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Dr. Goodwin's Messages to the Sprague Community 2011 - 2012 |
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February 15, 2012
Dear Sprague Community, When Mr. Dononhue's half court heave rattled in and out of the rim last Thursday night, the 5th graders were once again able to storm the court in victory. So, in case you missed it, the 5th grade students nipped the Sprague staff in a barn burner of a contest 64-62. If you were able to attend the game, I hope you enjoyed yourself. I cannot thank Gillian Callaghan, Ginny Churchill, Margaret Lyne, and Jim and Ingrid Berquist, all Sprague 5th grade parents, for their tireless leadership and efforts regarding details both small and large for the last few months in preparation for the game. In support of the aforementioned parents as well our students were a whole additional team of parents that helped both in front of and behind the scenes leading up to and during the game. They included: Laurie Diamond - Concessions; Lorelei King, Matt King, John Maggioni, Meir Segal, Tom Rosenbloom, Laura Hartnett, Phyllis Theermann, Amy Kolb, Eric Churchill - Coaches; Beth Smith - Coordinator of the Half Time Show that rivaled any recent Super Bowl performance; Eric Churchill - Timekeeper; Ted Wayman - Announcer; Maura Wayman - Photographer; Sprague alums Max Wickersham and Charlie King - DJs; Mr. Wickersham and Haig Tellalian - Sound System support; and Ken Johnson - game night "go-to" guy. Huge thanks to all of them for making it actually happen. I apologize if I left anyone else out inadvertently. Also, much thanks to the approximately 25 Sprague staff members who sacrificed their body and soul for two halves of (in)glorious basketball. They were all terrific. Finally, thanks to the sublime 5th graders for taking on this challenge, working together as a team, and emerging victorious both in the game and as leaders of our school. 4th Graders you better be ready for next year, the staff has already started talking about ending our two game losing streak. Finally, many thanks to the Sprague community for your support thus far of our Cradles to Crayons Pajama Drive taking place throughout February. As a community we have already donated well over 125 pairs of pjs and we still have 7 more school days left in February. Thanks so much for your generosity and efforts in this regard. Spring Open House: On Wednesday, March 7 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Sprague will be conducting its annual Spring Open House. (Just a reminder that this event had previously been scheduled for the night of Thursday, March 8.) Again this year, Sprague K-5 students are asked to meet in the gym by 6:25 p.m. From 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., each grade level will perform a dance that is tied into their respective grade level curriculum. Then from 7:15 to 8:00 p.m., parents (and students) are invited to visit their classrooms to view student work. We look forward to this night and thanks for taking the time to support your child's education. Parent Conferences: Hard to believe, but March parent-teacher conferences are right around the corner. Teachers offer unique insight into how your child is progressing academically, socially and emotionally within the school setting. I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity and meet with your child's teacher. Parent Conferences will be conducted on Wednesday, March 21, Wednesday, March 28, Tuesday, April 3 and Wednesday, April 4. We welcome all to sign up for a conference. If you have not done so already, please call or email your child's teacher to set up a time. Thanks: Many thanks to all of the Grade 2 and 3 parents who helped prepare food for Wednesday's staff luncheon. The food, as usual, was sumptuous, and the staff appreciates them so much. Special thanks to Becca Cahaly and Lori Goldenthal for organizing all parts of the staff lunches. Finally, I hope everyone has a safe, relaxing and fun February break. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal
February 8, 2012 Dear Sprague Community, Well, as several pundits have already determined, the Pats' most recent Super Bowl defeat might not be the worst all-time loss for fans of the local teams, but certainly many will feel it is disappointing to not get the job done in the final, big game. As I talked with my oldest daughter about the loss (Kate has learned/been indoctrinated/become afflicted by her grandfather and father and is a staunch supporter of all four major Boston sports' teams), I reminded her that the entire Patriots' organization has worked real hard for the past year both to get to as well as win the final game. I think many might argue whether the hard work that it requires to simply get to the Super Bowl is a reward unto itself or does a team have to win it all in professional sports to have it be considered a "successful" year. One might say that this is a loser's mentality. That in professional football, there is one Super Bowl champion and then 31 teams deemed "losers." The "Chasing of No. 1" can lead to a lifetime of disappointment. As many may know, Tom Brady has played in a total of twelve seasons (Brady has served as a starter for ten complete seasons. In 2000, his first professional season, he served as a backup to Drew Bledsoe, and in 2008 he lost the entire year to injury.) With Sunday night's defeat, Tom is "stuck" at being the winning quarterback of three Super Bowl champions. Thus, 9 seasons Brady and the Pats went home "losers" if the only way you define a good season is by winning a Super Bowl championship. I am sure Brady worked just as hard in 2000, 2002 and 2005-2011, as he had in his three championship seasons of 2001, 2003-2004. That hard work and effort was indeed put forth by him, his teammates and coaches in those non-championship seasons. If anything, by falling short in those seasons, it spurred further hard work that led to the 2007 and 2011 near-championship seasons. I talked with my daughter Kate a little about this after the game, and said at the end of his career, many will judge Brady by simply the amount of rings he won. I will tend to look at his career a little differently and say that guy "brought his 'A' game" for 15, 16, 17 seasons (hopefully) and that he gave much of us great joy over the last decade and a half that we had not experienced in previous Patriots' eras. I always remind Kate, you can't control much in life, but one of few things you can, I believe, is the amount of hard work and or effort you put into your endeavors. During my time at the Carlisle Public Schools, I worked with a wonderful teacher named Bill Tate. Bill taught 5th grade for 35 years in the CPS. Bill never taught another grade for those 35 years. He just loved 5th grade and was able to stay at that grade level for his whole career. By the time I met Bill, he was already at "Living Legend" status. He had grown men and women coming back to him several times a year to tell him how much of an influence he was in their respective lives. At that point in his tenure, Bill could have rolled out the same lessons each year, but he constantly chose to challenge himself to get better at his craft. He embraced Guided Reading Groups and the Writers' Workshop model when many of his peers were bucking it. With Bill's "authorative power role" within the school, he could have stopped any initiative dead in its tracks, as his peers would have been heavily influenced by his opinion on any and all matters. Rather, Bill embraced the notions of hard work and change over the course of his career. In his classroom, Bill had a mirror that he would prominently display each year and above it he hung the question "Did you give an honest effort today?" He would teach kids what "honest effort" meant to him: asking for help when necessary; completing all parts of an assignment; turning an assignment in on time; working well with their peers whenever necessary; trying their very, very best on everything, not just on things they liked to do; asking any question that will help get them to understand the material/assignment in an enhanced way, et al. When he needed to "tune up" a student, Bill would ask them to come over to the mirror and then would ask them to spend a few seconds looking in it. He would then ask them "Did you give an honest effort today?" After developing the mores in the classroom, it became nearly impossible for Bill's students to not then give their maximum effort. Did Bill's kids get an 'A' on every assignment? Absolutely not. Nonetheless, Bill's students were the hardest working kids in the school and got the most of their 5th grade year because there was no way they wanted to disappoint Mr. Tate. So, I applaud Brady, Welker, Wilfork, Belichick for their efforts this past year, they provided me great joy in watching them, and I am looking forward to the 2012 season already. Sprague 5th Grade Students vs. Staff Basketball Game: So, media day has come and gone. The final line from Vegas is in and the 5th grade students are favored by 3 points. ESPN's analysts predict that the students' speed and advanced skill set might prove too much for the slight staff height advantage. Thus, the moment has arrived - we are on the eve of the second annual Sprague 5th Grade Students vs. Faculty basketball game. To quote legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer, "Let's get ready to rumble!!!!" Again, this year's 5th Grade Students vs. Faculty Basketball Game will take place on Thursday, February 9 at 6:30 PM in the Wellesley Middle School gym. Many thanks to countless 5th grade parents for all of their help with details both large and small regarding Thursday night's game. It has been a total team effort and is so appreciated. Just a reminder, that admission is free and all Sprague students and families are welcome to attend. Additionally, there will be a special halftime performance conducted by our 5th grade students as well as an item or two to be raffled off. Finally, there will be a bin set up if you would to like to bring a pair of pajamas in support of Sprague's Cradles to Crayons Pajama Drive taking place throughout February. As a reminder, both in support of and as a thank you to our students' pajama donation efforts, Sprague invites all students to wear pajamas to school on Friday, February 10. Hope to see you all at the game! Grade 5 Parent Transition Night at Wellesley Middle School FYI: For all parents of current 5th graders, there will be a meeting on Thursday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. at WMS to discuss Grade 6/Wellesley Middle School. Seeking any and all Kindergarteners for 2012-2013: If you are aware of any students in the Sprague neighborhood that might be kindergarten eligible (5 by Sept. 1st) for the next academic year (2012-2013), don't hesitate to check in with them and see if they have contacted Lennie Becker, sublime secretary, here at the Sprague School. We are trying to nail down our numbers for next year and appreciate any help in this area. Thanks! Thanks: Many thanks to all of the Grade 2 and 3 parents who help prepare food for Wednesday's staff luncheon. I am sure the food, as usual, will be sumptuous, and the staff appreciates them so much. Special thanks to Becca Cahaly for organizing all parts of the staff lunches. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal February 1, 2012 Dear Sprague Community, With the big game looming on Sunday, Sprague will get into the spirit this Friday (February 3) by inviting all students and staff to wear any Patriots garb they might have. In addition, this could take the form of donning "red, white and blue clothing". Certainly, any New York Giant fans are invited to wear their colors as well. Finally, Charlie Foley, wonderful Sprague 2nd grader, wanted to make sure to tell everyone that it is okay to wear your favorite "hoodie" (i.e., hooded sweatshirt) as well in honor of Coach Belichick's penchant for a certain grey hoodie. Go Pats! In further sartorial news, Sprague School will be a first-time supporter of Cradles to Crayons annual February Pajama Drive. Leslie Del Col, Sprague PTO Service Coordinator, will have more details to follow in the upcoming February HeartBeat. Both in support of and as a thank you to our students' donation efforts, Sprague invites all students to wear pajamas to school on Friday, February 10. Finally, last Thursday eight students from South Korea had a chance to visit a variety of Sprague classrooms. These students were completing their Masters in Teaching and were visiting Wellesley College for the past few weeks. Mrs. Jennifer Starck, Sprague Parent and Wellesley College administrator, made this connection for us and both the students from South Korea as well as the Sprague students and staff enjoyed an enriching visit. Letter from Joe McDonough, Director of Facilities for the Wellesley Public Schools: Below is a letter from Joe McDonough, Director of Facilities for WPS, which discusses the Sprague School's slate roof. Joe began working for WPS last summer, and in my humble opinion, his work has been nothing short of sublime. His attention to detail both big and small as well as follow through on various projects has been superb. "The existing slate roof portion of the Sprague School was recently evaluated by a roofing consultant as part of a possible capital project to repair or replace the approximately 88 year old slate roof. Because of the age and condition of the slates, the consultant has recommended as a precaution that the School Department limit pedestrian access around certain areas of the building. To address this concern, on Monday, January 30th our custodial staff will install traffic barrels and rope to cordon off an area where we believe there is potential of a slate falling onto a pedestrian travel path. It should be understood that we are not aware of any slates that have fallen onto pedestrian areas, but we believe it is prudent to take these safety measures. Because we have "snow guards" on the roof above all door areas and the handicap ramp that would catch slates, we only needed to install the barricades in one isolated pedestrian area where we have no snow guards. At this point we have limited the barricades to a small portion of the sidewalk at the top of the stairs on the north side of the building outside of the Music Room (i.e., at the top of the Labyrinth stairs leading down to the doors near the gym/cafeteria entrance). The repair/replacement of the roof is included as an FY14 project in the School Department's capital plan, so it is tentatively scheduled for construction, subject to funding, sometime after July 1, 2014. Please feel free to contact me jmcdonough@wellesleyma.gov, if you have any questions and thank you for your understanding." Grade 5 Parent Transition Night at Wellesley Middle School FYI: For all parents of current 5th graders, there will be a meeting on Thursday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. at WMS to discuss Grade 6/Wellesley Middle School. Seeking any and all Kindergarteners for 2012-2013: If you are aware of any students in the Sprague neighborhood that might be kindergarten eligible (5 by Sept. 1st) for the next academic year (2012-2013), don't hesitate to check in with them and see if they have contacted Lennie Becker, sublime secretary, here at the Sprague School. We are trying to nail down our numbers for next year and appreciate any help in this area. Thanks! Kudos: Many, many thanks to Jessica Rosenbloom and a whole host of parents for organizing this Friday's 5th Grade Game Night that will take place in the Sprague cafeteria from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Jessica has organized a version of this for the past decade and her energy and effort will be sorely missed. Great job Jessica and thanks for your support of our 5th grade students. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal January 25, 2012 Dear Sprague Community, The Sprague School conducted our "All School Write" instructional event on Tuesday, January 24th. In conducting an "All School Write" instructional event, all students (K-5) across the school responded to a written prompt to the best of their abilities. The Sprague staff will now be reviewing their students' work and then identifying grade level "anchor" papers (i.e., papers that are representative of what is expected for writing at a particular grade level) that will both assist us in future instruction as well as provide models for students at their respective grade levels. We are looking forward to this work and will showcase our findings via a display in the lobby area sometime in the spring. 5th Grade Students vs. Faculty Basketball Game: Well, if the staff looks a little fitter recently, it is because we have begun two-a-days in preparation for the second annual Sprague 5th Grade Students vs. Faculty Basketball Game. This year's game will take place on Thursday, February 9th at 6:30 p.m. in the Wellesley Middle School gym. A 5th grade cub reporter recently interviewed Sprague Faculty Coaches Taryn Drake, 4th grade teacher, and Margaret Flitsch, Sprague Physical Education teacher. Here is what they had to say so far at this point during training camp. The 5th grade cub reporter asked, "Coaches Drake and Flitsch, how's the team looking so far this year?" Coach Drake replied, "We have had February 9th circled on our calendar for a long time now. I don't like to lose and I took the staff's 55-54 loss very hard last year. I told the staff that this year I will not tolerate anything but their best effort." Cub reporter then asked Coach Flitsch, "How is training camp going so far?" Flitsch commented, "Well, thus far we defeated the Fiske and Hardy staff during our most recent round of scrimmages." When asked about how individual players are progressing during the two-a-days, Flitsch stated that ". . . the team is looking good so far. That Brian Hagar-McKee seems to have improved his dribbling a lot since last year". However, she did mention that "I am not sure that Donahue guy (Neil Donohue - Sprague Teaching Assistant) will survive the next round of cuts." So there you have it, hope to see everyone at the Sprague 5th Grade Students vs. Faculty Basketball Game on Thursday, February 9th.. Seeking any and all Kindergarteners for 2012-2013: If you are aware of any students in the Sprague neighborhood that might be kindergarten eligible (5 by Sept. 1st) for the next academic year (2012-2013), don't hesitate to check in with them and see if they have contacted Lennie Becker, sublime secretary, here at the Sprague School. We are trying to nail down our numbers for next year and appreciate any help in this area. Thanks! Kudos: Huge congratulations to all members of the Sprague Band, Orchestra, and 5th Grade Chorus for their efforts during last Friday's concert. Additionally, thanks so much to Brian Hagar-McKee for his musical leadership with the 5th Grade Chorus and Orchestra. Many thanks as well to Henry Platt, Sprague Band Conductor, and Donna Chaff, pianist and Sprague music teacher, for their respective sublime efforts. Finally, I would like to extend warm wishes to any of our families celebrating the Chinese New Year this past Monday. Gung Hay Fat Choy! Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal January 18, 2012 Dear Sprague Community, Well, the Patriots are in the AFC Championship Game for the sixth time in eleven years. They did not arrive there in the most traditional sense (e.g., overall weak defense, they do not possess much of a running game, tepid schedule, et al.), but to quote former Patriots Coach Bill Parcells, "you are what you are." Thus, right now, they are one of the top four teams left in the league and one win away from the Super Bowl. Can't complain about that, but I am sure I will if they lose to the Ravens next weekend. I think if you were to ask 100 people about current Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick you might possibly have 100 different opinions. Needless to say, he can be a polarizing figure for some. Whether it is his surliness towards the press, a lingering resentment of some NFL colleagues and players regarding "Spygate" or just the simple fact that his teams have won so much over the past eleven years, Belichick, to put it mildly, is a complex individual. Over the years, I must admit that I have tried to read anything and everything about Belichick to get a better sense of what makes him tick. (Many might have read David Halberstam's excellent book The Education of a Coach which essentially covers how Belichick became Belichick. I highly recommend it.). Over the years, one particular exhortation/comment by Belichick that has always resonated with me was his urging of his defensive players to "Do your job!" He uttered a version of this during a game a few years ago against the Jacksonville Jaguars. (The clip can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v5KECmlZ9E.) Belichick is constantly stressing a team-first mentality. As a result, "Do Your Job!" is an essential component of what each player must do to support the team as a whole. As a Principal, I constantly think to myself "Do Your Job," while at the same time trying to support everyone else to "Do Their Jobs" to the best of their abilities. We are not perfect here at Sprague and will never have the definitive ending point akin to winning a Super Bowl. Our "season" might last six years for those students that matriculate from K to Grade 5. During that time, there will be ups and downs both socially-emotionally and academically for all our students (staff and parents). Nevertheless, I remain committed to "Doing My Job" to the best of my abilities each day as well as attempt to get better at it in the same breath. Reminders/Upcoming Events: The Sprague School will be conducting an "All School Write" on Tuesday, January 24th. In conducting an "All School Write" instructional event, all students (K-5) across the school respond to a written prompt to the best of their abilities. Upon completion of the "All School Write," the Sprague staff will be reviewing the students' work and then identifying grade level "anchor" papers that will both assist us in future instruction as well as provide models for students at their respective grade levels. We are looking forward to this instructional event and will showcase some of this work via a display some time in the spring. Seeking any and all Kindergarteners for 2012-2013: If you are aware of any students in the Sprague neighborhood that might be kindergarten eligible (5 by Sept. 1st) for the next academic year (2012-2013), don't hesitate to check in with them and see if they have contacted Lennie Becker, sublime secretary, here at the Sprague School. We are trying to nail down our numbers for next year and appreciate any help in this area. Thanks! Kindergarten Orientation for the 2012-2013 school year is slated for Wednesday, March 14 from 6:45-8 p.m. and will be held in the Sprague library. Kudos: Huge thanks to the Sprague PTO for sponsoring last Friday's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Amazing Grace whole school enrichment activity. As always, it was well received by both students and staff. Many thanks to Elise Rodino, Sprague PTO Creative Arts and Sciences Coordinator, for organizing and juggling myriad details. Congratulations to all the Sprague 4th and 5th grade students who recently participated in the second and final round of the 10th Annual Sprague/National Geography Bee. The Sprague finalists this year were: Ethan Tabtiang, Dylan Williams, Luke Collins, Julia Lyne, Javier Lopez, Chris Kolb, Aidan Berg, Isabella MacKinnon, Lauren Mealey, Rowan dePeyster, Joe Cahaly and Isabelle Boegholm. All of the kids were stupendous and answered several questions related to historical, cultural and economic geography as well as current events. The Sprague winner was Javier Lopez. Congrats Javier and good luck with the next step in the process, a written test in which the Top 100 students in the state then advance to Clark University in Worcester for the state Geography Bee final. Special thanks to Ms. Henzel, Sprague Grade 4 teacher, for overseeing all parts of the Sprague Geography Bee. Finally, I would like to extend warm wishes to any of our families celebrating the Chinese New Year next Monday. Happy New Year! Take care,
Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal January 11, 2012 Dear Sprague Community, My oldest sister Amy and her husband Pat have lived in Atlanta for nearly a decade. This creates havoc for my mom who prefers her brood to be close by. Nevertheless, we see her often, as she is diligent about coming north for assorted holidays and birthdays and even more importantly to see her beloved Boston Red Sox. I have visited Amy in Atlanta fairly frequently over the past decade and really enjoy my time down there. Not only is there a Krispy Kreme on almost every corner, but she lives within a five minute bike ride of The King Center (the official museum/resource center dedicated to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - www.thekingcenter.org). Each time I visit Amy, I am inextricably drawn to The King Center. As we near the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day, I am reminded of his legacy and words. Of the many powerful quotes attributed to Dr. King, there is one I often come back to: "I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Much of our present day "What have you done for me lately type world?" can make one forget that we are linked to one another both formally and informally in many ways. Certainly, there are myriad linkages within a public school setting. At its core, the classroom is the basic building block of a school community. A classroom (i.e., its teachers and students) can never be what it ought to be, until all of its parts (i.e., its teachers and students) are what they ought to be. Additionally, each grade level forms linkages that ultimately result in this brick edifice being called a school. As principal, I am constantly thinking about these linkages and their relation to my actions and how they impact student learning in its broadest sense at Sprague. Like most of us in this business of public education we are simply trying to "do right by kids" (this phrase I have heard my dad utter often, but can be attributed to many). In the end, I have found that this ethos will usually result in positive gains for students. Again, all this takes time, just like King's lifelong struggle to ensure civil rights for people of color. As Winchester Superintendent Dr. Jim Marini used to remind me, "If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth doing". Raising and educating children in this day and age is the toughest job going. I appreciate you sharing your children with us everyday. Sorry for the pseudo-sermonizing, but that is what happens after I spend some time thinking about King, his teachings and his legacy. Finally, it is with pleasure that I will again attend the World of Wellesley's annual breakfast in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. next Monday at Sun Life Financial. Reminders/Upcoming Events: The Sprague School will be conducting an "All School Write" on Tuesday, January 24th. In conducting an "All School Write" instructional event, all students (K-5) across the school respond to a written prompt to the best of their abilities. Upon completion of the "All School Write", the Sprague staff will be reviewing the students' work and then identifying grade level "anchor" papers that will both assist us in future instruction as well as provide models for students at their respective grade levels. We are looking forward to this instructional event and will showcase some of this work via a display some time in the spring. Future Event FYI: Mark your calendars. The second annual Sprague 5th Grade Students versus Sprague Faculty Basketball game is scheduled for Thursday, February 9 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Wellesley Middle School gym. To quote Karen Lindquist, Sprague K/1 teacher, quoting John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach, "Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." The Sprague staff will work hard to ensure that your child attempts to become the best they can be each and every day. Stay tuned! Walk to School Update: The next Sprague Walk to School Day is scheduled for Thursday, January 12th. Sprague Winter Concert Update: Just a reminder that the Sprague Winter Concert will be held on Friday, January 20 from 9 to 9:45 a.m. in the Sprague gym. The concert will feature the Sprague Band, Orchestra, and 5th Grade Chorus. All parents are invited to attend. Kudos: Huge thanks to Anne Marvan for all of her efforts with the Sprague SHADE structure. As some may have noticed, the finishing touches were able to be completed due to the milder fall and winter we are currently experiencing. Additionally, we just received final approval from the Town and it will be ready for full use this spring once we let the ground around the SHADE settle a little more. Anne has put in hundreds of hours of her time to get this project completed and I can't thank her enough for all of her efforts. Thanks so much Anne!! You done great!! Thanks to Colette Aufranc and Kristina Alessi for their efforts organizing the Sprague PTO Gift Giving program. Of course, thanks so much to all parents for their support of Sprague and its staff as part of this program as well. Schedule FYI: Due to the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, there will be no school on Monday, January 16th. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal
January 4, 2012 Dear Sprague Community, A belated Happy New Year to the Sprague Community. I hope everyone enjoyed the recent break. We are back up and running at school and many items are picking up steam across the building. We sincerely appreciate your support of your children and our school. Happy New Year and I wish you all well in 2012. My youngest daughter Celia turned 6 this past November. When asked what was her favorite Christmas gift she responded, "The blue clickie Sharpie". I just had to laugh to myself about this since the "blue clickie Sharpie" was essentially the last throwaway stocking stuffer item bought at CVS in the waning hours of Christmas Eve shopping. Future Event FYI: Mark your calendars. The second annual Sprague 5th Grade Students versus Sprague Faculty Basketball game is scheduled for Thursday, February 9 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Wellesley Middle School gym. To quote Brian Hagar-McKee, Sprague Music teacher, quoting Lou Holtz, "It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test". The Sprague staff is committed to helping our students discover their abilities each and every day. Stay tuned! Gentle Reminders: Please be sure to have your children come prepared for outdoor recess during the winter months (i.e., winter coats, snow pants -- whenever we eventually get some snow -- hats and gloves). A reminder: in order to play in the snow, students need to wear the aforementioned items. Certainly we don't go outside when it is extremely cold, but it is very important for students to get some fresh air even during these winter months. Kudos: Congratulations to all the Sprague 4th and 5th grade students who recently participated in the initial round of the 10th Annual Sprague/National Geography Bee. The Sprague finalists this year are: Ethan Tabtiang, Dylan Williams, Luke Collins, Julia Lyne, Javier Lopez, Chris Kolb, Aidan Berg, Isabella MacKinnon, Lauren Mealey, Rowan dePeyster, Joe Cahaly and Isabelle Boegholm. The next and final Sprague School round will take place on January 10th and we wish all of the finalists well. All of our students were stupendous and answered several questions related to historical, cultural and economic geography as well as current events. Finally, many thanks to our 5th grade students who purchased and wrapped numerous toiletry gift bags that were then mailed to the Wounded Warriors organization right before the holiday break. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal December 21, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, Occasionally, in and around the holiday season, I suggest some book ideas for those who are seeking a good read and or needing to purchase a gift. Here are some recommendations. Iron War: Dave Scott and Mark Allen & the Greatest Race Ever Run by Matt Fitzgerald is the story of the epic 1989 Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon battle between Dave Scott, the best triathlete of the 80s, and Mark Allen, the best triathlete of the 90s. The 1989 race is where these two freaks of nature collided and competed in the race of their lives. Each year while growing up, the Ironman was always something I used to watch back on ABC's Wide World of Sports. This book brought back a flood of those memories and what limits the human brain and body can be pushed to. Like some, I tend to bounce back and forth between fiction and non-fiction. After Iron War I transitioned to One Day by David Nicholls. I picked this up when I visited my in-laws in Denver and went to the legendary Tattered Cover bookstore. It was my second visit to the Tattered Cover and like many who have visited this Top 10 bookstore in America, I could have spent all day there. Anyways, Nicholls' writing is comparable to that of his countryman's Nick Hornby. It is a combination of witty prose mixed with an occasional emotional punch. I was a little put off by the fact that I had first heard of this book through the movie of the same name, but quickly got into this book and loved it. In short, the book chronicles the same day over a twenty year period for the two main characters, Emma and Dexter. Needless to say, a lot transpires over that time. Finally, Michael Lewis's latest Boomerang - Travels in the New Third World ranks right up there with his previous works including Moneyball, The Big Short and The Blind Side. It describes the recent economic crisis that he discussed in The Big Short but expands it globally and does so through a series of everyday, colorful personalities. Lewis has a wonderful knack of being able to make arcane subject matter accessible to layperson like me. Happy browsing/reading! Inclusive Schools Week FYI: Last Friday, Sprague celebrated the 11th National Inclusive Schools Week. This year, we took a slightly different approach. Across the school, students gathered with their classes and participated in myriad activities with their classes. Our overarching theme centered around the notion of how each day we can foster a more inclusive school (i.e., "What specific thoughts, words, and most importantly, actions, help everyone have a great day at Sprague and feel included in our collective experience?"). One keystone activity that all grades participated in was drawing and writing a response to "What makes Sprague an inclusive school?" Students wrote and or drew their responses on tongue depressors which are now collected in a ceramic bowl located on the waiting area desk in the main office. Next time you are in this area, feel free to check them out. Additionally, students were asked to discuss various classroom and or playground scenarios and what would be inclusive responses/actions. Some of the scenarios included: Grades K-2: "Three friends want to swing, only two are available"; "A group of students form a "club" and certain students are allowed/are not allowed in"; "Two students always seem to be the 'captains' when choosing teams"; "When playing tag, the same students always seem to tag the same kids all the time"; "You notice a student by him/herself and never participating in a game/activity". Grades 3 - 5: "Teacher announces math partners and a student rolls their eyes because he/she doesn't want to be partnered with a student of lesser ability"; "Student is talking about their upcoming birthday party with a group of students - some who are invited, some who are not"; "A group of students notice that another student always brings a book to recess and doesn't typically interact with anyone"; "A student (in a bystander role) hears a group of students pick on/tease/bully another student because he/she still likes to watch Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman (a PBS show for intermediate elementary aged kids) which they don't consider 'cool' anymore". (As an aside, I watch Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman nearly every day with my 3rd grade daughter Kate and we actually like that show a lot.) Many thanks to Christina Cooney, Grade 1 teacher, Jen Stabnick, Sprague Art teacher, Heather Heon, Grade 5 teacher, Jill Heckman, Grade 4 teacher, Lisa Licata, Sprague Building Aide, and Jennett Murphy, Sprague parent, for all their help with the agenda and material procurement/production. This event would not have been possible without their time and effort. Finally, I walked through several of the intermediate classrooms afterwards, thanked them for their efforts and reminded them that at the end of the day, it is great to be good at school, athletics, dance, art, music, et al., but it is most important to try to be a kind, caring, person each and every day. I reminded them that I was not best friends with all 65 (or so) of my 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classmates, but that I tried my best each and every day to be friendly to all of them every day. Not every day was I successful, yet I had a "village" surrounding me pushing me to do better. I reminded them that as long as they put forth this effort each and every day then they are headed in the right direction. Kudos: To all staff/students/families in 1DG and K/1L for their support of Project Just Because. Special thanks to Mrs. Gaul for her leadership and discovery of this wonderful organization that supports children in various states of need. Finally, I would like to wish Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a Joyous Kwanzaa to those members of the Sprague community celebrating these holidays now and or later this weekend/next week. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal December 14, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, Cheryl Moy, Sprague Office Assistant, is one of the countless millions out there that makes our country work on so many levels. For the past five to six years, Cheryl has been working hand in hand with Mrs. Becker to support the Sprague community. In addition, for much of that time she has also worked for WCCC ensuring that Wellesley's children have a positive and enriching place to be afterschool. All the while, Cheryl has woken up at 3 a.m. each day to deliver a variety of newspapers for the past 17 years. Doing some quick back-of-the-page math, that means Cheryl works about 15 hours each day across her three positions. Over the years, Cheryl and her husband John have raised two wonderful children. Cory, her son, graduated from college and is now working in banking. Kelly, her daughter, currently attends Framingham State University and is training to be a special education teacher. Huge credit to Cheryl and John for sacrificing a ton over the years to raise and support two great kids. Last week, Metro Daily West News columnist Julia Spitz wrote a column about several aspects of the on-life-support newspaper industry. The indomitable Cheryl Moy was prominently featured. To read, navigate to: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/archive/x1856675059/Spitz-News-newbie-and-a-pro-inspire-pride Many thanks to the Sprague PTO for granting time at this week's meeting to discuss Sprague's Integrated Specialized Service (ISS) Programs. The discussion was led and facilitated quite capably by the following parties: Beth Brown, Elementary Department Head of Student Services; members of the ISS staff including: Barbara Ohanian, Patti Weismer, Beth Quinty, Kate Blaser Dienel, and Shanna Macauda; Moe Henzel, Christina Cooney and Jill Heckman Sprague classroom teachers; and several parents of students receiving services via the ISS program. We appreciated their insight and open discussion. Thanks to all who attended. As I wrote last week, Margaret Flitsch's great Uncle Louie passed away recently. To learn more about Louie's interesting life, feel free to cut and paste the following link into your browser: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/radio-had-a-voice-louie-gave-it-a-face/. Finally, congratulations and thanks to the Sprague Elementary Band for supporting their Hunnewell colleagues at the Hunnewell School concert on Monday. I was told they sounded phenomenal and represented Sprague quite well. Inclusive Schools Week FYI: Last week (Dec. 5 - Dec. 9) was the 11th National Inclusive Schools Week. As you may recall, last year we celebrated/recognized this week in several ways - students wrote and or drew on their "I am good at" sheets (this book is now displayed in my office and I use it as a tool with students to remind them of our individual/collective strengths when I think someone might need this reminder/tune-up); Christina Cooney, Grade 1 teacher, provided a list of books that many chose to read aloud with their class; Jen Stabnick, Sprague Art teacher, crafted with the entire student body an awesome piece of artwork that is now permanently displayed in the Sprague library (each kid painted/placed their thumb print into this really cool abstract-like painting) and our students that receive support from the ISS program produced and starred in a play entitled "The Turnip" with the help of Ellen Mandel, Sprague Librarian, and the wonderful ISS staff. All in all, I thought it was a strong display of what makes Sprague a great place for kids each and every day. So, this year again, with the huge help of Christina Cooney, Jen Stabnick, Heather Heon, Grade 5 teacher, and Jill Heckman, Grade 4 teacher, we have put together a worthwhile agenda. This year, we are taking a slightly different approach. Instead of all gathering in the gym, we have a series of activities planned for K-2 and 3-5. These will take place on this Friday from 9 to 9:45 during the Assembly Block. There will be three activities apiece planned for the K-2 and 3-5 classrooms. Each activity should take about 10-12 minutes and then it will be time to rotate to the next activity. Each class will be assigned a specific area in the school in order to do these activities. Our overarching theme centers around the notion of how each day we can foster a more inclusive school (i.e., "What specific thoughts, words, and most importantly, actions, help everyone have a great day at Sprague and feel included in our collective experience?"). One of the many reasons I have valued my time thus far at Sprague, is its inclusive nature of all students/families. The Sprague staff, students and community work extremely hard to make Sprague a welcoming place for each and every student/family. Like many things in life, we are not perfect, but will always seek to improve our standing in all areas. We will celebrate and honor our inclusive nature with these series of K-5 activities. Finally, for those interested in more information regarding Inclusive Schools Week, feel free to navigate to: http://inclusiveschools.org/inclusive-schools-week. Thanks: Many thanks to Michelle Heath, Sprague parent, for meeting the bus that transports our students from Boston at Wellesley Middle School, so they too can participate in the monthly Walk to Sprague School Days. Huge thanks to all those who baked over 17,000 cookies as part of the 6th Annual Sprague PTO Cookie Walk. Congrats to 5HH for earning the inaugural Golden Cookie Award for baking over 170 dozen cookies. Finally, many, many thanks to D.D. Marcoux, Andrea Doglioli and their entire team for all of their organizational efforts. Happy Hanukkah to those who will begin celebrating it early next week. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal December 7, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, As many may know, the next Sprague PTO meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 13 at 8:45 a.m. in the Sprague Cafeteria. Among other items, we plan to discuss the Integrated Specialized Service (ISS) Programs that have been an integral part of the Sprague School experience for many years. The discussion will be facilitated by the following parties: Beth Brown, Elementary Department Head of Student Services; members of the ISS staff including: Barbara Ohanian, Patti Weismer, Beth Quinty, Kate Blaser Dienel, and Shanna Macauda; Moe Henzel and Christina Cooney, Sprague classroom teachers; several parents of students receiving services via the ISS program and myself. We are looking forward to this discussion and hope to see many of you there. It is with sadness that I inform you of the passing of Ms. Flitsch's great Uncle Louie. A few years ago, Margaret traveled to Germany with Louie as he returned to the concentration camps he helped liberate during World War II. In the past year and a half, I have spoken often with Margaret of her love and admiration for her great Uncle Louie. After a majestic run, Louie passed away a few days ago. We send Margaret and her entire family our condolences in the days and weeks to come. As of now, it is thought that Ms. Flitsch will return to school this Thursday. The Sprague PTO's 6th Annual Cookie Walk takes place this Thursday, December 8th from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Sprague gym. Hope to see many of you of there! Huge thanks in advance to D.D. Marcoux, Andrea Doglioli and their team for all of their organizational efforts. Finally, many thanks to the Sprague Assembly Committee (i.e., Jen Stanbick, Ellen Mandel, Margaret Flitsch, Brian Hagar-McKee, Taryn Drake and Katie Bender) as well as a bevy of students who made last Friday's HEART Value Assembly possible. This year, our focus centers on the "R" Heart Value standing for "Respect and Responsibility". The highlight was akin to Liberty Mutual's recent ad campaign "Paying it Forward". In the Sprague video, students and staff observe one another doing "respectful" actions and then feel compelled to "keep the circle" going by being respectful to the next person/situation they encounter. As always, the kids were great and thanks again to the Sprague Assembly Committee. Thanks: Many thanks to Michelle Heath and Lori Goldenthal for their efforts (again!) during last week's Picture Retake Day. As always, they handled details both large and small. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal November 30, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day holiday. Time with family and friends is vital to our collective well-being and too often it is competing with the modern day demands of work, activities, appointments, et al. On Saturday, we took the kids and cousins to Edaville Railroad in Carver, MA. This was a place that I visited many times back in the 1970s with my parents and although it has changed a little since then, at its core, its remains the same. Family fun remains at its essence. The one large noticeable change is that the Tilt-A-Whirl type rides that I could seemingly go on all day long, now take a toll on the head and stomach like never before. Felt the age a little bit more after one too many rounds on those spinny rides and needed to call out the proverbial "no mas". It is with sadness that I inform you of the passing of Mr. Hagar-McKee's father. For much of the past year, Mr. Hagar-McKee, wonderful Sprague Music teacher, has been driving back and forth to Western Pennsylvania to care for his ailing father. After 91 strong years, Brian's father passed away on Sunday. We send Brian and his entire family our condolences in the days and weeks to come. As of now, it is thought that Mr. Hagar-McKee will return to school next Tuesday. On Monday, the district conducted its annual Professional Development Day. Much credit for the day should go to Dr. Becky McFall, Wellesley Public School's Director of Curriculum. The district was able to secure Dr. Richard Allington, Professor at the University of Tennessee and a foremost educational leader in Response to Intervention (RTI), as its keynote speaker. (RTI is a nationally mandated, but unfunded approach to try to have every student reading at grade level by grade three. Its core principles center around: matching text to readers; expanding reading activity for all students; using small groups for instruction; coordinating interventions along with classroom curriculum; providing an expert teacher in every classroom; focusing on meaning and meta-cognition.) To land Dr. Allington, a person most often seen at only the biggest national conferences, was a coup for WPS. This was quite an impressive achievement by Becky. As always when attending this type of professional development, you often come away informed and energized. Monday was no different. Dr. Allington does not pull any punches in his critique of education. He was quite liberal in his criticism of principals, teachers, special educators, school psychologists paraprofessionals, as well as the use of worksheets, the conducting of oral and or round robin reading in the classroom and having students read text that are "mismatched" to their current reading level. In response, Allington offered and challenged our system to ensure that every student receives exemplary literary instruction (e.g., direct reading instruction from a quality teacher every day of the week, numerous opportunities to read silently with a well matched/high interest text; time to write and conduct "literate conversations" with a teacher and or peer, and hear a fluent adult read aloud) and that high quality instruction begin on the second day of kindergarten (e.g., every kindergarten student should have command of upper/lower case letters by Halloween and ready to engage in reading instruction by the end of their kindergarten year). In addition, he stated that teachers should "bless" (i.e., recommend) five books per day to their class. With that in mind, my third grade daughter is reading Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass. She is reading this book along with a couple of her classmates and their respective mothers in a "Mother/Daughter" neighborhood club. This has been a wonderful experience for all involved and I highly recommend the book as I have been reading it behind-the-scenes for fear of being left out of the conversation between my wife and daughter. For at least the third or fourth time over the past few years, I was reminded by Allington's talk of Elementary Literacy czarinas Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell's desire to have every student be read at least 5000 books before they enter kindergarten. This directly coincides with author Malcolm Gladwell's notion that it takes "10,000 hours" to get good at some skill in your life. Thus, like anything in life, you get to be a better reader by reading. Allington would say to just make sure it is a high interest text and one at a student's "just right" reading level. If you need help identifying such text for your child, please feel free to speak your child's teacher, Katharine Odell, Sprague Literacy Specialist, or Ellen Mandel, Sprague librarian or me. At the same time, I was forwarded the article below, which I think dovetails nicely with several of the above themes. It is written by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and also the author of the excellent tome The World is Flat. At your leisure, it can be accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-about-better-parents.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Finally, as we transitioned back to Sprague in the afternoon, we had a strong faculty meeting where we transferred some of our learnings from Dr. Allington and applied them to our discussion about setting high expectations in the classroom as well as establishing an All School Write Day that I will discuss later on in the year. I can only speak for myself, but I believe Allington's talk made an immediate impact and at the end of the day, that is all you can really ask for from a professional development opportunity. As always, I remind myself and the staff that the answers to helping Sprague get better as a school are "always in this room". As principal, I remain convinced that we can and will get better as a staff and thus help kids learn more effectively. That challenge is why we teach and work with kids each and every day. Heart Value Assemblies: As you may know, we conduct HEART Value Assemblies nearly each Friday in the Sprague gym. Each Friday, they run from 9:00 to 9:25ish and we typically rotate the student audience. One week it is for K-2 students, and the next week is for Grade 3-5 students. Additionally each week, a different 5th grade classroom helps to organize and host these assemblies. I have now taken to calling these our "mini" Heart Value Assembly meetings as they serve several purposes: offer opportunities for us to celebrate/demonstrate Sprague's Heart Values in a weekly community gathering, allow additional leadership opportunities for our 5th grade students as they lead parts of each Heart Value Assembly and provide a chance for our students to showcase excellence in some domain of their life. The 5th grade students do an excellent job owning as many parts of these as possible. At the same time, the world renowned Sprague Assembly Committee organizes our "maxi" Heart Value Assemblies. This Friday we will be conducting our first large scale Heart Value Assembly in the gym from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Last year we focused on the "T" Heart Value representing "Teamwork". This year, our focus turns to the "R" Heart Value standing for "Respect and Responsibility". The Sprague Assembly Committee, with heavy student involvement, has been busily preparing several pieces of this week's Assembly and it promises to be excellent. If you are around this Friday morning and want to come by and watch, feel free to join us. Future Event FYI: Mark your calendars. The second annual Sprague 5th Grade Students versus Sprague Faculty Basketball game is scheduled for Thursday, February 9 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Wellesley Middle School gym. As you may recall, the Sprague Faculty were nipped by the Sprague 5th grade students 55-54. Needless to say, the Sprague staff is looking to avenge last year's loss. To quote Bevin Hale, Sprague 5th Grade teacher, quoting John Wooden, "If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes." The Sprague staff is committed to working hard, trying our best, learning from our mistakes and then trying even harder to educate your children in the best possible manner. Stay tuned! The Sprague PTO's 6th Annual Cookie Walk takes place next Thursday, December 8th from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Sprague gym. Thanks in advance to D.D. Marcoux and Andrea Doglioli for their leadership team for their organizational efforts. Kudos: Congrats to the 5th grade students and staff for all of their work on the Bridge Construction unit. You might have seen their picture in last week's Townsman, but if not, Sprague 4th grade Girl Scout Troop #73223 visited with MA State Representative Alice Peisch and then toured the State House. While there, they actually met and conversed with Governor Deval Patrick. I was told that the girls were wonderful guests of the State House and that Rep. Piesch was most impressed. Great job by all. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal November 23, 2011 Dear Sprague Community,
We at Sprague would like to wish everyone a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday. Enjoy your time spent with family and friends.
In keeping with the theme of being thankful and giving back whenever possible, this year Sprague's students will again continue to participate in three tiers of community service initiatives: school, local and global. Below, I will briefly describe our school level projects.
This year, each grade level will again be responsible for a community service school-based effort. The school-based community service efforts will include:
Again, I am excited by these efforts and would like to thank the Sprague student body and the entire Sprague Staff for working on behalf of these service projects.
Man's/Woman's Best Friend FYI: A parent informed me last week that a rather large dog broke free from his/her leash one day after drop off and was running around the playground area during dismissal. Now I have no idea if this dog was a member of the Sprague community or from someone visiting the Sprague fields, but this is a reminder, that when dropping off or picking up your child(ren), please make sure that your dog is leashed at all times. Also, try your best to not have your dog close to and/or near the doors when students first enter/exit. Thank you for your efforts on this matter and helping all children feel comfortable in/around the school grounds.
Thanks: Many thanks to Yolanda Tong for her help compiling the WEE Deliver Address book along with Moe Henzel, Sprague Grade 4 teacher. As some may know, WEE Deliver offers opportunities for students to write missives to one another as well as staff. Ultimately, Ms. Henzel's 4th grade class ends up leading, coordinating and delivering Sprague's WEE Deliver efforts. Many thanks to them for their efforts.
Many, many thanks to the approximately 15 volunteers who readied Sprague's Organic Garden for the winter last Saturday morning. Special thanks to Dave and Jane Neilson, Sprague parents, for leading our effort last spring and this past Saturday.
Take care,
Stephen Goodwin
Sprague Principal November 16, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, I hope you enjoyed the long Veterans Day weekend. Last night I watched an ESPN documentary about renowned Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. It was being aired as he nears the all-time number of wins by a Mens' College Basketball coach. If Duke closes out Michigan State, Krzyzewski will have surpassed his mentor, Bobby Knight, by one victory-- 903 to 902. (Not to be outdone, Pat Head Summitt, Head Coach of the Tennessee Women's Basketball team, is the all-time NCAA basketball wins' leader with 1071.) Throughout the documentary, Krzyzewski stressed that as a coach he is akin to a teacher. His classroom is simply the court. Coach K has stated, "The thing I loved the most - and still love the most about teaching - is that you can connect with an individual or a group, and see that individual or group exceed their limits." (As retrieved at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mike_krzyzewski_2.html on November 15, 2011.) Not every year does Duke win a National Championship, but you get the sense that his kids learn and succeed no matter the final outcome of the last game of the season. Last week, I wrote the following email to the Sprague staff: "As some may know, Mickey LaPan, Sprague Teaching Assistant, will be leaving Sprague on Friday and has accepted a job coordinating an Outdoor Education type program in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. (Mickey worked out there this past summer and the allure of the West was apparently too hard to resist.) I can't say enough great things about Mickey. Mickey's positive spirit is infectious. She always gets to "yes" and has a "what can I do to help" mentality and that will serve her so well in what I am sure will be a bright future. I will miss her presence immensely at Sprague. Mickey, and people like her, reinforce to me that we can all make a positive and lasting impact no matter what role you are assigned by an organization. Best of luck Mickey!"
Sprague School Council/Budget Update: The Sprague School Council has met twice already this year. Although extremely pleased with the progress we have made in many domains of the school, we realize that we need to constantly improve as well as continue to advocate for the needs of the Sprague School. As principal, I will continue to serve as an "advocate for Sprague". I take this responsibility very seriously but am mindful that I am one of ten principals/directors, work within a larger school system and accept the realities of public school funding. Nonetheless, I am quite comfortable with the role of advocate and will continue to actively serve as a voice for the needs of the Sprague School. As we begin the FY13 budget process, the elementary principal group decided to meet several times as a prelude to budget season and have submitted the following two requests as a group: A request to have a full-time literacy specialist at each elementary school. Currently, there are five full-time Literacy Specialists for the seven schools. Sprague is fortunate to have Katharine Odell as our full-time Literacy Specialist and we certainly would like this to continue for many years to come. Mrs. Odell works both directly with students and staff to enhance our literacy teaching and student learning. A request to have full-time school psychologists at each elementary school. Currently, several of the elementary schools only have a .8 school psychologist. Again, Sprague is fortunate to have Elana Wolkoff as our full-time School Psychologist this year and would like this to continue for many years to come. Ms. Wolkoff serves as the right hand woman for me in terms of the social-emotional development of Sprague's children. There is not a single day that we are not talking about the emotional health and well being of our students. Selfishly, I cannot do the job that I want to do without Elana being in our school full-time. In a recent email to the Sprague staff I wrote the following: "So, while this does not increase what we already have, it maintains what we do have and allows other schools to gain equity which I feel as a principal is always a good thing since I have seen in past districts that it is never good for schools to go too long with disparate staffing levels in these key areas. Finally, the specific request that I made on behalf of Sprague was the fact that I believe we will need a 19th classroom for next year. As you may recall, we had 19 classrooms last year and went down by one to our current 18. This time last year we were slated to actually go down by 2 classes, but due to the fact that our incoming K numbers were higher than expected and the fact that we had 11 new 1st graders move in meant that we only went down by 1 class. When I analyzed our numbers for next year (i.e., our Kindergarten census for the 12-13 school year, our current class size, and the avg. % of move-ins over the last few years) it appears clear to me at least that I needed to request an additional classroom for next year. Which grade that classroom would go into is certainly unclear at this point. At this juncture, the way I framed to the Central Office denizens is that I feel confident enough to say that we will need 10 classrooms between Kindergarten and Grade 2 (up from our current 9) for next year. Couple that with 9 classrooms in Grades 3-5 - this would get us to 19. Where that 10th K-2 classroom goes is anybody's guess right now. After January 1st, is when we start to send out Kindergarten registration information and all winter long we are beating the phones about seeing who is coming and who is not. Simultaneously, we start to hear about move-ins and by the spring I am literally taking field trips into the neighborhood to see if kids are real or just a name from a list that have since moved on. So, basically my season of non-sleep has begun as many of my thoughts become dominated by what our numbers are looking like for next year. As far as I am concerned, the good news is that this year we will not be going down by a section, but hopefully going up by one. That was the not case last year and thus going down a section always poses concern since that directly involves a person's livelihood. Having said all this, this is my request, key word "request", and it does not mean that it will be met, since the Central Office folks need to balance the needs of 9 schools plus the Preschool. Nonetheless, I wanted this out early to them in terms of our thinking and not wait until the winter/spring for them to know of my concern about our potential numbers for next year. As with every budget year, a pathway emerges, but sometimes it is bumpy along the way. Thanks so much for your efforts and supports of the Sprague students and staff." As we move forward, I will be sure to keep the Sprague community updated. Thanks: Huge thanks to all of the Sprague kiddoes and families who donated a ton to Sprague's recent "Candy for the Troops" effort. All of your generosity was much appreciated. Special thanks to Sprague 5th graders for Izzy Maggioni, Susanna Mirick and Kathleen Segal for hauling several hundred pounds of candy over to the Wellesley drop point as well as Catherine Mirick, Sprague PTO Co-President, for providing the transportation. Finally, thanks to Margaret Flitsch, Sprague Physical Education teacher, for her overall leadership of this initiative. Many thanks to Lori Goldenthal, Sprague parent, for recently helping to conduct a school tour. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal November 9, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, Last Wednesday, as part of the 5th Grade Lessons in Leadership series, Rich Wilson, the lone American skipper to finish the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe ocean race, shared his experiences competing in this unbelievably challenging endeavor. Rich grew up with and still has debilitating asthma that abates slightly when he is out on the seas. Along with this medical challenge, Rich sailed in this race at an age much older, approximately mid to late 50s, than is typical. Rich sailed solo for the entire 28,790 miles on a journey that took 121 days. Thirty sailors in total began the race. Only eleven finished. In his typical humble manner, Mr. Wilson barely mentioned that he finished 8th and was the only American sailor to compete and or finish. Along the way, he busted a few ribs, suffered a severe gash above his brow line, and essentially needed to serve as his own doctor while out at sea. He showed video clips of his voyage that were simply incredible as he battled through no less than seven full-fledged gales. The 5th grade students were a wonderful audience and barraged Rich with close to 25 questions after he completed his talk. Mr. Wilson reminded our students that "the important thing is to participate" in life. I couldn't agree more. If interested in learning more about Rich Wilson, don't hesitate to check out http://www.sitesalive.com/. Growing up in South Boston, my mother had five brothers - Paul, Robert, Michael, Phil and Gerard. All of these men are literally and figuratively larger than life figures in the Dumas/Goodwin family. Like many sons of Southie from that era, several of them entered the service. In particular, my Uncle Robert served and fought in the Vietnam War. Like some of his fellow soldiers, he came back physically intact, but plagued by some internal demons from what was seen and experienced but never openly shared because that was not what a young Dumas man did naturally. After returning from Vietnam, and challenged to reenter a neighborhood/city that he felt did not understand what he had seen, he escaped/moved to Arizona and has lived there ever since. For several years, Uncle Robert was almost a mythical figure as his new life in Arizona seemed a world away. Slowly, he began to return to our family as he would visit frequently to see his parents and siblings. Later he married and raised a wonderful family. His wife passed away in the last few years, but in retirement he keeps busy doting on several beautiful grandchildren out in the Arizona desert. One day two years ago, when we were packing up my grandparent's house in Southie before it was sold, my mother found an old shoebox that had belonged to Robert. In it there were medals and commendations citing his bravery as well as chronicling his injuries suffered during the war. Like many soldiers of both his and the current generation, there is a quiet, unassuming nature that puts these war-time artifacts in shoeboxes, seeks no special favors, and simply tries to move on to the next challenge in life. Uncle Robert - Thanks for your service during a challenging time in our nation's history. As always, many, many thanks to the many men and women that either have and or are currently serving in the Armed Forces. Thanks: Huge thanks to Leslie Tellalian for all of her efforts regarding UNICEF this year. Many thanks to Mary Crown and an army of volunteers for staffing this year's Sprague PTO Book Fair. Special thanks to Katharine Odell, Sprague Literacy Specialist; Sara Goudreault, Sprague Kindergarten teacher; JJ Allison, Jane Wayman, and Elise Smith; and all Sprague 5th Grade efforts for their sublime directing and acting abilities as part of the Sprague PTO Book Fair Family Night. Fun was had by all. I was so impressed with Sprague's efforts during the recent Cradles to Crayons campaign. Thanks to Janae Goodall for her leadership in this area. Many thanks to Mrs. Yolanda Tong and Mr. Saint Aufranc for participating in the Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF) Spelling Bee.as members of the Sprague team. As a team, we didn't quite do as well as we hoped, but we will look forward to the challenge again next year. Many thanks to Yolanda and Saint for their time, efforts and good humor! Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal P.S. Happy birthday to my daughter Celia who turned 6 this past Tuesday! November 2, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, Correction: Yesterday morning I incorrectly listed the opening time for tonight's Sprague PTO Book Fair Family Night as 7:00 p.m. when in fact it is 6:30 p.m. So, we hope to see everyone there tonight. Our interactive read aloud will take place as close to 7:00 p.m. as possible. Don't miss it and come buy a book or two. This will take place in the Sprague Cafeteria/Atrium area. As some may have noticed on Tuesday, the Sprague SHADE structure has begun to be worked on after some permitting delays. If the fickle New England weather cooperates, we are hoping to have this project completed in the next week or so. Again, huge thanks to Anne Marvan for navigating the twists and turns with this project. Many thanks to the Sprague PTO for the gift card that they presented to Yiming Zheng, Sprague's lunch server, on his last day this past Monday. In addition, several of our 5th grade leaders -- Alexa Rizika, Jennifer Guo and Amber Zheng -- made a short video tribute to Yiming which brought him to tears. Great job girls and many thanks to Brian Hagar-McKee, Sprague Music Teacher, for his technical support. Finally, Maureen Dutile shadowed Yiming for the past three days and will start as Sprague's lunch server on Thursday. We welcome Maureen and wish her well in this role. UNICEF: Each year, millions of kids across this country go trick-or-treating. Some of those students also take along a UNICEF box to collect coins for those children who live in communities where basic needs (i.e., clean water, comfort from disease carrying mosquitoes, immunizations, ample food/sustenance) are sometimes in short supply. Again this year, your child received a UNICEF box to bring along when they trick-or-treated. On the UNICEF website, they list three levels of giving: Delegates - Schools that raise $500-$999; Ambassadors - Schools that raise $1000-$2999; Emissaries - Schools that raise $3000 or more. This year, I would like to personally challenge Sprague to again become an Ambassador school. DON'T FORGET! If you participated, all UNICEF boxes should be returned to the Sprague Main Office by Friday, November 4th. If you would like to write a check, it should be made out to "U.S. Fund for UNICEF". Thanks a ton for considering this worthy cause. Thanks a ton to Leslie Tellalian for organizing the Sprague efforts again this year. For more information about UNICEF/Levels of funding, please go to http://youth.unicefusa.org/trickortreat/trick-or-treat-for-unicef-community/champions.html. Upcoming Events: Just a reminder that the Sprague gym will be used as a polling place next Tuesday. Also, next Tuesday is Sprague Walk-to-School Day. We've had wonderful turn-outs for our first two Walk-to-School events, let's make it 3 for 3. Finally, just a reminder that there will be no school on Friday, November 11 due to the Veterans Day observance. Thanks: Huge thanks to Anne Marvan for her help organizing the Halloween Parade last Friday. Thanks to our 5th Grade leaders who offered their services as babysitters thus allowing parents to attend conferences without little ones in tow. Huge kudos to the students and staff for the recently completed Grade 4 Architectural "Dream House" unit. It was quite evident that the students had put forth a tremendous effort for this multi-disciplinary unit but that doesn't happen without effective teaching and support from the Sprague staff. Thanks to all. Finally, well wishes to any Sprague families celebrating Eid al-Adha this weekend. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal October 26, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, We received a thank you from the Wellesley Food Pantry for the recent donations of fresh vegetables that came via the Sprague Community Garden. Yet another wonderful by-product of this project. Thanks to all who continue to make this generosity of spirit possible.
It is with sadness that I announce that Sprague Lunch Server Yiming Zhang is moving on from Sprague for at least a little bit of time and possibly permanently. Yiming is going to start caring full-time for his grandson after Halloween. This will occur for the next two months and might last longer depending on whether or not the in-law's that have been caring for Yiming's grandson return from China in January. I have worked with many a lunch server over the years and Yiming is at the top in terms of his care and outlook of our Sprague students. So, this is a goodbye for now to Yiming, but hopefully not a goodbye forever.
UNICEF: Each year, millions of kids across this country go trick-or-treating. Some of those students also take along a UNICEF box to collect coins for those children who live in communities where basic needs (i.e., clean water, comfort from disease carrying mosquitoes, immunizations, ample food/sustenance) are sometimes in short supply. Again this year, your child will receive a UNICEF box that they could bring along when they trick-or-treat. On the UNICEF website, they list three levels of giving: Delegates - Schools that raise $500-$999; Ambassadors - Schools that raise $1000-$2999; Emissaries - Schools that raise $3000 or more. This year, I would like to personally challenge Sprague to again become an Ambassador school. The UNICEF boxes will come home with your child(ren)today. If you participate, all UNICEF boxes should be returned to the Sprague Main Office by Friday, November 4th. Should you receive a check donation or would like to write one, it should be made out to "U.S. Fund for UNICEF". Thanks a ton for considering this worthy cause and thanks to Leslie Tellalian for organizing the Sprague efforts again this year. For more information about UNICEF/Levels of funding, please go to http://youth.unicefusa.org/trickortreat/trick-or-treat-for-unicef-community/champions.html.
Sprague PTO Book Fair and Family Night: The Sprague PTO Scholastic Book Fair is being conducted from Tuesday, November 1 through Thursday, November 3. As you may know, Sprague receives a certain percentage of the proceeds that then allows us to purchase new books for the Sprague library. As always, thanks for your generosity, especially during this continued turbulent economic time. Finally, you are always very kind to purchase additional books for your child's classroom and/or specialist teachers. This year, I would gently ask that you consider purchasing a book or two for the Sprague library. The Sprague library can never have enough books to use for both instruction as well as for circulation. Thus, if you are looking to purchase/donate an extra book, the Sprague Library is certainly a worthy recipient. Thanks so much for your support of the Sprague Book Fair. Also, our Sprague Book Fair Family Night will be on Wednesday, November 2 at 6:30 p.m. If you recall last year, there was an interactive read-aloud conducted and some other fun parts. Be sure to come check it out and see the fun we have planned for this year.
Thanks: Huge thanks to the Adler/Lazzarino, Garber and Lyne families for hosting last Friday night's Grade 3-5 Parent Socials. Much fun was had by all, but this could not have happened without their generosity. Thanks to Amy Shultz and Shannon Smith for coordinating the Sprague "Remember Me/Ghosting" Book efforts. It has been very successful and could not have been done without their efforts. Many thanks to the Kindergarten and Grade 1 parents for the delectable luncheon they prepared for the Sprague staff last Wednesday. Finally, we wish any Sprague families well who are celebrating Diwali this week.
Take care,
Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal
P.S. Last week, members of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Milken Family Foundation ventured to Waltham High School for a surprise whole school ceremony. Derek Vandegrift, Waltham High School History teacher, was selected as the state's 39th Milken Award winner. He was the lone recipient from Massachusetts in 2011-2012. When my father was appointed the K-12 Director of Social Studies for Waltham Public Schools, Derek was his very first hire. It is unspoken but Derek is the heir apparent for my dad's position if and when he ever retires. Click this link to view a short video that was shot as Derek was surprised/presented with his wonderful recognition. October 19, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, Last month, my mother-in-law sent me the link to a September 14th New York Times article entitled "What if the Secret to Success is Failure?" (It can be retrieved at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?pagewanted=all). It is a long article that could be viewed as either an indictment and/or a call to arms to both schools and parents in terms of how we are raising/educating our kids. If and when you get about 15-20 minutes, I urge you to read it.
A central theme of the article is that today, children are often handled with kid gloves in such a way that does not allow them to experience natural failures and thus build the "grit" and resiliency that is necessary to achieve later in life. After reading this article and several pieces about recently deceased Steve Jobs, Apple Founder and CEO, I am convinced I need to do a better job in trying to foster these skills in my daughters. I reference Steve Jobs because despite unparalleled business success over the past 30 plus years, he often cited his failures (both major ones - being fired at Apple only to be eventually later reappointed as CEO, as well as minor ones - a nearly decade long struggle for him and his team to get Pixar profitable) as a major source of learning.
I know in a personal sense, I took some pretty severe lumps at college my freshman year and there was no one else to both blame as well as do something about it besides myself. I look back at that year and those that followed as pivotal to my development as a teacher, principal and adult. I had done well in High School and expected that success to continue in college. That did not happen initially and I needed to re-evaluate everything about my effort or lack thereof. From that "failure" I began to see what it took to succeed as a student and move on from there. As principal, I am extremely cognizant of trying to remember this when we work with students that might be struggling. I try to recall that there are few to no adults in the world that are experts in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, music, art, sports, interpersonal relationships, so how could we possibly expect an 8 year old to be? With that ethos, I always try to remember that a student struggling in the classroom (or on the playground) is an opportunity for all of us to do better and move forward positively.
With these thoughts in mind, the drawing below comes via Ms. Henzel, Sprague 4thgrade teacher, who received it from her friend Leslie Miller, retired Massachusetts Art Teacher of the Year, who bumped into this via a posting from Jonathan Heyward, cellist and conducting student at Boston Conservatory. These drawings/doodlings could be seen as simple, but the complexities hinted at could not be more true. I think .1% of the world fits into the drawing on the left, while 99.9% of the rest of us would say the drawing on the right looks pretty familiar.
Lastly, the crude diagram below was something I developed while sitting in a class a few years back. In the case of "Taking a Risk", I was thinking originally in terms of teaching and learning. Meaning, educators typically teach thousands of lessons per year. (Parents for that matter teach a similar amount if you consider the time you spend with the child before and after school as a series of "life lessons".) I applaud those who experiment and adjust their lessons over time. At the same time, I congratulate any and all students that try to learn and apply new skills (e.g., reading, math, an instrument, a sport, et al.) over time.
Congrats to Jackie Hoglund, Sprague Technology Specialist, on the recent birth of her twins, Tessa and Drew. We wish the Hoglund family all the best in the days/weeks/years to come. Finally, congrats to Alyson Lajeunesse, Sprague Speech and Language Pathologist, on the recent birth of her twins, Ben and Jack. Best of luck to the Lajeunesse household.
Sprague PTO Scholastic Book Fair and Family Night: The Sprague PTO Scholastic Book Fair is being conducted from Tuesday, November 1 through Thursday, November 3. As you may know, Sprague receives a certain percentage of the proceeds that then allows us to purchase new books for the Sprague Library. As always, thanks for your generosity, especially during this continued turbulent economic time. Finally, you are always very kind to purchase additional books for your child's classroom and or specialist teachers. This year, I would gently ask that you consider purchasing a book or two for the Sprague Library. The library can never have enough books to use for both instruction as well as for circulation. Thus, if you are looking to purchase/donate an extra book, the Sprague Library is certainly a worthy recipient. Thanks so much for your support of the Sprague Scholastic Book Fair. Also, our Book Fair Family Night will be on Wednesday, November 2 at 6:30 p.m. If you recall last year, there was an interactive read-aloud conducted and some other fun parts. Be sure to come check it out and see what is going on this year. More details to follow.
LEGOS Robotics Club Update: As some may recall, Sprague received a Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF) grant last spring to further our work in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. As a result, Moe Henzel, Grade 4, and Sara Goudreault, Kindergarten, attended an excellent LEGOS Robotics training at Tufts University last summer. We are now ready to implement our learnings and start offering a Sprague LEGOS Robotics Club. Our plan would then be to offer opportunities for K-3 students in the winter and spring. Grades 4 and 5 - LEGOS Robotics Class Dates: 5 Wednesdays - Nov. 16, 30, Dec. 5, 12, 19 Time: 3:00 to 4:00 PM Class size: Maximum of 14 Grade 4 and 5 students Fee: There will be no fee for this offering. Location: Ms. Henzel's 4th Grade classroom Staff: Ms. Henzel, 4th grade teacher, and Ms. Goudreault, Kindergarten teacher. Registration: If you are interested in having your child(ren) participate in the Grade 4 and 5 LEGOS Robotics Club, please let Lennie Becker, Sprague Secretary, know by Friday, October 28. If we have more than 14 students register, we will need to pick participant names out of a hat.
Upcoming Event: The annual Sprague Halloween Parade is scheduled for Monday, October 31. It will start in the 8:40ish range after we get the kids into school for a few minutes. If you do not wish to have your child participate for any reason, this is completely fine as we offer an alternative activity in the library while the parade is ongoing. This activity is overseen by our tremendous School Psychologist Elana Wolkoff.
Thanks: Thanks to Phyllis Theerman and company for organizing Sprague's one part of Sprague's "Go Green" Halloween costume preparation. Phyllis organized the swap shop of Halloween costumes over the last week and it appeared to be well received. Additionally, don't forget that Ms. Stabnick, Sprague Art teacher, is encouraging/challenging the Sprague students to come up with creative, homemade costumes as well.
Huge thanks to the Marvan, Barker and Arronte/Kendall families for hosting last Friday night's K-2 Parent Socials. Much fun was had by all, but this could not have happened without their respective generosity of time and effort.
Many thanks to Sarah Greene and countless other parent volunteers for their leadership regarding last Sunday's Fall Festival. A great, great event that would not have happened without their guidance and oversight.
Huge thanks to Ellen Mandel, Sprague Librarian, Katharine Odell, Sprague Literacy Specialist, and Anne Marvan and Leslie Tellalian, Sprague parent organizers, and countless volunteers for their help organizing this year's Readers' Assembly. The kids had a wonderful time as the dining room was transformed into a "Survivor" set of sorts. Recognitions were received all in the good name of reading as much as possible. As principal of an elementary school, besides keeping safe and sound, the number 1A priority is to get all students to read to the best of their abilities by the time they leave Sprague School. Like any skill in life, you get better at reading by reading. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers talks about the "10,000 hour rule". In essence, he states that if you want to get good at any skill you must practice/perform it for at least 10,000 hours. Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, legendary literacy gurus, state that all students entering kindergarten should have had at least 5000 books read to them between birth and the age of 5 in order to be school ready. I cannot stress enough the importance of reading to and with your child no matter what the age. I know in a personal sense that reading at night with your child can sometimes fall to the bottom of the to-do list, but please try to keep it in the routine despite the hustle and bustle of after school activities, dinner preparedness, brushing of hair/teeth, et al. Thanks for your efforts in this regard.
Finally, thanks to Lt. Delaney of the Wellesley Fire Department who met with our students last week as part of Fire Safety and Prevention Month. Lt. Delaney's presentation was excellent and well received by our K-1 students and staff.
Editor's Note: In last week's missive, I inadvertently substituted Will Sullivan's name when I meant to thank Will Churchill for his 5th grade leadership skills as part of our Heart Value Assemblies on Friday mornings. So, many thanks to Will C. for his reading/acting and leadership abilities. Nonetheless, this is in no way intended to be a slight to Will S. in any way, since he is among the pantheon of my all-time favorite 3rd graders. Keep up the good work Will S. Take care,
Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal October 12, 2011 Dear Sprague Community,
I hope everyone enjoyed the gorgeous Columbus Day weekend. On Monday afternoon, my youngest daughter Celia asked if we could start up a lemonade stand. It was one of those moments as a parent where you struggle to support your child and their idea while at the same time you sometimes just want to punt and get through the last part of the afternoon, get to dinner and bedtime, and just shut it down. Nevertheless, despite my initial reluctance, I relented and we ended up having a great time for several hours. Our neighborhood came out in full support and we eventually were even forced to borrow plastic cups from several of them to keep the lemonade flowing. Celia earned a grand total of $3.75, but it was truly a priceless afternoon with her.
As some may recall, Anne Marvan, Co-President of the Sprague PTO last year, wrote and received a SHADE Foundation grant that will soon provide the Sprague campus a small roofed shade structure near our playground. This will be a boon to all families and members that use the Sprague playground throughout the year but currently have no respite from the sun. The SHADE building permit has recently been approved by the town's Building Inspector and we hope to erect the structure in the upcoming weeks. Huge thanks to Anne who has served as our point woman for all parts of this endeavor.
As a reminder, the Sprague PTO is sponsoring the Sprague Fall Festival this Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. There is still a need for Sprague chefs to show off their chili cook-off abilities. If interested, please contact Sarah Greene at sarahs_greene@yahoo.com.
Many thanks to Will Sullivan and Ian Smith, Sprague 5th graders, for their help conducting Interactive Read Alouds as part of our Heart Value Assemblies on Friday mornings. For our first three meetings, Ian and Will read aloud from a variety of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books. For my money, Mo Willems is currently the best children's author alive right now, and very much worth checking out. In addition, he has a wonderful website, www.mowillems.com, that is fun for the whole family. My daughter Kate wrote him a fan letter last year and Mo took the time to write her a personal thank you note that included an original illustration. She has it framed in her room and it will most likely be a keepsake forever. Many thanks to Will and Ian for their leadership and sublime reading and public speaking/acting abilities. Finally, kudos to Kasey Zhang for his wonderful piano playing that served as our 5th grade demonstration of excellence at last week's Heart Value meeting.
Reminders: Ms. Flitsch, Sprague Physical Education teacher, has shared with me some timely playground reminders for before, during and after school playground use that I wanted to share with you. Thanks to Ms. Flitsch for her time and effort compiling these playground rules.
General Rules: * No running on or through the playground equipment. * No hanging upside down without using hands. * No climbing or sitting on top of the equipment. * Always use two hands whenever you can while climbing or hanging. * Only 1 person on any piece of equipment at a time (Ex. 1 person on a blue wheel at a time). * Students should not play tag while on the playground equipment itself. * Always land on 2 feet * A piece of equipment is too big for you if you can't get yourself up on it to use it.
Slide: * Go down the slide feet first on your bottom (not on your belly). * No climbing up the slide. * Move away from the front/bottom of the slide as soon as you can. * Wait until the person in front of you is all the way down before going down the slide yourself.
Swings: * Sit down on the swings (not on your belly, no standing). * Do not jump off of a swing to get off (use your feet as brakes). * Do not twist the chains while sitting on the swing. * Do not walk or run behind or in front of moving swings. * Only 1 person on a swing at a time.
Field: * When playing soccer during school hours, no slide tackling is allowed. * When playing football during school hours, only "two hand" touch is allowed. * No tackling or roughhousing is permitted.
Thanks: Many thanks to Lisa Moore, Andrea Giroux and several other parents for coordinating a very successful opening Sprague Excellent Adventure Club activity. Thanks for all of their time and efforts!
Huge thanks to Michelle Heath, Lori Goldenthal and a whole host of other parents who helped with Sprague Picture Day last week. This is an all-day affair that requires a ton of detail and logistical support. Michelle and Lori are superb and thanks for their many efforts.
Take care,
Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal October 5, 2011 Dear Sprague Community,
For several years, Ms. Stabnick, sublime Sprague Art teacher, has coordinated the Sprague Halloween Challenge. Below is a description supplied by Ms. Stabnick.
The Sprague Halloween Challenge Halloween is probably one of the most creative holidays of the year, so it should come as no surprise that it is one of Ms. Stabnick's favorite days. The Sprague Halloween Challenge is to make your own costume this year for our school parade on Monday, October 31st at approximately 8:45ish a.m. Halloween is not about buying a costume, it is about getting a little creative and a little silly to invent a character for one super celebration. Please look through your art supplies, closets, recycling or even go down to the Wellesley Swap. Over the years, parade spectators have enjoyed seeing robots made from boxes and even a plate of spaghetti and meatballs fashioned with yarn and nerf balls. If you already have a store bought costume - make a prop! If you have a pirate costume, build a parrot. If you are looking for ideas, see Ms. Stabnick!
All children who capture the creative spirit of Halloween will receive a prize at the parade. Happy, Happy Halloween - Go get clever, creepy and creative! Ms. Stabnick
Sprague Peer Mentoring Offering: The Peer Mentoring Program is returning to Sprague for its second year! This year, the program will pair Wellesley High School students with interested Sprague students in grades 3-5. Once a week, high school mentors will come to Sprague to help students with homework. This is a great opportunity for your child to receive additional one-on-one help with homework after school on a regular basis! Offered to: Sprague students in grades 3-5 Where and When: At Sprague, every Tuesday from 3:05 to 4:00 pm. the first session of this program will run from October 18th until December 20th. These are the scheduled dates for the program: Oct 18, 25; Nov 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; Dec 6, 13, 20 Note: The program will take place in Ms. Cooney's room (Room 109). She will be supervising this program each Tuesday. We are hopeful that we will offer a second session after the new year. Registration: If you are interested in having your child participate in this program, please contact Lennie Becker, Sprague Secretary, ASAP. As only a limited number of High School mentors are available (~20), we might need to pick student names out of a hat if we have more than twenty interested students. We will notify you by Wednesday, October 12th if your child has a slot in this round of the Peer Mentoring program.
Miscellaneous/Reminders: A reminder for all to please attempt to schedule any appointments for your children before or after the school day. Believe me, as a parent, I know this is difficult. However, as principal, I love to have our students enjoy an interruption free academic experience each day. Again, I know this is a challenge, but I appreciate your efforts in this area. Finally, if and when your child does have an appointment during the school day, it is vital that you check in at the main office so we know that your son or daughter is leaving for part or the remainder of the school day. Please do not go straight to the classroom to dismiss your child. Thanks for following this procedure.
Just a gentle reminder: please do notpark in the school's handicapped spots unless you have the required placard/license plate.On behalf of those families that need to use these spaces, thank you.
Finally, I would like to extend an "easy fast" to those families that are observing Yom Kippur this weekend.
Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal
P.S. For many years in the Goodwin household there was a lively debate between my mom and dad regarding the relative merits of Bruce Springsteen vs. Bob Seger. The arguments in the Goodwin household grew so intense that my dad even dubbed Seger "The Legend" to combat Springsteen's ubiquitous "The Boss" moniker. As I have written before, my mom has spent the better part of 40 years dedicated to listening and following Bruce Springsteen. My father certainly enjoyed Bruce tremendously, but Seger's live albums "Live Bullet" and "Nine Tonight" were the soundtracks of many a Goodwin/Dumas family gathering in the late 70s/early 80s. Certainly by the mid-80s, Bruce took off to the stratosphere in terms of popularity and sales with the release of Born in the U.S.A. Nevertheless, Bob Seger, to my dad, remained the most unsung rocker/singer-songwriter/supporter of Detroit/Rust Belt of that generation's musicians. September 28, 2011 Dear Sprague Community, I think it is best to move right on from that debacle of a Boston sports weekend. On a personal note, to add insult to injury, my beloved Bates Bobcats suffered an opening game loss to Amherst in their initial football contest of the NESCAC season. As they say, there is always the next game/year.
It with great pleasure that I announce that Katie Bender, Kindergarten, Kristan Fiore, Grade 2, Jen Lundbohn, Grade 3, and Patti Weismer, Special Educator, recently received Professional Teacher Status from the Wellesley Public Schools. In order to earn Professional Teacher Status in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, an educator must successfully complete three strong years of teaching within their public school system. As a result, in a district like Wellesley, this does not just happen for all new teachers. It is not quite like the old Harvard Law School maxim of "look to left, look to your right, one of you won't be here by the end of the year," but nevertheless it is an honor to receive Professional Teacher Status in a system like the Wellesley Public Schools. Teachers like Katie, Jen, Kristan and Patti were hired out of a pool of hundreds, if not thousands of candidates, and then were evaluated formally 15 times over their first three years while at the same time constantly being informally assessed by the WPS community. I applaud and congratulate Katie, Kristan, Jen and Patti on receiving and earning this tremendous honor.
As some may have noticed, Alyson Lajeuenesse, Sprague Speech and Language pathologist, is pregnant with twins. As of a week ago, Alyson began resting at home while waiting for the birth of her twins. We wish Alyson and her soon-to-be-born children nothing but the best in the days/weeks/years to come. In Alyson's place, Christie Ward has been brought on as our new Speech and Language Pathologist. Christine comes with several years of experience both inside and outside the Wellesley Public Schools. Most recently, she filled leaves of absence at Hunnewell and Upham. Finding a highly qualified Speech and Language Pathologist for a leave is never an easy task, but we have landed an excellent one. Christie will be employed in this post for the remainder of the academic year. We welcome her to Sprague.
As some may recall, right at the end of the last school year the Sprague community conducted a coin drive to support those families impacted by the tornadoes that touched down in Western MA. Over the summer, the funds were tabulated and the Sprague community raised $526.11 for the impacted communities. As always, the Sprague spirit of generosity and giving is a wonder to behold. Many thanks to Leslie Del Col, Sprague Community Service Chair, for coordinating these efforts.
Last Friday, we conducted our second HEART Value Assembly with the K-5 students. Julie Ma, an incredibly gifted 5th grade pianist, played at both the opening and closing of our assembly as a demonstration of excellence. She was absolutely spellbinding and the kids were rapt with attention as they listened to her performance. Kudos to Julie and the respectful audience full of students. Sprague Peer Mentoring Offering: The Peer Mentoring Program is returning to Sprague for its second year! This year, the program will pair Wellesley High School students with interested Sprague students in grades 3-5. Once a week, high school mentors will come to Sprague to help students with homework. This is a great opportunity for your child to receive additional one-on-one help with homework after school on a regular basis! Offered to: Sprague students in grades 3-5 Where and When: At Sprague, every Tuesday from 3:05pm to 4:00pm. The first session of this program will run from October 18th until December 20th. These are the scheduled dates for the program: Oct. 18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; Dec. 6, 13, 20 Note: The program will take place in Ms. Cooney's room (Room 109). She will be supervising this program each Tuesday. We are hopeful that we will offer a second session after the new year. Registration: If you are interested in having your child participate in this program, please contact Lennie Becker, Sprague Secretary, by Friday, September 30th. As only a limited number of High School mentors are available (~20), we might need to pick student names out of a hat if we have more than twenty interested students. We will notify you by Wednesday, October 12th if your child has a slot in this round of the Peer Mentoring program.
Gentle Reminders: I am very happy that students have the opportunity to bike and or scooter to school. This was not the case in the last school that I worked at as the town deemed that there was a paucity of "safe routes" to school. I would like to remind all bikers and scooters to wear a helmet when coming to and from school. Finally, once you arrive at school, please walk your bike and scooter on school grounds. I get very nervous about an accident occurring with person or vehicle so please pay close attention to this directive when biking and or scootering to and from school. Thank you!
Thanks: Thanks again to the Sprague PTO for supplying the ice cream for an impromptu staff ice cream party last Wednesday after school. It was a sumptuous treat for the staff.
Special thanks to the 5th Grade Committee for organizing last Saturday night's Movie Night for our 5th Grade students. After hearing from many of our students, it sounded like a wonderful time for all involved.
Huge thanks to Margaret Flitsch, Sprague Physical Education teacher, and all of the parent volunteers who processed well over 370 students in Sprague's initial "Walk to School" Day of the year.
Take care,
Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal
P.S. Happy 9th Birthday to my daughter Kate. I will try my best to not embarrass you anymore than I already do. Dear Sprague Community,
I am trying not to lose confidence in the Sox as they struggle down the homestretch this season. This is somewhat reminiscent of my youth when the Sox lost a huge lead to the Yankees in 1978. I vividly recall that I was in 3rd grade that fall when the Sox played the Yankees in that one game playoff that ended with Yaz popping up to Graig Nettles. As soon as school let out that day, I ran as fast I could up Plympton Street hill to get home to watch the remainder of the game. I remember my dad cursing when Lou Piniella miraculously stabbed Jerry Remy's single that kept Rick Burleson from scoring. Then, the aforementioned Yaz popup ended the game and the Sox were forced to spend another long winter as losers. The next day, one of those little things that I recall is that Mrs. Kelly, my phenomenal 3rd grade teacher, was talking with her colleague about the game. I guess it was the first time that I realized that teachers actually were real people and possibly cared about things other than school. I remember thinking it was cool that Mrs. Kelly cared about baseball at least enough to watch the most important game of that season. I don't recall much of what Mrs. Kelly specifically taught me that year. I do remember that she was really kind, a good listener and that my dad, being that he was a teacher in the same system, made sure to tell me that she was an "excellent teacher, and make sure you do whatever she says to do." For that one moment though, Mrs. Kelly was like a lot of us, another fan cursed/blessed by her love of the Red Sox and that made her all the more human to a wide-eyed eight year old boy.
As some may have noticed, we did away with the traditional Yellow Emergency Cards that you have filled out for many years for your child(ren). Sprague was one of two schools that still used the Yellow Emergency Cards while the other schools switched over to exclusively using the PowerSchool Parent Portal. I must admit that I am Luddite around some things and the use of the Yellow Card to call parents has been my go-to as a principal over the last decade. To be frank, we will still need to print a hard copy of all this information in the event that our computer system is not working and or if we have an emergency that requires us to leave the school building.
Thus, we now need to rely on parents to update student information via the PowerSchool's Parent Portal. The opportunity for parents to update their child's information via PowerSchool closes as of September 30. Please be sure to update all possible fields in the PowerSchool Parent Portal so that we have the most up-to-date information on your child. Sharon Kahn, Sprague School Nurse, Lennie Becker, Sprague School Secretary, and I rely on this information to call parents during ordinary and emergency situations. We simply need to have this information in order to do our jobs effectively. To access your child's information in PowerSchool, please navigate to https://sis.wellesley.k12.ma.us. You will then need to have your child's username and password that was sent along with the Parent Portal letter a few weeks ago. If you don't have that information, please call Mrs. Becker at 781-263-2965 x 500 or email her at lennie_becker@wellesley.k12.ma.us to retrieve your child's username/password. Thanks for your help in this matter.
Sprague Peer Mentoring Offering The Peer Mentoring Program is returning to Sprague for its second year! This year, the program will pair Wellesley High School students with interested Sprague students in grades 3-5. Once a week, high school mentors will come to Sprague to help students with homework. This is a great opportunity for your child to receive additional one-on-one help with homework after school on a regular basis! Offered to: Sprague students in grades 3 - 5 When: At Sprague, every Tuesday from 3:05 - 4:00 pm. The first session of this program will run from October 18 until December 20. (Oct. 18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; Dec. 6, 13, 20.) We are hopeful that we will offer a second session after the new year. Where: At Sprague, in Ms. Cooney's room (Room 109). She will be supervising this program each Tuesday. Registration: If you are interested in having your child participate in this program, please contact Lennie Becker, Sprague Secretary, by Friday, September 30. As only a limited number of High School mentors are available (~20), we might need to pick student names out of a hat if we have more than twenty interested students. We will notify you by Wednesday, October 12 if your child has a slot in this round of the Peer Mentoring program.
Sprague 2012 MCAS Testing Dates: In the sidebar are the dates Sprague will be administering the myriad 2012 MCAS tests for students in grades 3-5. I would urge you to mark these dates down and keep these in mind as you schedule appointments, et al., for your child(ren). If you have a child(ren) in grades 3, 4 or 5, it is mandatory that they take MCAS. In addition, it is quite a challenge when a student misses an MCAS test and we have to schedule a make-up session. As principal, I would like to thank you personally for your attention to this matter since MCAS administration dominates much of my spring.
Thanks: Many thanks to the Sprague PTO for hosting last Friday's Ice Cream Social. I hadn't had Mocha Chip for about four days and it sure tasted good. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal September 14, 2011 Dear Sprague Community,
The Sprague 5th grade students had a fantastic time attending last week's "5th Grade Kick-Off/Retreat". Our afternoon spent together served as a great team building experience filled with mental and physical challenges posed by numerous games/activities. Most importantly, it was wonderful to see both staff and students openly cheering for one another for all sorts of minor and major individual and team accomplishments. Quite simply, it was a great way to kick start the year for our fifth grade leaders as it already provided many heartwarming highlights. Special thanks to Gillian Callaghan, Ginny Churchill and Ingrid Brommers Berquist for organizing last week's 5th Grade Kickoff. Also, many thanks to all the other parents who helped the cause in a variety of ways. Finally, thanks to the 5th grade team (i.e., Mrs. Banthin, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Heon, Ms. Stabnick, Mrs. Glennon, Mr. Hagar-McKee, Mrs. Wolkoff, Ms. Jodrie, Mr. Johnson, and Mrs. Simonetti) for their time, efforts and support.
It was great to see and meet many of you at last week's Sprague Back to School Night. The support you offer your children and our staff by attending events like this make Sprague a better school. Thanks for your time and attention during a busy Fall season.
Sprague School Council FYI: As some may know, per the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, each school was charged with creating a "school council". A school council is comprised of parents, teachers, community members and the principal. The school council serves as an advisory board to the principal and is charged with annually developing and updating a School Improvement Plan. This year's Sprague School Council members include: Jill Heckman, 4th grade teacher, Jen Stabnick, Art teacher, and Brian Spencer, Wellesley Police Department - School Safety Officer.
The three parents (Susan Maggioni, Catherine Mirick and Theresa Levy) who most recently served on the Sprague School Council have moved onto other roles in their life. We thank them for their service on the Sprague School Council. As a result, the Sprague School Council is seeking three new parents to serve on this year. We meet once a month on Mondays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. As an aside, it is okay to have your child(ren) present since we conduct our meetings in the library and they can be reading/doing homework/playing a quiet game. In the event that we were to have more than three volunteers come forward, the Sprague PTO would need to conduct an election for the three spots. If you are interested in serving on the Sprague School Council, please email me at stephen_goodwin@wellesley.k12.ma.us. Thank you.
Sprague After School Program Offering: Again this year, we will be offering an after school opportunity at the Sprague School. Below is the course we are offering this Fall. Please read closely and adhere to the registration instructions. If we have more than 30 students register, we will need to pick participant names out of a hat. Additionally, we will most likely offer a spring session, thus if your child does not make it into the fall offering, we will slot them into the spring session. Thanks so much to Lisa Moore and Andrea Giroux, Sprague parents, for their leadership of this endeavor.
Grades K-5 - Sprague Excellent Adventure Club This club will feature activities that are both physically and intellectually challenging. An emphasis will be placed on teamwork and social skill building. Activities will include: a scavenger hunt, geocaching/orienteering exercises, Spraguewarts quidditch, team building activities and outdoor games of olde (i.e., Kick the Can, et al.). This after school offering is geared to be accessible to all. Class Dates: 4 Thursdays - Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27. Time: 3:05 to 4:15 PM Class size: Maximum of 30 K-5 students Staff: Mr. Donahue, Sprague Teaching Assistant, and a minimum of five parent volunteers. Location: Sprague fields and Sprague classroom space as necessary Fee: There will be no fee for this after school offering. Registration: If you are interested in having your child(ren) participate in the K-5 Sprague Excellent Adventure Club, please let Lennie Becker, Sprague Secretary, know by Wednesday, September 28.
Sprague 2012 MCAS Testing Dates: In the sidebar are the dates Sprague will be administering the myriad 2012 MCAS tests for students in grades 3-5. I would urge you to mark these dates down and keep these in mind as you schedule appointments, et al., for your child(ren). If you have a child(ren) in grades 3, 4 or 5, it is mandatory that they take MCAS. In addition, it is quite a challenge when a student misses an MCAS test and we have to schedule a make-up session. As principal, I would like to thank you personally for your attention to this matter since MCAS administration dominates much of my spring.
Dismissal/After School FYI: Just a reminder that all students should be supervised if they are staying to play after school in/around the playground. There is a coterie of parents that are outside everyday with their children and they certainly look out for the "Sprague village", but it is unfair to place them in an awkward position of having to intervene on behalf of children not their own. Believe you me, I grew up with a South Boston mother who would call out my buddies and me all the time whether their parents were around or not. However, I know not all feel comfortable with this approach nor should they have to feel responsible for children that are not their own. Thanks for reading and heeding.
Thanks: Gracious thanks to the Sprague PTO and the many "host" families for coordinating this past Tuesday night's New Family picnic. Great night for both new and veteran Sprague families.
Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal September 6, 2011 Dear Sprague Community,
I hope you all have enjoyed this beautiful Labor Day weekend. From this vantage point, it appeared to be a strong opening week for the Sprague School. Thanks so much to all staff and parents for their support of our Sprague students. It is very much appreciated by all parties.
As many of you know, ten years ago, seminal Sprague Principal Ellen Cunniff as well as the Sprague Staff discussed, deliberated and decided that the HEART Values (i.e., Help, Effort and Excellence, Accept and Appreciate, Respect and Responsibility and Teamwork) would serve as an underpinning to all that we try to do each day here at Sprague. As a result, nearly every Friday morning, we gather as a school to conduct HEART Value assemblies. Our HEART Value meetings stress three core elements: they offer opportunities for us to celebrate/demonstrate Sprague's HEART Values in a weekly community gathering, they allow additional leadership opportunities for our 5th grade students as they will lead parts of each Heart Value Assembly, and they provide a chance for our students to showcase excellence in some domain of their life. In addition, we will be awarding that day's HEART Value Awards to our Sprague students "live and in person". In each of my past two principalships, we organized similar community meetings and they quickly became cornerstone events. Again this year, I look forward to our work in this area. During this past week, 5th graders Celine Xu, pianist, and Alexa Rizika and Jennifer Guo, clarinetists, performed a mellifluous set of music both at the beginning and ending of our HEART Value meeting. Many thanks to Will Churchill and Ian Smith, Sprague 5th graders, for helping us with our interactive read aloud of Mo Willems' Should I Share My Ice Cream. Judging by the laughs of our audience, they loved Will and Ian's interpretation of Willems' uproarious text. Finally, huge thanks to Brian Hagar-McKee, Sprague Music Teacher, Jen Stabnick, Sprague Art Teacher, and Judy Lai, Student Teacher in Music, for all of their support of last Friday's assembly.
I would be remiss to not mention the anniversary of 9/11 that is occurring in a few days. I don't pretend to be eloquent enough to even suggest what others should or should not feel as we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11. On Friday, as we do each school day, we will recite the Pledge of Allegiance and our wonderful third grade students will raise both the American and Sprague flags. As always, we are here to help support your child through all parts of their Sprague experience. If you have any questions about how to speak with your child about 9/11, don't hesitate to contact Elana Wolkoff, our sublime School Psychologist, and/or me. As with many things, I would stress the basics: you love your child(ren) immensely; both at home and at school we strive all the time to provide them a safe and caring environment; that it is okay and beneficial for them to ask questions and as adults we will always try to provide them the best answers/information possible; and challenging events do occur from time to time, but the vast majority of people across this world want everyone to be safe, happy and successful.
Thanks: Finally, huge thanks to countless people for getting this machine known as the Sprague School cranked up for the 2011-2012 school year. In no particular order, many thanks to Catherine Mirick and Wendy Garber, Sprague PTO Co-Presidents, for their leadership in countless ways including last week's Kindergarten/New Family Popsicle Party and subsequent school tour. Thanks to them also for speaking at the Sprague Faculty meeting last Tuesday morning. The staff greatly appreciates all the support that the PTO provides us.
Also, a sumptuous thank you to Rebecca Cahaly and volunteers for the coordination of last Tuesday's PTO luncheon.
Kudos to Jennett Murphy and Angie Gakidis for disseminating emails galore keeping us updated about all things Sprague.
A ton of thanks to Gillian Callaghan, Ginny Churchill and Ingrid Voldins for all of their work spearheading the 5th Grade Committee. We are all looking forward to this Friday's 5th Grade Leadership Retreat.
Michelle Heath, once again, is serving as the liaison with our students and families from Boston and we thank her for all of her time and efforts in this regard.
Major thanks to Colleen Conroy and Laurie Diamond (and countless others) who led the two-day Spruce Up Sprague push.
Thanks to Kathy Ashraf and Windsor Ferrara for all things Sprague auction which will take place next Spring.
A bevy of farmers tended to the Sprague Community Garden throughout the summer. Thanks to them for their watering, weeding and harvesting efforts on behalf of all us at Sprague.
Huge thanks to the many Sprague community members that are assisting Lennie in the office with the back-to-school forms. This is hugely helpful to both Lennie and the school as a whole. Thanks again to Yolanda Tong and Colette Aufranc for their help thinning the summer packet as well as assisting us in going green.
Anne Marvan, Co-President of the Sprague PTO last year, wrote and received a SHADE Foundation grant that will soon provide the Sprague campus a small roofed shade structure near our playground. This will be a boon to all families and members that use the Sprague playground throughout the year but currently have no respite from the sun. Anne has been our point woman for all parts of this endeavor and let's just say her efforts on this project could be best described as "Herculean". Thanks Anne. We would not be anywhere without all of your efforts!!
If I inadvertently missed anyone in any category, I offer my sincere apologies and thank them for their support, time and efforts this summer and throughout the year. Finally, belated well wishes to those families who observed Eid al-Fitr and the end of Ramadan a week ago. Take care, Stephen Goodwin Sprague Principal
August 2011 Dear Sprague Community, I would like to welcome back all of you who were part of the Sprague Elementary School last year, and to welcome those of you who are new to our school community. This promises to be a fun, exciting and challenging year at Sprague. As we near mid-August, I hope everyone has had a fun and relaxing summer. This summer, like many, I was caught up in the Women’s World Cup and the fantastic run of the American Women’s Soccer team. Sadly, it ended in a loss to Japan. As many commented, the victory for Japan hopefully offered some sense of solace to a country that is still trying to move forward in light of all the devastation they experienced this past spring. Additionally this summer, Kate, my oldest daughter, age 8.75 according to her, has become a true member of Red Sox nation. Each morning, I am greeted by her asking me, “Did they win last night?” Nicely, the answer this summer has been “yes” many, many times over. Let’s hope their success continues well into October. Finally, I have spent the summer reading some items for pleasure (e.g., The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman, Bottom of the 33rd by Dan Barry and How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers) and rereading a fantastic book, Stan Davis’s Schools Where Everyone Belongs. In a past school setting, Davis’s book formed the underpinning of how we worked to ensure that all students felt a part of our school community. Last year, the Sprague School Council read Davis’s book and found it to be quite compelling. This year as an entire staff, we will be reading Davis’s work as we move forward in our shared goal to ensure we actualize our HEART values. As always, Lennie Becker, Sprague’s sublime secretary, has done yeoman’s work getting us ready for another school year. As many know, the Sprague School, due to having the luxury of air conditioning, is used throughout the summer for myriad Wellesley Public School program offerings. As a result, Scott Grady, Rob Carter and Jack Glorioso, our stellar custodial staff, have to work non-stop over the last three weeks of August preparing the building for our students and staff. Huge thanks to Scott, Rob and Jack for all of their efforts. In conversations with various staff members, it is clear that they have remained busy this summer continuing to grow as professionals, while also taking time to recharge their batteries as well. Some brief examples include: many Sprague teachers taking part in various district-based literacy trainings; Moe Henzel and Sara Goudreault attending a week-long Tufts University LEGOS Robotics Workshop (a large thank you to the Wellesley Education Foundation for providing the funding for this training); and the specialist staff (Jen Stabnick, Brian Hagar-McKee, Ellen Mandel and Margaret Flitsch) met a plethora of times before the end-of-the-year to develop the Sprague master schedule. Thanks to them and all of their peers for all of the behind-the-scenes work they perform while getting the school ready for the new academic year. I am pleased to welcome several new staff members to Sprague. As some may recall, Beth Kauczka, long-time Instructional Library Assistant, moved to Connecticut this summer. In her place, we have hired Anne Allieri. Additionally, we have hired Ellen Settimelli and Nicole Tarczanin as teaching assistants. Donna Chaff, veteran WPS music teacher, will be teaching a few sections of kindergarten music in order to better balance the teaching load for Mr. Hagar-McKee. I am also pleased to report that Elana Wolkoff, our wonderful school psychologist, will now be at Sprague full-time. We warmly welcome all of our new staff and are sure they will benefit by working closely with our returning staff members. The Sprague Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) will host a Back-to-School Coffee on Wednesday, August 31st at 8:30 a.m. Sprague PTO Co-Presidents Catherine Mirick and Wendy Garber and I will be there to welcome you and discuss the upcoming year. Beginning last spring, I have met several times already with Catherine and Wendy and am most impressed with their dedication and work ethic. I feel very lucky to have their support this year. The Sprague PTO plays a vital role in supporting all Sprague students and staff. One of many incredible examples of support provided by the Sprague PTO last year took the form of the SMART Board technology initiative. Last summer at this time, Sprague had two SMART Boards. When school opens this fall, 23 learning spaces (18 K-5 classrooms, 2 Learning Centers, 2 Inclusion Support Service classrooms and the Music and Art rooms) will have installed SMART Boards. This is simply incredible! Many thanks to Kathy Ashraf, Sprague parent, for all of her leadership in spearheading this initiative as well as the entire Sprague community for their generosity and support. Successful schools are forged through the collaborative efforts of all constituents and I welcome you to become involved in the Sprague PTO. Finally, the Sprague PTO will sponsor a “Kindergarten Students and all New Students/Families Popsicle Party” that will be held on Monday, August 29th at 3 p.m. on the Sprague playground. Looking ahead to the first days of school, please peruse the following procedures and review them with your child(ren).
Throughout the spring and summer, Sprague PTO Members/Parents Yolanda Tong and Colette Aufranc have worked dutifully to “thin” down the annual summer mailing and make more items available electronically. Huge thanks to them for achieving this goal. As a result, please review the 2011 Summer Mailing Enclosures as well as peruse the August 12th Sprague PTO communication email that will be forthcoming. As is typical, the first day of school, Wednesday, August 31st, is an early release day. Students will be dismissed at 12:00 on this day. Just a gentle reminder, please discuss with your child their after school plans each day to avoid confusion during dismissal time. Thanks in advance for your support in this matter. Once again, I am really looking forward to working hard on behalf of the entire Sprague community. I appreciate and thank everyone immensely for all of their help and support last year of all things Sprague. If you have any comments, concerns or questions throughout the year, please email me at stephen_goodwin@wellesley.k12.ma.us or call me at 781-263-1965 x 501. On behalf of the entire Sprague staff, I would like to wish all of you a wonderful school year. Sincerely, |
