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| Superintendent's Corner
Mark Donovan |
 In the Woburn Public Schools, we serve more than 4700 students ranging from pre-kindergarten to grade 12. With such a large number of students, it is almost inevitable that some of our students and their families will be touched by some kind of tragic event. Recently, our school community has been affected by some of these events. While these times can be painful for everyone involved, our staff members have done some extraordinary things to support people in these situations. I won't list examples of some of the things our staff members have done, but I do want to recognize the people who go far beyond their assigned duties to show how much they care about the students they serve. I'm very proud to be the Superintendent of a school district where support for students is high--especially in times of crisis. |
Nominate a Great Teacher
Dr. Gary Reese
Assistant Superintendent
for Curriculum
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Anyone can nominate a great teacher - administrators, other teachers, students, parents, and community members. More information about each of these programs is available on the Woburn Public Schools website at http://woburnps.com/home/ in the announcements section of the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum page (this page can be found in the 'Departments' section of the website).
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Special Education: Parents' Rights Brochure
Mrs. Christine Lenahan
Director of Special Education
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On the Special Education Department page under shared documents, you will find the "Notice of Procedural Safeguards" (formerly known as the "Parents Rights Brochure).
IDEA 2004 now requires that school districts must distribute this notice once per year when the initial evaluation is requested by the parent and upon disciplinary removal to an interim alternative setting.
We hope that by providing the notice on our district's web site, you will have greater access to the requirements of special education and the related laws and regulations.
You can find the Parents' Rights Brochure by going to woburnpublicschools.com and following this path: Departments > Special Education > Shared Documents > Parents' Rights Information.
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Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Program
Mr. Joseph Elia
Assistant Superintedent for Finance |
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During difficult financial times, the unexpected loss of a job can create circumstances for families that they never faced before. I want to remind you that we accept applications for free or reduced-price lunch throughout the school year. Students who receive free or reduced-price lunch are not singled out in any way. Their participation in the program is anonymous.
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| Please forward our newsletter! |
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 We're trying to spread the good news about the Woburn Public Schools. At this point, we have more than 900 subscribers to the newsletter. We'd like to raise that number to 1500 over the next few months. You can help by forwarding this newsletter to anyone who you think might be interested--grandparents, aunts and uncles, students away at college, current and former residents of Woburn, etc. Urge these recipients to subscribe to our newsletter.
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| Greetings! |
Welcome to our newsletter! This publication is designed to keep you informed about what's happening in the Woburn Public Schools. In each newsletter we'll include contributions from some of our schools as well as articles from the district in general. Be sure to visit woburnpublicschools.com for the most current information about our schools. |
The Old Goodyear School
Mark Donovan
Superintendent of Schools |
If you haven't been by the Goodyear School site recently, you already know that the demolition of the old building is nearly complete. There is a certain sadness in seeing a venerable old building with a rich history come down, but we know that this activity is a necessary step in providing our students and our city with a beautiful new school. (See related article.)
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The New Goodyear School
Mark Donovan
Superintendent of Schools |
Drawing by Tappe Associates
I'm pleased to report that the new Goodyear School Building Project is proceeding full-speed ahead. The project is on schedule, and all of the timelines are being met. Tappe Associates has provide us with some drawings that show what the new school will look like. I've included one example here. Stay tuned to our web site--woburnpublicschools.com--for more drawings.
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Woburn Memorial High School: The "Woburn Reads" Community Reading Program
Art Students
WMHS |
 Mrs. Susan Thifault's computer graphics classes at
Woburn Memorial High School have recently finished book jacket designs for the upcoming community-wide "Woburn Reads" program. Mrs. Thifault was asked to participate in this community-wide reading program by Mrs. Therese Taranto, WMHS school librarian. Mrs. Thifault worked with Mrs. Taranto and the Friends of the Woburn Public library, who are members of the Woburn Rea ds committee, to develop an idea for a project that would be part of the kick-off event held at Woburn Memorial High School. Mrs. Thifault and her students decided that a book jacket design would be appropriate for the event. Students learned the history and important marketing aspects of a book jacket while working on this project. They had to design the front, back, spine and flaps of the book jacket on the computer  using the software programs Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Students were asked to create their own story that related to the book "Dark Tide" which was written about the 1919 Molasses Flood in Boston. Their story was then depicted on the cover of their book jackets.
All of the book jacket designs will be on display at WMHS on the evening of February 1, 2010 when the Woburn Historical Society presents their program "Great Diasters from Woburn's Past". Mrs Thifault stated, "It is really important for the students to see what they learn in the classroom really applies to careers in the real world. I truly enjoy working with the community on these types of projects because it allows my students to take pride in their hard work and to see their artwork being displayed outside of the classroom and for the Woburn community to enjoy."
Book jacket designs by (top to bottom): Kathryn Thifault, Alyssa Domenici, Lauren Graham, and Craig Silva
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Kennedy Middle School: Giving Tree
Gabriella D.
Student Reporter |
 The Giving Tree began last year to help students receive
gifts during the holiday. The
principals of the elementary schools send names of students that they feel may
benefit from the Giving Tree. When
we receive the names we put up mittens on a tree in the office which tells how
old the child is and what they may want for Christmas. The mittens are then taken off the tree
by parents and they buy a gift for that child.
When the school receives all the gifts the peer mediators
wrap them up. Then the gifts are
shipped back to the elementary schools for distribution. Last year we helped
over 150 families and this year we helped over 230 families. This is a tradition that the Kennedy
would like to continue for a long time.
Also, thanks to Mrs. Robertson for all of her hard work and also to all
of the people who generously contributed to this wonderful event. |
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Shamrock School: Stone Soup
Ryan M.
Student Reporter |
To conclude the Shamrock preschool's unit on the book, Stone Soup, the preschool made their own stone soup. Students were asked to bring in various food items such as potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, salt, celery, and pepper. The teachers found a stone and either boiled or washe d it to get it clean and put it in the pot. Some teachers brought in a soup bone. Every student was offered soup. Some of the kids liked it, but nobody asked for seconds. The preschoolers got to help by chopping vegetables with plastic knives, washing them, and putting them in the pot. It sounds like so much fun, it makes you want to go to preschool again! |
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Shamrock School: Grade 4 Students Visit the Commonwealth Museum
Jason C.
Student Reporter |
Before vacation the Shamrock fourth graders went on a trip to the Commonwealth Museum in Boston. One gallery that they visited held primary documents where they viewed the original Massachusetts Bill of Rights. Another gallery contained many kinds of maps of our state. 
Students got to see a movie about workers going on strike. The kids had so much fun pretending that they were working as children did back then. They also learned interesting facts about Mssachusetts, such as the state beverage is cranberry juice, the state dessert is Boston Cream Pie and the state dog is the Boston Terrier. The fourth graders learned many great things about our state. |
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Malcolm White School: A Visit to the IMAX Theater
Anne C.
Student Reporter |
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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is about a mean, old and quick-tempered man. He was
mean to every body and got a warning to change by the ghost of his old partner
who passed away seven years ago.
His old partner, Jacob Marley, said that if he didn't clean up his act,
bad things would happen to him. He
didn't care, so three ghosts haunted him. They were the ghosts of the past, present, and the future.
He saw his past and his present and he cried. Then, the future spirit came and he saw
that he was going to die if he didn't have respect for others. He had to become less selfish. He got a second chance and he changed
his mean old ways. He was never a
"scrooge" again.
Malcolm White students saw this movie at Jordan's IMAX
Theater. The main character was
Ebeneezer Scrooge, played by Jim Carey.
He is an awesome actor and played the part well. I really liked this movie and would
recommend it for people over age 8 because some parts are dark and scary. I had a great time!
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Joyce Middle School: Hearts for Haiti
Stephanie K.
Student Reporter |
On January 12th 2010, the world was
shocked when they heard the news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Along with everyone else, the students
of the Joyce Middle School wanted to help contribute money. We decided to donate money to
Partners in Health, an organization in Boston Massachusetts that has been
working on the grounds in Haiti for over twenty years bringing medical ca re to
poor communities.
Over the last two weeks at the Joyce, students worked
extremely hard to raise money for the Hearts for Haiti Fund. My school took
this cause very seriously and we used every opportunity we could to try and
raise money for the people who experienced the tragic earthquakes. Some of the activities we did were
selling Hearts during lunch and activity periods, and donating money. The
members of best buddies were kind enough to make special Hearts when they met
with their club. The Best Buddies program and the magazine club used their
lunch time and activity periods to sell hearts to students in all grades. The
students who purchased a Heart would then write a message on the front for
someone in Haiti to read. The dollar they used to buy the Heart would also be
put towards the cause.
In addition, the Eighth Grade Green Team had a different
way of raising money for the people of Haiti. All the teachers on the team set
out big containers for their students to collect as much money as possible in
one week. Some of the kids put in some spare change they had while others made generous
donations, but every little bit counted. At the end of the week, the homeroom
who raised the most money would win a pizza party to show thanks to the
students who showed the most support. The Green Team raised over five hundred
dollars! Along with the
money raised by selling Hearts, the Joyce Middle School raised over twelve-hundred
dollars to donate to the people of Haiti!
As the president of Best Buddies and a member of the Eighth Grade Green
Team, it was an honor for me to help raise money for the people of Haiti. I
hope that we have helped many people and we were glad to contribute to the
fund. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Haitian community.
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Kennedy Middle School: Math/Science Superbowl at Gillette Stadium
Gabriella D.
Student Reporter |
 The Math/Science Superbowl will be held at Gillette
Stadium on Saturday, January 30th. There
will be seven towns competing and each team consists of six seventh
grade students. There are four quarters and five
questions per quarter. All of the questions deal with either math or
science. Competing for the
Kennedy
Middle School will
be Alex Brodeur, Brian McCarthy, Bobby Ferullo, Jake Hogan, Cory Daly,
Zach Baker. Each
team will get two minutes to answer each question. Each
member of the winning team will receive a $1,000
scholarship. After the competition takes place all students and their
families will get passes to visit Patriots
Place.
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Clapp-Goodyear School: Community Service Projects that Help Others
Patrick, Julian, Brian, Cali, and Haley
Student Reporters |
 A 5th grade group has been doing
community service projects. Our first project was collecting candy and
sending it to two different places; the Woburn Council for Social
Concern and troops stationed in Iraq. Kids were nice enough to pitch
in. Our second project was decorating scarves and raffling them off
to our book buddies in kindergarten and first grade. It's hard work but
it makes you feel good inside.
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Wyman School: Learning Science and Engineering Concepts Using Legos
Mr. Paul McQuilkin
Principal |
For the past three years, the first grade students at Wyman School
have been
participating in a program on science and engineering using Legos. Once a
week, parent volunteers come to the classrooms and assist the teachers
with lessons
using kits donated by the Lego Lab at Tufts University. This collaborative effort was organized by parent Elissa
Milto who works at the University. The program has moved up with her
daught er and is now
being used in third grade as well.
As an added bonus, the
students take a year-end field trip to the Lego Lab at Tufts to see some
of the
interesting work going on there.
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Clapp-Goodyear School: Go for the Gold and Read!
Mrs. Christine Kelley
Principal |
Did you know that the Winter Olympic 2010 have moved locations and are now
in Woburn, MA? Well, it's
true! Sort of!
Students at the Clapp-Goodyear are taking part in their own Olympic
Ceremonies. The students are
participating in a five-week reading incentive program entitled, "Go for the Gold
 and Read!" Each night the children
are being asked to exercise their minds and read. By keeping track of
their reading in their training logs and
reading more than the expectation, they can earn gold medals. Each gold
medal gives a child a chance
to receive a torch tribute. These
tributes are special activities that are completed around the school.
The staff of the Clapp-Goodyear has
been creative in coming up with things such as: Give a Shout-Out to your Friends over the Intercom, or Feed
the Fish with Miss Marcia, our custodian.
The children just love to come in each day, excited to see who will win
and what fantastic prize they have received. Our entire Olympic Season was started with a real life
Olympic Opening Ceremonies. And with all the pomp and circumstance of the real
opening ceremonies; the students cheered and the athletes processed in. The
athletes were none other then the staff of the Clapp-Goodyear.
Next the boys and girls were treated to
a visit by a real life Olympic medalist. Nancy Kerrigan is an Olympic silver
and bronze medalist in figure skating and competed in both the 1992 and 1994
Olympics. Kerrigan was proud to come and talk about what it takes to accomplish
your dreams.
All of this excitement will conclude with a medal ceremony where all children
who participated will receive their gold.
At Clapp-Goodyear, we believe in our newly coined motto, "Growing
Champions." We believe that all of
our students can achieve anything they want by putting forth great effort and
never giving up!
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Linscott-Rumford School: The After-School Craze Continues
Mr. Ernie Wells
Principal |
 The Linscott-Rumford Elementary School has started Session II of the
after school program in conjuction with the Woburn Boys and Girls Club. There
are seven after-school activities with over 130 children participating. Two of the
most unique are the very popular Science Club and the Mural Project. The
Science Club is being taught by Ms. Elizabeth Miller and she is addressing many
of the standards in our curriculum through hands-on science activities. The
Mural Project is being run by Ms. Teryl Smith. Students are producing a mural of many of
the historic sites in Woburn through art and mathematics.
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