funded Budget” proposal means appropriating the same amount for FY 12 that was provided in FY 11. In the past two years, the RPS essentially had level funded budgets, resulting in a variety of cuts and decreases, increases in certain fees and elimination of the equivalent of 28 full-time positions. The federal stimulus money helped reduce the impact, but the funding is ending. A level funded budget for FY2012 would mean an additional $1,000,000 in cuts. The proposed cuts are as follows:

Changes to Achieve Level Funded Budget:

Increase Offsets $125,000

Reduce School Supply and Material Budgets $100,000

Eliminate 1.5 Support Staff Positions $50,000

Reduce Administrator Salaries $20,000

Eliminate After School Fitness Center Program $20,000

Reduce Salary Increases $685,000
Total $1,000,000

To meet the towns requested -0.5% budget, RPS would need to cut an additional $385,000 proposed as follows:

Eliminate K-8 Instructional Specialist $50,000.00

Reduce athletic expenses or increase user fees $40,000.00
Eliminate 6.3 FTE support staff positions* $120,000.00
Eliminate 3.7 FTE teaching positions** $175,000.00
Total $385,000.00


*obtained most likely by reducing hours rather than individual positions
**to be determined, more likely to occur at elementary gr. 3-5 and high school course sections

The remaining meetings are as follows: January 20, January 24 (Public Hearing), January 26 (Financial Forum-Senior Center), January 31 (Final Vote). All SC meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the conference room at Central Office. The Financial Forum is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. at the Senior Center. The SC meetings are broadcast live on RCTV’s educational channel, Comcast 10, Verizon 32. If you would like to have your concerns heard, please try and plan on attending one of these meetings as they are open to the public. The complete budget can be found on-line at the district Edline page at:

http://www.edline.net/files/_MGKvu_/1edae2ad69a7a5883745a49013852ec4/FY12_Superintendents_Budget_Final_28dec10.pdf

We would like to thank the Parker Budget Parents, Sarah Fennelly, Kelly Bedingfield, Priscilla Hollenbeck and Tom Loughlin for volunteering and especially for keeping Parker Parents, the PTO and School Council up to date on the budget process. Thank you!

Principal Notes

Principal Notes
12/22/2010


Each time we get to this point in the year, I think “…my gosh…” is it the Holiday Break already? But as I look back through the calendar I realize that teachers and staff have been amazingly busy teaching and learning while keeping up with Bullying Training, Safety Drills as well as professional development activities. And although this break is not the end of the second quarter or the first semester, symbolically it feels like the half way point in the school year. I can say that as I make my way into class observations and talk with students that teachers and kids are looking forward to the well needed break. Mrs. O’Connell and I wish you and your children Happy Holiday’s and best wishes in the New Year!

Parker Community Service Projects

Both the Peer Leaders and Student Council have been busy this season continuing service projects here at Parker. We have collected over 200 coats for the Coats for Kids organization. Students have been exceptionally helpful, coordinating, collecting and advertising the need for winter coats on Parker News Live and throughout the school community. The drive ends January 8th, if you have any gently worn winter coats that you would like to donate to a wonderful cause, please feel free to give them to your son or daughter to drop in the collection box in our main foyer. Additionally, our Peer Leaders have worked with the Reading Fire Department to collect toys for the Toys for Tots organization (see the picture below). The idea of service is alive and well here and students are encouraged to think big about helping others and they know we will support them and help them develop their ideas.



The Library Media Center

The Parker Library Media Center has been transformed this year, starting with the hiring of Robin Ferrazzani. Robin did brilliant work at the Killam Elementary School and when a position became available here at Parker we were fortunate enough to have her make the transition from elementary to middle school. Even before the school year started we knew that things in the LMC were going to be a bit different; Robin came into school in July and re-arranged the library to accommodate more students and to allow more activities and classes to be in the LMC at one time. Moreover, Mrs. Ferrazzani began teaching classes and collaborating with Meg Powers, our Technology Specialist, to further integrate technology in each grade and across all curricular areas. Mrs. Ferrazzani and Mrs. Powers co-teach technology electives and our Documentary Films Classes.

Mrs. Ferrazzani can be seen in the picture below with sixth grade students (from left to right) Siobhan Dowcett, Katie McKenna, Meghan Daley and Olivia Pavao. This picture was taken at the end of a technology integration class where sixth grade students worked to create a Wiki to chronicle information about the book A Tugging String: A Novel About Growing Up During the Civil Rights Era (more information can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Tugging-String-Growing-During-Rights/dp/0525479678). The author David Greenberg will be visiting Paker and talking to students about writing and also his book.



We will also be having a Book Fair, which in the past has been held in the LMC where students would visit during the school day and purchase books from a limited selection. This year the Book Fair will be held January 6th at Barnes and Noble, Burlington.

As mentioned above, Happy Holiday’s and Best Wishes in the New Year! If you have any questions or we can help with anything please do not hesitate to contact us.

Doug Lyons and Cathy O’Connell

December 10

It's the week before the week before and the kids are all very excited about the upcoming winter break.  I think the teachers are excited as well.  I know I am!  The Parker Peer Leaders are sponsoring a toys for tots drive so please consider bringing in an unwrapped gift.  The Parker Student Council is collecting coats for the annual Anton's coat drive.  This is a great opportunity to clean out your closets and keep a child warm this winter.  Please also consider donating a gently used board game for indoor recess.  Our days of going outside after lunch are limited.  Progress reports were sent home this week on Edline.  Please be sure to check Edline for an update on your child's progress.  Please also ask your son or daughter to check the lost and found at Parker for misplaced sweatshirts, hats and jackets.  Speaking of sweatshirts, your last chance to buy some really cool Parker clothing will be next week.  Check out our online store for some great new items.  waltersparkermstuff.com

As always, if you need anything please drop a note or give a call.  --Cathy

November News

Principal Notes
November 2010

This is a great time of year at Parker Middle School. The first quarter is complete; Report Cards were posted to Edline on November 12th. Our seventh trip to Nature’s Classroom trip in the Berkshires has taken place. The French trip to Quebec City is complete and the Veterans Day Assembly held on November 10th and was again a great success. November is a very busy month. We are speeding through the first semester; teachers and students have been working hard, and the Thanksgiving break is well deserved for all. A special thanks to teacher and parent chaperones who made our school trips to Quebec and the Berkshires possible. Thank you!

Nature’s Classroom

Our seventh trip to Nature’s Classroom took place November 3rd to the 5th and was again an exciting trip. I made the cut list this year and was able to chaperone; Mrs. O’Connell lucked-out and got to go last year. Each time I attend the NC trip, I learn more about the outdoors and nature and marvel at the experience our students have living in dorms and learning on the heavily wooded property of the Chimney Corners Camp in the Berkshires. Students are challenged to manage their day on a tight schedule of outdoor and enrichments activities.

Meals are a bit of a challenge for some; students learn quickly that there is nothing like a home-cooked meal. I had the good fortune of staying in the Four Seasons Lodge (Upper) where 22 students, myself and my fifth grade son, Joseph, spent the three days and two nights. We didn’t spend a lot of time in the dorm, students were shuttled in and out quickly between activities. The rain and the cold weather presented a bit of a challenge this year but students persevered and made it work, sharing boots and rain gear to stay dry. You can see from the picture below that Charlie Robinson makes good use of a trash bag to stay dry, very fashionable by Nature’s Classroom standards.




This year, 152 students and 11 chaperones made the trip. Participation increases by about eight percent each year. Teachers and staff like the fall trip and really enjoy getting to know the kids outside of school. Special thanks to staff chaperones Ms. Halsey, Ms. Favazza, Mr. Twomey, and Mr. Spinali. As I mentioned above, without parent participation, we would not be able to make this trip, thank you to Mrs. Scouten, Mrs. Powers, Mrs. Lomanno, Mr. Smith, Mr. Walsh and Mr. Bergeron. Thank you!


Veteran’s Day Celebration

I am pleased to report we held our second annual Veteran’s Day Celebration on November 10th. The event was organized by sixth grade Team Leader, Brienne Black and seventh grade ELA teacher Donna Martinson. Mrs. Black, a Parker graduate, is keenly aware of the historical significance of this day. By inviting veterans who are relatives of our current students, members of the community, employees of the Reading Police force and the Reading Public Schools, Mrs. Black and Mrs. Martinson created a unique way for students to connect with, learn about and understand Veterans Day. Our goal was to create an event for students so they could slow down and think about the service and sacrifices that men and women in the armed forces made and are currently making so we can live our lives and follow our dreams here in the United States. Our guest speakers, Dr. Jack Delaney, Mr. Dynan and Mr. Hammond were remarkably effective talking about their experiences and also what the day means to them. Mr. Bedingfield, father of eighth grader Jimmy Bedingfield, read an inspiring poem as part of a stirring speech that summed up the costs of freedom.

THE POEM “IT IS THE SOLDIER”

IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE REPORTER,
WHO HAS GIVEN US FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.
IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE POET,
WHO HAS GIVEN US FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE CAMPUS ORGANIZER,
WHO HAS GIVEN US THE FREEDOM TO DEMONSTRATE.
IT IS THE SOLDER,
WHO SALUTES THE FLAG, WHO
SERVES BENEATH THE FLAG, AND WHOSE COFFIN IS DRAPED BY THE FLAG, WHO ALLOWS THE PROTESTOR TO BURN THE FLAG.

The Veteran’s honored at the celebration were Mr. John Barbati, Mrs. Kelly Bedingfield, Mr. Jim Bedingfield, Mr. Brian Bergeron, Mr. William Brown, Mr. Bill Burditt, Mr. John Demoy, Mr. Robert Dorrington, Mr. Paul Dynan, Mr. Ernest Henry Faust, Mr. Jack Hammond, Mr. Robert Richards, Mr. Corey Santasky and Mr. John Williams.

Mrs. Black and Mrs. Martinson did a terrific job coordinating this event; Mrs. Black worked continuously, sending updates to the program guide right up until the start of the assembly. This was no small task, seeing that Mrs. Black did all this work while on maternity leave. Student masters of ceremonies, Meghan Nelson and Quillen Bradlee did a fine job keeping adults on track. The eighth grade choral performance of the Star Spangled Banner and the playing of Taps by Ryan Friedman were exceptionally executed. The assembly ended with a brilliant slide show put together by Nick Stevens and Mrs. Ropple. The slide show will be accessible through Edline shortly.

Turkey Trot




Parker held the 35th Annual Turkey Trot to raise money for Turkeys 4 America. The event was organized by teachers and staff to help promote a sense of community and giving among the middle school students. The event has evolved over the years from giving turkeys locally to now making a donation annually to Turkeys 4 America. This organization assists families that need a turkey for the holiday. This year’s winners or the Parker Turkey Trot shown in the above photo are Christina O’Connor, Mike Keogh and Ruthie Wilson. Special thanks to Mr. Hiltz and Mrs. Copeland for keeping this tradition going.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving Break!

Parker News and Info

Fall in Reading; this is such a great time of year. The trees are turning, the weather is constantly changing and our students are, for the most part, fully acclimated to their fall schedules. At this point in the fall, teachers are putting the finishing touches on lessons and assignments that will be included in the first marking period. Teachers are also working with students to help them prioritize their time and effort to complete the first quarter with grades that represent their best work and effort. Report Cards will posted to Edline on November 12th at http://www.edline.net/pages/Walter_S_Parker_Middle_School

We have been working this fall trying to take opportunities to help students make their work public. The theme we talk about is “…producing work for an audience greater than one…” The reason we chose this phrase as a reference for our work is that is creates different entry points and opportunities for teachers to help students make their work public. Depending on your experience in school, most students in the past, produced work that was only viewed and commented on by one teacher and no one else. The work was usually graded and returned and time went on without much fanfare. Teachers here at Parker are working to help students share their work with greater audiences…different audiences. We find that when students know that an assignment or project will be viewed by others they put forth their best effort and they want their work to be the best it can be. There are a number of different ways that we have structured this at our school. Some students simply share their projects or written work with other students, while other classes use technology to create blogs, wikis and or podcasts to share their work. Students have had the opportunities to publish their work on the internet and allow the world to see work that represents their thinking, their ability to communicate about the subjects they are learning.





Other examples of students producing work for an audience greater than one can be found on-line at:

The Quill is the on-line Parker Middle School News and Arts Journal http://thequillonline.wordpress.com/

Mr. Olivo’s English Class keeps a daily journal
http://steveolivo.edublogs.org/category/daily-summary/

Mr. Musselman’s Science Blog
http://mrmusselman.edublogs.org/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/ParkerScience

Mr. Williams Science Blog
http://mrwilliams6thgradescience.blogspot.com/

Sixth Grade Student Book Reviews can be viewed at:
http://sixthgradeupstairsela.blogspot.com/search/label/book%20review%20written%20be%20Stefanie%20S


Our First Dance of the Year

This past Friday evening we held our first dance of the year, with 126 students in attendance. Special thanks to the Student Peer Leaders and the Peer Leader coordinators Chris Copeland and Vonda Gauthier for organizing the event. It was a great way to start the year. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Reading Food Pantry. Thanks to all!

Parker’s Friday Night “Minute to Win It”




Parker’s “Minute to Win It” was part of the Friday Night Activity series and the PTO Magazine Drive where about ninety students had a great deal of fun competing for prizes.

Upcoming Events

Veterans Day Assembly – We will be honoring veterans at our all-school assembly on November 11th. Parker students and staff will have an opportunity to hear from veterans, some of whom are relatives of our students and others who are Reading residents. It is a terrific day for our students and teachers to recognize and honor the service of so many that have sacrificed while serving the United States. It also highlights for many the fact that our country is still actively involved with soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cyber Bullying and Cyber Safety Presentation – Katie LeClerc former Intelligence Analyst with the Massachusetts State Police and Internet Safety Program Coordinator for the Massachusetts Attorney Generals Office, educator and national presenter will be speaking to students on November 9th and parents on the evening of November 10th. This enrichment presentation is part of the PTO enrichment series for students and also part of the PTO Speaker Series for parents. http://de-de.facebook.com/ParkerPTO

Nature’s Classroom – One hundred and fifty one of our seventh graders will be traveling to Becket Massachusetts in the Berkshires from November 3rd to November 5th to participate in an outdoor learning experience where students live in cabins and spend their days learning about nature in the great outdoors. The address of the camp is 748 Hamilton Road, Becket, MA 01223, if you have time please send your son or daughter a letter while they are away. For most kids it is the first time they have received a letter from home. You may have to send the letter ahead of time so it arrives when we are there. http://www.naturesclassroom.org/Becket.htm