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| Willard School Newsletter | 11 February 2010 |
Issue 20 |
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FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK |
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The forces of Mother Nature resulted in an early dismissal yesterday. All after school and evening events were canceled, most notably, the All Town Concert. This event will be held tonight (2/11) at Sanborn at 7:30 PM. A rehearsal is scheduled for 3:30 - 4:30 at Sanborn this afternoon. This concert offers students a chance to perform with their peers from Alcott and Thoreau and demonstrate their progress as musicians. On Tuesday, the Willard Family Friends program, sponsored a wonderful performance for METCO students and Concord Family Friends' host families from all three elementary schools. The entertainment was provided by Lost Unknown, a group of urban artists/performers who communicate the genre of Hip Hop as an art form which affords individual expression. Students enjoyed the expressive dances of the individual performers and the group as a whole. At the conclusion of the performance, the members of Lost Unknown invited audience participation. This was a wonderful social opportunity for the students and families in attendance. Thank you to the Willard Family Friends' parents (Debbie Osofsky, Grace Ryan, and Taneka Moody) who coordinated this event. Willard students and staff are looking forward to the February School Vacation. This week, many students are looking forward to celebrating Valentine's Day. Over the past few weeks, students in all classrooms have made Valentine's for patients at Emerson Hospital and the clients at Minuteman ARC. This community service project is a Willard tradition. The children enjoyed creating these beautiful Valentine's. I am sure that the patients at Emerson will enjoy receiving the cards! Valentine's Day is a special event for young children. Most children, especially children in the younger grades, will exchange Valentine's. Children in first and second grade have designed and created special Valentine's Day mailboxes to collect their Valentine's. Some teachers have planned academic activities on a Valentine's Day theme. As part of their music class with Ms. Bethell, Kindergarten students visited the main office and a few other staff members to sing a Valentine's Day song and deliver a Valentine to non-classroom teachers. I must say that it was fun to be serenaded in this manner!! There is still time to register for a special Open Circle Workshop Series for Parents offered by Willard School Counselor Julee Vitello. This parent training will begin after February Vacation. Open Circle is the cornerstone of our social competency program at Willard. The Open Circle Parent Workshop will provide parents with a great overview of Open Circle and will offer strategies for applying the principles of Open Circle to parent-child interactions at home. I strongly encourage all parents to consider participating in this opportunity. An aggressive schedule of punch list work is planned for school vacation week. District Maintenance Director David Anderson has assumed the lead role in coordinating the Punch List at Willard. I feel confident that I will be able to approve the use of the building for after school events as of March 1st. I appreciate your patience and cooperation in finding other locations for meetings and events due to the contractor work at Willard. I am looking forward to the Annual Willard Spelling Bee on Saturday, February 27th from 1:00 - 4:00. I hope that all students and families have a wonderful school vacation week! As always, thank you for all you do for Willard School. |
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| LINKS OF INTEREST |
| WILLARD HOME |
| WILLLARD PTG |
| LUNCH CALENDAR |
| SHOP WILLARD |
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| Willard Library |
| Willard Math |
| METCO Late Bus Schedule |
| BoxTop$ for Willard |
| Concord SEPAC |
Kindly submit articles for inclusion in the Willard Weekly to the editor, Christine Evans, at willardweekly@willardptg.org
Deadline for submission is Wednesday at 4pm.
WILLARD NEWS AND EVENTS |
JOINT PTG MEETING |
The Joint PTG meeting will be held on Thursday, February 25th in the Thoreau School auditorium starting at 7:30pm. We are lucky to have the Nutrition Coalition presenting on their efforts to improve the nutritional quality of school lunches. All Willard parents are invited to attend. |
OPEN CIRCLE PARENT WORKSHOP |
Come learn what your child is learning in Open Circle! Willard School Counselor Julee Vitello is offering a 4-week parent workshop (2/26, 3/5, 3/12, and 3/26) at 10:00am during which you can learn some of the concepts and vocabulary, learn tips for problem-solving common issues such as sibling conflicts and family communication, and exchange ideas with other parents. Space is limited to 10, so please register now! For more information and a registration form, click here. If you have any questions, contact Julee Vitello at jvitello@colonial.net or 978-341-2490, extension 4165. |
HELP CORRECT THE QUEST |
Volunteers are needed to help correct the Geography Quests on Friday, February 12th 11:30 - 2:00, in the Willard Conference Room. No prior experience or special skills required, just a willingness to have fun! Stop in for 15 minutes or an hour, whatever your schedule allows. Feel free to bring a lunch; cookies, cider, making pencils and gold stars will be provided. Please contact Alane Wallis at awallis@nutter.com or 978/369-1114 to volunteer or if you have any questions. You need not officially sign up, we will accept any and all volunteers. |
CARNIVAL MEETING RESCHEDULED |
| Although the "reliable" source was not-so-right about the snow predictions, the Willard Carnival kickoff meeting has been reschedule for Wednesday, February 24th at Tina Labadini's, 154 Southfield Road. This is the only time that we will meet as a group until carnival day. The festivities will begin with wine & cheese at 7:30 and you can meet your fellow committee members from 8:00-9:00. Questions, please contact: Tina Labadini: 978-369-7774, tina@labadinicorp.com or Becky Lopresti: 978-369-2109, beckylopresti@hotmail.com. |
OPEN ART STUDIO TIME DURING FEBRUARY BREAK |
| Drop-in (not drop-off, parents needed) with your kids to draw, paint, cut, paste, build with wire, beads and duct tape, and generally have a good time with art materials. There will be a variety of supplies and projects for different ages, from 3 to 10. Dates and times: Monday the 15th and Wednesday the 17th from 10:00-12:00, and Friday the 19th from 1:00 to 3:00. Location: The basement of The New Church of Concord, next to the Harvey Wheeler building. Cost is $9:00 per child. This event is sponsored by The Concord Youth Art League and the Emerson Umbrella. Questions may be directed to Margot Kimball at margotkimball@comcast.net. |
JOIN THE NUTRITION COALITION - HEALTHIER SCHOOL LUNCHES |
Would you like to see healthier lunches offered at school? Would you like to support local food and farms? Are you interested in school gardens? If so, please join a presentation and discussion sponsored by the PTGs of Thoreau, Willard, and Alcott Elementary Schools and led by the Nutrition Coalition to be held Thursday, February 25, from 7:30-9:30PM at the Thoreau Elementary School auditorium. The Nutrition Coalition is a group of concerned parents and community members, health professionals, professional chefs and food service experts, teachers, gardeners, cooks and "foodies" who are working with the Concord Public School administration toward three goals: removing unhealthy additives from lunches; establishing a robust farm-to-school program that incorporates food purchased from local farms, while preserving Concord's agricultural heritage and open space; and, establishing school gardens and food-related curricula that would give our children (and their families) hands-on experience with growing food, while providing valuable lessons about health, the environment, and sustainability. Please contact Hilary Boynton (hilary@boyntoncompany.com), Pamela Hathaway (plhathaway@comcast.net), or Becky Shannon (beckysmail@comcast.net) for more information or to join the Coalition. |
BASEBALL & SOFTBALL REGISTRATION ENDS 2/28 |
Final 2 Weeks!!! Registration is Open until February 28, 2010 for the spring 2010 Season of Concord Carlisle Youth Baseball and Softball. To register please go to www.ccyb.org. Open to all Players (Boys & Girls) from Grade K thru Age 15+. Visit our web site for spring season registration and additional descriptions and information regarding all programs offered by CCYB:
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CCC EXPANDS INFANT & TODDLER PROGRAM |
Concord Children's Center is pleased to announce we are expanding our Infant and Toddler program to our Ripley Site at 120 Meriam Road.
For more information please Pat Nelson at 978 369-3747 or visit our website at www.concordchildrenscenter.org |
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT |
What better way to celebrate Presidents' Day, Monday, February 15, than with a visit from Abraham Lincoln? The Concord Museum is pleased to once again host Steve Wood and his amazing performance as Abraham Lincoln. Matching Lincoln's height and beard, Wood bears enough of a resemblance to our 16th president to make heads turn. His first-person historical interpretation, "A Visit with Abraham Lincoln," includes stories of his early life, campaign debates, the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. The performance closes with a stirring reading of the Gettysburg Address. 1:00-2:00; recommended for all ages; $10 adult/$5 child; by reservation only (978) 369-9763. Visit www.concordmuseum.org for more information. Get your child a headstart on the 2010 baseball season at the Line Drive Baseball Winter Clinic! The clinic will be run by Middlesex School and Concord Post 158 Head Coach John Morrissey and will be held from 9:00 am-12:00 pm on February 16-19 in the Middlesex School gymnasium. The clinic will focus on the fundamentals associated with hitting, throwing, fielding, pitching, and baserunning. For more information or to register your child, please contact John at jmorrissey@mxschool.edu. |