Leaps and Bounds

 Growing by  . . . . . .

                Leaps & Bounds 

Issue Number 21 | March 4, 2011

 

 

Westwood Public Schools does notdiscriminate on the basis of age,

 race, color, sex, religion, disability,national origin or sexual orientation 

 

                                                                                           

Message from the principal

 

  

 

Dear Parents and Families:

Academic excellence is the first core purpose of the Westwood Public Schools. The focus in classrooms, at faculty meetings, during professional development - wherever teachers and administrators gather - is on how to teach and reach our students in the most effective way possible.

 

An article appeared in The Boston Globe a few years ago that raised an interesting theory on how to focus on academic excellence - and get results. The content has remained food for thought and discussion at Martha Jones. I don't usually compare rats and children, but a new discovery by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers made a compelling argument about how we all learn best. The MIT study of rats suggested that the brain works most efficiently when there is a built-in time for replay and reflection after an experience. Rats, and probably people, do this instinctively when not pushed to perform. What appeared like loafing in the rats, turned out to be a period in which their brain patterns were actually working rapidly, "as if cementing the geography (of the experimental track) they had learned."  The MIT researchers went on to say, "there is every reason to believe that humans have the same kind of replay process as rats...  that actual learning - when you try to figure out what was important, what should I keep and throw away - that could happen after the fact, during periods of quiet, wakeful introspection."

 

The article poses important questions about how to teach children more effectively at school, and how to support them at home. How often have I nagged my own children or felt guilty myself for taking a break when struggling with a difficult piece of work? Is this laziness? Avoidance? Or a necessary time of sorting and consolidation as the research suggested?  Too often better learning and teaching is equated with constantly introducing new content, skills, activities - with pushing students. Would our children do better at school, score higher on the MCAS, and retain more information, concepts, and skills if more time were allowed for "quiet, wakeful introspection?" This is a daring concept in schools where "time on learning" is quantified by minutes of instruction, not necessarily by thoughtfulness. 

 

Students and faculty have settled back into the school routine after the mid-winter break. The hypothesis about the  "slacker rats" who actually learned more efficiently and accurately than the rats that were pushed to perform raises important questions about teaching, learning, students, and ourselves - a worthy focus for faculty meetings, professional development, and periods of quiet, wakeful introspection.

          

Sincerely,

Peggy Scott

 

 

March 9 - Early release  

 

March 16 -School Site Council meeting 3:15 pm 

March 17 - School Committee meeting 7:30 pm

March 10 - Grade 4 Music - Open Classess

March 17 - Grade 1 - Beantown Jumpers

                  WESC On-line auction begins

March 25 - Family Bingo Night - 6:30-8:00 pm

 

 

 

Professional Development this week was a continuation of the fall work with writing consultant, Dan Feigelson of Columbia/Teachers' College.  The workshops included follow-up on the implementation of the focus on: architecture of the mini-lesson, using mentor texts, and planning for instruction.  This work with Dan Feigelson was made possible through a WEF grant.  Please note that the March 18^th professional day has been cancelled.  March 18^th will be a full day of school for all students and faculty. 

March Motto Madness is coming.  Look for details in next week's Leaps & Bounds.

 

Birthdays are an important event in a child's life. We need your help to contain the excitement and anticipation of after school parties from spilling into the school day. Children who are not invited feel excluded; feelings can be inadvertently hurt.  Please talk with your child about keeping the excitement and discussions for after school.  Invitations should be mailed from home and not delivered in the classroom.

 

 

 

The tide has turned....a new era has begun....after many years of close calls a Martha Jones team has won the WEF Spelling Bee!  In a hotly contested battle of words the Third Grade Champions were The Fantastic Four:  Audrey Lassen, Charlotte Scanlan, Ashley Kutzer, & Lillian Farah who narrowly won over another Martha Jones team The Buzzer Beaters of:   Ben Linehan, Rowan Curtin & Tiernan Goss.  Tied for third was yet another MJ team, the Queen Bees of:Leah Ghazali, Caroline Beattie, Linnea DiVincenzo and Morgan Hughes.  Congratulations!

 

Congratulations are also due to each and every third, fourth, and fifth grader who took the challenge to participate, worked hard and were great team mates.  Hopefully everyone had lots of fun along the way.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read-A-Thon Thank You!   Special recognition goes to Karina Adourian for organizing the Read-A-Thon and for designing the Read-a-Thon hallway graph. Congratulations to Mrs. Hartwell's 2^nd grade class and to Ms. Teahan's 4^th grade class. Each class will be awarded a pizza party for logging the most hours read. We are proud of all the kids who participated and all the parents who supported this activity. Over $1,400 in sponsorships was raised for the PTO!!

 

PTO Openings[Marker]  It's hard to believe that it's time to start thinking about the next school year!  There are many opportunities to get involved during the 2011/12 school year.  Please contact Nancy Deehan at nedeehan@comcast.net if you are interested in volunteering on a committee.  Thank you to all volunteers for your hard work as this is what makes Martha Jones School such a great community for all our kids.

WESC Appeal/Auction  Thank you to all the families who have made a donation through our annual WESC appeal. To date, 39 families have made a donation and we have raised over $6,300 through our appeal. Our goal is to increase family participation and no donation is too small. Thank you for your support!  Reminder that the online WESC auction begins March 17^th! There are many exciting items to bid on. You'll be hearing more about the auction in the next couple of weeks. 

Next PTO Meeting  Our next PTO meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 25th at 9am in the Library. We hope to see you there!  

 

 

 

The Family Night Committee is proud to announce Family Bingo Night on Friday March 25th from 6:30pm-8:00pm.  It will be a fun night playing Bingo, along with having other games, crafts and refreshments.  Please bring a non-perishable food item for the Westwood Food Pantry.  In order for this fun event to take place, we need many volunteers. Click on this link to download the volunteer form and return to school as soon as possible.

 

March is Youth Art Month! 

 

  

The following students have artwork hanging in the Children's Room of the Westwood Public Library to help celebrate Youth Art Month. This will be displayed through the end of March. We hope that you can visit the library this month to see student art projects that represent each of the elementary schools in Westwood. 

 

 

Nina Sanel - 1D

Noah Wilson - 1K 

Mira Gedeon - 1M

Kyle Murray - 1M

Skye Greenbaum - 1M

Maggie Fahey - 2H

Sophie Hatfield - 2H

Maggie Hennessey - 2H

Kaitlyn Vitiello - 2H

Cole Zaleski - 2H

Lillian Farah - 3L

Katya Vertikova - 3L

Faith Berry - 3M

Leah Ghazali - 3M

Morgan Hughes - 3M

Devin King - 3M

Robbie Stankard - 3M

Taylor Fleming - 4O

Ryan Lewis - 4O

Julia Clancy - 5B

Shannon Nagle - 5C

Elena Nichols - 5C

Brendan Zeuthen - 5B

  

   

 

Mrs. Thurston, Visual Art Teacher - Martha Jones Elementary 

 

 

The Westwood Food Panty needs help to stock its shelves.  The Food Pantry supports over 55 families in the town of Westwood and its current supply of essentials is low.  The Food Pantry is reaching out to the Martha Jones School Community during the month of March to collect food from families.  

 

 

A collection bin has been placed in the hall, outside the Main Office.  Each child is encouraged to bring some food to donate to the Food Pantry. If each student were to bring a plastic bag of items to donate, we will make a huge difference to families in need.  All donations should be non-perishable and have a current date stamp.

 

 

The above initiative has been coordinated by Bryan Beach, a Westwood Boy Scout in conjunction with his Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project.  Donations will be accepted at Martha Jones throughout the month of March.

 

 

 

 

 

From the authors of "Guys And Dolls" comes one of the most delightful

musicals of all time. "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying"

 

 

 

 

follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a little handbook called

"How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" to climb the corporate

ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive. 

 

 

Show takes place at the Westwood High School Auditorium on Wednesday,

Tickets are 5$ for Students 10$ for adults 

 

 

The fourth annual Martha Jones Family Health and Fitness Night will be held at the school on Friday, April 8 from 6-7:30 PM.  If you have any specific knowledge or skills in the area of health or fitness, we would love to talk to you about the possibility of donating your time and expertise.  Please contact Celeste Mahoney or Pat Foley to set up a time to talk.

   

This will be a fun night of education and activity.  We have planned many different interactive booths and stations.  These activities are scheduled to be held both indoors and outdoors.  Our goal is to emphasize the importance of keeping your body healthy and fit to promote life-long wellness.

 

 

A big thank you goes out to our generous PTO for sponsoring this event.

 

Please join us on 04/08/11.  There will be more information in the coming weeks.  Get ready to get moving!

 

Celeste Mahoney and Pat Foley