Dear Parker Families,

It’s been a remarkable week.

Our site visit committee from the Department of Education, here all week to investigate our eligibility for a renewal of charter, left last evening after their exhaustive inspection of our school. Specifically, the team was charged with considering four essential questions:

Is the school’s academic program a success?

Is the school a viable organization?

Is the school faithful to the terms of its charter?

If granted a renewal of charter, what plans would guide the next five years of the school’s development?

In all, our guests observed almost every Parker classroom and met with almost every Parker staff member. They interviewed members of the school leadership team, the Board of Trustees, and a large contingent of Parker parents. They held focus groups with teachers from each domain, and convened conversations with students at every division level, as well as representatives of the Community Congress, the Justice Committee, and observed individual conferences between seniors and their advisors in Senior Seminar. On our advice upon their arrival Monday, the members of our team created opportunities to meet students informally during breaks and over lunch. They walked the grounds with students and found time and space to have one on one conversation about senior projects, about what it really feels like to be a student in this school, and about their learning.

It’s hard to imagine that four days is enough time to really come to understand a school and to assess its program, but it is equally hard to imagine a more thorough and humane a process as the one we’ve just experienced. Throughout the week, we answered questions, thought out loud, and revealed our hopes, experiences, practices, and intentions in service to the kind of open dialogue about schooling our school continually strives to embody. We were treated with respect and recognized for our hard work.

It’s ironic to have these conversations still resonating in the air as we face the contentious and ominously fluid situation at the statewide level as legislators give serious consideration to the possibility of reducing the funding formula for charter schools. We are a school accustomed to being asked to do more with less, pressing ourselves to meet the challenges inherent in an off-kilter funding picture, but lately, the integrity of the work we do stands in increasingly poignant contrast to the uncertainties we face with the legislature. Reductions in our already spare budget will have a palpable and detrimental impact on our school. This is the time for Parker parents to raise these concerns with state legislators, who have said that the voices of their constituents play a crucial role as they are asked to vote on the budget.

Our evaluators, though not able to issue the fullness of their findings last evening, have signaled in the strongest terms that once again, Parker School is a viable school, a school honestly and capably navigating its way toward permanence and a legacy of excellence. It’s hard not to worry a little, though, that deepening compromises can threaten to force changes in our practices and deter us from enacting our deepest beliefs about what a good school can look like.

There are so many reasons to celebrate what’s happened in our school this week. Nothing should dampen our joy at the success of our inspection. We look forward to this Sunday’s Parker Classic Road Race and Springfest as a day for families to come together and enjoy what we’ve got here- and to look ahead with optimism and a renewed commitment to our school.

 

Here’s to a wonderful weekend,

Teri Schrader

Principal

May, 2004

Tuesday, 18 - Health Advisory Council Meeting in Room 1 at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, 18 - Friday, 28 - MCAS and Stanford 9 tests for grades 7, 8, 9 and 10

Friday, 21 - Prom

PLEASE  MARK  THESE  DATES!   (Subject to change)

May, 2004

Tuesday, 25 - Thursday, 27 – MCAS and Stanford 9s Make-up days

Thursday, 27 - Band and Chorus Concert at 7:00 p.m.

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, 15 - Thursday 17 – Junior Retreat

Friday, 18 - Last Day of Classes  - The Big End

Monday through Wednesday, 21 - 23 - Faculty Work Days

Many thanks to the family of Laura Firstenberg for their donation of much needed triple ‘A’ batteries.

Many thanks also go to the family of Ashley and Adam Goddard for their donation of more much needed pens.

Thank you to the families of Tyler Champine, Brian and Paul Conant, Abby and Julia Stevens for their contributions of snacks and supplies to the nurse’s office.  All contributions are greatly appreciated!

Thank you  PEF members for funding the Model Mugging program that was conducted for all graduating seniors this past Wednesday.  It provided a demonstration of self-esteem skills that is sure to help protect them in the world beyond Parker!

Thank you to the Parker Essential Fund for the picnic tables...in School colors!  Thanks to a PEF grant, new picnic tables are blooming in back of our building for students to use for meals, socializing, advisory discussions and class activities.  Please come and sit a while to enjoy the new, improved outback view from a comfortable seat!  THANK YOU PEF!

Many, many thanks also go to Cathy Long, Michele Raudonat, Isobel Geller, Gaetana Brown, Rachel Mann and Andrea Canfield for being kind enough to work in the office answering the telephone on Thursday and Friday.

We are most grateful to Kathy Singh, Annie DeRose and Isobel Geller for providing lunch each day for the Inspection Group from the Department of Education this week

A TREMENDOUS THANK YOU FROM THE LIBRARY!

Our 2^nd Annual Buck$ for Book$ fundraising program has been an overwhelming success!  We are extremely grateful to the 53 families who have donated a total of $4855.00 to the Parker School library!  This far exceeds the amount we donated last year!  We also are pleased that about half the money went to honor 27 teachers or teaching teams with donations in their names.  Now, we all have the fun task of selecting great new materials for our library!

We are so fortunate to have such a generous, caring community to support our library.  All your donations are tremendously appreciated, and will aid in the personal growth and education of our kids for years to come!  This fall, please look for many new books and reference materials!

Smiling in the library,

Laurie Nehring and Maura Barstow

Thank you to the following families for their kind donations:

 

Farr                                                                       Lockwood                                           Concannon

Abdelghany                                                        Gordon                                                 Fischer/Rudavsky

Houle                                                                   Burnett                                                 Schmitt                  

Wilde (Options Consignment)                         Mullen                                                 Callahan/Lampert                

McDonough                                                       Berger                                                  Singh                                     

Rines                                                                    Toohill                                                 Stafford      

Babineau                                                             Glannon                                               Katebi/Hunter      

Harvey                                                                 Nonis                                                   Stevens 

Fleischman                                                          Griffin                                                   Raudonat                              

Allen                                                                    Tappan                                                                Farese

Gross                                                                    Olson                                                   Rossi     

Smith                                                                    Colley/LeVines                                   Hill         

Turkle                                                                   Schlickman                                          Noyes   

Lindbeck                                                              Shea                                                     Helwig   

Shethar                                                                Miller/Ervin                                         Jacques

Lindamood                                                          Nollet                                                   Draper

Kahane                                                                Holman                                                Nichipor

Stoumbelis                                                          Senge/Leonard

                                                           

 

Desperately seeking service students - Directed Studies needs service student Monday and Friday 1.1 and also Tuesday 2.1.  The 7th graders need ‘older sister and brother types’ to help them revise and stay focused.  Please see Lee.

Attention Parker Massage Therapists:  We are looking for massage therapists to contribute their time during the

Parker Road Race on Sunday, May 16.  We will be charging a dollar a minute, proceeds to go to the Parker Essential Fund.  For more information please contact Kim Draper, (508) 254-3555 cell, or kimd@htmassage.com

Needed:  People needed to staff the Bake sale tables at the Parker Road Race from about 10:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Needed:  Baked goods for the baked goods table at the Parker Road Race on Sunday, May 16.  Donations can be dropped off the week prior to the race and it would be wonderful if items were pre-packaged for individual sale.  Also requested would be cakes and pies to be sold whole.  Any questions, comments or suggestions, please email Sharon Pfenninger at pfenninger@charter.net

WANTED, WANTED

Division III Chemistry needs empty cassette tape boxes.  If you have those little hinged plastic boxes lying around your house or filling your drawers, Heidi could use some for a Chemistry lab next week.  Please send them in! 

Thanks--Heidi

John Bohannon is looking for ONE MORE record player so that he can use the turntable for motion experiments.  Does anyone have any they would be willing to donate to the school?

 

The Division 3 speaker for next Wednesday will be peace activist John Farrell.  He will be speaking from 10:00 -11:00 a.m.  Please fell free to stop by to hear what he has to say.     John Farrell grew up in rural Iowa and has been a farmer, teacher, prison chaplain, and campus minister.  Since his travel to Iraq in August of 2003, where he developed friendships with ordinary Iraqis and did grassroots advocacy for human rights, John has been speaking at conferences and retreats to convey the experiences of Iraqis today under US military and economic occupation.  As a student of theology with a Masters degree from Loyola University, Chicago, he is interested in how the principles of non-violence can be grounded in the ethics of many world religions and philosophies.

With the advent of warm, sunny weather, it is beginning to feel like the end of the year is close.  However, there is still lots of work to be done, so despite the many distractions, we encourage students to stick with their work and their learning.  Seniors who still have significant work to do in order to complete graduation requirements will be getting letters home at the end of the week.  Final senior project revisions are due next week and Wednesday, May 26 is the last date for new work for the graduation portfolio. 

This week’s class updates are from March Schrader’s A/H classes:

Printmaking :  We’ve started the final print project.  Students have read Kent Haruf’s novel ‘Plainsong’ and have each been assigned letters from the alphabet to carve corresponding images.  The end product will be a complete alphabet book with contributions from everyone in the class.

Art and Environment:  The snow is gone, the weather is good, YAH!  We have been looking at the environmental work of Andrew Goldsworthy.   Each day the students have been asked to create a small piece outside, focusing on a different shape:  Line, Spiral, Circle, Cone, Column, and Arch.  They are also looking at how site placement affects the impact the piece makes.

Division II Whitewater Rafting Trip

 

 

 

September 29, September 30, October 1

Location:             New England Outdoor Center

                                    Caratunk, Maine

                                    Osprey Center Resort

Activities: 

Wednesday:         Arrive by 2:00 p.m.

    Activities in the afternoon and evening arranged by the faculty

Thursday:        Rafting all day/Hiking option available as well as Night Activities

Friday:            Leave in the a.m.

                            Stop in Freeport, ME for lunch and a quick shop!

                            Back to Parker by 3:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Costs:     Approximate per person cost of $230

                        1^st payment of $50 due by Friday, May 21

                        2^nd payment of $120 due by Monday, August 2

                        3^rd payment of $60 due on Tuesday, August 31

Permission Slips will go home during the summer mailing and should be returned with final payment no later than the first day of school.

Questions:  Heidi  heidik@parker.org  -or- Deborah  dchamberlain@parker.org

Division II Fall Trip 2004

Last night’s meeting covering the Division II Fall 2004 rafting trip was well attended.  Parents are excited about the trip! On the leaflet there is a payment schedule.  Please tear off the attached slip and return your first payment of $50 to the main office by Friday, May 21.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Division II  Fall 2004 White Water Rafting Trip

September 29 - October 1

 

________________________________________________     _________________________________________

STUDENT NAME                                                                               ADVISOR

Please make checks payable to the Parker School for $50 due by Friday, May 21.  Please return to Cathy in the Main Office.

Division I A/H

The halls are a rockin' in Division 1 with the lively, popular American music being experienced in classes.  Meanwhile, the constitution discussions continue.  Soon the Supreme Court proceedings will take place and the work will begin on the final reading project.  Students will become experts on a popular American musician or band in the last century.

Be sure your students test your knowledge on the Blues Slang quiz.  Watch out if new lingo appears in their conversations, such as ‘wang dang doodle’ or ‘Chicken Shack.’  We certainly hope that they don't accuse anyone of being a rounder!

Gateway letters are due Monday, May 24 for Emma and Alyssa's classes, and their oral presentations will be held on Monday, May 17.  Gateway letters for Clay and Martha's classes are also due the week of May 24 but students must prove that all portfolio work is completed prior to receiving the gateway letter prompts. 

Permission slips for the upcoming trip to the De Cordova Museum and sculpture park are being sent home today.  Please be sure they are returned as soon as possible for our Wednesday,  May 26 trip.

Division II A/H

Students concluded their hard work on their documentary photo essays this week.  After selecting their final images, they shared their learning and artistic choices through an Oral Presentation, concluding with a final question and answer session.  On Tuesday, Pulitzer prize winning photo-journalist Kelly Guenther came to Parker and shared her portfolio and experience with all Division 2 students.  Beginning Thursday, 9th graders will be introduced to their final project of the year, a Reading Assessment that allows them to explore a work of fiction in small reading groups.  The Gateway process also began this week and we wish to congratulate those 10th graders on their admission into this challenging process.

Division I MST

COW #16 was due today.  It is called "Toss for Triangles" and if your home has been anything like our classrooms you would've heard the rolling of dice over the last few nights!

Next week is a week of transitions.  Students should be revising work as needed, especially if planning a June gateway. 

Those planning a June gateway should have already handed in a letter of intent addressed to their assessor.  They will receive a red light or a green light to set a gateway date.  If they get the green light then they should receive from their assessor a packet of papers describing the process, including guidelines for writing a Gateway Portfolio Cover Letter.

COW #17 is for all other students.  It is a Year End Portfolio Cover Letter and Reflection.  It will be handed out on

May 18 and is due on May 28.

Division II MST

Since Monday, May 3 students have been working on YEP (Year End Projects) and Gateway Projects during school time.  By Thursday, May 6, students should have finalized their project proposals in both math and science.

Students need to spend at least one hour at home on these projects each night.  Students should use the Planning Backwards sheets and calendars to help with time management. YEP are due on June 4, 2004 and Gatewayers should be

ready to complete both their Oral Reviews and finished written copy for the week of June 1.  Students should also be working on revisions (dates vary by class).  Additionally, Gateway candidates should be working on polishing up their

portfolios based on the April 30 letters from their teachers.

All Spanish students working towards an end of year gateway should have their timeline and to-do lists in hand.  If you have any questions about these gateways or your student’s standing relative to the gateway, please feel free to contact your student’s Spanish teacher.  Also, all the relevant gateway documents for Divisions 1 and 2 are on the Spanish section of the school’s website.

Emily's and Damara's classes are working on their scrap-books, final drafts are due next week.  They are also completing map and direction giving activities and projects, as well. 

David's 7th graders are finishing their reading project, “Los cuatro cantantes de Guadalajara.”

David's 8th graders are completing their reading project, “El Raton de Campo y el Raton de Ciudad.” 

"Spanish Janice" has been out all week recovering from appendicitis surgery.  We miss her!  Her students have adjusted well, however, and have been able to consult with Lisa regarding their work.  Students who intend to Gateway at the end of the year have begun their independent work time and have submitted detailed project proposals.

In Division 2 classes, we continue to listen to Latin music, focusing on the meaning of the lyrics.  This week we listened to and interpreted ‘Sí, Señor,’ by Control Machete, in order to create short skits based on the song.

In Division 3 classes, students taught review lessons on verb conjugations in various tenses, including stem-changing verbs.  They took some time out to write "Get Well" cards to Janice (in Spanish) and then continued to delve

into important themes from ‘De Amor y De Sombra.’

This week in Alan's classes:

In Alan's classes, students experienced some low ropes elements which included the fidget ladder and the tension traverse.  We also played capture the flag, ultimate frisbee, softball and some tried yoga.  In Health class, students discussed loss by using a fishbowl with specific questions like:  ‘What is the best thing to do or say when someone is

grieving a loss?’  and ‘Can you remember a time when you experienced a loss or a death?’  What helped you?  What did not? 

This week in Deborah’s classes:

This week in Deborah's classes we had a fish bowl discussion on losses during adolescence.  This is a time of change and loss for teens and this gave them the opportunity to share and listen to what their peers are experiencing.  Students also turned in their final assignment of the year.  We spent our active time playing ultimate frisbee. 

This week in Laura's classes:  

This week in Laura's classes, students played modified ultimate frisbee, yoga or capture the flag and participated in two low ropes elements:  the tension traverse and the fidgit ladder.  In Health class, we began to talk about how we can help ourselves in times of need.  Students filled out a coping skills inventory and used artistic expression to display practical

ideas for coping.  The emotional health unit project was due on Thursday, May 13.

A free screening clinic is being held to identify children who can benefit from the expert care provided at Shriners Hospitals.  Children under the age of 18, who might have orthopedic problems, can be evaluated to find out if they are eligible for free treatment.  The date of this clinic is scheduled for Saturday, May 15, 2004 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Wallace Civic Center located at 1000 John Fitch Highway, Fitchburg, MA  01420.  For further information or appointment call:  (978) 342-6921, (978) 827-6093,

(978) 343-2592.

All care provided at Shriners Hospitals is absolutely free of charge.  Such problems as club foot, scoliosis, hand or back problems, bowed legs, spina bifida, dislocated hips, and problems associated with burns can be treated at Shriners Hospitals. 

The next meeting of the Health Advisory Council will be held on Tuesday, May 18, at 7:00 p.m. in Room 1.  An overview of the Wellness Curriculum for the 2004-2005 school year will be provided as well as an update on the work of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) task force.  If you have other items to be placed on the agenda, please contact Mary Ann Gapinski.

Hello again from the CC. This week in the CC we have started to plan the big end. The big end committee had been formed and has begun to make plans. We begun to brainstorm ideas for the essential question and there will be a chalk talk in the hallway soon so you can express your own ideas for the essential question. The constitutional review is well under way and should be finished relatively soon. The div 2 dance last week was widely successful and made lots of money WO HO!!!

Sports Schedule

				Dismissal	Bus	Game
Date	Parker Team	Practice/Game	Location	from class	Leaves	Time	Pick-up
Mon., 5/17	HS Baseball	Away vs. South High	See website	2:20	2:30	3:30	6:30 at school
	HS Softball	Home vs. South High	See website	2:45		3:30	6:30 at school
	MS Baseball	Practice	School			3:30	5:00 at school
	MS Softball	Practice	Willard			3:30	5:00 at field
	Track	Practice	School			3:30	5:00 at school
Tues., 5/18	HS Baseball	Practice	Willard			3:30	5:30 at field
	HS Softball	Home vs. St. Mary's	Willard	2:45		3:30	5:30 at field
	MS Baseball	Away vs. Carlisle	See website	2:20	2:30	3:30	6:15 at school
	MS Softball	Away vs. Carlisle	See website	2:20	2:30	3:30	6:15 at school
	Track	Away vs. St. Bernards	See website	2:20	2:30	3:30	6:30 at school
Weds., 5/19	HS Baseball	No practice
	HS Softball	Practice	School			3:30	5:30 at school
	MS Baseball	No practice
	MS Softball	No practice
	Track	No practice
Thurs., 5/20	HS Baseball	Away vs. Monty Tech.	See website	2:20	2:30	3:30	6:15 at school
	HS Softball	Home vs. Monty Tech.	Willard	2:45		3:30	5:30 at field
	MS Baseball	Practice	School			3:30	5:00 at school
	MS Softball	Practice	Willard			3:30	5:00 at field
	Track	Practice	School			3:30	5:00 at school
Fri., 5/21	HS Baseball	Practice	School			3:30	5:30 at school
	HS Softball	Practice	Willard			3:30	5:30 at field
	MS Baseball	Home vs. Hanscom	Willard			3:30	5:30 at field
	MS Softball	Home vs. Hanscom	Willard			3:30	5:30 at field
	Track	Practice	School			3:30	5:00 at school

 

From Parker student “Ransom Loudermilk”

Classic Clean Comedy Night

Saturday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m.

135 Main Street, Woburn, MA under the Tae Kwan Doe Studio

Bring your favorite clean comedy sketch from any movie or other source ready to present on the Rio Ondo Stage or just come to watch.  Snacks, prizes and consequences.  Suggested cover is $3.00 donation.

Directions:  Take 128N (95N) to Winn Street Exit.  Go right at bottom of ramp to rotary.  Go ½ way around rotary to Main Street.  Continue past Walgreens and Irish American Center, 135 Main Street is on the left.

Information:  Please call Olga at (978) 660-8692 or (781) 932-7440 or call Ransom at:  (978) 345-2677

House Rental Needed

Parker family seeks three bedroom rental, ideally in Ayer or Shirley.  Have two cats.  Needed by the end of June.  Please contact Jim at (978) 772-1541.

Menu for Week of May 17

Monday – Taco Boats (Vegetarian tacos available)

                                With lettuce & tomato

                                Cheese, Salsa & Sour cream

                                Refried beans

                                Fruit Dessert

                                Milk

Tuesday – Sweet n Sour Meatballs

                                Over Noodles

                                Mixed Veggies

                                Bread & Butter

                                Fruit Dessert

                                Milk

 

Wednesday –  PIZZA DAY

Frank’s Open for Milk Drinks & Snacks

Thursday – Meatball or Eggplant Subs

                                Garden Salad

Curly Fries

Fruit Dessert

                                Milk

Friday – BBQ Chicken Sandwich

                                On a Roll

                                Cole Slaw

                                Fruit Dessert

                                Milk