An Important Message

Post date: Sep 29, 2014 2:39:38 PM

An Important Message

This is to inform you of an incident that occurred at Turkey Hill Middle School immediately prior to dismissal yesterday.

A bullet was discovered in a hallway of the school by an administrator. The Lunenburg Police Department was immediately notified and they responded to the school and began an investigation. To ensure that no other articles of this nature were in the building, the Lunenburg Police Department in conjunction with the Massachusetts State Police and Worcester Police department conducted a search of the building yesterday and an additional search this morning. Police personnel and three K-9 units trained to locate incendiary devices conducted the searches. No additional items were found. School will resume as usual on Monday morning.

The middle school administration and the Lunenburg Police Department will continue their investigations in this matter to determine how the bullet came to school. If you or your child has any information please contact Mr. Santry or the Lunenburg Police Department immediately.

We share this information not to alarm you, but to inform you of the work being done to keep everyone safe in our schools. As always the safety of the children is our highest priority. It is imperative that children not have unsupervised access to these types of items. Keeping our children, schools, and community safe is everyone’s responsibility.

Thank you,

Superintendent Calmes

Superintendent’s Update October 24, 2014

What a memorable day October 18^th was for our community and schools. The parade, with the Marshall Sharon Kimball and her family in the lead was enjoyable for spectators and participants alike. The students, with the support of their parents and class advisors, produced some remarkable floats. Congratulations to the senior class on winning top honors this year with their float, Monster’s Inc. The band delivered several top notch performances in the parade, during the groundbreaking, and at the football game. And to top off the great day, the Blue Knights football team delivered a resounding victory against Ayer-Shirley Regional.

The groundbreaking on the new middle/high school project was well attended by the community. We were very pleased to have several state and local officials joining us for that event. I particularly want to acknowledge the contributions of the President of the Class of 2016 Lauren Basque and the President of the Class of 2017 Brendan Tobin for their touching remarks. They represented our students and schools well and were wonderful examples of the hope and promise of the future. We also appreciated the donation of apple cider from local producers and the cider donuts and cookies served at the reception. It was a spectacular day!

Upcoming Events:

TONIGHT! Halloween Costume Party 5:30pm-8:30pm!

Co-Sponsored by School Linked Services and Lunenburg PTO. Bring the whole family for a spooktacular evening full of entertainment for each and every one. Get hand’s on at a science show with Kosmic Kelly, dance along to the monster mash with our music, win a cake at the cake walk, and check out the various other game tables. Pizza, popcorn and more lip-smacking treats will be available. Be sure to arrive in costume and stick around to see who the costume contest winners are at 7:30 (judged by age groups). Get creative and bring your family’s most impressively carved or painted pumpkin for our Jack-O-Lantern contest. Winner’s revealed at 8pm. Please use battery operated candles if you wish to light up your jack-o-lantern. The event will be held at the Thomas C. Passios School and the cost is $5 per person/$20 family maximum.

Sunday 10/26/2014 - Miles for Myles

The 13th annual Miles for Myles will be held at Thomas C. Passios Building this Sunday! The Ride with Chief Marino is at 11:00, Fun Run at 12:00, and the 5K at 12:30. Join the District challenge and be counted for your school. The school with the most registrations is awarded $1000 toward an educational assembly. Sunshine is predicated and we hope to see you there.

Registration information http://www.milesformyles.com/register.html

Monday, PTO Meeting at 11:30 am

Daytime meetings are a new addition to the PTO meeting calendar this year. Please join us at the Lunenburg Public Library on October 27, 2014.

School Calendar Survey

The Lunenburg School Committee has established an advisory group to review and make recommendations about the 180-day school calendar framework and school start/dismissal times. Serving on this Advisory are: Dr. Gary Asher, Louis Bettencourt , Ron Hyatt, Brandon Kibbe, Katie McGuire, Ami Powers Colleen Shapiro, Heather Sroka, Amanda Waltz and Ashley Wheeler . The Advisory group meetings are open to the public and are held in Room #13 of the Thomas C. Passios Building. Meetings are scheduled for Oct. 30, Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 24, and Dec. 11. The Advisory developed a short survey to assess community opinions regarding major calendar events within the school year. Please voice your preferences by November 12, 2014, to help guide this work.

The survey is available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BKMQFVS

School Committee Policy

Currently the School Committee is inviting public input on the updated Section 3000-Fiscal Management and Non-Instructional Operations & Lunenburg Animals in Schools Policies. These policies can be accessed by clicking on the following link: http://www.lunenburgschools.net/district-news-information/policyforpubliccomment Public comment must be received by 5:00 p.m. on November 13, 2014. Comments should be sent to lpetersen@lunenburgonline.com. Thank you , and we look forward to receiving your input!

Helpful Information from our Nursing Coordinator

As Enterovirus season is expected to taper off, flu activity will begin to increase. While there is not a vaccine to prevent illness from enteroviruses, the single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year.

“What Parent’s Need to Know about Enterovirus D68”:

http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/downloads/EV68-factsheet.pdf

Flu Facts:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm

Vaccine Finder:

http://flushot.healthmap.org/

Information and resources about the Ebola virus:

https://www.nspra.org/files/Talking_with_Children_Magellan.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html

Recognizing and reducing anxiety in times of crisis:

https://www.nspra.org/files/2014Anxietywith%20Ebola_EAP_Final.pdf

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact your school nurse, your primary care provider or the local board of health at 978-772-3335 ext. 322 (http://www.nashoba.org/public-health )

Required Forms and Student Information

The new online application went live September 17. Guidance is available on the main page of our website http://www.lunenburgschools.net/ This time saving application allows parents/guardians to ensure that emergency contact and other information is up-to-date. Office Pro Registration and Forms are available via the PowerSchool parent portal 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. The system provides parents/guardians the opportunity to update information for every student in their family via a single entry. Building based forms however must be completed for each student individually. Many of these forms are due so please make every effort to complete these in a timely manner.

If you need assistance with the process or computer access please contact the Superintendent’s Office and Ms. Cooper or Ms. Petersen will assist you.

Superintendent’s Update 10/10/2014

I want to remind everyone that our schools will not be in session on Monday, October 13 due to the Columbus Day holiday. I hope everyone is able to enjoy a beautiful New England Fall weekend with family and friends. I also hope you will come out next Saturday, October 18^th to our Lunenburg Homecoming and Groundbreaking Ceremony. There is something very special about a Lunenburg Homecoming Parade and the class floats are always remarkable. I am also very excited about the Groundbreaking Ceremony at 1:15pm. Please join us for the short ceremony with a great view of the project site. I’ve attached the program for the ceremony. Refreshments will be available afterward as well as some great photo opportunities, so bring your phones and cameras. We hope many of you will make a day of it and also join us for the Homecoming game at 2:30pm and the half-time performance of the LHS Marching Band.

The building project is progressing well with footings and frost walls being poured. There are approximately 50 workers on the site daily now. Local site contractor Powell Stone and Gravel have done a great job with enabling the site and constructing the front field. We anticipate sod to be laid on the front field next week! The building project has its own websitehttps://sites.google.com/a/lunenburgschools.net/school-building-project/ and Facebook page -Lunenburg Middle/High School Building Project.

Preventing Bullying

I want to pass along information about a free bullying prevention App for iPhone® and Android™. I was made aware of this App by Julie Lesure from the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office. Many of you know Attorney Lesure from attending one of the internet safety and anti-bullying presentations she has provided at our schools. The Know Bullying App provides parents conversation starters, warning signs, help and advice. The App also provides developmentally appropriate strategies for parents/guardians to prevent bullying for children age 3 to teens and contains a section for educators Visit http://store.samhsa.gov/apps/bullying/ for more information and to download the App.

Parent Teachers Conference

Information will be coming from each of the schools soon about parent teacher conferences. Teachers are very diligent in their preparation for these conferences. We are partners in education and these conferences provide parents/guardians an opportunity to meet face to face. Scheduling fills up quickly, so I encourage you to respond to the information on scheduling upon receipt. I also want to remind you that our faculty and staff are available by appointment to meet with parents throughout the year.

Required Forms and Student Information

If you need assistance with the process or computer access please contact the Superintendent’s Office and Ms. Cooper or Ms. Petersen will assist you.

Halloween Costume Party Co-Sponsored by School Linked Services and Lunenburg PTO

Bring the whole family for a spooktacular evening full of entertainment for each and every one Friday October 24th 5:30pm-8:30pm! Get hand’s on at a science show with Kosmic Kelly, dance along to the monster mash with our music, win a cake at the cake walk, and check out the various other game tables. Pizza, popcorn and more lip-smacking treats will be available.

Be sure to arrive in costume and stick around to see who the costume contest winners are at 7:30 (judged by age groups). Get creative and bring your family’s most impressively carved or painted pumpkin for our Jack-O-Lantern contest. Winner’s revealed at 8pm. Please use battery operated candles if you wish to light up your jack-o-lantern. The event will be held at the Thomas C. Passios School and the cost is $5 per person/$20 family maximum.

Superintendent’s Update September 28, 2014

The spring 2014 MCAS results have been released and individual student reports will be sent home tomorrow, Monday September 29^th with students in grades 4-9 and 11. District-wide the majority of Lunenburg students continue to score at the proficient or advanced level. Composite Performance Index (CPI) scores by grade and content area are strong. CPI is based upon 100, and 19 of 20 of Lunenburg CPI scores were 80 or above and 6 CPI scores were 90 or above. Generally, student performance was highest on the ELA assessments.

The 2014 District accountability level remained unchanged at Level 2 out of 5 possible levels with Level 1 being the highest. For detailed reports about student performance at district, school, and grade levels please see the district’s DESE profile at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/mcas/achievement_level.aspx?linkid=32&orgcode=01620000&orgtypecode=5&.

I am proud of our students’ performance and appreciate the support they received from their teachers and parents. District educators have been working diligently to close achievement gaps and move all students to high levels of performance. We are encouraged with positive results in many areas. However, there are a few areas where our interventions have not resulted in the performance gains we anticipated. That concerns us and we intend to make adjustments. We will intensify our focus on these areas after additional analysis and with a sense of urgency. The School Committee and administrative team will work together to examine not only MCAS but other student performance data in a workshop on Tuesday, October 7.

The building principals will attend the October 1, 2014, School Committee meeting to review MCAS results in detail. The meeting will be televised and I encourage you to tune in at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday evening or view the recorded meeting at a later date. To obtain information about scheduled rebroadcasts of meetings contact lunenburgaccess@gmail.com.

Required Forms and Student Information

Information about how to access the on-line student information system will also be sent home with students tomorrow. The new online application went live September 17. Guidance is available on the main page of our website www.lunenburgschools.net. This time saving application allows parents/guardians to ensure that emergency contact and other information is up-to-date. Office Pro Registration and Forms are available via the PowerSchool parent portal 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. The system provides parents/guardians the opportunity to update information for every student in their family via a single entry. Building based forms however must be completed for each student individually. Many of these forms are due so please make every effort to complete the registration process soon.

If you need assistance with the process or computer access please contact the Superintendent’s Office and Ms. Cooper or Ms. Petersen will assist you.

Mark Your Calendar!

The annual homecoming parade will begin at noon on Saturday, October 18^th. The parade begins at THMS, proceeds up Oak Ave. to Main Street then turns east on 2A at the center and concludes in the parking lot between LHS and TCP. The Groundbreaking Ceremony will commence shortly after the parade at 1:15 p.m. inside the construction fence by the trailers. Access to the ceremony site is at the back of the LHS/TCP parking lot. Please join us for a grand Lunenburg tradition and to celebrate the beginning of construction on the new Lunenburg Middle/High School! Home games include – Friday10/1, 7 girls soccer 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10/18 football 2:30, and Tuesday 10/21 field hockey 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The Lunenburg High School Marching Band under the direction of Ms. Caryn Wardwell will perform at the parade and during the football game half-time on Saturday. The band will also perform at the groundbreaking.

Policy Update

After three readings and a six week public comment period the School Committee recently adopted new policies related to payment of school lunch balances and CORI checks. Currently the School Committee is inviting public input on the updated anti-bullying and harassment and new fingerprint policies. These policies are attached. Public comment must be received by 5:00 p.m. on October 14, 2014. Comments should be sent to lpetersen@lunenburgonline.com.

Membership Matters!

The PTO has just completed an exceptional “Penny Wars” fundraiser at THMS. The students collected over $6000. The event also contributed to some very positive community building within the school. This is only one example of how PTO is making a difference. If you schedule does not allow you to volunteer in the schools or attend meetings, there are many ways to be involved. This year the PTO established a membership goal of 300 family members. They are about halfway to that goal. Join today at www.lunenburgpto.org. A family membership is only $15 and online payments can be made through Pay Pal.

Week Construction Look-Ahead Summary (September 22 thru October 3)

Excavate for building foundations

Maintain in place measures for dust control

Install storm and sanitary piping on the south side of the building

Install sand layer with approved irrigation system on Sports Fields

Use of Vibratory equipment will continue