It is a pleasure to see the students enjoying our December snow, even as it does make for interesting mornings on occasion. One of the attributes of Applewild is that we celebrate our sense of place. We do that by using the surroundings for observation in science, art, creative writing, and in other ways. We also do that as we enjoy moving about the campus in the elements. And we certainly celebrate and take advantage of this beautiful place for recreation!
In this fiftieth year we also just had another in our Applewild Jubilee events. The Second Grade presented its research project on people and costumes from the 1950’s. Unfortunately, Elvis was not able to put in a reprise appearance! The third grade is working on their 1960’s decade presentation. I look forward to their interpretation of Tom Brokaw’s “Boom.” It is wonderful to see the many ways that faculty are creatively connecting to our 50’s theme, as Erin Schlesinger did with the fourth grade play There’s Nothing On. You will see some reminders of our Jubilee activities, and many other activities, in the sampling of press headlines that is enclosed with our Friday Envelope. It has been a busy, productive, energizing fall and early winter!
As we move toward celebrations of this season, we also have our ninth graders taking their semester exams. Although they probably do not consider that a joyful occasion, it reminds me that we can certainly celebrate the energy, high standards and commitment of our faculty. We see and hear the evidence of this when we are the audience at our concerts or plays. What we do not see is the daily work that each faculty member expends on behalf of each of their students to extend their knowledge, challenge them to respond with their best effort, remind them that they have talent and competence, and affirm their self-worth. The relationships that our students forge with their teachers enable our children to take the intellectual and emotional risks involved with learning and trying their best, whether in the classroom, on stage, in athletics – or even at lunch or recess.
Parent Education – and Admission – Opportunities
On Friday, January 11th, Dr. Laura Garofoli, Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Early Childhood Education at Fitchburg State College, will be speaking at a luncheon here at Applewild for Preschool Directors and teachers as well as School Guidance Counselors from the local area. Parents are welcome to attend, also. Dr. Garofoli will be speaking about "Early Gender Based Differences in Math." The program begins with lunch at 12:30 pm in the Marshall Building multi-purpose room. Please RSVP to Terry Perlmutter or Jen Raterman if you intend to come, and feel free to invite a non-Applewild parent, too. Last year’s luncheon was well attended and informative, and I appreciate that Terry has created this opportunity for our community.
My thanks to the Lotuff, Chapdelaine, Jones, and Sans families for hosting Admission evenings in their homes. The Lotuffs hosted in November. Some of the dates have changed to the following:
- Jones in Groton - January 17 at 7:00 p.m.
- Sans in Littleton - January 23 at 7:00 p.m.
- Chapdelaines in Hollis - February 7 at 7:00 p.m.
We will also have our annual Parent Association Evening Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on January 29. This meeting is designed to lay out for our families the plans for the coming year. It has focused on financial matters in the past, and we will continue to provide this information. We will also begin to discuss a vision for the future at Applewild, based on the findings of our self-study, the AISNE Accreditation Report, and our Long Range Planning. I hope that you will be able to attend.
Emergency Contact and School Closings
We had a glitch with extension 222 -- Snow Cancellation -- on December 3. That extension was inadvertently eliminated when our phone system was up-graded. It was back in service for our December 10 delayed opening. We are now posting to the homepage, so you can always check there. Beginning in January, we will use SchoolReach as a way to contact families in case we need to close during the school day, but we are not planning to use this for morning school closings. If you have not yet registered for SchoolReach, please do so by contacting Carol Selinga. Thanks to the Parent Association Wish List for supporting this new communication approach that should streamline our efforts to contact families in the event of an early closing.
Year End and a Look Ahead
I look forward to seeing all of you at our Holiday Concerts. They will be the formal public debut of our Appleseed and Apple Choruses. I always enjoy hearing both the choral and instrumental music. This year we will have the fifth grade band play both at the afternoon and evening concerts. Frank Bonanno knows that hearing the progress of the older students helps motivate the beginning band players. Our Upper School students will be preparing gifts to take to the Cleghorn Neighborhood Association prior to the Thursday evening concert. We will not have the young alumni panel and dinner for eight and ninth graders since this year’s calendar puts so many of these alumni in exams and still at school at that point.
We begin our ski program for grades four through nine when we return from break, and we can look ahead to Martin Luther King assemblies, admission screening dates (January 12 and 26), and the Fifth Grade Radio Play (Kevin Brodeur has also found a 1950’s connection, I hear!). Our first semester ends January 18, and you can expect to receive grades and/or comments (depending on the grade level) during the week of January 28. We have the professional day on the 22nd to help faculty do justice to this time consuming process. Our curricular reviews of social studies and information literacy continue. Finally, if you have time on January tenth, plan to attend the annual Boys and Girls Club Adult Spelling Bee. It starts at 5:30 at Fitchburg State, supports the area Boys and Girls Club, and food is available on site. Last year Applewild’s faculty/staff team, in its first ever appearance, had impressive success. You and your children might enjoy seeing our teachers on stage competing, and you might also be amazed by some of the team uniforms!
Have a wonderful holiday season and a safe, happy new year. Remember that we reconvene Wednesday, January 2, 2008. I look forward to seeing you all then!