Herald - Harrington School PTA

 March - April 2015
volume 18, issue 4
The Harrington
Herald
328 Lowell Street, Lexington, MA 02420
781-860-0012
http://lps.lexingtonma.org/harringtones
From the Principal
Calendar
MARCH
Thurs, 3/5
Science Fair, 6:30-8:00pm
Thurs, 3/12 3rd and 4th grade concert, 7-7:45pm
Thurs, 3/12 METCO/Family Friends day
Mon, 3/16
Let’s Chat, Art Room, 7-8pm
Thurs, 3/19 Kindergarten Orientation,
7pm, Estabrook School
Fri, 3/20
Talent Show, 6:45-9:00pm
Tues, 3/24
Harrington Reads Book Club, Grades 4&5, 6:30-8pm
Tues, 3/24-Wed, 4/1
MCAS testing, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades
APRIL
Wed, 4/1
Conference Day, early dismissal, 12:15pm
Wed, 4/1
PTA General Meeting, 7-8:30pm
Thurs, 4/2
Conference Day
Fri, 4/3
Holiday –No School
Wed, 4/8
Conference Day, early dismissal, 12:15pm
Thurs, 4/9
Conference Day
Thurs, 4/9
HED Show, 6:00pm
Fri, 4/10
Kindergarten Assembly for school and parents, 9:00-9:20am
Sat, 4/11
METCO/Family Friends day, Boston, time TBD
Wed, 4/15 & Thurs, 4/16 2015 Kindergarten Screening
Mon, 4/20-Fri, 4/24 No School - April Vacation
In This Issue:
From the Principal and PTA:1-3
Helpful Info: 4-6
Meet (A Few) Volunteers: 7-9
Upcoming Events: 10-15
Congratulations: 16
Fifth Grade Perspectives: 17
Special Thanks: 18
From the PTA Co-President
Elaine Mead,
emead@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
Julie Fuhrer,
juliefuhrer1@gmail.com
An important goal
for an effective
school is creating a
sense of community
among all who
spend time there:
students, teachers,
specialists, support
staff, parents, guardians, and
volunteers. So many people are
part of the school community
and contribute in a variety of
ways to support learning. We
know that students who feel
connected to their school
community achieve more. Our
core values and shared goals
bring us together.
At Harrington, HAWKS has
become central to our shared
experience. HAWKS stands for
Honesty, Accountability, Work,
Kindness, and Self-Control. We
aspire to these ideals in our
community and students have
leadership opportunities in this
effort. Each month we gather
as a school community for an
All HAWKS meeting. Small
groups of students as well as
As I enter into my last
few months of serving
as your PTA
President, I want to
express my gratitude
to an incredible
Executive Committee,
tireless volunteers,
fantastic Harrington staff and a
wonderful community. It’s such a
pleasure seeing our community
come together to enjoy traditional
Harrington events like Bingo Night,
Spring Fair, Hobby Night,
International Food Night, Science
Fair, Map Night and Talent Show.
Our children revel in these events
and parents enjoy both seeing the
excitement of our children and
connecting with our community.
The PTA added two events this
year, Movie Night and Harrington
Hurrah Fall picnic. We wanted to
create low-key ways for parents
and children to connect and, based
upon the reception for both, I do
anticipate these to become
beloved annual events for our
community. The tireless work of
our ACT coordinators has provided
From the Principal (cont’d)
entire classrooms share ideas and learning. Faculty encourages and empowers
students to step forward and make a difference. Students have performed songs,
presented skits about acts of kindness, and shared thoughts about ways to prevent
bullying.
Student voice is strong at Harrington. Fifth grade students have several leadership
opportunities. Many fifth graders write and deliver passionate speeches about how to
promote peace in our world in the December concert. In addition, we have a fifth
grade HAWKS Council that meets with grade five teachers to promote school spirit
and community service. Most recently they sponsored a collection for Horizons for
Homeless Children. The representatives went to each classroom to talk about the
project and encourage participation.
HAWKS Soar is a student-written magazine that allows student voice to shine. A
group of fourth and fifth grade students meet after school with Ms. Hendrix and a
parent volunteer to plan, write, and publish a magazine. You can see the recently
published issue on our website. One article, “How to Help the Community,” gives you
the student perspective on all that we, students, staff, and parents, do to promote
community. The link to download a pdf of the magazine is on the right side of the
front page of the school web site, http://lps.lexingtonma.org/harringtones.
Students build connections when they gather with their “buddy classroom.”
Periodically, the students read together, play math games, and/or share writing. Most
importantly they get to build relationships across the grade levels. Older students act
as role models and encourage the younger students. Feeling known and appreciated
helps all the students feel connected.
Older students help younger students when they have concerts by serving as stage
crew, ushers, and pianists. These students help during the daytime performance and
volunteer their time for the evening performance too. In the library, students read and
offer opinions about books. They vote on the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award
and this year students created their own award. See Ms. Szaro’s article on page 16
for more information about the HAWKecott award that was developed and presented
this year at Harrington.
Our School Council, a group of teachers, parents, and a community representative,
meets monthly and seeks to promote school effectiveness and improvement. We
develop our shared goals and monitor our progress. See Michelle Motta Dardeno’s
article on pages 4-5 for a mid-year update on our work. Our school community is
diverse and ever changing. We seek ways to value multiple perspectives and build a
sense of shared purpose. I invite you to attend our next Let’s Chat on Monday, March
16th from 7:00-8:00pm. We will be looking at our parent survey results. Your voice is
important to our mission.
At Harrington, building community is essential and we work to nurture community in
small and large ways. Thanks to all of you for your contribution and support.
Go HAWKS!
March-April 2015
!2
From the PTA Co-President (cont’d)
children with quality arts enrichment and our Big Backyard program has helped our
children nurture their love of nature and of exploration. Additionally, our coordinators
make certain our Harrington Herald is informative and interesting, our website is up to
date, and we are emailed all of the Harrington happenings.
All of these programs and events could not run without volunteers so a HUGE thank
you to all that have helped to create not just wonderful events but also wonderful
memories. A special thank you to our outgoing PTA Executive Committee Chairs,
Christine Chisholm (VP Fundraising) and Cristina Patti (VP Membership). It’s been an
honor working with you both. Also, I am pleased to announce that Sandhya Beebee
will join Jennifer Gerfen as PTA Co-President next year. Many thanks to Sandhya for
all she has already done and for stepping up into this position. Also a reminder that we
do have PTA positions available. We welcome new faces!
On a final note, we have been fortunate to have very successful fundraising and
membership drives over the last few years. So much so that the PTA has been able to
donate two ELMO’s and new playground structures to Harrington. We are thrilled to
donate items that will further enrich our children’s experiences at Harrington.
I welcome any comments or suggestions. Thank you for making Harrington such a
wonderful community.
Movie Night at Harrington
March-April 2015
!3
Helpful Info
Exciting News/Update from the Harrington School-Based Site
Council (SBSC@Harrington)
Michelle Motta Dardeno, Parent Representative + Co-Chair, mdardeno@hotmail.com
The Site Council has been meeting monthly since the start of the year and wants to
update the Harrington Community of some great things happening at our school! We
recently submitted Harrington’s mid-year update on the School Improvement Plan
(SIP). We were very pleased to see how much has already been accomplished in
such a short period of time.
As many are aware, an individual school improvement plan is created each year to
provide the “implementation roadmap” of Lexington’s district wide goals at the school
level. Harrington’s 2014-2015 SIP is located on the Harrington website, in the “About
Our School” tab under “School Site Council.”
Harrington’s SIP has 4 goals: 1) Academic; 2) Social/Emotional; 3) Parent Education &
Collaboration Engagement; 4) Safety. Within each goal, the SIP outlines a number of
implementation steps to help our school achieve each goal. For example, the SIP
outlines a) the safe use of technology b) emergency response c) traffic safety and d)
new student and new employee protocol as areas that Harrington can focus to achieve
the district goal of Safety defined as “If we increase safety procedures in our school,
then social-emotional, psychological and physical well-being for students, staff and
parents will be safeguarded, allowing students to learn successfully.”
In February, each school is required to provide a status update to the School
Committee documenting progress towards the goals set forth in each SIP. We
encourage everyone to read the mid-year SIP update which is also located on
Harrington’s website home page under “Announcements.” Highlights include:
Academic:
•
100% educators trained on new Educator Evaluation System
•
Intensive Reading Workshop - 6 classroom teachers + 2 literary specialists
•
District Professional Day of Learning - 10 Harrington teachers presented
•
Extended Data Meetings held in October & December for each grade level
•
Newcomer Orientation: 74 students (since Aug), 6 classroom teachers, 2 special educators
Social/Emotional:
•
Art, Music, PE, Library developed common classroom routine
•
October faculty meeting focused on mindfulness and movement
•
Start of monthly ALL HAWKS meetings; HAWKS song created
•
A 10 person faculty leadership team developed professional norms to guide interactions and problem-solving behaviors with faculty-wide focused meetings in November, December and January
March-April 2015
!4
Update (cont’d)
•
Conference attendance by faculty: 7 attended PBIS conferences, 2 attended METCO director’s conference, 4 staff became CPI (Crisis Prevention and Intervention) trained
Parent Education/Collaboration Engagement:
•
Parent survey in October/November
•
Let’s Chat series conducted in October, November, January
•
School Council brainstorming session on how to better support and integrate new families
•
Five faculty attended School Committee meeting in Boston and met with Harrington METCO families
Safety
•
All student signed technology contract and are learning about digital citizenship
•
Harrington REMS (Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools) team participated in ALICE training. ALICE stands for Alert, Lock Down, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.
•
Joint safety procedures training for Harrington and Lexington Children’s Place in December
•
Use of walkie-talkies by all REMS team and school administrators
Lastly, we would like to encourage everyone to join us at the next Let’s Chat series
scheduled on Monday, March 16 at 7pm in the Art room. We will present the results
of the Parent Survey and look for your feedback and thoughts on next steps.
A student shows off her sewing machine on Hobby Night
March-April 2015
!5
District News
Sandhya Beebee, srbb0117@gmail.com
The enrollment at Lexington Schools has been increasing 2%, per year for the past 7
years. In order to alleviate overcrowding, the town has been exploring a range of
options, with hopes of adding at least 12 -18 elementary school classrooms in 3-5
years. In addition, capacity has to be increased at the middle schools and at the pre-K,
currently housed at Harrington.
After a several month initial study, the School Committee, with the cooperation of
Selectmen and Budget Committees, has put together a proposal that will be voted on
at Town Meeting in March. The warrant seeks funds in order to investigate the
following options:
•
Building a new Hastings school that will have 9 additional classrooms. Note, the Maria Hastings School, which is the oldest of the elementary schools, has not fared well this winter.
•
Moving the pre-K out of Harrington
•
Remodeling the pre-K wing at Harrington to gain 4 additional classrooms, possibly another art/ music room, and office space
•
Adding 2-3 prefabricated classrooms to the Bridge, Bowman, and Fiske elementary schools
•
Expanding Diamond Middle School by 16-22 additional classrooms
•
Adding prefabricated classrooms to Clarke if Diamond cannot be built large enough
•
Adding brick and mortar classrooms to Fiske/ Harrington in case Hastings cannot be built large enough
The $4.08m requested appropriation includes the cost of the schematics, designs, and
construction documents for all of the projects that are given the green light after the
study is completed. The town will likely seek the necessary construction funds for the
selected projects in H2 2015/ H1 2016 at the fall town meeting and through a debt
exclusion vote.
Don’t hesitate to email your town meeting members your views on these matters
before the start of town meeting on March 25th. You can find out who your town
meeting members are by clicking on the link at the bottom of the http://
ci.lexington.ma.us/townclerk/electedofficials.cfm webpage. You can find the school
committee’s presentations on overcrowding and the relief plan at http://
lps.lexingtonma.org/Page/4316.
March-April 2015
!6
Meet (A Few) Volunteers
At Harrington, we depend on the time and support from our parent volunteers to help
our classrooms and our school operate smoothly and efficiently. Parents are involved
in a variety of events from weekly one-hour commitments in the library to seasonal
activities like the classroom parties or the Big Backyard Walks to a once-a-year major
event like the Spring Fair. For this newsletter, we decided to highlight a few of our
fantastic volunteers. We hope they will inspire you to become a volunteer too!
Name: Tarla Neff
Child’s grade: 1st
How many hours do you typically volunteer a month? My volunteer
time is very seasonal. Sometimes I am not doing anything; other times it
can be as much as 8-10 hours in a week.
Workplace (stay at home, working from home, part-time, full-time,
etc.): I work part time from home at a software company.
What Harrington event do you always make time to volunteer for? Why?: So
hard to say what my favorite is - I enjoy them all and am still learning!
What phrase best describes you as a volunteer? Put me in charge -- I know
exactly how I want to do this! OR Happy to help! Just tell me what to do and I'll
be there OR I'm a behind-the-scenes person. I may not be able to be there in
person, but I'll do everything I can to help prepare for the big event. Happy to
help!
What is the biggest benefit you get from being a volunteer? For each activity the
benefits are different: I love the library because I get to see the types of books kids are
checking out and what they like. It is great to get to chat a bit with the librarian about
books too. Of course, seeing your kids in class interacting with their peers is
awesome. I love Map Night because I love geography and social studies, and it's a fun
family night. I also think we are lucky that we get to "make it our own" with activities to
participate in during the night that we come up with. Big Backyard gives you an
opportunity to get to work directly with the teachers and science coordinators on a
curriculum based program. And being outside with the kids learning about nature is
wonderful.
March-April 2015
!7
Name: Chris Palmer
Child's grade: 3rd
How many hours do you typically volunteer a month? For the past two
years, I averaged about 5-10 hours per month for the Spring Fair, with
fewer hours earlier in the year and more hours closer to the event.
Workplace (stay at home, working from home, part-time, full-time,
etc.): I work full-time at McLean Hospital
What Harrington event do you always make time to volunteer for? Spring Fair
Why?: This has been the largest fundraiser of the year for the PTA, so it is a
very important event from that standpoint. But equally important, it's often the one
event every year that most of the school community comes together for a celebration/
fundraiser/ community-building event!
What phrase best describes you as a volunteer? Put me in charge -- I know
exactly how I want to do this! OR Happy to help! Just tell me what to do and I'll
be there OR I'm a behind-the-scenes person. I may not be able to be there in
person, but I'll do everything I can to help prepare for the big event.
Put me in charge -- I know exactly how I want to do this!
What is the biggest benefit you get from being a volunteer? It's the easiest way to
get to know other parents and families, be a part of the Harrington community, help the
school, and model community participation for our children.
Name: Sandy Parks
Child's grade: 4th
How many hours do you typically volunteer a month? 2 hours Workplace (stay at home, working from home, part-time, full-time,
etc.): Full time
What Harrington event do you always make time to volunteer for?
Why?: BINGO night and Harrington Spring Fair. Both events are for
the entire family and it is so great to see all the kids and their families having so much
fun at Harrington outside of school. At both events there are smiles on all the kids’
faces and my daughter gets so happy and excited when she sees me involved in
activities/events that she loves so much.
What phrase best describes you as a volunteer? Put me in charge -- I know
exactly how I want to do this! OR Happy to help! Just tell me what to do and I'll
be there OR I'm a behind-the-scenes person. I may not be able to be there in
person, but I'll do everything I can to help prepare for the big event. Put me in
charge and happy to help
What is the biggest benefit you get from being a volunteer? I love seeing the kids
enjoy all these events the PTA works so hard to plan. My daughter loves seeing me
involved in her school and tells me all the time she is glad I am there to help these
events happen. She loves Harrington and all the events they have so it makes it easy
to want to be part of them.
March-April 2015
!8
Name: Micah Viana
Children's grade: 4th, 1st
How many hours do you typically volunteer a month? About 6
hours
Workplace (stay at home, working from home, part-time, fulltime, etc.): Business owner, office fulltime
What Harrington event do you always make time to volunteer
for? Why? I am a Parent representative at the Harrington school council. It’s a great
opportunity to know what is happening in the school. It gives an inside-out look at the
school happenings. It allows me to represent the parent community and at the same
time be involved in my childrens' education. I am passionate about building community
and I believe community starts with active volunteerism and there is no better place to
start than in my childrens' school.
What phrase best describes you as a volunteer? Put me in charge -- I know
exactly how I want to do this! OR Happy to help! Just tell me what to do and I'll
be there OR I'm a behind-the-scenes person. I may not be able to be there in
person, but I'll do everything I can to help prepare for the big event.
I am the behind the scenes person. Happy to support the system and the people that
make it happen.
What is the biggest benefit you get from being a volunteer?
Knowing what is going on – directly from the ‘movers-and-shakers’. It feels great to
know the teachers and other parents. Learn the processes, protocols and people
behind it all.
Name: Courtney Walsh
Children's grade: Kindergarten, 2nd grade
How many hours do you typically volunteer a month? Each month
varies with the activities that are going on at the school. I currently am
the VP of Community Building and I am one of the co-chairs for Bingo
night. I would say overall I volunteer about 10 hours a month
What phrase best describes you as a volunteer? Put me in charge -- I know exactly
how I want to do this! OR Happy to help! Just tell me what to do and I'll be there
OR I'm a behind-the-scenes person. I may not be able to be there in person, but I'll
do everything I can to help prepare for the big event. I like to be in charge. I enjoy
overseeing an event or multiple events from start to finish. I enjoy interacting with many
different people in the community and getting to know the parents and kids of Harrington.
What is the biggest benefit you get from being a volunteer? I think the biggest
benefits to volunteering is the sense of community and getting to see the kids enjoy all of
the different events that we offer as a PTA!
March-April 2015
!9
Upcoming Events
Parenting Our Children Today
Lexington Education Fund (LEF)
Please join Maria Trozzi on March 11, 2015 in the LHS Auditorium, 7:00 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. for an interactive and enlightening conversation about the new stresses of
parenting our children today. Ms. Trozzi will present evidence-based strategies for
helping to build resilience. Parents need words, a developmentally informed,
thoughtful approach, and their confidence shored up as they navigate the maze of
decisions that will affect their child’s well-being and success. Trozzi’s refreshing and
honest approach focuses on useful strategies that are often counter-intuitive for
dedicated parents, but lead children to master the coping skills that promote resilience.
Some of the topics she will address:
•
Creating the mix to produce an outstanding person: the surprising research
•
Making informed decisions about screen time
•
Dealing with life’s disappointments: when our children hurt, what to say and not to say
•
Too many choices: How affluence can complicate parent decision-making
•
How to ‘not hover and sleep at night’; moving towards scaffolding your children
Quotes from parents and educators about this talk….
“Maria Trozzi connected with our parents on what matters to them most: raising
confident, capable, and happy kids. She spoke with candor and good humor, offering
practical advice for how to help our children recover from inevitable disappointment
and conflict.”
Laura, Parent, Moses Brown
"More gratitude was expressed to me for having Maria Trozzi speak to our parents at
Brick than any other speaker we have had. Helping children deal with stress is very
challenging for parents and their inclination to protect their children often leads them to
take the wrong approach. Parents were very comforted by Maria Trozzi's lecture as
they learned specifics on how to respond and can now approach these inevitable
situations with confidence. Her style is direct, engaging, and easy to follow. I highly
recommend her."
Lydia Spinelli, Ed.D., Director, The Brick Church School, NYC
This event is offered through Lexington High School's School Community Grant,
generously supported by the Lexington Education Foundation.
March-April 2015
!10
Harrington Science Fair
Sangeeta Bhatia sbhatia@mit.edu, Jagesh Shah shah.jagesh@gmail.com
Time to get your lab coat on! The Harrington Science Fair is coming up on March 5th
from 6:30-8pm in the Harrington cafeteria. Come celebrate the work of our young
scientists, and check out their cool experiments and creative investigations. Your
family is sure to learn something new.
CALLING ALL ACTS! DEADLINE VERY SOON FOR TALENT SHOW! Tara Murphy, taraannmurphy@hotmail.com
Harrington’s Annual Talent Show Friday, March 20, 2015 6:45 pm – 9:00 pm
School Cafeteria (performers check in at 6:15pm) ***1.5 minute maximum per act***Limited to 1 act per child***
Harrington School’s talent show is a long-standing tradition and open to ALL student
performers. This is a supportive opportunity for our students to sing, dance, act, play
an instrument, do magic and more! We also need parents and 5th graders to volunteer
on performance day.
Sign Up Now! Deadline March 12, 2015
Registrations by email only at harringtontalentshow@gmail.com
Please send the following information:
Parent name/contact information and whether you can volunteer
Child’s name, grade, teacher name
Name of act/song
Description of performance (Please indicate if solo or group performance)
Stage equipment needed (i.e. mic, music stand, chair, piano). You will need to email
Tara an MP3 of your song if music is involved.
March-April 2015
!11
Harrington Reads
Claire Sheth, clairebsheth@yahoo.com
Attention 4th and 5th Grade Students and Parents!! Save Tuesday, March 24th at
6:30 for the next meeting of Harrington Reads-- Harrington's beloved student/parent
book discussion group. For our March meeting, we will be reading Blue Jasmine by
Kashmira Sheth, the story of 12 year old Seema who must leave her small town in
India to move to Iowa City.
“Filled with details that document an immigrant's observations and experiences,
Seema's story, which articulates the ache for distant home and family, will resonate
with fellow immigrants and enlighten their classmates.” Booklist
With such a multi-cultural school community, we are confident that this book will
resonate with all of our students. Ms. Szaro will have extra copies available at the
library and Blue Jasmine is available on Amazon. We will meet in the library. We look
forward to seeing many 4th and 5th grade faces then!
The Harrington Spring Fair is Coming!
Judy Sanders, JudithEllenSanders@gmail.com
The Spring Fair is on May 31st and we're making lots of fun preparations! Thank you to
everyone who has volunteered to help at the Fair. We have two volunteer positions still
open for the ticket coordinator and the balloons and decorations coordinator. These
are easy tasks but would be a real help as the Fair approaches. Your middle school
and high school children get community service credits for participating, making this a
terrific family activity!
The ticket coordinator bundles up the tickets for easy sale and distribution on Fair
Day, which helps make it a stress-free day for Fair attendees. This can be done with
your family, while watching a fun movie, or while listening to music. It takes about 3
hours and would be so helpful to everyone at the Fair.
The balloon and decorations coordinator purchases the decorations with PTA money
and hangs the decorations with other volunteers on Fair Day. It’s an easy and fun job
that lets you and your family know you have been instrumental in making the Fair a
festive one! This takes about 3 hours too.
If you would like to volunteer or have any questions, please contact Judy Sanders at
either JudithEllenSanders@gmail.com or 413.695.4223 (call or text).
March-April 2015
!12
Poetry Month: Poem in Your Pocket Day and More Than Words Book
Drive
Laura Szaro, Librarian, lszaro@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
National Poetry Month (April) is approaching and this year we are looking forward to
some special events. We will be having our 3rd annual Poem In Your Pocket Day on
Wednesday, April 29th. Each year, students read and listen to poems throughout
April during Library classes. They also have an opportunity to copy down a poem they
enjoy or write their own poem. On Poem In Your Pocket Day students and staff will
carry a poem in their pocket and share them informally throughout the day. We will
also have a special Poetry Month All Hawks Meeting at the end of the day.
Our theme for Poetry Month this year is going to be "More than Words" and we'll be
incorporating a book drive into our celebration. Harrington students and their families
will have the opportunity to spread the love of reading while also supporting young
people trying to learn important job skills. Donations will be for More Than Words, a
non-profit that empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved,
homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
More Than Words youth work as a team to manage their own retail and online
bookstore and cafe, developing real skills and self-confidence as they transition to
adulthood.
We will be accepting donations for the "Poetry Month: More Than Words"
book drive from April 1st-April 29th. If students would like to bring in a donation
there will be collection boxes in each classroom. There will also be boxes in the Lobby
area if parents would like to bring in any donations during arrival/pick-up or when they
come to Harrington for April conferences. More than Words accepts Children's and
Adult Paperback or Hardcover books, Fiction, Non-Fiction and current text books.
They also accept Audio Books, Music CDs, DVDs, BlueRay Discs, and Video Games.
We will be sharing information about the book drive with students during Library
classes. Students will also receive a flyer in their take home folder with more
information. If you would like to learn more about More Than Words, you can visit their
website (http://www.mtwyouth.org) or the More Than Words Bookstore and Cafe at
376 Moody Street in Waltham.
We're looking forward to a wonderful Poetry Month! If you have any questions you
can contact Laura Szaro, Harrington Librarian (lszaro@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us) or
Caroline Fantasia, Harrington Parent (cfantasia@mac.com).
January-February 2015
!13
Lexington Parent Academy
Jennifer Wolfrum, Assistant Coordinator of Physical Education and Wellness,
Lexington Public Schools, wolfrum@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
The first ever Parent Academy is coming to Lexington on Saturday, March 28, 2015.
Designed to educate and empower parents to manage the changing demands of
parenting in today’s world, this free event will be held at Clarke Middle School from
8:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
Parents can choose to attend one, two or three workshop sessions based on
personal interest and need. Workshops include the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Cybersafety: Teaching Children to be Safe, Secure and Responsible in the Digital World by Detectives Jeff Chaisson and James Rettman, Julie Fenn
How Do You Know If Your Child Needs Help? By Dr. Timothy Dugan and William Blout, LICSW
Understanding and Addressing Anxiety in Teenagers by Dr. Dale Dillavou
An Introduction to Mindfulness for Parents by Dr. Mary Ann Christie Burnside
Help Your Teenager Get His/Her First Job by Reem Yared, CEO of HelpAroundTown.com
Concussions and Return to Academics by Susan Kaftan, NP, RN
LICSW and Dr. John Murray
Motivating the Unmotivated by Dr. Blaise Aguirre
Motherhood: A Complex Journey of Love by Dr. Kumkum Pareek Malik
A Complimentary Approach to Stress Management for Students by Dr. Jing Liu
Parents as Allies: Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth by Matthew Willis, Med
They’re not crazy; they’re adolescents. Understanding the Teenage Brain from the Inside Out by Dr. Sion Harris and Julie Fenn, LICSW
Parents as Sexuality Educators by Jennifer Wolfrum, MEd.
Safe and Healthy Eating at School by Kevin Silva
Some workshops will be repeated. For more information about each workshop, the
presenters and a workshop schedule go to the School Health Advisory Council’s
webpage: http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Page/1500 and click on the link: LPA Presenters
and Schedule.
This event is being planned and sponsored by the LPS’s School Health Advisory
Council (SHAC) together with the PTA/O President's Council, Lexington Human
Services Department, the Chamber of Commerce and Lexington Youth and Family
Services. A complimentary beverage station (coffee, tea, water) will be available and
the high school’s SADD (Students Against Destructive Decision-making) club will be
selling snacks as a fundraiser.
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Please place donations in the bin in the parking lot.
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Congratulations
The HAWKecott Medal: Our Mock Caldecott Award
Laura Szaro, Librarian, lszaro@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
Each winter, the Caldecott Medal is awarded to the best picture book of the year. This
year, the Caldecott Medal went to The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend
by Dan Santat. Here at Harrington, 3rd graders participated in a Mock Caldecott
program we call the HAWKecott. During Library classes, students listened to wholeclass read alouds of some of the notable picture books published this year. They also
explored and evaluated picture books on their own during browsing time. We learned
about the criteria for the real Caldecott Medal and students even had the opportunity
to submit their own designs to serve as this year’s HAWKecott medal. Students voted
for their favorite medal design as well as the picture book they thought deserved the
HAWKecott award.
And the HAWKecott Medal goes to… Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, written by Mac
Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen! Our HAWKecott Honor Medal goes to My
Teacher is a Monster by Peter Brown. Congratulations to Maha in Ms. Martin’s class
who designed the winning medal on Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Taha and Jahaile
in Ms. Goehring’s class who designed the winning medal on My Teacher is a Monster.
Fantastic work on your designs! A big thank you to Mrs. Wehmeyer who helped select
the medal finalists.
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Fifth Grade Perspectives
Valentine’s Day
Raya Kompany
Valentine’s Day is celebrated every February 14th. At Harrington, children show
kindness by giving meaningful valentines to one another. Although food is banned
because some students have allergies, that is no reason not to have a party. Parents
volunteer to help, and we give out our valentines and play games. Students also enjoy
the fun of making creative mailboxes to store valentines in. The games we played
were the famous couples game (the object of the game is to find your other half by
asking people for clues) and a treasure hunt.
The cards this year were either handmade or bought. Younger girls may like
princesses, such as the character Elsa in the movie ''Frozen''. Younger boys may like
Transformers. But in fifth grade people give Adventure Time or Snoopy themed
valentine cards. Along with the cards, some children give small gift such as pencils,
tattoos, and stickers
Valentine’s Day is a time to spread joy and love by giving cards and having fun
together.
The 100th Day Memory
Ameya Kothandaraman
The 100th day of school is a fun time for everyone. This year especially stood out. It
stood out because Harrington Students showed they cared. They were selfless.
Students had the opportunity to share this happy day with people who don’t get some
of the basic needs sometimes taken for granted. Many items were donated to the
Horizons for Homeless Children Shelter. The experience was meaningful because the
students knew the donation was going towards a good cause, to people who might not
be able to enjoy basics that we all have. Everyone contributed generously and it was a
memorable 100th day celebration for Harrington. It made me proud that we chose to
spend our 100th day in this way.
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Special Thanks
Thank you to …..
•
Our amazing principal Mrs Mead & Vice Principal Mrs. Hendrix and our
wonderful and dedicated teaching staff including: Ms. Martin, Ms. Nasson, Ms. Wojcik,
Ms. Chamberlain & Ms. Rosie for volunteering their time to help call the rounds of
BINGO on BINGO night. The kids loved hearing you all call the BINGO numbers and
you made us all feel like winners.
•
The wonderful parents who helped out on Bingo Night: Claire Sheth, Laura
Galopim, Lisa Rankin & Courtney Walsh. Because of your help, BINGO night was a
wonderful success and we raised over $1100 for the Harrington PTA!
•
Sandy Parks for a great idea for an article
Co-Editor: Sandhya Beebee, srbb0117@gmail.com
Co-Editor: Caroline Fantasia, cfantasia@mac.com
PTA Co-Presidents: Julie Fuhrer, juliefuhrer1@gmail.com, and Jennifer Gerfen, candjgerfren@rcn.com
The Harrington Herald is the monthly newsletter of the Harrington PTA, published five times a year. In
keeping with the PTA Newsletter Policy, The Herald will print items directly related to the schools and
their PTAs, including curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities that are PTA- or systemsupported and school-sanctioned projects. All articles are subject to editorial discretion. Newsletter
articles may be emailed to Sandhya Beebee. Visit the Harrington School website for online editions and
archives at http://harrington.lexingtonma.org.
Next Submission Deadline: April 17, 2015
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