Pathways A Weekly Collection of Information, Thoughts, Reflections and Accolades for the Reading Public School Community March 6, 2016 Volume 7, Number 25 Upcoming Dates March 6 – RMHS Color Guard Competition in Dover, NH; (2:00 p.m.) RMHS Drama Presents The Nerd in the Endslow PAC March 7 - (8:00 a.m.) Coffee & Conversation @ Parker; (7:00 p.m.) School Committee Meeting in Superintendent’s Conference Room March 8 – (2:00 p.m.) MAJE Jazz Festival @ RMHS; (7:00 p.m.) Killam PTO Meeting March 9 – Grade 6 – 8 Early Release; (after school) Secondary PLC Meetings March 10 – (after school) Elementary PLC Meetings; (6:30 p.m.) Parker Play – Lion King Jr. March 11 – (7:00 p.m. Parker Play – Lion King Jr. March 12 – (7:00 a.m.) RMHS Robotics Competition in the Hawkes Field House; (2:00 & 7:00 p.m.) Parker Play – Lion King Jr. March 13 – (7:00 a.m.) RMHS Robotics Competition in the Hawkes Field House Update on Parker and Birch Meadow Principal Searches Parker Search Thank you for all of the feedback that we have received over the last week regarding the Open Microphone sessions. As you know, the open microphone sessions are just one part of a very comprehensive search process that has also included interviews with the Screening Committee, one on one interviews with the Superintendent, site visits to Parker, and reference checks. We are now completing this process with final interviews, further reference checks, and site visits to the finalists' schools to verify the information that I have gathered throughout this process. Our intent is to have an announcement on the next Principal of Parker Middle School during the week of March 14 th . Birch Meadow Search We have received 28 applications for this position, which is a strong showing for an elementary school administrative position. The candidates who have applied have a wide variety of education and administration backgrounds and experiences. Next week, the Birch Meadow Elementary School Principal Screening Committee will be interviewing several candidates who have strong backgrounds in administration, curriculum leadership and elementary education. This part of the process is confidential so that we are able to attract that largest number of qualified candidates possible. Based on the interviews, reference checks, and application review, a small group of finalists will be announced to the Community in mid to late March. These finalists will participate in a public process which will include site visits and open microphone sessions with the Birch Meadow Community. More details will follow on that process in a future communication. We would like to thank the members of the Birch Meadow Screening Committee who are participating in this process. The members are as follows: Micheala Saunders, Human Resources Administrator-Facilitator Eric Sprung, Principal Carolyn Wilson, Director of Student Services Carol Chapman, Secretary Jolene Tewksbury, Teacher Kelly DiCato, Teacher Danielle Tucker, Teacher Petra Marino, Parent Christine Mulvey, Parent Alicia Williams, Parent
Transcript
Pathways A Weekly Collection of Information, Thoughts, Reflections and Accolades for the
Reading Public School Community March 6, 2016 Volume 7, Number 25
Upcoming Dates March 6 – RMHS
Color Guard
Competition in Dover,
NH; (2:00 p.m.)
RMHS Drama
Presents The Nerd in
the Endslow PAC
March 7 - (8:00
a.m.) Coffee &
Conversation @
Parker; (7:00 p.m.)
School Committee
Meeting in
Superintendent’s
Conference Room
March 8 – (2:00
p.m.) MAJE Jazz
Festival @ RMHS;
(7:00 p.m.) Killam
PTO Meeting
March 9 – Grade 6 –
8 Early Release;
(after school)
Secondary PLC
Meetings
March 10 – (after
school) Elementary
PLC Meetings; (6:30
p.m.) Parker Play –
Lion King Jr.
March 11 – (7:00
p.m. Parker Play –
Lion King Jr.
March 12 – (7:00
a.m.) RMHS Robotics
Competition in the
Hawkes Field House;
(2:00 & 7:00 p.m.)
Parker Play – Lion
King Jr.
March 13 – (7:00
a.m.) RMHS Robotics
Competition in the
Hawkes Field House
Update on Parker and Birch Meadow Principal Searches
Parker Search Thank you for all of the feedback that we have received over the last week regarding the Open Microphone sessions. As you know, the open microphone sessions are just one part of a very comprehensive search process that has also included interviews with the Screening Committee, one on one interviews with the Superintendent, site visits to Parker, and reference checks. We are now completing this process with final interviews, further reference checks, and site visits to the finalists' schools to verify the information that I have gathered throughout this process.
Our intent is to have an announcement on the next Principal of Parker Middle School during the week of March 14th. Birch Meadow Search
We have received 28 applications for this position, which is a strong showing for an elementary school administrative position. The candidates who have applied have a wide variety of education and administration backgrounds and experiences. Next week, the Birch Meadow Elementary School Principal Screening Committee will be interviewing several candidates who have strong backgrounds in administration, curriculum leadership and elementary education. This part of the process is confidential so that we are able to attract that largest number of qualified candidates possible. Based on the interviews, reference checks, and application review, a small group of finalists will be announced to the Community in mid to late March. These finalists will participate in a public process which will include site visits and open microphone sessions with the Birch Meadow Community. More details will follow on that process in a future communication. We would like to thank the members of the Birch Meadow Screening Committee who are participating in this process. The members are as follows:
Micheala Saunders, Human Resources Administrator-Facilitator
We will update you on the process when more information becomes available. If you have any questions, please contact the Reading Public Schools administration offices at 781-944-5800.
Coolidge Wins State Science Olympiad
Congratulations to the Coolidge Middle School Science Olympiad Team, under the direction of Coach Karawan Meade who won the Massachusetts State Science Olympiad Tournament that was held this past weekend at Assumption College in Worcester. Coolidge placed in the top 6 in 20 out of the 23 events with 11 gold medals.
The team has dedicated this season and this state championship to John McCarthy, a long time Coolidge Science Team Coach, who passed away in October from a courageous battle with cancer. The team shirts proudly display John’s name.
The team will now prepare for the National Science Olympiad Tournament which will be held in May at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Congratulations to the students, coaches and parents on a job well done!
Key words aren’t the key to understanding math By: Bridging the Gap Blog
Students in NYC recently finished taking the state math test. As a result, I’ve spent the past couple of weeks watching a lot of test prep going on in classrooms. One of the strategies I see being used over and over is the use of key words.
Hockey and Girls Hockey who had first round victories in the MIAA Tournament. The Boys hockey team is continuing tournament play as a result of their victory on Saturday night and will be competing in the semi-finals of the MIAA Division 1 State Tournament on Wednesday evening.
To the cast and crew of The Nerd, under the direction of RMHS teacher and Drama Club Faculty Advisor, Natalie Cunha on an outstanding job this past weekend.
To the Birch Meadow Elementary school who has been awarded a garden grant from the Whole Foods Corporation. The School Garden Grant program provides a monetary grant to support an educational garden on the grounds of a K-12 school. The school plans on using the garden to enrich student learning across the curriculum.
To RMHS Seniors Julia Corbett and Liam O’Neill, who are this week’s High Five.
To the following RMHS Art students who participated in and received recognition in the 6th Congressional District High School Art Award show sponsored by Montserrat: Natalie Krowitz ('16) who was given an honorable mention for her work.
I admit that I was guilty of using this strategy when I started teaching. I was puzzled when my students could flawlessly perform computations but struggled with word problems. Teaching them to look for key words seemed like an easy fix to this. I had charts in my room listing all the key words and their corresponding operations. Yet, the key words didn’t seem to help them.
So why don’t key words work?
It’s because they don’t allow students to use what they already know to make sense of a situation.
The research backs this up. Drake and Barlow (2007) gave a student the problem below.
There are 3 boxes of chicken nuggets on the table. Each box contains 6 chicken nuggets. How many chicken nuggets are there in all? Guess what a student who looked for key words answered? 9 chicken nuggets. The student saw the words: “in all” as a signal to add 6 and 3. I would bet that the student could have made sense of this situation and arrived at the correct answer if he drew a picture or reasoned about it. However, using key words led him to an incorrect answer.
Key words encourage students to take a short cut instead of making sense of a situation. If students think about what makes sense, they don’t need shortcuts or key words. They don’t need to worry about what happens when they aren’t any key words or when there are multiple key words in a story.
If we believe that doing mathematics should have meaning for students and make sense to them, then teaching key words doesn’t support those goals. Teaching students to reason about a situation and know why they are performing an operation does.
Have you used key words with your students? What was your experience?
Drake, J. M., & Barlow, A. T. (2007). Assessing Students’ Levels of Understanding Multiplication through Problem Writing. Teaching Children Mathematics, 14(5), 272-277.
Skills for the Future In this article in Educational Leadership, consultant/author Erik Palmer says there’s a lot of uncertainty about the knowledge and competencies that will be truly useful for today’s students in tomorrow’s world. But he believes that in the decades ahead, some fundamental things will remain. Four predictions: • There will still be an Internet. “It will still be possible to pick up a device, ask a question, and get several million results in less than a second,” says Palmer. The challenge of information overload will only get worse. This means that being able to make sense of an overwhelming amount of information is a crucial skill. It requires:
A sense of what the World Wide Web really is;
Sophistication in picking the right search engine for specific queries;
Ways to formulate queries to get the best information;
An awareness of how search results are ranked;
Knowledge of domain types (including .com, .gov., .guru, .hr, and .org);
In addition, 4 other students (Charles Wang, '18, Olivia Blumenshine, '18, Courtney Hardy, '16, and Allison Cashins, '17) who were chosen to participate in this show to represent Reading. This show is up and open to the public at the Cabot Gallery in Beverly through Saturday.
Tools to evaluate the people, purpose, and possible bias behind a website. It’s essential that schools provide direct instruction on these skills, says Palmer. • People will still be trying to sell us things and ideas. “Commercials will bombard us from everywhere,” he says. “To evaluate these sales pitches, students will need an understanding of logic, reasoning, argument, and persuasive techniques.” Specifically:
What an argument is – statements leading to a conclusion;
How to evaluate an argument: Are the statements true? Do they force us to accept the conclusion?
How to support statements – with facts, numbers, quotes, examples, and analogies;
How to avoid reasoning errors – for example, confusing causality with correlation, generalizing, derailing the train of thought, stereotyping, and ad hominem attacks;
How to recognize persuasive and rhetorical tricks – bandwagon appeals, transference, loaded words, hyperbole, allusion, and euphemism.
Palmer reports that the teachers he’s surveyed say they’ve never been trained in most of these skills. Their students will really need them down the road. • Listening will still be important. There’s more to listening than paying attention, says Palmer: “Messages are not merely oral communication but rather an elaborate mix of words, sounds, music, and images. This means that all students will need to be media literate so they can listen well to different kinds of media” – for example, being sophisticated about the power of a short video based on its image selectivity, visual effects, and music. • People will still be speaking. “Unfortunately, schools have often ignored speaking skills,” says Palmer. These will be vital in a world where the channels for verbal communication will continue to blossom – consider how today’s Facetime, Skype, Periscope for Twitter, cell phone apps, webinars, podcasts, and narrated slideshows will be augmented. His desiderata for an oral communication curriculum: Building a speech:
How to analyze an audience and craft a message with interesting and relevant information;
How to use a “grabber” opening, clear transitions, and a powerful closing;
How to create effective visual aids;
Fine-tuning personal appearance for the audience and the occasion;
Appearing poised and avoiding distracting behaviors. Delivering a speech:
Making sure every word is clearly heard;
Skillfully using emotion, passion, eye contact, gestures, and pacing. “Four Predictions for Students’ Tomorrows” by Erik Palmer in Educational Leadership, March 2016 (Vol. 73, #6, p. 18-22), http://bit.ly/1TL2RJo; Palmer is at [email protected]. Reprinted from Marshall Memo 626
Reading Public School Happenings The Nerd This past weekend, the RMHS Drama Club, under the direction of Mrs. Natalie Cunha, performed the Larry Shue comedy, The Nerd. Congratulations to the cast and crew on a job well done!
“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can
start from now and make a brand new ending.”
– James Sherman
Birch Meadow Mindfulness Below is a student in Maria Simon’s Grade 1 class showing how to use chimes to practice mindfulness.
Read Across America This past week, our elementary schools celebrated Read Across America and the birthday of Dr. Suess. Several community members came and read to students this week. Special thanks goes to our Librarians and Teachers who helped organize this event.
Disney Tweet of the Week
“The only thing predictable about life is its
unpredictability.”
–Remy (Ratatouille)
Killam Students Celebrating Read Across America
Administrative Assistant for Learning and Teaching Lori Miller reading to RISE students
Reading Rotarian David Traniello reading to Wood End students
Reading Boys and Girls Track Teams Run Water Drive for Flint, Michigan
Recently, the Reading Girls and Boys track teams participated in a community service project donating cases of bottled water to be sent to Flint, Michigan. Reading sent over 50 cases of water to the drive. Below is a photo of the student-athletes who participated in the drive.
RMHS Hosts MIAA State Wrestling Championships Last weekend, RMHS was the host for this year’s MIAA State Wrestling Championships. Special thanks to Assistant Principal for Athletics and Extra-Curricular Activities Tom Zaya for his assistance in coordinating this event.
Contact Us The Journey newsletter is published weekly for Reading Public School Staff. If you have anything that you would like to share, please email your information to John Doherty at [email protected]
Stepping Stones… We have posted new positions on School Spring. If interested, please visit
www.schoolspring.com to view the job details.
Regular Education Paraeducator, Barrows JOB ID # 2398284
Special Education Paraeducator, Birch Meadow JOB ID # 2399994
Custodial Substitutes, Reading Public Schools JOB ID # 2425104
RCASA Offering Courses –The Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse and the Reading Public Schools are offering free courses in March on Mental Health First Aid for Youth and Adults. The links to register are below. For more information, please contact RCASA Director Erica McNamara at [email protected]. FREE Youth Mental Health First Aid Courses for adults that live, work or go to
school in Reading, MA Wed. March 9, 16, and 23rd from 6-8 pm http://www.edline.net/files/_MHJ0d_/8833ba45264f8a483745a49013852ec4/March_Course.Youth_Mental_Health_First_Aid.Free_.pdf
FREE Mental Health First Aid Course for adults that live, work or go to school in Reading, MA
Saturday March 26th, 9-4 pm http://www.edline.net/pages/ReadingPublicSchools/Community/RCASA/News/Mental_Health_First_Aid
SEEM to Offer SEI Courses-SEEM Collaborative has added two new SEI courses to our spring schedule. One will be held on Wednesday evenings and the other will be held on Saturday mornings beginning the first week of March.
For more information or to register please click on the link below: https://seemcollaborative.gosignmeup.com/
Disney's "Lion King Jr." tickets on sale now!-Parker Middle School brings the African savannah to life on stage with their spectacular production of Disney's The Lion King Jr on
March 10, 11 and 12. Families and fans will enjoy meeting Simba, Rafiki and an unforgettable cast of characters as they journey from Pride Rock to the jungle and back again in this inspiring coming-of-age tale.
Reserve your seats today! Performances will take place at the Parker Middle School Auditorium, 45 Temple Street, Reading, MA at the following times:
Thursday, March 10 at 6:30 pm Friday, March 11 at 7:00pm Saturday, March 12 at 2:00 pm Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 pm
Order tickets online at www.ticketstage.com or by calling the Parker ticket line at 781-944-1236, X116. Cost: $10 for center section; $8 for side sections.
RMHS ROBOTICS EVENT-The RMHS robotics team is hosting the North Shore (Reading) District Event March 12 & 13 at the RMHS Field House.
We will have 40 teams from across New England here all weekend to compete in the "First Stronghold" game challenge. The event is free to all.
