The Coolidge Family Newsletter
July Update
Brought to you by Sarah Marchant, Principal
A Message from Principal Marchant
The building has been busy with our extended year programming, which I selfishly enjoy, as it gives the building some fun energy and it gets Ms. Karow and me out of the office to interact with students and staff, which is our happy place. The Reading Rec camp is also here, which is fun. Our Administrative Secretary Ms. Zanni is busy inputting scheduling information and organizing for the year ahead. Our custodians, Mr. Trites and Mr. Lavolette, are working hard to clean every room from top to bottom and to return our building into more of its normal form. So the building is busy, although we miss those who are not here!
Every night the news is abuzz about the Covid Delta Variant and impending mask mandates and school health and safety plans. We await official guidance from the state on this; when determined, the plan will be communicated both at the building and district level. Despite potential pending mask mandates, we are planning to go back to a more normal way of running the school, such as having students move from classroom to classroom with their group rather than stay in one place. We will also return to 50 minute classes rather than 80 minute classes. So even if we do end up wearing masks again, at least many of our routines will not be stymied by protocols. And of course we will continue to practice good hand hygiene, etc.
As we move into August, things will begin to shift gears in the district as we prepare for the start of the school year. I will be attending a few retreat days with the newly formed district administrative team, which is exciting. There will be various trainings, as well as some Advisory work by teachers (more information below). I will send another newsletter in August with more updates about the start of the year!
I wish you all a healthy and happy few weeks! :)
Dates of Note
July 6 - August 9: Extended School Year
August 24 & 25: Welcome to Coolidge. Spots are still available! To sign up, click here.
- Session 1: 8:00 - 10:00
- Session 2: 10:30 - 12:30
August 30: First day back for staff.
September 1: First day of school.
September 3 & 6: No School (Labor Day weekend)
September 23: Early Release (12:30); Middle Level Evening Open House (parents/ caregivers): 6:00 - 8:00 PM.
To access the District Calendar, click here. Please make note of the middle level early release dates, which are marked in blue.
Teams, Groups, & Schedules: When Will We Let You Know?
- 6th grade teams: We will send these out by the end of next week! There are always many moving parts with our incoming 6th graders, so we prefer to hold off on sharing teams until we feel confident that there will not be a need for changes.
- Groups: All students will learn of their groups when they get their schedules through the Portal in late August (before August 24/ Welcome to Coolidge). This is also when 8th graders will learn what electives they have been assigned, and also when all grades will learn their enrichment classes.
Staffing Updates
- Three special education program paraeducators.
- French teacher (one year position); we are in the process of interviewing some candidates!
- NEW Special Education Teacher, SOAR program.
We also want to wish the following staff well as they have decided to move on from their positions at Coolidge:
- Annie Burns, paraeducator
- Peggy Wass, paraeducator
- Mario Santiago, Spanish teacher
We are happy to welcome back Cindy Barbera and Kerry Lewis. Cindy (a former Coolidge teacher) is returning to work on Team Pegasus, where she will teach 7th grade Spanish. Kerry is returning as a paraeducator in our SAIL/Compass program!
Building & Technology Updates
SMART Boards: All old SMART boards will be replaced, and some rooms that didn't have SMART boards will acquire them! This will be of tremendous help to the facilitation of lessons in all spaces.
Fitness Center: Our very old cardio fitness equipment will be replaced with new ellipticals and treadmills. We look forward to being able to provide this resource for the health of our students as part of the Wellness program!
Summer Advisory Work
The team (consisting of six teachers and the two administrators) will be utilizing the following as resources in our discussions and planning:
- Web resource: Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance): We have used this as a resource for Advisory and they recently updated their teacher resources.
- Web resource: Facing History and Ourselves: We have used this as a resource for Advisory and they recently updated their teacher resources (activities can be explored here).
- Book: Being the Change (Ahmed)
- Book: This Book is Anti-Racist (Jewell)
- Book: The Power Book: What is it? Who has it and Why? (Saunders) (This looks like a children's book, but is very dense. We may use material from the book as a jumping off point for ideas and conversations).
Free & Reduced Lunch Application
In a typical year, the cost of meals are free or reduced for those who qualify using the "Free & Reduced Lunch" application. The application actually has more benefits than just breakfast/ lunch. If families fill out the form (p. 11), as well as the "Share" form on page 10, then those who qualify can also qualify for assistance for things like after school activities and field trips.
If you are someone who thinks you may qualify, please consider filling it out so that we can help you in various areas over the course of the year! We can't actually help without this form! Click here to access the form.
School Supplies
School Supply Lists 2021-2022
For those who want to have supplies sent to you directly, go to the next section!
School Toolkits Ready for Order
SUMMER RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES
Middle School Summer Reading List is Here!
High School Summer Enrichment & Reading Opportunities
Recommended Reading Resources from SEPAC
Summer STEM Opportunities
Reading Recreation: Summer Opportunities for Middle Schoolers!
Reading Public Library: Teen Opportunities
Teen Summer Reading Program: Tails & Tales (June 21 - August 14)
For teens entering grades 6-12, play Teen BINGO to earn prizes! Visit the library to register and pick up a BINGO card, or get started online. And don't miss out on teen events happening all summer long! For more information and a calendar of events, go to: Tails and Tales: 2021 Summer Reading Program
Additional Resources for Families
- Town of Reading: compiled resources linked here.
- Mental Health Resource list linked here.
- RCASA resources linked here.
- St. Vincent de Paul linked here.
- Free & Reduced lunch access: sign up here. (but ANYONE can get free lunch; the "Share" portion of the form allows us to help with other things as well!)
- Reading Food Pantry linked here.
- Project Bread link here.
- Free Meals Flyer here.
How to Translate This Newsletter
- Portuguese: Na caixa preta na parte superior do boletim, selecione Traduzir Boletim informativo para escolher o idioma desejado.
- Spanish: En el cuadro de Negro en la parte superior del boletín de noticias, seleccione Traducir Boletín de escoger el idioma deseado.
Vietnamese: Trong hộp đen ở đầu bản tin, chọn Dịch bản tin để chọn ngôn ngữ mong muốn
Polish: W czarnym polu u góry biuletynu wybierz Przetłumacz biuletyn, aby wybrać żądany język
Contact Us
Brienne Karow, Assistant Principal (x12302)
Marianna Zanni, Administrative Assistant (x12303)
Karen Mungenast, School Secretary (x12304)
Cindy Ventura, School Nurse (x12305)
Matthew Darling, Technology Integration Specialist (matthew.darling@reading.k12.ma.us)
Email: sarah.marchant@reading.k12.ma.us
Website: reading.k12.ma.us/coolidge
Location: 89 Birch Meadow Drive, Reading, MA, USA
Phone: 781-942-9158
Twitter: @coolidgemiddle