DNA - District News & Announcements
November 2022
District News and Announcements
November 2022
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OVERVIEW & DNA INTRODUCTION
This newsletter is affectionately called the DNA because it's a beautiful collection of unique stories and experiences contributing to the development and function of our school communities. (Also it's an acronym for District News and Announcements ;) )
We hope you enjoy seeing some of these behind the scenes stories and will join your fellow community members at upcoming events!
A Celebration of Early College and Affordability Efforts
This past Thursday, November 17, 2022, Framingham Public Schools hosted the Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Secretary of Education James Peyser, Commissioner of Higher Education (DHE) Noe Ortega, Senate President Karen Spilka, Framingham State University President Dr. Nancy Niemi, Mass Bay Community College President David Podell and legislators alongside Framingham High School and local college students for a roundtable discussion. Moderated by Dr. Tremblay, this roundtable allowed students to share their experiences, including the ways Early College programming and financial aid initiatives, like MassGrant Plus, allowed them the opportunity to pursue college courses, credits and degrees.
In Framingham, students are introduced to an Early College program starting in 8th grade. Currently, there are 257 students enrolled, and the number is expected to double over the next 18 months. To date, students have collectively earned 2,100 college credits, a savings of nearly $500,000 in tuition for families. All students have faculty and teacher support in addition to academic tutoring, wellness meetings, college readiness and career exploration excursions and enrichment.
You can watch the YouTube Livestream: https://youtu.be/OPd8LFAPKcY.
"Our Early College efforts have been years in the making and with even more growth on the horizon,” said Framingham Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Tremblay.“Our collaborative efforts across the city's range of educational partners, from PreK through 16, have indeed captured the attention of many and our students remain the greatest beneficiary of this collaboration with the incredible support of the leadership of the Commonwealth."
Thank you to Operation Warm for Providing Winter Coats to McCarthy Students!
On Thursday, November 17, 2022, Operation Warm distributed winter coats to every student at McCarthy Elementary School. Classes were called down to the gymnasium where volunteers were matched up with individual students to help guide them through the process of choosing their brand new coat. After performing a brief fit-test, students’ names were written on their coats, then students signed a Thank You banner for the sponsors and program supporters.
“We are so appreciative and thankful for this outpouring of generosity,” said Cynthia Page, Principal of McCarthy Elementary School. “Not only will our students be kept warm traveling to and from McCarthy school each day, they will know they are a part of a larger, kind, caring and supportive community.”
Character Trait of the Month: Gratitude
Gratitude is being thankful and showing appreciation and kindness. This month, the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum is all connected to this theme/trait and is supported with activities during morning meeting, mindfulness, discussions, books, art, team-building, games and more!
7 Conversation Starters About Gratitude:
- Who are the people in your life that you are thankful for?
- Can you think of three people you would like to write a thank you letter to? Who are they and what would you say? (If you have time, write those letters!)
- Can you name three things that you are grateful for or three things that made you smile today?
- How can we remind ourselves to be satisfied with the good things already in our lives?
- What is the difference between what you need and what you want?
- Is it wrong to want something more when you have so much?
- Is it hard to feel grateful when you’ve had a difficult day?
In partnership with Open Spirit in Framingham, check out these custom made videos about our theme of the month. They include mindfulness and yoga with our themes.
What Are You Grateful For? - Guided Meditation
What Are You Grateful For? -Portuguese
What Are You Grateful For? -Spanish
Moving With Gratitude - Yoga Practice
Good News Network
If your child's school is not included below, that does not mean they aren't doing wonderful, exciting things! We look forward to sharing even more news and updates in the Good News Network section of future District Newsletters!
Submit your good news to communications@framingham.k12.ma.us for a special shoutout in future newsletters and social media posts!
Pumpkin Walk at B.L.O.C.K.S.
Here are pics of the BLOCKS Pumpkin Walk held last Friday that we instituted many years ago as part of a Fall Seasonal theme and in place of any Halloween activities/parade. Each classroom gets one pumpkin purchased by our PTO and the class chooses a favorite book/character/learning theme and they collaboratively decorate the pumpkin. The pumpkins are placed on the edge of the woods by the path at JH for viewing by students during the day.
Literations at Stapleton, McCarthy & Harmony Grove!
The following excerpt was submitted by Rosalia Morel, Framingham Program Coordinator at Literations. Please feel free to contact Rosalia for more information about this incredible program. She can be reached by email or by phone (617-399-4662)
Literations matches older adult volunteer literacy coaches with 1st through 4th graders to help them become strong readers, develop confidence, and unleash their potential in the classroom and beyond. We are overjoyed to begin our second school year in Framingham helping students improve on their reading skills.
This year, in addition to serving students at Stapleton and McCarthy, we are excited to begin serving students at Harmony Grove. So far, the school year has been off to a wonderful start for volunteers and students alike. We currently have 40 volunteers serving over 80 students at our Framingham schools, with hopes to continue to grow our program as the school year progresses.
Learn more about Literations by visiting their website https://www.literations.org/ or following them on Facebook and Instagram.
Congratulations to Sam Burgess!
On Friday, November 11th, FHS Senior Sam Burgess won the MIAA Division 1A State Cross Country championship with a time of 14.38.9, breaking the course record! Burgess, who will run at Harvard, is one of the top runners in the country. He was also named the 2021-22 Gatorade Massachusetts Boys Cross-Country Player of the Year.
Belonging, Acceptance, and Expansion at Walsh!
Belonging & Acceptance: Ukrainian students at Walsh were overjoyed when the school purchased their county's flag, so it could be seen in the cafeteria. Belonging & Acceptance is what Walsh is about!
Save The Date- School of Rock: Walsh Middle School Theatre Arts is presenting School of Rock on December 9th at 7pm and December 10 at 2pm and 7pm. They will also have an open dress rehearsal on December 8th at 7pm. This production is the first for Walsh to include students playing in the band live on stage as part of the musical. There are over 100 students involved on and back stage!
School of Rock is the story of Dewey Finn, a wanna-be rock start that impersonates a substitute teacher and shows a group of prep school students the importance of music and finding their voice. Tickets for Friday and Saturday can be purchased starting November 25th at showtix4u.com.
King's Care and Share!
Food Drive: The King Fifth Grade team organized a very successful food drive for Daniel's Table. The whole King community came together for a great cause. See a recent article in the Patch:
Donation From Framingham 5th Graders Comes When It's Needed Most
Gratitude ROCKS: King Elementary School specialists helped organize a school-wide art project called "Gratitude ROCKS!" where students and staff decorated rocks to show what they're grateful for. Aligning with the Character Trait of the Month, these rocks will be used to decorate King's campus and put a smile on people's faces. Dr Tremblay was even able to get in on the fun and show his gratitude for Friends!
Unity at Cameron
Last month, Cameron students explored the artistic and symbolic concept of unity by reflecting on their values with this wall quilt inspired by Each/Other, a collaborative community artwork by indigenous artists Mari Watts and Chanupa Hanska Lugar.
Kudos and Gratitude for FHS Student Volunteers
The following information was pulled from a letter to the FHS Administration from Carol Phalen, Elections Supervisor, in response to FHS students helping with local elections.
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We are so grateful to Victoria Martins, Ruby Alberti, Paige Palma, Micah Mayborn & Thomas Morningstar who worked the State Primary on September 6th and/or the State Election on November 8th!
Students filled two volunteer roles:
- Greeter: the first person to 'greet' voters as they enter their respective polling location
- Inspector: the person who checks voters in at the polling place, announcing and checking the name(s) on the voting list and handing out the ballot.
In her letter, Carol Phelan shared, "We heard nothing but rave reviews from all of the Building Wardens, Clerks and Voters about these five students! It is quite a long day, from 6:30am-8:30pm, with a 1 hour break off site for lunch, and other on site breaks. The students remained professional, upbeat and pleasant to all throughout the entire time! We hope this was an enjoyable experience for them in civic participation! We certainly look forward to these five working with us again in the future, and to reaching out to FHS each spring and summer for the pending fall elections for other students who may also enjoy the experience."
FHS Food Service Staff Shout Out
Amidst the crowds and chaotic scene that the FHS cafeteria can be at certain times there are employees who provide service to the kids and they go mostly unrecognized.
Since I’ve been doing lunch duty this year I have once again seen the effort and hard work that people do on a daily basis to keep things going. I want to recognize the extra effort of some employees who deserve at the very least a shout out. Mary, Gina, and Lucy pictures below serve nearly 800 meals a day and they do it with a kind manner and a smile on their face. They’re inspiring to watch because their interactions with the students are always positive and respectful. They take pride in their work and I don’t know about anyone else but they make my day better as they work to take care of the students.
Operation Gratitude at Cameron
Thank you to all students, staff, and community members that supported our Veterans Day Note-Raiser and Fundraiser. We were able to send out several dozen thank you notes to be included in Operation Gratitude care packages! Thank you to Christine Frazier, Social Studies Department Head, for organizing this project.
Brophy Engineers, Scientists, and Explorers at Work!
Kindergarten Field Trip to the Station 3: This week Brophy Elementary School's Class of 2035 visited Framingham Fire Department (Station 3). They learned some fire safety tips and got to see the fire trucks. Given the timing of this field trip and Dr. Tremblay's residency schedule - he was able to attend the field trip with students!
Engineering Lesson with Ms. Delahunty: At Brophy this week kindergarten students listened to the story Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing by April Jones, about how 21 elephants walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to prove that the bridge was strong enough. Then students had to think like an engineer/scientist and worked with a partner to create a bridge that could hold 21 bears!
FHS Marching Band are NESBA Champions!
On Sunday, October 30th, the Framingham Flyer Marching Band and Colorguard became the NESBA Division III champions!!! They competed at Reading Memorial High School and earned the top overall score of 95.3, which earned them a Platinum medal AND won best drum major!
This is the crowning achievement on an incredible season of triumphs. We are so proud of our students and our coaching staff, led by our Marching Band Director, Andy Jasinski! Congratulations to coaches Andy Jasinski, Diane Jasinski, Erin Morrill, Nancy Killoran, David Penn, and Leigh Schoepflin!
Good News from Barbieri!
Barbieri has been celebrating the character trait of the month, Gratitude, all over the school! Every student read the book Thank you Omu by Oge Mora with Ms. Trosello. They learned about how to write notes of gratitude to people in their lives. Bulletin boards have also been created by our art teachers Sra. Dillon and Ms. Marcelin as a place that students write notes of gratitude to fill Omu's stew! Students have been able to share being grateful for everything from their families, foods, their dogs to the special people at Barbieri.
Ultimate Hawk Challenge
Barbieri students spent weeks preparing for the Ultimate Hawk Challenge. They created team names for their classroom, watched videos to learn about the challenge and spent time with the leader of the Ultimate Hawk Challenge, Mr. Watkins. On behalf of Barbieri, we thank the many family members and friends who contributed to this amazing event which our students enjoyed so much!
The Spanish Embassy Visit
Representative Caballero visited Framingham Public Schools, specifically, Barbieri School to visit our visiting teachers from Spain and experience our dual language program. He visited classrooms in grades K-5 during literacy, math and phonics instruction.
Kindergarten In House Field Trip
Kindergarten students are studying the “What is a scientist” unit. They participated in an in-house field trip where they explored the ocean and touched live sea animals! Thank you to the Barbieri PTO for sponsor this incredible experience!
Thankful / Grateful Books with Christine Carson-Bugden
Following the Character Trait and Theme of the Month, Christine Carson-Bugden, MS, OTR/L shared what she is doing with students at McCarthy, Harmony Grove, & Barbieri.
Ms. Carson-Bugden asks her Occupational Therapy (OT) and non-OT students to share and write about what they are thankful or grateful for. Students make the entire book using stencils, rulers, gems to decorate the cover, ribbon to tie the book closed, and 3-lined writing paper to write 4 entries in their books over this month. This activity started about 8 years ago and many students have been able to learn about gratitude, think about what they may be grateful for with staff assistance, and then write about their thoughts in a handmade book that they make.
It's a very fun project where students use a lot of hand, drawing & writing skills to address their OT benchmarks. Because many of Christine's classes are push-in, non-OT students are also able make books at the same time - increasing the reach of this project.
Shout-out to Fuller Middle School!
Parent Teacher Home Visits: Shout-out to Fuller Middle School for doing 38 home visits since September! And very special recognition goes to Portuguese Language Arts and ESL teacher, Marcia Passos, who has been on 34 of these 38 visits! Way to go Fuller!
Bilingual is my Superpower! Teachers in the TBE program at Fuller Middle School worked with students at the beginning of the year to celebrate their multilingualism and instill in them a sense of pride in being bilingual. Students wrote statements about what multilingualism means to them which are hanging on two bulletin boards in the school. The are also "Bilingual is my Superpower!" signs hanging in the cafeteria at Fuller. Way to go, Fuller TBE and ELD teachers!
Freedom Starts Now: At Fuller Middle School, the student group Freedom Starts Now, were involved in creating and collecting art and writing about cultural diversity for a display at Framingham Court House. They created a slide show and posters to inform everyone and we collected work from students and staff. The display went live on the Court House walls starting Monday, October 24th!
FHS Interns with Framingham History Center
This semester, three wonderful Multilingual FHS students are doing an internship with the Framingham History Center. They are working with Curator Stacen Goldman and Programs & Education Director Laura Rankin to develop a 4-language traveling exhibition about the history of supports for immigrants in Framingham. The exhibit will "tour" different locations in Framingham later this winter.
In-House and In-Person Field Trip Spotlight at Stapleton
A Trip to Framingham History Center: Third graders across the District are visiting the Framingham History Center! Recently, Stapleton's 3rd graders went on their first ever field trip! Some students have never taken a bus prior to this trip and were SO excited. The trip aligns with the current social studies unit, so students were very proud to share their knowledge of Framingham as well as Massachusetts history. Stapleton students were all so engaged and excited to learn even more about Framingham.
Hands-On Learning at Stapleton (with a twist): Framingham Public Schools partnered with Regis College of Dental Hygiene to provide dental education to the 2nd grade students at Stapleton Elementary. Dental Hygiene students prepared engaging lessons for the students that included flossing practice using an ice tray, play dough and fun colored pipe cleaners. The students also practiced brushing techniques and learned what foods are healthy for their growing teeth.
Dual Language Program Updates
Check out the great things happening within our Dual Language Programs in their November Smore!
Need / Want a Job? We Are Hiring!
Under the direction of the Principal or their designee, the campus aide provides supervision and direction to students in areas of the school campus and maintains classroom continuity to ensure that students continue to learn in their teacher’s absence in order to promote a safe environment for students and staff during classroom and non-classroom activities and to deliver Framingham Public Schools’ high expectations for achievement, equal access to high levels of instruction, the achievement of academic proficiency for all students, and the closing of the achievement gap among subgroups within the schools.
Community Corner
City of Framingham: Annual Tree Lighting Event
Save the date! The City of Framingham will be hosting its Annual Tree Lighting Event on 12/2 from 5:30-7:30PM. Framingham Public Schools will have a few tables at this block-party style event which takes place at the Memorial Building.
Girls Inc. STEM Leadership Opportunity
Eureka! Metrowest is expanding to the Metrowest area! Girls Inc. of Worcester inspires girls to be strong, smart and bold. One of their elite programs, Eureka!, is a year-round, five-year STEM intensive program that engages and empowers 8th-12th grade girls as they develop confidence and discover leadership and academic opportunities in STEM fields.
They are now serving the Metrowest area including Ashland, Framingham, Hopkinton, Marlborough, Natick, and Wayland. Learn more and/or apply to be part of this incredible STEM & Leadership program: https://www.girlsincworcester.org/eureka-metrowest
Website Update
The Media and Communications Office continues to update school websites! In the last month, we launched Barbieri, King, and Brophy. These new sites join Stapleton, Hemenway, Harmony Grove, McCarthy, and Dunning! Following Dr. Tremblay's residency schedule - we are able to capture photos and videos from each school to give them unique highlight reels. Stay tuned for more site completions!
We appreciate your patience as we work collaboratively to update site content, including staff directories with photos!
Submit Your Good News!
The Media and Communications Office hopes to increase the frequency of these good news and opportunity compilations. We are improving and refining the submission process over time and always appreciate hearing from staff, parents/guardians, and students with events, accolades, shoutouts, and more.
The mission of the Framingham Public Schools is to educate each student to learn and live productively as a critically-thinking, responsible citizen in a multicultural, democratic society by providing academically challenging instructional programs taught by highly-qualified staff and supported by comprehensive services in partnership with our entire community. For news, updates, and announcements, follow Framingham Public Schools (@FraminghamPS) on Facebook, Twitter, and (@framinghamschools) on Instagram. You can also join the conversation using #FraminghamSchools.