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GIBBONS MIDDLE SCHOOL
Message sent - 12/9/2009
rescheduled concert

Dear Gibbons Parents:

tonight's winter concert for the middle school orchestra, wind ensemble and chorus has been postponed due to the weather. The concert for this evening will be rescheduled for Monday, December 21st at 7:30Pm. As of now, Thursday evening's concert band and Jazz band concert is still scheduled for tomorrow night, weather permitting. We hope that everyone has a safe and pleasant evening. Thank You

Mr.. Fournier

School Committee Minutes Written by Webmaster   

[The following minutes copied from the district site on 2009-12-08.  Minor differences in formatting do occur, please access the district site if you desire an official, formal copy --webmaster]

WESTBOROUGH SCHOOL COMMITTEE

WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS

MINUTES

Wednesday November18, 2009

The Westborough School Committee meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m by Chairman, Karen Henderson. Committee members present included Mr. Bruce Tretter, Mrs. Ilyse Levine-Kanji, and Mr. Craig Harris. Administrators present were Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Anne Towle; Assistant Superintendent, Marianne O’Connor; Director of Finance and Administration, Daniel Hendricks; Principals, John Smith and Pattie Berkey.

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

MINUTES

Upon a motion by Mr. Tretter seconded by Mrs. Levine-Kanji, the Committee voted 4-0 to approve the minutes of November 4 and November 10, 2009.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT AND HIGHLIGHTS

Dr. Towle introduced the Superintendent’s Scholars for 2009, Anthony Liu and Ruisi Shang. Anthony is ranked first in his class at WHS and is a National Merit Semi-Finalist. He is a gifted violinist, a member of the Honors String Quartet and the Chamber Orchestra, achieved a perfect score on the Math SAT Reasoning and Math 2 SAT Subject Tests, as well as earning 5’s on the AP Chemistry and U.S. History tests.

Ruisi is ranked second in the class of 2009, is a member of the National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honors Society, and the Central District Orchestra. Ruisi was accepted into the New England Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, is president of the Chemistry Club and Captain of the Ski team. She has participated in mission trips from her church, performed community service, and is a hip hop dancer. The students will be accompanying Dr. Towle to a reception in January.

Business teacher, Darrell Potosnak introduced three of the nine students who recently attended the “Dress for Success” program at Union Station in Worcester. Catherine Hastings, Danielle Flanigan, and Ashley Cerny gave a report on the program that is for disadvantaged women that need the proper clothing for business interviews. The students have planned a clothing drive at the High School. The collection will end December 4 and the students will deliver the clothing to program headquarters in Worcester.

The Corridor Nine Chamber of Commerce will recognize and award mini grants to Lisa Greenwald, Gibbons Middle School, for “Do You See What I See? Using Forensic Science to Think Like a Scientist; from the Mill Pond School, Roxanne Donahue, Deb Magiera, Anne DiBona and Angela Porcello for “Ecosystems In Our Hand”.

One hundred ninety-seven high school students were vaccinated last week with the H1N1 vaccine. Another clinic will be held at the high school November 19, followed by a clinic at the Middle School after Thanksgiving. Three hundred high school students signed up to receive the vaccine. Any high school student that did not sign up and would now like to receive the vaccine will be scheduled into an upcoming clinic.

The Boys Cross Country Team and coach, Rick Hebert, were congratulated for winning the Central Mass Division 1 Cross Country Championship. Byron Jones placed first, and Jeff Bush placed second to lead the Rangers. The team will compete for the MIAA State Championship November 21 at Northfield Mountain at 12 p.m.

The Thanksgiving football game will be held at Algonquin High School this year, November 26 at 10:00 a.m.

The Superintendent will make a recommendation in December for making up a day of school that was missed at the Fales School due to a water main break.

Mrs. O’Connor reported she attended the Band O Rama, November 17, an outstanding program of participants from grades 5-12. Last Monday’s Trivia Bee had three school department teams, Mill Pond, School Committee and High School, making it to the finals. Districtwide curriculum meetings were held last week furthering equity among the schools.

School Committee Meeting 2.

November 18, 2009

Mrs. O’Connor introduced Mr. Fan Shouguo, Hefei No.2 High School, China, who is visiting the district through the China Exchange Initiative. There are two administrators visiting Massachusetts this week. Mrs. O’Connor will spend a week visiting Mr. Shouguo’s school in April. During his visit to the United States, Mr. Shouguo has spent time in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Boston. He is spending the week in a family home, has visited classes in the schools on a daily basis, and conversed with many of the Westborough students. He is accompanied by a translator and Shelley Pinkham, a graduate student working on her PhD in Public Policy.

Mrs. O’Connor stated she hopes the Exchange program will result in a partnership and friendship in education and will be a cultural opportunity to both prepare our students for the 21^th Century and to live in peace and harmony.

Mrs. Henderson extended a welcome on behalf of the School Committee. Mr. Tretter inquired whether his school district has a school committee.

Mr. Shouguo replied there is a committee in China; however, the responsibilities are different. He added that the group has learned a lot from each other, education is similar, but different. He has been deeply moved by the educational system. In China the students work very hard and the knowledge capacity is more than here.

Mrs. O’Connor reported the group has spent a day at the high school, had lunch in the cafeteria, attended a performance in the Fine Arts Department, and attended the Mandarin class. Mr. Shouguo was impressed with “Character Education” at the Mill Pond School and the students who come to school in Westborough without speaking a word of English, and the amount of diversity in the schools. Mr. Shouguo was very appreciative of the gift presented to him from the school district.

Mr. Hendricks reported he attended a statewide purchasing meeting. He will continue to use the system for statewide purchasing.

COMMITTEE REQUESTS AND REPORTS

Afeefa noted a Dinner for Darfur will be held at Uno’s, sponsored by the Darfur Student Alliance. The National Merit Breakfast will be held November 17 and an informational meeting will be held November 20 for the spring musical, “Once On This Island”. The Debating Team will debate in its first tournament, December 5 in Lexington. On November 23 the Muslim students will be hosting a food drive.

Mr. Tretter stated Paul McNulty of the Board of Health had praise for the efficiency of the high school staff and custodians in setting up the H1N1 Clinic. He was also pleased with the fact three school groups in the Trivia Bee reached the finals.

Mrs. Henderson extended thanks and applause to the Westborough Education Foundation for sponsoring the Trivia Bee and its contributions to the schools.

Mrs. Levine-Kanji extended thanks to Mrs. Henderson for going above and beyond in the amount of time and effort she devotes to additional meetings and school business. Mrs. Henderson will be attending the MASC Conference in Hyannis this week. Mrs. Levine-Kanji also thanked the Superintendent for the copy of the MA Taxpayers Association power point presentation regarding the financial status of the state.

Mrs. Henderson requested a discussion of a District Standards Steering Committee be placed on a future agenda.

ACTION ITEMS

MOTION

Mr. Tretter made a motion, seconded by Mr. Harris, to approve the Student Handbooks for Armstrong, Fales, Hastings, Mill Pond, Gibbons and the High School. The Committee voted 4-0 in favor of the motion.

School Committee Meeting 3.

November 18, 2009

MOTION

Mr. Harris made a motion to accept the revision of Policy JRD, Student Photographs. The motion was seconded by Mr. Tretter and the Committee voted 4-0 in favor.

KINDERGARTEN FEES

The administration recommends raising the Full Day Kindergarten fees from $2800 to $3000 for next year. Currently there are 190 full time kindergarten students, who bring in $510,000 in tuition fees, and 66 half day students. There are nine teachers and three paras in the program. The projected increase would result in a total of $873,420 from fees which are in line with the local market. Kindergarten packages will be distributed in January.

Mr. Harris stated he could not support the increase. He has concerns about families being on the financial edge and not being able to afford the program. A few hundred dollars goes a long way in these economic times.

Mrs. Levine-Kanji noted next year she anticipates an increase in class sizes. She does not want to raise fees or people’s taxes. However, if the $200 saves a teacher’s position, it is justified.

Mrs. Henderson felt because of the huge deficit, the increase seems justified. She would prefer that the kindergarten class size be capped on the smaller size.

MOTION

Mr. Tretter made a motion to approve the increase in full day kindergarten tuition. Mrs. Levine-Kanji seconded the motion and the Committee voted 3-1 in favor of the motion with Mr. Harris voting in the negative.

MOTION

Mr. Tretter made a motion to approve an out of state trip by the Robotics Team to compete in Meriden, Connecticut, December 12. Transportation will be provided by parents. The motion was seconded by Mr. Harris and the Committee voted 4-0 in favor.

REPORTS

Sue Bardsley extended an invitation to attend the Family Literacy Night, November 30, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Story Teller, Diane Edgecomb will be present, as well as Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord for “Let’s Make Books”. There will be Make and Take Literacy Games, Multi Lingual Listening Station, Custom Bookmarks, and more. The evening is made possible through a grant of $3000 from Target.

Mrs. O’Connor thanked Ms. Bardsley for all the work she has done to enhance the Literacy program, Reading, meeting with the district’s teachers, and now developing a partnership with the Southborough schools.

SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH

Mrs. Henderson reviewed the results of a survey for the superintendent search and to discuss the best way to proceed. There were 100 responses from parents, 60 from staff and 8 from administrators. Common threads in the responses were communication skills, relationships, integrity and ethics, budget preparation, educational goals, individual needs of all students.

The Committee reviewed the reasons for conducting an internal search first, followed by an external search if the internal candidates were not qualified. The reasons for an internal search included credibility, local experience, continuity, known quality, candidate pool is a puddle, not lose a quality person we already have.

Mrs. Levine-Kanji stated information from MASC shows that 30% of the schools hire from within immediately; 15-20% of the schools go through the entire process and end up with an internal candidate; there is a limited pool of external candidates; because of recession, candidates less likely to leave stable job for something unknown.

School Committee Meeting 4.

November 18, 2009

The desired skills and attributes of a superintendent, not in priority order:

Maintain academic leadership and establish realistic educational goals for the district that:

Take into account current and foreseeable financial limitations

Use creativity and innovation and vision to foster further development of 21^st Century educational skills

Compensate for the need to manage state and federal unfunded mandates

Encourage appropriate programming for the whole student with respect for the variety of individual needs

Set budget priorities and manage school operational standards in the face of revenues that are not keeping pace with

increasing costs

Communicate effectively with members of the school community and town officials and residents regarding the

current and future condition of our schools

Build strong relationships with staff and encourage efficient, positive relationships and morale both within and

between schools

Make management decisions regarding staff hiring and school performance management

Participation in superintendent professional organizations both to learn best practices from other districts in the

State and across the country and share our accomplishments with others.

Have collective bargaining and contract management experience.

Mrs. Henderson reported the Committee has received a letter of intent from Marianne O’Connor, the Assistant Superintendent.

MOTION

Upon a motion by Mr. Tretter, seconded by Mr. Harris, the Committee voted 4-0 in favor of moving forward with the process with an internal candidate.

The School Committee will conduct an interview with the candidate, the faculty and staff will have an opportunity to meet and ask questions and the public will be given an opportunity for feedback. The School Committee will evaluate and assess whether to expand the search.

Upon a motion by Mr. Tretter, seconded by Mrs. Levine-Kanji, the Committee voted 4-0 by roll call vote to enter Executive Session under Chapter 30, Section 21 at 7:50 p.m.

The Committee returned to Open Session at 8:30 p.m., and signed bills.

Upon a motion by Mr. Tretter, seconded by Mr. Harris, the Committee voted 4-0 in favor of adjournment at 8:35 p.m.

.

Respectfully submitted

Ilyse Levine-Kanji

Secretary

These minutes are as recorded by the secretary to the school committee and do not become an official part of the record until so noted in a subsequent record.

School Notices Written by Webmaster   

WESTBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Message sent - 12/3/2009

December 7th Half-Day

On the December 7th half-day, students will be released 15 minutes earlier from each school to ensure that all staff have ample time to travel to various schools for Professional Development training. This change will affect parent pick ups and school bus schedules.

The following are the early release times on December 7th:

High School and Gibbons Middle School - Dismissal at 10:40 AM

Mill Pond School - Dismissal at 11:10 AM

Armstrong, Hastings and Fales Elementary Schools - Dismissal at 11:40 AM

This e-mail has been sent to you by WESTBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message. If you wish to discontinue this service, please inform WESTBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN PERSON, by US MAIL, or by TELEPHONE at (508) 836-7700.

School Committee Minutes Written by Webmaster   

[The following minutes fetched from the district site on 2009-12-02 --webmaster]

WESTBOROUGH SCHOOL COMMITTEE

WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS

MINUTES

Tuesday November 10, 2009

The Westborough School Committee meeting was called to order at 5:25 p.m. by Chairman, Karen Henderson. Committee members present included Mr. Bruce Tretter, Mrs. Ilyse Levine-Kanji, Mr. Stephen Doret and Mr. Craig Harris.

Mrs. Henderson noted that the meeting was not being videotaped. She stated that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the results of the survey for the superintendent search, and to determine the best way to present the results publicly. She said the Committee would be finalizing the criteria for the search, coming up with a list of 6-8 items based on what the Committee thinks is important as well as feedback from the survey. Mrs. Henderson said they would be looking at the pros and cons of internal versus external candidates, getting input from other people, the timeline, and the plan for presenting it all at next week’s School Committee meeting. She stated that the Committee members had received the survey results, and asked for comments.

Mr. Tretter said that he felt the responses were good, and that there were similar threads throughout. Mrs. Henderson added that there were 150 responses received, although a few had simply checked off the category they belonged to (parent, staff) and not completed the survey. It was a good mix, with 75 from parents, 60 from staff, and 8 from administrators.

Mrs. Levine-Kanji said she felt that the administrators’ feedback was very helpful, with most suggesting the Committee go internal. She said that while some staff took the opportunity to “slam” various people, there was some valuable input as well. Mr. Harris also remarked on the common themes, noting the good school system, Mrs. O’Connor, the faculty, and that the decision should be made collaboratively.

Mrs. Henderson stated that we have a good system, how can we make it better? We have good communicators, strength in relationship building, and visibility. These are critical factors. Integrity, experience and honesty were also listed as important qualities, as was having a person who’s invested in the community. Mrs. Levine-Kanji added that people’s perceptions about the current superintendent may affect the criteria they want for a new superintendent. Mr. Tretter said they should present the list of criteria mentioned in the survey at the next Committee meeting, including the skill set they want. Mr. Doret stated that the benefit of the survey was it allowed the Committee to learn the depths of the concerns parents and staff have for the school system.

Mrs. Henderson will summarize the survey results at the next meeting, listing the strengths internally, as well as the areas that may not be so strong. She said that the posting expires on November 13^th for internal candidates to apply. Mrs. Henderson will also present the criteria that will be used, including a list of bulleted items which the Committee proceeded to brainstorm.

Why Internal?

1. Credibility

2. Local experience/history

3. Continuity

4. Time/Resources

5. Rapport

6. Known quantity

7. Candidate pool - a puddle

8. Many issues on the plate

9. Not lose quality person already here

School Committee Meeting 2.

November 10, 2009

Criteria/Qualities

1. Budget to quality

2. Communication skills (school/town)

3. Relationship building

4. Decisive - tough decisions, budget/staffing, operations

5. Educational leadership

· establishing district educational goals

· developing system under constraints

· innovations and creativity

· managing state/federal mandates

· involvement in professional organizations

6. Management skills

· hiring quality staff

· supervision/oversight

7. Whole child - individual needs of all children

8. Collective bargaining/contracts

Mrs. Henderson noted that the last time the Committee hired a superintendent, unemployment was at 1.8%; now it’s at 7.6% and is expected to rise. She said the next steps were to look at the internal candidates, who would be known by 11/13, and then to schedule interviews. The Committee discussed whether it should be an open public forum for the interviews where anyone could come, or if there should be a session for faculty and staff, and a second one for the community. They also considered whether the interviews should be conducted in back-to-back sessions on the same day, an afternoon session and an evening session, or separate days. It was suggested that it should not be done on camera, and that the duration would be from 60-90 minutes. The Committee proposed the week of 12/7 for the interviews, to be followed by public question and answer sessions during the subsequent week.

MOTION

At 6:50p.m. upon a motion by Mrs. Henderson, seconded by Mr. Doret, the Committee voted 5-0 in favor of adjournment.

.

Respectfully submitted

Ilyse Levine-Kanji

Secretary

These minutes are as recorded by the secretary to the school committee and do not become an official part of the record until so noted in a subsequent record.

School Committee Minutes Written by Webmaster   

[The following minutes fetched from the district site on 2009-12-02 --webmaster]

WESTBOROUGH SCHOOL COMMITTEE

WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS

MINUTES

Wednesday November 4, 2009

The Westborough School Committee meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m by Chairman, Karen Henderson. Committee members present included Mr. Bruce Tretter, Mrs. Ilyse Levine-Kanji, Mr. Stephen Doret and Mr. Craig Harris. Administrators present were Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Anne Towle; Assistant Superintendent, Marianne O’Connor; Principals, John Smith; Pattie Berkey, Reene Hatherley, Maryann Stannard, and John Mendes.

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

MINUTES

Upon a motion by Mr. Tretter seconded by Mr. Harris, the Committee voted 5-0 to approve the minutes of October 21, 2009.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT AND HIGHLIGHTS

Dr. Towle announced a report from the Stipend Committee will be presented at the next meeting.

The Superintendent presented High School Librarian, Diane Libbey, with a Certificate of Achievement for having received the Central Area Directors’ Award by the Massachusetts School Librarian Association. Ms. Libbey is on the Library Board of Trustees in Grafton and is a Central Massachusetts Regional Library Director.

Hastings School students, Shirley Wang and Ellen Sharon, were recognized by Dr. Towle for being finalists in the ADL’s A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute’s 25^th Anniversary 2010 Calendar Art Award.

The Westborough Board of Health has received 100 H1N1 vaccines that will be distributed to high school seniors. Another 100 will be available November 10 and distributed between 2:30 and 4:00 p.m. Because of the close proximity of this group of students, the decision was made to start with them. Parents are asked to keep students home if they show signs of illness.

Mrs. O’Connor extended an invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Don Chouinard and Mr. and Mrs. Bill Szymczak to join them at a Welcome Reception November 15 for two principals from China that will be visiting Westborough schools for a week.

A total of 179 children have been identified to date as entering kindergarten next year. That total will change.

A meeting on Global Education was hosted by Westborough and will be followed up with two more sessions.

Mrs. O’Connor commented on the recent Math Technology Conference, co-sponsored by the MASS. The keynote speaker talked on “New Literacy Skills for On-line Learning”. Grant applications encourage partnering literacy with technology. A new type of reading and navigating skills are needed when going to web sites.

Mr. Doret asked for Mrs. Libbey’s opinion on the news some colleges are doing away with textbooks. Mrs. Libbey noted students absorb information in different ways; some need a book; others can search a website and gather pertinent information.

COMMITTEE REQUESTS AND REPORTS

Afeefa updated the Committee on High School events. Today is the end of the first term. The play, “Splendor in the Grass” will be presented this weekend and Boys Soccer, Girls Volleyball, Girls Field Hockey and Boys Cross Country teams are in post season competition. On November 17 a “Band O Rama” will take place at the school, and on November 19 the National Merit Breakfast will take place.

Mr. Tretter presented the Committee with a draft of a proposal put together for a District Standards Steering Committee. He feels in these tough economic times, some priorities should be discussed. The Overview states,

School Committee Meeting 2.

November 4, 2009

“Cannot afford the school services we provide in the current and foreseeable financial climate. Need to develop a plan that involves all stakeholders to adjust how we deliver school services.”

Mr. Doret noted under Ed Reform, the administration has certain responsibilities and the school committee is responsible for fiscal management and direction to the superintendent.

Dr. Towle added she is chairing a panel at the MASS/MASC Conference on fiscal financing and the next logical steps.

The topic will be placed on an agenda after November 18.

A short discussion was held on combining and expanding purchasing power for supplies.

Mrs. Levine-Kanji announced the Fales and Hastings Schools are holding their annual Book Fair and Ice Cream Social this evening. The Transportation Sub Committee met and among the topics discussed were changes to the start time at schools to allow for combining bus trips.

Mrs. Levine-Kanji thanked David Jost for the time he has spent on putting together the Fine Arts Grant and the expanded tour he gave her of the Fine Arts Department.

Mr. Harris reported the Fee Sub Committee met and will bring forward a proposal in December.

Committee members extended thanks to the townspeople for attending Town Meeting.

Mrs. Henderson reviewed the meetings she attended in the past week. In addition to Town Meeting, Mrs. Henderson attended the Mill Pond Parent Group Meeting, taped a Chalk Talk TV show, attended the Transportation Sub Committee Meeting, the Bi-weekly Luncheon at Armstrong School, will be in Lynnfield November 5 to attend a meeting on negotiating and at the Trivia Bee November 9 at 6:30 p.m.

The Superintendent Search Survey is on the district’s web site through November 6. Dr. Towle was asked to post the superintendent vacancy internally. A 45 minute block of time is to be set aside on the next agenda to discuss superintendent search procedures and the timeline.

Fales, Hastings, Armstrong and Mill Pond Schools submitted their School Improvement Plans for 2009-10. Mr. Tretter was assured the three K-3 schools will share this information at one of their joint meetings.

Principal Hatherley stated the Mill Pond Improvement Plan involved many hours of preparation and most of the language comes from many people. In response to a question of resources, Mrs. Hatherley replied people work very hard to meet the needs of the students. Mill Pond School will be reapplying for the “School of Character” grant.

The Committee discussed the Professional Learning and Observation program. The peer partnership has had many rewards and advantages that are invaluable and will be scheduled throughout the district. Grant money is used for substitutes.

ACTION ITEMS

On behalf of the WTA leadership, Mr. Louis Cornacchioli has requested dates to commence negotiation for the newly formed Tutors union.

MOTION

Mr. Tretter made a motion, seconded by Mr. Doret, to open negotiations with the Tutors. The Committee voted 5-0 in favor of the motion.

School Committee Meeting 3.

November 4, 2009

KINDERGARTEN FEES

The administration recommends raising the Full Day Kindergarten fees from $2800 to $3000. Massachusetts law requires half day kindergarten; full day participants pay all expenses for the additional time. No other programs are funded by the tuitions. Community Ed and PreSchool fee recommendations will be forthcoming.

The Committee requested cost information from surrounding towns and private kindergartens.

POLICY

The Committee will review Policy JRD, Student Photographs, and take a vote at the next meeting.

The Committee signed bills.

MOTION

Upon a motion by Mr. Tretter, seconded by Mr. Harris, the Committee voted 5-0 in favor of adjournment.

.

Respectfully submitted

Ilyse Levine-Kanji

Secretary

These minutes are as recorded by the secretary to the school committee and do not become an official part of the record until so noted in a subsequent record.