Dear Parker Families,

Our winter vacation begins this afternoon with the conclusion of our Gateway Celebration. We put away our chairs, pick up our trash, gather our carnations, and head home for a well-deserved break. Our students have earned it; we’ve all earned it. The weeks between December break and this next vacation are among the busiest of our school year as the first semester has come to a close, gateways and assessments have been completed, and so much that’s new has been launched. At the same time, the deep winter can also play with a school’s sense of time- the weeks fly by but some of these days can feel so long! As we prepare now to leave for a week and refuel for the months ahead, it seems appropriate to post a couple of dates for important upcoming community events.

On February 25, our parenting series, "Parker Matters" continues with the second workshop, "Party’s at Our House!" This session will focus on the questions and dilemmas parents face as our children’s social lives take shape and expand to include gatherings in our homes and in the homes of their friends –sometimes strangers to us, sometimes not. We’ll be joined by Jean Gannon, State Trooper and Education officer from the Leominster barracks, and Lt. Martin Fay, of the Devens State Police Barracks. Together with our invited guests we will talk together about the legalities and implications of in-home parties. Perhaps more important, however, this session is intended to be a community conversation about how we, as parents within a caring and supportive school community, can raise our questions and talk honestly about our worries, strategies, fear, hopes, and commitments on behalf of keeping our kids safe. I hope every parent who has ever wondered about how other parents manage concerns about safety, substances, responsibility, at the very time when our kids need and seek increasing independence from parental influence and control will come and participate in this workshop.

As we move into March, we’ll hold a community forum on the 3^rd. Our work will likely involve looking together at student work in divisional settings in order to better understand assessment and student learning at Parker. Later that month, Junior College Nights, Café Wednesday, and Spring Conferences (March 12) will take place. The month concludes with our final parenting workshop, focused on homework issues, parameters and guidelines for setting helpful boundaries for parental intervention, and our questions related to this sticky issue. Laura Rogers will host and facilitate our discussion.

Please mark your calendar for the busy season ahead! Our ongoing conversations about the issues and questions that matter in the lives of our students are as much a part of our school life as the program we offer every day when school is in session. Talking together in these different ways helps provide a sturdy foundation for the challenges we all face in thinking well on behalf of our kids. I hope that once we’re all back from whatever vacations we take, we’ll be ready to see lots of each other as we support our students and one another through the days and weeks ahead.

With wishes for a peaceful week and safe travel near or far!

Teri Schrader

Principal

The first workshop of our Parker Matters Parenting Series was a success! Thanks to all of you who braved the cold night, ready to ask great questions and participate in such important learning.

This month’s workshop, "Party’s at Our House," will address adolescent partying behavior and the law. Two area state troopers will discuss both the legal and social responsibilities we have, not only as parents of our own children, but to our children’s friends when they are guests in our homes. In addition, currents trends in today’s substance use by teenagers will be covered. This is a presentation that no parent of an adolescent should miss. Please join us.

Questions? Call Joan Shulman (978) 772-3293

Greater Boston Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) will be awarding two (2) one thousand dollar ($1,000) scholarships to Massachusetts high school students who will be attending college or any other higher learning institution in the fall of 2003. You need not be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender to apply. The award will be based on the letter you write and your completed application. It is not based on your assessments or financial situation.

Please see Joan (Room. 29) if you're interested.

Thank You!!!

The Amnesty International choice block is organizing a Division 2 dance for Friday, March 7 from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. We are looking for parents to help chaperone. If you are interested and available please contact the office. Thank you.

We accept cell phones that are in any condition with or without chargers. Thanks from Tricia’s advisory.

There is no homework over vacation. However, vacation is a great time to do any revisions or to catch up on missed work!

We wrapped up the Weather unit this week taking a trip around the world with Mit and Ann, giving international weather reports with Derek and Tanya and writing a class newspaper with Gena and Dan. In math, students worked on solving 2-step algebraic equations. Hopeful gatewayers should be revising recent COWs that have not earned ‘Meets’ over the break. Remember, they need to Meet consistently for an entire semester.

Have a relaxing break and when we return, get ready to build some boats! Our new unit is on Boat Building, so any books on density or boats would be great to have in our class libraries. Thanks for your help!

This week in MST we have been discussing solute, solvent, solutions and saturated solutions. Students prepared saturated solutions of both salt and sucrose. We discussed the most efficient methods of doing this. We have checked densities of the solutions as well as conductivities. We will move towards making solutions of certain solute percentages and plotting % solution vs. density. Then we will be able to analyze our sports drinks against this curve...or at least that's the plan!

We have been analyzing triangle similarity through perspective drawing. We found ways of calculating the height of distant objects using their apparent height. Working backwards, we found how to represent the apparent height of a distant object in the picture plane.

Have a great winter break! Let's hope for more snow!!!

Emily's students are finishing a writing and reading project based on the story Lazarillo De Tormes.

Margarita's 7th Grade students are working on the present tense forms of the verbs "ir", "ser", "tener", and "estar". They are also working with vocabulary based on "community".

Damara, David, Melodie and Margarita's students worked diligently to prepare for their "escenas". They performed their dramas in front of a school audience on Thursday, February 13.

This week in Alan's classes, students started to present their projects on substances to classmates. Following their presentations, there was an opportunity for questions to be asked. For physical activities, the following choices were made available this week: climbing wall, jump roping, ping pong, Twister, hackey-sack and basketball.

This week in Deborah's Wellness classes students started presenting their research projects on substances. This took both Tuesday and Thursday. Two classes, 1.1 and 2.1, were audiences to the Spanish classes performances on family life in the Caribbean. Friday we spent our short classes reading poetry about love and peace.

Thank you to Parker parents and faculty who braved the cold winter night to attend the initial meeting of the Parker Athletic Advisory Council (AAC). The discussion focused on three areas of concern: financial impact of the growing program, a mission statement to guide further development, and health and safety issues of the after school program.

The next meeting of the AAC will be held in March. Please watch the Friday Announcements for more information. Contact Ben Benoit, Parker Athletic Director, or Alan Laubenstein, Wellness Liaison to the Athletic department, if you are interested in assisting with this effort.

As many are aware, the flu and cold season is upon us! A reminder that hand washing remains the number one defense against illness and disease. Most contact with flu and cold viruses come from inadequate or no hand washing. Practice proper hand-washing technique and get plenty of rest over the February break so that we can all return healthy!

On Wednesday, February 12, members of the Safety Kids Choice Block took their show on the road! Students enrolled in this Choice Block have committed themselves to this community service over the past several months. Their efforts have been wonderful – and now students in several elementary schools in the local area have seen the results of their work.

Safety Kids is sponsored by the Multi-Service Center and involves a short musical production dealing with personal safety issues performed by middle and high school students for elementary school students. The show includes information for young children about stranger danger, the buddy system, fire safety, tobacco and drug prevention messages and much more.

The following Parker Students participated in this community outreach program: Brianna Bahun, Courtney Canfield, Pearl Jurist-Schoen, Jess Kane, Bethany Kay, Shannon Murphy, Kristen Olson, Lisa Panora, Anita Parker, Renee Pierce, Nick Poikonen and Ashley Tamilio-Awed. Many thanks for their time and energy!

Thank you to students, faculty and parents who attended the most recent Health Advisory Council meeting. The discussion included the food service program, "competitive foods" sold at Parker and the Sexuality Education Curriculum. The comments, concerns and suggestions voiced by those in attendance are appreciated. A complete meeting report will be sent to HAC members and can also be found on the Parker web site.

Cindy Paradise from Mike’s Auto School will be starting Driver’s Education classes again beginning on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 from 1:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will continue until Wednesday, May 21. You must be 16 years old by March 1, 2003. The total cost of the 10-week course is $340.00 due on Wednesday, February 26, 2003. Please pay Mike’s Auto School by banker’s check, money order or cash only, no personal checks will be accepted. There will be no classes on Wednesday, March 12 or Wednesday, April 23, 2003. Please sign up on the bulletin board outside the front office.

Please include the hours you donated during the month of ________________, your help is invaluable. Thank you.

Parent’s Name: _____________________________________________ Month: ___________________

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Child’s Name: _____________________________________________ Advisor: __________________

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Activity: __________________________________________________ Hours: ____________________

23 - Early Release (noon dismissal)

26 - Memorial Day - no school

Friday, 5/30 - Parent Forum

Friday, 5/30 - Community Potluck Supper

17 - Trustees Meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

24 - Last Day of Classes (or earlier)

25 - 27 - Faculty Work Days (or earlier)