West Boylston Community News - Fall 2011
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Transcript of West Boylston Community News - Fall 2011
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Superintendent’s CornerOn HospitalityBy Elizabeth Schaper
Four months ago, I began my work as the Superintendent of Schools here in West Boylston. Having worked in seven schools and four school districts in my twenty-‐six years as an educator, I wondered how these schools would compare. How would it feel to work here? What could I discover about how it feels to be a student here?
Willard Waller, a pioneer of sociology, noticed that schools sometimes have a spirit that creates social unity, marked off, in a certain way, from the world that surrounds them. He says that this feeling, which he calls the “we” feeling, is spontaneously created in the minds and hearts of those who identify with the school, and it is also part of what the school seeks to carefully nurture and sustain. I’ve been quite busy over the past four months getting to know what the “we” feelings are here in West Boylston.
In these Jirst few months, I have taken a rather deliberate approach to getting to know about the schools, meeting with people who work in the schools, parents, community members who don’t have children in the schools, heads of town departments, local clergy, local business owners, and the list goes on. I’ve asked each of the individuals with whom I’ve met to tell me about what’s working in our schools and what they think we should be working to improve. It’s been an enlightening experience. My exploration isn’t over but I have one clear Jinding. Hospitality is warmly extended in this community. Two stories illustrated this for me recently.
Every year, West Boylston welcomes students from other communities who come here through the school choice program. At the close of the Jirst week of school, I had the chance to talk with one of our newest students who wanted me to know that the best thing about his Jirst week here was how nice and friendly all of the kids are to each other and how much they made him feel right at home. Now, we all know that this is not the stereotypical story of “the new kid in school”. We should celebrate that our students are the kind of people who enjoy and appreciate newcomers to the community and show this by warmly welcoming them into their classes.
Hospitality implies an openness to be accepting of what each person, student or staff member, brings with them to our schools. I think hospitality also implies a sense that we will be with you as you become who are meant to become. Our Jirst recipient of the Student of the Month Award this year was Jess Morais, a senior. In her comments to the School Committee, Jess noted that when she got here she was not the kind of student she wanted to be. She became aware that some of her decisions about how to engage with school were not helping her to work toward her goals. These days, Jess is a model student; scholarly, reliable, and conJident in her direction. She plans to apply to several competitive colleges with an eye toward becoming a special education teacher, and she views West Boylston Public Schools as a place where she would like to work in the future. She credits the relationships with teachers and the warmth of this community in helping her to attain a
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new way of looking at things and a new attitude toward her own potential. What a gift this community has been to her and what a gift she is to all of us!
When you know of a place or an organization that is really great at something, there is a tendency to want to shout it from the rooftops. That’s the way I feel about the warmth and caring of our West Boylston school community. I would like to extend a sincere invitation to the citizens of the town of West Boylston to come on over and take a look at our schools. We welcome you to join us in our mission to educate and enrich children’s lives. We welcome you as volunteers. We welcome you as guests. We welcome you as curious citizens who would like to know how we do business. Please come and see us here so we can lavish you with some Jine West Boylston Public Schools’ hospitality.
A Letter From Major Edwards School’s New PrincipalMarjorie McCarthy
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As the new Principal of Major Edwards Elementary School, I would like to express how honored I am to be part of this outstanding community. At Major Edwards Elementary School we recognize that partnerships are vitally important to the overall success of our school, therefore we welcome involvement of the family, school professional learning community, parents and the community at large. With the involvement of all stakeholders we can collectively make decisions that positively affect learning outcomes as well as build community relations.
Major Edwards has begun to identify and implement a school wide improvement growth plan that focuses on “whole school improvement.” With the creation and implementation of collaborative committees, we strive to re-‐align curriculum and resources, analyze data, and create an internal accountability system which will guide teaching best practices, while helping students meet their optimum personal academic and social goals.
This collaborative professional learning community will help our students gain the skills necessary to be strong, productive citizens who will give back to their community in various ways.
Part of Major Edward’s story relates to the pride we take in the communities’ perception of our building and its appearance. We have recently had the entrance repaired and painted. That coupled with the PTA’s fall planting/decorating, our school’s presentation is warm and welcoming. We are currently working in conjunction with the MS Art Club to scrape and repaint our sign as well. We are also anxiously awaiting the new replacement windows that came about as part of “Green Repair Project.” Major Edwards welcomes your input and assistance with maintaining and updating our school.
On behalf of the entire Major Edwards professional community, I look forward to a very successful, happy, productive school year.
Sincerely,
Marjorie McCarthy, Principal
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For a few years now, the middle school has embraced a program called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS). PBIS is about having clear expectations, teaching and acknowledging appropriate behaviors, and using data to support desirable behaviors. PBIS does not change our system of consequences for negative behaviors, it just shifts the focus by insisting that we also explicitly teach positive behaviors. The PBIS team, which is made up of teachers, an administrator, and a guidance counselor, identiJied three expectations for our Middle School:
1. Be Respectful
2. Be Responsible
3. Participate
We created a matrix that gives clear examples of what being respectful, being responsible, and participating look like throughout our school and community. The matrix was created with input from students, members of the faculty, community members, the police, the library, local businesses, and the parks department.
Over the past two years the PBIS team and the Middle School faculty have taken the school-‐wide matrix and demonstrated the expectations in most areas throughout the school. Students know what actions demonstrate respect, responsibility and participation in the hallways, cafeteria, on the bus, and in the community. In addition, each teacher has created a matrix for their classroom with the same three expectations. This is reviewed regularly with a focus on increasing the consistency of positive behaviors. The Middle School faculty and staff acknowledge individual students for meeting expectations on a regular basis.
This has been great success. We reduced the number of students being sent out of class by more than 50%. The PBIS Team collects data to tell us when and where we are seeing incidents. We use this data to plan activities and lessons to teach students better behavior when needed.
Middle level educators have a great responsibility. We teach our curriculum content, but we also shape students for success in high school and beyond. During adolescence there are many changes that occur physically, emotionally, and developmentally. This is the time in students’ educations when they may develop responsibility and good study habits that can help them as they progress through their school years. By implementing the PBIS philosophy within the Middle School, students learn appropriate behaviors in a positive climate, and they develop into young adults who are full of conJidence and the ability to feel empathy for others. The faculty and staff at the Middle School take pride in the time and effort they have given to make this happen, and they will continue to work to improve our school and our students’ educational experiences.
Middle School NewsPBIS Positive Behavioral Interventions and SupportBy Chris LaBreck, Associate Principal at West Boylston Middle/High School F
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Sheila Tetler, an art teacher at West Boylston Middle/High School, will be honored this year as the Massachusetts Art Teacher of the Year by the Massachusetts Art Education Association. This honor is given yearly to an educator who has made signiJicant contributions to the Jield of art education in Massachusetts. Those who have had the pleasure to work with or learn from Sheila know that her work is worth celebrating.
Sheila holds numerous degrees in Education; a CAGS in Interdisciplinary Studies (Art and Science) and a Master of Education in Arts Education from Fitchburg State, and a BA in Fine Arts (Studio Art) from Denison University. In addition to her exemplary service as a teacher of students in West Boylston, Sheila has been involved in art education and community service beyond the walls of her classroom. She has presented at regional and national meetings of the National Art Educators Association many
times. She was involved in developing the K-‐12 art curriculum for the Massachusetts Department of Education, has served as the chair of the Artist’s Selection Committee of the Worcester Women’s History Project. In addition, she sits on the board of the Worcester Public Library.
Sheila Tetler’s work shines through the accomplishments of her students. In the classroom, Sheila takes a personal interest in student artists, helping each to Jind his or her own artistic posture. Every year, Sheila supports students whose works of art win awards in local and statewide competitions. Our West Boylston community takes pride in the wonderful contributions that Sheila Tetler has made to our students here in West Boylston and to her Jield. We join her family and friends in celebrating this dedicated and caring teacher and wonderful honor.
Celebrating Excellence in Art Education
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Student Support ServicesThe Role of the School Psychologist
The teacher noticed that Carla, an able student, had stopped participating in class discussions and had difficulty paying attention. The school psychologist was asked to explore why Carla’s
behavior had changed so much. After discovering from her parents that they were divorcing, the school psychologist provided counseling for Carla and gave her parents suggestions for this
difficult time. Carla’s behavior and emotional wellbeing improved as she felt more secure about her relationship with her parents.
In all of our communities across the country, more students than ever come to school with emotional, medical, educational, cultural and socio-economic challenges that impact their learning. Finding ways to support all of our children is an important role of the school psychologist.
In West Boylston we are fortunate to have two highly qualified school psychologists, Mr. Matthew Carter who works at Edwards elementary school and Mrs. Holly Brockmire who covers the middle/high school. Both offer individual, group, and classroom services to their students.
What is a School Psychologist?
School psychologists help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. They collaborate with teachers, parents, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the West Boylston community for all students. Our school psychologists are highly trained in both psychology and education completing a minimum of a specialist-level degree program of at least 60 graduate semester hours. Their training emphasizes preparation in mental health and educational interventions, child development, learning, motivation, curriculum and instruction, and assessment.
How do School Psychologists make a difference in our schools?
Our school psychologists see students daily or occassionally. Students may:
• Feel afraid to go to school• Have difficulty organizing their time efficiently or lack effective study skills• Fall behind in their school work• Lack self-discipline• Worry about family matters such as divorce, illness, and death• Feel depressed or anxious about difficult situations such as peer interactions • Experiment with drugs and alcohol• Think about suicide • Be bullied or use bullying behaviors
We encourage all parents to contact their school psychologist with any child-centered concern that they may have. The school psychologist will respond to your needs in a confidential and professional manner.
Source: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/28163/
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WELCOME to the inaugural edition of our
community newsletter. Through this publication we intend to keep all of the
citizens of West Boylston informed about the
good work that is happening in your local
public schools. The West Boylston Public
Schools are a treasure in today’s competitive educational marketplace. We promise
students who attend our schools an
academically enriching and nurturing
environment that will help them to thrive as
students and as individuals. We are delivering on this promise every day in West Boylston.
Come by for a visit!
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