All Around APS
News from the Andover Public Schools - May 20, 2022
APS PRIDE
APS honored as Andover Rotary's "Annual Citizens Who Care"
This year, the Educator of the Year award was presented to Melanie Cutler, AHS science teacher, while AHS senior Jade Nair received honors as Student of the Year. AHS Phys Ed teacher and coach Dave Fazio and AHS alumnae Hannah Finn (AHS 20) were also honored for their work with our community.
AHS Students Receive Congressional Art Award Recognition
A special congratulations to AHS juniors James Wong & Evangelina Hesketh, who were honored at the 3rd Congressional District Art Show in May 2022. Their artwork was featured alongside other high school student artists residing in the Massachusetts 3rd district and both students met U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan, receiving a letter of congratulations for their participation in the art gallery show. The artwork on display were two photographs taken for their digital photography class taught by Erica Frisk at Andover High School.
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
APS Sixth Annual Showcase
The Sixth Annual Showcase returned to the Cormier Youth Center on Monday, May 16th, featuring projects and presentations produced by APS students. During the event, 53 AHS seniors displayed their Capstone projects ranging from STEM, Medicine, Policy and Politics to the Arts, Culture, and Identity. The night also featured fifth grade West Elementary Capstone students, which has been led by Jamie Kaplan since 2018. The evening also showcased design work from The Robotics Club, Ink Magazine, Sea Perch, Nuvu Design Labs, ESIC, Bio Builder, DEI and Global Pathways. Many thanks to Capstone Coordinator Rebecca D'Alise and the Capstone advisors for their support of our students.
AHS Global Scholars
The Global Pathways advisory team honored 37 students at the Endorsement of Global Engagement ceremony. The faculty team welcomed the families of these graduates to celebrate their learning paths as global scholars. To learn more about each student’s journey, visit the global pathways website.
AHS students to compete in FINALS on WGBH Quiz Show
It’s official, Andover High School Quiz Team Club students have reached the finals in season 13 of WGBH’s High School Quiz Show! The team will compete against North Quincy High School on Saturday, May 21 at 6PM on WGBH2 and YouTube. Good luck and thank you for representing APS!
APS HAPPENINGS & UPCOMING EVENTS
Award Winning Author Pablo Cartaya visits APS Middle Schools
Doherty and West Middle students were treated to a visit last week from Pablo Cartaya. He shared stories about his books, family, culture and community and even danced the salsa with staff members! Cartaya is an award-winning author whose books have been reviewed by The New York Times and featured in The Washington Post. He is the author of the critically acclaimed middle-grade novels The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora (a 2018 Pura Belpre Honor Book) and Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish. Many thanks to our school media librarians for coordinating the events.
South School Music Room Murals
South Elementary music teacher, Lori Pratt, thought her room needed a little color to reflect the joy music can bring to students. Mrs. Pratt applied for an Andover Coalition for Education (ACE) Teaching Innovation Fund grant so that she could hire an artist-in-residence, Janessa Durrani, to help with this project. Janessa is a local artist and her sons previously attended South Elementary school.
Janessa worked with South Elementary’s fourth grade to help inspire the design of the wall. From their inspiration, she came up with a wonderful design that really livens up the room. Fourth grade students also got a chance to be part of this mural by painting their own individual music notes that will be added to the wall and throughout the music room.
Sustainability at Wood Hill Middle School
Throughout the school year, sixth grade students in Ms. Contois’ class have been working with the non-profit organization, Change is Simple. Lessons include learning about sustainability and climate issues in the Sustainability, Climate, and Innovation Learning Lab (SCiLL), a 28-foot trailer that serves as an educational center, science lab, outdoor classroom, and workshop space. Students learned how to cut costs and reduce our carbon footprint at home through simple strategies. They also learned which engineering and design tools are used for electric car production and wind turbine builds.
High Plain Elementary Math League
Math League is a math club for second and third graders at High Plain Elementary. They meet once a week before school to work on really hard and really fun math problems together. They compete against other schools from across the country and Math League names a champion for each school. We are happy to congratulate Sam Antelo from second grade and Mateu Sampedro from third grade: High Plain school champs for this year. And a big "WELL DONE" to all of our participants!
Namaste!
Students in our Transition Opportunities Program (TOP) took advantage of the beautiful spring weather to practice yoga as part of their health education program. The students have been focused on health and wellness and healthy living.
SEPAC Parents' Night Out – May 24th
Andover Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is hosting an informal networking opportunity for Andover families on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 7:30 PM. To learn more about the SEPAC mission and to connect with other members of the SEPAC community, visit: www.andoversepac.org
Community Meeting on the New West Elementary and Shawsheen Preschool – June 7th
On Tuesday, June 7, 2022 at 6:30 p.m., Andover Public Schools will host a virtual meeting to update the community on the new West Elementary and Shawsheen Preschool. Construction began on the project during April vacation. The new West El is expected to open for the start of the 2024-25 school year and the new Shawsheen is expected to open for the start of the 2025-26 school year.
The purpose of the meeting is to update the community on the project and what to expect when school starts up again, including the changes in traffic patterns, parking, and drop off/pick up procedures that will take place during the construction.
The link to participate in the meeting is here. Registration is required and can be done at any time. If you’d like to learn more about the project, please visit the West Elementary & Shawsheen Building Project’s webpage.
From the Desk of Dr. Parvey
I want to offer my gratitude to the community for their continued support at this week’s Town Meeting.
Each year, there are warrant articles at Town Meeting that will have specific impacts on our schools. Voters approved our operating budget and capital improvement projects for the upcoming fiscal year (FY23). The FY23 budget meets all obligations, provides for an investment in instructional technology, increases the budget for student activities which will reduce student fees.
Some of the major initiatives included in the FY23 budget will expand supports for students with emotional and behavioral needs, expand instructional support for math in grades K-8, and will begin curriculum development across all grades and content areas. Additionally, we have set aside funding to add school buses to improve service on routes and have proposed a reduction in the transportation fee for grades 7-12 from $300 to $200.
This budget provides a unique opportunity to address some of the items on our to-do list, including a refresh of student and staff computer devices and much needed work at both Doherty Middle School and Andover High School through the capital projects passed by the community.
Our Town Meeting promotes civic engagement and collaboration, which are key to providing our students with access to quality learning opportunities. I appreciate the voters’ commitment to this partnership in service to all the children of this district.
Magda Parvey, Ed. D.
Superintendent
DISTRICT UPCOMING DATES & NOTES
- Memorial Day (no school) – Monday, May 30, 2022
- Early Release Day- Friday, June 3, 2022
- Last Day of School for students (Early Release Day) - June 16, 2022
School Committee
The School Committee will hold its next regular meeting on June 2, 2022. The agenda will be posted up to 48 hours in advance on our website.
COVID-19 Update
As anticipated, we have seen an increase in reported COVID-19 positive cases in the weeks following April vacation. Case numbers remain steady and reflective of the numbers the Town of Andover has reported. We encourage frequent testing in addition to additional mitigation strategies. At-Home tests kits are available for staff and students through the end of the school year. Information on enrolling in the At-Home test kit program can be found on our website.
COMMUNITY UPDATES - From the Town of Andover
Andover’s Public Works Department announces the Name the Plow winners!
- Plowy McPlowFace
- Betty Whiteout
- Shawsheen Slusher
- The Blizzard Wizard
And Happy National Public Works' Week to Andover’s DPW!
Town of Andover Memorial Day Events
The Town of Andover will be observing Memorial Day through numerous events scheduled through the month of May and concluding with a Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony on Monday May 30, 2022. All are welcome to join. A list of events can be found on the Town of Andover’s website.
About Us
Email: APSCommunications@andoverma.us
Website: aps1.net
Location: 30 Whittier Court, Andover, MA, USA
Twitter: @AndoverPS