Superintendent’s Update - January 31, 2014

Post date: Feb 1, 2014 11:55:28 AM

January has come to an end, and the second semester of the school year is underway. While the weather has been very cold, we have appreciated the uninterrupted time in learning. Except, of course, this past Wednesday, when the break in the water line necessitated the closure of the Primary School for a day. We were thankful to the Lunenburg Police Department, DPW, and Water Department for getting notice of this problem to us in time to close school before primary students were on the buses.

Tuesday, February 4^th is an Early Release Day

Our faculty and staff will be engaged in professional development that afternoon focusing on curriculum and instruction and building specific topics. Specialists (nurses, speech/language specialists, etc.) also have the opportunity to work together. Our professional learning community values this time for collaboration. The three full and two half days provided in the calendar for professional development are always productive and creative days.

Jack Meilleur, Lunenburg’s 2014 Project 351 Service Ambassador

Congratulations to Jack Meilleur for being appointed by the grade 8 teachers as Lunenburg’s service ambassador for the Lunenburg Public Schools to Governor Patrick’s Project 351’s Program. Jack is the son of Anne and Henri Meilleur. Project 351 celebrates the power of young people as a force for positive change in their communities as well as the Commonwealth through service leadership. For the past four years Project 351 has provided opportunities for Lunenburg students to become involved in a project that will transform and unite their own community.

Congratulations to the Lunenburg Public School Artists!

UMass Dartmouth’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) has the pleasure to present the Emerging Young Artists 2014 Invitational Exhibition at the UMass Dartmouth Campus Gallery, on the first floor of the CVPA building at UMass Dartmouth. The exhibition, which closes tomorrow, recognizes the exceptional merit of high school art students from twenty high school art programs in Massachusetts. Congratulations to Lunenburg High School as one of the schools invited to be part of the exhibition. Participation was based on the school’s long-term commitment to art education demonstrated by the quality of work that comes from their art programs. The art teachers from these high schools were asked to select artwork in any media (drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, printmaking, etc.) from five of their best students to be included in this group exhibition.

Today Mr. Nathan DePerri, LHS Art teacher, received some exciting news from UMass Dartmouth when he was notified that LHS Senior Kristen Levasseur received Honorable Mention for the drawing she submitted. Kristen is the daughter of Deborah and James Levasseur. Other LHS students exhibiting work in tomorrow's show are Meghan Basque, Sarah Demers, Jenna Kapp, and Caitlin Mitchell.

Lunenburg Public School Students Selected for PARCC Assessments Field Test

This spring some students from Lunenburg will be part of the 15% of Massachusetts students in grades 3-11 selected to participate in a field test of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers or PARCC. The PARCC is developing the next-generation, computer-based student testing program. In Lunenburg, students from two classrooms from the grades listed below will participate in the field study. Parents/guardians of students selected for inclusion in the field study will be notified by the building principal and receive additional information about the dates of the test periods and other important information. These assessments are completed online using school computers. To read a letter about PARCC from Commissioner Chester go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/parcc/CommTool/Attach4-Letter.html

Additional information for parents about PARCC can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/parcc/CommTool/Attach3-10Things.html .

Following are the grades participating in the spring 2014 PARCC field test, the content area, if the assessment is a performance based or end of year assessment, and the number of sessions involved in the field test.

FY15 Calendar

The draft of the 2014-2015 School Year Calendar will be presented to the Lunenburg School Committee at their upcoming meeting on February 5, 2014, 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall. Once presented to the School Committee, the draft calendar will be posted at our website for public comment. Also on the agenda for the upcoming meeting is a review of the recent District Coordinated Program Review conducted by the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the revised agreement for the FLLAC Special Education Collaborative. The meeting is at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall and will be televised.