From: Mary C. Gormley
To: Parents/Guardians and Staff
Re: E-blast Update
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2016
FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
Summer is in full swing, and while many of our Milton Public School families are enjoying some much-deserved time off, there is also work to be done here in the district. Our summer programs are having another successful year, with nearly 700 students attending some type of MPS program, including Milton Summer Enrichment, Camp Cunningham and the SPED Department’s ESY programming. Our Central Office staff works year-round, closing out the books for 2015-16 and preparing for the upcoming 2016-17 school year. The custodial staff members are deep cleaning classrooms, lockers, hallways and offices. We are also busy hiring teachers and staff for the fall and of course, all of us plan to take at least a little time to spend with friends and family this summer. Please enjoy the beautiful summer weather, help your child stay on top of their summer assignments, and relax!
SCHOOL COMMITTEE UPDATE
There has been one School Committee meetings since my last E-blast, held on Wednesday, July 6th. This meeting is summarized below
July 6th: After hearing additional details and asking a variety of questions, School Committee members voted approval for the Milton High School European Trip, to be held in April of 2017. Representatives from the Wilson-Kindelan School were invited to this meeting to discuss curriculum issues regarding their proposed independent school. School Committee members asked about the various curricula and requested an updated set of binders for the next meeting. Dr. Elaine Craghead was appointed the MASC delegate for the annual conference in November. A vendor warrant was approved, as were two sets of minutes before the committee adjourned to executive session.
CURRICULUM NEWS
As we reported in several previous E-blasts, Milton families are required to re-establish residency with the school district prior to entering grades six and nine as well as Milton Public School students who attend school out-of-town*.
Families who have students in these categories are required to go to the following link and provide all necessary documentation.
Ms. Patty Lesenechal, Milton Public Schools Residency Coordinator, said the process is “off to a great start” this summer. She will be working morning and evening hours all summer to facilitate parents/guardians work schedules. Ms. Lesenechal will be in the Milton High School main office (25 Gile Road) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7am to noon; and Tuesday evenings from 4-8pm. Parents/guardians must submit Re-Establish Residency packets by Friday, August 26th to ensure their child’s uninterrupted placement in Grades 6 and 9. Ms. Lesenechal can be reached at 617-696-4470 ext 5516 or at plesenechal@miltonps.org
*This includes all students who attend Blue Hills Regional Technical School, Norfolk County Agricultural High School and Special Education out-of-district placements for students entering Grades 6 and 9.
PERSONNEL UPDATE
I am pleased to announce that we have appointed a new Athletic Director. Eric Karjel will be joining the Milton Public Schools. Mr. Karjel served as the AD for the Hopkinton Public Schools for 12 years, during which time he was awarded the MIAA Athletic Director of the Year in 2013. He also served as the AD for King Philip High School in Wrentham. He holds his Master’s Degree in Secondary School Education from Cambridge College; and a Bachelor’s Degree and Teacher Certification from Buffalo State College. Mr. Karjel has taught at both the high school and middle school levels and has coached boys and girls basketball.
“Mr. Karjel will bring to the job a proven track record,” said Screening Committee member Chuck Caputo. “We were looking for someone with the experience to get the job done in Milton and bring stability to the post and we found that person in Mr. Karjel.”
I would like to thank the Athletic Director Screening Committee: Milton High School teachers and coaches Billy Donovan, Mike Goodless and Kelly Losi; parents Walter O’Leary, Tara O’Leary, Charles Caputo; and Milton High School Vice Principals Brian Mackinaw and Ben Kelly. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Karjel.
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We have also hired a new PE/Health Director. Noel Vigue has been hired to fill this position. Mr. Vigue is a PE/Fitness teacher at the John Kennedy Middle School in Natick and an Education Consultant. He was a member of the adjunct faculty for Sports Management Program at Mount Ida College, where he also served as head coach for Men’s and Women’s Cross Country. Mr. Vigue received his Bachelor’s Degree from Bridgewater State College and his Master of Education from Worcester State College.
“I am extremely excited about the addition of Noel Vigue to the leadership team in the Milton Public Schools,” said Pierce Principal Dr. Karen Spaulding. “It was immediately evident that he is dedicated to engaging the entire community in supporting the health and wellness of students, faculty, and families,” she said. “He is well versed in the latest research, instructionally sound, passionate, and has developed and facilitated a number of programs to support the healthy well being of children and young adults.”
I would like to thank the members of the PE/Health Director Screening Committee: Pierce Middle School Principal Dr. Karen Spaulding, Pierce Middle School Assistant Principal Anna McReynolds, Milton High School Vice Principal Ben Kelly, Milton High School PE/Health teacher David Mazzulli; and MPS parent Becky Padera.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Please read the following article by my colleague, Henry Bolter, Director of Teachers as Scholars. Many MPS teachers have participated in these incredible courses over the past several years. We are fortunate to have a partnership with such a well-regarded professional development organization.
I founded Teachers as Scholars in 1996 to provide content-based professional development for K-12 teachers in the greater Boston area. Currently TAS has an enrollment of 35 school districts/schools that annually send approximately 450 teachers to the program. TAS offers 2 and sometimes 3 day long seminars at Harvard Hillel in Harvard Square, The small seminars in the arts, humanities, sciences and math are usually led by university faculty from area colleges and universities including Tufts, Brandeis, MIT, Wellesley College, Harvard and Boston University. In the past we have had seminars led by MacArthur award winners, Pulitzer Prize recipients, and teachers recognized by their universities for their outstanding teaching. Teachers receive continuing education credit (Professional Development Points) that they need for state mandated recertification. TAS also holds classes at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Isabella Stwart Gardner Museum, The Whitin Observatory at Wellesley College and other education related organizations in the Boston area. TAS also conducts summer study trips to Paris, Dublin, India, Cuba and other international locales led by scholars in the field of study.
The idea behind TAS is pretty simple: to reconnect teachers to the transforming power of ideas, the reason many of them became teachers in the first place. Every day teachers are asked to inspire students with ideas and, ironically, there are few professional development opportunities for teachers to renew and reconnect with their intellectual lives. The overwhelming majority of professional development is oriented around pedagogy or the latest political reform. The few opportunities that are available are either very competitive (e.g. NEH seminars and institutes) or teachers on their own time can enroll in expensive graduate credit programs at local universities. TAS offers an alternative from November to May, teachers can spend reflective time with their colleagues exploring Shakespeare’s Sonnets, the best literature for middle and elementary school teachers, new ways of thinking about teaching literature, the ideas behind Calculus, the neuroscience of the brain, Greek comedy and tragedy, the role of Ellis Island in our history and many other topics.
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The following item was sent to us by Meredith Kempf, Elementary Curriculum Coordinator and Michelle Kreuzer, K-12 Mathematics Director.
While summer vacation is underway, Milton staff members have been engaged rich professional development opportunities. This was our third summer of offering a Summer Institute for teachers and staff members. Each year, these Institutes have become more successful and are very well attended.
This year’s elementary offerings included specific grade level Readers’ Workshop courses with Martha Winokur. During these sessions teachers gained insight into the new Readers’ Workshop units of study. Grade levels discussed how to create classrooms that foster a love of reading while developing reading skills and collaborated to create lessons that address the needs of all learners. We will continue our work with Ms. Winokur throughout the 2016-2017 school year.
Also offered were two mathematics professional development sessions focused on equity in mathematics, called Math for All (K-2 or 3-5), facilitated by Michelle Kreuzer, K-12 Mathematics Director. The sessions enhanced teachers’ ability to plan and implement accessible math lessons in which learners with diverse strengths and needs have an opportunity to achieve standards-based learning outcomes. Through collaboration, which included the completion of a thorough review and analysis of a case study lesson, teachers learned how to use a neurodevelopmental framework to analyze the demands of a math lesson, to assess student’s strengths and needs, and to select instructional strategies and teaching practices that build on students’ strengths and needs in order to help students achieve the learning goals of a math lesson. The teachers look forward to using the strategies discussed in their lesson design for the upcoming school year.
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The following two items were sent to us by Michelle Kreuzer, K-12 Mathematics Director:
Four Milton High School teachers will be attending the Advanced Placement (AP) Summer Institute for AP Calculus at St. Johnsbury Academy this summer. Institute participants have the opportunity to experience a complete overview of the AP Calculus (AB or BC) curriculum, which has been updated for 2016-2017. In addition to a content and pedagogy focus on key topics, there will be discussion around course pacing, Web resources, and global review for the AP exam. Participants will be solving AP free response and multiple choice questions, as well as learning how the free response questions are scored. A special focus on changes to exam for May 2017 will be included. For those teachers who are not currently teaching AP Calculus, Pre-AP strategies and skills that students need to be successful in AP Calculus will be discussed.
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Five Milton Public Schools secondary mathematics teachers (one from Pierce Middle School and four from Milton High School) will be working with over 70 students for three weeks this summer as part of The Calculus Project (TCP). The Calculus Project is an initiative to dramatically increase the number of low income, African American and Hispanic American students who enroll in and successfully complete Calculus Honors or Advanced Placement Calculus. As part of TCP, students are invited to participate in summer enrichment courses in mathematics that run between and parallel to honor and college preparatory level courses in mathematics. This summer, three enrichment courses will be offered: Algebra Preview, Course 1 Honors Preview, and Course 2 Honors Preview. The teachers are currently engaged in curriculum revision and development and lesson planning for this year’s summer session.
UPCOMING MPS EVENTS
The Milton Public Schools, the Milton Public Library and the Milton Early Childhood Alliance have teamed up to offer Summertime Stories. Please join us for some fun summer reading! For families with their children ages birth to six years old. Miss Sara, the Milton Public Library Children’s Librarian, will read stories, sing songs, and engage children at four sessions around town this summer. If the weather is nice, bring a blanket because we’ll be outside. If it is rainy, we’ll meet indoors. Parents/caregivers must remain with and look after their child – these are not drop-off events. Registration is not required; however, you will need to sign-in upon arrival. These events as offered as part of an Early Literacy Advancement Initiative
Summertime Stories will be held on Thursdays at 10am at the following locations:
- Thursday, July 21st at Cunningham Hall*
- Thursday, August 4th at Tucker Elementary School
- Thursday, August 18th at Cunningham Hall*
*Please park at Collicot School for this event.
GRANTS/FUNDRAISING
The Pierce Middle School was recently chosen to receive a grant from the Milton Garden Club. The grant will be used to purchase plantings for the Pierce campus, including several fruit trees. The Milton Garden Club’s mission is education, conservation, gardening and community service. We are very grateful for this grant, which will beautify and educate Pierce Middle School students for many years.
NEWS AROUND TOWN
The following item is from Caroline Kinsella,Vicki McCarthy, Laurie Stillman and Deborah Milbauer with the Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition:
You and your Milton neighbors are invited to the Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition’s Summer Meeting on Wednesday July 20th at 7pm at Beth Israel Deaconess-Milton Hospital, in the Nangeroni Conference Room. John King, Milton’s newly-appointed Police Chief, will be the featured speaker. Your participation and questions are warmly welcomed. Refreshments will be provided courtesy of the hospital. Chief King’s presentation is entitled Prevention, Education, Treatment, and Recovery – We All Have a Role. Following Police Chief King’s remarks and audience discussion, there will be a short presentation concerning a proposal for formalizing the coalition’s organizational structure. The proposal will give clarity as to what constitutes membership to the coalition, who will serve as leadership, how key decisions will be made, and how the community will be engaged. The Board of Health wants the community’s input into this proposal, and this is your chance to do so! If you cannot attend the meeting and would like to provide input, you can also email us at info@milton-coalition.org We ask that you acquaint yourself with the brief proposal before the meeting. You can access the document here. We are honored that Police Chief King has accepted our invitation, and we look forward to having you join us!
The following information was sent to us by Alan Bishop with the Milton DPW:
Milton DPW’s new GIS online mapping tool – launched July 1st, 2016: The Milton DPW has launched a new and improved GIS Online Mapper for public use. This mapping tool will provide users with improved tools, functionality and data. This is part of our ongoing effort to increase technical capacity, improve data management and allow our residents and local businesses to better access more accurate and up to date information about our community. We hope you enjoy using it. Click here for the mapping tool.
MILTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Summer is here – and so are fun family activities at the Milton Public Library! Books, programs, coloring, games, puppets and more are available every day for you to check out. Have you signed up for the Library’s Summer Reading Challenge yet? This year’s Challenge, entitled On Your Mark, Get, Set… Read! runs now through August 30. Children ages 3-11 are eligible to participate. Keep up your skills over the summer, win prizes, and have fun! Visit our website at www.miltonlibrary.org to register now.
In addition to our regular storytimes on Tuesday and Wednesday, we have these exciting programs for the young people in your life happening during the week of July 24 – 30:
Tuesday, July 26, 2016 from 2:30 – 4:00 pm
Cooks ‘n Books, Grades K-5
Enjoy a story and make a tasty treat with Debbie Alsebai of Kidz Cooking. Registration is required. Sponsored by the Friends of the Milton Public Library.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016 from 2:30 – 3:30 pm
Makernoon, Ages 10-13
Kids aged 10-13 are invited to join our guest instructor, Starleen Baylon for crafting/making/building fun. Each week we’ll be making something different, using such supplies as traditional craft materials, recycled materials, hardware and more! Registration is required.
Don’t forget to check the library web calendar for a listing of the many programs we offer year-round. Information about and registration for all of our programs can always be found on our online calendar at www.miltonlibrary.org, or by calling the Children’s Room at 617-898-4957 during business hours. Also, like the Milton Public Library on Facebook and get updates right in your news feed! Please contact the Children’s Room if you have questions about any of our programs or services.
VISUAL ARTS
There are still some openings for K-5 art classes at the Milton Art Center this summer. Please click here for course descriptions and registration info.
ATHLETICS
SCAM ALERT: BUSINESS FALSELY SOLICITING IN MILTON HIGH SCHOOL’S NAME
We have been alerted about a company who has been soliciting business sponsorships on behalf of Milton High School sports teams using Milton High School’s name. The calls have been made by Southern California-based company named HS Backers.
According to those who have received the calls, the telemarketers claim to be selling advertising to benefit sports programs at Milton High School.
Please note: HS Backers has no affiliation with Milton High School, the Milton Boosters or the Milton Public Schools. Please call us at 617-696-5040 x 5583 if you or your company receives one of these calls.
The Milton Public School system is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the provision of quality educational programs for all students. The Milton Public School system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, age or sexual orientation.