Dear Parker Families,

Dear Parker Parents,

It is that time of year again when the administration at Parker is asking us if we are going to be sending our children back to Parker in the fall. When my son, Stephen, was in first year Division 1, I didn’t quite understand why I was being asked this question. Someone told me it was for enrollment. That made sense. The next year when I was asked, I, of course, responded once again with a "yes". This time I actually gave it some thought as to why. I have found Parker to be an academically impressive, loving, nurturing place where the whole child is considered. For example, at the time, Stephen was extremely ill and in the hospital. His advisor brought in groups of children to visit him. I was reminded that Parker is not the typical school. Thinking back to September 11^th, my son called me at school (I teach in an elementary school) and he wanted to know if I was ok. He actually had more information than I did (I was extremely impressed how Parker handled that situation) and when I asked him if he wanted me to come pick him up he said "no" that he was fine. Wow! to me that meant that he felt safe. On a day like that he felt safe at school. And I felt confident leaving him there.

People have asked me why I send my child to Parker. I could go on and on about the academics, but what are great academics without a stable, tolerant culture? I can feel the sense of community when I walk in the building. Makes me wish I could go there. Parker students are fortunate to be part of such a community.

We are in the midst of war. I know my own school has come up with plans in case we need to keep the children for days on end. If this should happen and I know my own son is at Parker, I will know he is with adults who will care for him, keep his best interests in mind. He will be in a place where he will be safe.

So, let this serve as notice to the Parker Administration that I will indeed be sending my child back in the fall and the fall after that and the fall after that. And when he goes off to college I hope he takes the lessons he has learned at Parker into his new community and helps make everywhere he goes a better place.

Sherri Chalke

Proud Parker Parent of Stephen Deninger

The next PEF Board meeting is Tuesday, May 20th. The tentative agenda includes :

Please contact Joan Shankle if you would like to add to this agenda.

Important!

Call for PEF Grant Requests

All requests should be approved by the principal and submitted to PEF by May 9, 2003

(Please attach an itemized budget for projects over $500 including 3 different estimates if applicable.)

If this grant is awarded it is expected that the recipients upon completion will provide a written report or other tangible demonstration of how the grant money was used and the benefits to the Parker School.

If funded, I (we) agree to carry out the goals of this project in accordance with the description and budget contained in this application or in accordance with any adjustment which is subsequently approved by the PEF. In the event that we do not carry out this project for whatever reason, we agree to account for and return all unused funds to the PEF forthwith.

_____________________ ______________________ ___________________

Thank You

Many thanks to the family of Sean McDermott for donating some 8 mm video cassette tapes for gateways.

Many thanks to the family of Georgia and Helen Lanier for a large amount of two-inch three-ring binders and to the family of Gale Stafford Paul Wachur and Kristen Toohill, also for binders. Thanks also go to some anonymous donors of three ring binders, we are most grateful to you all.

Thank you to the families of Chris and James Coburn and the others who have remained anonymous for their donations of food and other supplies to the Nurse’s Office. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

In a few weeks our seniors will be graduating, leaving Parker and starting a new chapter in their lives. To help celebrate their accomplishments, it has been the Parker tradition for the families of the junior class to organize the graduation reception. This year's commencement will be held on June 11, and a graduation committee has already formed to begin the planning and preparations. With a junior class of 43, hosting a reception for what has generally been about 500 family members and friends, means that we all need to pitch in and help to make it a memorable celebration.

On Wednesday evening, April 30th, members of the Graduation Committee will call the junior class families, asking for your help in preparing a food platter (either finger foods or desserts; recipes will be provided) as well as a donation in an amount of your choosing, to help cover the costs.

If preparing food isn't feasible, you can make a larger donation instead. Please be ready to do your part when a committee member calls. If we all lend a hand, the families of the seniors will be free to bask in their children's success, and we can look forward to next year when it will be our turn to party!

To the rest of the Parker community, we will be asking for donations of flowers from your gardens as we did last year. It was a breath taking display and so in case you need some inspiration to get your seedlings started - here it is! And of course, if anyone else would like to contribute to the event, feel free to send a check made out to the Parker School (Attention: Pat), and labeled "For Graduation."

We'll need extra hands for various tasks on graduation day, so watch future Friday announcements for requests for volunteers. Meanwhile, thank you all in advance for your contributions. -- - The Graduation Committee

Over the year, many of our students bring home the school’s Spanish dictionaries and 501 verb books and then don’t bring them back (unintentionally forgetting, of course). This is a general call for the return of those books, all of which would be stamped with the school’s identifying information on the first pages of the book. If you find one of these books around your house, please return it to the box in the school office as soon as possible. We are finding ourselves quite low on the books, and that was not the case in the fall! Please help by scouring those bedrooms and desks for these needed Spanish resources. Thanks!

Contact for AmyBeth Hocter: Children’s Extended Care Center, 22 Hillside Avenue, Groton, MA 01450

 (978) 448-3388 Ext. 207

We received over 240 applications from students wishing to attend Parker for the 2003-2004 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)

Thanks again to all who attended the Senior Exhibition Night; your presence was much appreciated. Remember that anyone who is interested in serving on a panel for the formal exhibitions should contact Nick Dudensing as soon as possible to secure a spot. If you are the parent of a senior, you should be seeing them planning and practicing their exhibitions, as they begin the week we return from vacation. Planning and practice are what make for excellent exhibitions; one can hardly do too much of either! Have a great vacation!

In Western Drama, we have just finished reading Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Students will be responding to it with Oral Presentations after vacation. Earlier this semester, we read Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus. After vacation, students will also have a chance to revise their essays on these plays. Next, we will probably read Ionesco’s Rhinocerous.

The Dance class has completed three small composition studies. We will kick off the final choreography project with a field trip to the DeCordova sculpture museum the Tuesday after vacation. During the lovely spring weather this week, we went out onto the grass to learn falling, rolling and rebounding.

The 1.2 essay class is wrapping up its second revision week. Students have completed four essays and have chosen one to continue to shape and develop as they work towards a final high quality piece of writing. The 3.1 class has begun the fifth essay, which uses analogy to express an original idea.

We are continuing our work on the "Steps of the Engineering Design Process". During this pass week we worked on constructing a prototype, testing and evaluating different solutions, communicating our solutions, and redesigning our "ferry boats".

Don't forget to mark your calendars it’s almost here, Division I boat night, Wednesday April 30^th from 6:30 p.m. to

8:00 p.m.! Students had been asked to bring in tri-boards or poster boards as soon as possible to begin displaying their work on, in preparation for boat night.

C.O.W. #14 - Ferry Service due today, Friday, April 18, 2003

P.S. Have a wonderful Vacation!!! And don't forget to set aside time for the three R"s………….Relaxation!…Recreation!…and…..Revisions!

We are practicing our stoichiometry and feel even more connected to the MOLE than we would have thought possible! In class we have examined reaction rates and the factors that influence them. After break the students will be given an assessment modeling a reaction of their choice.

In Math we added some tools to our toolbox for solving systems of equations. Now we are starting to explore our next essential question, "What limits the possibilities?". We will explore this questions through linear programming -- graphing systems of inequalities to find the ideal spot bounded by constraints.

Students should practice by accessing this resource from home. By completing more online work, their teachers and/or parents can better identify areas for improvement and address them.

This week, students worked on their Thai Moment essays and Thai masks. We also had a wonderful experience meeting Joe Ferolito and three of his students from Southeast Asia, Puyong, Saenchai, Christophe - they taught us a lot about modern-day Thailand and Thai culture!

Thank you to Kristin Conant for the donation of The Material World - a wonderful resource on lifestyles and material possessions of cultures around the world - and to Ann Wachur for the donation an assortment of books.

For our upcoming work with clay and pottery, we need containers for water (such as coffee cans or yogurt containers) - please send one in with your child (or if you have multiple, we would love them!)

Important reminder: For potential June gatewayers, all revisions of assignments done this year (before our current Thai unit) are due after vacation!

Students have ended the week by celebrating their dramatic monologue performances. They should now be ready to take a break from character, context, and conflict.

In preparation for Gateway season students should be aware that after April vacation, students planning on proposing to Gateway in June need to have their letters of intent in by May 2nd. Students' completed portfolios are due the following Monday, May 5th.

Have a great vacation.

related truths. Now they know traits of Antonio Gaudi's buildings and tapas, two major marks of Barcelona's pride.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! HAVE A SAFE, RELAXING, AND MOST OF ALL FUN VACATION!!!

This week in Alan's classes, students performed the post-test for their work in fitness and the goals that they set for themselves. We also practiced throwing and catching skills for Frisbee and played ultimate Frisbee. Students looked at several scenarios to help them identify the internal and external influences affecting their sexual decision making and they practiced through role plays sexual decision making. After vacation, students will learn about sexual assault and discuss the Clothesline weeks ago. We will also talk about consent and what that means, as well as, learn what to do in case they or a friend is sexually assaulted.

This week in Deborah's Wellness classes, we enjoyed the beautiful summer like weather at the beginning of the week outside in physical activity. Our Health class continued our look at sexual decision making. Students looked at a variety of scenarios, looked at different influences upon our decision making and created solutions to the problems. On return from vacation, the Health class will cover sexual assault. We will debrief the clothesline project, define consent, sexual assault, rape, review sexual assault statistics and what to do in case of rape. We will begin our module of ultimate frisbee and Block 2 will start their 5-week series of yoga on Fridays only. Have a restful vacation!

This week in Katie's Wellness class we explored in more depth the decision-making process around sexuality through role-plays. Students reviewed all the considerations they should take into account when deciding to be sexually active - including knowledge, information, media and peer influences – and then determined the ending to scenarios about sexuality according to these factors. After vacation we will be learning about sexual assault. Students will first individually write about the Clothesline Project, a sexual and domestic assault awareness project that was brought to the school as part of a senior project and that the students viewed in early April. After discussing the meaning of consent, sexual assault and rape, students will then review both national and Massachusetts statistics about sexual assault. The class will wrap up with a discussion about what to do if an individual is sexually assaulted. As with all Health class, special attention will be paid to the particularly sensitive and personal nature of this topic. If students need outside support members of the Support Services and Wellness faculty will be available.

For the next few weeks, I am really looking forward to meeting and getting to know everyone. Hopefully, if the weather cooperates, we will have a chance to enjoy the spring weather while playing some new games as well as some old favorites.

Mark your calendars! The next meeting of the Health Advisory Council (HAC) is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6 at 7 PM. The agenda will include a review of this year’s Wellness Curriculum as well as a look ahead to planning for next year’s content areas. We will be looking for feedback on the pilot programs for foodservice at Parker. To add other items to the agenda, please contact Mary Ann Gapinski, HAC Coordinator, at the school.

Once again the Shriner’s organization is offering free medical care for children. A screening clinic will be held to identify children who can benefit from medical services provided by the Shriners Hospitals. Any child, under the age of 18, with orthopedic problems can be seen at the free clinic for an evaluation to find out if they may be eligible for free treatment. Shriners Hospitals treat such problems as: club foot, scoliosis, hand or back problems, problems associated with burns, etc. The next free clinic in our area will be held at the Wallace Civic Center, 1000 John Fitch Highway, Fitchburg, MA on Saturday, May 10^th, from 10 AM – 2 PM. Call 978-827-6093 or 978-342-6921 or 978-343-2592 or contact Mary Ann Gapinski at the school for more information.

Beginning Monday, April 28^th, City Fresh, a Boston based food service agency that specializes in fresh, nutritionally sound and environmentally conscious meals with ethnic variations will begin a pilot program at Parker as we continue to explore options for our foodservice program. (Check them out at: http://www.cityfreshfoods.com ). They will begin serving meals the week after April vacation, on Monday, April 28^th. We will pilot their meal service and quality for several weeks through May to help us in determining a food service program to be in full operation beginning in the Fall, 2003.

Lunch delivered by City Fresh will be available on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for an initial price of $4.25. (As we increase the number of lunches sold, we should be able to decrease the price). A variety of lunch choices will be available. We will continue with the traditional pizza sales on Wednesday but the "lunch truck" will no longer be available. We will also be selling muffins, bagels, yogurt and juices during the all-school break every day (except Wednesdays) beginning April 28^th..

Each lunch will include an entrée, starch and vegetable as well as an 8 oz. milk and dessert in compliance with portions to meet or exceed the USDA National School Lunch Program guidelines. The menu choices for the week of April 28^th will include meatloaf, baked fish, chicken with herbs, lamb stew among other offerings. We hope that parents, students and staff will continue to support our efforts to establish a healthy food service program at the Parker School. For questions or concerns contact Mary Ann Gapinski or Karen Hannifin at the school.

Last year the Parker Classic Road Race received over $8000 in sponsorships from local businesses and corporations, most of them having no connection to our school. Would you like to help sponsor the Road Race?

Wanted! A couple of people who are interested in working on corporate sponsorship/contributions for the EIGHTH (!) Annual Parker Classic Road Race that will be held in May. The Race is a major fundraiser for the Essential Fund - last year netted over $10,000 for the efforts!

The volunteering could involve contacting previous contributors, finding new contributors, following up on requests, tracking contributions, writing thank you's, getting banners from contributors for display on Race Weekend. Do any of these activities appeal to you?

Corporate sponsorship has been growing even in "down" economic times and it is easy to brag about (sell) Parker to the larger community. Devens businesses, construction companies, Parker family businesses and Parker vendors have all been very generous. There have been NO rude responses to solicitations even though not all have said yes.

Letters get sent out to potential contributors through mid February and then there is follow up thru end of February to determine who will be contributing so that names can be placed on the Race flyer. (Even if a business isn't able to decide by time for printing of the flyer, we promise that their name will be on the following year.)

This is a well organized effort and the involvement isn't "consuming". For more info or volunteering please contact Jane Matson (978) 772-3742

Thanks!

Thanks, Islay Boeri

Parker School Library

1^st Annual

"BUCK$ FOR BOOK$"

Dear Parker Parents & Friends:

Please join us in celebrating National Library Week by making a monetary contribution during the month of April 2003 towards the purchase of a some new books & videos for our ever-growing Parker School Library! We will place a special permanent nameplate on every item added to our collection, purchased through your generous donation. And, your Parker student will also have the privilege of being the first to check-out the new addition to our library!

* Your tax-deductible donation of any amount will be graciously appreciated!