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135 Wellesley AvenueNeedham, MA 02492 November 13, 2009

John Eliot School

Principal, Suzanne WilcoxEditor, Susan RainsPhone #781-455-0452 & FAX #781-455-0852Web page: www.http://eliot.needham.k12.ma.usBulletin #6 - 2009-10

Dates to Remember

November18 Wed. PTC Meeting - 7 p.m. - Media Center

18 Wed. No AM Kindergarten, Morning Conferences AM KASE, PM Kind, & PM KASE in session

19 Thurs. School Photo Retake & Makeup Day

20 Fri. Walk to School & Parent Meeting - 8:40 a.m. - Perf. Ctr.

25 Wed. Early Release Day @ 12:05 p.m for Thanksgiving Recess- Schools closed Th & Fri

30 Mon. School resumes after Thanksgiving Recess

December

8 Tues. 2 Hour - Delayed Opening Professional Development -school begins at 10:35 a.m. No AM Kindergarten & No AM KASE

15 Tues. Winter Concert for Students 9 a.m. Perf. Ctr.

18 Fri. Winter Concert for Families 9 a.m. Perf. Ctr.

23 Wed, School closes @ end of day for winter recess School reopens Monday, Jan. 4th

From The School Office

School photo retake and makeup dayIf you were not happy with your child’s school photo, or if your child was absent on our school photo day in September, we have some good news! Lifetouch will be back on Thursday,11/19 for retakes and makeups. Please be sure that your child brings in his/her original photo package. Lifetouch will reprint the same order with the new photo.

If you have any questions, please call Lifetouch at: 1-800-697-4451.

INNISBROOK ORDERS ARE IN!!!Please pick up your orders on Monday – Thursday from end of school until 3:00 If you need to schedule an alternate time please contact Fotoula Kopellas at: kopellasfamily@verizon.net.

CORI Request Forms

All adult volunteers must fill out a CORI form for the Needham Public Schools.

Please print out the copy, at the end of this bulletin, and return it to the school office.

Thank You.

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Dear Eliot Families,There has been so much going on at Eliot the last two weeks, the time has just flown by!

Our read-a-thon was a tremendous success enabling us to make a $4800 donation to Room To Read. To put this into perspective $4000 is enough to build a library in a developing country. When John Wood was being interviewed by a Boston Globe reporter she inquired if other American schools have been involved with Room To Read. John responded, “There have been about 200 schools, but they have mostly dabbled. This is the most comprehensive and in depth Room To Read initiative I’ve seen.” I was pleased to hear this because as I told you in September, this initiative was much more than just fundraising. Our children are reading extensively and purposefully. Every page read is converted into a mile. The challenge is to read enough “miles” to get to and from the room to read country being researched. I’ve included a list of buddy classrooms and countries at the end of my letter to you. This may be one of those occasions when you ask your child/ren what they did in school they may answer you rather than saying, “Nothing.” Trust me on this one—that’s been the standard answer for countless generations. Try asking them about what they are doing with their buddies. You can also log onto the Eliot Web page. Find technology and click on Lessons. At the top you’ll see Room To Read. Voila --you’ll find our global portal there with lots of information and resources. Student projects will be shared on March 6 during our Cultural Diversity Day program. Our cultural arts committee continues their fine work in retaining some of the best and brightest performers in the area. On Thursday, Johnny the K performed "Turn the World Around." Mrs. Glaser, one of the members of the cultural arts committee and Mrs. Mathais hosted an act that “featured  an interactive style of music and activities about preserving and protecting our planet as well as recycling and conservation.” Andrew Green from Potato Hill Poetry ended our week by presenting to our third graders. His presentation included many aspects we incorporate during writer’s workshop and featured a variety of ways to connect music to poetry. Thank you Mrs. Perkins and Mrs. Anastasi for hosting our guest. Perhaps our moniker ought to be Eliot Goes Global! Stay healthy and have a great weekend. See you next week. Suzanne Buddy Classrooms

Bangladesh * Mrs. Wythe's 5th Graders & Mrs. Vargas' 3rd Graders with Mrs. Rapp's Kindergartners

Cambodia * Ms. Allison's 3rd Graders & Mrs. Bagley's 1st Graders

India * Mrs. Kaefer's 2nd Graders & Ms. Adkins' 4th Graders

Laos * Mrs. Hoffman's Class, Mrs. Schwarm's 1st Graders and Mrs. Sullivan's 3rd Graders

Nepal * Mrs. Maxwell's 3rd Graders & Ms. Leate's 5th Graders with Mrs. Holland's Kindergartners

Sri Lanka * Mrs. Cooney's 4th Graders & Mrs. Sullivan's 2nd Graders

South Africa * Mrs. Wankowicz's 5th Graders & Mrs. Schuchard's 2nd Graders with Mrs. Rapp's Kindergartners

Vietnam * Mrs. Jeas' 1st Graders & Ms. Barry's 4th Graders

From Our Principal

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Trintje & Peter Nydam, second graders, present a $4,800 check from the Eliot School to John Wood, as Room-to-Read’s Emily Upstill and Eliot Principal, Mrs. Wilcox look on.

Fifth Graders:Ari Rosenbaum, Micaela Rosin & Colleen Melcher describe the ways Eliot students have become involved in the Room-to-Read program.

John Wood, founder of Room-to-Read program shows photos of students in Nepal and examples of schools and libraries, built through the foundation.

Superintendent Gutekanst and Eliot staff members who worked on the curriculum development for Eliot’s Room To Read program, with John Wood.Back row, from left: Superintendent Gutekanst, Mr. Bayse, Mrs. Schwarm, John Wood, Mrs. Sullivan, Ms. Allison, Mrs. Bagley, Mrs. Maxwell and Ms.Adkins. Front row, from left: Mrs. Leate, Mrs. Cooney and Mrs. Wilcox. Missing from photo, Mrs. Martell.

Room to Read Assembly - Friday, November 6th

Photos by: Christine Butchart

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PTC NewsThe PTC is debuting its brand new Newsletter this week. Any PTC information previously seen in this bulletin will now be in the newsletter. Please click http://web.me.com/bloomeanie/The_John_Eliot_Newsletter/November_13th,_2009.html to take a look. This is the first one and we welcome your thoughts, comments, feedback, suggestions etc.

Eliot News Friday, November 20: Walk-to-School Day and Parent Meeting.  International Walk-to-School Day was probably lovely somewhere in the world, but it was not lovely in Needham.  Let’s try again on Friday, November 20.  Enjoy a walk to school, and stick around to meet with our representative from Safe Routes to Schools.  He’ll talk about walking schoolbuses – neighborhoods walking to school together, with parents sharing supervision – and walking safety in general.  The meeting begins in the Eliot Performance Center at 8:40 a.m.  Also on November 20, Caroline Sabin will distribute and redeem Traveler Tickets.  If you would like a Ticket, please print out the flyer at the end of the bulletin.  Fill in one space for each walk to or from school; when the ticket is complete, you win a prize!  Questions?  Contact Caroline Sabin (csabin@rcn.com or 781-453-0558).

  Walk or Bike to School!Biking or walking to school is healthy, safe, fun and free!  Many Eliot students already walk or bike to school.  Think you know them all?  The Walker of the Week is a second grader whose walk to school is about as long as one end of the Titanic to the other. His favorite thing is walking when there’s snow on the ground!  Can you guess who it is?  Check in the school lobby to find out if you were correct, and to learn more about our Walker of the Week. Interested in organizing a neighborhood walking group or looking for more information on walking or biking to school?  Contact Caroline Sabin for some helpful Safe Routes to Schools tips (csabin@rcn.com or 781-453-0558).

Johnny the K, a review by Eliot mom,Lisa GlaserOn Thursday, November 12, 2009, the kindergarten and 1st grade classes saw Johnny the K perform "Turn the World Around" sponsored by the Cultural Arts Committee.   Through Johnny the K's interactive style of music and activities about preserving and protecting our planet as well as recycling and conservation, the audiences were taught valuable lessons concerning our environment. Ecological messages offered children encouragement and a sense that they have the power to make a difference in their community.  The children enjoyed the performance tremendously.

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Needham Youth Services offers:QPR Suicide Prevention Training for Adults/Parents

Over the past few years, the Needham community has experienced several suicides that have impacted the town on many levels. In an effort to learn more about this topic and be of support to a person in distress, the Needham Coalition for Suicide Prevention and Needham Youth Services are offering QPR trainings. Learn more at www.needhamma.gov/youth/qpr.

The next QPR program is being offered on Wednesday, December 2nd. You must register in advance, and you can do so online at www.needhamma.gov/youth/brochure/2009/fall (see page #5 for registration sheet), or by email at jmattleman@needhamma.gov.

Investigate the myths surrounding suicide, explore the signs of suicide, discover the differences between suicide and self injury, and learn how to help to a person in distress.

For further information about the above programs, please contact Jon Mattleman at jmattleman@needhamma.gov r visit the Youth Services website at www.needhamma.gov/youth .  =================================== ICE HOCKEY FOR 8 TO 12 YEAR OLDSBeginning and experienced girl and boy skaters ages 8 to 12 can still sign up for ice hockey in the Needham Youth Hockey Intramural Major program.  Designed for new players who want to try ice hockey or children who have played before, but do not desire to participate in a travel program, Intramural Majors play full ice games and focus on fun and skill development.  With the season just starting, go to www.nyha.org or e-mail klhorton@comcast.net to sign up or for more information.  =================================== Understanding Your Teenager - a PresentationUnderstanding Your Teenager, a Needham parent presentation by Sue Blaney is currently being shown on The Needham Channel- Education channel. For schedules log onto www.needhamchannel.org Sue shared developmental insights, effective parent/teen communication strategies, and her parenting book group program titled Please Stop The Roller Coaster during her presentation; to learn more about the Needham parent book group program please contact: Carol Read Needham Health Department 781-455-7523. =================================== Book Sale--On Sat., Dec. 5, from 9 am to 1 p.m.Book Sale--On Sat., Dec. 5, from 9 am to 1 p.m. the Friends of the Needham Public Library will be holding a limited book sale in the community room of the library.  All items, which will include holiday and children's books, paperbacks and hard cover fiction will be 50 cents. ===================================  NEEDHAM STUDENTS TO PERFORM IN THE WIZARD OF OZ26 Needham students will perform in Needham Community Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz, which runs November 20-29 at Newman Elementary School. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit www.needhamtheatre.org.

 

NEEDHAM NEWS

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Our next bulletin will be published the day before Thanksgiving:

Wednesday, November 25th

Please see the following: Traveler Tickets and Cori Request Form

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CORI REQUEST FORM NEEPS

CH 385 G

Needham Public Schools has been certified by the Criminal History Systems Board for access to all criminal case data including

conviction, non-conviction, and pending.

As an applicant/employee for the position of ________________________________________, I understand that a criminal record check

will be conducted for conviction, non-conviction, and pending criminal case information only and that it will not necessarily disqualify me. The

information below is correct to the best of my knowledge.

_______________________________________________________

Applicant/Employee Signature (Unless otherwise preempted by law)

APPLICANT/EMPLOYEE INFORMATION (PLEASE PRINT)

_________________________________________ ______________________________ __________________________________

LAST NAME FIRST NAME MIDDLE NAME

_________________________________________ ______________________________ _________________________________

MAIDEN NAME OR ALIAS (IF APPLICABLE) PLACE OF BIRTH ID theft index PIN* (if applicable)

_________________________________________ _________-__________-__________ ________________________________

DATE OF BIRTH SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER MOTHER’S MAIDEN NAME

(Requested but not required)

CURRENT AND FORMER ADDRESSES:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SEX: _____________ HEIGHT: ______ft. ______ in. WEIGHT: ____________ EYE COLOR: ______________

STATE DRIVER’S LICENSE NUMBER: _________________________________________________

(Include State of issue)

***THE ABOVE INFORMATION WAS VERIFIED BY REVIEWING THE FOLLOWING FORM OF GOVERNMENT ISSUED

PHOTOGRAPHIC IDENTIFICATION: ______________________________________.

REQUESTED BY:______________________________________________

Thomas F. Campbell, Director of Human Resources

*The CHSB Identity Theft Index PIN number is to be completed by those applicants that have been issued an Identity Theft Index PIN number by

the CHSB. Certified agencies are required to provide all applicants the opportunity to include this information to ensure the accuracy of the CORI

process.

All CORI requests forms that include this field are required to be submitted to the CHSB via mail or by fax to 617-660-4614.

Needham Public Schools A school and community partnership that

Creates excited learners ~ Inspires excellence ~ Fosters integrity

Office of the Director of Human Resources

Thomas F. Campbell, M.Ed.