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| Willard School Newsletter | 1 April 2010 |
Issue 26 |
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FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK |
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Willard School has concluded yet another successful Food Drive. Close to
80 boxes of non-perishable foods and personal hygiene items were delivered
to Open Table on Monday. The generosity of our families is truly amazing
and sets a wonderful example of giving for our students. I would like to
extend my appreciation to School Counselor Julee Vitello for spearheading
this huge project. I would also like to express my gratitude to our 5th
graders for working with Ms. Vitello on this project. Students took
responsibility for advertising and promoting the Food Drive as well as
collecting and organizing the contributions. Open Table is very grateful On Tuesday, the PTG Staff Appreciation Committee, treated the staff to a wonderful luncheon. Under the leadership of Committee Co-Chairs Kathy Brumm and Karen Young, many parents contributed items for a delicious buffet which included a variety of salads, sandwiches, and sweets. All staff members enjoyed the good food and appreciated the lovely gesture. The spring is is busy time of year at Willard. Students are gearing up for the next Willard event, the Science Fair, on April 11th. The Carnival Committee is actively planning the Willard Carnival. I think that it's safe to say that the Willard Carnival is the highlight of the Willard Social Calendar for our students. Please mark your calendars for June 6th. Stay tuned for more details. I will be leading a Book Group for interested 4th and 5th graders this spring (for more information, see the flyer and permission form). We will be reading and discussing Three Cups of Tea (Young Reader's Edition) by Greg Mortenson on three early release Tuesdays. This highly acclaimed book tells the story of Mortenson's life changing experience in Pakistan and his subsequent commitment to change the lives of children in Pakistan through the power of education. His book has inspired schools and communities across the country through the work of his Central Asia Institute. Willard will sponsor a Pennies for Peace initiative later this spring. Members of the Book Group will help to plan this initiative and the May All-School Assembly. In addition to the analemma that was discussed in last week's edition of the Willard Weekly, we are working with the Office of Michael Rosenfeld and a consultant who is designing a sundial for Willard. The unique sundial will be attached to the brick facade on the south side of the building. I will share more information as it becomes available. Both the analemma and the sundial are two of the Learning Elements of our "green school" design. Speaking of our green school, I am thrilled to report that the new Willard School has just been recognized for achieving MA-CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) status (see attached). Achieving this designation is a significant achievement and demonstrates the commitment of the town, the district, and the Willard Building Committee to the design and construction of a green school that provides a healthy and energy efficient learning environment for students and staff. We are very proud of this achievement. The community will benefit from these special design features for years to come. Just a reminder that Kindergarten Registration for Willard School is scheduled for April 27th and April 29th. All families who have pre-registered have received their K Registration packet. If you have not received your packet, please call the Willard Office right away. If you know of a family who has a child eligible for Kindergarten and the family has not been contacted, please encourage them to contact the Willard Office. As a reminder, there is no school this Friday, April 2nd due to Good Friday. There is also no school next Thursday, April 8th, since it is a Professional Day for staff. This Professional Day has been designated as the time for Spring Parent Conferences. I am sure that your child's teacher has contacted you to arrange a time to meet. 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 |
| CONTACT EDITOR |
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 |
SPRING BOOK SWAP |
Collection for the Spring Book Swap starts Monday (April 5th). Clear your house of the children's books your kids have enjoyed but will not read again. Bring your used children's books and paperbacks to Willard. There will be drop off boxes near the main office. Come back to Willard on Sunday, April 11 from 2-4 for the Willard Science Fair. While you are enjoying the Fair, pick up a few "new-to-you" books for Spring reading! We'll also be swapping books for adult readers, so bring those in too and we'll set up a table for parents to browse. Teachers are welcome to take books for their classrooms as well. Please limit your book donations to those you would share with a friend. Any books remaining will be donated to the Concord Public Library for their next book sale. Questions? Feel free to contact Suzanne Hogan by phone or at suzanne.hogan@comcast.net |
SCIENCE FAIR IS COMING SOON! |
The Science Fair is approaching fast, and the organizers still need a few more volunteers: To bake treats to sell at the snack table, and to talk to kids about their projects and award ribbons. If you can help, please email Sara Laschever at sklasch@gmail.com or deanna@aol.com or review the Science Fair pages on the Willard PTG website. If your children haven't signed up to do a project, they can still attend to support their schoolmates, watch the exciting Mad Science performance, get inspired to participate next year, and join the raffle to win a few great science-related prizes. |
WILLARD WEAR MAKES GREAT GIFTS! |
Need any last-minute gifts to fill the kids' Easter baskets? Support our school - buy Willard Wear! Camelback water bottles ($15), Sports bags ($8), Croc jibbits ($1), plaid pj pants ($25) and hooded sweatshirts ($28). Please contact jeanpwebster@comcast.net Thanks! |
PTG MEETING MINUTES AVAILABLE |
The minutes from the most recent Willard PTG Board meeting, held on March 15th, are now available on the Willard PTG website. Click here to read about Willard's participation in the town birthday celebration, Willard Carnival news, treasury and fundraising status, advertising at Willard, new picnic tables, including cell phone numbers in the directory and more! The next PTG meeting will be held Monday, April 12th - all Willard parents are welcome to attend! |
OPEN CIRCLE PARENT WORKSHOP |
Open Circle is a highly acclaimed and research-based, social skills program developed at Wellesley College, currently being taught to elementary students throughout the Concord elementary schools. Come to this FREE, 5-session workshop series to learn what your child is being taught about:
Program dates/times: Wednesday Evenings in the Alcott Library, 6:30-8:00pm on Apr. 28th, May 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th. Open to parents at Alcott, Thoreau and Willard. For more information, see the flyer. Please note that you MUST pre-register by April 15th. Please call: Sherree Lenkarski, Psy.D., Alcott School Counselor/Program Facilitator (978) 318-9544 x. 2165 |
STAFF APPRECIATION PICNIC |
| On Tuesday March 30th, one of the rainiest days of the month, the Staff Appreciation Committee hosted a picnic for the wonderful Willard staff. The menu included make-your-own sandwiches, pasta, potato, rice and veggie salads, brownies, cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies, plus lemonade. The lunch was a most welcome break on a very gloomy day. Thanks to all of the parents who generously contributed the delicious food! -Kathy Brumm and Karen Young for Staff Appreciation |
WILLARD TALENT SHOW UPDATE |
Green House Rock really Rocked! We hope everyone enjoyed the fabulous show put on by our talented Willard students and staff! The video of the show is now in post-production. Information on pre-ordering a copy of the final DVD will be available in next week's issue of the Willard Weekly. Photos from the show will be appearing on the bulletin board soon. A pair of red framed, rectangular glasses made by Baby Phat was found during the show. They are ready to be claimed at the Willard school office. |
GEOGRAPHY QUEST UPDATE |
Over 155 Willard students took part in the 2010 Geography Quest featuring the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We were delighted to have such good participation in this brand new Quest. We learned some critical lessons about creating a new Quest. Many thanks to all of the parents who took the time to work with your children on this project and especially to those working so hard behind the scene. Jane Torpie gets to big gold star for many hours of editing! Thanks to all the correctors as well: Ruth Bennett, Sheila Flory, Melissa Goldberg, Alex Kuchar, Julia Reichheld, Jeanne Skettino and Jen Waldron. Thanks too to Beverly Lucas and Shirley Nazzaro, without whom none of this would have happened. We are in need of someone to take lead of the Quest as next year will be my last year at Willard, I am happy to stay on next year and work with you. You can reach me at awallis@nutter.com Alane Wallis |
TUTORING BY CCHS STUDENTS |
A group of Concord Carlisle High School students have created a website in order to provide a resource for finding tutors for students in the Concord Carlisle area. Tutoring is available free of charge; the students receive community service hours only. Each student has chosen the fields that they thought they could best teach. For more information, see the website www.cares4communities.webs.com |
CMS PRESENTS LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE |
| Little Orphan Annie comes out of a 1920's Chicago comic strip and into Annie the Musical at Sanborn Middle School on Friday, April 9th at 7:00 pm; Saturday, April 10th at 7:00 pm and Sunday, April 11th at 2:30 pm. General Seating tickets are now on sale for $10 and are available either by printing and filling out the order form found on the CMS Website - cms.colonial.net/ - using the Annie Ticket Quick Link, or at Fritz & Gigi's in Concord Center. Order forms may be returned to the main office at either Sanborn or Peabody, or may be mailed to Karen Economopoulos, 6 Pleasant St., Concord, MA 01742. Please enclose a check made out to Concord Middle School (NO cash please) to cover the cost of the tickets. Tickets ordered by mail must be postmarked by April 3rd. Tickets will be held at the door and may be picked up 1/2 hour before each performance. Tickets will be sold at the door - subject to availability - but due to Annie's wide appeal, best not to put off buying tickets until tomorrow! Questions? Please email kecono@comcast.net. |
CCHS MASTER PLAN PRESENTATION - RESCHEDULED |
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Please join us for a presentation of the final report and recommendations of the CCHS Facilities Master Plan Committee. The presentation will now be held as a coffee on April 14 at the home of Linda Miller- 300 Main Street, Concord. Click here for more information. The upcoming school requests for the April Concord Town Warrant will be discussed as will the 2010-2011 school budget! The April Concord Town Warrant requests appropriation of $1.3 million for a Feasibility Study to develop options, create design and complete schematics to continue the process towards state reimbursement of a portion of planning and future construction costs. Additional information regarding the CCHS Facilities Master Plan can by found at www.cchsmasterplan.org/. |
PATRIOTS' DAY AT CONCORD MUSEUM |
Make the Concord Museum - where Concord's history begins - part of your 2010 Patriots' Day tradition as we commemorate "the shot heard 'round the world" with activities for visitors of all ages. On Monday, April 19th from 9:00-5:00, explore the Concord Museum's outstanding collection of treasures from April, 1775 including the famous "one, if by land, two, if by sea" Revere lantern. Travel back in time and make your own decisions about politics in 1775 by visiting with a British Redcoat and a colonial Militiaman and hear their spirited discussion about the events of April 19th. Enjoy patriotic music by The Jolly Rogues with their intriguing repertoire of 18th-century songs that invite listening, clapping and foot tapping or singing along. A special Patriots' Day Museum Hunt leads families through the Why Concord? history galleries. All Patriots' Day Concord Museum activities are free with admission. Visit www.concordmuseum.org for more information. |
WORKSHOP FOR EARTH DAY PARADE |
Join art teachers and friends from Musketaquid Arts and Environment for a 2-session workshop and make something to carry in the Musketaquid Earth Day Parade! Raindrops, snowflakes, birds or bats, there are plenty of options for creative discovery. The workshops will take place in the Thoreau School cafeteria on Thursdays, April 15 and 29, after school until 4:30 pm. Willard School students are invited to come on over to Thoreau after school and get ready for fun! Then, bring your finished creation to Musketaquid Earth Day on Saturday, May 1 and join the parade. The two-session workshop costs just $25. Register by calling the Emerson Umbrella at 978-371-0820. Parents of children under age 8 are encouraged to attend the workshop with your child. Co-sponsored by the Concord Youth Art League. |
SPRING CLEANING? |
We are in need of gently used clothing (all sizes/all seasons), shoes and
cleats to be given to families at Shriners Hospital and shipped to
Honduras. Throughout the year, we collect books (adult and childrens),
canvas suitcases (large and small) and large duffle bags. We also can use
small (Happy Meal type) toys, soccer and basketballs, and craft items
which will be used at medical clinics and an orphanage. Please drop
donations off at 27 Captain Miles Lane in Concord. Tax receipts available
upon request. Thank you! emily_collins2001@yahoo.com. |
APRIL AT THE CONCORD LIBRARY |
The Concord Library at 129 Main Street offers several programs for children in April. For more information call (978)318-3358 or visit www.concordlibrary.org
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CONCORD FAMILY FUN DAY |
Save the Date! Join us for a Family Fun Day. Spring over to Emerson Field to kick off the Celebration of Concord's 375th Birthday. Sunday, May 16, 2010, starting at 10:00am. See the flyer for more information. |