Office of the Chief

For Immediate Release

March 31, 2016

At 12:26 p.m. on Thursday 3/31/16, the Reading Police Department received a report of an attempted carjacking in the lot of Home Goods store (1342 Main Street, Reading). The suspect fled the scene prior to Officer’s arrival. The suspect is described as a clean shaven white male, in his twenties, approximately six feet tall, wearing a black sweatshirt with an unknown logo and a black baseball cap.

A thorough search of the area was conducted by Reading Police with the assistance of Massachusetts State Police K-9 teams, North Reading Police and the NEMLEC K-9 Unit. The suspect has not been located at this time. The Wood End Elementary School was put in a “Shelter in Place” due to a police investigation in the area. The school has been deemed safe and secure, and additional police were assigned to the area as a precaution. The Reading Police are still actively searching in the Franklin Street area.

Residents are advised to stay vigilante until the suspect is apprehended. Police are asking residents to keep doors and windows locked, and use extra caution. Anyone who sees this suspect, or anything out of the ordinary, should contact the Reading Police at 781-944-1212.

Good Morning,

We hope all is well.  For those of you celebrating Easter, we hope that you are having a joyous Easter weekend.

Below is the link to the Pathways Newsletter for the week of March 27th.  In this week’s edition, we have a music video created by Wood End, an article and photo on the RMHS Science Olympiad Team, articles on Teaching Students Mathematical Argumentation and Close Reading 101, and several photos from Mahesh Sharma’s visit to the Reading Public Schools this week, Coolidge Core Values Event, Hour of Code at Joshua Eaton, and the Barrows Bistro.

Have a great rest of the weekend and week ahead!

Pathways Newsletter V2N28

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!

Pathways Newsletter V2N27

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:

1. Patricia Beckman, Associate Principal, Birch Meadow Elementary School, Reading, MA
2. Julia Hendrix, Assistant Principal, Harrington Elementary School, Lexington, MA
3. Gregory Irvine, Principal, Mindess Elementary School, Ashland, MA

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.

SS_Job2312104_Applications (1)

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!

Pathways Newsletter V2N26

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 4^th 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.