Friday, January 30, 2009

"why they would mean something to people 50 years from now"

GHS
Posted Jan 30, 2009 @ 12:49 AM
Last update Jan 30, 2009 @ 01:08 AM

FITCHBURG —

When the curtain rose on the set of "Public Speech, Private Thought," student actors slowly, silently crossed the stage, while overhead, electronic voices sang, "What are we? What the hell is going on?"

Justin Perry, the "rebel" college student played by Dean College student Joe Firicano, was the first to speak, the entire cast motionless around him. "Nobody is right all the time - nobody - not even if you know everything," Firicano said, preparing listeners for one of the play's star players, a narcissistic, dictatorial professor.

Read more about the performance by these Dean students and their chance for another performance later this year in the Milford Daily News here


Building Committee suggestion

As the Building Committee looks into either renovating or building a new high school, as well as what work should be done on the other three older school buildings (Davis-Thayer, Parmenter, and Kennedy), this slideshow should be something to keep in mind.

What kind of design will foster the education environment to prepare our children for a future that is unknown?




What do you think?

What questions would you ask?

If you wanted to know about social media, or Twitter, or blogging, what question(s) would you ask?

I am looking to solicit some input to tune up my presentation on Blogging 101 for the NewBCamp 2009.

Add a comment or send me an email (shersteve at gmail dot com).

Thanks!


BTW - Info about NewBCamp 2009 can be found here.

Meeting Presentations - Updated

Two quick notes on the presentations from the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 27.

  • The presentation overview for the Strategic Plan was really slow loading from Slideshare, so I have removed the presentation and provided a link to the Slideshare site to view it there. At least until I figure out why such a small presentation (only 5 pages, no significant graphics) is doing what it is doing.
  • The Life Long Learning presentation was added to that segment of the meeting. You can view that presentation here.

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The Green Reel: "Escape from Suburbia"

The Green Reel: a series of films for sustainable living will be shown on Sunday evenings this winter.

What: "Escape from Suburbia"

When: 7:00 PM on February 1, 2009

Where: Agudas Achim, 901 North Main St, Attleboro or directions here


Free and open to the public. For more info: 508-695-2389


read more about the file "Escape from Suburbia" here

Sponsors:
Agudas Achim
Crystal Spring Center
Simply Keep It Local
Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary
Citizens for a Sustainable Local Economy
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church
Green Committee of First Universalist Society of Franklin
New Dawn Earth Center
Oake Knoll Ayrshires
Franklin Area Climate Team
White Barn Farm
St Mark's Episcopal Church-Foxboro

Thursday, January 29, 2009

"if Obama fails, we all fail"

GHS
Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 11:36 PM

FRANKLIN —

In 1992, Rush Limbaugh was a supporter of Pat Buchanan's bid for the Republican Party's nomination for president of the United States. Buchanan was taking on sitting president George Herbert Walker Bush, and did a number on him in the voting booth in the New Hampshire primary election that winter.

Bush saw that Limbaugh's influence with the Republican Party's base was quite strong and had to be neutralized. To that end, President Bush invited Limbaugh to the White House for a nice little dinner and a sleep-over in the Lincoln Bedroom.

After his night in the White House, Rush dropped Buchanan and climbed aboard the doomed Bush presidential bandwagon and rode it to defeat in the election.

Bill Clinton won, and this really upset poor old Rush for the next eight years. This may likely be why he took all of those drugs. In October 2003, he started his five weeks of drug rehabilitation, and then he returned to the airways in November proclaiming himself "cured." The state of Florida wasn't quite sure or convinced that this was the case. Authorities in Florida engaged in a three-year investigation of Limbaugh, and in 2006, Rush was arrested for his abuse of prescription drugs.

Read James Johnston's full article about Rush Limbaugh in the Milford Daily News here


Storm wrap up

Franklin Police assisted with three minor accidents on East Central Street, on Lincoln Street near Daniels Street, and on Upper Union Street by Independence Way, said Deputy Chief Stephan Semerjian.

No one was injured, he said.

"Whenever there's no school, there's always less traffic, few pedestrians and no buses, which makes it easier for us," said Semerjian.

The roads were getting slippery mid-afternoon, he said, which is when they're most dangerous.

"The DPW's trying to keep up with it, but it's not easy," Semerjian said.

Read the full article on how the area fared with Wednesday's storm in the Milford Daily News here.

"better way, a less expensive way"

GHS
Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 11:29 PM

FRANKLIN —

For years, Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting has sung the praises of regionalizing services, updating archaic laws and making reforms on the state level to save towns like Franklin big bucks.

Now that the Massachusetts Municipal Association has elected him its new president, Nutting gets to advocate for such changes directly to the governor, six times a year.

The MMA elected Nutting on Saturday.

The MMA is an organization of town officials that advocates for municipal policies before the Legislature, the executive branch, regulatory bodies, and the courts. The association's board of directors meets with the governor six times a year to discuss issues facing cities and towns, according to the MMA Web site, www.mma.org.

Read the full article about Jeff and the MMA's efforts in the Milford Daily News here


quarterbacks and teachers

... effective mentoring of a new teacher can make an enormous difference in that person's ability to become a "star" teacher. But the problem, he argues, is that the process of mentorship is much too haphazard. As he says, "It's like training NFL quarterbacks by randomly sending them out to teams - some CFL teams, some Division III teams, some Division I College teams, some community teams, and a few to NFL teams."

...

If Matt Cassell can thrive in the NFL, after essentially zero college quarterback experience, what exactly is New England doing right? And what can the rest of the league learn from them?

I would go further and ask "What can school districts learn from this?" Teacher development will even tougher in times of lean budgets when mentoring stipends are not allocated. Teacher development is tough already with much of the community not appreciating or fully understanding "professional development days". These "professional development days" are looked for by many parents as "get-away days" for long weekends.

You should be involved in the discussion on the cost benefit analysis of each school budget dollar. With budget cuts looming, what stays in the budget will be critical to maintaining a healthy learning environment.

Read more of this article about "teachers and quarterbacks" by Malcolm Gladwell here.

Be active in the school budget process.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Franklin - Total Cuts 9C

Total 9C Reduction to Additional Assistance & Lottery = $-299,676.00


Per the listing provided by the Governor today

robbers operating in Franklin

GHS
Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 12:22 AM

FRANKLIN —

Police are warning the community and retailers to beware of robbers in the area.

Four Franklin stores were hit on four different occasions: Dec. 11, at the East Central Shell Station; Dec. 21, at Olymia Sports Store at the Franklin Village Mall; Jan. 22, at the Xxtra Mart on East Central Street; and on Jan. 24, at the Sprint phone store on West Central Street, according to a press release issued by Deputy Chief Stephan Semerjian.

Read the full story in the Milford Daily News here


School Committee Mtg 01/27/09

The collection of posts covering the School Committee meeting on 1/27/09

"What was a 'conservative' budget then is now 'overly ambitious' "

GHS
Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 12:18 AM

FRANKLIN —

Once again, the School Department is looking at serious cuts thanks to both the recession and rising costs of mandatory services.

Administrators last night told the School Committee that just to maintain the same level of school services, teachers and staff next year, the district would need about $3.5 million more than its current budget.

Superintendent Wayne Ogden was quick to state the School Department does not expect to get that much, but, he explained, he wanted to propose a level-service budget for the community.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


Creativity should be a priority

TED always has interesting and thought provoking talks. This one is entertaining as well as thought provoking.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Live reporting - meeting closes

Jazz night (mentioned earlier) is only time to see the middle and high school jazz bands perform together. The Remington cafeteria is set up like a night club for this event.

Franklin Education Foundation - Trivia Bee coming up Thursday, March 19th

Live reporting - Superintendent

5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
  • Make Up Day – School Calendar Change (covered earlier)
  • Neglect and Abuse
  • Special Education Educational Assistant (covered earlier)
  • Peanut Butter (covered earlier)
Ms Chris Neill - worked in the Freshman Collaborative as the Spec Ed teacher; had held principal positions at a couple of schools. This is a great selection on Peter's part.


School Committee Sub-Committee Reports - none


School Committee Liaison Reports
Cafasso - Building Committee did accept and appreciated the School Committee recommendations on priorities

Live reporting - Action items

4. Action Items
  1. I recommend the approval of budget transfers as detailed on the attached list. Approved 7-0
  2. I recommend acceptance of the donation of $2,500.00 from the Helen Keller PCC for a field trip and buses to the Museum of Fine Arts for Keller’s 4th grade students. Approved 7-0
  3. I recommend approval of the field trip to Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI for Keller’s 5th graders on May 1, 2009. Approved 7-0
  4. I recommend the hiring an Educational Assistant for the ALP that has not been budgeted for. Approved 7-0
  5. I recommend acceptance of a check for $350.00 from B & B Framers and B.F. Kushner of Franklin for mat boards for art for the Jefferson Elementary School. Approved 7-0
  6. I recommend approval of the FHS Cheerleading field trip to Atlantic City, NJ for a competition from 2/13 – 2/15/09 as detailed. Approved 7-0
  7. I recommend signing and ratifying the contract between Maureen Sabolinski and the Franklin School Committee for the position of Superintendent of Schools. Approved 7-0

Live reporting - Discussion only items

3. Discussion Only Items
  • Make Up Day for HMMS/Oak/ECDC Complex
Ogden did request an exemption from the DOE, it was denied

Two possible solutions
  • half day on Good Friday
  • appending another day at the end of the year
More data is being gathered before making this decision but because it is a calendar decision, you will need to make it.

  • Peanut Butter in our Schools
All the peanut food products were removed to be safe.

  • First Reading of Policy KCDB - School Based Advertising Content
Motion to move the KCDB policy to a second reading - Approved 7-0