Updates October 24, 2021
October 24, 2021
Dear Families:
We find ourselves in the last week of October where academics and extracurriculars are in full swing! I’ll offer my congratulations to the CCHS cast and crew of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for a fabulous performance this weekend outside under the stars!
This Week’s Spotlight
From Kristen Herbert, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
PreK-12 Professional Development Paths 2021-2022
Wednesdays 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM on October 6, December 8, January 12
On these three dates, our entire PreK – 12 faculty come together for professional development. Individual educators choose one of over 15 “Paths” to attend for all three sessions. These workshops and training are all led by experts in their respective fields. Educators are given articles, books, videos, and presentations to pursue outside of the workshop time. This ability to choose a topic, lengthy exposure, and depth of exploration has proven to lead to advanced learning for our faculty and, therefore, an enriched learning experience for our students. The titles and presenters for the “Paths” are listed below:
Developing Executive Function Dr. Sarah Ward
Understanding Dyslexia Dr. Nadene Gaab
Cultural Competence in Counselling Courtney Tucker, Ph.D., & Paul Hyry-Dermith, Ed.D
The Calculus Project Dr. Adrian Mims
Engaging All Students in Reading Literature Dr. Kim Parker
Including Students Who Identify As LGBTQ Jeff Perroti
Mindfulness in the Classroom Dr. Chris Willard
Teaching the Whole Teen (Social Emotional) Rachel Poliner
Becoming A More Culturally Competent Educator Dr. Paula Martin
Teacher Leadership in Action Gene Thompson Grove
News Literacy for Middle School & High School Robin Cicchetti & Elizabeth Stockwood
Project-Based Learning Dr. Chris Price
Enhancing Productivity With Technology Genoveva Matheus, Lisa Bailey, John Peachey
Enhancing Secondary Technology Terry Smolka & Liz Rose
A Study in Leadership Dr. Laurie Hunter and Angel Charles
How To Make Your Curriculum Bias-Free Phil Fogelman & Danika Manso-Brown
School Improvement Plans 2021-2022
On Tuesday night’s Joint School Committee meeting agenda are updates to the 2021-2022 School Improvement Plans from each building. Per Massachusetts law, each school must have its own improvement plan created through a School Advisory Council of administration, staff, parents, students, and community members. The district strategic plan serves as a guide to our systemic objectives. The plans are written each spring for the coming school year. Due to COVID, we revisited the spring plans and are updating them this Fall. Each plan is listed below as you may be interested to read about this year’s goals:
Thoreau Fire Update
A modular wing is under construction in the field to accommodate the 8 displaced classrooms. On Friday, November 12, only Thoreau will have a half-day to allow time for set up such that the wing is ready for students on Monday, November 15. The modulars will be in place for the remainder of the school year. We offer great appreciation to the Thoreau faculty as they navigate this unexpected situation.
COVID
We had one student case at CCHS last week. Our total case count to date is 33. The COVID Dashboard is live and provides real time updates as to active cases.
We are in active discussions with the local health officials about a vaccine clinic for children under 12 in November pending approval of the vaccine.
Enjoy the remainder of this beautiful weekend!
Best,
Laurie