Natick Public Schools
13 East Central Street
Natick, MA 01760
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NATICK, MA 01760
PERMIT NO. 12
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NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS 01760
www.natickps.org
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
www.natickps.org
“O
ur purpose is to educate all the students we serve to high levels through high-quality instruction”.This newsletter, published by the Natick Public Schools, is being sent to all businesses and resi-dences in Natick. The Natick School Committee and the Superintendent of Schools developed this newsletter as part of a broader initiative to promote better communication with the public and to inform people about the achievements of Natick students, the activities of the schools, and the accomplishments of the faculty. This issue of the newsletter with its variety of topics reflects the guiding mission of the school district.
We, the members of the Natick Public Schools Community, are firmly committed to developing students as independent, lifelong learners and leaders who will contribute to a changing and complex global society.
Every day, in all nine Natick schools, one sees this mission taking shape in the way educators teach and in the way administration works with families. Our students learn best when educators, in cooperation with parents, use teaching methods that encourage student effort to reach educational goals. When we encourage thoroughness in researching a topic or when we urge persistence in completing an assignment, we reinforce good learning habits - habits, which are consistently linked to student achievement. Setting high expectations for all students and encouraging individual effort are essential to fulfilling our school district’s mission. Thank you for your continued support towards this end.
Peter Sanchioni, Ph.D. Superintendent
“Natick’s Administrative Team and School Committee Working Together”
NHS Indoor Track Pass
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atick residents are invited to use the Natick High School indoor track between 6:05 a.m. and 6:50 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Mon-days and WednesMon-days. To obtain a Walking Pass, residents must successfully pass a CORI (criminal background) check. Forms can be accessed on the NPS website or they may be picked up at the High School main office between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. or on the third floor of Town Hall in the school department offices between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. All walkers must have their Walking Pass visibly displayed at all times. For more information, visit the community information page on the NPS website at www.natickps.org and click on the “For Community” link on the left.Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
Superintendent’s Message
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ear Natick Community,It is with great pleasure and pride that I send to you our annual newsletter. I am extremely proud that the Natick Public Schools continues to outdistance many others in this state. This is because our school committee, staff, and community have all done a remarkable job of supporting our students through setting high expectations.
This school year presents opportunities for new beginnings; new technologies, and new courses. We are all proud of our past achievements and we are ready to build on their success. I would like to highlight the following initiatives and accomplishments, which will allow us to do our exceptional job even better:
• Because of careful budgeting, planning, and a commitment by the Town we have been able to maintain our most valuable asset … our staff. We have increased our staff by 12 much-needed members to address our rapidly rising student popula-tion.
• The digital conversion for 8th to 12th graders, which allows them to take advantage of having their own laptop computer, enters its second year. Additional online classes have been added to our curriculum. Staff training in the use of technology continues to be offered to enhance student achievement. Early qualitative data suggests technology is making a difference in student attendance, engagement and has reduced discipline problems. As we continue to track the program we expect to see gains in student academic achievement.
• It was a busy summer … new boilers were added to Memorial, a new driveway for Johnson, new playgrounds for Ben-Hem and the Preschool, and all buildings have had their exteriors and interiors updated and cleaned.
• The district will continue to make available a software portal, which allows middle and high school parents the opportunity to access their student’s grades online.
• We have opened up software portal, iPass, to families of stu-dents in grades Kindergarten to five, which allows parents to view the conference and report of student progress online. • A full day of professional development has been scheduled
for December 2nd. The focus of this training is how to take advantage of current technology in everyday teaching. • Overall, Natick’s MCAS scores were very good in 2013 with
many schools and grades seeing significant gains.
• Recently, we learned that Boston Magazine has ranked Natick High School the 54th best school in the Commonwealth. • Because we value communication between parents and
schools, one of our priorities this year is to encourage parents to take full advantage of the schools’ websites, emails and online communications.
• We welcomed Ms. Heather Smith as the Principal of Lilja Elementary School; Dr. Tyler Page as the Interim Principal of the Wilson Middle School; Ms. Susan Balboni as the Assistant Principal at Wilson Middle School; Laura Ives as the new Assis-tant Director of Student Service for the Middle School Level; Grace Magley as the new Supervisor of Online and Blended Learning and Ms. Anna Nolin as the new Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning and Innovation. In addition, we welcomed 35 outstanding new educators to our district.
• After many hours of planning and preparations, Natick is ready to implement, as part of the President’s Race to the Top Initiative, the second year of the new educator evaluation system which will now involve all of our educators. We look forward to this system as a vehicle to recognize the excellent teaching that exists in the district. Information about the new
(left to right) Dr. Peter Sanchioni, Superintendent, William Hurley, Director of Fiscal & Management Services, Anna Nolin, Assistant Superintendent, Marianne Davis, Director of Human Re-sources, , Timothy Luff, Director of Student Services, Grace Magley, Supervisor of Online and Blended Learning
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Senior Citizen NPS Pass
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id you know your public schools are alive with music, theatre, sports & more? If you’re a Natick resident over 62 years of age, you are eligible for a freeNPS Pass which will admit you at no charge to all Natick Public Schools regular season sports, plays, concerts and other events held in Natick Public Schools’ facilities! The Natick Drama Workshop and the Walnut Hill School for the Arts will honor the NPS Pass for their performances too! For more information, pick up an application form at the Superintendent’s Office, 3rd Floor Town Hall, 13 East Central Street, the Natick Community-Senior Center, 117 East Central Street or click on the quick link on our website at:
www.natickps.org/districtinfo/forcommunity/main.cfm
the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, MathWorks, Cognex, and Middlesex Savings Bank. We are looking for both project opportu-nities in STEM areas. Consider supporting NEF and help us reach our matching goal!
Beyond the grant program, Natick Education Foundation sponsors: • Scholarships to NHS graduates pursuing careers in education
• Community events to raise funds and to provide visibility and support for Natick’s public schools and NEF (if you have a fund-raising idea please let us know).
• Annual Shining Light Awards recognizing volunteers and businesses who have improved Natick’s quality of life and sup-ported our youth
Important NEF Dates
Next Grant Proposals due (2/24/2014) Shining Light Awards (3/19/2014) at TCAN
NEF Tribute Program
NEF accepts gifts of $25 or more to honor and recognize those who touch our children’s lives. Honorees receive notification of the gift by mail and their names are posted on the NEF website (if desired). An NEF Tribute makes a great holiday or end of school year gift.
Please visit the NEF website, www.natickedfoundation.org, for more information on grants and upcoming events.
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
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system can be found at: http://www.natickps.org/districtinfo/educatorevaluation.cfm
• As mandated by Massachusetts law, Natick has developed a model anti-bullying program. The following web page contains all of Natick’s policies, procedures and forms: http://www.natickps.org/districtinfo/bullying/main.cfm.
• I am very pleased to announce that the nationally recognized BOKS, a before-school exercise program, will continue at our elementary and middle schools. With the belief that exercise can make a difference in learning, Natick High School is offer-ing a before-school fitness class. In addition for the fall, both middle schools are offeroffer-ing a before school bikoffer-ing program. • As part of Natick’s participation in the President’s Race to the Top Initiative, we have aligned to the new nationwide
Com-mon Core for literacy and mathematics. Our work this year is to begin preparing our students for a nationwide assessment system replacing MCAS called PARCC in the spring of 2015.
• NPS was named a Project Red Signature District for advanced uses of technology to advance student learning. • Newsweek ranked NHS in the top 2000 schools in American and #22 overall in Massachusetts.
We can be proud of what we have achieved in our classrooms, in our offices, and on our playing fields and stages, and our gains have not come from complacency and satisfaction with the status quo. The Natick Public Schools are what they are because of a dedicated staff that has a common goal, to do what is best for our students. And, we are always looking for new ways to achieve that end goal.
In closing, I am proud of our accomplishments thus far and am encouraged by our prospects. As we move forward, I pledge my resolve to work toward an even more successful school community. Clearly, our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children. Let us all strive together to prepare our students well for their bright futures.
Sincerely,
Peter Sanchioni, Ph.D.
Natick School Committee
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chool Committee meetings are broadcast live on the Natick Pe-gasus Public Access Television - Education Channel (RCN-channel 13, Comcast-channel 8, Verizon-channel 30). Check the broadcast schedule at www.natickpegasus.org.School Committee meetings are generally held on the first and third Monday of the month at 7:15 pm. in the School Committee Room, 3rd Floor, Town Hall. Schedules are subject to change. Agendas and meeting materials are posted at http://natickschoolspublic. novusagenda.com and meeting minutes are posted to the Natick Public Schools website at www.natickps.org. Each meeting has a segment devoted to public participation. The Committee welcomes your attendance. Monday, December 2, 2013 Monday, December 16, 2013 Monday, January 6, 2014 Monday, January 27, 2014 Monday, February 10, 2014 Monday, February 24, 2014 Monday, March 10, 2014 Monday, March 24, 2014 Monday, April 7, 2014 Monday, April 28, 2014 Monday, May 5, 2014 Monday, May 19, 2014 Monday, June 2, 2014 Monday, June 16, 2014
School Committee Meetings
Natick Education Foundation (NEF) needs your help!
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o your part to keep NEF going strong! Your financial support is always welcome, but more importantly, we are actively seeking parents of elementary and middle school students to get involved. There are several ways you can ensure NEF contin-ues to support our children in the years to come -- join our Grant Review Committee, become a Board member, help publicize our work and events---just to name a few.Currently, many of our NEF Board members’ children have graduated from the Natick schools and moved on to college and careers. It is important to keep the organization responsive to the needs of current Natick students and their families. Contact Rosemary Driscoll at [email protected] to find out how easy it is to get involved with NEF.
Natick Education Foundation is an independent, non-profit, membership organization dedicated to enriching, enhancing, and supporting public education in Natick. NEF awards grants to the Natick Public schools that are made possible through the generous support of community members and businesses. Since 1990, NEF has provided over $600,000 to the Natick Public Schools through our grant programs.
Last year (academic year 2012--2013) the NEF Board funded approximately $40,000 in grants across all grade levels. Please visit our website to see descriptions of the winning grants (www.natickedfoundation.org)
This year, the NEF grant program will once again consist of two rounds of teacher-directed competitive grant awards. The first round of applications was due October 18th and the second round will be due February 24, 2014. As you read this newsletter, the NEF Grant screening committee will be evaluating many grant applications that will benefit students of all grades. Winners of the fall grants will be notified in mid-December.
We accept grant applications from educators, parents, community members and students—do you have a great idea that you would like to see implemented in the Natick Schools? Consider writing a grant request to NEF—we are happy to help you get started. If you have questions, send us an email at [email protected].
NEF has a strong STEM Initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) that has received broad-based support from For families considering enrollment in ASAP for 2014-15: We hold a New Family Registration Night each year at the beginning of April. That is the first opportunity for new families to enroll for the next school year. The date and time will be posted on the ASAP web page in January.
ASAP also coordinates the Elementary Enrichment Program. These programs operate three times each year on a six-week basis for students who attend the school at which each course is offered. The courses are designed and led by NPS staff and focus on enrichment, hands-on exploration, and collaborative fun. Past courses have included Lego Mania, Domino Rally, Trail Bud-dies, Drawing, Painting, Garage Band, and Newspaper Club! Please see the Elementary Enrichment Program page on the NPS website for more information.
If you have any questions about ASAP programming or the Elementary Enrichment program, please check us out on www.natickps.org under District Information or contact the ASAP Director, Megan Cap-Renzi, at [email protected].
2013-2014School Committee Members
Left to right: Anne Blanchard, David Margil, Amy Mistrot, Vice Chair, Paul Laurent, Clerk, Firkins Reed, Tom Campbell, Dirk Coburn, Chairman
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
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Superintendent’s Awards
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he Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents has designed an award for academic excellence to be presented by the Superintendent of Schools in each community within the Commonwealth. At the School Committee meeting of October 21, 2013, Dr. Peter Sanchioni presented two certificates to Natick High School students. These awards are presented to students who have distinguished themselves in the pursuit of academic excel-lence during their high school careers. This year’s recipients are Anna Meyer and Ryan Ward.Anna Meyer is one of the top seniors at Natick High School whose motivation comes entirely from within. She has been on the high honor roll every term in by far the most demanding course load possible. When she was a freshman, she lobbied to move to a higher level of French due to her love of the language and of challenging academics. She made the virtually unprecedented mid-year leap as a freshman from second-year French to third-year French, with resounding success. This year, having exceeded the school’s highest level of French, she successfully ar-ranged for an Independent Study in French 60. Anna’s love of language and culture is one of many of her academic passions. Her senior course selection includes two Advanced Placement social studies courses and she was successful in A.P. US History last year. Anna has received the Yale Book Award and AP Scholar designation. Her other roles include being a member of the Speech and Debate Teams, stage manager for the theatre stage crew, a chairperson role at Freshman Model UN, secretary of the French Club, and summer camp counselor. She is an extremely active member of her church serving as deacon and teaching Sunday School classes.
Ryan Ward is one of the top seniors at Natick High School. He is a bright, hardworking student that has excelled in an acceler-ated academic track, receiving straight A’s during his high school tenure. His positive and empathic disposition, recognized by peers and teachers, has guided him toward leadership roles. Ryan has chosen a rigorous selection of courses. Academic honors awarded to Ryan include being granted an AP Scholar with Honor and receiving the Harvard Book Award. Ryan holds rank as captain of the tennis team, president of the French club and president of the school speech team. He is a member of the cross country team, school band, New England Math League and National Honor Society. An area that he is most committed to is participating in Extemporaneous Speaking on the school speech team, the only member to engage in this difficult event. Ryan has participated in many community organizations such as: a ten-year member of the Boy Scouts of America, recently being awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, Counselor in Training at the Massachusetts Audubon Society Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary and a participant in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life fundraiser.
News From ASAP
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he Natick After School Activities Program (ASAP) offers before and after school programming at all five Natick elementary schools and an after school program at both middle schools. This year we will serve more than 600 children and their families.Children enrolled in our Early Risers program may drop in any morning after 7AM. Children at Early Risers are often still waking up, and may spend the morning playing board or card games, doing arts and crafts, playing in the gym, finishing up homework, or just relaxing with friends.
The after school day is much busier. At arrival, the children have free play time and a snack, and then the activities choices begin! Most activities change daily and may include arts and crafts, cooking, sports, fine arts, gardening, cooperative games, music, literacy, drama, science, dance, indoor and outdoor free play, and more! One regular activity is Homework Help. ASAP provides a quiet, supervised time for homework on Mondays through Thursdays for children in grades 1 through 8. The program is overseen by the Assistant Site Supervisor and a Lead Instructor, and sup-ported by one or more high school mentors. They ensure that the space stays quiet, clarify homework directions, help students make connections between classroom lessons and their assignments, and communicate with teachers and families.
We now also offer clubs at each ASAP site. Clubs provide children the opportunity to explore topics in greater depth or just participate in a favorite activity with friends! So far our clubs have included cooking, walking, Lego challenges, jewelry making, sign language, and the Museum of Science Engineering Adventures curriculum.
On Early Release Days, our programs begin at dismissal and include a pizza lunch and a special guest. This year we’re excited to host both new visitors and returning favorites: Barn Babies, Animal Adventures, Paint-n-Party, Young Rembrandts, Mad Science, Ooch-Olympic Yoyo star, Bubbleology, and Todd Brodeur the Frisbee guy. ASAP is also open on Tuesdays through Fridays of February and April Vacation Weeks.
in the Care of Students with Disabilities” in the Journal of School Nursing.
4. Developed an assessment tool for school nurses to use in their clinics for their nonverbal students.
5. Initially brought Special Olympics to Natick in 2009 and has made sure this event happens annually for our students and their families, includes fundraising, organizing, recruiting student athletes, unified partners and coaches and community involvement, this years event will be held on June 10, 2014.
6. She leads a Food Allergy Peer Support Group @ Ben Hem.
7. She provides classroom and individualized instruction to students on a variety of issues, including food allergy safety, hand washing, hygiene, concussions and diabetes.
8. She is a CPR and First Aid Instructor, she trains the nurses and staff on these life saving techniques, as well as training staff, parents and students on how and when to use an EpiPen.
9. She serves as a mentor and supervisor for nursing students, including Regis and UMASS Boston.
The Natick Community is very fortunate to have the wisdom, talent, and compassionate of Barbara, she is a role model and expert in the field of School Nursing.
left to right. Dr. Peter Sanchioni, Superintendent, Anna Meyer, Ryan Ward, Rose Bertucci, NHS Principal
continued on page 18
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
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5
TEST
10 ELA
10 SCIENCE
10 MATH
8 ELA
8 MATH
8 SCIENCE
7 ELA
7 MATH
6 ELA
6 MATH
5 ELA
5 MATH
5 SCIENCE
4 ELA
4 MATH
3 READING
3 MATH
NATICK
97
90
89
92
76
63
85
71
81
75
78
75
70
76
75
81
86
DIFFERENCE
+6
+10
+18
+14
+21
+24
+13
+19
+14
+14
+12
+14
+19
+23
+23
+24
+20
The chart below represents the percentage of students scoring in the top two categories (advanced & proficient) on the MCAS. The 2013 MCAS was administered last spring, so these scores represent the students who are one grade ahead of what is listed. For example, the grade eight test results represent the students who are currently in grade nine.
STATE AVERAGE
91
80
71
78
55
39
72
52
67
61
66
61
51
53
52
57
66
100% of the 10th grade students passed the ELA MCAS 99.1 % of the 10th grade students passed the Math MCAS 98% of the 9th grade students passed the Science MCAS
As one can surmise from the above table, Natick is well above the state average on all tests. However, even though some of the results are extremely good, we believe other results are still too low for Natick. Under the leadership of Assistant Superinten-dent, Ms. Anna Nolin - principals, department heads, and teachers are analyzing the data to make recommendations for curricu-lum improvement, instructional enhancement and targeted student assistance.
Natick Nurse Wins State Award
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atick Public Schools is pleased to announce that Barbara Singer, RN, the nurse at Bennett-Hemenway School has been awarded the William B. Doran Award for 2013. This award is given annually to the Massachusetts School Nurse who exemplifies significant contributions to the health of children and adolescents, while maintaining high standards of professional care and personal integrity. The William P. Doran Foundation members use the following criteria to make their selection: effectiveness of promoting the health of the school population, sensitivity to the needs of children and their families, record of integrity in professional school nursing practice, commitment to high standards, an ability to collaborate effectively with col-leagues in both the school and local community.Barbara left her role as a Critical Care Nurse at Beth Israel Hospital to join Natick Public Schools in 2003, as the Ben-Hem School Nurse. In the past twelve months in NPS, some of her accomplishments include:
1. Wrote and was awarded a $9800 grant to obtain vision and hearing equipment for our students who cannot be trained by conventional methods, and has included the ACCEPT Collaborative and Wellesley Public Schools is the training and screening of their students.
2. She was chosen to be a National Epinephrine Resource School Nurse. She was picked for this role from a very talented group. There are only 100 Nurses in the country with this distinction and only FOUR in the state of Massachusetts.
3. Researched nurses’ perceptions of care of children with disabilities, and then published an article entitled, “Perceptions of School Nurses
Nurse Singer using assistive technology on the IPAD to communicate with Bennett-Hemen-way School student Shawn Tardif.
2013 MCAS Test Results
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s evidenced by the district’s MCAS test results, Natick students performed extremely well on the 10th grade tests, and stu-dents in grades three through eight demonstrated very positive results.December 19 Lilja Winter Concert - 8:50 a.m.
January 6, 7, 13, 14, High School Honors Music Recitals - 1/6 and 1/13 at The Center for the Arts in Natick (TCAN)
6-9pm. 1/7 and 1/14 at Morse Institute 6-9pm
January 15 Wilson Middle School 5th Grade Band and Choir concert - 9am at WMS January 15 Wilson Middle School 7/8 Grade Choir Concert- 7pm at WMS
January 16 Wilson Middle School 6th Grade Band and Choir concert- 9am at WMS January 16 Wilson Middle School 7/8 Grade Band Concert - 7pm at WMS
March, All Art Extravaganza at NHS – 5pm high school, Middle School art reception in library, 6pm opening ceremony and
combined concert in auditorium. Various participatory events and grades perform until 9pm. $2 suggested donation.
April 3 Lilja Multicultural Assembly - time to be determined May 9 and 10 High School Spring Drama - 7pm at NHS
May 19 Pops Jazz, Men and Women’s Choir Concert - 7pm at NHS May 21 Pops Band and Choir Concert - 7pm at NHS
June 4 All 3rd Grade instrumental Petting Zoo - 5-7pm High School Dining Hall June 4 All 4th Grade Concert - 7pm at Natick High School Auditorium
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
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The Indonesian visit kicked off a series of tours of Natick and meetings with Natick education leaders and educators which included State of Georgia officials, a visit from the Dutch Ministry of Education, and several visits from school districts within Massachusetts.
Officials from the Ministry of Education visit NHS Adobe/Web Design Teacher, Lori Cullen, whose students regularly work for companies updating and designing their web pages.
At the high school level:
• Students’ involvement with the arts is accomplished through elected courses in music, visual art, theatre, and media arts. • One year of a fine and performing arts elective is required for graduation.
• Students may choose among a multitude of strong after school options for involvement in the arts (Award winning Speech team, Arts Club, Dance Club, Theatre, and more)
Evidence of the strength and validity of Natick’s Fine and Performing Arts can be seen in some of our accomplish-ments from last spring.
• The department held its first annual Art Extravaganza at the high school featuring representation from every art form and every school. At least 800 people were in attendance.
• Dan Kincaid (Class of 2015) won a Gold Key AND a Silver Key for the Boston Globe Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition. He won for two pieces he created in Commercial Art class. This was a new class with Angela Ruo, a new teacher.
• Zachary Melisi (Class of 2013) won 1st place at the Arisia Student Art show. Arisia is an annual science fiction convention held in Boston.
• Victoria Zuelke (Class of 2015) received an honorable mention in ceramics for the Boston Globe Scholastic Art and Writ-ing Awards competition.
• The High School Symphonic Band took silver at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) competition and the judges noted the band’s technical proficiency (note accuracy). Being recognized in this area is remarkable given the size of the band (also noted by judges) and was a focus of the band director’s teaching this year. • High School Concert Choir took Silver at MICCA and judges noted their training and technique. This is a testament to
High School Choir Director’s work.
• Chambers (High School Women’s Choir) took Gold and first place overall at Mass Bay Music Festival. • Wilson Middle School Winds and Pop Chorus took top awards and highest scores at Music in the Parks.
• The Natick High Speech team won its third state championship in four years. Patrick Conaway (Class of 2015) won first place at Nationals.
• High School Web Design students designed websites and logos for local businesses, groups, and teachers.
• Seven students from Advanced Web Design took the Dreamweaver exam and passed the test to become Adobe Dream-weaver certified.
• Kennedy Middle School Band exhibited at Music in the Parks and received an “Excellent” rating.
• Our elementary music students gave fantastic concerts. Likewise, the fourth grade art show is a crowd pleaser and peren-nial favorite of the folks at the Morse
Institute Library.
Please come and support us this year by being an engaged audience member. Here’s a sampling of some of our district Fine and Performing Art Events:
December 11 Kennedy 5th and 7th Grade Band and Honors Wind Ensem-ble – 7pm
December 12 Kennedy 6th and 8th Grade Band and Honors Wind Ensem-ble - 7pm
December 18 Ben-Hem Winter Concert
- 8:45 a.m.
The Natick Brand Goes Global: Indonesian and
Dutch Education Ministries Visit NHS
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embers of the Indonesian Ministry of Education visited Natick High School in late September to learn from leaders about school re-form work. The Education Policy Workshop (EPW) is a one-week visit to the US that provided high-level representatives of the Government of Indonesia the opportunity to (1) learn, first hand, about the range of services, expertise, and strategies available to best meet the government’s educational program objectives, and (2) visit various educational sites to observe effective practices in teacher education, and to discuss key strategies and program priorities with education experts and officials in the US.The Indonesian Education Ministry was interested in Natick’s use of professional learning communities and technology to push education reform in the system. Natick High School Principal, Ms. Rose Bertucci, gave tours and an address on the history and values of NHS; Assistant Superintendent, Ms. Anna Nolin, discussed the use of professional learning communities as a teacher support device and a way to maxi-mize the investment of technology use in schools. Irwan, an Indonesian college education professor working for the Ministry, amazed that Ms. Nolin and Dr. Sanchioni visit classrooms in the school system each day stated, “what you are telling us is to get out of our offices and watch teachers teaching and talk to them directly about learning and that is the key to effective reform and teacher training.” If that is the message our Indonesian guests take back to their country, they will be well served!
Again in early October, head officials from the ministry of Education in The Netherlands also visited Natick High School. On a mission with the varied and numerous division heads within their departments,
the Dutch visitors were sent to Natick by the Massachusetts Department Of Education’s Luis Rodriguez, Director of Department of Online Learning. The visiting group included 5 men from various parts of the ministry, including the Inspecteur, the equivalent of the assistant commissioner of education.
The group was researching effective models of education using technology to transform instruction. After spending the day with Ms. Nolin, Ms. Bertucci, Mr. Roche and Ms. Magley, all leaders within the Natick system, Ms. Nolin was pre-sented with a custom scarf of the Dutch Ministry of Education. Dr. Sanchioni has been invited to visit their schools and ministry later this year to explore their educational models. The Dutch group also shared a common focus on anti-bullying and bias education with a focus on inclusive culture and curriculum. Natick’s reputation for technology-enhanced instruction and high-functioning team work in pursuit of high-quality instruction and support for students has gone “global!”
Fine and Performing Arts Department
Natick Public Schools
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School Wide Positive Behavior Supports in the Natick Public Schools
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successful learning environment is predicated on the idea that students feel safe and comfortable in their classroom and school. This is a sensible conclusion when you think about it. If a child is worried about something then chances are she is not completely focused on her work.Natick Preschool
The Natick Preschool staff is delighted to be starting our second year at Natick High School. Though the Preschool program has been in existence for over two decades, the new high school setting has afforded us some wonderful opportunities. Among those is the establishment of the first ever, exclusive to Preschool, School Council. School Council teacher and parent members were dedicated and diligent in their efforts to support goals aimed at maximizing the transition to the high school setting. The Council’s focus was on identifying enrichment opportunities and developing a plan for an additional outdoor playground space. The play space was carefully designed to suit the needs of our diverse preschool population and is evidence of strong collaboration between NPS administrators, School Committee and the Planning Board.
The Council and Preschool staff jointly discovered multiple opportunities for enrichment under one roof. Preschool students were sung to by NHS Spanish students and Johnson Peacemakers, some visited the Robotics classroom, NHS librarian Tara McDonald worked closely with the preschool staff to establish a Preschool section of the NHS library and some classes visited for story time with Mrs. McDonald. High school students Kayley McGonagle and Katie Anderson led a book drive to enhance the ever-growing preschool collection.
This year our School Council will be in its second year with some new members. We certainly hope to continue the good work as we focus on information sharing for families of Natick Public School’s youngest students.
The Natick Preschool program continues to thrive as evidenced by eager families of infants and toddlers calling to ask about admission! Children must be three years old by August 31st of the year they will begin preschool in order to apply for enrollment. A lottery will be held in January for students who will be three years old by August 31, 2014. Bookmark our website for timely information:
http://www.natickps.org/preschool/homepage.cfm
Spotlight on Natick Arts Department: Making a
Difference
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atick Public Schools Fine and Performing Arts Department offers students opportunities and experiences for exploring the arts through classes, performances, and shows. Students are thereby enabled to not only be college and career ready, but also life ready.Through music, visual art, and theatre education the students of Natick develop 21st Century Skills or the four C’s (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity). It is the development of the four C’s that help students to unlock their potential and learn to be a contributor to the greater good.
In Fine and Performing Art classes, students experience the four C’s through creating or presenting work and then reflecting on that work. At Natick High School, students create or present work traditionally and with technology. Some of our classes are designed solely with technology as a focus: Commercial Art, Advanced Commercial Art, Web Design, Advanced Web Design, Ipad Publishing, Electronic Music, Animation, TV, and Video. Students in Electronic Music, Piano, and Music Theory utilize our state of the art Midi lab. While other classes that are not as reliant on technology still work to utilize different technologies: both band and choir classes utilize the new recording equipment in classes in order to have students hear and assess their own work; visual art teachers use the document camera to demonstrate artistic techniques; our theatre and humanities instructor utilizes the increased internet access and the large mobilized projection screen to show performance exemplars that students then deconstruct, critique, and emulate. As reflection is a large part of what we teach and do, all of the fine and performing arts’ staff work to infuse student writing into our curriculum.
At the elementary level:
• Every student has art and general music once a week
• In third grade music, students are introduced to the recorder.
• As fourth graders, music students have an additional weekly music class (Chorus)
• In addition to Chorus fourth graders can also elect to take band – one day a week before school
• All fourth grade students have one work of visual art shown at the district art show at the Morse Institute Library
At the middle school level:
• Students continue with visual art and music (All 5th and 6th grade students take General Music) • Theatre is introduced as a class
• Students can choose between Band or Choir or a combination of art experiences vector graphics. Pencil can be found under “Multimedia”
OmmWriter - A full-screen text editor that occupies the entire display with the purpose of isolating the writer from the
operat-ing system and other applications.
Self service is just one way that Natick students are supported in academic and study skills through the technology department.
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
8
13
Abraham Maslow captured this concept in 1943 in a work called “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Maslow’s work set forth the idea that all human beings are driven by a set of hierarchical needs and that higher level needs cannot be attended to until lower level needs are met. The first two levels are physiological and safety. Learning falls into a set of higher level cognitive needs. This theory is why we ask kids who are struggling if they got a good night’s sleep or if they had breakfast. These basic physiological needs have a significant impact on their learning.
Beyond physiological needs is the need for safety. The child needs to know that they are physically and emotionally safe before they are able to attend to learning. Providing a safe and predictable environment for 600 students who come to learn with over 75 adult faculty members creates a dynamic challenge for a school.
To meet this challenge Natick faculty and staff have developed and implemented a system of School Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS). The SWPBS approach to school culture is predicated on the idea that human behavior is learned and, therefore, needs to be taught. It is the proactive approach to teaching positive behavioral expectations that separates SWPBS from traditional behavior management techniques.
The Open Circle program is one that families hear a lot about during curriculum nights and in teacher newsletters. The Open Circle program is Natick’s primary curriculum resource for teaching students what it means to be a friend and a student. The inter- and intrapersonal skills developed through Open Circle are critical to ensuring our students are safe and successful in school. When programs like Open Circle are not used the social curriculum becomes the “hidden curriculum.” Open Circle supports our teachers in transferring this “hidden curriculum” into a clear and explicit trajectory of teaching and learning that provides the foundation of a positive school culture and climate.
Teaching is only the first step in this process. Instruction is most effective when the content and expectations are consistent from classroom to classroom and year to year. Stability and predictability are part of making sure those basic needs that Maslow described are met. To ensure that behavioral expectations are consistent in all classrooms and settings, our teachers use a com-mon set of guiding principles when developing classroom rules. Providing fundamental principles ensures continuity of expec-tations while providing for flexibility in adapting rules and expecexpec-tations to specific environments.
The social and emotional skills of our students are critically important to their success. Teaching and supporting the develop-ment of these skills and abilities is a high priority for Natick and one that we know ensures high levels of learning for our students. School Wide Positive Behavior Supports is an effective model that we implement to ensure this learning throughout the day and year.
Learning a Language 24/7!
A
goal of the Natick Public Schools is to provide students with an education that will allow them to succeed in the real world when they leave our schools. One of the key components to being a successful 21st Century learner and citizen is fluency in a sec-ond language. The first steps to building that fluency start in the middle school World Languages program and continue on throughout students’ high school careers. Middle school students in seventh grade World Language courses have a unique learn-ing opportunity this year. For the first time in middle school programmlearn-ing, studentsOnce launched students are asked for their username and password and it will display all applications available for them to install in the middle of the screen.
All applications are organized by categories (displayed on the right side) and the featured category shows up by default. Fea-tured applications are where we put some of the more critical updates so this section changes more often than most.
Students simply need to click the install button for anything they need and in the background the application will be installed on their school issued laptop.
Just to the right of the install button for all applications is a little “i”. By clicking on the “i” it will provide more information on what the application does if it isn’t obvious by the
name itself.
If students or teachers would like new applications added that aren’t in self-service they just need to click on one of the links on the left hand side and make a request. This is a great way for students and teach-ers to provide us feedback on additional resources to enhance the learning environment.
Many of the suggestions we receive are from stu-dents, and often times they are free applications. This is exactly what we want to encourage! Below is a recent list of some of those suggestions:
Blender - A free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, art,
3D printed models, interactive 3D applications and video games. You can find Blender under “Multimedia.”
eBook Options - We had a lot of requests for different software to manage eBooks. You can find these under “English” - Let
us know if we missed any!
• Adobe Digital Editions - “An engaging way to view and manage eBooks and other digital publications” • Nook - “The easy-to-use way to read the books you love - right on your Mac computer.”
• Kindle - “Read more than 1 million Kindle books on your computer without the free Kindle reading app. No Kindle device required.”
• Calibre - “Calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books”
TI Connect - Allows management of a Texas Instruments calculator via the computer. You can find TI Connect under “Math.” Daum Equation Editor - Create formulas with the click of a button. This App can be found under “Math.”
Adobe Shockwave - The newest version of Shockwave (12) is now available under “Plug-ins” MathXL downloads - Found under “Plug-ins” this bundled download includes:
• Pearson Lockdown Browser • TestGen Plug-in
• Wolfram CDF Player • Adobe Flash Player • Realplayer
Unity 3D 4.2.1 - Unity is now updated! You can find it under “Multimedia”
Pencil - Animation/drawing software that lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
12
9
New Happenings at NHS
W
e are very happy to welcome a wonderful, new group of International students to Natick High School. These 11 students will be with us for the full school year and are very excited about their experiences at Natick High. They represent grades 9 - 12 and come to us from Brazil, Germany (2), China (3), Norway, Belgium, Mexico, Switzerland and Kuwait.The Social Studies Department has created several diverse new elective courses for the 2013-14 school year. These electives are part of an excit-ing new curriculum for Social Studies at Natick High School that will allow students more choice in their learning. These courses allow students the opportunity to study specific areas of interest within history in a more in-depth manner. New courses that are debuting this semester include: Economics, The History of Sports and Society, The Holocaust, Anthropol-ogy, Philosophy, and Social and Political Issues through Popular Music. The DECA program is another exciting new elective course that the Social Studies department is offering. DECA is an international organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around
studying French at Kennedy and Spanish at Wilson Middle School are taking the course completely online, under the guidance of their teachers. Middlebury College, a recognized leader in global language studies, has developed this interactive learning experience based on the proven methodology and philosophy that has been in existence in their traditional world language courses.
The course is designed to promote understanding of the target language in the areas of grammar, vocabulary, oral language proficiency and cultural understanding. Students log in and using head-sets, are able to listen to native speakers and are soon recording their own voices in an authentic French or Spanish accent. This learning experi-ence allows students to work at his or her own pace and to revisit material on an ongoing basis. The program is available both in classes and can be accessed at home on a variety of devices, laptops and iPads to name just two. For digital
natives, this is the way they learn best and it is the way material will be presented to them in their high school, college and career environments.
This course is the best of all worlds as far as learning is concerned. Observations in classes have shown students working independently and cooperatively to learn new material and how to negotiate the technology. Reactions from students have been enthusiastic: “Awesome!” “Cool” and “Great” and isn’t that what we all strive for as both parents and educators?
Laptop Program – Self Service
T
he school year is off to a great start and students in grades 8 – 12 are once again reunited with their school issued laptops. One interesting and sometimes overlooked aspect of our one to one laptop program wewanted to highlight in our newsletter is a feature called Self-Service. Self-Service allows students and teachers to install pre-approved software the school district has licensed or approved for educational use. It also has an on-line form that can be filled out to request new applications and provide us feedback.
Since students don’t have administrative rights to their machines this is the only way soft-ware can be installed on their machines. Self-Service can be accessed from anywhere as long as the student has internet access and their school issued laptop. The icon shown here is the Self-Service icon and you simply need to click it to get started. It can be found on the lower portion (The Doc) of every school issued laptop.
Natick Schools to Advance Blended Learning Practices in K-12 Classrooms
Blended Learning, which combines the face-to-face classroom with an online virtual classroom, is fast becoming the norm for K-12 learning environments around the nation. This year Natick teachers will have new opportunities to learn how to create transformative, blended learning environments for their classrooms. Grace Magley, the new Supervisor of Online Learning, hopes to strengthen the dis-trict’s implementation of online technologies and help teachers create new opportunities that encourage student engagement, enhance student learning and extend learning beyond the classroom walls and into student’s everyday life.
As Natick teachers continue to align to the Massachusetts Common Core State Standards and get ready for the new PARCC exams that replace MCAS in 2015; research-based Blended Learning practices will
help teachers to provide more effective, personalized instruction and to better manage the teaching and learning process. The benefits of having a virtual classroom that compliments the face-to-face classroom is that it provides students and families unlimited access to the learning environment with all of the information, resources and tools that were only available in the physical classroom in traditional classroom settings. It is the most effective learning environment for educators and students providing optimal conditions for success. Natick teachers, at the middle and high school, have used blended learning practices to support their classrooms at various levels since 2008. This experience has grown within the schools rather organically. This year we hope to begin a process that will deepen and expand Blended Learning throughout the district.
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
10
11
certified staff and we will have ten additional staff members participating in the training this year. We provided Applied Behav-ioral Analysis based behavBehav-ioral prevention/de-escalation training to more than fifty staff members and have another fifty taking part in the training this year. We invested heavily in technology, placing an IPAD in the possession of every K-8 special educa-tor to use with students. We are dedicated to ensuring that our teachers have what they need to provide top quality instruction and will continue to be as we move forward.
At the start of this school year, we introduced new programs, or enhancements, to our school system. At Ben Hem we added a new model that incorporates Co-Teaching strategies into student schedules. Co-Teaching strategies go one step beyond inclu-sion, allowing general and special education teachers to plan together and co-instruct when appropriate. This type of model as-sists all students in the classroom allowing for differentiation of instruction and assessment. Our Wilson and Kennedy language based instruction was enhanced in a way that allows students, who are able to participate in the general education setting and to benefit from a similar Co-Taught model. At Natick High School, we enhanced our COMPASS program to include a sub-sepa-rate component of instruction for our students who exhibit internalized mental health concerns. We are excited about these programs and will monitor them closely as they develop.
This year we hope to experience additional successes by concentrating on the following: • Creating a district wide Response to Intervention Plan;
• Developing a comprehensive and transparent Student Services Web Page which will include program descriptions, training pages, etc.
• Researching the newest in Specially Designed Instruction and what makes it so special; • Continuing our challenge of ensuring improved communication with families, and • Researching a new Special Education Data Management System.
I am looking forward to a great year and the positive results that will follow from all of the hard work that will come over the next 9 months. We have a lot to do on the Student Services end of things, and as always, the result will be what’s best for kids. Timothy Luff
Director of Student Services
Special Education Child Find Notice
Under federal and state special education regulations, Natick Public Schools has a duty to locate, identify, refer, evaluate and, if eligible, provide a free, appropriate public education to students with disabilities who reside in the town of Natick. For parents or guardians of children ages 3-21 years of age, who are suspected of having a disability, and who would like more information, please contact Mr. Timothy Luff at the address below.
504 Child Find Notice
Pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination in publicly funded activities the Natick Public Schools has a duty to identify refer, evaluate, and if eligible, provide access to public education to student with impairments in its jurisdiction. For additional information about the rights of parents of eligible children, or for answers to any questions you might have about identification, evaluation and placement into Section 504 programs, please contact:
Mr. Timothy Luff
Director of Student Services Natick Public Schools 13 East Central Street Natick, MA 01760 (508)647-6510
Student Services
D
ear Families,I would like to personally welcome you back to another exciting school year in the Natick Public Schools. As I begin my second year as the Director of Student Services, I find myself in a much better position to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of our programming and to set goals accordingly. We have many opportunities before us to improve our programs and we hit the ground running this school year.
The Department of Student Services covers a broad range of services for our students. These include guidance, nursing, special education and related services, ELL, youth in transition, section 504, safety programs and our comprehensive bullying prevention program. We are dedicated to ensuring that these programs are meeting the diverse needs of all our children. The State Coordinated Program Review (CPR) conducted by the Department of Education (DESE) last year was a success. DESE verbally acknowledged our strengths, such as continuum of services, assistive technology, staff courtesy/professionalism, and overall compliance. Further, only minimal issues of compliance were found. This review is a true testament to how well student services are provided in Natick, the commitment of our staff and the overall focus on the individual child. I would like to thank all staff, parents, and community members who participated in the review.
Last year the results of the Office of Student Services focus manifested in the investment of instructional methodology, behav-ioral prevention, and technology for many of our educational staff. We added ten teachers to our contingent of Wilson Reading the globe. Natick High School is currently the only Massachusetts high school
that is offering DECA as an academic course. DECA enhances the preparation for college and careers by providing programs that integrate into classroom in-struction, applying learning in the context of business, connecting to businesses and the community and promoting competition. DECA students will be eligible to participate in state, regional and national competitions. The DECA class will also be applying their learning within our school community as they will take on the role of running the school concession stand. This will allow students to participate in the whole scope of roles and responsibilities in operating a busi-ness.
Our Red Hawk is here!
The red hawk sculpture that greets us as we enter into the high school is over 15 feet long and weighs over 200 pounds. It was designed and created by Jeff Buc-cacio, a 1990 NHS graduate. Jeff will be inducted into The Natick High School Wall of Achievement this year. Thank you Jeff!
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
8
13
Abraham Maslow captured this concept in 1943 in a work called “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Maslow’s work set forth the idea that all human beings are driven by a set of hierarchical needs and that higher level needs cannot be attended to until lower level needs are met. The first two levels are physiological and safety. Learning falls into a set of higher level cognitive needs. This theory is why we ask kids who are struggling if they got a good night’s sleep or if they had breakfast. These basic physiological needs have a significant impact on their learning.
Beyond physiological needs is the need for safety. The child needs to know that they are physically and emotionally safe before they are able to attend to learning. Providing a safe and predictable environment for 600 students who come to learn with over 75 adult faculty members creates a dynamic challenge for a school.
To meet this challenge Natick faculty and staff have developed and implemented a system of School Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS). The SWPBS approach to school culture is predicated on the idea that human behavior is learned and, therefore, needs to be taught. It is the proactive approach to teaching positive behavioral expectations that separates SWPBS from traditional behavior management techniques.
The Open Circle program is one that families hear a lot about during curriculum nights and in teacher newsletters. The Open Circle program is Natick’s primary curriculum resource for teaching students what it means to be a friend and a student. The inter- and intrapersonal skills developed through Open Circle are critical to ensuring our students are safe and successful in school. When programs like Open Circle are not used the social curriculum becomes the “hidden curriculum.” Open Circle supports our teachers in transferring this “hidden curriculum” into a clear and explicit trajectory of teaching and learning that provides the foundation of a positive school culture and climate.
Teaching is only the first step in this process. Instruction is most effective when the content and expectations are consistent from classroom to classroom and year to year. Stability and predictability are part of making sure those basic needs that Maslow described are met. To ensure that behavioral expectations are consistent in all classrooms and settings, our teachers use a com-mon set of guiding principles when developing classroom rules. Providing fundamental principles ensures continuity of expec-tations while providing for flexibility in adapting rules and expecexpec-tations to specific environments.
The social and emotional skills of our students are critically important to their success. Teaching and supporting the develop-ment of these skills and abilities is a high priority for Natick and one that we know ensures high levels of learning for our students. School Wide Positive Behavior Supports is an effective model that we implement to ensure this learning throughout the day and year.
Learning a Language 24/7!
A
goal of the Natick Public Schools is to provide students with an education that will allow them to succeed in the real world when they leave our schools. One of the key components to being a successful 21st Century learner and citizen is fluency in a sec-ond language. The first steps to building that fluency start in the middle school World Languages program and continue on throughout students’ high school careers. Middle school students in seventh grade World Language courses have a unique learn-ing opportunity this year. For the first time in middle school programmlearn-ing, studentsOnce launched students are asked for their username and password and it will display all applications available for them to install in the middle of the screen.
All applications are organized by categories (displayed on the right side) and the featured category shows up by default. Fea-tured applications are where we put some of the more critical updates so this section changes more often than most.
Students simply need to click the install button for anything they need and in the background the application will be installed on their school issued laptop.
Just to the right of the install button for all applications is a little “i”. By clicking on the “i” it will provide more information on what the application does if it isn’t obvious by the
name itself.
If students or teachers would like new applications added that aren’t in self-service they just need to click on one of the links on the left hand side and make a request. This is a great way for students and teach-ers to provide us feedback on additional resources to enhance the learning environment.
Many of the suggestions we receive are from stu-dents, and often times they are free applications. This is exactly what we want to encourage! Below is a recent list of some of those suggestions:
Blender - A free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, art,
3D printed models, interactive 3D applications and video games. You can find Blender under “Multimedia.”
eBook Options - We had a lot of requests for different software to manage eBooks. You can find these under “English” - Let
us know if we missed any!
• Adobe Digital Editions - “An engaging way to view and manage eBooks and other digital publications” • Nook - “The easy-to-use way to read the books you love - right on your Mac computer.”
• Kindle - “Read more than 1 million Kindle books on your computer without the free Kindle reading app. No Kindle device required.”
• Calibre - “Calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books”
TI Connect - Allows management of a Texas Instruments calculator via the computer. You can find TI Connect under “Math.” Daum Equation Editor - Create formulas with the click of a button. This App can be found under “Math.”
Adobe Shockwave - The newest version of Shockwave (12) is now available under “Plug-ins” MathXL downloads - Found under “Plug-ins” this bundled download includes:
• Pearson Lockdown Browser • TestGen Plug-in
• Wolfram CDF Player • Adobe Flash Player • Realplayer
Unity 3D 4.2.1 - Unity is now updated! You can find it under “Multimedia”
Pencil - Animation/drawing software that lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and
Natick Public Schools
November 2013
Building The Future, One Child At A Time
12
9
New Happenings at NHS
W
e are very happy to welcome a wonderful, new group of International students to Natick High School. These 11 students will be with us for the full school year and are very excited about their experiences at Natick High. They represent grades 9 - 12 and come to us from Brazil, Germany (2), China (3), Norway, Belgium, Mexico, Switzerland and Kuwait.The Social Studies Department has created several diverse new elective courses for the 2013-14 school year. These electives are part of an excit-ing new curriculum for Social Studies at Natick High School that will allow students more choice in their learning. These courses allow students the opportunity to study specific areas of interest within history in a more in-depth manner. New courses that are debuting this semester include: Economics, The History of Sports and Society, The Holocaust, Anthropol-ogy, Philosophy, and Social and Political Issues through Popular Music. The DECA program is another exciting new elective course that the Social Studies department is offering. DECA is an international organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around
studying French at Kennedy and Spanish at Wilson Middle School are taking the course completely online, under the guidance of their teachers. Middlebury College, a recognized leader in global language studies, has developed this interactive learning experience based on the proven methodology and philosophy that has been in existence in their traditional world language courses.
The course is designed to promote understanding of the target language in the areas of grammar, vocabulary, oral language proficiency and cultural understanding. Students log in and using head-sets, are able to listen to native speakers and are soon recording their own voices in an authentic French or Spanish accent. This learning experi-ence allows students to work at his or her own pace and to revisit material on an ongoing basis. The program is available both in classes and can be accessed at home on a variety of devices, laptops and iPads to name just two. For digital
natives, this is the way they learn best and it is the way material will be presented to them in their high school, college and career environments.
This course is the best of all worlds as far as learning is concerned. Observations in classes have shown students working independently and cooperatively to learn new material and how to negotiate the technology. Reactions from students have been enthusiastic: “Awesome!” “Cool” and “Great” and isn’t that what we all strive for as both parents and educators?
Laptop Program – Self Service
T
he school year is off to a great start and students in grades 8 – 12 are once again reunited with their school issued laptops. One interesting and sometimes overlooked aspect of our one to one laptop program wewanted to highlight in our newsletter is a feature called Self-Service. Self-Service allows students and teachers to install pre-approved software the school district has licensed or approved for educational use. It also has an on-line form that can be filled out to request new applications and provide us feedback.
Since students don’t have administrative rights to their machines this is the only way soft-ware can be installed on their machines. Self-Service can be accessed from anywhere as long as the student has internet access and their school issued laptop. The icon shown here is the Self-Service icon and you simply need to click it to get started. It can be found on the lower portion (The Doc) of every school issued laptop.
Natick Schools to Advance Blended Learning Practices in K-12 Classrooms
Blended Learning, which combines the face-to-face classroom with an online virtual classroom, is fast becoming the norm for K-12 learning environments around the nation. This year Natick teachers will have new opportunities to learn how to create transformative, blended learning environments for their classrooms. Grace Magley, the new Supervisor of Online Learning, hopes to strengthen the dis-trict’s implementation of online technologies and help teachers create new opportunities that encourage student engagement, enhance student learning and extend learning beyond the classroom walls and into student’s everyday life.
As Natick teachers continue to align to the Massachusetts Common Core State Standards and get ready for the new PARCC exams that replace MCAS in 2015; research-based Blended Learning practices will
help teachers to provide more effective, personalized instruction and to better manage the teaching and learning process. The benefits of having a virtual classroom that compliments the face-to-face classroom is that it provides students and families unlimited access to the learning environment with all of the information, resources and tools that were only available in the physical classroom in traditional classroom settings. It is the most effective learning environment for educators and students providing optimal conditions for success. Natick teachers, at the middle and high school, have used blended learning practices to support their classrooms at various levels since 2008. This experience has grown within the schools rather organically. This year we hope to begin a process that will deepen and expand Blended Learning throughout the district.
