The Future of Updates

It was wonderful to see the future of Stony Brook this week as the 5th graders joined us for tours and quick meet and greet opportunities.  They were a fantastic group full of energy and smiles with lost of great questions. I informed that there parents are probably more nervous about there transition to middle school than they are and many laughed.  I shared part of the presentation that I gave to the parents with them, as well.  They specifically enjoyed the picture of the adult screaming while holding his head...I told them this is what most of the adults will look like to them over the next few years and they seemed to appreciate the joke.  But what I think they enjoyed the most was seeing our current students.  Our 7th and 8th grade Peer Leaders did a stupendous job hosting tours and answering questions...even if a few had some fun telling 5th graders about the pool on the 4th floor.

Additionally, some of our 8th graders joined the 6th graders at lunch this week and organized some fun filled games outside following lunch.  It was awesome to see the entire 6th grade in one large circle playing and laughing together.  The 8th graders have done a tremendous job this week continuing to provide solid examples even while they are preparing to begin the new adventure of high school.  This afternoon, WA hosted the 8th graders from both middle schools for a presentation and chance to get more comfortable with life in high school.  We have one more full week together and everyone is feeling it.

With that, I want to take one more opportunity to remind everyone of the special 8th Grade Celebration that the WMSPTO hosts next week.  Here is the information they have been sharing:

The 8th Grade Celebration Dance is NEXT WEEK! This WMSPTO-sponsored event is a fun way for 8th graders from both middle schools to come together to celebrate the end of middle school and look towards the next chapter in their Westford education. We have a great group of volunteers who will be making this evening a night to remember- this includes keeping them safe and checking them in at the door. Please help them make this easy by getting these permission slips in.  

Permission slips for the dance will be collected thru Monday June 13th. 

• Stony Brook Middle School Gym, on Thursday, June 16, 7:00-9:30pmAttire for the evening will be dressy casual not semi-formal.  This is a Glow Wear event - wear white or neon so you will GLOW! Refreshments will be provided.
• Appropriate behavior outlined in WPS handbook is expected at all times. 
• Please drop off & pick up at right side entrance of school. We strongly encourage carpooling.
  

I was contacted by the leadership of F.A.M.E. this week and asked to include a plea for them.  They do incredible things for all of WPS students and most of their Board is made up of parents of graduating seniors. This important organization needs to have officers or it risks dissolving.  

Please read their message and consider getting involved:

Hello Music Parents,

F.A.M.E. needs your help!

Three officers of F.A.M.E—President, Vice President and Treasurer, who have been serving for the past four years,

will be leaving the organization next year as their students have graduated.  If officers are not in place for next year, F.A.M.E. could lose its non-profit status 

and will be at risk of dissolving.

This would be a devastating loss for our music program!

F.A.M.E. (Friends Advancing Music Education) has been active for over 30 years.  We help fund the needs of music 

teachers that fall outside the normal school budget, and provide opportunities to enhance the music programs for students.

Additionally, F.A.M.E. supports and encourages students directly through senior and summer camp music scholarships

and awards, as well as the performance opportunity provided by the F.A.M.E. Dinner Dance each year.

In order to help facilitate a smooth transition to new music parents taking on leadership roles, planning for next year has already begun.

The dates, venues and deposits are in place for our two major fundraisers for the upcoming school year. The Music Cafe

is scheduled for October 21, 2016 and the F.A.M.E. Dinner Dance is scheduled for April 17, 2017. In addition, all F.A.M.E. information 

and procedures from previous years have been updated and documented. Plus, current and past members of F.A.M.E. are available for 

consultation and support as well.

Please consider stepping in to help!

Please join us at our final F.A.M.E. meeting of the year at 25 Stony Brook Rd. on Tuesday June 14th at 6:45 pm. This will be a very 

casual potluck where we will discuss events of the past year and look forward to the next. If you can’t make it to the meeting, but

are interested in more information about joining F.A.M.E., please email us at: fame_westford@yahoo.com or call Ron at 978-430-4358.

Thanks in advance for your help, so that F.A.M.E. can continue its support of the music students of Westford Public Schools.

Best regards,

Ron Gagnon

President

 

One full week left!

Get some rest this weekend and the next, summer vacation is right around the corner!

Chris

Dr. Christopher Chew

Principal

Stony Brook School

Westford, MA 01886

(978) 692-2708

An update of remembrance...

At the end of the day today, I took a moment to remind everyone to spend some time this weekend listening to the stories of some of the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives in defense of our liberty.  As our world continues to change, it is important to also remember the first responders and every day citizens who rush into harm's way to protect others around them in danger.  Our heroes are taking many forms and appear in unlikely circumstances.  Let this weekend be more than just the unofficial start of the vacation season and help model for all of our students the importance of demonstrating respect and gratitude for everyone who has died to keep us safe and free. This afternoon, our 8th graders in DC were able to witness a very moving wreath laying ceremony and changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery.  If you haven't seen them already, check out our Twitter Feed and or FaceBook page to see pictures from that event and more from the trip.  In addition to those pictures, we will also be posting pictures of the local service work many of our 8th Grade Ambassadors did this week as mentors to elementary students over at Nabnassett while others were in DC. Rounding out the news for 8th grade, if you haven't heard already from the local press or our earlier tweets, Saketh J. performed incredibly in the NatGeo Geography Bee and came in 2nd place in the National Finals also in DC this week!  The finals are being shown on Nat Geo Wild tonight at 8pm!  Congratulations, Saketh!  I guess that should have come with a spoiler alert if you were hoping to watch it without knowing the results...sorry :?) Next Wednesday night, the Stony Brook Theater Arts will be presenting a public performance of their festival piece Beauty and the Bee along with performances from the Stony Brook Chorus here in the auditorium at 7pm.  There is a suggested donation of $10 for admission to help cover the costs of royalties for the production. Ms. Smith is still looking for volunteers for the Barnes and Noble book fair event on June 10th: I need at least five volunteers to help at the Stony Brook Barnes and Noble Book Fair in Nashua on Friday, June 10 from 6-8pm. I am looking for students and parents that would be willing to help at makerspace stations. We will have Ozobots, Littlebits, Spheros, and Meccano available for students to try out.  It is an exciting opportunity to see some of items students will be using in the library/innovation lab next year. Please contact Mrs. Smith at nsmith@westfordk12.us if available to volunteer. Here is a link with the pertinent information for the event.  SB Barnes&noble Bookfair 2016 Additionally, we are going to begin accepting items to repurpose here in the library as part of our MakerSpace area... Finally, for those of you with seniors in your families (students that is)...today is the deadline for Balloon orders!!! Remember All The Balloons Last Year? The Westford Education Foundation is doing it again. Send your favorite WA Class of 2016 graduates shiny maroon and silver Mylar balloons as a fun way to congratulate them on this big accomplishment. Imagine hundreds of balloons decorating mailboxes and front porches of WA seniors throughout town on graduation day. Balloons are just $6 each. An array of six balloons to the same address (ordered at the same time) is $30.The deadline to order balloons is Friday, May 27, 2016.  Go to http://wefweb.org/ for the balloon order form. Be sure to include the grads’ names, addresses, and your own personal note for each recipient, and WEF will take care of the rest. Balloons will be delivered the day before graduation. Proceeds from balloon sales help WEF fund a variety of innovative educational and professional development grants for Westford schools, as well award two scholarships to graduating WA seniors majoring in education. Questions? Contact Kelly Guthrie atkguthrie@wefweb.org. The Westford Education Foundation is grateful for your support. Have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day Weekend, Chris

The future's so bright...update

So, at the end of a long week of PARCC make-ups, MCAS testing...and make-ups, counting all 1368 PARCC tests and 247 MCAS tests...and then re-counting to verify that none of the test materials have gone missing and all the questions remain secure, I was delighted to meet with our 7th and 8th grade peer leaders outside to listen to some ideas they have for our future.  When it seems like many in our country are bemoaning the failed state of our education system, I am confident that as long as these fine young women and men remain steadfast in their beliefs and convictions I remain optimistic about our future!  There is no doubt in my mind that these are some of our leaders of tomorrow and they are growing more and more confident in their abilities to identify and tackle problems before them.  While we have a pretty dynamic environment at Stony Brook, it is not without its cliques and isolated social groups.  Our peer leaders are interested in looking for ways to have a positive impact on their peers and step outside their comfort zone to ensure that individuals are not limited and defined by their friends but encouraged to cross boundaries of interest and not limit their sense of belonging to one social circle.   It was the perfect way to say goodbye to the standard tests for this year and return to the development of the individuals!

I must admit...I did leave the piles of tests locked in my office a few times to visit some classes, as well.  I know...call me crazy, but I did it anyway.  Many of our 6th grade students are looking at challenges various countries in the Middle East are facing as part of the social studies curriculum.  Their task is to identify a specific problem facing a country and develop a solution and present it as ambassadors to the United Nations.  It is a wonderful project that engages students in real world scenarios even if all of the financial implications of potential projects are not always possible in the real world.  They are thinking critically and preparing themselves to solve problems in their futures.  The 7^th grade social studies classes that I was fortunate enough to visit were tackling issues of the ancient world.  One group was debating the philosophical intricacies of the definition of superior as they prepare to analyze different competing civilizations of the past.  The other class was completing research in preparation for creating podcasts about Alexander the Great and his impact.  Finally, many of our 8^th grade students have been debating which families and or individuals had the greatest impact during the Renaissance.  There is a lot of critical thinking taking place! At the end of the day, students are learning that their opinions and voice matter a great deal and when supported by facts and a well-developed argument will be taken seriously.  

This morning, a third highlight of week was the distinct pleasure of announcing the winners of the essay contest for the participants of the wreath laying ceremony with the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington Cemetery in Washington DC.  8^th graders were given the opportunity to write an essay about the Tomb of the Unknown and why participating in the ceremony would important to them.  The essays were given to a panel of judges with all of the identifiable information removed so that the readers were only considering the content of the essay.  The number of entries and the quality of writing across the board was high.  After hours of reading and consideration of the nearly 50 entries, we were delighted to share with the school this morning that Ali W., Jaramie C., Caroline B., and Daniel K. were selected as our participants.  We will be posting their essays in the 8^th grade hallway for others to read, as well.  

A very unique upcoming event has been established by Ms. Smith, our Librarian.  She has collaborate with Barnes and Noble for a bookfair event at their store that can help benefit Stony Brook.  She has been working feverishly to help expand the resources and supports our library has to offer and is looking to introduce a dedicated makerspace of sorts in our library for next year to benefit all of our students.  A unique aspect of this bookfair is that you can demo some of the devices and materials we are looking to include in our innovation/maker-space area next year.

Here is a message from Ms. Smith:

I need at least five volunteers to help at the Stony Brook Barnes and Noble Book Fair in Nashua on Friday, June 10 from 6-8pm. I am looking for students and parents that would be willing to help at makerspace stations. We will have Ozobots, Littlebits, Spheros, and Meccano available for students to try out.  It is an exciting opportunity to see some of items students will be using in the library/innovation lab next year. Please contact Mrs. Smith at nsmith@westfordk12.us if available to volunteer.

We have included a link with the pertinent information for the event.  SB Barnes&Noble Bookfair 2016

I hope your weekend is relaxing and enjoyable,

Chris

PARCCland Half-time Report...update

The first half action has been...well, relatively uneventful.  The participants seem well prepared for the grueling battle and have paced themselves nicely through the first three days of the event.  I was not made aware of any tears or cries of anguish resulting from the assessments for which we are thankful.  My office is feeling more like the Lestrange Vault in Gringotts' Bank, not because it is filled with precious jewels and antiques but because every time we seem to unpack a box of PARCC materials they multiply immediately and fill the room.  Sorry, I could only keep the sports analogy going for so long...

More importantly, we have paused in our testing to honor our mother's.  Personally, I have already sent my mother a card thanking her for helping me to become the confident standardized test administrator...I mean...educator that I am today.

Ok, the assessments have improved and are not as disruptive as they have been in the past.  Consider the glass officially half-full!

Speaking of sustenance, we were honored to have such a glorious spread of vittles this past Tuesday prepared by the WMSPTO in appreciation of all of our teachers.  Thank you to everyone who participated.  It was quite a feast and lifted everyone's spirits just before heading into PARCCland.  Food, glorious food filled our library and brought all of the staff together for some fellowship and laughter while waiting for the nicer weather to finally arrive.  Also on Tuesday, it was happenstance that the orchestra was displaced by the annual town elections taking place in the auditorium and so they rehearsed in the lobby for everyone to enjoy while parents were delivering goodies in the morning.   

Finally, our week has come to a close with release of the third term progress reports (light wisps of hooray are heard in the distance) just in time to be included in all of the wonderful mother's day cards and plants...look for them to be buried deep in the potting soil as there might be a student or two who confuses them with fertilizer.

Looking forward, students attending the DC trip were given their bus, chaperone, and flight information this afternoon, if there is any error in the contact information please email the changes to Ms. Craig (pcraig@westfordk12.us) for Monday.

I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Chris

Tilting at Windmills Update

Nestled below the Picasso print of Don Quixote hanging on the wall in my office are 49 plastic bins full of PARCC materials patiently waiting to bring joy and mirth to all of the wonderful children of Stony Brook.  Students fortunate enough to pass by my office this week have bubbled with enthusiasm as if uncovering the secret hiding spot for holiday gifts and surprises.  The ironic juxtaposition of the famous impossible dreamer tiling at windmills hovering over the mandated state assessments brings a smile to my face every time I see the bins waiting to be distributed.

With the PARCC assessments moving to May from the traditional MCAS window in March, it makes the slide from April vacation to the end of the year seem even faster for our 8th graders.  In no time, many of them will be journeying to Washington DC while others will be acting as ambassadors to some of our elementary students assisting with some of their community work and field days.  Quickly after finishing the PARCC assessments, they will be participating in the 8th grade science MCAS exams which will still take place later in May.  Every week in May has some event or other that keeps the 8th graders from wallowing in the sorrow that they will soon be leaving the hallowed halls of Stony Brook to embark on the new adventures awaiting them in high school.

Speaking of Washington DC...the parent meeting for all students participating in the Washington DC Trip is being held on May 18 at 6:00 in the auditorium.

But alas, before we get into May, there are a couple of things happening this weekend...

Best of luck to the cast and crew of BEAUTY AND THE BEE as they participate in the MA Middle School one-act festival at Tyngsborough High School tomorrow.  

Tomorrow is also Clean-up Westford day with opportunities all around town for individuals and groups to volunteer and help keep Westford looking beautiful.  I am very grateful to Westford Cub Scout Pack 102 for volunteering to clean-up around the track and help us keep the campus looking as wonderful.  Information for Westford Clean-Up day is available on our homepage and in our Twitter feed.  Registration is at 8:30 at Roudenbush Community Center.

Spring sports are in full bloom and we had a number of competitions this week already.  It is always wonderful to see all of the activity after school whether it is practices or games on all of our fields or students in the building adding the finishing touches on set-pieces or costumes or other students collaborating on the final proofs of the yearbook.  The energy is refreshing and inspiring to see additional opportunities for students to exhibit their strong skills and passions.

The final follow-up information regarding the Westford in Tune program is that 45 large garbage bags of clothing and shoes were collected and an additional $650 of donated money was used to purchase brand new clothing for the children in need.  The total amount collected was 1,145 articles of clothing or shoes.  Thank you again to Emily Blagg for all her work and everyone who participated in the event to help support the work of Cradles to Crayons.  Congratulations on a job well done!

On that note of accomplishment and service, have a wonderful weekend!

Chris

Bragging Rights Update

I claim to not be a competitive person;  my son is regularly annoyed when we are watching sports and I say something positive about an opposing team's play...or worse...that the refs are indeed doing their job and they can't hear you through the screen anyway. That being said, there is plenty of things to brag about this week and I wanted to share with all who will continue reading: Last night, the Stony Brook Faculty/Student Basketball team won big and brought the BMS v SB Trophy back home for another year to live nestled among the many awards in our trophy cases.  Our students filled the stands and a great time was had by all! Special thanks to the WMSPTO for sponsoring such a great event. 8th Grader Saketh J. competed against over 100 other middle school students in the state finals of the National Geographic Geography Bee.  After a long day of questions and various rounds of competition, Saketh triumphed over the rest of the field and was crowned MA State Champion!  He will travel to Washington DC later in the spring for the National Competition.  Congratulations, Saketh! Last Friday night, The Westford in Tune event was a huge success as students collaborated to help collect clothes for Cradles to Crayons.  The number of students, faculty and families and that turned out to enjoy the performances was thrilling and made me very proud to be associated with such a group of service minded individuals. Earlier this week, we sent out information about this year's Yearbook.  You can access the order forms at this link: SB Yearbook 2015-2016 The last Washington DC Scholarship Restaurant Fundraiser is taking place next Thursday, April 14 from 3-8 at Panera in Westford either dine-in or rapid pick-up.  All of the support so far has been tremendous and is greatly appreciated.  The flyer for the Panera event needs to be presented in order to benefit Stony Brook and can be accessed here: Panera SB Fundraiser 4-14-16 We have one week to go until vacation and the students are clearly ready!  Hopefully, the weather is going to start feeling more like spring. Have a wonderful weekend, Chris