Thursday, December 15, 2016

Careful the things you say...update!

...children will listen.

Careful the things you do.
Children will see and learn.

One of Stephen Sondheim's most poignant lyrics comes from INTO THE WOODS which is being presented tonight at 7:00  and tomorrow at 1:30 & 7:00 by Stony Brook Theater Arts.  It is an incredibly powerful cautionary tale using familiar fairy tale characters woven together in a story the reminds us to be careful what we wish for as it might certainly come true.  The musical complexity and richness of the lyrics make it one of the most difficult pieces in the Musical Theater genre and our students are wonderfully proud of the work they have been doing to bring this production to life.

This week I was able to enjoy watching many of our students participate in the Hour of Code as Mr. McElhinney and I made our regular tours through the building.  While the wifi is not always as fast as the students would like it to be, once they were connected and coding I did not hear any complaints and I was very impressed with the amount of code students were able to produce in such a short period of time.  They all have links to the Hour of Code sites that they can continue to access through a Google Classroom that Ms. Schultz established for the event.

Another treat during the week was participating in some of the 6th grade Social Studies projects as they are creating digital scrapbooks of their virtual trips to many of the countries they have been recently studying. I look forward to seeing the finished products to find out where I actually traveled :?)  

'Tis the Season...to notify families of our scheduled state assessments.  Please take a minute to access the letter from Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kerry Clery regarding our decision to move towards the online version of Next Generation MCAS. Additionally, we have been randomly selected again to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the 2017 Massachusetts Youth Health Survey.  Both of the those assessments will be administered to a small group of students selected from our enrollment.  If your child is selected to participate, you will be notified with more information regarding the specific assessment and the date in which it will be administered.  While there is no process for students to opt out of MCAS sessions, both the NAEP and MYHS sessions are voluntary and students selected will have the opportunity to choose whether or not they participate.  Again, if your child is selected for either NAEP or MYHS you will be notified and provided with additional information.  For those of you paying attention, It is merely coincidence that this update began with a journey into the woods...

If you are looking for additional opportunities to enjoy student performances, the WA Winter Orchestra Concert is tonight at 7:00 pm.  You could listen to the orchestra tonight and come enjoy one of the performances of INTO THE WOODS tomorrow!

A reminder that next week's schedule is a bit different with the parent conferences.  Students have a 2.5 hour delayed start on Tuesday (12/13) with the morning bell ringing at 10:05 to start classes.  Wednesday (12/14) there is no school for students at all.

The Scholastic Book Fair has arrived and is set-up in our library and will be available for parents to visit during the conference hours this year!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Chris

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