Work Hard, Be Your Best Self, Do The Right Thing
Welcome to the Martha Jones School. The core values of the school, which can best be summarized as academic excellence, respect for others, and personal responsibility, underlie all that we do. With the implementation of a rigorous academic curriculum in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and social competencies and high expectations for student and teacher engagement, our students thrive. I am delighted to welcome you to Martha Jones.
May 2017
End of year - Thank you for another great year. It continues to be a pleasure to watch your children grow and to partner with so many wonderful families. There is a strong sense of community and academic excellence at Martha Jones School and that is due to the commitment of the staff and parents to ensure that all children are succeeding. I appreciate all that each of you do to support the school.
Curriculum Updates for Next Year - In Westwood every student has the opportunity to participate in physical education, visual arts, music, and library instruction. All our third graders learn to play the recorder, every 4th grader gets to select an instrument to play, and in grade 5, can continue instrumental instruction as well as participate in chorus and drama. In September, we will be adding coding/robotics to our specialists’ schedule for all grade 3 students and increase all students’ access to coding and robotics through “Makerspace” in the library. Mark Goguen, our technology coach, will be teaching the coding/robotics classes, and he will collaborate with Beth Swinning on the Makerspaces in the library. Westwood continues to offer innovative programs to our students and each year we evaluate our current selections to ensure we are providing students with experiences beyond English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science - our core curriculum offerings.
Summer Hours - If you need anything over the summer, the school building is open most days, however, it is always best to call ahead to be sure someone is here. Diane Santangelo and I are both available over the summer and can be reached by email or through the school office. Feel free to stop by and say hello.
Lost and Found - The items in lost and found will be donated to charity on Monday, June 26th. Please check it out if you are missing any of your child’s clothing.
School Calendar for 2017 - 2018 here
Bus Registration Information here - You must register for the bus each year
We have had many enrichment programs this year thanks to the generous donations of the Westwood Cultural Council, the Foundation for Westwood Education, the PTO, Blue Hills Bank and other local organizations.
This week we had the pleasure of seeing the “Chinese Acrobats” program. This program was paid for from a grant from the Westwood Cultural Council. Four Chinese students performed amazing acts, keeping every student completely engaged and focused on the performance.Watching the show, it was hard to believe how wonderfully talented these young artists are. They are masters of their craft.
Thank you to the Martha Jones students who turned out for the Memorial Day Parade - Marching in the parade is a great way to show Westwood residents that even young children remember the sacrifices of the men and women who have died fighting for our country’s freedom. 
Staffing Update:
Nurse’s Position: As you may know, Mrs. Mahoney is retiring and we recently hired Mrs. Dawnmarie Shu as our school nurse. Mrs. Shu has been the substitute nurse at Martha Jones for the past two years and a Westwood resident. Please join me in welcoming Dawnmarie to the Martha Jones School.
Classroom Teachers: Tiffany Dunn will be returning from her maternity leave (a special thank you to Katharine Fader, our long term substitute, who took over during Tiffany’s leave and did a wonderful job).Tiffany and Carli Kyvelos will be job sharing next year and combining their schedules to cover one classroom. Due to the reduction from 3 classes to 2 classes in grade 3, Amber Crowley will be heading over to Downey School to teach grade 3 at Downey. We will miss her and wish her well.
Open Positions: Due to the job share in grade 1 and increased enrollments in grades K and 2, I am in the process of hiring three new teachers for Martha Jones School. We are completing the interview process this week and have had the pleasure of observing a number of candidates teach model lessons for us. I will keep up posted on hires.
Tech Tidbit - Apologies that the link did not work in the previous issue of Leaps. This very short questionnaire is an effort to gain insight into the conversations that take place at home surrounding internet safety. If you have a 2nd - 5th grader, please take 2 minutes to respond. Thank you in advance for your time and effort.
PTO News and Update
Committee Volunteers Needed for 2017/2018 School Year
It’s that time of year again! Volunteers are needed for next school year for several committees. Without parent help and support, we could not offer the all the fun activities your kids have come to love at MJ.
Please take a look at this signup sheet, and consider helping out! There are short descriptions about the committees and what is entailed. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Deb Kelly at debevans02@yahoo.com or Jamy Sesselman at jamypombo@yahoo.com.
Thank you to those who are staying on. Committees that are already full are not included on this document.
Martha Jones PTO Facebook Group
Did you know Martha Jones PTO has its own Facebook group page? Join the Facebook group to get the latest PTO news and updates delivered right to your news feed! Click here to join!
PTO Contact for Events, Notices:
If you have an event or notice for our PTO update, please email it to PTO Co-Secretary Jamy Sesselman at jamypombo@yahoo.com
If you need this document translated, please call the Westwood Public Schools’ Student Services Department at 781-326-7500 ext. 1346 or email your request to lplouffe@westwood.k12.ma.us. Thank you.
如果您需要翻译本文档，请致电Westwood的公立学校的学生服务部在781 326-7500 ext. 1346 或电子邮件您的要求 lplouffe@westwood.k12.ma.us 谢谢你。
اذا بحاجة الى هذه الوثيقة المترجمة ، يرجى الاتصال على إدارة المدارس العامة ويستوود 'الخدمات الطلابية في 781 326-7500 ext. 1346 أو على البريد الالكتروني الخاص بك lplouffe@westwood.k12.ma.usلك. لطلب كنتشكرا
Если вам нужен этот документ переводится, пожалуйста, позвоните Вествудгосударственных школах "Студенческие службы Департамента по 781 326-7500 ext. 1346 или по электронной почте запрос на lplouffe@westwood.k12.ma.us Спасибо.
