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| Superintendent's Corner
Mark Donovan |
As you can see from this newsletter, we're in a busy time of
the school year. In addition to all of the other activities going on, MCAS
testing in English Language Arts is underway in grades 3 through 8 and grade 10
from now until the middle of April. From the middle of May until early June,
Mathematics testing takes center stage along with Science testing in some
grades. You can view the complete schedule on our calendar at
woburnpublicschools.com to see specific days and subjects for various grades.
As you are probably aware, successful completion of the MCAS assessment program
is a graduation requirement for all public high-school students in Massachusetts.
Fortunately, Woburn has historically performed very well on MCAS tests, and I'm
sure our students will continue to
be successful.
National test results have just been released, and, as
usual, Massachusetts is at the top of the list in many areas. Since our MCAS scores
are above average in a state that outscores the rest of the country, we must be
doing something right. For more information about how Massachusetts compares to
the rest of the country, visit http://nationsreportcard.gov/.
The March newsletter contains many articles that provide you
with a picture of the great things going on in our school district. I want to
thank our administrative team, including our principals, and our student
reporters for their efforts to make this newsletter an important communication
tool for us and for our readers. At last count, we had more than 1050
subscribers. Thank you for reading our newsletter, and thank you for forwarding
it to others as we continue to spread the good news about the Woburn Public
Schools.
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| An International Pot-Luck Supper
Dr. Gary Reese
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum
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Jamaican macaroni and cheese, Puerto Rican arepas, Chinese
eggrolls, and Moroccan hummous were just some of the incredible dishes shared
by more than 50 people at the first annual ESL Potluck Supper for elementary
ESL students and their families.
Hosted by the Shamrock staff along with Woburn teachers, ESL families
across the district gathered on Wednesday evening, March 10th to
share food, meet new friends and play games. While children enjoyed each other's company, parents had a
chance to mingle, make new acquaintances, and chat with other families from
different countries. Families not
only had a wonderful night out showcasing their culinary skills but also their
own traditional clothing and outfits.
Truly, the ESL potluck supper was an enjoyable night for all.
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| Energy Savings in our Schools
Mr. David Dunkley
Director of Building Facilities
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During the past several years the School Department and the
City have completed numerous energy conservation projects throughout the
district. Over the past couple of
years the members of this department have been every active in their efforts
regarding energy usage. Working
with all building users the results of past projects and past conversation
efforts has produced very positive results. Ending last school year the entire district reduced energy
consumption by approximately 10%.
This current school year the past and current efforts shows even a
better projection for energy consumption - energy reduction. We, as in all of us, must all work
together to reduce our use of energy.
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| Title I: Programs for Parents and Teachers
Mrs. Donna Matrinko
Title I Director
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Woburn is a Title 1 District, meaning we acquire additional funds from
the federal government to support identified at-risk students. Presently, we service the Shamrock, Altavesta, Malcolm White, and the Linscott Elementary Schools. Funding is distributed based upon
criteria set by the federal government in regards to free and reduced
lunch. Once a school is identified to receive the funds, support staff funded solely by the grant is assigned to the school. Children receiving extra help are identified by a series of assessments.
Thankfully, we received extra ARRA (stimulus) funds which have allowed us to provide additional parent programs and professional development for teachers. Some of the parent programs for this year are as follows:
11-24-09 Key 3 Organizational
Skills
Linscott
01-28-10 Family Math
Night
Linscott
02-09-10 Key 3
Strategies
Linscott
03-03-10 Book
Making
Malcolm White
03-10-10 Key 3 Organizational
Skills
Malcolm White
Upcoming parent programs:
03-25-10 Altavesta Discipline Seminar Speaker Gene Bedley
7:00 PM
03-30-10 White Basic Facts Grades 3-5 Presenter Rosemary McGowan
6:30 PM
04-08-10 White Key 3 Strategies
6:30 PM
04-14-10 Shamrock Early Math Strategies K-2 Presenter Susan Looney 6:00 PM
04-15-10 White Number Sense Grades K-2 Rosemary McGowan
6:30 PM
04-29-10 Kennedy Parenting Expert for District Grades 4-8 7:00 PM
05-03-10 Shamrock Key 3 Comprehension Grades 2-5 6:00 PM
05-26-10 Shamrock Early Literacy Activities Grs K-2 Presenter Kathleen Ryan 6:00 PM
06-01-10 Shamrock Key 3 Organization Strategies
6:00 PM
Additional activities will be forthcoming. If you would like to attend any of these activities, please feel free to participate. If you have any questions, contact Donna Matrinko, Title 1 Director, at 781-937-8233 Ext. 230.
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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! 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. |
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REMINDER: Cyber-Safety, Texting, and Bullying Safety Conference
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Wednesday, March 31 - 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Kennedy Middle School Auditorium
Woburn Police School Resource Officer Division, Joyce and  Kennedy
PTO's are pleased to sponsor this free seminar for parents, teachers and
other interested adults.
It seems that not a day goes by without reading about bullying,
cyber-bullying, incidents of sexting and inappropriate use of social
networking websites. The internet offers almost limitless opportunities
to gain knowledge and make contact with others. When used
appropriately, it is a powerful and positive tool. However, school staff
and parents need to be aware of the risks inherent in this technology.
Participants will learn about online issues impacting youth, such as
social networking sites, predators, and sexting.
A member of the Middlesex DA's office will do a two hour presentation
on these important topics. Effective prevention and intervention
strategies for teachers, school staff and parents will be outlined and
discussed. The Middlesex District Attorney's Office Cyber Protection
Program, created in 2007 by District Attorney Gerry Leone, will also be
discussed.
For more information contact the WPD School Resource Office at
781-932-4510.
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WMHS: "Best Buddies" Participants Win Two Massachusetts Awards
Ms Gina O'Rourke
WMHS Teacher
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Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to
establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for
one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for
people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Chapter President of the Year: C.J. Lee (front center)  | The Best Buddies program at Woburn Memorial High School is
run by Chapter President-CJ Lee, Vice President Kyle Ahern, Secretary Natalie
Maguire,Treasurer Matt Hammond and Buddy Director Rahma Mutengu. The core of officers work together to
plan events and outings for the group and to help foster friendships between
buddy pairs.
This past weekend the Woburn Memorial High School Best
Buddies Chapter was recognized at the Best Buddies Annual Friendship
Relay. Each year chapters throughout
the state of Massachusetts are eligible to receive recognition for outstanding
commitment and dedication to the Best Buddies Mission. Senior C.J. Lee was awarded "Chapter President of the Year"
and Junior Lauren Graham were awarded "Chapter Member of the Chapter Member of the Year: Lauren Graham  | Year." This is a tremendous honor as they were
selected from all of the chapters in Massachusetts. They were both chosen for the awards based on the commitment
and leadership they show to the program on a daily basis. They exhibit these qualities not only
through the titles they hold, but also by the way they model a standard of
respect and acceptance for all.
Both CJ and Lauren have worked diligently to spread the word about Best
Buddies throughout the school and in turn created a very strong chapter this
year. They are both truly
deserving of these awards. Best
Buddies at Woburn Memorial High School is an extremely successful club due to
the hard work, dedication and friendship of members like C.J. and Lauren. Congratulations to C.J. and Lauren. Best Buddies at Woburn Memorial High
School is honored to have them both leading the way for our club!
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Hurld School: Helping Haiti Earthquake Victims
Mrs. Eileen Mills
Principal |
 With the help of Hurld School students, families, and community members, bottled water, clothing, medical supplies, and toiletries
left the Hurld School parking lot in early February, headed to Boston to be
loaded onto a cargo ship bound for Haiti.
Taking the lead from classmates Cole and Olivia Mackey,
students began collecting goods at the school just days after the earthquake struck.
In just a couple of days, the lobby was literally full of bags of donated
goods, and the Woburn Kiwanis Club even jumped on board to help. People across
the city who heard about the collection donated goods as well as money to be
sent to help the people of the earthquake-ravaged country of Haiti.
"It feels really good to help those less fortunate than
ourselves," one student said. "It makes me realize how lucky we really are."
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Shamrock School: Jump Rope for Heart
Yasmine R.
Student Reporter
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 At many of the elementary schools a special event has taken place. This special event is called Jump Rope For Heart. The elementary school students are raising money by jump roping and donating the money to the American Heart Association. The elementary physical education teachers, Mrs. Hatch, Mr. Slagmolen, Mrs. Crampton, and Mr. Kessaris, organized the event and collected the money. This event was during the student's regular gym class. To participate, students got sponsors to donate money. Students had a form for donors or could go online to donate. If you collected at least a dollar, you would be participating. If students collect a tribute of $5 dollars or more they could earn prizes as a thank you gift. The Altavesta, Linscott and Wyman Schools collected over $500 each. The Clapp/Goodyear and Hurld Schools collected over $1200 each. The Reeves School collected over $2100 and the Shamrock collected over $2700. That is almost $10,000 for the American Heart Association! Great work to all who participated!
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| Kennedy Middle School: Coins for Cures
Mr. Carl Nelson
Principal
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The Kennedy Middle School is participating in the Coins for Cures program to raise money for Children's Hospital in Boston. Each homeroom has a canister and at the end of each week the coins are counted. Through two weeks the program ha s already raised over $400 in coins. The program will continue for the next six weeks so if you have any spare change we encourage you to send it in with your child or drop it off at the Kennedy Middle School office. Thanks for your support |
| Shamrock School: Black History Month
Jaimee B.
Student Reporter
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 On Monday, February 22, 2010, some employees from Comcast came to speak about Black History Month to the kids at After The Bell, an after-school program run by the Boys and Girls Club for the Shamrock Elementary School. The After The Bell program is a free program that goes until 5pm each day. After The Bell includes Arts N' Crafts, games, journals, a time to do homework, and a snack time. All the kids there get help with homework if they needed it. Kids also get to see their friends and do special projects. The Comcast volunteers read a book called, "Darnell Rock Reporting" by Walter Myers to the older kids, and a book called " You Can Do It!" by Tony Dungy to the younger grades. Comcast gave copies of the books to the kids and even donated some to the school. They all found the books very interesting. Every February, Black History Month is held in honor of all the great black men and women who have helped our country. From Rosa Parks, to Martin Luther King, to Harriet Tubman, Black History Month is very important in our school. So all of us at the Shamrock School would like to thank Comcast for coming to our school, donating books and helping us learn so much about Black History Month.
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| Hurld School: The Brazilian Ensemble
James C.
Ricky E.
Student Reporters
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On Friday, March 12th, students at the Hurld
School filed into the gymnasium to see a simply amazing performance by the
Brazilian Ensemble, an enrichment program that captured the  elements of Brazil.
These elements were Capoeira, Maculele, and Samba and their origins. A student
from the Hurld named Christian, who got to participate in this program, quoted,
"It was amazing!" Founder of this program, Mastre Deraldo Ferreira wanted to
bring Brazilian culture to the school, and that's just what he did! Every single kid thoroughly enjoyed
this enrichment program and learned a lot of interesting facts about Brazilian
culture.
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| Kennedy Middle School: Student-Faculty Basketball Game
Student Reporter
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 The Kennedy Middle School held their annual student/faculty
basketball game last week. This
was the most exciting game to ever take place as the teachers rallied from 13
points down to take the lead. The students sent the game into overtime as
Andrew Murphy hit a shot with 1 second left. In overtime the teachers were able to pull away and post a
50 - 48 win. The students were led
by Alissa Errico, Kristen Piazza, Miguel Quiles and Zach Tanner. Also, at half time of the game the
annual 3 point contest took place.
Anthony Nguyen had a good showing but Andrew Murphy made 2 of his last 3
shots to win the crown.
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| Wyman School: Leprechaun Catchers
Mr. Paul McQuilkin
Principal
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The first and second grade students at Wyman School were visited by Lucky the Leprechaun sometime during the night of March 16. Lucky makes an annual visit to Wyman School at this time each year and despite the clever traps designed by the first
 graders (see photo), they have yet to catch him!
Not only does Lucky spread gold dust around in the classroom, he also leaves notes for the children such as "Got away this time!" or "Catch me if you can!" Sometimes he even plays tricks on them such as hiding the teacher's chair or emptying the waste basket on the floor.
Perhaps next year's first graders will be more successful in catching Lucky!
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| Clapp-Goodyear School: Olympic Reading Program Yields Gold!
Mrs. Christine Kelley
Principal
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Recently , the students at the
Clapp-Goodyear School completed their Olympic Reading incentive Program. Each week, students kept track of their
practice time (reading) and were awarded gold coin chances for prizes. Most of the daily winners (drawn
randomly) were awarded time in classrooms, small prizes and even shout-outs
over the school's intercom system!
The closing ceremonies had all our Clapp-Goodyear Champs receiving small
gold medals. In addition, one
lucky winner from each grade was chosen to be principal of the day.
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| Joyce Middle School: Annual Food Drive for the Council of Social Concern
Mr. Thomas Qualey
Principal
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 Throughout the month of February the Joyce Middle School
students collected over 2500 food items to donate to the Woburn Council of
Social Concern food bank. This
drive was run by the Student Council under the direction of Mr. Tuzzolo. 224 students participated in the food
drive this year of which 203 of them donated ten or more items. Students that donated ten or more items
were allowed to skate at the O'Brien Rink the day before February
vacation. The eighth grade
students were fortunate to have Mr. Donovan, the Superintendent of Schools,
skate with them for a while.
Woburn Youth Hockey was very generous in donating the rink to the Joyce
for the entire day. Ms. O'Reilly's
sixth grade homeroom was the top producing class with 272 items donated.
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| Clapp-Goodyear School: Serving the Community
Kayla K., Kathryn T., Nicole C., Hannah B.
Student Reporters
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 At the Clapp-Goodyear School some of the 5th graders have been staying after school to get in their community service hours as part of the YES award. Some of the things that the Community Service Club has been involved in is to make cards for the soldiers and making cupcakes for the fire department on Hudson St. The Club is fun and the students take time to do nice things for other people. The Club is organized by fifth grade parents and they generally meet on Friday. This is such a great way to earn your YES hours and do some great things for the community. |
| Reeves School: Book Fair
Jade R.
Student Reporter
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The Book Fair was wonderful. You could buy as many books as you wanted. They had books for beginners up to late
elementary. All classes could go
one day to look and go another day to buy. They didn't just have books to buy; they also had bookmarks,
erasers, pencils, and other little toys.
Each shelf had a label telling what  kind of books were on that shelf. The room was the first door on your
right in the second wing. There
were so many exciting and fun books there. This book fair was magnificent.
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| Malcolm White School: Native American Perspectives
Corey H.
Student Reporter
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On Tuesday, Ma rch 9th, Teepee Dan came to the
Malcolm White School to present his program, Native American Perspectives. Some things he talked about were how
the Plains Indians would hunt for buffalo and how they used every part of
it. So, when we see the shoulder
bone, they saw a shovel or a spoon.
Teepee Dan also told us about different myths and legends that Native
Americans believed in. For
example, how the fox got its tail or how the raccoon got its mask. We learned many things from this
program.
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| Malcolm White School: Helping Hands for Haiti
Mr. Peter Roketenetz
Principal
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 Students
and Staff at the Malcolm White Elementary School recently raised funds to
assist in the relief efforts ongoing in Haiti after the devastating earthquake.
All money raised was donated to the "Hope for the Children of Haiti"
organization. This organization has a school and an orphanage in the Bolosse
neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti with a local office right here in Woburn.
Tara Kasey, a representative of the organization's office here in Woburn,
recently came to the school to accept a check for $700.00 from Principal Peter
Roketenetz on behalf of the school's efforts. Thank you to all who participated
in this worthwhile effort.
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| Linscott-Rumford School: Journey through Books
Mr. Ernie Wells
Principal
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What are all the children at the Linscott-Rumford
participating in? No not lunch, recess or snack time: the answer is Journey
Through Books. 88% of the children at the Linscott are reading and watching
their name travel across the bo ard of positive character traits.
Student in grades K-2 read at least 15 minutes a night, and students in grades 3-5
read at least 20 minutes per night. The students keep an eye on their journey, and the program has made reading fun as well as competitive.
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| Woburn Memorial High School: March Update
Mr. Joseph Finigan
Principal
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As
we move toward the completion of the third quarter, it is time for us to enjoy
and celebrate the accomplishments of all of our students. For seniors and their families,
graduation from Woburn Memorial High School is an accomplishment in which to
take great pride. The events
planned for May and June in connection with graduation are all celebrations of
this accomplishment. We applaud
all of our students, parents of our soon-to-be graduates, our teachers, and all
othe rs who made this accomplishment possible. All of us in the WMHS community must work together to make
these closing weeks memorable for all of the right reasons. Please help the
WMHS staff and me as we work for the safe and successful completion of the school
year for all our students
We
have experienced our own version of March Madness at WMHS. Aside from what seems to be incredibly
busy class days, much of our time has been dedicated to student activities
outside of the classroom. March is
a busy time of the year in the extracurricular activities such as the drama and
jazz festivals, the Woburn Scholarship phone-a-thon, and other student
organizations.The State Relays, wrestling, and gymnastic state and league
meets and state tournament participation
in both girls' and boys' basketball and hockey have kept students, parents and
faculty busy. We are fortunate that so many of
our students are involved with
these activites as well as the large number of students, staff and parents who
attend the events to support these student groups. Of particular note is the success of the WMHS Girls' Hockey
team for making it to the Division 1 State Championship at the Boston
Garden.
In addition to the challenges and the intensity of the classwork at WMHS, we have
been very active in providing programs which strive to support students to make
good decisions. After all, in addition to success in the classroom, we want to provide our students with the
full array of skills in decision making so that they are responsible young adults.
During the week of March 8th, WMHS sponsored the
LEARN Parent Forum and the LEARN Assemblies for WMHS students. LEARN program addresses the risks of impaired
driving and presets to students the risks of using drugs or
alcohol. The programs, organized by Loren Baccari,
included a presentation by WMHS SRO Ed Fumicello as well as a panel of guest
speakers including a drug therapist, a recovered addict, and
representatives from the HEAT program at the Woburn Court and a Massachusetts
State Trooper. In addition, WMHS graduates
spoke in a touching fashion about WMHS classmates who have tragically been
killed in automobile accidents.
Along the same lines, similar upcoming events include the
SADD pre-prom assembly which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 30th for
juniors and seniors only. The program is the Sean and Betsey Story which
is quite popular and successful in the message it delivers to our young
people.
For our freshmen and sophomores, The Dating Violence Task
Team/SRO is also sponsoring a Teen Dating Violence Assembly in April.
On a final note, please be sure to attend the many upcoming
plays, concerts and athletic events at WMHS. All of these fine opportunities help to define the unique
experiences which WMHS provides for all of our students. I look forward to seeing you on campus.
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