SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER! |
| Superintendent's Corner
Mark Donovan |
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for such an excellent school year. Although I've been a member of the Woburn Public Schools for 16 years, my position as Superintendent has given me a unique perspective on our school system. The dedication of our staff, sometimes under very difficult circumstances, is incredible. They are the reason our school system has an excellent reputation.
We're also fortunate to have so many great students in our school system. We're proud of their academic accomplishments and their success in extra-curricular areas, including sports. I also want to compliment our students on they way they conduct themselves. Whether I'm visiting schools or attending public events, I see students who are dedicated, respectful, and willing to help others. More than once I've heard people who hold events for various high schools comment that the behavior of Woburn students is consistently excellent.
Of course, I want to thank parents and guardians of our students, too. The values that you have instilled in your children are reflected in their commitment to schoolwork and in the way they conduct themselves.
With all of the good things going on in our school district, I feel very fortunate to serve as your Superintendent of Schools. I look forward to the challenges of the 2010-2011 school year. I hope that all of you will enjoy a restful and safe summer.
|
"Teaching American History" Grant: Year 2
Dr. Gary Reese
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum
| The Wob urn Public Schools staff have been very fortunate this school year to have been able to participate with four other districts in the Teaching American History Professional Development Program. This federal grant program, funded at approximately 1 million dollars over four years has offered approximately 30 of our teachers this year in the elementary, middle and high schools access to extremely high quality professional development around teaching the history standards related to American history, with a focus on integrating the historical thinking benchmarks. We are now entering our second year of participation in the program and are accepting applications for the 2010-2011 school year participation. The middle/high school program is "The Long Civil Rights Movement of the 20th Century." The elementary program is "Monumental America: Teaching US History through Local, Regional, and National Monuments." Each program consists of a 3-day seminar during the school day, four after-school book group meetings, a technology workshop, and visiting another teacher's classroom or hosting visitors to plan, watch, and debrief a lesson.
For Middle/High School teachers, the 2010-2011 school year program is the last chance to become eligible to travel along the Mississippi River on the study tour Civil War and Civil Rights.
For more information on these programs, including application forms and access to videos highlighting year one programs and the Mississippi River study tour, visit http://info.tahmakingfreedom.org
|
| New Proposed Common Core Learning Standards Released
Dr. Gary Reese
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum
| The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recently posted the K-12 Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics on their website at www.doe.mass.edu/candi/commoncore/. These standards represent the work of a variety of groups at the national level in an effort to develop consistency and rigor in academic standards across the states and to ensure students are exiting high school prepared to enter either college or the work force. DESE is encouraging input from our school community, including faculty, parents, and students. Please take some time over the next few weeks to review these standards and comment on them in the brief survey that is available on the website listed above. This survey will be available until July 2, 2010 and examines your opinion of the level of rigor of the common core standards in comparison to our current state frameworks. The purpose of this survey is to collect responses to inform the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which will vote on whether to adopt the Common Core Standards at a Board meeting in July.
|
| WMHS: Notes from the Principal
Mr. Joseph Finigan
Principal, WMHS
| 
As we move to the completion of the school year, 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. We applaud all of our students, parents of our graduates, our
teachers, and all others who made this accomplishment possible.
Welcome Rising Freshmen: A heartfelt welcome to
the families of rising freshmen. The next four years have much to offer your children in many,
many ways. We look forward to
working with you in this journey through high school. Having completed the course selection process, your child
and you should begin to think about the activities which they want to be
involved with at the high school. Getting involved in an activity early in the school year is among the
best ways to ensure a smooth and enjoyable transition into high school. Over the four years at WMHS,
let's all work together to help your child find their passion in academics and
extracurricular interests.
Senior Activities: The
Class of 2010 has stood out as a steadfast group committed to their work and to
the greater WMHS community. Members of this senior class have provided strong leadership for the
student body. In many ways, the
tenor of a school year is defined by the tone set by the senior class. This class has been noteworthy in their
leadership. Please continue to
dialog with your sons and daughters about making healthy decisions. A special
note of recognition must be offered to senior class advisor Mrs. Kelly Curran
for her positive work with the senior class. Lastly, a special note of thanks to Senior Class President CJ
Lee for his leadership of the Class of 2010.
Award Recognition: A fair number of students received
awards, scholarships and gifts to help support their post-high school
plans. Whether these awards are
community based (Spring Awards, Graduation, and Woburn Scholarship Foundation)
or from some other source, it is important for graduates to express their
thanks for the award. Seniors are
reminded to acknowledge any awards they might receive. Parents, please ensure that your child
send the appropriate note of thanks to the giver.
A Final Word: As a
final word, I want to thank everyone for their support in my first year as
principal at WMHS. I am proud of
all that our teachers and students have accomplished at WMHS over the past
year. With the support of
high school families and the greater Woburn community, we have accomplished
great things in the interest of our students.
Lastly, please join me in congratulating, but more importantly,
thanking, Mr. Robert Hodgson and Ms. Adrienne Cristo on their retirements from
the Woburn Public Schools. Both of these individuals, in their own ways, have served as teacher,
mentor and confidante to generations of Woburn Memorial High School
students. Whether they realize it
or not, their everyday work with our students has impacted eternity.
Please have a safe and enjoyable summer.
|
|
|
| Please forward our newsletter! | | |
 We're trying to spread the good news about the Woburn Public Schools. At this point, we have more than 1100 subscribers to our newsletter, and we want that number to keep growing. 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.
|
| Greetings! |
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. |
| Special Thanks to our Student Reporters!
Mark Donovan
Superintendent
|  Many people have mentioned how much they enjoy reading our newsletter. There are many great things going on in the Woburn Public Schools, and this newsletter has been a good way for us to let everyone know what's happening in our school. I want to express my thanks to the large number of students who have submitted articles for our newsletter during this school year. As reporters on the scene, you have provided the community with a sample of the activities that are happening in our schools. Parents, staff, and community members have also learned about the many ways our students work to help others. Fortunately, we have a steady supply of excellent students in our school system. Our newsletter will continue to spread the good news about what these students are doing.
|
| Joyce Middle School: Best Buddies Program
Joyce Middle School
|
 The Best Buddies program matches students with different needs together
to provide friendship and support for each other. The Best Buddies group
at the Joyce Middle School held its end-of-the-year celebration today.
Students, parents, and staff members were treated to a slide show of
activities the Best Buddies had during the school year. The music that
accompanied the slide show captured the spirit of
the Best Buddies program. Selections included "Put a Little Love in Your
Heart" and "That's What Friends are For." After the show, everyone
enjoyed ice cream in the cafeteria. While there's been a great deal of
talk about bullying lately, the students involved in this project set a
shining example of treating everyone with dignity and respect.
|
| Reeves: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Alexandra C.
Student Reporter
| Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!! Clap for the wonderful Laura Ingalls
Wilder.
The entire school watched an actor perform Laura's life and
a review of the books she had written like; Little House in the Big Woods,
Little House on the Prairie, Farmer Boy, On the Banks of Plum Creek, By the
Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, and These
Happy Golden Years. You can take her books out at the school library.
Throughout the act "Laura" changes from her old age to her
young self and then back again. She told us a little about every story. She also taught us about using
similes and personification in writing. At the end of the act she answered many
questions. Most of the questions
were about the people in Laura's life and how they died. The actor also told us about where she
worked and other historical figures that they act out.
Give another hand for Laura Ingalls Wilder!
|
| Malcolm White: Saving Energy
Christine M.
Student Reporter
|
The Malcolm White Elementary School challenged the Shamrock Elementary School to a contest to see which school could conserve the most energy. Both of the schools are trying their best to save energy. The losing school has to buy the winning school popsicles, but the main point of this contest is to teach kids to save energy to help our planet.
The Malcolm White School is trying to save energy by
turning off some lights on sunny days, shutting down computers when we are not using them, unplugging other electronics when they are not needed, and we are still thinking of more ways to save energy. Also, the Malcolm White School had kids make posters to tell other kids to save energy. We are sure that the Shamrock School is trying just as hard as us to save energy.
The kids don't have to save energy just at
school; they can also save energy at home too. Let's have everyone help save our planet by saving energy.
|
| Shamrock: Learning about Banking
Zachary S.
Student Reporter
| Recently, the Second grade in the Shamrock School had a visit from TD Bank. TD Bank representative Alena Weiss came in to teach 60 students about:
1. The history of banking and savings, and how to save, and open a bank account.
2. How to save, how saving generates interest, the purpose of a checking account, and how to write a check.
3. Concept of the barter system, early forms of money, and the purpose of money.
This fun learning program was called TD Bank Wow-Zone. If a child opens a bank account with TD Bank, TD Bank gave them $10.00 in their account. Plus if they read 10 books over the summer, they get $10.00 extra in their bank account. The students also got a gift bag with fun things inside, like lollipops, an activity book, and a football.
|
| WMHS: Tech Crew
Mark Donovan
Superintendent
| As many of you know, Woburn Memorial High School is known as a state-of-the-art facility. Many people have taken note of our auditorium, including its setup and the restored artwork from the old high school. What most people don't know is that the control WMHS Tech Crew  | booth in the back of the auditorium is equipped with a state-of-the-art lighting and sound system.
Throughout the year, many school and community programs are held in the auditorium. We are fortunate to have a dedicated volunteer "tech crew," under the direction of Mr. Paul Hayes, that makes sure that the lighting and sound system enhance each performance. With complex performances, such as Seussical, the Musical, the tech crew does an amazing amount of work to make sure that the audience experiences the performance in a theater-like setting. We'd like to applaud this dedicated group of students who work quietly behind the scenes to make sure that every program held in the auditorium is presented in its best light. (Sorry for the bad pun.)
|
| Shamrock: The Lowell Mills
Yasmine R.
Student Reporter
| On April 27, 2010 the 3rd graders of the Shamrock Elementary School went on a field trip to the Lowell Mills/ Tsongas Industrial History Center in Lowell M.A. This field trip was paid by a grant from the Woburn Cultural Council.
 They attended a program called Change in The Making (farmland to the Industrial Revolution). They went to three workshops. First, they looked at maps and murals of Lowell as it changed from Native American farmland to an industrial city. Second, they used a cotton gin and talked about the cotton gin invention and how important it was. Lastly, they dressed up as children living in the colonial times on a farm and like children working in the mills. They also visited the boarding houses and the mills where mill-girls lived and worked in the textile mills. The students and the teachers (Miss. Boudreau, Mrs. Chillemi, and Mrs. Lisacki) enjoyed going back in time!
|
| WMHS Students Design Brochure for Woburn District Court Program
WMHS
| When the Woburn District court wanted to redesign their H.E.A.T. (Heroin Education Awareness Task Force) program brochure, Lt Robert Ferullo decided to contact Mrs. Susan Thifault, computer graphics teacher at Woburn Memorial High School. Mrs. Thifault assigned the project to junior Kelsey Tremlett. Kelsey has taken Mrs. Thifault's courses and is an extremely talented designer. This was a wonderful opportunity for Kelsey who is pursuing a career in graphic design. According to Mrs. Thifault, Kelsey has a strong design senseLt. Robert Ferullo and WMHS student Kelsey Tremlett  | and is extremely professional.
Lt. Ferullo wanted to update the existing brochure and give it a new look. Kelsey, Mrs. Thifault and Lt. Ferullo met several times over the past couple of months to discuss design and layout. Kelsey created several sketches for Lt Ferullo, Probation Officer Michael Higgins, and Woburn Court Chief Probate Officer Vincent Piro, Jr. They selected the design and colors, and then Kelsey worked in Mrs. Thifault's classroom designing the brochure on Adobe Illustrator, a computer application.
The H.E.A.T. program is a program created by the Woburn District Court, and the police departments that it serves, to provide education to parents, teachers and other professionals on how to recognize and assist adolescents struggling with substance abuse issues.
The brochures are available at the Woburn Police Department, Woburn Memorial High School and at the Woburn District Court.
|
| Wyman: Lend a Hand to Stop Bullying
Julia B.
Student Reporter
| 
"Lend a Hand to Stop Bullying!" That's what the Wyman School is learning about. Right in the school's main lobby, there
are all types of decorated hands set up like a Top Down Web. The hands have signatures that each
student will help lend a hand to STOP the bullying at the Wyman. It's not just fourth grade; it's
Kindergarten, first, second, third, and fifth grades also. It's like everyone has a contract to do
their part to stop bullying. Ever
since that bulletin board was put up, there has been a change. People are working hard to treat others
the way they want to be treated.
We want bullying to STOP!
|
| Linscott: Field Trip to the Eunice Thompson Memorial Library
Mr. Ernie Wells
Principal, Linscott School
| Ms.
Whitney's fourth grade class joined Mrs. Dionne's  Kindergarten class on a book
buddy field trip. On Friday May 21,
2010 the two classes walked to the Eunice Thompson Memorial Library on Elm
Street. The students took a tour
of the library, and selected books for the fourth graders to read to the
Kindergartners.
After a picnic
lunch fourth graders presented their buddies with original story books they
wrote and illustrated.
All year the buddies work on
reading and writing activities. Fourth grade students mentor their buddies in reading readiness, and the
writing process. Buddies complete
various projects including work with holidays, community helpers, and animals.
Fourth graders also serve as role models for social interaction, and
appropriate school behavior.
|
|
