Principal Rubino's Weekly Update
W.S. Parker Middle School Newsletter; Friday, Jan. 27, 2023
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Dear Parker Middle School Families,
Today report cards were issued for quarter 2. To find them, log into the Plus Portal, go under "E-Locker" then "E-Portfolio." A grade is a reflection of a student's progress and if you have any questions about a student's grade, we encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher. While we do not hold formal teacher conferences, we welcome families to schedule a time to meet with your student's teacher or team if you have concerns about their progress.
As I mentioned last week, since we are half-way through the school year, I would love to receive some feedback from families and caregivers on how the year is going thus far. If you wish, please fill out this short survey.
Congratulations to students from the Parker Middle School Math Team for their strong showing at the math meet this past week. You help make our school proud. Keep up the hard work. We can't wait to see what else you can accomplish!
Coming Up!
Motivational speaker, Anthony Valentine, speaks to seventh and eighth grade students on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Mr. Valentine will engage with students to empower, motivate, and define who they are by thinking about the legacy they want to create and leave behind. I shared more details about his visit with seventh and eighth grade families in a separate email. Thanks, again, to our PTO for the enrichment funds to support the program.
Upcoming Important Dates:
iReady Benchmarks for Math continue this week
Wednesday, Feb. 1:
Future Freshman Night at RMHS @ 6:30 p.m.
All 8th grade students and parents/ caregivers encouraged to attend. 6:30 - 8:00 PM. This will include an overview of curriculum, program, and activities, a Q&A session for parents, and a tour for students. There will be a special education welcome meeting prior at 6:00 in the RMHS Library.
Friday, Feb. 3:
GSA social after school in the cafeteria
Wednesday, Feb. 8:
Principal's Student Council after school in the cafeteria
Monday, Feb. 13:
School Council at 5:30 p.m.
PTO at 7 p.m.
Future Freshman Night
Wednesday, Feb 1, 2023, 06:30 PM
Reading Memorial High School, Oakland Road, Reading, MA, USA
Auditions for High School Jazz Band/Stage Band
High School Jazz Band/Stage band auditions (for current 8th graders) are on February 13th and 14th. Please use the following link to see instructions and print the music. Audition music is the same for both the Stage Band And Jazz Band. Stage band meets after school one day a week. Jazz band meets during the school day and rehearses outside of the school as well. If you are interested in jazz, be sure to audition! Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity.
News from the PTO
📌 The next Parker PTO meeting is Monday, February 13 at 7 p.m. at Parker Middle School and via Zoom: https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/89440949482. All are welcome! Take a sneak peek at our upcoming agenda: https://tinyurl.com/PTOmtgFeb2023
🎉 PTO Shout-out! During these slushy, wet, sandy, snowy days, we are so grateful for our afternoon/evening custodians, Jesse & Jay, as well as our rotating day custodians! They are doing a great job maintaining Parker inside and out. We are grateful for the care they put into keeping Parker sparkling.
📌 Thanks to your dues, we are able to book some exciting enrichment programs for Parker students (see below for what’s coming!) There’s still time to pay dues if you’d like to support these efforts. Suggested donation is $100 per family but any amount is appreciated.
Dues can be paid by check (made out to Parker PTO) and sent into the office, or via PayPal: @ParkerPTO or paypal.me/parkerpto
Upcoming events!
- NEXT WEEK: Wednesday, February 1, 2023: 7th & 8th grade enrichment: Anthony Valentine - https://www.valentineinspires.com/
- SAVE THE DATE! Tuesday, April 25, 2023: All-school enrichment: Rob Surette - http://www.amazingheroart.com/
- SAVE THE DATE! Friday, May 12, 2023: 6th grade enrichment: Alastair Moock - https://moockmusic.com/education/
- SAVE THE DATE! Wednesday, May 31, 2023: Parker at the Red Sox! Stay tuned for ticket sales.
Social Thinking Experts Presentation at Woburn High School
On February 2nd, globally acclaimed Social Thinking experts, Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke, will be speaking at the Woburn Memorial High School auditorium from 5pm to 8pm. Tickets are free of charge and can be obtained by clicking here. Tickets will be collected at the door and entered for numerous raffle items. Pizza and bottled water will be available during the intermission.
Join us for an Evening of Laughter and Learning– Presentation Topic:
Social skills are so much more than just being polite or staying on topic or keeping one’s cool after a disappointment. From the lens of the Social Thinking Methodology, social skills are based on a core set of social competencies that help us to know when, how, why, and with whom to use our social skills. Social competencies involve the thinking, problem solving and self-regulation that we expect students to use when learning in a group, lining up for recess, comprehending literature, writing for different audiences, advocating, expressing opinions, problem solving situations, and a host of other critical concepts. Social competencies are embedded in both the academic and social day and are just as critical as teaching math, science, and language arts.
In this short talk, Michelle Garcia Winner and Dr. Pamela Crooke (Co-developers of the Social Thinking Methodology) will explore what it means to be social, how the social world works, and how to navigate to regulate in the social world to meet our own social goals. We will feature engaging videos, lesson ideas, and practical strategies for different age groups. Content is relevant for both parents and educators and general and special education.
Nurse Kate's Corner
- This week, CDC has increased the community level of COVID-19 in Middlesex County to high.
- We have masks available in all health offices for students and staff and are continuing with symptomatic COVID testing at school.
- Please continue to monitor for symptoms and keep your child home and test them if they have any symptoms. Please contact your school nurse if you have questions, or if you need any additional at home test kits.
- Vaccination is an important tool in preventing serious illness. Our next clinic for both flu and COVID vaccines will be on Friday January 20th at Coolidge Middle school from 2-5 pm. Here is the link to register.
We are updating our students’ electronic health record software system. The new Health Portal will allow parents to directly message school nurses, update any emergency contacts and medical conditions and securely upload medical documents to their child’s health record. Families will be receiving an email inviting them to log into the Health Portal.
Please note that even if parents opt in to consent for administration of over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol and Ibuprofen, a doctor’s note will still be required for elementary students to receive any medication at school. Middle and high school students can receive Tylenol and Ibuprofen with parent consent.
Playing for Parker
This year, students will be participating in our annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament, at Parker, with all money proceeds supporting the Parker PTO. Students are also allowed to bring in canned goods to be donated to the Reading Food Pantry in lieu of a monetary donation. If choosing to donate money, each student can donate a minimum of $5 in order to participate in the tournament, with 100% of the money raised going directly to the Parker PTO. In case of financial hardship, please contact Mrs. Rubino or Mr. Peledge and arrangements can be made so as not to preclude your student from taking part in the tournament.
Please make all checks payable directly to “Parker PTO.”
The tournament will take place on Friday, February 17th, during the regular school day to better allow all students who are interested in participating to be part of this fun day!
Please return a team sheet with participant’s names, parent signature, and donations to Mr. Gibbs or Mrs. Esdra, by Thursday February 9th, 2023.
More Free Math Tutoring Available
Click here for the lottery for Swim Buddies, the Burbank YMCA's Adaptive Swim Lesson program for children ages K-5.
See the attached flyer for SPLASH! the new free adaptive water exercise program at the Burbank YMCA for ages 18+. Both programs are provided at no cost to participants thanks to Town of Reading ARPA funds.
Click here for slides from our January 17th presentation on Special Needs Planning. Attorney Lisa Cukier presented an overview of topics such as wills, guardianship, custody, special needs trusts, and more. Video of this presentation will be coming! We plan to do a more in-depth follow up on specific topics of interest to our parents. Please fill out this brief 2-page survey to let us know what you'd like.
Seeking 3-4 parents to meet with Student Services approximately every other month to hear updates about implementation of recommendations from the recent Program Reviews (SAIL, SOAR, REACH, EMBARK, RISE). Email sepacreading@gmail.com to participate.
Mark Your Calendars!
WHAT: Bullying: What Parents Need to Know
WHERE: Virtual Parent Training, Zoom
WHEN: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Click here to register (you MUST pre-register to get the zoom link)
Parents and professionals are welcome to join this extremely important discussion which will cover the following topics: What is bullying? What are the school’s legal obligations to prevent and address bullying? What are some strategies and tools for dealing with bullying? How to address bullying on the IEP?
For much more information about the Special Education Parent Advisory Council, click here for our latest newsletter.
We encourage you to join SEPAC's mailing list, follow SEPAC on Facebook, and follow SEPAC on Instagram
To report absences...
Order your yearbook
The online site is now ready to take orders for yearbooks. See the information below.
Parker Middle School’s full color, 48-page yearbook features portraits of your friends, teachers and administrators, school events, groups and clubs. This keepsake will leave you with a lasting memory of your 2022-2023 year. All grades are represented.
Please note, you may be prompted to create an account before you purchase. Yearbooks are $24 plus a small service fee. Due to anticipated supply chain delays, the last day to order your book is May 5, 2023. The link to order is below.
School ID: 710308
Reach out to Robyn Ferrazzani with any questions.
🍃🏵 🍃🏵 🍃🏵 🍃🏵
Mark your calendars!
Please mark your calendars for MCAS testing dates:
Grade 8 ELA: Tuesday, April 4 and Wednesday, April 5
Grade 7 ELA: Monday, April 10 and Tuesday, April 11
Grade 6 ELA: Wednesday, April 12 and Thursday, April 13
Grade 8 Math: Tuesday, May 2 and Wednesday, May 3
Grade 7 Math: Thursday, May 4 and Friday, May 5
Grade 6 Math: Tuesday, May 9 and Wednesday, May 10
Grade 8 STE: Tuesday, May 16 and Wednesday, May 17
Reading METCO Found Family Program
Resources and Documents for Families
About us
Principal
Mr. Jason Peledge
Assistant Principal
Email: rochelle.rubino@reading.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.reading.k12.ma.us/parker/
Location: 45 Temple Street, Reading, MA, USA
Phone: 781-944-1236
Twitter: @WSParkerMS