Jazz Sunday; Ash Wed at Franklin Federated

Franklin Federated Church will offer two very different opportunities to mark the beginning of Lent: a Jazz Worship service on Sunday, March 2, at 10 AM at the church and a simple, brief service on Ash Wednesday, March 5, at 7:30 PM.

The Jazz Worship service will feature the Willie Sordillo Quartet featuring Willie Sordillo on alto saxophone. Mr. Sordillo has performed in concerts and festivals throughout North America and internationally, and has served as music director for a weekly jazz worship service at Old South Church in Boston since 2005. He will be accompanied by David Harris on tuba and trombone, Chris Bakriges on piano and Dave Dubinsky on trumpet and flugelhorn.

The Jazz Worship service will be followed by a Mardi Gras Pancake Brunch featuring pancakes with choice of mix-ins, sausages, home fries, juice and coffee.There will be Mardi Gras mask making, pancake races and jazz music. The cost for brunch is $3 per person or $10 per family.

Nursery care is provided during Sunday worship. Children in preschool through grade 6 begin worship with their families - children's activity kits are available for use during worship. Partly through the service, they move to Sunday School, where the Godly Play curriculum uses a storytelling approach. Middle school pupils stay in worship for the message, then gather for discussion.

Franklin Federated Church

The Ash Wednesday service, to be held in the church parlor, will be an opportunity to begin Lent in a prayerful and reflective way. There will be music, a short message and communion. There will also be an opportunity to voluntarily receive an imposition of ashes.

No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome at Franklin Federated Church. There is a ramp for the disabled on the left side of the church, large-print bulletins, and hearing-assist devices available. For more information, visit www.franklinfederated.org or find us on Facebook. Or, if you have questions or wish to speak to Pastor Charley Eastman, call the church office at at 508-528-3803.

Open Registration for Boys' Vocal Ensemble

Encore Music Academy and Recording Studios is currently offering open registration for their Boys' Vocal Ensemble, with the first class starting on January 6th.  

Classes will be weekly on Mondays from 6:30 to 7:30 and are for boys, ages 8 to 18.   

Encore Music Academy

Students will learn music of all genres, work with harmonies and perform locally.  

To register for the class, please call Encore at 508-533-7700.  

Class fee is $260 for the trimester.

Additional information on this class and other offerings from Encore Music Academy can be found on their webpage here:  http://www.encoremusicacademy.net/instruction/classes/

HONK - twice today!

As a result of the storm, the Franklin Footlighters (middle school) Friday night production of Honk is cancelled. There will still be a performance this Saturday, March 9 at 7:00pm which promises to sell out quickly! In order to accommodate friends, family and the general public a new show has been added, a matinee performance also this Saturday, March 9 at 3:00pm. Both shows will take place at Horace Mann Middle School, tickets are available at the door for $10.00

HONK

These poor kids have really had to battle to make this show a success. They lost a full week of rehearsal due to the blizzard. They lost their final dress rehearsal Thursday due to this most recent snow storm. Now they have have lost their Friday show. The kids have been rehearsing for this show four days a week since December.

We are asking for the community's support to come out and make this matinee show a success. Please forward this email so we can get the word out.

Thank you so much.
The Cast of Honk

"teacher performance and evaluations"

“Today, Massachusetts made state history when the governor signed into law legislation to put teacher effectiveness first,” Stand for Children Executive Director Jason Williams said in a statement. “This legislation, which ensures that performance comes before seniority in teacher staffing decisions, is a win for teachers, parents, children, and all of Massachusetts.” 

The bill passed the Senate last week and the House this week without recorded votes.
According to the new law, its purpose is to assure effective implementation of education evaluation systems adopted by the Board of Education, provide training for teachers and administrators in evaluation and training, and ensure that “indicators of job performance as evidenced by evaluation and other factors are the primary factors in school staff decisions.” 

The law also calls for a data collection system to assess the effectiveness of the evaluation system.

Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/topstories/x1446667155/Governor-Patrick-signs-law-giving-teacher-reviews-more-weight#ixzz1zH6zLhIb

In the News - Grease, hoops, DARE, letters to editor

Franklin High Drama to present Grease

by Laura Spinella/CORRESPONDENT

Franklin 4th-grade boys win ‘Killer B’ hoops tourney

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Sign up for DARE camps, junior police academies in Franklin

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee: Officials support new FHS

by Franklin Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee

Dempsey: FHS backers spread ‘Disney dust’ on a project seniors can’t afford

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Grease is the word!

FHS production of Grease. March 23 & 24, 2012 at the Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin starting at 7pm. Tickets are $10 at the door.

"The Boys Next Door"

The Dean College Theater Department presents “The Boys Next Door!”

This comedy-drama, by Tom Griffin, tells the story of four developmentally disabled men who live together in a group home in a New England city and their “burned out” social worker, Jack. Marked by compassion and filled with humor, this play is sure to delight; however, parental guidance is suggested for young children due to language and content. 

Dates:
February 28 – March 4, 2012. Performance times are February 28, 29 and March 1 at 6:30 PM; Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 2, 3, 4 at 7:30 PM as well as a 2 PM. matinee on Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4. All performances will be held in the Performing Arts Studio, located at 61 School Street in Franklin, MA on the Dean campus. 

Pricing:
All performances are reserved seating and it is strongly recommended that tickets be purchased prior to the performance. General admission pricing is $15.00; Dean alumni, $10; Seniors/children 10 and under, $5.00. 

For ticket and information, email boxoffice@dean.edu or call 508-541-1605 

To purchase tickets, click here

Piano prodigy to perform in Franklin

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Piano prodigy to perform in Franklin

via Wicked Local Franklin News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc. on 1/13/12

LiveARTS Sunday Concert Series will present 16-year-old piano prodigy George Li in recital on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 3:30 p.m. at the meetinghouse of the First Universalist Society in Franklin, 262 Chestnut St.

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• Subscribe to Wicked Local Franklin News RSS using Google Reader
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In the News - Nutcracker, Humbug

PEDC to present ‘Nutcracker,' Dec. 17 and 18

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

FPAC presents Humbug! Dec. 17 and 18

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Franklin High School's spring musical, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, is a satire of big business with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. It centers on a young window-cleaner, J. Pierrepont Finch, who begins a meteoric rise from the mail room to Vice President of Advertising at the World-Wide Wicket Company. Finch's unorthodox and morally questionable business practices jeopardize not only his career but also his romance with Secretary Rosemary Pilkington.

The show will be performed Friday and Saturday April 1st and 2nd at the Horace Mann Middle School Auditorium, 224 Oak Street, at 7:30. 


Tickets are $10 available at the door, or can be purchased from the FHS Music Department (508-541-2100 x3098) or at the front desk at Franklin High School by cash or check made out to ‘Franklin Music Boosters’.




Franklin, MA

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Franklin High School's spring musical, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, is a satire of big business with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. It centers on a young window-cleaner, J. Pierrepont Finch, who begins a meteoric rise from the mail room to Vice President of Advertising at the World-Wide Wicket Company. Finch's unorthodox and morally questionable business practices jeopardize not only his career but also his romance with Secretary Rosemary Pilkington.

The show will be performed Friday and Saturday April 1st and 2nd at the Horace Mann Middle School Auditorium, 224 Oak Street, at 7:30. 


Tickets are $10 available at the door, or can be purchased from the FHS Music Department (508-541-2100 x3098) or at the front desk at Franklin High School by cash or check made out to ‘Franklin Music Boosters’.




Franklin, MA

Pay for performance

Pay for performance sounds so good, it conveys images of comfort like motherhood and apple pie. The devil is in the details.

How do you measure the performance?
Whose performance is measured?

When you try to apply these to the educational environment, this becomes troublesome. There can be a rational approach to this problem and should be a consideration as the School Committee, School Administration,  and the teachers sit down to begin to renegotiate their contract terms.

A much broader assessment of teacher performance was needed to capture the breadth of the teacher's role (Gratz, 2005). After four years and substantial effort, teachers and administrators collaborated to produce a new plan that the board, teachers, and voters ultimately approved. In the process, Denver expanded its definition of performance.

Denver's groundbreaking professional compensation plan replaces the traditional "steps and lanes" approach to compensation, in which teachers receive annual "step" increases as well as "lane" increases if they earn additional degrees. Only one of the new plan's four components directly addresses academic achievement goals—and that one is based significantly on teacher-set objectives, not just standardized test scores. In addition to student academic growth, the plan addresses teacher skill and knowledge, professional evaluation, and market incentives—compensating teachers who work in hard-to-serve schools or in hard-to-staff positions.

Read more about this pay for performance here. Originally found via the ASCD Community Blog here

Note of caution: Since it took Denver four years to get to an agreement, I certainly would not expect any immediate agreement here. It would be nice to start the discussion and eventually get to something better than what exists.

In the News - performance

The New England Center for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in Franklin, is hosting a special performance of "Humbug!" for community organizations in the region on Friday Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m., at Thomas D. Mercer Auditorium.

The center will host a special performance of the holiday show for youth groups and individuals with special needs.

Executive Director Raye Lynn Mercer said, "We are thrilled to be able to share this outstanding holiday production with audiences that may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend." 

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here:

Holiday show offered to area youth groups

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Slideshare slows page

In case you notice that the page is loading slowly today, I have as well. It seems to be related to the SlideShare posted yesterday as part of the School Committee meeting.

I'll need to find another service to use to post slides in that format. In the meantime, I hope it doesn't slow down reading the pages too much. If it does, I'll remove the slides until I find a better tool.

Please let me know if it is hindering your reading!

seniority or performance?

Good questions raised by Dr Scott McLeod in this posting on the use of seniority or performance to retain teachers when faced with layoffs.

Teacher layoffs: Should seniority rule?

from Dangerously Irrelevant by dr.scott.mcleod@gmail.com (Scott McLeod)

Kings Firecrackers

For some fun on a Friday, here is quite an athletic performance by the Kings Firecrackers, a group of 4th through 8th grade girls that do some amazing things with jump ropes. They are from the Kings Local School District in Ohio. This group is a lot of fun!




Who knew jumping rope could be so exciting?

Thanks to Doug B for sharing this video!

"merit pay that is based on student performance"

By Aaron Wasserman/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Mar 12, 2009 @ 10:21 PM

---

Following President Obama's support of linking teacher pay to student performance and his promotion of charter schools, area educators say they are willing to listen. But, they say, they want to hear more specifics from him first.

"He's got a lot of good ideas for education," said Massachusetts Teachers Association President Anne Wass, though she noted that the state association disagrees with Obama on teacher pay and charter schools.

Teachers unions, a key force in Democratic party politics, have in the past vehemently opposed both of those ideas. Obama acknowledged that conflict.

-----

Chandler Creedon, president of the Franklin Education Association, said school districts vary widely on per-student funding, and any talk of merit pay also needs a discussion of how districts would fund it.

Franklin's expense per student is roughly $9,500, about $3,000 less than the state average, he said, and the schools might lay off 60 teachers and raise class sizes.

"We certainly don't have a level playing field to make these comparisons," said Creedon.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

consolidation was 'generally negative'

In these days of tight budgets and looking in all corners for opportunities, one area I think has some possibilities to explore is in the area of combining services. Mendon, Millville and Hopedale are exploring the combination of their dispatch services. According to this story in the Boston Globe today, one area that won't work is combining school districts.

But a wave of research from around the country shows that consolidation does not improve schools or lead to better academic results. Spending on education does not go down; indeed, budgets often balloon with increased transportation costs and more administrators to run enlarged districts. Consolidation leads to schools closing and to bigger schools, with less parental involvement and community participation. And, in many parts of the United States, it has led to children on unconscionable bus rides lasting several hours a day.

"There is either no advantage or actually a disadvantage to making these enormous uber-districts," says Andrew J. Coulson, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., who has conducted two major studies on consolidation. "They just don't help kids."

Read the full story on the learning obtained from other states who tried combining school district in the Boston Globe article here

So my eyes will be turned to other areas.