On Thursday of last week, I received a pleasant surprise when Emily Knupp, a member of Parker's first graduating class, appeared at my classroom door as I was starting my block 2 class. Things were hectic because my teaching partner was absent and I was explaining the homework assignment while simultaneously taking attendance, so I was only able to give her a brief "hello" as she asked if she could sit in on class. At Parker, we are used to having visitors to our classroom, but having a former student is always a special occasion.

At break, I was able to talk to Emily. She said that she had wanted to stop by because she was leaving for South Africa for a semester abroad and had heard that Division 1 AH classes were teaching about South Africa. She will spend the semester at the University of Cape Town and is hoping to travel around the country. When I asked her why she was going to South Africa, she said that our unit on the country's history and culture from her second year at Parker had etched itself deep in her mind. She never forgot the things we studied and the emotions that that learning conveyed to her - from the oppression of the apartheid system to the passion of resistance rallies to the joy of black South Africans voting for the first time. Ever since that unit, she had wanted to go to the country, to see the places and people she had learned about with her own eyes, to experience first-hand what we had studied from a distance.

P.E.F. Board Meeting is at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11, 2003.

18 - Early Release (noon dismissal)

21 - 25 - Spring Recess

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

Many thanks to the family of Jocelyn MacDonald and the family of Rebecca and Phillip Sandy for their generous donations of VCR tapes.

Thank you to the family of Heather Concannon for the great plastic storage containers!

Many thanks to the family of Sarah Suschyk for pencils and more VCR tapes!

Many thanks also go to the family of Edward Pechet for pencils and a history book for the library!

Thank you to the families of Brian and Paul Conant, Chris and David Nonis, Sarah Sushchyk and Michael Terrasi and other anonymous donors for snacks and supplies for the Nurse’s Office! They are greatly appreciated!

Thank you to the unknown woman who came into the kitchen and donated a food processor last Friday. I'm sorry I forgot to ask your name! Thanks for the donations of a microwave and Cuisinart from Carol

Liasson. And many thanks go to Bernadette Stockwell, who whipped up some beautiful new aprons for the kitchen crew - very stylish! - Karen Hannifin

Congratulations

Congratulations to Emily Colligan and Rachel Smith who were accepted into the JUNIOR CENTRAL DISTRICT MUSIC CHORUS. Over 1,000 students participated in the auditions between chorus, orchestra, band and jazz band this past Saturday at Quabbin Regional Middle School in Barre. Emily and Rachel will now represent Parker School and work toward a concert that will be held in April.

To all the students who took part in this audition, you made a huge commitment to your music and voices. WELL DONE! - Islay Boeri

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.

The highlight of the week was our time spent with Joe Galeota, a drummer from the Berkley School of Music, who was our artist in residence. He taught us South African songs and dances performed with his dynamic drumming and piano music. Thank you to the Parker Essential Fund for making his visit possible! He demonstrated how important songs and dancing were especially to the blacks to create solidarity during apartheid. Be sure to ask your student to sing you some of the African National Anthem!

Deadline!! February 14 for the Writing Assessment! An important reminder that your student has an analytical paper comparing different short stories from Somehow Tenderness Survives, due before vacation on Friday, February 14.

All students have been given time and coaching in class to complete these papers. Please be sure to encourage them to be working on their papers in order to have their final drafts done by then. Thank you!

This week in Division 2 A/H, we began our unit on Japan. We are focusing this unit on how a culture demonstrates resiliency, so we have begun our investigation with the apocalyptic dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. On Monday, we looked at the circumstances which led to the dropping of the bomb with a video about Harry S Truman. This week we will also begin reading John Hersey's Hiroshima. This will be the focus of our study for the next three weeks. Students should all have bookmarks with their reading assignments on them. While the subject matter may be a bit bleak, the notion of resiliency will hopefully come through as the unit progresses.

We are exploring our unusually stated essential question ? design <-affect-> possibilities ?

We have explored how the design of the Hindenburg affected the outcome of the disaster. We have disproved the theory that Hydrogen started the explosion. In fact we learned that the doping compound used to coat the exterior of the ship was both highly conductive and flammable. (In fact, it is the same material used today in the shuttle booster rockets) The

Hindenburg was delayed due to electrical storms and because of this the ship became highly charged which ultimately led to the doping compound catching on fire and, in turn, causing the hydrogen cells to rupture and explode. Students presented their theories to the class and then we learned about the new theory presented by Addison Bain, a NASA scientist. This unit included a lab where students produced Oxygen, Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide and compared the properties of the 3 gases. Even though they are all colorless, they are not the same!

We continue to explore dilations, scale factors, proportions and similar polygons. We found that some properties of triangles let us take some shortcuts when proving similarity (AA, SSS, and SAS theorems). We will begin to use similar figures to design perspective drawings.

This week in Alan's classes, students continued to work on volleyball skills by practicing serving, passing and spiking. The level of play improved as well as the level of interest for most students. On Friday, students put final touches on their substances project and, in some cases, rehearsed for their presentations that will begin next week.

This week in Deborah's Wellness classes, students spent Tuesday and Thursday finalizing their research projects. The projects are due Tuesday the 11th. The students will then present their final work next Tuesday and Thursday. Indoor soccer and team hand ball have been the physical activities that have kept us happy!

This week in Katie's Wellness classes, we put the finishing touches on our Substance use project. Next week the students will have one more class period to rehearse and revise, and presentation will start on Tuesday and continue on the Monday and Tuesday after vacation (February 24th and 25th). Presentation order was determined according to project readiness. Consequently, you should check with your child to determine what day they are presenting. Our class was also visited by Harry Jacobson, the Technology Director at Parker, who gave a presentation on Internet safety.

In Colin's activities classes this week, we had a very successful second day of volleyball on Thursday and played capture the flag in the sports arena Friday. Next week we will continue with volleyball in the gym on Thursday, and with a shortened day on Friday, we will be in the auditorium playing ping-pong.

Division II students and parents! Next Wednesday will be advisory Stop and Swap. Students who wish to choose sledding will have to come prepared with a sled. Direct questions to Dharma Sawyer.

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 Lost and Found box outside the Gym is truly overflowing. Please make sure that you check to see that nothing belongs to you. All Lost and Found items will be donated to charity on Friday, February 14.

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 front office.

Thanks to my hardworking volunteer crew last week: Pam Caponette, Sharon Concannon, Lois Greenbaum and Lynne Man. Without our wonderful volunteers we wouldn't be Frank's! Come join the fun in the kitchen, and get your volunteer hours in. Send an email to karenh@parker.org  for more information.

Last week we tried a pre-ordering system, which worked and didn't work. All lunches were served five minutes sooner than the previous week, but it took too long to tally all the orders before lunch. We may try a modified version of the

pre-ordering system sometime in the future, with ideas that were suggested by students and staff, but for now, we'll stay with the line-up for lunch. We will have two lines going, and salads and soup pre-packaged, so that may cut down on the wait time.

Thanks to Kyle Reeves who put a lot of thought into simplifying the pre-ordering system, and sent in a redesigned order form. Your input was much appreciated!

Student and staff surveys are coming in fast and furious, but we still need more input from the parents. We have only had a dozen or so parent surveys returned so far. If you haven't already filled out the VIPS (Very Important Parent Survey), you can still do so, as it has been included again in this week's announcements. We would like to have as many as possible in before school break. Thank you for your help.

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

Parent’s Name: _____________________________________________ Month: ___________________

(Please print)

Child’s Name: _____________________________________________ Advisor: __________________

(Please print)

Activity: __________________________________________________ Hours: ____________________

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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)