Roadtown Jan. 23, 2015 

PUBLICATION INFORMATION  Please submit any submissions for the Community section to:  [email protected] by Wednesdays at 1:00.  Online attachments must be compressed (less than 500KB) and in PDF format.  Hard copies (65) must be submitted by Thursdays at 1:00.  Call x100 with any questions.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Monday, January 26

Superintendent Candidate Interview/Forum, Erving Elementary School

6:00-9:00pm

Monday, January 26

Author Visit: David A. Kelly, 2nd – 6th grades

1:10-3:00pm

Friday, January 30

All School Assembly

2:30-3:00pm

Friday, February 13

Report cards sent home with students

 


January 23, 2015

Dear SES Moose,

It’s hard to believe that we are preparing to leap into the final week of January! 2015 is certainly moving fast!

This week we welcomed a WHALEMOBILE to SES! Students in grades Pre-K- 6 were able to go INSIDE of a life size inflatable whale! They learned about whales and how to keep whales and sea life safe. This wonderful adventure was able to occur thanks to our town librarian, Mary Anne Antonellis. Mary Anne wrote and received a grant that funded this amazing experience for all SES students! Thanks Mary Anne! A special thank you also goes out to April Cannon for organizing the event!

                                                                                                                            
Next week SES will have a special treat with the visit of author David A. Kelly.  Grades 2-6 will attend a special presentation thanks to the grant-writing of Ms. L and the funding of the Shutesbury Cultural Council.  David wrote The Fenway Foul-Up, one of this year’s Massachusetts Children’s Book Award winners.

Grades 3-6 will be taking the PARCC tests this spring. PARCC will look and feel different than the administration of MCAS. I plan on holding a parent information night on PARCC on Tuesday February 24th at 6:30 pm. In this session I will explain the components of PARCC and how administration and testing will occur. I will also provide examples of types of test content so that families can better understand the make-up of the test. The testing windows of PARCC are as follows:

  • Session 1 March 23-April 3
  • Session 2 May 11-22
  • MCAS Science test (grade 5 only) May 4-8

The Superintendent public forum and voting process by the Union 28 Joint Supervisory Committee will occur at 6:00 pm this Monday, January 26th at Erving Elementary School.  Both candidates, Tara Brandt (6:00) and Jennifer Haggerty (7:30) will be publicly interviewed by the committee. The public will be given the opportunity to provide written feedback to the committee after the public interviews.  The committee will then discuss the feedback and their thoughts and vote on a candidate.  SES community members are encouraged to attend! I hope to see you there!

Have a great weekend,

Jackie Mendonsa, Principal

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***SCHOOL NEWS***

LETTER FROM SUPERINTENDENT, BOB MAHLER:

Dear Parents/Guardians and Community Members;

The Superintendent Screening Committee has chosen two finalists.

They are:

Tara Brandt is the Supervisor of Mathematics in the Westfield Public Schools. She has previously taught at the kindergarten and fourth grade levels and was both a Math and Technology and a Science and Technology Specialist within the Chicopee Public Schools. Ms. Brandt is a doctoral student at UMASS/Amherst in Educational Policy and Leadership.

Jennifer Haggerty has worked in education for over 25 years. She is currently the Principal of The Dexter Park School, as part of the Orange Elementary Public Schools, and spent twenty years as a kindergarten teacher in the Fitchburg and Gardner Public School systems. She also was a trainer for the Northeast Foundation for Children providing instruction and mentoring for teachers throughout New England.

An Interview/Forum will take place at Erving Elementary School on January 26th at the following times:

6:00 P.M.                        Tara Brandt

7:30 P.M.                        Jennifer Haggerty

The Supervisory Committee of Union 28 will interview the candidates individually; the interviews may include allowing time for public questions.  Please join us during these events and share your valuable input as all audience members will have the opportunity to fill out response forms.

Bob Mahler

Superintendent of Schools

On Monday, January 26th, author David A. Kelly will visit SES as part of our Massachusetts Children's Book Award (MCBA) program. David is the author of the popular Ballpark Mysteries series in which cousins Mike and Kate travel around the country to different ballparks and solve mysteries. Because David lives near Boston, the first book in the series is set at Fenway, and it is an MCBA nominee this year. He is also the author of the early reader, Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse, and the picture book, Miracle Mud: Lena Blackburne and Secret Mud that Changed Baseball. David will have lunch with SES students on Monday and then give two presentations, one to our second and third graders and one to our fourth-sixth grade classes. We are excited to host this author and warmly invite community members who might be baseball and/or mystery fans to attend!  

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***PTO NEWS***

Toner/Cartridge Returns:  Please send in your ink/toner cartridges to the SES office to be returned for reimbursement to SES.  Thanks to our volunteer, Andrea Rogers, our school receives money for every cartridges we return.  This includes all ink/toner cartridges, fax machine cartridges and cell phones!  Thank you, Andrea!

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SES Student Interview of the Week!

Jayelle!



JM: What do you love about SES?

JC: I love that we get to play outside, even in winter. I love to play in the snow with my friends.

JM: What do you like to do in your free time?

MC: I like to play at home with my toys and my sisters.

JM: What do you want to be when you grow up?

MC: I want to be a doctor because then I can help kids feel better.

ATTACHMENTS:
Weekly Lunch Menu
Middle School Orientation for 6th Grade Families
Cabin Fever - Library Programs
Family Cooking with Chef Gail - Library Program
Education Days @ UMass
Continental Plate Benefit for NQCA

Posted by carlson-belangerj On 23 January, 2015 at 11:05 AM