December/January 2004    Volume 18    Number 4

Newsletter of the Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools Parent-Teacher-Student Organization
RPTSO Website: http://abrptso.ab.mec.edu

FROM THE CHAIRS:

Three speakers joined us for the November PTSO Forum, and their enlightening remarks held everyone’s attention for a solid 2 ½ hours!  The topic was our school budgets, with a focus on the math and world languages departments. THANK YOU to World Languages Chair Claire Dix, Math Chair Bill Noeth, and School Committee Member Marie Altieri for their presentations. Thank you also to Principals Craig Hardimon and Steve Donovan for their updates.

Bill Noeth talked about how sequential the study of mathematics is.  A student has to be developmentally ready to move to the next level or course.  If he or she moves too quickly, and does not fully grasp the concepts being taught, a solid foundation will not be there for the student to rely on, and it will create difficulty that will show up in later courses. It is for this reason that the math teachers feel that Algebra Honors in 8^th grade should be limited to very strong students who have excellent mastery of the material that comes before algebra. This is particularly important when students take the “cornerstone of all future math,” Algebra I, typically in grade 9.  A “C” in a class of sequential math means the student does not really fully understand a lot of the material or has not mastered a lot of the skills needed for use in future courses.  Retention of the material that they learn in each course is a major key to success in math. Taking classes over the summer can be helpful to fill in gaps or to review material that a student may have forgotten. “Taking calculus in High School is certainly a benefit, but not a necessity.  Many AB students who took AE math (the level just below Honors) go on to major in math at great universities,” said Bill, who has been in our school system for 28 years.

Increasing class sizes in math due to tight budgets is an issue.  No additional math teachers have been hired for the past three years, despite adding approximately 200 more students to the school. Restricted staffing has created an average class size of about 25 students in math, with Honors and AE levels at about 30 - 31 and the other two leveled classes at about 22.  “Individual attention is almost impossible when classes exceed 30 students.”  Borderline students will more likely drop down to a lower level, because they won’t get the individual explanations or clarifications that they need to make it. There are kids who could be successful in the higher-level classes if teachers had more time for individual attention.

Claire Dix presented from the World Languages department.  Currently only Spanish and French are offered at the Junior High and High School.  Since 1981, Russian and German have been dropped.  Latin was dropped this year due to enrollment and budget issues. Offering only two world languages in a school of over 1700 students is a weakness.  1300 of our High School students take either French or Spanish. A strength in our program is the new Sony digital language lab with 60 student booths. Training people to use the lab is in progress, although it is difficult with only 17 hours per week of lab assistant time.  If more time were available, students would also be able to work independently in the lab on research and assignments.  At this time, students are only able to use the lab with their class, or when their teacher has scheduled time for them to “drop-in.”  Practicums, where High School students taught in the local elementary schools, were cut this year due to the budget.

Increasingly large class sizes are also an issue in the World Languages department. Typically, there are approximately 25 students in the CP level classes and 33 in Honors classes.  This often translates to 130 or more students in a new teacher’s caseload. In some towns, teachers’ contracts limit caseload to 100 students.  Acton does not have a limit.  Learning a language involves listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  Assessing a student’s progress requires time to grade in all of these areas.  Obviously, as more students are added to a class, more hours are added to the teacher’s workload.  Speaking assessments are done only once per term, and comments on writing assignments, as well as the number of assignments, will decrease as classes grow. Standardized testing is useful and is often adapted to the particular classes.  The World Language Department has developed and is using two rubrics so far, a speaking one and a writing one, which will give parents a detailed idea of how their child is doing in class with respect to two of the four skills of language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The reading and listening components should be finished by the end of the year. Of course, teachers will always do their best and many great things are happening in the department.  Highlights include telecommunication with a class in Argentina and a project for AP/H students where students will present, in Spanish, their findings about scientific research funding of a topic of their choice.  Topics include:  cloning, genetics, stem cell research, and artificial intelligence.  Trips are planned to NYC for the 400^th anniversary of Don Quixote, and to Quebec for the French students.

Marie Altieri spoke as a member of the Regional School Committee.  Much effort is being spent on preparing school budgets for next year and coming up with an appropriate override amount to present to voters in the spring.  Now is the time for people to speak up about their priorities, as the proposed budget will be set by late January.  Acton leaders are trying to decide whether it would be better to request smaller overrides over multiple years, or a larger override ($6 million or more) for this spring that would get us through the next two or three years.  Many numbers are not certain yet, but preliminary figures seem to indicate that a $4.6 million override in Acton may be needed to “maintain” what we have in our schools right now and avoid any cuts, just for next year.  This would not reduce class sizes, but simply allow us to keep up with increasing student enrollment. There is agreement from the School Committees that addressing the staffing needs at the High School is a priority, if at all possible.  The State of the Town Meeting in Acton on December 1^st (7 p.m. in the R. J. Grey Jr. High School Auditorium) is being held to solicit public comment.  There will not be presentations that evening, instead informational material will be mailed to all Acton registered voters prior to this evening. Everyone is urged to read this information and attend on December 1^st .

How did we end up in this financial situation? This is a structural problem created by Proposition 2 ½ and being experienced by almost all towns in the state.  It is made worse by a number of factors including: decreases in state aid, and increasing costs in health insurance, pensions, and utilities.  It affects both Acton and Boxborough, both school and municipal budgets.  Marie urged people to contact School Committee members with their opinions and questions as soon as possible. The Committee can be reached at ab_school_committee@mail.ab.mec.edu.

RJG Principal Craig Hardimon explained that an understanding of how “teaming” works is essential to talking about the Junior High School budget.  Based on 10/1/04 student enrollment, the average team size in the 7^th grade this year is 112.75 students.  In the 8^th grade this year team size averages 116.50 students.  (Each grade has four teams.)  Next year (2005 -2006), if no additional team is added, team sizes are expected to increase to 120.75 for 7^th graders and 112.75 for 8^th graders. 100 students per team is considered appropriate. A team costs approximately $250,000.

ABRHS Principal Steve Donovan said the budget is now a 12-month process. Department chairs struggle with funding decisions every year.  Typically they try to give freshmen lots of support to get them off to a strong start, but that means junior and senior classes often end up being very large. In classes like English where writing assignments take time to grade, a checklist will be used for grading instead of narrative comments.  Fewer assignments may also be given.  Other classes like chemistry have to stay smaller for safety reasons.

 Mentoring of the 22 new staff members at the High School is also a main focus.  (These are not additional positions, but due to retirements, departures, etc.) Our system often expects a new teacher to perform at the same level as one with 35 years of experience.  “We’ll run the best program we can with the resources we are given.”, said Steve.

Please take the time to be informed about the important decisions we will be asked to make when our towns (Acton and Boxborough) vote on the budgets in the Spring.  The November Forum’s message was very clear that our community faces some very significant financial challenges.  

There is no Forum in December.  Our next gathering will be on Tuesday, January 11^th at noon in the Acton Memorial Library with Superintendent Bill Ryan as our speaker.

- Beth and Jan

Project Graduation:

What Is It? & How Can You Help?

What It Is

For the past 15 years, ABRHS undergraduate parents, with tremendous support from the community, have produced Acton-Boxborough’s Project Graduation.  This all-night “lock-in” is exclusively for ABRHS seniors.  The event is always a huge success; almost 90% of the senior class attends. 

The night features live entertainment, games, food, prizes, scholarships, and a surprise theme.  The only other people allowed to attend are the unobtrusive chaperones, limited to undergraduate parents and community members.  The program is designed to provide a safe, fun, alcohol-free, and drug-free way to celebrate this important milestone.

How You Can Help

Preparations for this year’s Project Graduation are underway but help is still needed in a number of areas – Theme Design & Decorations, Food, Logistics, Fundraising, Chaperones, and Set-up.  We encourage all parents of underclassmen (grades 7-11) to participate.  Support the Class of 2005 now and your future graduates will have the opportunity to celebrate in this exciting and safe way.

To volunteer, or for more information, please contact Sharon Smith McManus at 978-263-8014 or ABProjGrad05@aol.com.

A-B Alumni Update

The A-B Alumni Association is eager to join upcoming holiday festivities to not only meet other alumni but to underscore their presence and the support they have traditionally given to A-B.  There will be an A-B Alumni Association table at the Thanksgiving Day football game to provide a place for alumni to meet, to cheer on the A-B Colonials, and, of course, to make sure we have your contact information for future updates.

A list of alumni greeters has already been started.  Would you like to join in to greet other alumni for one-half  hour or so?  As they say, the more the merrier!  It just may be the best way to see the most alumni at the game. Just send us an e-mail.

Remember to bring your visiting alumni relatives and friends to the table to say "hello” and to give their contact information too. See you there! 

- Carol Jette and Suzanne Brozek

A-B Alumni Association Co-Chairs

978-897-0386

Connect@ABAlumni.org

FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Steve Donovan

Building Project Update

We are celebrating the “end” of the building project this month. The new spaces have been completed, and furniture is arriving to equip these spaces. By the time you read this we will be using (or be close to using) the third student lunchroom, the faculty dining room, the band and chorus rooms, the Faculty Support Center (copier room), and the radio and cable TV studios. The music and communications classroom should be ready by January. An open house has been scheduled for January 17 to give the community a chance to see the “new” high school (see the box in this issue for the invitation). A dedication ceremony is being planned for the spring.

Report Cards

Report cards for Term I were distributed to students before Thanksgiving. For security reasons, these reports are printed on colored paper with a visible school seal. Therefore, any reports without the seal are copies, not originals. Any questions about a student’s grades or comments should be directed to the teacher of the course. Questions about attendance should be directed to the student’s vice principal (Susan Atwater-Rhodes for grade 10 and grade 9 A-G, Larry Dorey for grade 11 and grade 9 P-Z, and Fran Riley for grade 12 and grade 9 H-O).

Recognition

Each year the faculty nominates three students from whom the seniors select one to receive the DAR Good Citizenship Award. I am pleased to announce that this year’s recipient is David Emer.

Two of our students, Eugene Dao and Nikhil Pradhan, were regional finalists in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology and presented their projects at MIT on November 6. There were only three students from Massachusetts who advanced to this level, so to have two students from A-B was quite an honor!

- Steve Donovan, Principal

Community Service Activities
Our annual Community Service Awards Night is scheduled for Monday, January 17 (the Martin Luther King holiday), at 7:30 p.m. in the High School Auditorium. Students who have done at least 25 hours of community service during 2004 should report their hours by December 1 using the form that was distributed in homeroom in November. Additional forms are available in the Counseling Center. Everyone is invited to attend the awards ceremony to share in recognizing student volunteers.

On January 11 and 12, the Volunteer Opportunities Fair at all lunches will kick off community service activities for 2005. Students are encouraged to stop by the tables to find out about school year and summer volunteer opportunities.

From the Academic Support Center

Throughout Term 1, many talented and dedicated Peer Tutors assisted students in a variety of subjects.  Their willingness to "pinch hit" when asked, along with their friendly demeanor and patience, make them an invaluable resource within the program.  

With gratitude we acknowledge the following students:  Amanda Ashton, Gregory Barr, Chris Bees, Vicki Blancha, Doug Breuer, Albert Chuang, Andrew Dai, Eugene Dao, Jim DeCristofaro, Lee Dietterich, Chris Dowling, Kendall Downer, Denise Duquette, Matthew Fisher-Post, Leslie Funk, Thomas Gibbons, Theresa Glaser, Avanti Golikeri, Molly Greene, Ally Grossman, Shaina Haber, Alison Herdeg, Brett Herrick, Anat Hochberg, Mike Holmes, Yaejin Hong, Deirdre Horvath, Nale Hwang, Jessica Janus, Anudeep Jassal, Willa Kaufman, Ted Keith, Ariel Klein, Andrew Kuo, Anton Li, Zack Luz, Susan Ma, Sohini Mahapatra, Paige Malinowski, Sam Matson, Kara Morris, Emily Nicholson-Gross, Katie Niro, Brynna Patel, Ning Qin, Emily Reuman, Ariana Rosa, Kate Rosenkranz, Katelyn Saaristo, Daniela Sasson, Jake Segal,  Jeffrey  Shane, Jessica Shen, Anandh Swaminathan, Kelsey Torres, Sara Truax, Xiao Annie Wang, Chris Wu, Ji Xiao, Haoshu Yang, and Sarah Zhang,

Anything Goes Features Tap and Tunes at ABRHS

Rehearsals are now underway for this year’s High School musical, Anything Goes. Performances are February 4, 5, 11, 12 at 7:30 p.m.; and February 6 at 2:00 p.m. This classic 1930’s musical comedy features the delightful songs of Cole Porter and spectacular  tap dancing by the entire cast. Linda Potter, Jeanie Furlan, and Melinda Samperi will again direct and choreograph this year’s show—the same creative team who brought Footloose and My Favorite Year to the High School stage.

Cast members include: Jenna Agule, Scott Ames, Kenzie Bartlett, Matt Bauer, Eric Bell, Elly Berke, Sean Berkwitz, Kara Blaney, Nicole Boyajian, KiKi Boyles, Isobel Brown, Jenny Carrington, Phil Castonguay, Ben Cesare, Anna Christo, Kelly Coughlan, Mary Doherty, Amanda Duggan, Robert Duggan, Taylor Ferry, Danielle Forshay, Thomas Gibbons, Beth Gillispie, Matt Grazewski, Madeline Green, Alison Herdeg, Brian Herdeg, Jyoti Jasrasaria, Elyse Lebel, Gina Marzullo, Anisa McCree, Tori McGovern, Jessica Myers, Travis Porth, Juliana Potter, Josh Quat, Garrett Richardson, Kate Rodophele, Kate Rosenkranz, Hayley Samperi, Matt Samperi, Eric Sheehan, Noah Simes, Katherine Voss, Ana Walker, and  Ty Wilson.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. They are now available from any cast member, as the cast competes in a ticket contest for prizes.  Tickets are also available on line via credit card at MKTix.com. Beginning in early January, tickets may be purchased  at: Roche Bros., Willow Books, As You Like It Hair Salon (Route 2A), and the ABRHS School Store. ABSAF and Staff tickets (2 per family) are available at the A-B School Store, 7:30 – 3:00, Monday through Friday. Check the website http://www.abmusical.com/ for more information or contact Janet Ferry, 978-263-3293. Don’t miss this terrific show! 

‘Friday Night Stand-Up’ Comedy Comes to Acton

Professional comedians John Turco, Rich Gustus, and Tom Gilmore will be performing at the Acton Boxborough Regional High School Auditorium on Friday, December  10 at  8:00 p.m. 

The three have performed at numerous colleges, including BC, BU, Tufts, Dartmouth, and Providence College.  John has also appeared in the movies “A Civil Action” and “Boone Dock Saints.” Rich has been featured on Comedy Central and Tom’s credits include A & E’s “Comedy On The Road,” Showtime TV, and colleges nationwide. All three are favorites on the Boston comedy scene. 

Come out and laugh right here in Acton! (And you won’t have to pay to park!) Tickets are $10 in advance for High School and College students, $15 at the door.  Adults are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Tickets are now on sale at Willow Books, the ABRHS school store, or by order from Valerie Malinowski at 978-263-4786 or Patty Christian at 978-897-7421.     

This event is coordinated by the ABRHS Softball Boosters. All proceeds from the show will benefit the ABRHS Lady Colonials Softball teams.

Toys for Tots
As the holiday season approaches, A-B students and their families are invited to share with children from families in financial hardship. The Toys for Tots program is a time-honored holiday activity run by the United States Marine Corps. At the High School, the girls’soccer team will coordinate the Toys for Tots toy collection. Contributions of new, unwrapped toys (age range: toddlers to teen) should be brought to school and placed in the boxes in the Counseling Center by December 3.

RJGJHS NEWS

FROM THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Craig Hardimon

The goal of creating a well-rounded student is not limited to the traditional classroom setting.  For a number of years, our seventh and eight grade teams have engaged in community service learning projects (CSL), and this year is no exception.  Phyllis Proctor, the Acton-Boxborough CSL Coordinator, states that, “Service learning consists of curriculum-based activities that give students the opportunity to be of service to others while reinforcing what they learn in the classroom.”  

Examples of CSL projects at RJG this year include: 8 Green students removing litter from public areas earlier in the fall, preserving conservation trails, and improving the main school campus; 7 Green sponsoring our 9th Annual R.J. Grey Coats for Families drive; 8 Orange coordinating a school-wide donation program for the Food Pantry in West Acton; and 7 Orange program on issues related to homelessness.  Each of these projects, as well as many others planned for later in the year by our other teams, provides students with an amazing opportunity to combine the mastery of the curriculum with first hand experiences with active citizenship.

We also ask our students to take an active role in creating and maintaining a healthy learning environment. While we as adults constantly strive to improve the student’s experience while at RJG, we are asking the student to help in this process.  We need to hear the students' perspectives on what works in our building and what we can do better.

Accordingly, in November, Assistant Principals Carolyn Imperato, Larry Fliegelman, and I will lead a series of town meetings with the students and staff of each team.  In addition to modeling the town meeting form of government, our town meetings will provide a forum for the adults to listen to students and ask questions to help us understand what the junior high is like for them. 

Topics of discussion will include, but not be limited to: Before you came to the junior high, what were you nervous about? What are you still nervous about? What are some of the best things about being at the junior high? What is something that you would change about the junior high?

It is hoped that such dialogs provide the students with a lesson in civic involvement as well as provide us with a vital perspective on the RJG Community.

-Craig Hardimon, Principal

PROJECT WELLNESS 2005

On March 9th, all RJG 7th grade students and one parent or a significant adult (due to space limitations) are  invited to our fourth annual Project Wellness Day. "Project Wellness" is a day of workshops and discussions centered around communication between students and their parents. It is held at Merrimack College in North Andover while their students are on vacation.  Families will be offered 3 workshops from about 30 professional presentations that focus on making good decisions and choices as children head into their teenage years. Our program is modeled after an event done by the North Andover Middle School.

The transition from 6th to 7th grade is a major one. The Emerson Hospital Youth Risk Behavior Survey highlighted many of the choices facing our students as they move up through the Junior and Senior High Schools.  Communication between teens and their parents and/or other significant adults is an essential "tool" for success - whether academic, athletic, social, or with "life" in general.  It is hoped that having this event will help improve communication, trust, self-esteem, and healthy choices for our 7th graders and their families.

This event is sponsored by the AB School District, with support from various school and community groups.  Funding is not included in the regular school budget.  If you know of potential funding sources for this activity, would like to volunteer, or for more information, please contact PTSO Co-Chair Jan Couch at 978-263-2118.

REGIONAL SCHOOL CALENDARS

High School Dates of Interest

SCHOOL COMMITTEE NEWS

FROM THE REGIONAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE      

Becky Neville, Chair

Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee would like to solicit community input for our 2005-06 calendar. We currently have two options that we are discussing.

The first option has the Opening Day of school set for September 7, 2005 and the last day would be between June 21 and June 28, 2006, depending on snow days. The second option has the Opening Day of school set for August 31, 2005 and the last day of school would be between June 15 and June 22, 2006, depending on snow days.  

The calendar will be voted at the December 2, 2005 Regional School Committee, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Boxborough Town Hall.  Please send a quick email to both School Committees at abrsc@acton-ma.gov and tell us your preference, or attend our meeting on December 2nd to give us your input.  We look forward to your participation in this process.

The Town of Acton will be holding a State of the Town meeting on Wednesday, December 1st to get citizen's views on the school and municipal budgets for 2006. It is going to be a fiscally challenging year and I encourage you all to let your elected officials know your feelings on the budget process and override process.

- Becky Neville
Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee, Chair
neville317@juno.com

PTSO CALENDAR

December 2                 7:30 PM                       Regional School Committee Meeting

                                                                                    Boxborough Town Hall

January 6                      7:30 PM                       Regional School Committee Meeting

                                                                                    Jr. High Library

January 11                    12 Noon                      PTSO Forum – Superintendent Bill Ryan

                                                                        Acton Memorial Library

February 3                   7:30 PM                       Regional School Committee Budget Hearing

                                                                        Jr. High Library

February 8                   12 Noon                      PTSO Forum – Asst. Superintendent Susan Horn

                                                                        Acton Memorial Library

THE DEADLINE FOR ARTICLE SUBMISSION FOR THE FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER IS JANUARY 14th.

This issue is scheduled to be mailed to families on January 27^th.