Last evening, Professor Mahesh Sharma who has been working with teachers and administrators in our school district, gave a community presentation on “Prerequisite Skills and Mathematics Learning.” Below is the link to the handout.
MaheshSharma PrerequisiteSkillsMathLearning
On Saturday, March 19th, the RMHS Jazz Band, under the direction of RMHS Music Director Joseph Mulligan, competed in the Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educators State Jazz Band Finals, held at Norwood High School. In the competition, the Jazz Band played three songs: Vine Street Rumble, I Remember Clifford, and The Rotten Kid. Their outstanding performance on Saturday earned them a gold medal. In addition, Sophomore Chris Fallon and Junior Thomas Gray were awarded Outstanding Musicianship Awards for their performance.
RMHS Jazz Band at State Competition on March 19
With this recognition, the Jazz Band will be performing at the MAJE Gold Medal Showcase at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston on Sunday, May 15. Congratulations to the Jazz Band on such an outstanding performance!
Will Politano on Tenor Sax
Scott Dumas on Trombone
Good Morning,
We hope all is well and you are enjoying your weekend. The link below is this week’s edition of the Pathways Newsletter. In this week’s edition, we have articles on the Reading Robotics Team, updates on the Parker and Birch Meadow Principal Searches, the Reading Public Schools Art and Writing National Award Winners, and Professional Learning Communities. In addition, we have several photos and stories on the many school events that occurred this week including the RMHS Jazz Band winning a gold medal in yesterday’s State Competition, Google Expeditions at the Middle Schools, Read Across America, Kindergarten Writers, Pi Day at Birch Meadow, and METCO Lobby Day. It was a very busy and productive week of learning!
Have a great rest of the weekend and let’s hope the snow stays south!
Good Afternoon,
The Reading Public Schools is pleased to announce the following three finalists for the position of Birch Meadow Elementary School Principal. They are:
A copy of their resumes are attached for your review. On Wednesday, each candidate will be part of a site visit to Birch Meadow Elementary School which will include a tour of the school, interviews with students, interviews with the District Leadership Team, a classroom observation, and an open microphone session with staff. On Thursday, each candidate will participate in a Community Open Microphone Session which will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Birch Meadow Cafeteria. The schedule for Thursday’s Open Microphone Session are as follows:
6:30 p.m. Julia Hendrix
7:00 p.m. Patricia Beckman
7:30 p.m. Gregory Irvine
All are welcome to attend the Community Open Microphone Session. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Reading Public Schools Administration Offices at 781-944-5800.
The Reading Public Schools is pleased to announce that Richele Shankland has been appointed as the Principal of Parker Middle School. Ms. Shankland is currently the Assistant Principal at Lynnfield Middle School where she has been for the last 16 years. During that time, she has served in the roles of a mathematics teacher, a mathematics department head, and, currently as an administrator. Richele has a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education from Arizona State University, a Master of Liberal Arts from State University of New York, and a Master of Education at Salem State College. Her leadership style, strong interpersonal skills and knowledge of curriculum and instruction will be an excellent match for the Parker Middle School Community.
Ms. Shankland will begin as Parker Principal on July 1st and will begin to work with the current Parker administration in transition activities.
A special thank you goes out to the entire Parker Community for their feedback during this process.
Please welcome Richele Shankland to the Reading Public Schools!
Congratulations to the Reading Robotics team who won the Chairman’s Award at the North Shore District Competition held at Reading Memorial High School this weekend. The Chairman’s Award is the highest and most prestigious award you can earn at a FIRST Robotics Competition and honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and most embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST. With this award, the team automatically qualifies for the District Championship in April.
The Robockets also did very well in the Robotics competition, finishing fourth out of 40 teams in the qualifying round, and reaching the semifinals in the elimination round.
Congratulations to the Robockets on a job well done!
The RMHS Robockets Team
Good Morning,
We hope all is well and you are enjoying this weekend. At the link below, please find this week’s edition of the Pathways Newsletter. There is a lot of information in this week’s version, including an update on the Parker and Birch Meadow Principal Searches, an article on how anxiety and depression affect the brain, and how a high school in North Carolina opened up a daily 40 minute block of time for all students. In addition, we have photos from several recent events including the RMHS Robotics Team, the RMHS Jazz and Stage Bands, a Coolidge student who participated in the All State Treble Chorus, Parker’s presentation of The Lion King, Jr., and the Boy’s Hockey Team semi-final state tournament game.
Have a great rest of the weekend and week ahead!
NE FIRST Tournament
Yesterday, NE FIRST held Day 1 of the NE District North Shore Regional Event at Reading Memorial High School. Forty teams are competing from all over New England in a challenge this year called FIRST Stronghold. In FIRST STRONGHOLD, two Alliances of three robots each are on a Quest to breach their opponents’ fortifications, weaken their tower with boulders, and capture the opposing tower. Robots score points by breaching opponents’ defenses and scoring boulders through goals in the opposing tower. During the final 20 seconds of the Quest, robots may surround and scale the opposing tower to capture it. Click below for an explanation of the event.
After 54 of the 78 qualifying matches played, Reading is currently ranked 4th out of 40 teams with a 7-2 record. They will be competing three more times on Sunday before the knockout rounds begin.
It has been an exciting first day and several pictures of the event are below. The first match begins this morning (Sunday) at 9:15 a.m. You can also catch all of the actions and results at the link below.
http://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2016marea
Reading is team 4761.
The Reading Public Schools is pleased to present:
“How Children Learn Math” with Professor Mahesh Sharma
Tuesday, March 22nd, 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the RMHS Performing Arts Center
Please join us on the evening of March 22nd for a community presentation and discussion about the developmental continuum of math understanding and how we support this progression for our children. Mahesh Sharma is the founder and president of the Center for Teaching/Learning of Mathematics of Framingham, Massachusetts and Berkshire Mathematics in England. He is a former professor of mathematics and is internationally known for his groundbreaking work in mathematics learning problems and education, particularly dyscalculia and other specific learning disabilities in mathematics. He is an author, teacher, educational trainer, researcher, lecturer, and a consultant to public and private schools in many countries around the world. We are very pleased to welcome him to Reading, and hope you can join us for this informational evening for parents.
As we begin to enter the last few months of the school year, our students efforts and activities continue to be showcased and celebrated with tournaments, exhibitions, learning experiences, performances, and other opportunities. These activities and events are due to the hard work of our students with the support, facilitation, dedication and coaching of our teachers, parents and other adults in our student’s lives.
This past week was no exception, with our students in PreK-12 participating in a variety of activities ranging from literacy to the arts to athletics to the sciences. It is these types of experiences to address the whole child and the whole student. Below are some examples of some the great activities that happened this past week.
Read Across America
Our elementary schools and our RISE preschool participated in Read Across America Activities this past week. Schools use this annual event in honor of the birthday of Dr. Suess to promote literacy and to engage students in the world of books and reading.
RISE Students Engaged with a Guest Reader
RMHS Drama Club Presents The Nerd
This past weekend, the RMHS Drama Club, under the direction of Mrs. Natalie Cunha, performed the Larry Shue comedy, The Nerd. This is the second of two winter shows that have been performed recently.
The Cast and Crew of The Nerd
Massachusetts State Science Olympiad Tournament
On Saturday, both of our middle schools, along with 47 other middle school teams, participated in the Massachusetts State Science Olympiad Tournament, which was held in Assumption College in Worcester. The Science Olympiad is a National Organization where students compete in a variety of STEM disciplines exposing them to practicing scientists and career choices, and energizing students with engaging science experiences..
Congratulations to the Coolidge Middle School Science Olympiad Team, under the direction of Coach Karawan Meade who won the Massachusetts State Science Olympiad Tournament. Coolidge placed in the top 6 in 20 out of the 23 events with 11 gold medals.
The team has dedicated this season and this state championship to John McCarthy, a long time Coolidge Science Team Coach, who passed away in October from a courageous battle with cancer. The team shirts proudly display John’s name.
The team will now prepare for the National Science Olympiad Tournament which will be held in May at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Congratulations to the students, coaches and parents on a job well done!
Coolidge Science Olympiad Team
Athletics
It is Tournament time in High School Athletics and this past week, we hosted the MIAA State Wrestling Championship. In addition, our Girls and Boys Hockey Teams, and our Boys Basketball Team competed in the Tournament. The Boys Hockey team has advanced to the MIAA Division 1 North Semi-Finals this week.
RMHS Hosts MIAA State Wrestling Tournament
Other Activities
In addition to all of these learning experiences, Joshua Eaton held two events over the last several days, an evening spelling bee and math night. Both of these events engage our students in learning and promote the importance of math and literacy in our lives.
More to Come
Next week is just as busy for our students. Our High School Jazz Bands will be performing on Tuesday in the Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educators (MAJE) Northeast Senior District Jazz Competition held here at Reading Memorial High School. Parker Middle School students will be performing Disney’s The Lion King, Jr. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Last, but certainly not least, the RMHS Robotics Team will be hosting and competing in a New England FIRST Regional Robotics Tournament at Reading Memorial High School.
We have a lot to be proud of with our students and the number of opportunities and experiences that they have throughout their Reading Public School years. These few weeks highlight just a few of those opportunities and it is a testament to parent and community support, and the dedication of our teachers and staff.
We look forward to what next week’s learning activities bring!
The Journey-The Next Chapter 