Depending on how these messages fall in your inbox...it could make for an interesting evening of reading. Hearing from Supt. Olsen regarding health concerns (I'll let you read that separately as to not require a spoiler alert) does not pair well with the fun exciting updates I was planning to send on this beautiful October evening. But he is right in that we are taking all necessary precautions and our custodial staff has been working tirelessly to address the concern.
Prior to learning of any health concerns directly related to Stony Brook, I met with the students during lunches on Thursday to discuss two specific things: yes, we now have vending machines & NO, we will not have clowns! The students seemed to appreciate both messages. The vending machines are the same machines already in use at WA and the types of available products can be found at Fresh Healthy Vending. The success at WA lead the food services department to ask us to consider including them at Stony Brook, as well. The contents of the machines are on the healthy side of snack foods and will be available until 8:00 am and after 2:00 pm for the time being. The students were very enthusiastic about that part of my announcement. Then, I discussed my personal aversion to clowns and apologized if any of them were related to professional clowns or had goals of becoming a clown. I made it expressly clear (tapping into the current 6th grade vocab list) that we will not allow any clowns at Stony Brook...well, at least of the costumed/ masked nature...it is difficult to not consider the antics of most middle schoolers as clownish...the overwhelming response was that most of them did not like the ideas of clowns at school either. I informed them that while the social media frenzy has been new to them, the creepy clown videos have been around for quite a long time now and there is more rumor and hoax than anything else.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming:
Stony Brook has created its own TED-Ed club. Students will be meeting once a month to build their own message and create their own videos. Students will learn a combination of public speaking and animation skills. The club will have its first meeting this Tuesday after school in the Library. If you have any questions about the club, please reach out to Mrs. Smith, nsmith@westfordk12.us, or Ms. Femino, sfemino@westfordk12.us .
What is TED-Ed?
"TED-Ed is TED’s youth and education initiative. TED-Ed’s mission is to spark and celebrate the ideas of teachers and students around the world. Everything we do supports learning — from producing a growing library of original animated videos , to providing an international platform for teachers to create their own interactive lessons, to helping curious students around the globe bring TED to their schools and gain presentation literacy skills, to celebrating innovative leadership within TED-Ed’s global network of over 250,000 teachers. TED-Ed has grown from an idea worth spreading into an award-winning education platform that serves millions of teachers and students around the world every week" (TED-Ed Lessons Worth Sharing).
Special thank you to all of the parents who helped supply 7th grade students with boxes of tissues for the recent Tissue Wars competition. They collected 294 boxes of tissues which were distributed to all of our classes to help prepare for the sniffles and sneezes that are beginning to echo through the halls....wow, this update does not seem virus free at all...
Speaking of spreading stuff from our heads...we will be hosting a parent informational night for the 8th grade Washington DC trip on October 19 from 6-7 here in the Stony Brook auditorium. It is not mandatory to attend, but it is a good opportunity to get questions answered and hear directly form the coordinators about the logistics of the trip. If you are not able to attend, information will be available in the main office for students to pick up and bring home, as well...if you are willing to chance that form of delivery :?)
Important information from the WPS HR department:
Classroom Substitutes Needed
The Westford Public Schools are looking for classroom substitutes (Preschool - 12). If you are interested in applying, please click here(http://www.westfordk12.us/Pages/hrm/apply ) and scroll down to the Substitute Button.
Wow, the running theme of this update makes me really appreciate this long weekend!
I hope it is relaxing for all,
Chris
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