FRANCIS W. PARKER CHARTER ESSENTIAL SCHOOL

& REGIONAL TEACHERS CENTER

49 ANTIETAM STREET    DEVENS, MA  01434-2129

TELEPHONE (978) 772-3293    FAX (978) 772-3295   PARKERSCHOOL@PARKER.ORG

Friday Announcements                                Date:  March 19, 2004

 

Friday, March 26, 2004 at 8:00 p.m.	Saturday, March 27, 2004 at 8:00 p.m.
Name: ____________________________________	Name: ____________________________________
Student Ticket ______ @ $5.00	Student Ticket ______ @ $5.00
Adult Ticket ______ @ $7.00	Adult Ticket ______ @ $7.00
Patron Tickets ______ @ $50.00/2 tickets	Patron Tickets ______ @ $50.00/2 tickets
Sponsor Tickets ______ @ 100.00/2 tickets	Sponsor Tickets ______ @ 100.00/2 tickets
Friday Total ______ Total Enclosed: _____	Saturday Total ______ Total Enclosed: _____

     

 

 

 

 

 

PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO THE PARKER SCHOOL

Please join us -

Tickets available from Nicky Dudensing -

 

March, 2004

Tuesday, 23 - Parker Matters, Session II - Letting Go…And Hanging on For Dear Life (7:00 - 8:30 p.m.)

Tuesday, 30 - MCAS Test for 7th and 10th graders

 

 

PLEASE  MARK  THESE  DATES!   (Subject to change)

 

April, 2004

Wednesday, 7 - Senior Project Exhibition Night at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, 7 - College Admissions Panel from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, 8 - Parker Road Race and Springfest meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, 13 - Parker Matters, Session III - Homework… HELP! Part II

Wednesday, 14 - Café Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

16 - Early Release (noon dismissal)

Monday thru Friday, 19 - 23 - Spring Recess

Wednesday, 28 - Parker Road Race and Springfest meeting at 7:00 p.m.

 

May, 2004

Wednesday, 12 - Parker Road Race and Springfest meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, 16 - Parker Classic Road Race

Monday, 17 - Friday, 28 - MCAS and Stanford 9 tests for grades 7, 8, 9 and 10

Friday, 28 - Early Release (noon dismissal)

Monday, 31- Memorial Day - No school

 

June, 2004

Wednesday, 2 - Café Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, 9 - Noon dismissal - Graduation, 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, 22 - Last Day of Classes (or earlier)

Wednesday through Friday, 23 - 25 - Faculty Work Days (or earlier)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to the family of Kaitlin Martin for donating several new books to the Parker School.

Thank you to the families of Josh Jones, Daphne and Eric Shethar, Molly Shear, Jason Smith and other anonymous donors for their donations of snacks and supplies to the nurse’s office.  All contributions are greatly appreciated!

 

Volunteer Opportunities at Parker

The success of this Charter School depends heavily on the commitment and volunteer effort of the entire community: administration, faculty, support personnel, PARENTS, GUARDIANS and students.  We have put together this request form as a foundation for coordinating and maximizing your contributions of time and talent toward the continued operation of the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School.  This will also be printed in Friday Announcements each week.

The following people have requested volunteer assistance.  If any of the days and times listed below work for you please contact the teacher or staff member directly by email or voice mail.

Requests for Volunteers:

Help Needed	Email Address	Voice Mail Extension
The Division II AH teachers are looking for some help making phone calls as they set up their next unit.	anthonym@parker.org charter@parker.org davidsm@parker.org triciap@parker.org	521 541 581 881
Drivers needed to help transport students to Math Competitions on April 7	dinaz@parker.org	635

Please join us for Senior Project Exhibition Night on Wednesday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. to see and hear about the independent work our seniors have been doing all year. 

 

This week’s class updates are from Deb Merriam’s A/H class

In ‘Definition: Woman,’ students explore the socio-historical development of women’s roles in American society.  We have just concluded our study of women in the mid-1800’s.  This has included close examination of primary source documents concerning women in the abolitionist movement, slavery, the Seneca Falls convention, ‘mill girls’ and working class women, and the early women’s movement.  Students are now working on their first major paper, in which they are analyzing a primary source artifact from the time period.  As the semester continues, students will examine the era surrounding the 1920s and the 1960s and 70s.

*   *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *   *   *

Senior Yearbook Pages

 

“Senior Yearbook Parent Pages Due March 26!!”

Senior parents (and any other family members or friends who would like to) are offered the opportunity to take out space in the back of the yearbook to create a message for their graduate.  Most parents choose to combine pictures and words to commemorate and/or congratulate their student for his/her accomplishments and/or rise to adulthood.  The tradition of parent pages in the yearbook has come to be very important to the graduates and it supports the yearbook as well!  All families of seniors have received a mailing with specifics about this recently.  This notice is to serve as a reminder or heads-up for anyone else in the Parker community who would like to take out an ad for a student in the yearbook.  Please contact yearbook@parker.org for the formatting specifics if you didn’t get the mailing at home. 

Prices:

Prices for parent pages are as follows. 

¼ page             $45.00

 

½ page             $70.00

 

full page            $125.00

 

late fee             add $15.00 (after March 26)

You can make out a check to the Parker School and send it to the school to the attention of Deb Merriam.

Deadlines:

We must have your materials by Friday, March 26.  There will be an added late charge of $15.00 for any materials submitted after this date, and we cannot guarantee that they will be included in the yearbook (your money will, of course, be returned if your ad is not included).   If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at yearbook@parker.org.  Thanks for supporting the yearbook!

 

 

Division I is going on a field trip to Roll on America on Wednesday, March 31.  Please see the permission slip for details.  Extra copies of permission slips can be obtained on the Parker Division I homework website.

 

 

Division I A/H

Please remind your student that the last Literature Circle will be held on Monday, not Tuesday, next week.  We have representatives from the United Native American Cultural Council visiting on Tuesday.

Students in Clay and Martha's, and Matt and Tassia's classes have a poetry writing assessment due on Monday,

March 22.

Students are in the throes of researching their personal activism topics.  If they have not found the necessary three sources for Division I students and five sources for Division II students, they may need to take a trip to their local library to complete this assignment. 

The result of their research will be in the form of a sculpture that they will create for an artistic expression assessment.  Students may need assistance in accumulating materials to be used to construct their sculptures from hardware stores, fabric shops, or other out of the way places during the week of March 29 - April 2.

Literary Circles are scheduled every Tuesday.  Students need to have their assigned roles well prepared to participate that day since this is a reading assessment.  Encourage them to read ahead and complete their worksheets carefully!

Division II A/H

Has your student taken a trip to the library recently?  Does her backpack feel a bit heavier in the last few days due to the new books she’s carrying around?  Is he mulling a research topic and wondering how he can narrow it to something researchable?  If any of your responses to these questions is “No” then we suggest checking in with your student as soon as possible.  For the next several weeks it is nearly impossible to imagine a night when your student would not have work to do at home. 

Students began a research project essay this week which will culminate in a five-page research essay.  The project asks students to analyze an organized response to the Great Depression.  This might mean looking at how the Emergency Banking Act signaled a new role for the Federal Government in financial matters.  It might entail studying how Roosevelt took advantage of some of Hoover’s failures in responding to the crisis.  Regardless of their topic, students have begun to find sources, take notes, and narrow their general topic to a research question.  We ask that you gauge your student’s progress on this project and encourage them to read, note, wonder, narrow, analyze…in other words, we hope you can help us to help them work hard on this challenging research project. 

 

 

Division I MST

This week in science, we have been walking down Isaac Newton's path to discover his first and second laws of motion.  Through investigation we determined that the inertia of an object depends on its mass.  We also explored the relationship between force, mass and acceleration.  Next week, we will move onto Newton's third law of motion—

we need skateboards!

In math, we have taken a closer look at acceleration.  What is positive acceleration and negative acceleration?  What do these look like on a graph?  Using distance over time and speed over time graphs, students are beginning to represent the same motion in two ways. 

COW 13 was assigned today (due next Friday).  Students will need to interpret the graph of a Hurdle Race.  This weekend, they should begin their commentary of the race.  

Division II MST

In science, each class is studying the fossil, anatomical and biological evidence for evolution.  The assessment is a protein lab which examines proteins between aquatic organisms and a chicken.

In math, students finished studying Geometric Proof.  On Thursday, students started the study of Statistics by looking at estimates and actual calories in foods, graphing scatter plots, lines of best fit, and learning about correlation and residuals.  Students will be using their graphing calculators a lot during this unit and should carry them to and from school daily.  Students will receive their assessment for this unit and work on it as they learn the material.

Students should buy new batteries for their graphing calculators since many indicate "low battery."

We are in need of AAA batteries for graphing calculators.

MATH TEAM

Varsity Meet #4 is on April 7, 2004 at Bartlett High School.  Topics include: 'Elementary Number Theory',  'Algebra I',   'Open Geometry', 'Logs, Exponents & Radicals' and 'Trigonometry'.

Practices are during Choice Block with Dina in Room 17 and Mondays after school with Dina and Amy in Room 24. Please see Dina or e-mail dinaz@parker.org  for more information.

We are looking for parent drivers for the April 7th meet.  Please contact Dina at dinaz@parker.org  if you are interested in driving.  The driving will count towards your volunteer hours.

David's 7th Grade students are working on cognates.  Ask your child to give you some examples!

David's 8th Grade students are working on the "near future tense" IR + A + INFINITIVE.

Emily's students are preparing to kick off their new unit on La Ciudad/El Campo.  Students are working on the "near future tense" IR + A + INFINITVE.

Damara's students are preparing to kick off their new unit on La Ciudad/El Campo.  Students just completed their "Cancion" projects.  Students are working on the "near future tense" IR + A + INFINITIVE.

This week in Alan's classes:

This week in Alan's classes, students participated in Capture the Flag and Trash Ball with Laura's Wellness class, along with floor hockey, Kubb, and Prisoner Dodge Ball.  Division I students continued to work on their Poster Campaign and are designing posters that will advocate a health enhancing behavior.  Division II students started their oral presentations that showed their advocacy for a health enhancing behavior as well.

This week in Deborah’s classes:

This week in Deborah's class we completed a majority of the Oral Presentations focusing on Health Advocacy and health enhancing habits.  The student’s projects ranged from very personal topics, such as weight control, to getting enough sleep.  We will finish the unit next week with the last few presentations.  We have completed our basketball and "pinball" module.  Friday we had a day of new games: Color Tag, Thieves and Kuub.

This week in Laura’s classes:

In Laura's Wellness classes this week, students played a variety of activities including fitness testing, Capture the Flag and some new games like Pinball and 2-Nerf-ball soccer.  We also learned how to take our carotid and radial pulses and began to learn about resting heart rates and the importance of knowing your training heart rate zone.  In Health class, students handed in their health advocacy posters, and we did a "museum tour" of their work.

 

Please note:  All basketball uniforms are due back to Ben ASAP! 

The Baseball, Softball and Track season is here.  Please be sure that your student athlete is prepared to participate.

To start practice all athletes must have:

·         A parental permission/ health information form

·         Current physical exam on file in the nurse’s office and

·         $175 (payable to the Parker School) Sports User Fee paid before the first game.  See below for more information.

Parents/ Guardians: Please note a change in the collection of Sports User Fees: 

To participate in all after-school sports programs, students must have their sports user fee paid to the school office (attention: Cathy Pearlman) before the first scheduled game.  A change has been made in the collection of this fee because of the number of students with unpaid user fees.  The sports user fee is $175/ sport/ per student with a family cap at $700.  Financial assistance is available through the Student Assistance Fund.  (Contact Mary Ann Gapinski, the School Nurse, for more information concerning financial assistance).  If financial assistance is required, a request must be on file in the Nurse’s Office prior to the first game of the season for your student to play. 

Sports Schedule

				Dismissal	Bus	Game
Date	Parker Team	Practice/Game	Location	from class	Leaves	Time	Pick-up
Mon., 3/22	HS Baseball
	HS Softball	Practice	School			3:30	5:30 at school
	MS Baseball
	MS Softball
	Track
Tues., 3/23	HS Baseball	Practice	School			3:30	5:00 at school
	HS Softball	Practice	School			3:30	5:30 at school
	MS Baseball
	MS Softball
	Track
Weds., 3/24	HS Baseball
	HS Softball
	MS Baseball
	MS Softball
	Track
Thurs., 3/26	HS Baseball	Practice	School			3:30	5:00 at school
	HS Softball	Practice	School			3:30	5:30 at school
	MS Baseball
	MS Softball
	Track
Fri., 3/27	HS Baseball
	HS Softball	Practice	School			3:30	5:30 at school
	MS Baseball
	MS Softball
	Track

We received 264 applications from students wishing to attend Parker for the 2004-2005 school year!  Of course we will be taking in a new class of “seventh graders” but we also have students on the waiting list for “grades 8, 9 and 10.  We are asking the parents of our current students to help us by indicating whether or not your child will be returning to Parker in the fall.  Please return the form below or telephone the office as soon as possible.  All information is for enrollment purposes only and will be kept confidential in the office.  Thank you – Pat Tuzzolo

Student’s Name: ____________________________________________________

                                (Please print)

____ Will be returning to the Parker School in September, 2004

 

____ Will not be returning to the Parker School in September, 2004     

 

____ Not certain at this time             

 

Please reply!  If we do not hear from you we will need to contact you by telephone.

 

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SCHOOL CALENDAR

The Trustees voted to accept the school calendar for 2004 - 2005.  A full calendar will be posted soon but we did want you to know about the starting date for school.  Registration will be on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 31.  The format for this day will be similar to the one we have been using and you will receive more information about this in a mailing at the end of the school year.    There will be school for students on Wednesday, September 1 (1:30 p.m. dismissal) and Thursday, September 2.  School will be closed on Friday, September 3 and Monday, September 6 (Labor Day) and classes resume at 8:30 a.m. on September 7.

 

 

Attention Parents of Skiing enthusiasts

Heidi and Dan are sponsoring a ski trip travel group to Davos, Switzerland over February Break 2005.  We will fly to Zurich and take a 4 hour train ride into the mountains to the village of Davos.  There are 6 ski areas within this location which will keep us busy for our weeks stay.  The approximate cost of the trip will be around $1600-$1700. Detailed information of cost breakdowns will be provided at the parent meeting.  Students must be in a Division 2 or Division 3 advisory next year and must currently demonstrate a high level of responsibility, maturity, and self awareness within our school in order to be considered for travel overseas.   Students must complete an application process, including a medical form, and must have a passport valid for travel to Switzerland.

         

Heidi and Dan will have a parent meeting on Thursday March 25th at 7:00 p.m. in Room 24.  If your child has expressed an interest, please attend to receive all the available information.  Feel free to check out the website at www.davos.ch.

 

Destination Imagination

Two Parker teams placed first at the Regional Tournament of Destination Imagination this past Saturday in Ayer in their problems and will compete next Saturday at the State Tournament at WPI.  Shannon Stockwell, Lydia Enriquez, Chris Reeves, Kyle Reeves (all Division Two students) along with Gale Stafford and Eric Shethar (Division One students) placed first in the Plot and the Pendulum challenge.  They will present their long term solution at 2:15 p.m.

Sarah Gordon, Erin Barstow, Lauren Perrault, Becca Arnold, Rebecca Tessler, Ashley Hill and Emily Grady (currently attending school out of state) placed first in their challenge, ‘Cartoon Dimension’ and will present their solution at 9:45 a.m.

Both teams were also awarded team Da Vinci's -- the highest recognition given by Destination Imagination.  The DaVinci Award is given for Outstanding Creativity.  This award is given for having a unique approach to a solution, for risk taking, and /or for outstanding creativity.  Questions, please call Bernadette Stockwell at (978) 486-8730.

"A Family Festival"

The public is invited to a "Winter into Spring Festival" on Saturday, March 27, from noon to

4:00 p.m. at the Fruitlands Museum, 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, MA.  Members of the Nashua River Regional Environmental Education Alliance (NREEA) will sponsor an afternoon of activities for the entire family.   Those attending will have an opportunity to:  identify and tap a sugar maple; choose from a variety of  hikes led by local naturalists;  design and fly a kite; begin preparations for their summer garden; plan a welcome home party for our furry and feathered friends; learn about community environmental resources; and much more. Then relax over a cup of hot chocolate and home-baked cookies.  Special guest appearance: Peter Alden will be present to sign copies of his book- Field Guide to New England.

Admission to all activities is $10 per family. Refreshments available for purchase.  Join us for a fun-filled afternoon!

The NREEA is a coalition of organizations dedicated to providing environmental and historical education in our area.  The group is facilitated by the Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWA).  For further information about the festival, please contact Mary Marro, NRWA Environmental Education Director at (978) 448-0299.  Nashua River Watershed Association, River Resource Center, 592 Main St., Groton, MA 01450 - (978) 448-0299 or fax at (978) 448-0941.

 

Parker parent Cesar Maiorino is running his first ever marathon this April 19 with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team. 

We are running the 2004 Boston Marathon to raise money for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber. The Claudia Adams Barr Program is working to discover the underlying causes of many forms of cancer and searching for better therapies.  Our goal is to raise $3 million -- 100% of which will go directly to this crucial research. My personal goal is to raise $2,500 and I am asking the Parker community to help.   Please visit BostonMarathonChallenge.org to find out more or to make a donation online.  You can also mail me a check made out to "Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge."  My address is 227 Mountain Road, Princeton, MA  01541.  Feel free to call (978) 877-7250 or email (cesar@maiorino.org) if you have any questions.  Thank you!

 

Menu for week of March 22

Monday – Curried Chicken w/ peppers & onion

                                Rice Pilaf

Garden Salad

                Milk

                                Fruit Dessert

                              

Tuesday – Baked Macaroni & Cheese

                                Buttered Peas

                                Bread & Butter

Milk

                                Fruit Dessert

                            

Wednesday – Pizza Day

Thursday – Meatball Subs or Eggplant

                         Parmesan Subs (Vegetarian)

                                Curley Fries

           Carrot Sticks & Ranch dip

                                Milk

                                Fruit Dessert

                               

Friday – Chicken Tenders

                                Roasted Potatoes

                                Mixed Veggies

Bread & Butter

Milk

Fruit Dessert