From mieyun_lee at yahoo.com Sat Aug 12 02:32:52 2006
From: mieyun_lee at yahoo.com (Mie-Yun Lee)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 23:32:52 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [CabotCommunity] test 1
Message-ID: <20060812063252.69022.qmail@web32007.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
test 1 -
1. can i send from a member email address?
2. is the footer gone?
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
From mylcabot at gmail.com Sat Aug 12 02:39:07 2006
From: mylcabot at gmail.com (Mie-Yun Lee)
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 02:39:07 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] test 2 - autosending
Message-ID: <25db2b1a0608112339q6297223cl23e4f5df706a53e4@mail.gmail.com>
can this be sent without approval to the list?
From mylcabot at gmail.com Mon Aug 14 09:31:52 2006
From: mylcabot at gmail.com (Mie-Yun Lee)
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:31:52 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] About those lunch menus -- they may not be correct
Message-ID: <25db2b1a0608140631u4e6e030dr4a9bd628e645b4e7@mail.gmail.com>
Hello Cabot families -
Here's a note from Jo Doherty...
We have been asked to forward this information to the Cabot Community:
In the past few days, lunch menus for elementary school students were
mailed home from the Food Service Department. They contain information
about fall classes and teacher assignments, but this information may be
inaccurate and misleading, as it derives from an old database and does not
reflect staffing changes made during the summer. Food Services and Newton
Public Schools regret this oversight and apologize for upsetting the
communication procedures we had designed. Please ignore the teacher
assignment information on your child's lunch menu. Official class lists
are distributed ONLY by school principals and will be mailed on *August 28*.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
From mylcabot at gmail.com Tue Aug 22 08:32:20 2006
From: mylcabot at gmail.com (Mie-Yun Lee)
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:32:20 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot School Family Picture Day Announcement
Message-ID: <25db2b1a0608220532i6821d2bh7322a32eb04b4b9@mail.gmail.com>
CABOT PTO Presents Family Picture Day!
Do you have a yearly family photo taken? Would you like to? This is the
ideal opportunity to have a high quality portrait taken of your family & to
benefit Cabot School at the same time! Monies raised from this event will
help maintain the Cabot Community Park outside our Kindergarten wing, due to
be dedicated in the Fall, which will also be used as an outdoor extension of
our classrooms!
This unique program offered by Coffee Pond Productions enables Cabot School
families to have their photographs taken in the beautiful surroundings of
the Cove in Auburndale! Bring along extended family members, even your
pets! Orders will be available in time for the holidays.
*How does this work?* It's very simple but *please read carefully*??.
? To participate you need to pay a non refundable booking fee of *$30*-
*100%* is donated to the Cabot PTO.
? Tear off the slip from this flyer, fill it out & put it along with
your check (payable to "Cabot PTO") in an envelope marked "Coffee Pond".
Before school starts send it to Sharon Dwyer, 57 Oakwood Road, Newtonville,
MA 02460 or after put sure into the PTO mailbox located in the Cabot Office.
? Sharon, our Cabot parent coordinator, will give you a contact number
for Coffee Pond once she has your booking fee & you'll be able to book your
appointment. Timeslots on *October14th, 21st or 28th* - with rain dates for
each being the next day, Sunday ? can be booked from September 1st onwards.
They are given out on a first-come first-served basis & we are not the only
school participating. So the quicker you sign up with Sharon the better your
chances are of getting an appointment!
? *In addition to the booking fee what will this cost?*
When you book your appointment you pay Coffee Pond a *$30* Administrative
Fee (credit card only) which helps defray their expenses in running this
Fundraising program - refundable only if you cancel your appointment. After
that it depends upon what photographs you order (no minimum required)
which you'll
be able to view & order only online. Check out prices on their website
www.coffeepond.com
Coffee Pond takes our Cabot student portraits & provides a complete money
back guarantee. If you have any questions please contact Sharon Dwyer 617
641 2342 or jsordwyer at rcn.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
? *Please print clearly *
*Your Name:* __________________________________**
*Phone #: _____________________ *
*Child's Name/Teacher*:_____________________* *
*Email: _____________________________*
? *Put slip + check payable to "Cabot pto" for $30 in envelope marked
"Coffee pond"*
? *deliver envelope to Sharon Dwyer, 57 Oakwood Road, Newtonville, MA
02460 or pto mailbox in office.*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton , MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
Note: You received this message because you opted in to receive Cabot
Community emails. If you wish to subscribe, update your email address,
or unsubscribe, you may automatically do so by going to:
http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org
Cabot School PTO - 229 Cabot Street - Newtonville, Massachusetts 02460
From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Tue Aug 29 17:25:15 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 17:25:15 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Coffee Pond Family Picture Day - Appointments open
this Friday!
Message-ID: <001d01c6cbb1$9ebdda10$666fa8c0@Jo>
Don't forget.. Coffee Pond's appointment book opens this Friday & we are
sharing this event with 7 other Newton schools. So to get the best choice of
appointment times act SOON!
CABOT PTO Presents Family Picture Day!
Do you have a yearly family photo taken? Would you like to? This is the
ideal opportunity to have a high quality portrait taken of your family & to
benefit Cabot School at the same time! Monies raised from this event will
help maintain the Cabot Community Park outside our Kindergarten wing, due to
be dedicated in the Fall, which will also be used as an outdoor extension of
our classrooms!
This unique program offered by Coffee Pond Productions enables Cabot School
families to have their photographs taken in the beautiful surroundings of
the Cove in Auburndale! Bring along extended family members, even your
pets! Orders will be available in time for the holidays.
How does this work? It's very simple but please read carefully...
* To participate you need to pay a non refundable booking fee of $30 -
100% is donated to the Cabot PTO.
* Tear off the slip from this flyer, fill it out & put it along with
your check (payable to "Cabot PTO") in an envelope marked "Coffee Pond".
Before school starts send it to Sharon Dwyer, 57 Oakwood Road, Newtonville,
MA 02460 or after put sure into the PTO mailbox located in the Cabot Office.
* Sharon, our Cabot parent coordinator, will give you a contact number
for Coffee Pond once she has your booking fee & you'll be able to book your
appointment. Timeslots on October14th, 21st or 28th - with rain dates for
each being the next day, Sunday - can be booked from September 1st onwards.
They are given out on a first-come first-served basis & we are not the only
school participating. So the quicker you sign up with Sharon the better your
chances are of getting an appointment!
* In addition to the booking fee what will this cost?
When you book your appointment you pay Coffee Pond a $30 Administrative Fee
(credit card only) which helps defray their expenses in running this
Fundraising program - refundable only if you cancel your appointment. After
that it depends upon what photographs you order (no minimum required) which
you'll be able to view & order only online. Check out prices on their
website www.coffeepond.com
Coffee Pond takes our Cabot student portraits & provides a complete money
back guarantee. If you have any questions please contact Sharon Dwyer 617
641 2342 or jsordwyer at rcn.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
* Please print clearly
Your Name: __________________________________
Phone #: _____________________
Child's Name/Teacher:_____________________
Email: _____________________________
* Put slip + check payable to "Cabot pto" for $30 in envelope marked
"Coffee pond"
* deliver envelope to Sharon Dwyer, 57 Oakwood Road, Newtonville, MA
02460 or pto mailbox in office.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Fri Sep 1 09:05:13 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 09:05:13 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] JabberLite from Cabot PTO
Message-ID: <001001c6cdc7$43af0f50$6401a8c0@Jo>
JABBERLITE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST
It seems incredible but the school year is nearly upon us!! We hope that you
all have enjoyed a good summer & we are looking forward to another great
year at Cabot. Once school starts we will be sending out emails every
Tuesday so keep a look out for them. In combination with the Cabot PTO
website at www.cabotpto.org it's a great way to
keep informed about life at Cabot.
Check out these upcoming Dates
A complete listing for the year will be included in your Welcome Packet -
see below. And remember it's updated throughout the year online!
September 5, 2006
Welcome Picnic for New Families, 5:30 PM (rain date 9/6/06)
September 7, 2006
First Day for Students Grade 1-5 & Kindergarten "A" students
September 7, 2006
PTO Coffee for New Parents, 8:30 AM outside Kindergarten wing
September 8, 2006
First Day for Kindergarten "B" students
September 8, 2006
PTO Coffee for New Parents, 8:30 AM outside Kindergarten wing
September 11, 2006
Parent to Parent Series, K Parents, 8:35AM - 9:30AM
September 13, 2006
First All School Assembly, 11:30 AM
September 14, 2006
PTO 1st Annual Meeting & Welcome, 8:35AM - 9:30AM
September 18, 2006
Parent to Parent Series, 1st Grade, 8:35AM - 9:30AM
September 19, 2006
PTO Gift Wrap Sale Begins (thru 10/10)
September 19, 2006
Cabot Community Supper, 5 PM Cabot Field (Rain date 9/20)
September 26, 2006
Cabot Back To School Night, 6 PM
Keep in Touch
Our webmaster Mie-Yun Lee has been hard at work updating our website & email
distribution system. If your email address was on our distribution system at
the end of the last school year it will have been transferred. Otherwise if
you are a new family to Cabot & need to register or if your email changes or
you want to add another email to our distribution system, please go to
http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org . You will
be guided through the steps & will receive a confirmation email to indicate
you have been successfully added to the Cabot PTO email distribution list.
In the event you have any questions please contact our webmaster, Mie-Yun
Lee at mylcabot at gmail.com
Family Picture Day - Appointments available NOW
Do you have a family photo taken for the holidays? This year we are offering
an opportunity to have your family portrait taken by Coffee Pond (they take
our student photos). You should have already received emails about this
event. If you are interested ACT NOW as we share the 3 days offered in
October with 7 other schools so dates will go fast. The appointment book
opens September 1st. For further information look for our previous emails
(last one sent August 29th) or contact our parent volunteer coordinator,
Sharon Dwyer at 617 641 2342 or
jsordwyer at rcn.com
This is a new fundraising event introduced at Cabot this year - all funds
generated will benefit the outdoor Cabot Community Park which all students
at Cabot will use for recreational & educational purposes. Help support this
initiative & worthy cause!
Great news for the Library!
Its official - Lani Gerson is back at the Cabot Library full-time!!! Yeah!!
We are very appreciative of the efforts made last year by both Lani & Lisa
Vancan in keeping the library running smoothly while effectively job
sharing. We say goodbye to Lisa Vancan with much appreciation for all her
hard work last year!
Back to School Shopping
Still have back to school shopping to do? No worries! Do it on-line via the
Cabot PTO website www.cabotpto.org How many of
you shop at these stores? Target, Lands End, Pottery Barn, Old Navy,
Wal-mart, Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Home Depot, Gap, JC Penny, Best
Buy, Barnes & Noble, Boden, Lillian Vernon, Dell, Eddie Bauer, Restoration
Hardware & many, many more..
By shopping online at these stores via the www.CabotPTO.org
website you can earn money for Cabot School?
Just click on the Shopping icon you are away. IT IS VERY SIMPLE & it doesn't
cost you any extra!
Keep your eyes peeled for the Welcome Packet
Aah, its that time of year when you will be inundated with paper. As usual
the PTO sends home a Welcome Packet on the first few days of school in your
child's backpack. It contains lots of important information so keep your
eyes peeled for it & open it! Several items require your immediate attention
& action! This year we have changed some things around - just to keep you on
your toes! So read carefully...
Kick off the new school year with Cabot's annual Community Supper
The Community Supper needs you! We are looking for one or two people to help
coordinate the clean-up effort on Sept 19th. We will recruit volunteers to
assist you so you won't be alone. Clean-up starts around 7 pm and ends
around 8:30 pm. Please contact Sue Covitz at
suecovitz at rcn.com if interested.
Message from Cabot Principal, Dr. Marilynne Quarcoo
Welcome, Welcome!
Yes, the doors at Cabot School are just about to open! In a matter of days,
we will greet our new and returning students. From all the activity in the
building this past week, I can confidently say that the excitement is
building here! Tuesday is the first official day for faculty and staff. We
spend a great deal of time in meetings. We meet with Superintendent Young
and learn about the district's major initiatives and then we start our work
to build a professional collaborative community. This year, we welcome more
than 20 new personnel to the school. While I would like to list all their
names, let me introduce you to just a few.
We welcome Ms. Patty Fiorenza to grade 5. Ms. Fiorenza comes to us from
Countryside School where she has worked for the past four years in grade 4.
Ms. Fiorenza has already gotten herself comfortable at the school and is
sure to bring a wealth of knowledge, skills, and compassion to her work. Mr.
Amaya Rashad Adams is the newest grade 4 teacher on the team. Mr. Adams
recently taught grade 4 in a suburban district in Virginia. He was a much
sought after candidate in our district but Cabot School's reputation and
warm welcoming faculty lured him to 229 Cabot Street. Mr. Adams brings his
experiences as a conscientious, principled and well-trained teacher to our
community. Finally, we welcome Ms. Elizabeth Stahl to grade 2. Ms. Stahl has
been in and out of school most of the summer. She hails most recently from
the Cambridge Friends School where she taught first grade. Ms. Stahl has
impressed us with her depth of insight regarding young learners and her
knowledge about the variety of ways in which they learn. Her classroom
started with bare bones and she continues to create a sound structure to
support the excitement that comes when guiding the growth and development of
children.
In the next letter, I will highlight our new specialists and all the support
staff that make up Team Cabot!
As we open the doors next Thursday, you will note a few changes, if you are
a returning family! Given the 30 or so additional students and the
additional classes at grades 2 and 5, we are getting pretty full. The narrow
hallways are now the residence for essential school equipment including our
copying machines and audio-visual equipment. You may not be aware that with
the loss of a full size teacher's workroom and lunch room, loads of
equipments has been downsized, surplused and relocated to more public
spaces. The faculty and I are concerned, as teachers need a place to do
their work. We are struggling with how to keep the building accessible yet
relatively clear and safe so their work can happen. In the first few weeks
of school, we will begin to assess our entry and dismissal guidelines and
makes adjustments to support some reasonableness regarding these procedures
for the community.
A school should offer a vibrant environment that honors all members of the
community. Arriving at a balance between meeting the needs of teachers to do
their work, the needs of students to feel at ease to navigate a familiar
environment and be independent, and the needs of the community to feel
welcomed will be one of our major efforts this first month. In that light,
we start by asking parents to leave all strollers and other such items
outside. Please secure these items in traffic free areas near our entrances.
Bikes and other wheeled equipment. Scooters, roller blades, heelies, etc
have not been permitted at school for sometime due to outside congestion.
Your adherence to these requests will go a long way in making our days go
well.
To keep this first letter upbeat, I invite you to come out on Tuesday for
the Welcoming Family Picnic or to just stop by the office to say hello and
welcome back! The days of summer at first seem so many but as time proceeds,
the fond thoughts of life in the Cabot community come to mind and I start to
look forward to days filled with children and adults engaged in a
partnership that in my opinion is the best partnership in the world! Your
child is a special and unique human being and our pleasure is found in doing
our best work on their behalf!
I look forward to giving each of you hardy and warm welcome!
See you real soon.
Sincerely,
Dr. Marilynne Smith Quarcoo
Principal
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Fri Sep 8 13:33:17 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2006 13:33:17 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Information from Cabot School
Message-ID: <001701c6d36c$df30e4d0$6501a8c0@Jo>
Helping Children To Cope War and Terrorism
The Cabot PTO was asked by Cabot's Principal, Dr. Quarcoo, to distribute
this notice to all Cabot families via the email distribution system. If you
know of a family at Cabot who does not have access to email or who might not
yet have registered their email onto the PTO distribution system by visiting
http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org then
please give them a copy.
--------------------
Prepared by LuAnn Keough, Ph.D. Cabot School Psychologist
9/7/06
In the post-911 world, we are faced daily with news about war and threats of
terrorism. Children may have concerns about a basic sense of safety and
security and parents and caregivers may question how to support each other
and their children as we mark the 5th anniversary of the 911 attacks.
A child's response to traumatic world events is shaped by their
developmental level, temperament, prior experiences with loss or traumatic
events, and the reactions of adults around them. School-aged children may
talk about feelings of sadness, fear, worry, and anger and also communicate
these through artwork play, and behavior. Adults need to help children feel
safe at a time when the world seems to be a more dangerous place.
The following suggestions for helping children cope are adapted from the
National Association of School Psychologists handouts Children and Fear of
War and Terrorism, and Promoting Resiliency in Your Child: A Tip Sheet for
Parents,
* Be calm and supportive-Children will become more upset as adults are
more upset.
* Offer realistic reassurances-Help children understand that adults
are working hard to make things safe.
* Give your child opportunities to express their feelings-Let them
know that all feelings are okay and be a good listener.
* Be prepared to answer questions- Share factual information
appropriate to your child's developmental level and take time to think about
how you want to frame these events
* Focus on their strengths- Encourage children to use strategies that
have helped them feel better in the past and talk about ways to cope with
stress, such as relaxation and exercise.
* Establish/maintain routines-Routines help children to feel more
stable, secure and in control.
* Limit TV and Internet viewing- This is especially important for
younger children, and some children may cope better by completely avoiding
these reports.
* Empower your child to take positive action- Encouraging children to
reach out to help others in their community and teach peace building skills.
Some Resources about Helping Children Cope with War and Terrorism
* www.PBS.org/parents Parents Guide to Talking with Kids About War and
Violence- Information about developmental level and understanding/coping
with current events.
* www.nasponline.org Website for the National Association of School
Psychologists- provides resources on supporting children coping with war and
terrorism.
* www.nccev.org Website for the National Center for Children Exposed to
Violence at Yale Child Study Center. Downloadable publication Parent's Guide
to Talking to their Children About War
If you are interested in speaking with me about any further resources or
issues, please contact me by phone at (617-559-9405) or email at
LuAnn_Keough at newton.k12.ma.us.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Sat Sep 9 09:03:13 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Sat, 9 Sep 2006 09:03:13 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Important information from Cabot School Regarding
September 11th
Message-ID: <001501c6d410$4f126a50$6501a8c0@Jo>
The PTO has been asked to distribute this email on behalf of Cabot's
Principal, Dr. Marilynne Quarcoo.
Friday, September 8, 2006
Dear Parents and Guardians of our Children,
While approaching the fifth anniversary of the terrible events
on September 11, we in the Newton Schools have thought deeply about the sort
of remembrance that would be appropriate for children of various ages. Most
of all, we don't want to frighten our students. On the other hand, we feel
some obligation to help our older students realize its significance in our
nation's history. And, not surprisingly, different faculties in our many
schools have had different ideas about the best way to handle this dilemma.
Consequently, what we have decided to do is to share guidelines,
rather than one definitive system-wide policy, for school observations of
this historic day. In his opening day address, Superintendent Jeff Young
noted, teachers will need to be thoughtful about the needs of students who
have seen frightening pictures on television or even have suffered the loss
of a relative on 9/11. With our youngest children, questions may come that
need a sensitive response, probably best handled in a quiet talk with their
own teacher -- and later with their families. For our older elementary
students, as well as those in our secondary schools, we would like teachers
to take some time to help the kids process the magnitude of this sorry date
in history. Of course, we will need to be sensitive to the developmental
needs of students, making sure discussions are age-appropriate, motivated by
a desire to educate as well as to foster feelings of safety.
One message we hope to communicate to children in all of our
schools is that, while September 11, 2001, was a day of great loss for
America, it also inspired a new appreciation for our county and its values.
Principals and/or teachers may relay this message while leading into a
moment of reflective silence or the traditional salute to the flag. We hope
they will note Americans' strongly held belief in freedom and fairness -- or
liberty and justice -- for all people. The familiarity of these words
should give the pledge even greater meaning as we remember this dramatic day
in our country's history and should reassure our young people that even
extreme acts of violence have not been able to shake our commitment to these
values.
Obviously, you will want to talk with your children about all of
these issues as well. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us.
At Cabot School we will join the district in noting a moment of
silence. In the primary grades (k-2), classes are asked to pause for a
moment to think about how to love in peace, in our schools, homes, and
community. At the older grades (3-5) teachers will use morning discussions
or some other grade appropriate structure to reflect on this theme
recognizing that some students may bring up the events of September 11,
2001.
We have provided all teachers with resource information as well
as lists of students and families who may be more vulnerable to discussions
about any tragic or sad event. Since current events are very much a part of
the grade 3-5 curriculum, we know they will be exposed to some information.
We will operate as we have in the past with a sensitivity and
appropriateness.
You have received an email from our school psychologist that
provides you with additional information. Please accept my apologies for not
providing one email with all this information.
Sincerely,
Marilynne Smith Quarcoo, Ph. D
Principal
Brenda Keegan, Ph.D.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Tue Sep 12 12:18:04 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:18:04 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] JabberLite for Tuesday, September 12th
Message-ID: <004601c6d687$06abf6e0$666fa8c0@Jo>
JABBERLITE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th
Check out these upcoming Dates
Remember that a complete & up-dated calendar for all the events for the year
can be found at www.cabotpto.org
September 14, 2006
PTO 1st Annual Meeting & Welcome, 8:35AM - 9:30AM
September 18, 2006
Parent to Parent Series, 1st Grade, 8:45AM - 9:30AM
September 19, 2006
PTO Gift Wrap Sale Begins (thru 10/10)
September 19, 2006
Cabot Community Supper, 5 PM Cabot Field (Rain date 9/20)
September 25, 2006
September 26, 2006
Parent to Parent Series, Kindergarten, 8:45AM - 9:30AM
Cabot Back To School Night, 6 PM
October 2, 2006
Yom Kippur, NO SCHOOL
October 5, 2006
PTO Coffee for all Grades & Meeting, 8:40 AM
October 6, 2006
Cabot School Student Pictures (rain date 10/13)
October 9, 2006
Columbus Day, NO SCHOOL
October 10, 2006
PTO Gift Wrap Orders Due
October 10, 2006
School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
October 13, 2006
Rain date for Cabot School Student Pictures
1st PTO Meeting of the Year
Come along to the first PTO meeting of the year on Thursday, September 14th
after drop-off. Hear about the major initiatives for the year & see how best
you can help enrich our children's experiences at Cabot. Minutes of the
meeting will be posted on our website for those unable to attend. For this
meeting only we will be meeting in the School Psychologist & Social Worker's
office, room 116. Please note the future PTO meetings will be changed to
occur on Tuesday mornings after drop-off to allow us to meet in the Cabot
Library. Dates to be announced.
Kick off the new school year with Cabot's annual Community Supper, Tuesday
September 19th at 5-7pm
Put the date in your diary for this great annual Cabot family event. Come
along with the whole family & don't worry about cooking dinner for the
night! Remember to send in your pizza order forms to ensure we have enough
pizzas. Tickets will be on sale only at the event for 50 cents each - pizza
costs $1.50 a slice, drinks are 50 cents & there is always an array of
delicious desserts available for purchase. A variety of school merchandise
will also be available for purchase such as Cabot T-shirts, caps etc,. So
bring your beach chairs or picnic blanket along to the Cabot field ready to
meet other Cabot families & primed for hip-hop & capture the flag! All
proceeds benefit the Cabot PTO & helps support the PTO enrichment activities
for all Cabot students.
To make the Community Supper such a great Cabot experience we need people
like you! Volunteers are needed to help set up that afternoon. Please
contact Sue Covitz at suecovitz at rcn.com if
interested.
Family Picture Day - Appointments available NOW
Do you have a family photo taken for the holidays? This year we are offering
an opportunity to have your family portrait taken by Coffee Pond (they take
our student photos). You should have already received emails about this
event. If you are interested ACT NOW as we share the 3 days offered in
October with 7 other schools so dates will go fast. The appointment book has
already opened. For further information contact our parent volunteer
coordinator, Sharon Dwyer at 617 641 2342 or
jsordwyer at rcn.com This is a new fundraising event introduced at Cabot this
year - all funds generated will benefit the outdoor Cabot Community Park
which all students at Cabot will use for recreational & educational
purposes. Help support this initiative & worthy cause!
We need YOUR Help!
We realize that the beginning of the school year is a very busy time (you
don't need to tell us!!). But take a moment to think about all of the
wonderful events & programs sponsored by the PTO that our children enjoy
throughout the year at Cabot. These only happen because a myriad of
volunteers make them happen - people just like you! Maybe you are already
involved with school activities - in which case we thank you. Maybe you have
been meaning to but don't know what you can do. Maybe you have limited time
- who doesn't! Maybe you are new to Cabot & don't know the best way to get
involved. We need YOUR help! There are all sorts of volunteering
opportunities for everyone. Visit www.cabotpto.org
& click on "Volunteers" to see a complete list
of volunteering opportunities & details of what each one entails to better
help you find the one that fits you! At this moment we really need help in
the following areas: Cabot Community Park, Political Issues, Cabot Work
Crew, Respect for Human Differences, Call Back, Creative Arts & Sciences,
Photography & Social Action.
In addition, we have a real need for Room Parents in every classroom. Take a
look at the Room Parent job description & sign up sheet that's posted
outside every classroom. Being a Room parent is a great way to get to know
your child's teacher & the other families in your classroom. There is no
pre-requisite - you don't have to always be at school at drop-off or
pick-up. Just a willingness to help! After looking at the job description if
you have further questions please contact Sally Babigian for Grades K to 2
at sally at dickran.com or Sue Covitz for Grades 3 to 5 suecovitz at rcn.com .
Don't forget to complete the Welcome Packet!
By now you will have found the manila envelope that was sent home in your
child's backpack from the PTO containing lots of important information. The
good news is you have it, now you have to fill it out. Remember to complete
the Dues & Volunteer form & return that to the Cabot PTO mailbox in the
office or send it into your child's teacher.
Cabot Directory update
Every year the PTO produces a Directory containing an entry for every Cabot
family & class lists. This Directory is an invaluable resource when your
child comes home after school & declares they want a play date with Johnny!!
Now you'll know not only who Johnny is but how to contact him! The task of
compiling all this information is no small task & this year Jenny Gamson,
our Directory guru & parent volunteer, has been steadily working on the
Directory since the summer. If you are a returning family please do take a
moment to check your entry in last years Directory & email CHANGES ONLY to
Jenny at jenny at seckler.com If you are a family new to Cabot this year we
will be sending home in a week or so the entry that will appear in the
Directory based on your registration information. Upon receipt please check
your entry & send the form back ONLY IF THERE ARE CHANGES in your child's
backpack or put them in the PTO Mailbox in the office. We hope to have the
Directories back from the printers ready for distribution in mid October.
Also, like last year we are selling advertising space in the Directory to
local businesses. As a Cabot parent if you have a business that you would
like to advertise in our Directory contact Rick Reilly, our parent volunteer
Advertising Manager - rmreilly at rcn.com 617332 3006. Be aware that copies of
the Directory are ONLY distributed to Cabot families.
Keep in Touch
Our webmaster Mie-Yun Lee has been hard at work updating our website & email
distribution system. If your email address was on our distribution system at
the end of the last school year it will have been transferred. Otherwise if
you are a new family to Cabot & need to register or if your email changes or
you want to add another email to our distribution system, please go to
http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org . You will
be guided through the steps & will receive a confirmation email to indicate
you have been successfully added to the Cabot PTO email distribution list.
In the event you have any questions please contact our webmaster, Mie-Yun
Lee at mylcabot at gmail.com
BoxTops for Kids
What do you eat in your house? If you eat Cheerios, Wheaties, Chex, Raisin
Bran, Kix, Berry Berry Kix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix,
Cascadian Farm products & refrigerated/dairy
products such as Pillsbury & Yoplait you could be clipping the tops of these
boxes to raise money for Cabot School. Thanks to Isabelle Thacker & her
family we now have a great BOXTOPS collection box located in the main lobby.
Check out the list of products you can clip tops from. Go on, get your kids
involved - clip box tops for Cabot School!
Recent events & Thank Yous
Last week we were lucky enough to enjoy the Annual Cabot Welcoming Picnic
held at school for all Kindergarten families & those families new to Cabot.
There was a great turnout & all the students & their families enjoyed
meeting one another & getting ready for the start of school. Our thanks to
the Cabot students who gave such informative tours of the school, &
especially to Barbara Perlo, Judy McMorrow & Jina Pierce for organizing such
a happy & successful event & for their work over the summer providing
buddies for new students.
Great appreciation also goes to Chris Kjellson, Rachel Leaney, Paula
Feldman, Helen Ventouris, Zeina Kahhale, Sandy Connors & Sharon Dwyer for
their help in preparing the Welcome Packets to ensure that all families
received theirs on the first day of school!
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Wed Sep 13 11:57:35 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:57:35 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Information on Parent to Parent Meetings for
Parents & Guardians of Kindergarten & 1st Grade Students ONLY
Message-ID: <001e01c6d74d$54f8c140$666fa8c0@Jo>
There are 2 meetings facilitated by the School Psychologist, LuAnn Keough, &
Cabot's Principal, Dr Marilynne Quarcoo. The first flyer below refers to a
meeting for Parents & Guardians of Kindergarten students. The second flyer
is for Parents & Guardians of 1st Grade students. Our apologizes that at
this time we need to send this email out to everyone on the email
distribution list. Very soon we will be able to target emails to specific
families with information pertaining to the grades of their children...
Calling All
Kindergarten Parents and Guardians
Please Join Us
For a Parent to Parent Discussion
TOPIC:
"The Transition to Kindergarten"
Tips for supporting your child's adjustment as they begin the journey of
life long learning.
Facilitated by:
LuAnn Keough School Psychologist
Marilynne Quarcoo Principal
Monday, September 25, 2006
8:35-9:30
Room 116
Cabot School Parent to Parent Series
Calling All
First Grade Parents and Guardians
Please Join Us
For a Parent to Parent Discussion
TOPIC:
"The Transition to First Grade"
Tips for supporting your child as they enter the next stage as a lifelong
learner.
Facilitated by:
LuAnn Keough School Psychologist
Marilynne Quarcoo Principal
Monday, September 18, 2006
8:35-9:30
Room 116
Cabot School Parent to Parent Series
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From marykathf at aol.com Mon Sep 18 22:08:32 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 22:08:32 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Jabberlite 9_19_06
In-Reply-To: <8C8A9A5025848F9-430-3764@mblk-d28.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8A9A5025848F9-430-3764@mblk-d28.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8A9A7A4590A2B-7F0-4071@mblk-d10.sysops.aol.com>
JABBERLITE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at www.cabotpto.org
September 19, 2006PTO Gift Wrap Sale Begins (thru 10/10)
September 19, 2006Cabot Community Supper, 5 PM Cabot Field (Rain date 9/20)
September 25, 2006Parent to Parent Series, Kindergarten, 8:35AM ? 9:30 AM
September 25, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
September 26, 2006Back To School Night, 6 PM
October 2, 2006Yom Kippur, NO SCHOOL
October 6, 2006Cabot School Student Pictures (rain date 10/13)
October 9, 2006Columbus Day, NO SCHOOL
October 10, 2006PTO Coffee for all Grades & Meeting, 8:40 AM
October 10, 2006PTO Gift Wrap Orders Due
October 10, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
October 13, 2006Rain date for Cabot School Student Pictures
October 14, 2006Coffee Pond Family Photo Day (rain date 10/15)
October 15, 2006Cabot Connecting Families Play date 2-4pm Larz Anderson Park, Brookline
(rain date 10/22)
October 16, 2006School Council, 6 ? 7:30PM
October 19, 2006Parent to Parent Series, K thru 5, 8:35AM ? 9:30AM - Overview of Open Circle Curriculum
October 19, 2006Early Release Day, 12:30 PM Dismissal
1st PTO Meeting of the Year ? A Great Turnout!
The first PTO meeting of the year had a great turn-out ? in fact, so many people came that we had to move outside to the bleachers to fit everyone! Thank you ? it is encouraging to see so many helpful and involved Cabot families able to attend! We spoke about many items, including the Cabot Community Park and Political Issues regarding the Newton School Committee and our space crunch. We were addressed by Dr. Quarcoo who informed us that we are 421 students and 75 adult employees strong. For a complete recap of the meeting, you can check out the minutes, which will be published on our Cabot PTO website shortly. Don?t forget to join us at our next PTO meeting on Tuesday October 10 at 8:35am in the Library.
Cabot?s Annual Community Supper,
Tuesday September 19th at 5-7pm
Join us TONIGHT for this great annual Cabot family event. Come along with the whole family & don?t worry about cooking dinner for the night! Remember to send in your pizza order forms to ensure we have enough pizzas. Tickets will be on sale only at the event ? pizza costs $1.50 a slice, drinks are 50? & there is always an array of delicious desserts available for purchase. A variety of school merchandise will also be available for purchase such as Cabot T-shirts, caps etc,. So bring your beach chairs or picnic blanket along to the Cabot field ready to meet other Cabot families & primed for hip-hop & capture the flag! All proceeds benefit the Cabot PTO & helps support the PTO enrichment activities for all Cabot students.
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
Mark you calendar for Cabot Back to School night, next Tuesday evening, October 29, 2006.
6:00 ? 6:45 Grades K-2
6:50 ? 7:30 Address by Dr. Quarcoo and others
7:35 ? 8:15 Grades 3 ? 5
More details to follow ? but we will be treated to a special performance by the Cabot Parent Chorus.
Cabot Directory Update
Every year the PTO produces a Directory containing an entry for every Cabot family & class lists. This Directory is an invaluable resource when your child comes home after school & declares they want a play date with Johnny!! Now you?ll know not only who Johnny is but how to contact him! The task of compiling all this information is not small & this year Jenny Gamson, our Directory guru & parent volunteer, has been steadily working on the Directory since the summer. If you are a returning family please do take a moment to check your entry in last years Directory & email CHANGES ONLY to Jenny at jenny at seckler.com If you are a family new to Cabot this year we will be sending home in a week or so the entry that will appear in the Directory based on your registration information. Upon receipt please check your entry & send the form back ONLY IF THERE ARE CHANGES in your child?s backpack or put them in the PTO Mailbox in the office. We hope to have the Directories back from the printers ready for distribution in mid October.
Also, like last year we are selling advertising space in the Directory to local businesses. As a Cabot parent if you have a business that you would like to advertise in our Directory contact Rick Reilly, our parent volunteer Advertising Manager - rmreilly at rcn.com 617332 3006. Be aware that copies of the Directory are ONLY distributed to Cabot families.
GIFT WRAP FUNDRAISER
The Cabot PTO Gift Wrap Fundraiser kicks off Tuesday September 19th. This fundraiser provides an opportunity for the Cabot community to purchase quality Sally Foster gift wrap while raising money for Cabot. Half of each sale goes to benefit the students at Cabot School. Sell to friends, family and co-workers. Out-of-towners can support Cabot by ordering wrapping paper on-line. Questions, contact Kate Johnson at kate at textreviews.com.
LIBRARY COFFEE ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH
Come join Lani Gerson, the Cabot School Librarian, on Monday, September 25th from 8:30am - 9:30am, for coffee in the Library, and learn more about volunteering in your child's library class. This is a great opportunity to get involved at Cabot. Questions, please contact Kate Johnson at kate at textreviews.com.
School store ? Opening September 26
Great news ? the Cabot School Store will be open every Tuesday morning from 8:10 ? 8:30 beginning on September 26, 2006. Stop by and stock up on Cabot goods and school supplies. Proceeds benefit 5th Grade Activities.
Newton School Committee News
Space Crunch - Submitted by Sarah Ecker
The enrollment at Cabot is higher than it has been in years and we are running out of classroom space. Other elementary schools in Newton are experiencing similar overcrowding. There is discussion of purchasing modular classrooms for installation next fall and some talk about redistricting.
The Newton School Committee heard our concerns about overcrowding last spring and has put together a process for evaluating short term space needs in the elementary schools. The process and timeline is printed below. The series of meetings will lead to a set of policy options and a vote in December.
We are looking for parents to attend these evening meetings. A good turn-out of Cabot parents is essential: we need to follow the decision-making process, weighing in when required AND we need to visibly demonstrate that we are concerned about what happens at Cabot next year.
Please contact Sarah Ecker (sarahecker at comcast.net) and volunteer to attend a meeting. Don?t let this effort fall on the shoulders of a few individuals. Meetings are generally at 7:30 p.m. and run for two hours.
Newton Teachers In Contract Negotiations
You may be aware that all teaching professionals in Newton are currently without a contract & are at this time in negotiations with the City. According to Newton Teachers Association Union President, Cheryl Turgel, members of the NTA have agreed not to volunteer for committees or other events that meet outside of the school day & are not part of their professional responsibilities. They are however completely fulfilling their professional obligations.
Family Picture Day ? Appointments available NOW
Appointments are still available for Family Picture Day. You should have already received emails about this event. If you are interested ACT NOW as we share the 3 days offered in October with 7 other schools. For further information contact our parent volunteer coordinator, Sharon Dwyer at 617 641 2342 or jsordwyer at rcn.com This is a new fundraising event introduced at Cabot this year ? all funds generated will benefit the outdoor Cabot Community Park which all students at Cabot will use for recreational & educational purposes. Help support this initiative & worthy cause!
Don?t forget to complete the Welcome Packet!
If you have already completed your welcome Packet ? Thank you! If you haven?t, look for the manila envelope that was sent home in your child?s backpack from the PTO containing lots of important information. Remember to complete the Dues & Volunteer form & return it to the Cabot PTO mailbox in the office or send it into your child?s teacher. If you need a form, you can download it from our website or get another copy in the office. Please return these forms by Friday, September 22, 2006.
Keep in Touch
Our webmaster Mie-Yun Lee has been hard at work updating our website & email distribution system. If you are a new family to Cabot & need to register or if your email changes or you want to add another email to our distribution system, please go to http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org. You will be guided through the steps & will receive a confirmation email to indicate you have been successfully added to the Cabot PTO email distribution list. In the event you have any questions please contact our webmaster, Mie-Yun Lee at mylcabot at gmail.com
On-Line Shoppers & BoxTops for Kids
Not only are we collecting BOXTOPS from many items you may have in your house right now, you can also support the Cabot School PTO when you shop online at the BoxTops for Education Marketplace! Just go to the Cabot PTO website, click on a store name and start shopping. Cabot PTO will receive a portion of every sale, and you pay exactly what you would have if you had gone to the site directly. Thanks ? and don?t forget to drop off all your paper BOXTOPS in the collection box located in the main lobby.
Summer Helpers
Many thanks go to Betsy Harper, Cabot Parent, for painting the faculty bathroom off the main lobby. Check it out ? it looks great.
We would also like to thank Sally Brickell for arranging the hands-on cleanup and organization of certain classrooms & closets this summer. Thanks to Jo Doherty,
Laura Dreese, Sharon Dwyer, Lisa Porter, Sara Goldberg, Ann Manaktala, Mary Kathryn Fallon, Nancy Ferry, Madeleine Ferry, Alyssa Kaplan, Russell Kaplan, Diana Seldin, Cory Stokes and Kayla Wong for rolling up their sleeves and helping out.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
You received this message because you opted in to receive Cabot Community emails. To subscribe, update your email address, or unsubscribe, go to: http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org
Cabot School PTO - 229 Cabot Street - Newtonville, Massachusetts 02460
Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Co-President
10 Worth Circle,
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-1821
MaryKathF at aol.com
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Thu Sep 21 13:31:29 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2006 13:31:29 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP THE SPACE ISSUES AT CABOT
SCHOOL
Message-ID: <003501c6dda3$c64a6590$666fa8c0@Jo>
This message has been prepared by Sarah Ecker, chair of the PTO's Political
Issues Committee. Please take a moment to read this very important message
concerning the lack of space at Cabot School. In doing so you will keep
yourself informed of what decisions will be made by Newton's School
Committee which will directly affect Cabot for the next school year 2007-08.
SPACE CRUNCH ISSUES AT CABOT - WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!
The enrollment at Cabot is higher than it has been in years and we are
running out of classroom space. Enrollment is forecasted to increase next
year as well.
The Newton School Committee is evaluating its options for dealing with
overcrowding at Cabot and other elementary schools over the course of
several Monday night meetings this fall. The schedule is listed below. The
process will end with a vote by the School Committee on December 11th.
We are looking for parents to attend these meetings. A good turn-out of
Cabot parents is essential: we need to follow the decision-making process
in order to know when and how to weigh in AND we need to visibly demonstrate
that we are concerned about what happens at Cabot next year.
Please contact Sarah Ecker ( sarahecker at comcast.net ) and volunteer to
attend a meeting. Don't let this effort fall on the shoulders of a few
individuals.
Meetings are at 7:30pm at the Education Center at 100 Walnut St. and
generally last two hours. You are not expected to speak at the meetings
(just listen), but public comment is permitted at the beginning and the end
of each meeting.
Schedule of School Committee Meetings:
Sept. 25 Presentation of school inventories,
classroom capacity data, floor plans
Oct. 10 Enrollment Update including October 2006
official enrollment counts
Oct. 23 Presentation and discussion of POLICY
OPTIONS for elementary space planning for Sept. 2007 Outline of criteria for
review of options
Oct. 30 PUBLIC FORUM - School Committee Interactive
Public Forum on Elementary Space for public input on the issues and options
Nov. 13 School Committee discussion and approval of
policy options for elementary space in 2007
Nov. 27 Annual Enrollment Analysis Report
presentation and discussion Subcommittee recommendations regarding the
policy options
Dec. 11 School Committee VOTE on elementary space
policy for 2007-08
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Tue Sep 26 09:51:47 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:51:47 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] JabberLite for Tuesday, September 26th
Message-ID: <001701c6e172$e95fd150$666fa8c0@Jo>
JABBERLITE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26th
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at
www.cabotpto.org
Sep26 Oct 2
(Tues)
(Mon)
-
Back to School Night, 6pm
Yom Kippur, NO SCHOOL
Oct 5
Oct 6
(Thur)
(Fri)
-
Anti Bullying Workshop 7pm- 8:30pm, Bowen School
Cabot School Student Pictures (rain date 10/13)
Oct 9
(Mon)
-
Columbus Day, NO SCHOOL
Oct 10
(Tues)
-
PTO Gift Wrap Orders Due
Oct 10
Oct 10
(Tues)
(Tues)
-
PTO Meeting 8:35am in Cabot Library
School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
Oct 13
(Fri)
-
Rain date for Cabot School Student Pictures
Oct 14
(Sat)
-
Coffee Pond Family Photo Day (rain date 10/15)
Oct 15
(Sun)
-
Cabot Connecting Families Play date 2-4pm Larz Anderson Park, Brookline
(rain date 10/22)
Oct 16
(Mon)
-
School Council, 5-7PM
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT IS TONIGHT!
Here is the schedule again for tonight:
6:00 - 6:50 - Grades K-2 Classroom Presentations
6:20 - 6:50 - Specialists, Student Services, Special Education & Literacy
Open Areas
6:50 - 7:35 - Whole School - Cabot PTO Parent Chorus and PTO Welcome,
Principal's Remarks
7:40 - 8:00 - Specialists, Student Services, Special Education & Literacy
Open Areas
7:40 - 8:30 - Grades 3 -5 Classroom Presentations
This is an evening for adults to visit the classrooms and programs at Cabot.
Teachers make formal presentations about their expectations and the
curriculum. At least 90% of the community attends this evening which cannot
be replicated. Please join us in the auditorium/gymnasium to learn about the
current issues and successes at the school.
Newton School Committee News
Did you receive the email sent out by the PTO last Thursday concerning the
space crunch issues at Cabot? Did you read it? You should, because it
details exactly what options the Newton School Committee will be discussing
at their meetings over the next few months in order to finalize what action
they will take to address the space needs of Elementary schools for school
year 2007-08. They make their final decision in December. After considering
these options & hearing public comments, the School Committee will come up
with a solution to deal with specific space crunch issues throughout the
Newton Elementary School system including Cabot. These could have far
reaching effect upon us & I urge you to get involved in this process. I know
we are all busy but don't let this pass you by. Don't be the person later in
the year asking "How could this have happened?" Get involved! Contact Sarah
Ecker at sarahecker at comcast.net
or leave a
note for her in the PTO mailbox in the office. Don't let this important
issue rest on a few individuals shoulders.
GIFT WRAP FUNDRAISER
By now you should have received in your child's backpack the Sally Foster
gift wrap book. Please support this worthwhile Cabot PTO Fundraiser. Half
of each sale goes to benefit the students at Cabot School. Sell to friends,
family and co-workers. Out-of-towners can also support Cabot by ordering
wrapping paper on-line. There is a prize awarded to the student who sells
the most & remember that on-line sales count towards their goal. The
deadline for orders to be returned to Cabot is October 10th. If you have
questions please contact Kate Johnson at kate at textreviews.com
.
How can people order online? Follow these easy steps:
* Go to SallyFoster.com
* Click seller's section
* Register your child's name
* They will ask you for e-mail addresses
* Go right ahead and plug in the e-mails of as many friends and family
members as you can think of.
Sally Foster will do the rest. They will send out an e-mail to your whole
list and then people who live near and far can order on-line and all
products will be mailed directly to them. Best of all your child will win
prize credits for each Sally Foster item sold, and Cabot School will make
50% on every sale.
Questions, contact Kate Johnson, kate at textreviews.com or 527-3670
Coffee Pond Family Picture Day
Appointments are still available for Family Picture Day. If you are
interested ACT NOW as we share the 3 days offered in October with 7 other
schools. For further information contact our parent volunteer coordinator,
Sharon Dwyer at 617 641 2342 or jsordwyer at rcn.com
. This is a new
fundraising event introduced at Cabot this year - all funds generated will
benefit the outdoor Cabot Community Park which all students at Cabot will
use for recreational & educational purposes. Help support this initiative &
worthy cause!
Cabot Student Picture Day is Coming!
Remember that Friday, October 6th is Cabot School Student picture day!
Recently you should have received in your child's backpack an order form
with instructions on how to order school pictures. For those of you new to
school each year Coffee Pond take individual student photos & a class photo.
If you would like to place an order, the order form you have received must
be filled out completely & sent into school on or before Picture day. Any
orders placed after Picture Day will require a $5 late fee to be processed.
Extra order forms should be available from the office.
Cabot Connecting Families
Please join Cabot Connecting Families at co-chair Mary Heney's house on
Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. to help plan our first social event
of the year, a "play date" at Larz Andersen Park. CCF is a great way for
Newton and Boston families to get together and to get to know each other.
Please RSVP to Mary Heney (mheney at rcn.com) (617) 323-9336 or Sara Goldberg
(salgoldberg at comcast.net)/( 617)
527-0095.
Parent Volunteers Needed for Reading Partners Program
Would you like to help in a primary classroom? Cabot School is recruiting
volunteers to help support readers in the first and second grades as they
develop and strengthen literacy skills. If we have enough support, we will
extend the program to the third grade classrooms also. No prior teaching or
tutoring experience is required.
The Reading Partners Program will begin its fourth year in December 2006. We
are asking for a commitment of two days per week for 45 minutes each day.
The time slots vary but are in the morning for grades one and two. Grade
three time slots are not yet determined. Each time slot is during the
literacy block in the individual classrooms. Volunteers pick which two days
they would like to work.
Parent volunteers will work one-on-one with students, listening to them
read. Cari Nelson, Literacy Specialist, will provide training on how to
support readers. The training will teach parents how to prompt students to
support the use of reading strategies. Cari will be available to coach and
support parent volunteers throughout the program.
For more information, or to sign up, please contact Marilynne at
marilynne_quarcoo at newton.mec.edu, or Cari Nelson at
carolyn_nelson at newton.mec.edu. During the summer, volunteers may contact
Liz Haas at haas.joffe at rcn.com for more information.
Cabot Directory Update
RETURNING FAMILIES: Time is running out for you to send in any corrections
to your Directory entry from last year to Jenny Gamson at jenny at seckler.com
NEW FAMILIES: If you are a family new to Cabot this year, we will shortly be
sending home the entry that will appear in the Directory based on your
registration information. Upon receipt please check your entry & send the
form back ONLY IF THERE ARE CHANGES in your child's backpack or put them in
the PTO Mailbox in the office. We hope to have the Directories back from the
printers ready for distribution in mid October.
Also, like last year we are selling advertising space in the Directory to
local businesses. As a Cabot parent if you have a business that you would
like to advertise in our Directory contact Rick Reilly, our parent volunteer
Advertising Manager - rmreilly at rcn.com
617332 3006. Be
aware that copies of the Directory are ONLY distributed to Cabot families.
PTO Meetings
The minutes of the first PTO meeting of the year are now posted online at
www.cabotpto.org Take a few minutes to read up
on what your PTO is doing to benefit your child's experience at Cabot.
Don't forget to join us at our next PTO meeting on Tuesday October 10 at
8:35am in the Library.
Cabot's Annual Community Supper - a note from Chair, Sue Covitz
Dear Cabot Community:
I'd like to thank everyone who helped make the 4th Annual Community Supper a
success. Who knew that there were so many wonderful dancers at Cabot
School!
Once again, big thanks to Beth Hill and Charlie Guarino of Hood Home
Delivery for their so-helpful donation of bottled water and hoodsie cups.
Thanks also to Great Harvest Bread Company, Whole Foods Market, and Super
Stop & Shop for making generous donations. Thanks to D&A Pizza for
wonderful delivery service and all that delicious pizza. I want to also say
that Siagel Productions did a fantastic job on the Hip Hop dance floor. They
were great with the kids and made the event a lot of fun-thank you!
Thanks to Marilynne Quarcoo, Margaret Hannah and Betsy Nurczynski in the
office for their administrative help. Thanks to Jo Doherty and Mary Kathryn
Fallon for their logistical help and hands-on aid during the event. Thanks
to Ed Reardon, our terrific building custodian, and his night-shift
associate Jay for their help.
I want to pay special tribute to the Cabot Community Supper Committee-
Carolyn Eggert and Laura Dreese for organizing and running the food and
drink tables
Joy Cline Phinney for managing the set-up
Alice Cunningham for coordinating the volunteers
Rachel Bolyon for her management of the ticket table
Rose Coppola Flynn- for her warm and wonderful assistance in all areas of
planning
Thanks to Debbie Covitz, Sue's mom, creator of all our excellent signage.
Thanks to Henry Grossman, Dana Flynn, and Amelia Nicholas's big brother Gabe
for running the hugely popular capture-the-flag game. Thanks twice to Dana
Flynn for setting up and overseeing the use of the technical equipment; the
police and overall coordination of heavy lifting during set-up time. Thanks
to Lee Guertin and her staff at CASP for sharing space with us and being
supportive of the event. Thanks to Dana Bennett for the use of some of her
PE equipment and Suzanne Cuccurullo for overseeing Cabot goods sales.
Thanks to Lauri Meizler for managing the clean up crew and Lisa Porter for
getting the donations to The Second Step. Thanks also to Daphne Potter who
cornered the ice cream seller who showed up & got him to contribute $$ to
our fundraising coffers!
Thanks to all the bakers, the cooler loaners, the set-up people, the ticket
and Cabot Goods sellers, the servers, the paper goods donators, the clean-up
people, all those who enjoyed the hip hop dancing, and everyone who pitched
in on the spot when we needed help. It was tremendous to have so many
willing volunteers this year. Thank you to one and all who came and had a
good time and to anyone I may have inadvertently forgotten.
Last but not least, thanks to my co-chairs, Rose Coppola-Flynn and Joy
Phinney, who worked incredibly hard to make this day successful.
Anti-Bullying Workshop for Parents
Project INTERFACE presents an Anti-Bullying Workshop for Parents October 5th
from 7pm- 8:30pm at Bowen School, 280 Cypress Street, Newton Centre. This is
a free program open to parents at all schools. The workshop will provide
practical tips & tactics for standing up to bullying behavior as a victim or
bystander, enable parents to understand the active role that they must take
in making their children's environment safe & secure, role playing actual
case scenarios, review methods for incorporating this learning into ongoing
family discussions & practice parent-child conversations. Suzanne Gilfix &
Dave Shannon, Diverse Solutions Consulting, are the creators of "The
Anti-Bullying Solution (TABS)", a program designed around a whole-school
approach to preventing bullying behavior.
THE School store IS OPEN!
Great news - the Cabot School Store will now be open every Tuesday morning
from 8:10am - 8:30am beginning on September 26, 2006. Stop by and stock up
on school supplies. Proceeds benefit 5th Grade Activities.
Register your email to receive PTO emails
Our webmaster Mie-Yun Lee has been hard at work updating our website & email
distribution system. If you are a new family to Cabot & need to register, or
if your email changes or you want to add another email to our distribution
system, please go to
http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org. You will
be guided through the steps & will receive a confirmation email to indicate
you have been successfully added to the Cabot PTO email distribution list.
In the event you have any questions please contact our webmaster, Mie-Yun
Lee at mylcabot at gmail.com
On-Line Shoppers & BoxTops for Kids
Not only are we collecting BOXTOPS from many items you may have in your
house right now, you can also support the Cabot School PTO when you shop
online at the BoxTops for Education Marketplace! Just go to the Cabot PTO
website, click on a store name and start shopping. Cabot PTO will receive a
portion of every sale, and you pay exactly what you would have if you had
gone to the site directly. Thanks - and don't forget to drop off all your
paper BOXTOPS in the collection box located in the main lobby.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
You received this message because you opted in to receive Cabot Community
emails. To subscribe, update your email address, or unsubscribe, go to:
http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org
Cabot School PTO - 229 Cabot Street - Newtonville, Massachusetts 02460
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Fri Sep 29 14:23:41 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 14:23:41 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Extra Cabot School Information - Friday,
September 29th
Message-ID: <005601c6e3f4$64780370$666fa8c0@Jo>
Coffee Pond Family Picture Day
Do you like having a family photograph? Have you ever had a family
photograph taken at a photographers studio?
Appointments are still available for Family Picture Day. If you are
interested ACT NOW as we share the 3 days offered in October with 7 other
schools. For further information contact our parent volunteer coordinator,
Sharon Dwyer at 617 641 2342 or jsordwyer at rcn.com
. This
fundraising event, introduced at Cabot this year, will benefit the outdoor
Cabot Community Park which all students at Cabot will use for recreational &
educational purposes when it opens later this school year. Help support this
initiative & worthy cause!
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR THE STUDENT PHOTO DAY, FRIDAY OCTOBER 6TH
Friday October 6th is the day Cabot students get their individual & class
pictures taken. This is a feat of co-ordination transferring students in &
out of the building to the photographer. To ensure this runs smoothly we
need 2 volunteers to cover the time period from 8:45am to 11:45am. Please
consider giving of your time to cover either the complete time period or
part of it. Please contact your PTO Presidents, Jo Doherty 617 332 1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net or Mary Kathryn Fallon 617 244 1821
marykathf at aol.com The rain date for this event is Friday, October 13th.
Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education Meetings
Please be aware of these upcoming meetings:
Thursday, October 5th Newton Programs and Services for Students with
Special Needs by Margie Daniels, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil
Services. Meeting is in Room 210
Thursday, November 2nd "Making Peace with Autism"
Susan Senator, author and parent of a son with autism, will speak on her
family's experiences and on her book, "Making Peace with Autism; One
Family's Story of Struggle, Discovery and Unexpected Gifts". Margaret L.
Bauman, Pediatric Neurologist, Mass General Hospital says "I LOVE THIS
BOOK!! This is a book that every parent and professional working with
autistic children should own, read and reread. These children have such
enormous potential in their own way. It is so refreshing to know that
someone else sees it too."
Sue will discuss her experiences, her book and her ongoing work to build the
best life possible for her son. She says on her website, "Throw away
expectation and you may be pleasantly surprised." You can buy signed books
at the meeting or order on Amazon. Sue is a Brookline resident and her
website is www.susansenator.com . Meeting is
in Room 318.
All meetings are at 7:30 PM at the Education Center, 100 Walnut St, Newton
02460. Please contact Leslie Lockhart if you need additional information:
617-527-5046 or newtonspedpac at yahoo.com
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From marykathf at aol.com Tue Oct 3 14:12:26 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2006 14:12:26 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Jabberlite Oct 3 2006
In-Reply-To: <8C8B52E09996DA3-614-57CC@FWM-D14.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8B517528AD095-614-4DC7@FWM-D14.sysops.aol.com>
<8C8B5289D6075E1-9B0-6DB@WEBMAIL-DC20.sysops.aol.com>
<8C8B52C24104947-614-5725@FWM-D14.sysops.aol.com>
<8C8B52E09996DA3-614-57CC@FWM-D14.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8B52E9DF7E461-614-581D@FWM-D14.sysops.aol.com>
JABBERLITE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2006
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at www.cabotpto.org
October 2, 2006Yom Kippur, NO SCHOOL
October 5, 2006Anti Bullying Workshop 7pm- 8:30pm, Bowen School
October 5, 2006Newton Programs & Services for Students with Special Needs 7:30 PM Newton Education Center,
October 6, 2006Cabot School Student Pictures (rain date 10/13)
October 9, 2006Columbus Day, NO SCHOOL
October 10, 2006PTO Coffee for all Grades & Meeting, 8:40 AM
October 10, 2006PTO Gift Wrap Orders Due
October 10, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
October 11, 2006Grade 4 Bike Safety 8:45 AM (rain date 10/18)
October 13, 2006Rain date for Cabot School Student Pictures
October 14, 2006Coffee Pond Family Photo Day (rain date 10/15)
October 15, 2006Cabot Connecting Families Play date 2-4pm Larz Anderson Park, Brookline (rain date 10/22)
October 16, 2006School Council, 6-7:30 PM
October 19, 2006Parent to Parent Series, Grade K thru 5, Overview of Open Circle Curriculum. 8:35AM ? 9:30AM
October 19, 2006Early Release Day, 12:30 PM Dismissal
Back to school night
We hope you were able to join us last Tuesday evening at Back to School night. The faculty prepared presentations to inform you about their expectations and about the curriculum they will cover this year. Thank you to the teachers for all the effort they put into their presentations to keep us informed.
Dr. Quarcoo gave a presentation on the current issues facing our school including the space crunch and other influences that will affect our children?s education through-out elementary school and beyond. What can we do to help better our children?s education? Stay informed and be advocates for our children and our schools. Dr. Quarcoo also emphasized Cabot School?s Core Values; Life-Long Learning, Respect for Self and Others & Commitment to School and Community. These core values are used as broad statements of purpose that help our school focus its energies in areas of curriculum, programs and policies. They are belief statements about attitudes, skills and approaches to learning that we want to foster in our children and are intended to permeate and reflect every aspect of school, home and community life.
Cabot Political Issues Committee
Cabot Parent Meeting - "The Space Crunch at Cabot"
Friday, Oct. 13th, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
At Isabelle Thacker's Home
19 Salisbury Road (from Cabot School, go left on Cabot St., then left on Salisbury to #19)
617 795 2332
What is going to happen next year? When we're asked "What does Cabot want?" what will we say?
-- Can we install a modular (temporary) classroom somewhere at Cabot?
-- Do we want an entire grade to be relocated to another school building?
-- Should we combine our art room and our music room?
-- Do we think redistricting can solve the problem?
-- Do we want to preserve small class size?
The School Committee is currently examining elementary enrollment and the use of space city-wide. They will vote on a plan to relieve overcrowding on December 11th. They want to hear from parents at a forum on October 30th. What will we say? Which options are feasible? desirable?
Please come to a Cabot parent meeting on Oct.13th for an opportunity to:
-- learn about the overcrowding at Cabot and other schools
-- discuss what changes might be in store for next year
-- gauge parent opinion about various options
-- gather suggestions for our principal, superintendent and School Committee
Join us on the 13th, if you can, and stayed tuned for more information as it becomes available. Go to the next School Committee meeting (or watch it on NewTV) -- check www.newtonpublicschools.com for agenda and related reports.
If you cannot attend on the 13th, but would be interested in an evening meeting for Cabot parents, please let us know.
Prepared by - Sarah Ecker sarahecker at comcast.net, Sue Covitz suecovitz at rcn.com and Isabelle Thacker isabelle at thackers.net - Cabot PTO Political Issues Committee
Cabot Connecting Families
Please join Cabot Connecting Families at co-chair Mary Heney?s house on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. to help plan our first social event of the year, a ?play date? at Larz Andersen Park. CCF is a great way for Newton and Boston families to get together and to get to know each other. Please RSVP to Mary Heney (mheney at rcn.com) (617) 323-9336 or Sara Goldberg (salgoldberg at comcast.net) (617) 527-0095.
Parent Volunteers Needed for Reading Partners Program
Would you like to help in a primary classroom? Cabot School is recruiting volunteers to help support readers in the first and second grades as they develop and strengthen literacy skills. If we have enough support, we will extend the program to the third grade classrooms also. No prior teaching or tutoring experience is required.
The Reading Partners Program will begin its fourth year in December 2006. We are asking for a commitment of two days per week for 45 minutes each day. The time slots vary but are in the morning for grades one and two. Grade three time slots are not yet determined. Each time slot is during the literacy block in the individual classrooms. Volunteers pick which two days they would like to work.
Parent volunteers will work one-on-one with students, listening to them read. Cari Nelson, Literacy Specialist, will provide training on how to support readers. The training will teach parents how to prompt students to support the use of reading strategies. Cari will be available to coach and support parent volunteers throughout the program.
For more information, or to sign up, please contact Cari Nelson at Carolyn_Nelson at newton.k12.ma.us or Liz Haas at haas.joffe at rcn.com
CABOT DIRECTORY ? We are sending it off to Print Soon ? Make sure you get your copy and that your entry is correct!!
NEW FAMILIES: If you are a family new to Cabot this year, you should have received in your child?s backpack the entry that will appear in the Directory based on your registration information. Upon receipt, please check your entry & send the form back ONLY IF THERE ARE CHANGES, by October 4, 2006. You may return the form either in your child?s backpack or put them in the PTO Mailbox in the office. We hope to have the Directories back from the printers ready for distribution in mid-October.
ALL FAMILIES: Thank you to everyone who has returned your Dues and Volunteer Form. This form is the only way we know you would like to receive a directory. Please double check to ensure that you have returned the form if you would like a directory as we order only a certain amount from the printer. Can?t find the form? Don?t worry, you can get a copy online at www.cabotpto.orgJabberwock/News Welcome Packet - Dues & Volunteer Form (Word doc) If you have not yet turned in your form, please return it by October 4, 2006.
Also, like last year we are selling advertising space in the Directory to local businesses. As a Cabot parent if you have a business that you would like to advertise in our Directory contact Rick Reilly, our parent volunteer Advertising Manager - rmreilly at rcn.com 617-332-3006. Be aware that copies of the Directory are ONLY distributed to Cabot families.
Anti-Bullying Workshop for Parents
Project INTERFACE presents an Anti-Bullying Workshop for Parents October 5th from 7pm- 8:30pm at Bowen School, 280 Cypress Street, Newton Centre. This is a free program open to parents at all schools. The workshop will provide practical tips & tactics for standing up to bullying behavior as a victim or bystander, enable parents to understand the active role that they must take in making their children?s environment safe & secure, role playing actual case scenarios, review methods for incorporating this learning into ongoing family discussions & practice parent-child conversations. Suzanne Gilfix & Dave Shannon, Diverse Solutions Consulting, are the creators of ?The Anti-Bullying Solution (TABS)?, a program designed around a whole-school approach to preventing bullying behavior.
Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education Meetings
Please be aware of these upcoming meetings:
Thursday, October 5th - Newton Programs and Services for Students with Special Needs by Margie Daniels, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services. Meeting is in Room 210
Thursday, November 2nd - ?Making Peace with Autism? Susan Senator, author and parent of a son with autism, will speak on her family?s experiences and on her book, ?Making Peace with Autism; One Family?s Story of Struggle, Discovery and Unexpected Gifts?. Margaret L. Bauman, Pediatric Neurologist, Mass General Hospital says ?I LOVE THIS BOOK!! This is a book that every parent and professional working with autistic children should own, read and reread? These children have such enormous potential in their own way. It is so refreshing to know that someone else sees it too.?
Sue will discuss her experiences, her book and her ongoing work to build the best life possible for her son. She says on her website, ?Throw away expectation and you may be pleasantly surprised.? You can buy signed books at the meeting or order on Amazon. Sue is a Brookline resident and her website is www.susansenator.com. Meeting is in Room 318.
All meetings are at 7:30 PM at the Education Center, 100 Walnut St, Newton 02460. Please contact Leslie Lockhart if you need additional information: 617-527-5046 or newtonspedpac at yahoo.com
Cabot Student Picture Day - This Friday - October 6th!
You should have received an order form with instructions on how to order school pictures. For those of you new to school, Coffee Pond takes an individual student photo & a class photo. If you would like to place an order, the order form must be filled out completely & sent into school on or before picture day. Any orders placed after picture day will require a $5 late fee to be processed. Extra order forms should be available from the office.
Coffee Pond Family Picture Day
Time is running out to sign up for Family Picture Day. If you want a high quality family picture which will be ready in time for the holiday season, ACT NOW! For further information contact our parent volunteer coordinator, Sharon Dwyer at 617 641 2342 or jsordwyer at rcn.com. Cabot School will receive the sitting fees charged by Coffee Pond as part of this fundraiser. All proceeds received will benefit the outdoor Cabot Community Park to be used for recreational & educational purposes. Help support this initiative & worthy cause!
GIFT WRAP FUNDRAISER
Time is running out for the Gift Wrap Fundraiser so get busy peddling gift wrap to neighbors and co-workers. Every year the Gift Wrap Fundraiser is one of the biggest money makers for the PTO. Questions, please contact Kate Johnson at kate at textreviews.com. ALSO, don't forget to include out-of-town friends and family by going to SallyFoster.com and giving them the e-mails of all your favorite out-of-towners. In addition to raising important funds for Cabot School, the more gift wrap you sell, the more prizes your children can win.
LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS
Thank you to all of you who have agreed to volunteer in the Cabot Library. We are still looking for volunteers to come in and help with the following classes:
Mr. Adams
Mrs. Forseter
Mrs. Mann
Mr. Springer
Interested, contact Kate Johnson at kate at textreviews.com.
The School Store is Open
Great news ? the Cabot School Store will now be open every Tuesday morning from 8:10am ? 8:30am beginning on September 26, 2006. Stop by and stock up on school supplies. Proceeds benefit 5th Grade Activities.
Register your email to receive PTO emails
Our webmaster Mie-Yun Lee has been hard at work updating our website & email distribution system. If you are a new family to Cabot & need to register, or if your email changes or you want to add another email to our distribution system, please go to stinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org href="http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org" target=_blankhttp://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org. You will be guided through the steps & will receive a confirmation email to indicate you have been successfully added to the Cabot PTO email distribution list. In the event you have any questions please contact our webmaster, Mie-Yun Lee at mylcabot at gmail.com
PTO Meetings
The minutes of the first PTO meeting of the year are now posted online at www.cabotpto.org Take a few minutes to read up on what your PTO is doing to benefit your child?s experience at Cabot.
Don?t forget to join us at our next PTO meeting on Tuesday October 10 at 8:35am in the Library.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Co-President
10 Worth Circle,
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-1821
MaryKathF at aol.com
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From marykathf at aol.com Tue Oct 10 14:15:13 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:15:13 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Jabberlite
In-Reply-To: <8C8BAAE90C8081E-588-12C2@FWM-D03.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8BAAE90C8081E-588-12C2@FWM-D03.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8BAAF2A2F9606-588-1305@FWM-D03.sysops.aol.com>
JABBERLITE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2006
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at www.cabotpto.org
October 10, 2006PTO Coffee for all Grades & Meeting, 8:40 AM
October 10, 2006PTO Gift Wrap Orders Due
October 10, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
October 11, 2006Grade 4 Bike Safety 8:45 AM (rain date 10/18)
October 14, 2006Coffee Pond Family Photo Day (rain date 10/15)
October 15, 2006Cabot Connecting Families Play date 2-4pm Larz Anderson Park, Brookline (rain date 10/22)
October 16, 2006School Council, 6-7:30 PM
October 19, 2006Parent to Parent Series, Grade K thru 5, Overview of Open Circle Curriculum. 8:35AM ? 9:30AM
October 19, 2006Early Release Day, 12:30 PM Dismissal
October 21, 2006Coffee Pond Family Photo Day (rain date 10/22)
October 23, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
October 25, 2006PTO Papa Gino's Fundraiser
October 26, 2006CA&S Program K-5 Semenva McCord - Journey into Jazz, 1-3PM
October 28, 2006Coffee Pond Family Photo Day (rain date 10/29)
October 31, 2006Wellness Day
October 31, 2006Halloween UNICEF Collection
THE JABBERWOCK RETURNS
We are thrilled to announce that the E-Jabberwock is coming back. Yes, Cabot?s wonderful and informative newsletter will be back next week! Many thanks go to our parent volunteers who have agreed to be the editors, Liz Lehrer, Kim Spencer and Ann Duvall. Here?s what you need to know:
The E-Jabberwock will be published the 3rd Tuesday of every month.
The E-Jabberwock will contain clipart and certain graphics and it will come direct in an email, without the reader having to open a separate document. It will also be posted on the Cabot PTO website where you will be able to print it with all the bells and whistles, (for those individuals without that capability in the email format).
There will not be classifieds or community news for the first few months until we get the Jabberwock up and running.
You will still receive an E-Jabberlite every Tuesday, except the 3rd Tuesday of the month when you receive the Jabberwock, which will revert to its original ?lite? form, just listing calendar dates and important information for the week ahead.
We are excited to bring the Jabberwock back to Cabot. We know how much this facilitates knowledge and involvement in our community. We anticipate that this newsletter will truly represent Cabot as an active, dedicated and dynamic school. Finally, our extreme gratitude goes to Melinda Roman, our former Jabberwock Editor, for her many years of dedicated service.
Cabot Political Issues Committee
Cabot Parent Meeting - "The Space Crunch at Cabot"
Friday, Oct. 13th, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
At Isabelle Thacker's Home
19 Salisbury Road (from Cabot School, go left on Cabot St., then left on Salisbury to #19)
617 795 2332
What is going to happen next year? When we're asked "What does Cabot want?" what will we say?
-- Can we install a modular (temporary) classroom somewhere at Cabot?
-- Do we want an entire grade to be relocated to another school building?
-- Should we combine our art room and our music room?
-- Do we think redistricting can solve the problem?
-- Do we want to preserve small class size?
The School Committee is currently examining elementary enrollment and the use of space city-wide. They will vote on a plan to relieve overcrowding on December 11th. They want to hear from parents at a forum on October 30th. What will we say? Which options are feasible? desirable?
Please come to a Cabot parent meeting on Oct.13th for an opportunity to:
-- learn about the overcrowding at Cabot and other schools
-- discuss what changes might be in store for next year
-- gauge parent opinion about various options
-- gather suggestions for our principal, superintendent and School Committee
Join us on the 13th, if you can, and stayed tuned for more information as it becomes available. Go to the next School Committee meeting (or watch it on NewTV) -- check www.newtonpublicschools.com for agenda and related reports.
If you cannot attend on the 13th, but would be interested in an evening meeting for Cabot parents, please let us know.
Prepared by - Sarah Ecker sarahecker at comcast.net, Sue Covitz suecovitz at rcn.com and Isabelle Thacker isabelle at thackers.net - Cabot PTO Political Issues Committee
PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL CABOT CONNECTING FAMILIES PLAYDATE!
This coming Sunday, October 15, we'll meet at the Larz Anderson Park playground in Brookline, at 2:00 PM and will play and converse until 4:00 PM. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, any type of outdoor toy or game your child enjoys (a football to toss, bubbles to blow), and some type of snack to share. Look for the blue and white balloons to identify where Cabot families are gathering. Keep an eye out for flyers around Cabot and in your child's backpack this week, for more information.
CABOT DIRECTORY ? We are sending it off to Print Soon ? Make sure you get your copy and that your entry is correct!!
NEW FAMILIES: If you are a family new to Cabot this year, you should have received in your child?s backpack the entry that will appear in the Directory based on your registration information. Upon receipt, please check your entry & send the form back ONLY IF THERE ARE CHANGES, as soon as possible. You may return the form either in your child?s backpack or put them in the PTO Mailbox in the office.
ALL FAMILIES: Thank you to everyone who has returned your Dues and Volunteer Form. This form is the only way we know you would like to receive a directory. Please double check to ensure that you have returned the form if you would like a directory as we order only a certain amount from the printer. Can?t find the form? Don?t worry; you can get a copy online at http://www.cabotpto.org under Jabberwock/News Welcome Packet - Dues & Volunteer Form (Word doc)
Also, like last year we are selling advertising space in the Directory to local businesses. As a Cabot parent if you have a business that you would like to advertise in our Directory contact Rick Reilly, our parent volunteer Advertising Manager - rmreilly at rcn.com 617-332-3006. Be aware that copies of the Directory are ONLY distributed to Cabot families.
SCHOOL BUS PROCEDURES & SAFETY
The after-school buses and van transportation has been running very smoothly. On Thursday, October 12, we will have our first bus evacuation drill. Teachers will discuss bus safety with your children prior to the drill. We would appreciate your reinforcing bus safety, i.e., remain seated with feet on the floor, buckle up those seat belts, speak quietly so as not to disturb the driver. Or just ask your child what new safety tips (s)he learned during the drill.
As in the past, an important aspect of Cabot's Building Aide position is to ensure that your child safely boards the bus or van. This year Betsy Nurczynski is job sharing with Alice Cunningham, a Cabot parent and active volunteer. Margaret Hannah is still with Cabot in the capacity of ISS, Instructional Support Staff, and will spend her time in the classroom. Each morning one of us greets the children arriving by the Newton bus and in the afternoon attendance for the Newton bus and vans is taken prior to departure. The Boston bus children are supervised by a staff member prior to the beginning of school, and our teachers rotate bus duty and check in the kids prior to departure in the afternoon. If your child's schedule changes for one day or more, please send in a note which is the best way to communicate those changes to us.
If you have any questions, please give one of us a call at 617-559-9400.
Betsy Nurczynski and Alice Cunningham, Cabot Building Aides
Coffee Pond Family Picture Day
We keep saying it because it is true - time is running out to sign up for Family Picture Day. If you want a high quality family picture which will be ready in time for the holiday season, ACT NOW! For further information contact our parent volunteer coordinator, Sharon Dwyer at 617 641 2342 or jsordwyer at rcn.com. Cabot School will receive the sitting fees charged by Coffee Pond as part of this fundraiser. All proceeds received will benefit the outdoor Cabot Community Park to be used for recreational & educational purposes. Help support this initiative & worthy cause!
GIFT WRAP FUNDRAISER-Deadline extended to October 20th
Did you notice our own Kate Johnson wrapped up to promote the Gift Wrap Fundraiser this morning? If you haven?t had a chance to send in your order, you?ll be glad to know that the Gift Wrap Fundraiser has been extended to October 20th, so get busy peddling gift wrap to neighbors and co-workers. Check out the catalog, Sally Foster has some fun and fancy gift wrap along with many other items, (arts & crafts, candy, candles and much more). Every year the Gift Wrap Fundraiser is one of the biggest money makers for the PTO. Don't forget to include out-of-town friends and family by going to SallyFoster.com and giving them the e-mails of your favorite out-of-towners. In addition to raising important funds for Cabot School, the more gift wrap you sell, the more prizes your children can win. Questions, please contact Kate Johnson at kate at textreviews.com.
LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS
Thank you to all of you who have agreed to volunteer in the Cabot Library. We are still looking for volunteers to come in and help with the following classes:
Mr. Adams ? every other Monday at 1:45 PM
Mrs. Forseter ? Thursdays at 10:30 AM
Mrs. Mann ? Wednesdays at 9:45 AM
Interested, contact Kate Johnson at kate at textreviews.com.
Lost & Found
Where did that sweatshirt go? What about that new lunchbox? Check out the Lost & Found bin in the main lobby. We will be emptying this bin at the end of every month ? so please take a look. All items not claimed at the end of each month will be donated to The Second Step. Many thanks to Eileen Morrison for coordinating this monthly donation.
Register your email to receive PTO emails
Our webmaster Mie-Yun Lee has been hard at work updating our website & email distribution system. If you are a new family to Cabot & need to register, or if your email changes or you want to add another email to our distribution system, please go to
http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org
You will be guided through the steps & will receive a confirmation email to indicate you have been successfully added to the Cabot PTO email distribution list. In the event you have any questions please contact our webmaster, Mie-Yun Lee at mylcabot at gmail.com
PTO Meetings
We hope you were able to join us at our second PTO meeting this morning. The minutes of this meeting will be posted online at www.cabotpto.org soon. Take a few minutes to read up on what your PTO is doing to benefit your child?s experience at Cabot. Don?t forget to join us at our next PTO meeting on Tuesday November 7, 2006 at 8:35AM in the Library.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Co-President
10 Worth Circle,
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-1821
MaryKathF at aol.com
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Wed Oct 11 10:57:21 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 10:57:21 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] CABOT SCHOOL INFORMATION
Message-ID: <003401c6ed45$8e63a860$666fa8c0@Jo>
The PTO has been asked to send out this information:
Your Child's Emergency Contact Form and Student Conduct Agreement
The blue Safety and Security Procedures and Playground
Guidelines booklet you received several weeks ago contain important
information regarding safety and security at Cabot.
Please note that the last two pages need to be completed and returned to the
school immediately. If you require additional forms, please stop by the
office. Thanks!
Betsy Nurczynski
Cabot School Office
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From marykathf at aol.com Wed Oct 11 14:21:51 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 14:21:51 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] School Notes Newsletter from Newton PTO Council
In-Reply-To: <003301c6ebf3$34a75680$666fa8c0@Jo>
Message-ID: <8C8BB7941CFB47E-834-300@FWM-M36.sysops.aol.com>
Dear Cabot Community,
This message was forwarded to us by the Newton PTO Council for your information. This is a City wide organization that is launching its own newsletter, called "School Notes" to be distributed approximately every other week.
Please read on for more information.
Thanks!
The Cabot PTO
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Parents,
We are writing to you as co-presidents of the Newton PTO Council (an umbrella organization that brings together all the individual school PTOs in Newton), to bring your attention to our recently launched email newsletter, ?School Notes from the PTO Council,? which follows. The newsletter was established as a way to reach the Newton parent body at large. Although each school has various PTO communication tools such as newsletters and email lists, their 21+ different schedules, deadlines, and editorial policies make it difficult to distribute information to the whole parent body effectively, since parents at different schools receive different information at different times ? or sometimes not at all. The list was established to address this gap.
?School Notes? will be issued approximately once every two weeks. It will include summaries of school committee meetings; information from the school system (such as the notice in this issue about the change in the school system?s email addresses and website); and programs and events about education or parenting that are open to a citywide audience. We hope eventually to be able to include information such as questions and answers with NPS administrators or school committee members, or other information that parents request. The list will not carry political endorsements, commercial advertisements, or opinion, although it will be open to announcements about political events, such as invitations to join lobbying efforts, petitions or campaigns that are closely related to education.
If you are interested in receiving this newsletter in the future, please visit www.newtonptocouncil.org, where there is an opportunity to enter your email address and click "Join." Alternately, you can read the newsletter online, since every issue will be posted in the "Email Archive." Finally, every issue of the newsletter will contain a link to "Unsubscribe." All addresses will be kept confidential and used only for the purposes of this list. For more information about this list or about the PTO Council, please see the links at the top of the newsletter.
Thank you,
Lisa Mirabile Sue Flicop
617-332-5374 617-232-2310
lisa at birchile.com suef at aol.com
Co-presidents, Newton PTO Council
www.newtonptocouncil.org
SCHOOL NOTES
from the Newton PTO Council
The content of "School Notes" emails is intended to complement the information you receive from your individual school's PTO newsletter or email notes, but there will be occasional overlaps.
[about this email list] [about the Newton PTO Council]
October 8, 2006
IN THIS ISSUE
Coming up soon
October 12 ? Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair on ?Counteracting the negative influences of our popular culture on girls?
October 22? Jordan Bennett Weiss Three on Three Basketball Tournament
October 30 ? School Committee interactive forum on Short Term Space Needs
November 2 ? Making Peace with Autism
News & Notes
Newton Public Schools Website, email addresses to change
Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAP) Seeking Volunteers
School Committee Update
NewTV schedule
COMING UP SOON
Thursday October 12 at 7:30 P.M.
Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair
Counteracting the Negative Influences of Popular Culture on our Children
Join us for a PTO Speaker Forum on Thursday October 12 at 7:30 P.M. in the Mason-Rice Auditorium. Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair is a clinical psychologist, school consultant, author and teacher whose areas of expertise include the healthy development of girls and boys and the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. This internationally known expert will give parents specific strategies to counteract the negative influences of our popular culture on children, particularly the intense pressure to be thin, and the message that what we look like is more important than who we are.
This program is jointly sponsored by Angier, Mason-Rice, Peirce, and Zervas PTOs.
For more information, contact Carol Gray at 617-969-9309.
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Come play in the First Annual
Jordan Bennett Weiss Three on Three Basketball Tournament!
The tournament will be held on Sunday, October 22nd from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the John M. Barry Boys and Girls Club of Newton. The Jordan Bennett Weiss Fund is committed to increasing public awareness of the prevalence and warning signs of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For more information, to register for this event, or to make a contribution, please go to www.newtonasc.org. Thanks to our friends at Newton Athletes Serving the Community for allowing us to use their web site to publicize this event.
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October 30, 2006
School Committee interactive forum concerning short-term space needs
Oak Hill Middle School Library, 7:30 pm
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The Newton Parents Advisory Council (PAC) for Special Education presents:
Making Peace with Autism
Thursday, November 2 at 7:30pm
Education Center, Room 318
Susan Senator, author and parent of a son with autism, will speak on her family?s experiences and on her book, Making Peace with Autism: One Family?s Story of Struggle, Discovery and Unexpected Gifts. Margaret L. Bauman, Pediatric Neurologist, Mass General Hospital says ?I LOVE THIS BOOK!! This is a book that every parent and professional working with autistic children should own, read and reread? These children have such enormous potential in their own way. It is so refreshing to know that someone else sees it too.?
Sue will discuss her experiences, her book and her ongoing work to build the best life possible for her son. She says on her website, ?Throw away expectation and you may be pleasantly surprised.? You can buy signed books at the meeting or order on Amazon. Sue is a Brookline resident and her website is www.susansenator.com.
Please contact Leslie Lockhart if you need additional information: 617-527-5046 or newtonspedpac at yahoo.com.
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NEWS & NOTES
Newton Public Schools Email Addresses Will Change
Newton Public Schools are changing all staff email addresses from newton.mec.edu to newton.k12.ma.us effective immediately. Please note that usernames have not changed format (firstname_lastname). Although emails sent to the old mec domain (newton.mec.edu) will be routed automatically for the next two months, we are encouraging you to start using the new address. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Technology Department at 617-559-6190.
School Department and School Committee Join in Single Website
The Newton School Committee will be linked to the new and improved Newton Public School website beginning October 15, 2006. The School Committee?s decision was based on findings from a web use survey conducted during the last school year. Respondents to the survey indicated an interest in a single site with easier navigation and more timely information. The School Department and School Committee websites will merge on October 15, 2006 under the new address www.newton.k12.ma.us.
The School Department will manage information about individual schools, central administration, curriculum & instruction, pupil services, human resources, transportation, food service, emergencies and snow days. The School Committee site will focus on the School Committee including its purpose, membership, subcommittees, meeting information, key topics or action items, budget, policies, and the document archive.
The new site will provide reports and other materials to be discussed on the day of School Committee meetings, post summaries of recent meetings, and introduce relevant information about School Committee matters. The School Committee is committed to maintaining the important archives that were carefully posted and preserved on www.newtonpublicschools.com. Transitioning the document archive to the new site is expected to take several months. Archived documents that are not yet available on the new website can be obtained upon request from the School Committee secretary.
At the present time, there is no plan to post community events anywhere on the www.newton.k12.ma.us site. Both the School Committee and the School Department will consider posting these events after the initial phase-in of the district site.
The School Committee hopes that our users will find this new, improved website the authoritative source for School Committee information. We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge and thank former School Committee member Andris Vizulis for his six years of service as webmaster of www.newtonpublicschools.com. School Committee member Reenie Murphy will be assuming responsibility for keeping the School Committee link on the Newton Public Schools website current.
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Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAP) Seeking Volunteers
Each year CAP volunteer Prevention Specialists present 125 workshops to students in Newton?s elementary schools in grades K, 2 and 5. The CAP Prevention Specialists work in three-person teams to deliver the CAP curriculum during school hours.
The curriculum teaches children simple strategies to reduce vulnerability to assault and violence by presenting basic, age-appropriate, skill-oriented workshops that focus on bullying, stranger safety and assault by known persons. The curriculum consists of discussion and role-plays for each of the topics. It ends with Review Time when the children have the opportunity to talk 1:1 with a Prevention Specialist.
Skills:
Lead classroom discussions with children 5-11 and respond to their questions and comments
Participate in simple, short, scripted role-plays
Listen non-judgmentally to children in Review Time and support their problem solving skills
Work as part of a team under the direction of the designated team leader and the Director of the CAP program, giving and receiving feedback
Time Commitment:
Attend all 7 sessions of the training, 21-24 hours over 4 weeks
One school year, October ? May, presenting three 2-hour classroom workshops each month, based on school schedule and your availability
The next training will begin in mid-October, 2006.
For more information, call Gail Sommer at 617-969-5905, ext. 143, or email gsommer at ncscweb.org
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE UPDATE
Upcoming Docket
NEWTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
DOCKET FOR REGULAR MEETING ? OCTOBER 10, 2006
EDUCATION CENTER, FRAZIER ROOM (Room 210), 7:30 P.M.
School Committee meetings are aired live on NewTV on the second and fourth Mondays of the month (Tuesdays in case of holidays), and they are rebroadcast throughout the week, M-F, 8am; Tu-F, midnight; Sat & Sun, 7:30pm. See more NewTV information below.
Open Session ? 5:30 p.m. A motion to convene in executive session for the purpose of discussing matters related to collective bargaining will be entertained. If passed, the executive session will end by 7:30 p.m., at which time the Committee will return to open session.
Call to Order
Public Comment
Student Representatives? Discussion
Recognitions
Approval of School Committee Meeting Minutes
Reports
1. High School Building Project Update
2. Operations Status Report
3. Superintendent?s Personnel Report
4. Staffing Reconciliation Report
5. FY07 Budget Update
6. Special Education Update
Discussion Items
Appointment of Budget Guidelines Subcommittee and Initial Discussion of FY08 Budget Guidelines
Continued Discussion re: Short-Term Space Needs ? Enrollment Update
Discussion of MASC/MASS Conference Resolutions
Action Items
Vote to Approve Grant
Vote to Accept Donation
Communications
Public Comment
Adjournment
Action-in-Brief: 9/25/06 School Committee Meeting
The Committee reviewed the first standard monthly Superintendent?s Personnel Report, which showed all the activity that has occurred over the summer. It was noted that there are 120 new Unit A members and 56 staff attained professional teaching status.
Carolyn Wyatt, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, and Jonathan Bassett, History & Social Sciences Department Head at Newton North High School, presented this topic. In the summer of 2005, a group of teachers and department heads from both high schools received a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education to design a district-based teacher licensure program ? the Newton Teacher Training Institute (NTTI). NTTI was approved by the State to grant initial teaching licenses in history, English, math, and three sciences (biology, chemistry, physics). Candidates will spend a year at the school site learning to teach under the guidance of experienced Newton teachers, who will be employed by NTTI as instructors of Methods of Teaching courses. It is anticipated that NTTI will improve performance of student teachers in Newton?s classroom, recruit a high quality and diverse teaching staff for the high schools, and retain the most talented and energetic teachers who can advance themselves by teaching in the program. Newton is the first community outside of underserved urban areas to be accredited by the State to offer this kind of program. It is hoped that if this model is successful it can be expanded to other grade levels.
The Committee heard an update from Reenie Murphy around the status of the new School Committee website. The website subcommittee has been working with the Information Technology staff in designing the site, which will be a link on the Newton Public Schools site and no longer a separate entity. It was noted that this was an opportune time for change as the Newton Public Schools? URL will change as of January 2007 from www.newtonpublicschools.com to a single address for both sites - www.newton.k12.ma.us. They plan to contract short-term services to assist the district in designing a template for uniformity and formatting for all users. A target date of 10/15 has been set for this transition, but the old site will be accessible through the end of the year. They will also need to develop a process to upload the archived documents that exist on the old site realizing that this may take months to transition every document to the new site. Documents will be accessible during this time on CD.
The Committee continued its discussion on elementary short-term space planning, which is geared specifically to address classroom space needs at this level for September, 2007. They reviewed and discussed the database of inventory of space at all 15 elementary schools, which was presented by Michael Cronin, Chief of Operations, and Sandra Guryan, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning. At the next meeting they will be reviewing actual October 1 enrollments and seeing how those numbers impact the space in each building.
The Committee approved their calendar/docket items for the year, including most of the recommendations for additions that were requested by members at the last meeting. It was noted that this calendar is subject to changes throughout the year as the Committee and/or Superintendent deem necessary.
School Committee meetings are aired live on NewTV, and rebroadcast throughout the week, M-F, 8am; Tu-F, midnight; Sat & Sun, 7:30pm. See more NewTV information below.
Action-in-Brief: 9-11-06 School Committee Meeting
The Committee welcomed everyone back after the summer, explained how the schools had handled 9/11, including a statement read at some schools at the time of the Pledge of Allegiance, and observed a moment of silence for the 9/11 tragedy five years earlier.
The Committee reviewed the standard monthly reports:
Operations Status Report -included summer projects that were completed in the buildings -- the installation of the lift at Mason-Rice Elementary School, windows at Peirce Elementary School, phase one of the bathroom renovation plans, and the usual painting, carpeting, tiling, etc.
High School Building Projects Update - Work was done over the summer on some of the punch list items at Newton South. The Committee requested a report from the Building Commissioner on the timeline of completion of the rest of the projects they had hoped to accomplish over the summer. The City?s Law Dept. continues to work on the outstanding issues relating to the contractor. Discussion was had about the commissioning of the building and the fact that the position to handle troubleshooting the HVAC system is still not in place. The Board of Aldermen approved the site plan (5A) for Newton North High School. The architects have had numerous summer meetings with staff refining the spaces, programmatic needs, adjacencies, etc. and will continue this work through the fall. It is expected to have completed plans by the end of October. Preliminary geotechnical testing performed on the site found no issues in terms of constructability. Two grants were submitted to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to research the feasibility of renewable energy for the project. Committee members emphasized the need to continue to vocally support this project and asked members of the community to do the same. The Mayor noted that a successful effort to hold a referendum could mean the loss of $50 million in state funding, loss of a chance to borrow money at a low interest rate from the state to cover cost increases from the time a project was approved, no guaranty of future reimbursements, and loss of placement on the State list.
Final FY06 Budget Update ? The school department ended the year with a balance of $1,043. There was discussion about the huge increases in utility costs, particularly electricity. From FY05 to FY06 costs increased by $1.4 million while usage decreased. The staggering difference between electricity costs at North and South was noted showing the inefficiency of Newton North. They will continue their work on the energy efficiency projects that the consultants outlined after conducting their energy audits, but they are slightly behind schedule in this area due to a turnover of staff at the consulting company.
The Committee discussed their 2006-2007 proposed calendar and agenda items and made several recommendations for additions. It was agreed that the list would be reviewed at the next meeting prior to a vote on the calendar.
Discussion of the 2006/2007 Systemwide Goals was had and the Superintendent noted the Committee?s desire to move to more of a strategic planning process vs. the traditional voting of a set of annual goals. He has had several meetings with Dori Zaleznik and Claire Sokoloff, who are working with him on this project. They became interested in the work of Jim Collins, author of the business best seller Good to Great, and a subsequent monograph he published entitled Good to Great and the Social Sectors: Why Business Thinking is Not the Answer. He is recommending that they enter into a strategic planning process this year by designing a process that is balanced and inclusive and at the same time task-oriented. The end product must be attainable and not just an intellectual process. It should be connected to the four core challenges (education for the global age, organizational/workforce development, physical assets, and public engagement/communication). He recommends forming four working groups consisting of 12-15 participants from the staff and community, with one dedicated to each of the challenge areas and with a School Committee member serving on each. They should also retain a consultant/facilitator who is familiar with the Collins conceptual framework. The groups would be aided by trained facilitators, with the assumption in all areas that Newton Public Schools is already very good but wants to become even better and needs a road map and resources to reach that goal. A small steering committee is being suggested to select the members of the working groups and two-way communication between these groups themselves and the public will be important. Although this process would replace the annual setting of the Systemwide Goals, they plan to continue with numerous other projects and ongoing work connected to the goals.
Discussion was had about the Elementary Short-Term Space Planning, which is geared specifically to address classroom space needs at this level for September, 2007. Work has begun this summer to inventory space and create drawings for each school, as well as a collection of data on school enrollment, population changes, and housing turnover. A timeline was presented with specific topics on this subject for each upcoming School Committee meeting, with a plan to have the Committee take a vote on the space policy on December 11, 2006. Options to be addressed include purchase of modular classrooms, a number of short-term redistricting possibilities, moving some city-wide programs, use of the Carr School among others. An interactive forum around short-term space needs is planned for October 30 at Oak Hill. The Committee is also committed to hiring a consultant to conduct a long-term facilities study of the elementary and middle school facilities and a Request for Proposal (RFQ) is underway, with a consultant expected to be on board shortly after the new year.
The Committee voted to approve grants totaling $4,210,105 and voted to approved a $1,500 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund donation to the Oak Hill Middle School from Mr. & Mrs. John Norman, to be used for the purchase of additional materials that support the mission of raising the academic achievement of students and the purchase of additional software to enhance efforts in upgrading technology.
School Committee meetings are aired live on NewTV, and rebroadcast throughout the week, M-F, 8am; Tu-F, midnight; Sat & Sun, 7:30pm. See more NewTV information below.
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NewTV SCHEDULE
NewTV Red, The Government Channel (Comcast 9 / RCN 13)
Regularly Scheduled Programs
School Committee
meetings start at 7:30LIVE on 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month (Tuesdays in case of holidays)
Board of Aldermen
meetings start at 7:45 LIVE on 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month (Tuesdays in case of holidays)
Each week's meetings are then usually replayed:
Monday - Friday, at 8am
Tuesday - Friday, at Midnight
Saturday & Sunday, at 7:30pm
Newton News: Live, Wed's at 6pm; replayed daily at 6 am & 6 pm
Other programs of interest this week (see www.newtv.org/redprogramguide.html for times)
Health on the Hill: Childhood Obesity
Child and Family Today: Raising a Multi-Ethnic Family
At The Library: Children's Summer Reading Special
Coming of Age: Surviving Summer in Newton
NewTV Green, The Education Channel (Comcast 26 / RCN 3)
Regularly Scheduled Programs
Bigelow Network News 8:10 am, M-F
WORD / Day Middle School Morning Report 5:30 pm, M-F
Tiger Magazine / NNHS 7:00 pm, M-F
Education News Parents Can Use4:00 pm daily
Other programs of interest this week (see www.newtv.org/greenprogramguide.html for times)
Project INTERFACE: Who's Game is it Anyway?
Words that Cook: Windows and mirrors of literacy
For other program listings, visit NewTV online at: www.newTV.org. Please note that program listings are subject to change.
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Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
________________________________________________________________________
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Thu Oct 12 07:16:36 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 07:16:36 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot School Information
Message-ID: <005201c6edef$e2023540$666fa8c0@Jo>
Lecture for Parents - October 12th - Strategies to counteract the negative
influence of our popular culture on children..
We have just been advised of this free seminar to all parents to be held at
7:30 p.m. in the Mason - Rice Elementary School Auditorium.
Ms. Steiner-Adair will give parents specific strategies to counteract the
negative influence of our popular culture on children, particularly the
intense pressure to be thin and the message that what we look like is more
important than who we are. Dr. Steiner-Adair is a clinical psychologist,
school consultant, author and teacher whose areas of expertise include the
healthy development of girls and boys and the prevention and treatment of
eating disorders.
This lecture is free to the public and is sponsored by the PTOs of Angier,
Mason Rice, Peirce and Zervas.
EEEK! If it's October 31st it must be... WELLNESS DAY!!!
We are pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Cabot School Wellness Day, on
Tuesday, October 31. It's a wonderful way to expend some of that "special
day" energy, have a spooky amount of fun, and learn about some wellness
issues too. Activity/learning stations will be set up around Cabot Field
(weather permitting) and the kids and their buddies will all get a chance to
try everything. Some activities already planned are: a Dance Station,
Backpack Safety, Halloween Safety with Office Hough, Karate with Steve
Giroux from Giroux Martial Arts, Big Stomper Relay Race, and MORE.
We are looking for approximately 20 volunteers to help that morning. We are
also looking for any dentists/dental professionals, doctors, fitness folks
(e.g.Step aerobics, Pilates, dance professionals, nutrition experts, or
especially interested in wellness education). Even if you can't help on that
day, your input and ideas would be very valuable.
To help or ask any questions, please contact Daphne Potter,
dfpotter at rcn.com, 617-795-0540, Suzanne Sagan , suzanne.sagan at ssa.gov,
617-965-6417, or Dana Bennett, Wellness-guru extraordinaire and P.E.
teacher, Dana_Bennett at newton.k12.ma.us.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Thu Oct 12 18:35:11 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 18:35:11 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] List of Cabot School Faculty
Message-ID: <002e01c6ee4e$addf4c30$666fa8c0@Jo>
The PTO has been asked by Cabot Principal Dr. Marilynne Quarcoo to
distribute this email which contains a full listing of Cabot's faculty. This
information will also be re-produced in the Cabot Directory.
Cabot Faculty and Staff
Have you noticed a small board outside the office that lists faculty. We
have outgrown the board so let me share the names and positions of all
faculty and staff. This list will be found in your Cabot directory available
later this year. In the meantime make note of the adults that interact with
your child or who are present in your child's class. If you need to be in
contact with us, please feel free to call the school at 617.559.9400 or by
email. Please note that the school system has a new address. Just write:
first name_last name@ Newton.k12.ma.us This list is not completed as we
still seek two lunch attendants and an Instructional Support staff. Please
send any referrals to me Marilynne Quarcoo at
marilynne_quarcoo at newton.k12.ma.us It will be completely appreciated.
Office
Marilynne Quarcoo Principal
Deborah Driscoll Secretary
Betsy Nurczynski P/T Building Aide
Alice Cunningham P/T Building Aide
Karen Kerrigan Nurse
Kindergarten
101 Lynda Cain
105 Audrey Bellinger and Shannon Carnemolla
104 Susan Magoveny
Grade 1
103Matthew Miller
207 Allison Forseter
206 Heidi Lucas
205 Jennifer Soltoff
Grade 2
302 Robin Moriarty
303 Marc Lacatell
304 Marcie Mann
202 Elizabeth Stahl
Grade 3
306 Christina Milham
305 Bhavna Vaswani
301 Rachel Griffin
Grade 4
204 Amaya Rashad Adams
203 Matthew Tirrell
201 Alan Ripp
Grade 5
112 Patty Fiorenza
113 Mary Emma Robertson
115 Russell Springer
Specialist Teachers
Library Lani Gerson Librarian
Gym Dana Bennett P.E.Health and Wellness
Gym Sharon Foster P.E.Health and Wellness
(Friday)
l07 Elaine Ropi Music
107 Carol Nicolucci Music
111 Erin Straight Art
Special Education Teachers
307 Jessica Bruce Occupational Therapist
Jennifer Tashjian Physical Therapist
Andrea Brodin Deaf/Hearing Impaired
Specialist
Joan Nash Deaf/Hearing Impaired
Specialist
Suzanne Flaherty Learning Center Teacher
Joan Berk Learning Center
Teacher
Marion Pollock Communications Specialist
Tina Gurney Communications
Specialist
309 Emily Ballard Sayre Inclusion Facilitator
Student Services
109 LuAnn Keough Psychologist/Social Worker
Susan Kass Social Worker
Literacy
Carolyn Nelson Literacy Specialist
Regina Hussey Early Literacy Assistant
Margo Wallack Early Literacy Assistant
Ann Dinsmore Early Literacy Assistant
Instructional Support Staff
Rebecca Harrington
Sally Rothman
Teaching Assistants
Bev Lutton Griffin/Adams Teaching
Assistant
Nancy McCarthy Fiorenza/Adams Teaching
Assistant
Margaret Hannah Bellinger-Carnemolla/
Cain/Magoveny Teaching Assistant
Bernice Marzilli Bellinger-Carnemolla/
Cain/Magoveny Teaching Assistant
105 Deb Ardia Bellinger/Carnemolla
Teaching Assistant
101 Laurie Leuchtenburg Cain Teaching Assistant
104 Rehana Vaidya Magoveny Teaching Assistant
206 Charlean Skidmore Lucas Teaching Assistant
103 Sarah Friedman Miller Teaching Assistant
205 Mila Achildiyev Soltoff Teaching Assistant
303 Masumi Sunuga Lacatell Teaching Assistant
104 Amy Duarte Milham Teaching Assistant
201 Julie McClearn Ripp Teaching Assistant
203 John Karam Tirrell Teaching Assistant
Lunch
Kathy Barille Lunch Manager
Maureen Byrne Attendant
Kathy Elias Attendant
Magdalena Gonzalez Attendant
Prema Santosh Attendant
Jennifer Washington Attendant
CASP Lee Guertin Director
Zack Hardy Assistant Director
Custodial Services
Ed Reardon Senior Custodian
Stephen O'Brien Junior Custodian
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Tue Oct 17 15:11:03 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 15:11:03 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot E-Jabberwock Issue 1 October 17th 2006
Message-ID: <000001c6f21f$fd9b9e20$6601a8c0@Jo>
Please be aware that you can also print this document from the Cabot
website, www.cabotpto.org .
Our thanks goes to the editor of this first issue, Liz Lehrer a Cabot
Kindergarten parent.
Text Box: Cabot School e-Jabberwock
Respect for self and others Lifelong learning
Commitment to school and community
Issue 1 October 17, 2006
Cabot School Contact Information
? Main Office: 617-559-9400 ? CASP: 617-964-2749
? Gym: 617-559-9407 ? Food Service:
617-559-9021 or 617-559-6315
? Inclusion Facilitator: 617-559-9409 ? Nurse: 617-559-9404
? Library: 617-559-9406 ? Psychologist & Social
Worker: 617-559-9405
? Call Back/Safe Arrival: 617-559-9390 Call by 8:20 a.m. to report tardiness
& absences
Cabot School website
www.newton.mec.edu/cabot/
Cabot School PTO www.cabotpto.org
Newton Public Schools
www.newtonpublicschools.com
Calendar
Marilynne?s Message
The school year is off to a great start! With an enrollment of 422 students
we are full to the brim! We have reached the full capacity of the building
and this year we are learning how to be even more creative as we share space
during the day and after-school to accommodate the needs of children and
adults. For the first year in a long time, we are not able to meet all the
requests to access space, let me remind the community that our after school
program has held its early afternoon kindergarten program off site. They
continue to do that and in fact have reduced enrollment in the program that
has resulted in as many as 30 students not able to enroll. If you are a
subscriber to the after school program you are very aware of the angst this
reduction has caused. I hope that over the course of the year, we can come
together to ?nurture, structure and join? each other to sustain a healthy
community! In addition to the strain the after school families and staff are
experiencing, our day program is scheduled so tight that no rooms exists for
some of the extras we have been able to provide in the past. For example, we
are not offering any world language classes. We continue to provide a room
for chess and the brownies which adds to our challenges but it is important
to preserve some programs that serve our community.
School Hours
I am pleased with the number of children who are eager to arrive at school,
however there is no provision to supervise children before 8:20am so please
discourage your child from arriving at 8am. We have very limited staff at
that hour and as the weather becomes less agreeable it will be more
difficult to safely monitor the early arrivals. Maybe talk to a neighbor who
is coming to school so you know your child is being attended to
appropriately. Thank you for helping us.
Integrated Kindergarten
Despite our challenges we are excited by the introduction of a citywide
program at Kindergarten. This year we have a program for students with
social communication issues. Ms. Bellinger, a Cabot veteran teacher eagerly
volunteered to join with two new teachers, Shannon Carnemolla, Special
Education teacher and Deb Ardia, behavioral therapist to bring life to a
program designed last spring. We introduced this program last spring to a
small group of parents who were able to attend an informational session. I
will be offering some morning programs called ?Ask Marilynne? to explore
more specifically aspects of Special Education including the regulations,
mandates and programs and services available at Cabot School. Often there is
some confusion about the role of special education, the presence of teacher
assistance, and the function of special education assessments. I hope to
round out the community?s understanding of the federal legislation and the
state requirements as well as Newton?s approach to meeting the broad range
of student needs. Please check your email for an announcement.
Building Security
As in all other years, the faculty and staff are given training in crisis
response. This training can include any issues related to environmental,
health or security. We have a school crisis committee and the district has a
citywide committee. Recently the school department received a federal large
grant to help to continue to improve our ability to respond. Go to the
newton.mec.edu website to learn more details about what this grant will do
to help you feel more secure about our schools.
Each of you can do your part by signing in and following all procedures
outlined in the information sent home last month.
Looking Forward
Since we have made a tradition of having a Wellness activity on Halloween,
we want to let you know we are in the initial stages of getting that ready.
Children do not wear costumes to school. We can celebrate in seasonal
clothing or just comfortable gear. The school spends time outdoors doing
healthy activities that last year included the Monster mash with special
demonstrations by Ms. Ropi and Ms. Gerson. If you want to take part be in
touch with Ms. Bennett. The more hands and ideas the better the morning will
go!
PTO Pen
We are delighted to welcome the launch of the e-Jabberwock & owe a debt of
gratitude to our 3 parent volunteers Ann Duvall, Kim Spencer, our webmaster
Mie-Yun Lee & especially Liz Lehrer the editor of this issue. If you see
them please thank them too!
Since our return to school there are already many hot topics to consume our
already busy horizons. Like you, we also feel the lack of time we all seem
to have to address life necessities. In such circumstances the reflex to dig
in is understandable BUT some issues are just too big to ignore. One we
believe is the current space issues that Cabot faces. This Fall the School
Committee will vote on what solutions they will use to resolve September
2007 space issues at 5 of Newtons Elementary Schools, including Cabot. There
are a variety of policies they can utilize which WILL have ramifications for
YOUR child. We urge you to attend to our emails addressing this issue,
participate & make your opinion count. Watch out for the wellow flyer coming
home in backpacks this week!
We hope you enjoy the return of our Cabot newsletter!
Tat tar,
Jo Doherty
PTO co-President
Mary Kathryn Fallon
PTO co-President
Upcoming Events at cabot
PROGRAM ENRICHMENT
CAN YOUR HEAR US NOW????
Money is available from the PTO for Program Enrichment grants to enhance our
Cabot students? experience. Last year Program Enrichment funds were used
for a variety of projects, including art and library supplies, special
speakers for the children and learning center tools. Teachers, staff and
parents are invited to apply. Grants will be awarded in late November. The
application is a simple, one page form. They are due back Nov. 6, 2006.
Application forms are available in the main office, and on-line at the PTO
web site www.cabotpto.org . Get your requests
in now! Email Edye Geringer at hulawitch at comcast.net or Dorothy Klein at
dgklein1104 at comcast.net with any questions.
EEEEK! If it's October 31st it must be... WELLNESS DAY!!!
We are pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Cabot School Wellness Day, on
Tuesday, October 31. It's a wonderful way to expend some of that "special
day" energy, have a spooky amount of fun, and learn about some wellness
issues too.
Activity/learning stations will be set up around Cabot Field (weather
permitting) and the kids and their buddies will all get a chance to try
everything. Some activities already planned are: a Dance Station, Backpack
Safety, Halloween Safety with Officer Hough, Karate with Steve Giroux from
Giroux Martial Arts, Big Stomper Relay Race, and MORE.
We are looking for approximately 20 volunteers to help that morning. We are
also looking for any dentists/dental professionals, doctors, fitness folks
(e.g.Step aerobics, Pilates, dance professionals, nutrition experts, or
especially interested in wellness education). Even if you can't help on
that day, your input and ideas would be very valuable.
To help or ask any questions, please contact Daphne Potter dfpotter at rcn.com
617-795-0540 or Suzanne Sagan suzanne.sagan at ssa.gov 617-965-6417 or Dana
Bennett Wellness-guru extraordinaire and P.E. teacher
Dana_Bennett at newton.k12.ma.us
Volunteers Needed
Parent Volunteers Needed for Reading Partners Program
Would you like to help in a classroom? Cabot School is recruiting
volunteers to help support readers in the 1st and 2nd grades as they develop
and strengthen literacy skills. If we have enough support, we will extend
the program to the third grade classrooms also. No prior teaching or
tutoring experience is required.
The Reading Partners Program will begin its 4th year in December 2006. We
are asking for a commitment of 2 days per week for 45 minutes each day. The
time slots vary but are in the morning for grades 1 and 2. Grade 3 time
slots are not yet determined. Each time slot is during the literacy block
in the individual classrooms. Volunteers pick which 2 days they would like
to work.
Parent volunteers will work one-on-one with students, listening to them
read. Cari Nelson, Literacy Specialist, will provide training on how to
support readers. The training will teach parents how to prompt students to
support the use of reading strategies. Cari will be available to coach and
support parent volunteers throughout the program.
For more information or to sign up, please contact Cari Nelson at
Carolyn_Nelson at newton.k12.ma.us or Liz Haas at haas.joffe at rcn.com
CABOT BROADCAST
Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education Meetings ? Thursday,
November 2nd at 7:30 PM
Thursday, November 2nd - ?Making Peace with Autism? Susan Senator, author
and parent of a son with autism, will speak on her family?s experiences and
on her book, ?Making Peace with Autism; One Family?s Story of Struggle,
Discovery and Unexpected Gifts?. Margaret L. Bauman, Pediatric Neurologist,
Mass General Hospital says ?I LOVE THIS BOOK!! This is a book that every
parent and professional working with autistic children should own, read and
reread
These children have such enormous potential in their own way. It is
so refreshing to know that someone else sees it too.?
Sue will discuss her experiences, her book and her ongoing work to build the
best life possible for her son. She says on her website, ?Throw away
expectation and you may be pleasantly surprised.? You can buy signed books
at the meeting or order on Amazon. Sue is a Brookline resident and her
website is www.susansenator.com. Meeting is in Room 318.
All meetings are at 7:30 PM at the Education Center, 100 Walnut St, Newton
02460. Please contact Leslie Lockhart if you need additional information:
617-527-5046 or newtonspedpac at yahoo.com
Keep those Box Tops coming!!
Shop Online
We have collected over 750 Box Tops since school began. I know that there
are more in your cabinets just waiting to be clipped and placed in the big
pink box in the front lobby. This is a great way to get your children
directly involved in supporting Cabot!
Twenty-one people have signed up to support Cabot through Box Tops shopping
since 1996. Now, we all know that many more of us shop on line. So, please
register at: https://www.boxtops4education.com
. And begin your on-line shopping at
https://www.boxtops4education.com or
http://cabotpto.org/shop.html
Time is Running out for Gift Wrap
Gift Wrap orders are due in the Gift Wrap Box in the Cabot Office NO LATER
THAN FRIDAY OCTOBER 20TH. You have just 3 days left to sell a lot of wrap.
Questions? Contact Kate Johnson at kate at textreviews.com
Cabot Core Values
Bring Cabot?s core values to life!
Life-long learning. Respect for self and others. Commitment to school and
community.
These are Cabot School?s core values?the belief statements we want to foster
in all students. They are meant to permeate every aspect of school, home,
and community life. They are also used as broad statements of purpose that
help our school focus its energies in areas of curricula, programs, and
policies.
To renew our focus on Cabot?s core values this year, Dr. Quarcoo is forming
a Principal?s Committee on Core Values. We need members! Duties will include
* Meet with principal approximately five times/year to discuss school?s
core values
* Liaise with PTO committees about enhancing their efforts & events to
reflect core values
* Design two home/school activities to bring life and meaning to core
values
* Monitor climate/needs of school to ensure that attention/actions
reflect core values
Please contact Sally Brickell brickland6 at rcn.com or 617-527-5438 if you?d
like to join this worthwhile effort.
Community Park
Core team members of the Cabot Community Park Committee are busy planning
and anticipating the completion of the next phase of the Cabot Community
Park implementation plan. This includes the delivery and installation of
granite seating (due in November) and the completion of the installation of
brick pavers, benches, and Chinese lantern, including electrical work.
Once this work has been completed, the Park will officially become the
responsibility of the Cabot School PTO and community. An event celebrating
the progress of the implementation of the project and hand-over to the PTO
is anticipated in the Spring of 2007. There will be clean-up and planting
opportunities for anyone who would like to be involved.
Along with the planning, the Cabot Community Park website is currently being
updated and will contain the phased implementation plans, new photos, and
information about the history of the project. More information about the
website will follow in an upcoming Jabberwock.
The Cabot Community Park plan provides an outdoor classroom and a passive
recreational area that will provide a natural habitat for wild flora and
fauna. Designed collaboratively, the Park will incorporate a wildlife garden
that includes native plants, shrubs and trees. It will greatly strengthen
Cabot School's innovative science and nature study curriculum and it will
also provide a quiet area for community residents to sit, read and admire
the wildlife and birdsong.
Thanks to all the volunteers who stepped forward to help; we will need many
hands in the spring. Additional volunteers are welcome to contact Cabot
Community Park co-chairs Margaret Wazuka Margaret at flyinglyon.com or Eliza
Reed moneliza.reed at verizon.net
CASP
Come and visit the CASP County Fair Scare, Tuesday October 31st from 4pm to
5:15pm. Donations accepted at the door.
Social Work & School Psychologist
Student & Family Support at Cabot School
At Cabot School we focus on the whole child as a learner and member of the
Cabot Community. Dr. LuAnn Keough and Ms. Susan Kass work together to
provide parent and teacher consultation, individual & group counseling
related to issues that impact school functioning, and assessment services to
support the academic, social and emotional development of all our students.
LuAnn Keough, Ph.D.
Cabot School Psychologist
As the school psychologist, I work with teachers and parents to understand
student learning, behavior, social development, and emotional functioning.
We all work together to collect information about areas of concern and to
develop a plan of action that can support students in all domains of
functioning. I am available to students, parents, and teachers in the Cabot
Community to work one-on-one with students around school related issues, and
to consult with parents and teachers. As part of the special education team,
I complete comprehensive evaluations to better understand a child?s learning
style and social-emotional needs. I am at Cabot on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday. I can be reached by email at LuAnn_Keough at newton.k12.ma.us or by
telephone at (617) 559-9405.
Susan Kass, LICSW
Cabot School Social Worker
As the school social worker, I provide a wide range of support, guidance,
and informational services to children, families, and faculty in the Cabot
Community. Services include, but are not limited to: individual short-term
counseling, small group and whole-class groups to facilitate social and
emotional learning, parent consultation regarding family issues and their
potential impact upon learning and general education experiences, assisting
parents with access to community resources, helping children cope with
typical developmental and special life situations, crisis response, and
participation in the special education process.
I am in the building on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as on alternating
Tuesdays. I can be reached by email at Susan_Kass at newton.k12.ma.us or at
(617) 559-9405.
>From the Nurse
I would like to start off this first Jabberwock edition by clarifying the
Newton Health Department exclusion policy. Please keep your child at home
if he or she shows signs of any of the following: a fever over 100?F during
the past 24 hours; a cold in the active stages, i.e. coughing, runny nose,
or sneezing; a sore throat and/or swollen neck glands; an undiagnosed rash
or skin eruptions; vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours; or head
lice that have not been treated.
Because school health rooms are not equipped to accommodate sick
children and crowded health rooms lead to further spread of disease, it is
imperative that sick children be kept at home. It is also crucial that
parents make every effort to pick up children as soon as possible when
notified by school personnel. Changes in emergency phone numbers should be
made known immediately. Also, please inform me if your child has strep
throat, any contagious illness or rash, head lice or any medical or surgical
conditions that require hospitalization or lengthy duration at home.
There have been some cases of lice during the first two weeks of
school. Head lice have been a parasite of humans since recorded time. Many
people associate lice with unclean people or homes. This is not true for
head lice; head lice can affect anyone: rich or poor, young or old, male or
female. Frequent bathing or shampooing will not prevent head lice nor
eliminate them once they have been established. They cannot jump or fly,
and are mainly transmitted by head-to-head contact with infested persons.
However, head lice can also be transmitted by sharing hats, brushes, and
headrests. Human lice cannot thrive on household pets. Itching can be a
primary symptom of infestation, although everyone will not necessarily itch.
Children seen scratching their heads should be examined at once. Red bite
marks or scratch marks can sometimes be seen on the scalp and neck. For more
information: www.headlice.org
Karen Kerrigan, RN
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Wed Oct 18 09:28:44 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 09:28:44 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] CABOTs SPACE CRUNCH IS SERIOUS.......
Message-ID: <002001c6f2b9$55ecc650$6601a8c0@Jo>
PLEASE READ THIS - IT AFFECTS YOU & YOUR CHILDREN!
This yellow flyer is being sent home today -
Cabot's Space Crunch
The Space Crunch is Serious ... We Need Your Help!
We need to do something about the serious space issues for 2007 at Cabot.
Your opinion
could make a big difference. There has been a continuous spike in enrollment
this year
and is projected to continue next year as well. Where do we put the
additional classrooms
and children?
Some of the options being considered are:
* moving an entire grade to a different school
* taking the entering K group and move them to a new school
* redistricting
* instituting an enrollment freeze (no new students at Cabot)
* removing art and music from their own rooms (mobile art and music
carts)
* combining grades
* adding a modular building to the existing school
We need your voice for your children's future at Cabot.
Please come and be heard at:
October 23rd School Committee Meeting
7:30 PM, at the Ed Center, 100 Walnut St.
October 25th Public Forum Sponsored by the School Committee
7:30 PM, at the Oak Hill Middle School
Please contact the people below for more info:
Co-Presidents: Jo Doherty jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Mary Kathryn
Fallon marykathf at aol.com
PTO Political Issues
Committee Chairs: Sarah Ecker sarahecker at comcast.net
Isabelle Thacker isabelle at thackers.net
Sue Covitz suecovitz at rcn.com
For more information please visit www.newton.k12.ma.us
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Wed Oct 18 16:36:00 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:36:00 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] URGENT - CABOT NEEDS EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO
Message-ID: <001e01c6f2f5$06010fc0$6601a8c0@Jo>
The Cabot PTO has been asked to send this out on behalf of Cabot School
Earlier on in the school year every family was given information which
needed to be completed & returned to school.
These forms are:
Emergency card (small yellow card)
Emergency Contact form (A4 yellow sheet)
Student Conduct Agreement
Allergy form
Insurance information
While it is important for the School office to have all student records
complete it is imperative for them to have the first 2 forms.
Every student at Cabot needs these 2 forms otherwise no-one will be able to
contact you to tell you about an evacuation or emergency situation at Cabot.
Amazingly only 34 out of 421 students have these forms completed!!
Will you be the person the Office cannot contact?
What do you need to do?
Check your piles of papers to find these documents, complete & return them
as soon as possible. The A4 yellow Emergency Contact sheet is the final page
in the "Cabot School Safety and Security Procedures and Playground
Guidelines" - the blue stapled handout provided at Back to School Night.
Take the time to look for these forms - remember asking for new forms costs
Cabot money we can little afford!
If you are unsure whether you have provided these forms please check with
your child's teacher.
The PTO will be asking Room Parents in every class to ensure that these
forms are returned as soon as possible.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Sat Oct 21 16:15:22 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:15:22 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] CABOT SPACE CRUNCH - IMPORTANT INFO TO READ BEFOR
SCH. COMM MEETING MON 23rd
Message-ID: <006901c6f54d$a3aeb2e0$6501a8c0@Jo>
To the Cabot Community
PLEASE READ THIS EMAIL IN FULL - IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION AFFECTING
YOU & YOUR FAMILY
As many of you know from our previous correspondence this Monday, October
23rd, the Newton School Committee will discuss how to accommodate the need
for additional classrooms in 5 overcrowded elementary schools, including
Cabot School, in September 2007. On Friday the Newton Public Schools
released a memorandum, posted on their website, which provides some more
details on the policy options under their consideration & the criteria by
which they will be assessed. Sarah Ecker, Chair of Cabot's Political Issues
Committee has very kindly provided the following summary. However, we urge
you to read the memo in full - it contains just over three pages of text and
one table of data. To make it as easy as possible we have attached the memo
to this email & provided the link for you to view the memo online and
additional background materials at:
www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/actions/elem_space.html
The School Committee will discuss short-term space needs at its regularly
scheduled meeting on Monday night, October 23rd at 7:30 p.m at the Education
Center, 100 Walnut Street. You are encouraged to attend the meeting or watch
it broadcast live on NewTV (local cable channel 9 or 10). On Wednesday,
October 25th at 7:30 p.m. ,at Oak Hill Middle School, the School Committee
is hosting an interactive forum to allow a dialogue with parents about the
general policy options outlined in the memo. Please attend, share your views
and ask questions. The forum will be taped by NewTV and shown at a later
date. As noted in the memo, the School Committee will continue its
discussion of short-term space needs at each of its regularly scheduled
meetings and vote on a policy on December 11, 2006.
Modular Classrooms
Full sized modular classroom structures can be purchased and installed at
school sites that meet building site requirements.Newton's Public Buildings
Dept. is evaluating site feasibility of all 5 schools . Double-decker models
are a possibility, but require an elevator. Costs for turnkey installations
range from $170,000 to $260,000 (without elevator).
Cohort Redistricting
Small groups (20 or fewer) of students from the same grade could be
reassigned to another school with available space for one year. Favorable
class size could be offered to this group and transportation would be
provided.
Optional Zones
There are 14 optional/choice zones in Newton & 450 students in grades K-5
live in these zones. Students in these zones could be assigned to schools
with space available.
Carr School
The old Carr School on Nevada St. is currently in use at the Newton Cultural
Center. It could be used to house the citywide preschool program freeing up
space in other elementary schools for regular classroom space & be
potentially considered as a new elementary school. Renovation of the first
floor only would cost $3 million and take 12 months.
Citywide Programs
Citywide programs currently housed at Lincoln Eliot (four rooms), Franklin
and Countryside (one room each) could be relocated to enable cohort
redistricting.
Redistricting
A redistricting plan could be developed to reassign portions of school
neighborhoods to relieve overcrowding at some schools and enlarge school
populations in locations with decreasing enrollment.
Would require a district wide approach.
Specialty Rooms
As a short term measure, art and music could be conducted in regular
classrooms, i.e., "art on a cart," so that classrooms could be used for
regular instruction. Programmatic impact is identified as significant.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Mon Oct 23 22:55:04 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 22:55:04 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] SPACE CRUNCH - Update on School Committee meeting
Monday 23rd
Message-ID: <003901c6f717$d4b24840$6501a8c0@Jo>
Update on the School Committee meeting this evening to discuss the policy
options available to address the short term space needs at the 5 Newton
Elementary schools
The bottom line is that they want to hear from Newton parents, that means
YOU! The School Committee made it abundantly clear this evening that the
document published by Dr. Jeff Young on Friday, which we summarized in our
email sent out on Saturday, outlines options that are not etched in stone
nor exhaustive. But in order to affect what policy options they will
consider in future debates & vote upon, they want to hear what the community
has to say.
This Wednesday, October 25th at 7:30pm (Oak Hill Middle School Library) you
will have the one & only opportunity to have an interactive question &
answer session with the School Committee. We urge you to take this
opportunity to let the School Committee know how, as a Cabot parent, you
feel about this situation - What do you think about the options outlined,
do you have questions about how they would work in practice, do you have
concerns, do you have suggestions that aren't on this list?
If you cannot attend this meeting then be aware that you can email your
comments, questions & suggestions to the School Committee at
schoolcommittee at newton.k12.ma.us Your email will automatically go to the
members of the School Committee, Dr. Young & Mayor Cohen.
Can't find our summary or want to find out exactly what the options document
said - go to
http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/actions/elem_space.html & see
the report for yourself.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From marykathf at aol.com Tue Oct 24 13:36:41 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 13:36:41 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Jabberlite for Tuesday October 24, 2006
In-Reply-To: <8C8C5A6BDBB3229-A34-F104@mblk-r28.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8C5A6BDBB3229-A34-F104@mblk-r28.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8C5AA19FC288D-A34-F2B8@mblk-r28.sysops.aol.com>
JABBERLITE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2006
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at www.cabotpto.org
October 24, 2006Affinity Group 12:30 PM
October 25, 2006School Committee Meeting, Interactive Forum: Short Term Space Needs 7:30 PM
October 25, 2006PTO Papa Gino's Fundraiser
October 26, 2006CA&S Program K-5 Semenva McCord - Journey into Jazz, 1-3PM
October 28, 2006Coffee Pond Family Photo Day (rain date 10/29)
October 30, 2006Morning School Entry Procedures and Classroom Routines Meeting 6:00 - 6:30PM
October 31, 2006Wellness Day
October 31, 2006Morning School Entry Procedures and Classroom Routines Meeting 8:35 - 9:10AM
October 31, 2006Halloween UNICEF Collection
October 31, 2006CASP Haunted House 4 - 5:15PM Gym
November 1, 2006PTO Launch "Campaign for Cabot"
November 1 to Nov 2, 2006UNICEF Collection and PTO Rosie's Candy Drive
November 2, 2006Making Peace with Autism 7:30 PM Education Center, 100 Walnut Street
November 5, 2006Cabot Connecting Families Ethnic Potluck 4-6PM (snow date 11/19)
November 7, 2006Election Day and Bake Sale
November 7, 2006Child Assault Prevention Meeting for parents at Horace Mann 7:00 - 8:30PM
November 7, 2006PTO Meeting, 8:40 AM
November 9, 2006Grade 5 Circus
November 9, 2006Understanding our Differences Grade 4 1:00 - 2:45 PM
November 10, 2006Veterans Day, NO SCHOOL
This Jabberlite contains information about:
Cabot Political Issues Committee
Cabot School Forms that Need to be Returned
Papa Gino?s Fundraiser
Directory Update
Blue Zone
Out-of-District Policy
Technology Advisory Committee for Newton Public Schools
Newton Parent Advisory Council
Register your Email
PTO Meetings
CABOT POLITICAL ISSUES COMMITTEE
Cabot had the largest turnout of all the elementary schools at the October 23rd School Committee meeting ? thank you to all the parents who were able to join us and thanks to those of you who tuned in at home on NewTV. The School Committee spoke about the policy options for next year?s space crunch and now they want to hear from you. Please join us on Wednesday, October 25th at 7:30pm (Oak Hill Middle School Library) at the School Committee Open Forum for opportunity to have an interactive question & answer session with the School Committee. We urge you to take this opportunity to let the School Committee know how you feel about this situation.
Cabot School Forms Need to be Returned
Earlier on in the school year every family was given information which needed to be completed & returned to school. These forms are:
Emergency card (small yellow card)
Emergency Contact form (A4 yellow sheet)
Student Conduct Agreement
Allergy form
Insurance information
While it is important for the School office to have all student records complete it is imperative for them to have the first 2 forms.
Every student at Cabot needs these 2 forms otherwise no-one will be able to contact you to tell you about an evacuation or emergency situation at Cabot.
What do you need to do? Check your piles of papers to find these documents, complete & return them as soon as possible. The A4 yellow Emergency Contact sheet is the final page in the ?Cabot School Safety and Security Procedures and Playground Guidelines? ? the blue stapled handout provided at Back to School Night. If you are unsure whether you have provided these forms please check with your child?s teacher or your class room parent.
IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST PAPA GINO'S FUNDRAISER OF THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR!!
Get out of the kitchen and support the Cabot School PTO at the same time! What could be better? Either dine in or pick up at Papa Gino's on Watertown Street (Stop & Shop Plaza) on Wednesday, October 25th between the hours of 4-9 pm, and 20% of your purchase price will go directly to the Cabot School PTO. Look for the Papa Gino's flyer that will come home in folders today. The flyer you received must be presented when you pay for your food and you must mention that your purchase is for the Cabot School Fundraiser in order for Cabot School to benefit. Grab your pizza, feed the family, and then head on over to the Oak Hill Middle School and have your voice heard about the space crunch at Cabot School!
Any questions? Contact Julie Stonehill at jastonehill at rcn.com or
617-964-4937. See you at Papa's!
LAST CHANCE TO PRE-ORDER YOUR CABOT PTO DIRECTORY!!!
For those of you who have not yet ordered a Cabot PTO Directory, this is your last chance. There will be LIMITED extra copies available after printing next week. Don?t be left without this important school resource -- please fill out your PTO Dues form today! Extra forms are available online at http://www.cabotpto.org under Jabberwock/News Welcome Packet - Dues & Volunteer Form (Word doc)
Blue Zone Blues
Please remember that the Blue Zone is a moving lane of cars. Students should exit or enter a vehicle onto or from the sidewalk in the Blue Zone. If the moving lane is full, you must circle around the block until you can enter the Blue Zone lane. If your child is not at the fence waiting for pick-up, please circle the block. Please do not park in the Blue Zone and exit your car. For a more detailed explanation, please refer to your Cabot Handbook. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter!
School Publication of Out-of-District Policy Statement - 2007:
?Out-of-District placements for students who wish to attend a school in Newton other than his/her district school are limited. Such placements are made on a space available basis only. Newton families, as well as members of Units A, B, C, D, E, NESA Custodians and Boston parents of students participating in the METCO Program, should call the Attendance Office at 617-559-6030 for information.* Students who receive acceptance for Out-of-District placement must remain in the school selected or file for out-of-district placement at the appropriate time.
? Applications for the following school year must be submitted on forms, which will be available in the Attendance Office at the Education Center beginning November 1.
?A lottery will be implemented to determine the order in which placements will be made. Completed applications, signed by the in-district principal, can be submitted no earlier than the first school day in January in the school year preceding the desired registration and no later than the last school day in January. Applications submitted after January 31 will not be included in the lottery.
?Hand-delivered applications will only be accepted from the parent or legal guardian. Application forms must have the 'Reason for Request' section completed in order to be considered.
?Class size in a given grade, in a given year, in a specific school, may preclude any placements including siblings.
?Parents will be responsible for transporting their child to the out-of-district school.
*It should be noted that Tuition-Free Enrollment is limited to regular education programs only.
Call for Participation - Technology Advisory Committee For Newton Public Schools - 2006- 2007
The Newton Public Schools Department of Information Technology is inviting community members and school staff to serve on an advisory committee for technology in the Newton Schools. The Technology Advisory Committee offers the school system the exciting opportunity to join the interests and values of the community with the expertise of school department professionals.
The Department of Technology includes both the instructional computing and library media program as well as administrative computing. The department provides the technological infrastructure, professional opportunities, and staff support to enable teachers and administrators to use technology as a teaching, learning and administrative tool. The goal of the advisory committee is to provide a vehicle for community input into the development of an updated four-year technology plan. (The current plan can be accessed at http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/technology/ ).
Community members can play a crucial role in contributing to the vision and providing recommendations for the development of a comprehensive technology plan for the schools. Advisory committee membership will be a wonderful opportunity for citizens to share their expertise and varied experience. In addition, advisory committee members can help expand communication channels within the Newton community about the importance of the school's technology initiative.
The primary focus of the advisory committee will be to research and review a variety of successful strategies that support teaching and student learning, allowing Newton to develop and implement the best possible technology program within current fiscal restraints. The advisory committee will make recommendations that will be used in the development of an updated Four-Year Technology (2007-2011).
We are asking community members to serve at minimum one year with the possibility of two years. Each member will be expected to work on smaller subcommittees, depending on interest and expertise. The entire advisory committee will meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month (excluding December) from 4:30 to 6 pm. Subcommittees will also meet during the month with the amount of time dependent on scope of work. The first meeting will be Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at the Ed Center, 100 Walnut St.
If you are interested in finding out more or joining this committee, please contact our Cabot School Technology Committee Parent Coordinator Richard Wright at Richard.Wright at parexel.com by October 29, 2006.
NEWTON PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
The Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education (PAC) meeting was held on Thursday, October 5. This months meeting reviewed the Newton Public Schools Special Education Programs and Services for the 2006/2007 year. It was attended by Margie Daniels, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services, other members of the Administration from the Office of Pupil Services representing k-12, as well as many Newton parents. The different programs and services for students with special needs in the Elementary, Middle and High Schools were discussed. The evening involved an energetic discussion with administration members and concerned parents about the support for children with special needs. This was the first PAC meeting of this year. The PAC will meet once a month, with the next one on Thursday, November 2. All meetings are at 7:30 pm at the Education Center, 100 Walnut Street, Newton.
I encourage parents to get involved, the children need our support! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, Lisa Spagnuolo, spags70 at peoplepc.com and information can be found at newtonpublicschools.com, under Partner Organizations.
REGISTER YOUR EMAIL TO RECEIVE PTO EMAILS
Our webmaster Mie-Yun Lee has been hard at work updating our website & email distribution system. If you are a new family to Cabot & need to register, or if your email changes or you want to add another email to our distribution system, please go to http://cabotpto.org/mailman/listinfo/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org
You will be guided through the steps & will receive a confirmation email to indicate you have been successfully added to the Cabot PTO email distribution list. In the event you have any questions please contact our webmaster, Mie-Yun Lee at mylcabot at gmail.com
PTO Meetings
The minutes of the first two PTO meeting of the year are now posted online at www.cabotpto.org Take a few minutes to read up on what your PTO is doing to benefit your child?s experience at Cabot. Don?t forget to join us at our next PTO meeting on Tuesday November 7th at 8:35am in the Library.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Co-President
10 Worth Circle,
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-1821
MaryKathF at aol.com
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Thu Oct 26 12:59:14 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 12:59:14 -0400
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Update on School Committee Interactive Forum last
night, Wednesday October 25th
Message-ID: <004501c6f920$14c062a0$6701a8c0@Jo>
A huge thank you to all of you who took the time to attend both Monday's
meeting & the meeting last night at Oak Hill Middle School. Cabot had a
great showing at both meetings! At last night's interactive forum the School
Committee got to hear the thoughts & comments of approx. 15 public speakers,
6 of which represented Cabot. Your voices were well & truly heard!
Thanks also to those of you who have taken the time & trouble to email your
thoughts & questions to the School Committee. They re-iterated at both of
these meetings their desire to hear from the public about their thoughts,
preferences & concerns regarding the outlined options & any additional
options you might have that they have not identified.
To find out what happened at the meeting you can watch, record, TIVO or
whatever a rerun on NEWTV's red channel. They will be broadcasting the
meeting Monday - Friday at 8am, Tuesday - Friday at 12 midnight & Saturday &
Sunday at 7.30pm. For further information go to
http://www.newtv.org/program.html
The PTO & the Political Issues committee is hard at work assessing our next
steps so keep your eyes open for any emails with "SPACE CRUNCH" in the
title! If you would like to join us in our efforts please contact Mary
Kathryn marykathf at aol.com or myself, or Sarah Ecker sarahecker at comcast.net
our Political Issues chair. In the interim use this time to get yourself
acquainted with the options the School Committee is going to be assessing.
Remember your opinion does really count so make your voice heard.
Can't find our summary or want to find out exactly what the options document
said - go to
http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/actions/elem_space.html & see
the report for yourself.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Mon Oct 30 13:40:49 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:40:49 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] MEETING TONIGHT REF CABOT ENTRY GUDEILINES -
CANCELLED
Message-ID: <001901c6fc52$eb8900a0$6701a8c0@Jo>
We have been asked to send out the following email by the School:
Due to illness, Dr. Quarcoo will not be able to hold the Entry Guidelines
discussion she planned to hold this evening, Monday October 30th.
She has re-scheduled the discussion for tomorrow, October 31st, at 8:35
a.m., in her office.
All those interested are encouraged to attend.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Tue Oct 31 11:12:27 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:12:27 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] JabberLite for Tuesday, October 31st
Message-ID: <005001c6fd07$5c936600$6801a8c0@Jo>
JABBERLITE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2006
This Jabberlite contains information about:
Next PTO Meeting
Blue Zone Plea - REAL concerns about our childrens safety at pickup - Do's &
Don't in the Blue Zone
Update on Cabot Space Crunch
Understanding Our Differences, Grade 4th - 3 Volunteers needed for November
9th
Social Action's Unicef Collection & Rosie's Candy Drive
Cabot School Emergency Forms
Directory Update
Donor Angels Holiday Gift Drive
Lost And Found - now emptied at the end of the month so grab your stuff now
before it gets cleared!!
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at
www.cabotpto.org
October 31, 2006
Wellness Day
October 31, 2006
Morning School Entry Procedures and Classroom Routines Meeting 8:35 - 9:10AM
October 31, 2006
Halloween UNICEF Collection
October 31, 2006
CASP Haunted House 4 - 5:15PM Gym
November 1, 2006
PTO Launch "Campaign for Cabot"
November 1 to Nov 2
UNICEF Collection and PTO Rosie's Candy Drive
November 2, 2006
Making Peace with Autism 7:30 PM Education Center, 100 Walnut Street
November 7, 2006
Election Day and Bake Sale
November 7, 2006
Child Assault Prevention Meeting for parents at Horace Mann 7:00 - 8:30PM
November 7, 2006
PTO Meeting, 8:40 AM
November 9, 2006
Grade 5 Circus
November 9, 2006
Understanding our Differences Grade 4 1:00 - 2:45 PM
November 10, 2006
Veterans Day, NO SCHOOL
November 13, 2006
School Committee Meeting, 7:30pm
November 14, 2006
Parent to Parent Series, Partnerships Between Parents/Guardians & Teachers
November 15, 2006
CASP Open Board Meeting, Time TBA, Gym
Next PTO Meeting
The minutes of the first two PTO meeting of the year are now posted online
at www.cabotpto.org Take a
few minutes to read up on what your PTO is doing to benefit your child's
experience at Cabot.
Don't forget to join us at our next PTO meeting on Tuesday November 7th at
8:40am in the Library.
BLUE ZONE PLEA
I don't know about you, but I'm very concerned about the safety of our
children at pick-up..
Take a moment to read this & let's prevent an accident from happening to one
of our children.
ALL OF US - and I mean us adults - need to take a moment to re-evaluate how
we drive and behave outside Cabot
at drop-off and particularly at pick-up. We all could make excuses for why
we do things BUT please
- DO NOT use or block in any of the neighbor driveways - that's just
courtesy & common sense;
- Drive slowly down Parkview Street outside school - it is a SCHOOL
ZONE!
- Do you know there is a crosswalk opposite the lobby entrance -
don't park on it!
- During school hours Parkview is a ONE-WAY street!!!!!
- Observe NO PARKING zones on Bridges Ave (behind school by the
faculty parking lots)
- Don't use the Blue Zone as a parking space - cars are NOT TO BE
LEFT UNATTENDED!!!!
We are ALL part of the Cabot community - so let's model behaviors we want
our children to emulate.
Do you have ideas as to how things can work better? Do you grumble about the
rules for the Blue Zone? Then help
devise a better system. We NEED a team of parents who can brainstorm how to
make the streets safe around CABOT.
Interested? Contact Daphne Potter dfpotter at rcn.com or your PTO Presidents.
CABOT SPACE CRUNCH UPDATE
At the recent public interactive forum the School Committee heard from
concerned parents, many from Cabot.
The Cabot PTO strongly affirmed a desire to keep our students, faculty and
community intact and advocated for
modular space as a short term solution. However, it is possible that Cabot
will not be given a modular building.
If this happens the School Committee will have some significant and
difficult choices to make. The Cabot PTO has
constructed a survey to capture our community's views which will enable us
to provide guidance to the
Newton School Committee and help them make more informed decisions about the
solutions they will ultimately
recommend. The survey will go on-line later this week & you will have a week
in which to complete the survey.
Keep an eye out for the flyer coming home this week with all the details.
Our voices count - make your voice heard!!
UNDERSTANDING OUR DIFFERENCES, 4TH GRADE
This program will be running a segment on Thursday, November 9th from 1pm
to 2:45pm on "Understanding Our Differences".
To be able to run this segment 3 volunteers parents are needed from each 4th
grade to run various work stations:
(1) writing looking through a mirror (2) a memory game (3) listening and
following instructions while noise is occurring.
If you could help out please contact Rick Reilly 617 332 3006 by Friday
November 3rd. This is an opportunity for you
to be involved with the school in a meaningful way. The more participation,
the better the learning experience will be for your
child and all the children in the 4th grade classes.
SOCIAL ACTION'S UNICEF COLLECTION BOXES & Rosie's Candy Drive
Remember to take your Unicef collection boxes with you trick or treating on
Halloween night. Please exchange any coins
collected to a check payable to "UNICEF" which will be collected when the
school doors open on November 1st & 2nd.
At the same time Social Action will be once again collecting donated
Halloween candy for delivery to Rosie's Place, so bring
Along part of your collected stash from trick or treating!!
Cabot School EMERGENCY Forms
Thanks very much to all the room parents who have been of tremendous help in
gathering all the School forms which needed
to be returned. Everybody's patience has been much appreciated & we know
that we are all working towards having all the
A4 yellow emergency contact forms returned. Remember it is these forms the
office uses in an emergency situation to contact YOU!
Our thanks goes to Joanne Gatnik, a Cabot Kindergarten parent, who has
volunteered to brainstorm a more efficient &
streamlined process for next year with the help of Alice Cunningham in the
office.
If you haven't returned your emergency form for each of your children please
do so ASAP.
CABOT PTO DIRECTORY
By this time next week you should be the proud recipient of this year's
edition of the Cabot Directory. A huge thank you goes to
Jenny Gamson, a Cabot 4th & 2nd grade parent who has diligently been
entering this information and compiling the Directory. And a
special thank you to Rick Reilly, Cabot parent volunteer, who this year has
been responsible for our advertising sales. There will be a
LIMITED number of extra copies available, so if you want a directory & did
not yet join the PTO please fill out your PTO Dues form
& leave it in the PTO mailbox in the office. Extra forms are available
online at http://www.cabotpto.org under
Jabberwock/News Welcome Packet - Dues & Volunteer Form (Word doc).
DONOR ANGELS HOLIDAY GIFT DRIVE
Cabot will again this year participate in the Community Service Gift Drive
for the Second Step program. This is an opportunity for
you & your family to send a gift to a deserving child for the holidays.
Fliers will be coming home in your child's backpacks within the
next week with a return form if you would like to participate and the amount
you would like to donate for a gift. Once the forms have
been processed you will receive a confirmation of your participation
identifying the specified gift you will need to buy and return to
Cabot on the date identified on the flier. Thanks in advance for
participating. This program was a great success last year.
The families of the Second Step were very appreciative and happy with the
help they received.
If you have any questions please contact Rose Flynn roda at gis.net
LOST AND FOUND
We have been telling you for the past month that the lost and found bin in
the front lobby will from now on be emptied at the end of
each month. This is largely due to the incredible number of items now
finding their way into Lost & Found, & the schools inability to
store these items or have the time to track down their owners. So be aware
you had better come quick to find Johnny's sweatshirt or Jane's
fleece before the whole lot gets carted away to a good home!!
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Wed Nov 1 10:30:12 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2006 10:30:12 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] CABOT SPACE CRUNCH ONLINE SURVEY NOW AVAILABLE -
GIVE YOUR VIEWS
Message-ID: <004201c6fdca$9fd33d00$6801a8c0@Jo>
This is a copy of a flyer being sent home in backpacks today!!
* SPACE CRUNCH OPTIONS AT CABOT *
* TAKE THIS SURVEY & TELL US YOUR VIEWS NOW *
Dear Cabot Parents and Guardians,
You are all aware of the severe space restrictions we have at Cabot. We have
no more classroom space,
no extra space to be creative with and next year we expected to need at
least one, perhaps two more classrooms.
The School Committee is assessing several options to solve the short term
space crunch at Cabot and 4 other
Newton elementary schools. These options have been circulated to the general
public for comment and the
School Committee will make a decision on what action(s) to take on December
11th.
At the recent public forum the School Committee heard from concerned
parents, many from Cabot.
The Cabot PTO strongly affirmed a desire to keep our students, faculty and
community intact and advocated
for modular space as a short term solution. However, it is possible that
Cabot will not be given a modular building.
If this happens the School Committee will have some significant and
difficult choices to make.
The Cabot PTO has constructed a survey to capture our community's views that
will enable us to provide guidance
to the Newton School Committee and help them make more informed decisions
about the solutions they will
ultimately recommend. Our voices count - make your voice heard!!
Remember you can always email your views to the School Committee at
schoolcommittee at newton.k12.ma.us
Please complete the survey in full so we can fully account for the
community's views. We assure you that
all responses will be kept confidential and no identifying information will
be reported. The deadline for completing
this survey is midnight November 8th, 2006. You can complete it online
anytime from NOW TO THE DEADLINE
by clicking on this link
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=501442808878
If you do not have a computer then please take a paper copy of the survey
from the PTO Notice Board (by the Art room)
& return by the deadline date to the Cabot PTO mailbox in the main office.
Not sure what the options are the School Committee are exploring?
Go to http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/actions/elem_space.html
and see the report for yourself.
In anticipation of your participation - we thank you,
Jo Doherty & Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Presidents
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Sun Nov 5 19:57:36 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2006 19:57:36 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot Math Challenge - Problem #1
Message-ID: <000701c7013e$98d4c6f0$6401a8c0@Jo>
Dear Cabot Community
Cabot School has launched an exciting new program - The Cabot Math
Challenge. We are hoping all Cabot students,
faculty and staff will try the monthly math problem. The first problem is
below. Please encourage your child to participate.
Our thanks go to Cabot parent volunteers Emily Hess & Shara Lewis for
instigating & launching this great new intiative!!
More information about the Challenge can be found below (after the problem).
The problem can also be found at http://www.cabotpto.org/
Cabot Math Challenge
Problem #1
Submit by November 16, 2006
Show your work. It is more important than the answer. Submissions that do
not show how you found the solution will not be included.
Showing your work can include an equation, a picture or a written
description.
PROBLEM #1 -- STAIRWAY TO THE ROOF
Cabot School Students have decided to build a stairway to the roof. The
stairway is made of cubes.
The cubes are all 1 foot tall by 1 foot wide by 1 foot deep.
1. How many cubes would be needed to make the stairway 5 steps high?
2. How many cubes would be needed to make the stairway 9 steps high?
3. How many cubes would be needed to make the stairway 45 steps high?
4. If the school is 115 feet high, how many cubes would be needed to build
a stairway that reaches the roof?
5. Can you describe a pattern? Can you find an equation to determine the
number of cubes needed to make a stairway for any given height?
Important information about the Challenge
* Students should complete as much of the problem as they can. Anyone that
does their best and shows their work will be considered a participant.
* Students can alone or in groups. Parents, friends, siblings, etc. can
help with the problem. Include the names of everyone that helped on the
Submission Sheet.
Also include the teacher for all Cabot Students that helped. A
submission sheet is attached.
* Please submit answers, by November 16, 2006, to the Math Challenge Box in
any of the following Rooms:
1st Floor - Mrs. Robertson Room
2nd Floor - Mr. Tirrell Room
3rd Floor - Mrs. Moriarty Room
* Sample of student's work will be posted on the Math Challenge Bulletin
Board (located across from the art room) and on the Cabot PTO web site after
November 20, 2006. Next month's challenge will be posted the first week in
December.
* The solution will be sent out as an attachment with the next JabberLite,
due to be sent out on Tuesday.
* The classes with the greatest percentage of students that participate will
be recognized on the morning announcements. Students that complete most of
the problems will be recognized at the Recognition Assembly in June, 2007.
* This is a new program that we plan to continue throughout the year. Any
comments, or suggestions will be greatly appreciated and should be directed
to Emily Hess at politicalresources at hotmail.com or to Shara Lewis at
shara.lewis at comcast.net Also, please let us know if you are interested in
helping with the challenge.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From marykathf at aol.com Tue Nov 7 15:04:25 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Tue, 07 Nov 2006 15:04:25 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Jabberlite for Tuesday November 7, 2006
In-Reply-To: <8C8D0BAE6D5724A-6F4-7FE2@FWM-R21.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8D0BAE6D5724A-6F4-7FE2@FWM-R21.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8D0BF0F50794D-6F4-81D5@FWM-R21.sysops.aol.com>
JABBERLITE Tuesday, November 7, 2006
This Jabberlite contains information about:
Launch of Campaign for Cabot
Cabot Space Crunch Survey
Cabot Math Challenge
Newton Teachers in Contract Negotiations
Understanding our Differences
Directory Update
Blue Zone
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at www.cabotpto.org
November 7, 2006Election Day and Bake Sale
November 7, 2006Child Assault Prevention Meeting for parents at Horace Mann 7PM - 8:30PM
November 7, 2006PTO Meeting, 8:40 AM
November 9, 2006Grade 5 Circus 9:15AM - 10:30AM (Grade 5 Parents/Guardians only please due to limited space)
November 9, 2006Understanding our Differences Grade 4 1:00 - 2:45 PM
November 10, 2006Veterans Day, NO SCHOOL
November 13, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
November 14, 2006Parent to Parent Series, Partnerships Between Parents/Guardians & Teachers
November 15, 2006CASP Open Board Meeting, 7:30PM New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newtonville
November 15 ? 22, 2006PTO Food Drive for Newton Food Pantry
November 16, 2006Understanding our Differences Grade 3 1:00 - 2:45 PM
November 20, 2006School Council 6-7:30 PM
November 20, 2006METCO Parents' Council Meeting 7 - 9:00 PM Roxbury
November 20, 2006School Committee Caucus 7:00 PM
November 21, 2006Autumn Fest, 11 AM
November 22, 200612:00 Noon Dismissal for Thanksgiving
November 23 ? 24, 2006Thanksgiving, NO SCHOOL
November 27, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
Annual Campaign For Cabot 2006- 2007
We have launched the Annual Campaign for Cabot !! You should be receiving your letter and donation card this week. This Campaign is the single largest source of funding for the PTO ensuring the fulfillment of our mission to enrich the educational experience of all our children, support the school staff and build the community that makes Cabot School such a special place.
The Campaign for Cabot was initiated several years ago because parents said that they would prefer to support the PTO by making a tax-deductible donation instead of engaging in numerous PTO fundraising events. This year the PTO will spend over $55,000 - which translates to approximately $133 per child - on a range of programs and resources. Our annual budget and spending plan can be seen at www.cabotpto.org .
Please feel free to ask us any questions about the Campaign. We encourage you to be as generous as possible and we thank you in advance for your support.
CABOT SPACE CRUNCH SURVEY ?
DEADLINE WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2006 AT MIDNIGHT
As most of you know, the Cabot PTO has constructed a survey to capture our community's views that will enable us to provide guidance to the Newton School Committee and help them make more informed decisions about the solutions they will ultimately recommend regarding the space crunch. Our voices count ? make your voice heard!!
Please complete the survey in full. We assure you that all responses will be kept confidential and no identifying information will be reported. The deadline for completing this survey is midnight November 8th, 2006. You can complete it online anytime from NOW TO THE DEADLINE by clicking on this link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=501442808878. If you do not have a computer then please take a paper copy of the survey from the PTO Notice Board (by the Art room) & return by the deadline date to the Cabot PTO mailbox in the main office.
Not sure what options the School Committee is exploring?
Go to http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/actions/elem_space.html and see the report for yourself. Remember you can always email your views to the School Committee at schoolcommittee at newton.k12.ma.us .
And of course, THANKS to all 150 of you who have completed the online survey so far! We will be sending out a summary of the survey and of all your thoughtful comments in the near future.
CABOT MATH CHALLENGE ? NEW INITIATIVE
The Cabot Math Challenge is an excited new initiative from the Cabot School Council and Dr. Quarcoo. This month?s problem, Stairway to the Roof, can be found at http://www.cabotpto.org/math/ . We are hoping that all Cabot students will try the problem. Download a solution sheet at http://www.cabotpto.org/math/solutionsheet.doc and hand in your answer to one of the 3 Math Challenge boxes -- one on every floor. Students can work in teams and get assistance from parents and other sources. Answers should be submitted by November 16, 2006. Thanks to Robin Moriarty and Matthew Tirrell for their help putting the project together.
This is a new program that we plan to continue throughout the year. Any comments, or suggestions will be greatly appreciated and should be directed to Emily Hess at politicalresources at hotmail.com or to Shara Lewis at shara.lewis at comcast.net Also, please let us know if you are interested in helping with the challenge.
NEWTON TEACHERS IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
You may be aware that all teaching professionals in Newton are currently without a contract & are at this time in negotiations with the City. According to Newton Teachers Association Union President, Cheryl Turgel, members of the NTA have agreed not to volunteer for committees or other events that meet outside of the school day & are not part of their professional responsibilities. They are however completely fulfilling their professional obligations. We hope for all partied involved that this matter is resolved in the near future.
UNDERSTANDING OUR DIFFERENCES, 4TH GRADE
This program will be running a segment on Thursday, November 9th from 1pm to 2:45pm on ?Understanding Our Differences?.
To be able to run this segment 3 volunteer parents are needed from each 4th grade to run various work stations: (1) writing looking through a mirror (2) a memory game (3) listening and following instructions while noise is occurring. If you could help out please contact Rick Reilly 617-332-3006. This is an opportunity for you to be involved with the school in a meaningful way. The more participation, the better the learning experience will be for your child and all the children in the 4th grade classes.
CABOT PTO DIRECTORY QUESTIONS AND CHANGES
By now, all families who have paid their $25 PTO dues should have received their lovely, turquoise copy of the 2006-2007 Cabot Directory. If you feel an error has been made with your order (ie: you didn?t get one), please email Jenny Gamson (jenny at seckler.com), Jo Doherty (jcdoherty11 at comcast.net) or Mary Kathryn Fallon (marykathf at aol.com) and we?d be happy to straighten things out.
We realize that in spite of best intentions to get all the information correct, there are bound to be some errors. We will be distributing an addendum in January, as well as listing changes every so often in the E-Jabber, so please email Jenny with any edits that you?d like included.
Thank you to all who helped with the editing and distribution of the Directory!
BLUE ZONE PLEA
As we said last week, we are very concerned about the safety of our children at pick-up??
Take a moment to read this & let?s prevent an accident from happening to one of our children. Please also remember to inform caretakers, (grandparents, babysitters, nannies, friends) who help with drop off and pick up and are not on our distribution list. We need EVERYONE who participates in the safe arrival and departure of our students to be aware of the rules so that we can work together to have a safe environment.
ALL OF US need to take a moment to re-evaluate how we drive and behave outside Cabot at drop-off and particularly at pick-up. PLEASE:
- DO NOT use/block any of the neighbor driveways ? that?s just courtesy & common sense;
- Drive slowly down Parkview Street outside school ? it is a SCHOOL ZONE!
- Do you know there is a crosswalk opposite the lobby entrance ? don?t park on it!
- During school hours Parkview is a ONE-WAY street!!!
- Observe NO PARKING zones on Bridges Ave (behind school by the faculty parking lots)
- Don?t use the Blue Zone as a parking space ? cars are NOT TO BE LEFT UNATTENDED!!!!
We are ALL part of the Cabot community ? so let?s model behaviors we want our children to emulate. Do you have ideas as to how things can work better? Do you grumble about the rules for the Blue Zone? Then help devise a better system. We NEED a team of parents who can brainstorm how to make the streets safe around CABOT. Interested? Contact Daphne Potter dfpotter at rcn.com or your PTO Presidents.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Co-President
10 Worth Circle,
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-1821
MaryKathF at aol.com
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Sun Nov 12 11:15:17 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 11:15:17 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] CABOT SPACE CRUNCH SURVEY RESULTS
Message-ID: <001a01c70675$c1567ec0$6401a8c0@Jo>
CABOT SPACE CRUNCH SURVEY RESULTS
THANK YOU to everyone who completed the Cabot Space Crunch survey! Those in
the professional survey world tell us our
level of participation was very high - 191 responses from our community of
313 families. A lot of work has gone
into enabling the Cabot community to have this opportunity to voice its
opinions, so please take a few moments to read
the whole of this email which has 3 parts:
1. Feedback to YOU, the Cabot Community
A summary of the survey is provided below BUT we highly recommend that you
look at ALL the survey
results & the comments made. It is very easy to read & not time consuming.
Just click on this link:
http://www.cabotpto.org/announce/space_crunch_survey/
2. Feedback to Public Officials
These results have also been sent to Mayor Cohen, Superintendent Young & all
members of the School Committee.
We provided a paper summary of the results & all comments made, as well as
the above website link to the e-summary.
See the PTO bulletin board for a copy of our cover letter & survey summary.
3. IMPORTANT Next steps
* The Cabot PTO has arranged for 4 members of the School Committee to
visit Cabot this Wednesday to see the current
state of our school. This will help them better translate the paper reports
they see which identify school space & utilization.
* We are trying to set up an evening meeting with a couple of School
Committee members to give the
Cabot community the opportunity to ask them questions. As soon as we have
details confirmed we will announce the date.
Remember this is likely to be the very last opportunity you may have to ask
direct questions of School Committee members
before they make their decision on December 11th.
* Continue to show a strong Cabot presence at the remaining 3 School
Committee meetings:
On November 13th the feasibility report for possible modular sites at the
space impacted schools will be presented.
On November 27th enrollment projections will be announced which will
identify how many more classrooms Cabot will
need for Fall 2007 and Dr. Young will provide his recommendations as to
which options should be used to address
the short term space situation. At the final meeting on December 11th the
School Committee will vote on what options
they will use to solve the short term space crunch at Cabot.
Cabot needs to continue to demonstrate a strong presence at these meetings.
In our opinion if you have to choose between these meetings the last 2 are
the more important ones.
All meetings are at 7:30pm in the Education Center located at 100 Walnut
Street, Newtonville.
Highlights of the Survey
Respondents identified these top guiding principles for the School
Committee:
keep siblings together; keep current students together; maintain a small
class size; and keep renovation plans for Cabot on track.
Installing a modular classroom(s) is clearly the most popular option, but if
a cohort of students had to be moved, over 92% would prefer
moving an entire grade of students to another location, rather than moving
one to two classes of students. Of the six grades,
respondents would be most willing to move the kindergarten grade (66%).
Views on neighborhood schools - respondents expressed a preference for
students to attend one neighborhood school
(81% somewhat agree/agree/strongly agree), but were receptive to students
attending one of two elementary schools (57%).
Respondents rejected the idea of assignment to one of three or four schools.
The survey reflects the following views on specific options:
Installing a modular classroom is the most popular option (89% willing/very
willing).
Increasing class size to over 25 students is not popular (74% not
willing/not willing at all).
Implementing "border zoning" for new students has some support (63% somewhat
willing/willing/very willing).
Implementing "border zoning" for all students has less support (33% somewhat
willing/willing/very willing).
Moving an entire grade of students and teachers to another school for one
year has some support (57% somewhat willing/willing/very willing).
Replacing the art classroom with "art on a cart" is not favored (53% not
willing/not at all willing). Replacing the music classroom
with "music on a cart" is not favored (56% not willing/not at all willing).
A full summary of the results is easy to view and you can also view the open
comments section, too.
Parents have included some very thoughtful comments - take a look!
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Tue Nov 14 15:05:24 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 15:05:24 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] CABOT JabberLite for Tuesday, November 14th 2006
Message-ID: <003201c70828$38af8710$6401a8c0@Jo>
JABBERLITE Tuesday, November 14, 2006
This Jabberlite contains information about:
Launch of Campaign for Cabot
Shopping Online
Social Actions Thanksgiving Food Drive
Newton Teachers in Contract Negotiations
Cabot Space Crunch Update
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at
www.cabotpto.org
November 14, 2006
Parent to Parent Series, Partnerships Between Parents/Guardians & Teachers
After drop off
November 15 to Nov 22
PTO Food Drive for Newton Food Pantry
November 20, 2006
School Council 6-7:30 PM
November 21, 2006
Autumn Fest, 11 AM
November 22, 2006
12:00 Noon Dismissal for Thanksgiving
November 23 to Nov 24
Thanksgiving, NO SCHOOL
November 27, 2006
School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
December 6, 2006
PTO Learning Express Fundraiser
December 11, 2006
School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
December 14, 2006
Early Release Day, 12:30 PM Dismissal
December 15, 2006
Hanukkah Begins at Sundown
December 19, 2006
Affinity Group
December 22, 2006
School finishes at normal time 3PM
December 25, 2006
Christmas Day
December 25 to Jan 1
Vacation, NO SCHOOL
December 26, 2006
Kwanzaa
Annual Campaign For Cabot 2006- 2007
We have launched the Annual Campaign for Cabot and you should have already
received your letter and donation card in the mail. As many of you know
this is the single largest source of funding for the PTO ensuring the
fulfillment of our mission to enrich the educational experience of all our
children, support
the school staff and build the community that makes Cabot School such a
special place. The Campaign for Cabot was initiated several years ago
because parents
said that they would prefer to support the PTO by making a tax-deductible
donation instead of engaging in numerous PTO fundraising events.
This year the PTO will spend over $55,000 - which translates to
approximately $133 per child - on a range of programs and resources.
Our annual budget and spending plan can be seen at www.cabotpto.org
.
Each week in the JabberLite we will be highlighting a particular area to
show how PTO funds are used to enrich all our children's experiences at
Cabot & to support
the faculty, and in doing so we hope to give you a good idea of how well
your money is used. Obviously our goal is to reach & exceed our target of
$24,000
but as important is the hope that every Cabot family will participate so
please contribute whatever you can - little or large all contributions are
gratefully received!
Please feel free to ask us any questions about the Campaign and we thank
you in advance for your support.
Shopping Online
Do you shop online? Do you realize that if you go to the online store via
www.cabotpto.org to do your shopping that a % of
your purchase will be donated to the Cabot PTO! Check out the many online
stores available via the SHOPPING icon on the home page. There are a great
variety to choose from & it won't cost you an extra penny! So please, before
you do your holiday or birthday shopping online go to www.cabotpto.org
Food Drive
The annual Social Action Thanksgiving Food Drive will be collecting
non-perishable foods from Wednesday November 15th through Wednesday November
22nd. Details to follow.
NEWTON TEACHERS IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
You may be aware that all teaching professionals in Newton are still without
a contract & are at this time in negotiations with the City. According to
Newton Teachers Association Union President, Cheryl Turgel, members of the
NTA have agreed not to volunteer for committees or other events that meet
outside of the school day & are not part of their professional
responsibilities. They are however completely fulfilling their professional
obligations. We recognize that this is a very difficult for our teachers and
faculty members at Cabot who are committed to teaching our children. For the
sake of all of Newton's students, we sincerely hope for a prompt resolution
to these negotiations, ending in a fair contract for all.
CABOT SPACE CRUNCH UPDATE
Thanks to the some 190 respondents we had for the online survey. I sent out
an email to the Cabot community identifying the results on Sunday and these
were also
sent to School Committee members, The Superintendent of Schools & Mayor
Cohen. Although this email provided a summary of the survey results we
recommend
you take a look at ALL the survey results & the comments made. It is very
easy to read & not time consuming.
Just click on this link:
http://www.cabotpto.org/announce/space_crunch_survey/
Still not sure what options the School Committee is exploring?
Go to http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/actions/elem_space.html
and see the report for yourself. Remember you can always email your views to
the School Committee at schoolcommittee at newton.k12.ma.us
.
Update on November 13th School Committee Meeting
Overview
The School Committee continued the discussion on short-term space needs (one
to two year solutions) at the elementary school level with a report on
modular classrooms and optional zones. There were two main goals for the
meeting:
1.) Update the School Committee on Optional Zones and Modulars.
2.)Give guidance to Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Young on which of the
various options hold promise and which might be taken off the table.
For a copy of the Memorandum released to the public, please click on the
following link:
http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/school committee/docket/Elem_Space.pdf
Optional Zones
By definition, optional zones are areas where families are given the choice
between two districts. They were created when some elementary schools were
closing and the School Committee needed a way to offer families some choice
as to where they could send their children to school. Cabot School and
Underwood have an optional zone between the two districts. Of the 11
children in that zone, all of them chose Cabot School.
Modulars
Due to concerns about security, the School Committee did not release the
full report on modulars because it included building floor plans. City
engineers and school personnel have evaluated the feasibility of installing
modular classrooms at 12 elementary schools. (An enrollment report due on
11/27 will indicate which schools have enrollment problems of a magnitude
requiring additional space - preliminary data indicates that 5 schools
require more space.)
There was some discussion about locations for modulars, particularly at
Cabot School. One proposed location at Cabot is in front of the library.
School Committee member Reenie Murphy (former Cabot parent) noted that this
particular area has undergone extensive landscaping related to the outdoor
classroom and should not be disturbed. There are additional sites at Cabot
listed in the report that was not released to the public. We believe that
the two other proposed sites include an area in the faculty parking lot and
another on the blacktop. The School Committee is interested in feedback from
principals about the location of modulars. The School Committee chair noted
that they will find a way to make the report public without compromising
security.
Conclusions
The other key points from the meeting were:
* The School Committee is looking at 1-2 year solutions only. (A
separate long term facility planning process is in its early stages.)
* The enrollment report at the November 27th meeting will give a
better sense of how big the problem is and if schools are experiencing a
temporary blip in enrollment or a more permanent issue.
* Installation of modular classrooms is an option still being
considered
* Optional zones should be looked at if it can really help alleviate
the problem and if siblings can stay together.
* The Carr School is not a short-term solution and should be taken
off the table as an option. (It will be considered in the long term
facility planning process.)
* Citywide re-districting is not a short term solution and should be
taken off the table as an option (but will be considered in the long term
facility planning process.)
* Cohort re-districting should remain an option.
* Removal of art and music from a classroom to free up space for a
classroom should remain an option.
* Removal of citywide programs from elementary schools should remain
an option.
* It is possible that there will be several solutions used and that
one solution will not solve the short-term space issues. Once the
enrollment information is released, the School Committee will also have a
better understanding of where to focus efforts.
Please consider coming to a School Committee Meeting - all at 7:30pm at the
Ed Center, 100 Walnut Street. The next meetings are important:
November 27th-Annual Enrollment Report and Superintendent's Policy
Recommendations
December 11th-Vote on Solutions for Short-Term Space Issues
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sarah Ecker, Isabelle
Thacker or Sue Covitz
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Mon Nov 20 09:34:42 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:34:42 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot's Autumn Fest - Tuesday November 21st at 11am
Message-ID: <005a01c70cb1$04966ba0$6401a8c0@Jo>
The Cabot PTO has been asked to send out this reminder concerning Autumn
Fest
Cabot's Autumn Fest - Tuesday November 21st at 11am
Each year prior to the Thanksgiving break, Ms. Ropi joins with her other
music colleagues - this year Ms. Nicolucci - at Cabot to present
a musical array of songs. Children in each grade have an opportunity to
practice skills that are a part of the music curriculum. Each grade
level will serve as a performer while the others learn how to practice
audience skills. This is a very full program and it is our expectation
that children will apply the skills learned in class to this seasonal fest!
We realize that this is an event to which many parents look forward to and
enjoy attending. This year, with increased enrollment &
large number of facility and staff, we are particularly challenged to make
this a family event. We are asking for your co-operation to
consider how many members from any family attend, and asking that non-school
aged children eg. Infants and toddlers, not attend. We also
ask that parents make alternative arrangements and do not bring strollers
into the school building.
In order to safely assemble the students into the gym and to facilitate
warm-ups, parents and guardians are asked not to
enter the gym until 10:45am. Please wait outside the school building,
weather permitting. Every inch of the gym has been used, including
this year the stage. Seats will be available for parents along the left hand
side entering the gym and at the back. We ask that seats not be held for
others and to respect the reserved seat sign - these are to allow faculty to
sit near to their students.
Enjoy and from the Cabot PTO "HAPPY THANKSGIVING!"
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From marykathf at aol.com Tue Nov 21 17:01:29 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 17:01:29 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot E-Jabberwock, Issue 2, November 21, 2006
In-Reply-To: <8C8DBCF18D830A2-624-1199@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8DBCBDC69C3DE-624-1043@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
<8C8DBCCA8189366-624-108D@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
<8C8DBCD77F12192-624-10F0@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
<8C8DBCF18D830A2-624-1199@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8DBCFBB559CA6-624-11E7@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
This email will be posted as a word document in the next few days on the Cabot PTO website, www.cabotpto.org if you would like to print a copy with all the bells and whistles (and Clip Art). Our thanks to Ann Duvall, the editor of this issue.
Cabot School
e-Jabberwock
Issue 2 - November 21, 2006
Respect for Self and Others Lifelong Learning Commitment to School & Community
Cabot School Contact Information
? Main Office: 617-559-9400 ? CASP: 617-964-2749
? Nurse: 617-559-9404 ? Inclusion Facilitator: 617-559-9409
? Gym: 617-559-9407 ? Food Service: 617-559-9021/6315
? Library: 617-559-9406 ? Psychologist & Social Worker: 617-559-9405
? Call Back/Safe Arrival: 617-559-9390 Call by 8:20 a.m. to report tardiness &
absences
Cabot School website www.newton.mec.edu/cabot/
Cabot School PTO www.cabotpto.org
Newton Public Schools www.newtonpublicschools.com
Calendar
November 20, 2006School Council 6-7:30 PM
November 20, 2006METCO Parents' Council Meeting 7 - 9:00 PM Roxbury
November 20, 2006School Committee Caucus 7:00 PM
November 21, 2006Autumn Fest, 11 AM
November 22, 200612:00 Noon Dismissal for Thanksgiving
November 23 & 24, 2006Thanksgiving, NO SCHOOL
November 27, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
December 6, 2006PTO Learning Express Fundraiser
December 11, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
December 14, 2006Early Release Day, 12:30 PM Dismissal
December 15, 2006Hanukkah Begins at Sundown
December 19, 2006Affinity Group
December 19, 2006CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM
December 20, 2006CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM
December 22, 2006CASP Play for School
December 25-Jan 1, 2006Vacation, NO SCHOOL
December 26, 2006Kwanzaa
Marilynne?s Message
Parent-Teacher Conferences All teachers in grades K-5 will be asking parents/guardians to join them for the first formal parent/teacher conference this school year between now and the winter break. As teachers begin preparations for these meetings parents need to think about how they can prepare as well. Andrea Canter, Ph.D., and NCSP prepared these tips for the National Association of School Psychologists. In part based upon Martin and Waltman-Greenwood, Solve Your Child's School-Related Problems (chapter 2, A Parent's Primer).
A guide for parents from TeachersAndFamilies.com
Preparing for A Parent-Teacher Conference
At least once per year, and frequently each semester or more often, parents receive a notice of a parent-teacher conference. Perhaps you have requested the conference yourself. There are many steps you can take to assure that the conference is productive and positive:
? Assemble relevant materials to help prepare for the conference. This could include records from previous schools and school years, such as report cards, test scores, immunization and other health records, and past and current correspondence between home and school.
? Review these materials to see if anything important is missing, and then see if you can find the missing material. Once you have started a collection of your child's records, it is easy to add new material each year. At conference time, if you or the teacher has specific concerns, you can then find whatever might be important to share with the teacher.
? Talk with your child before the conference. Children should understand why the conference is taking place (is it due to a problem or is it a routine meeting held for all parents?) and be assured that parents are seeking ways to help and learn about what their children are doing in school. Find out if your child has any specific concerns about schoolwork or relationships with classmates.
? If your district, school or classroom has a handbook for students, be sure to obtain a copy well ahead of the conference and review it. In particular look for listings of expectations for behavior and attendance so that you might anticipate some questions from teachers or so that you might consider questions you want to ask.
? If your child has brought home homework, be sure you are familiar with the assignments and how your child has been performing. Is the work getting done? Does your child seem to understand the assignments? Does the work seem too easy or too difficult?
? Prepare a list of questions you want to ask your child's teacher: Is my child meeting expectations for learning and behavior? How has my child performed on daily class assignments, on tests, on homework assignments? How does my child compare to others in basic skills? Does my child follow school rules or does he/she exhibit any behavior problems? If my child is struggling in any area, what has been tried to improve performance? Does my child pay attention in class? What else can be done at home or at school? What are my child's strengths? Are there any concerns about my child's health, adjustment? Are there materials or resources that you would recommend?
? If you or the teacher has concerns about referral to special education, find out about your rights ahead of time. State and community agencies and advocate organizations can provide this information, and all schools should also have a printed copy of parents' rights under state and federal law.
? Be ready to collaborate, not attack or defend! Generally teachers will give parents bad news because they want to help the child do better, not to place blame on the parent or child. But sometimes the message does not come across that way and parents naturally become defensive and protective, maybe even angry. Assume the teacher has your child's best interests in mind and respond calmly and tactfully. Indicate that you are most concerned with solving the problem and helping your child succeed. Offer to meet further to discuss the problem and work out a solution. Remember that teachers are often as afraid to deliver bad news as parents are to hear it!
? You want to hear good news about your child. If the teacher does not offer any positive comments, ask directly! ("What does my child do well?) And remember that teachers often hear only negative comments too. Be sure to try to offer a compliment, a thank-you, etc. to let the teacher know you appreciate what they are trying to do to help your child-even when it doesn't seem to be working.
? Don't be afraid to ask questions if you don't understand something or feel your concerns are not being addressed. Teachers and other educators easily slip into jargon and forget that many parents are not familiar with the terms they use every day. Ask what test scores mean and what the results mean for your child. Stop and ask for explanation of unfamiliar terms or programs. Not understanding can quickly lead to misunderstanding!
? Find more content for parents and families at:
www. teachersandfamilies.com Copyright ? 2002 by The Network for Instructional TV - All rights reserved.
Physical Education, Health and Wellness: Maybe you heard about the smashing success of this year?s Fifth Grade Circus. From all reports this was one of the best. Our circus performers have raised the bar for years to come. Our audience was in their element under the Cabot Tent. I even heard that parents got in touch with their childhood. Fun and learning was had by all!
But did you hear that the Newton Public Schools has received a grant to support the development of children. Read on?
NEWTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS AWARDED $1 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS
Newton Public Schools has been awarded a $1,024,842 three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (CFDA # 84.184F). Newton is one of 54 districts in the country to receive a grant award. According to Dr. Jeffrey M. Young, Superintendent of Schools, ?This grant will go a long way to ensuring that our students have cutting edge programs and equipment for health and wellness lessons that will last a lifetime.? As required by the federal government, Newton Public Schools will provide matching funds of $244,587 over three years, including in-kind contributions such as those comprised of existing staff salaries.
The grant project, entitled, ?Teaching Children Today for a Lifetime of Health and Wellness,? will allow Newton to systematically revise its current physical education curriculum, helping students to meet state standards for physical education, health and wellness. The goals for this grant project are to provide K-12 fitness education and assessments, help students develop healthy nutritional habits, incorporate an adventure philosophy and curriculum in the Newton Public Schools program, and help students understand the importance of an active lifestyle as a means to achieve academic excellence.
Adapted physical education professional training and new equipment will enable students with special needs to maximize their participation in physical education, health and wellness. The Newton Public Schools? Physical Education, Health and Wellness Curriculum will be revised to ensure alignment with emerging state standards and will be supported by a diverse, 18 member Wellness Committee.
Evacuation Drill: We had an uneventful, pleasant drill. Members of CASP as well as the Newton Police Department assisted us. The children took this drill seriously and we are all very proud of our youngest students in kindergarten and grade 1 who set the walking pace en route to Newton North High School. Once in the large auditorium they continue to show the entire student body how to be serious. We spent a few minutes reviewing what would happen in the event we did have to remain away from school for the day. The children seem to take it all in stride. Could it be that they had seats in an auditorium? Two experiences they will not have at Cabot school.
Thank you to all the members of the Crisis Team, especially Ms. Driscoll and Betsy Nurczynski who labored long and hard to ensure that everyone was prepared. I am confident that Cabot School can respond effectively should the need arise. If you have any feedback please let us know!
PTO Pen
We are deep into November and although the days may be shorter, our work on your behalf never stops. We would like to thank the tireless efforts of our Political Action Committee, Sarah Ecker, Isabelle Thacker and Sue Covitz for their time and energy keeping us updated on the space crunch issues, and to Mie-Yun Lee, our talented webmaster who helped spearhead the Survey. Thanks to you, the Cabot Community, for your show of support in attending the School Committee Meetings and the Open Forum; Cabot had by far the most representatives there; as well as 191 of you who completed the Cabot Space Crunch Survey. We have sent home a summary of the results to you via email and have shared these results with the School Committee. We were also able to host 4 School Committee Members for a tour of our space last Wednesday morning. They were here before the doors opened and got a first hand look at the tight spaces in which we are learning and teaching. The next two School Committee meetings are critical, please attend or tune-in on November 27 and on December 11 when they make their decision.
The Annual Campaign for Cabot is off to a great start!! Thank you to everyone who has made a donation thus far. This Campaign is the single largest source of funding for the PTO ensuring the fulfillment of our mission to enrich the educational experience of all our children, support the school staff and build the community that makes Cabot School such a special place. This year the PTO will spend over $55,000 ? which translates to $133 per child, on a range of programs and resources. We encourage all families to participate in this fundraising endeavor which directly benefits your child. Many thanks go to Lori Seuch, our VP of Fundraising, for organizing and distributing the letters and donation cards, and to Emily Hess for her technical expertise working with our database to print the letters.
The new morning entry routines are in full swing. We appreciate everyone?s adherence to these routines for fostering independence and self- reliance. Thank you for gathering by grade in the marked areas of the blacktop, this facilitates easy entrance into the building. Thank you also for understanding our space restrictions by not bringing strollers into the building. We appreciate your help in following the rules of the Blue Zone. Working together we can help our children become independent and also relieve some of the congestion which will result in safe arrival practices.
We would like to take a moment to acknowledge our teachers who are currently working without a contract. As representatives of the PTO, we hope this matter is settled in the near future, and speaking as parents and citizens, we appreciate and applaud their dedication and hard work on a daily basis.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend.
Jo Doherty
PTO co-President Mary Kathryn Fallon
PTO co-President
Recent Events at cabot
Third Graders Complete Unit on Deafness and Hard of Hearing
Cabot Math Challenge ? Stairway to the Roof
Thanks To?????????? Third graders completed the deafness and hard of hearing unit of Understanding Our Differences on Thurs Nov 16th. Ask your child what s/he learned about people who are deaf and hard of hearing and the challenges they face and the tools they can use. Many thanks to the following parents who helped with this unit: Catherine Bucci, Deborah Mitchell, Kate Dulit, Emily Hess, Karen Jauregui, Sarah Hemphill, Archana Vahalia and Shara Lewis. Special thanks to Gary Alpert, our guest speaker, who is deaf and works in the Newton Public Schools.
If you are interested in helping with the upcoming units or for more information, please contact David Taylor or Sarah Hemphill.
Over 100 students attempted to solve Cabot?s first Math Challenge, Stairway to the Roof. The solution will be available soon. Keep your eyes open for the next Math Challenge, which will be out on Monday December 4th. The Cabot Math Challenge is an exciting new initiative from the Cabot School Council and Dr. Quarcoo, which will continue throughout the year. Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated and should be directed to Emily Hess, politicalresources at hotmail.com or to Shara Lewis, shara.lewis at comcast.net Also, please let us know if you are interested in helping with the challenge. Thanks to Robin Moriarty and Matthew Tirrell for their help putting the project together.
We would like to express our appreciation to:
Kate Johnson ? for organizing and executing the gift wrap fundraiser!
Jenny Gamson ? our directory guru for working hard through the summer and fall to gather, compile and prepare the invaluable Cabot directory!
Julie Stonehill ? for organizing the Papa Gino?s fundraiser and giving many of us a night off from cooking.
Sharon Dywer ? for organizing the Coffee Pond Family Picture Day fundraiser to benefit the Community Garden.
Daphne Potter & Susan Sagan ? for helping Dana Bennett organize Wellness Day, a fun day of health and learning.
Volunteers Needed
Parent Volunteers Needed for Reading Partners Program
Would you like to help in a classroom? Cabot School is recruiting volunteers to help support readers in the 1st and 2nd grades as they develop and strengthen literacy skills. If we have enough support, we will extend the program to the third grade classrooms also. No prior teaching or tutoring experience is required.
The Reading Partners Program will begin its 4th year in December 2006. We are asking for a commitment of 2 days per week for 45 minutes each day. The time slots vary but are in the morning for grades 1 and 2. Grade 3 time slots are not yet determined. Each time slot is during the literacy block in the individual classrooms. Volunteers pick which 2 days they would like to work.
Parent volunteers will work one-on-one with students, listening to them read. Cari Nelson, Literacy Specialist, will provide training on how to support readers. The training will teach parents how to prompt students to support the use of reading strategies. Cari will be available to coach and support parent volunteers throughout the program.
For more information or to sign up, please contact Cari Nelson at Carolyn_Nelson at newton.k12.ma.us or Liz Haas at haas.joffe at rcn.com
Bring Cabot's Core Values to Life!
Cabot School's Core Values
Life-long learning / Respect for self and others / Commitment to school and community.
These are Cabot School?s core values?the belief statements we want to foster in all students. They are meant to permeate every aspect of school, home, and community life. They are also used as broad statements of purpose that help our school focus its energies in areas of curricula, programs, and policies.
To renew our focus on Cabot?s core values this year, Dr. Quarcoo is forming a Principal?s Committee on Core Values. The three parent members are Jenny Duvall, Lisa Griggs, and Sandee Simshauser. We need a few more members, especially a 5th grade parent! Duties will include
? Meeting with principal approximately five times/year to discuss school?s core values
? Sending announcements to PTO committee chairs about ways to make their efforts and events reflect core values
? Designing two home/school activities to bring life and meaning to core values
? Monitoring climate/needs of school to ensure that attention/actions reflect core values
Please contact Sally Brickell (brickland6 at rcn.com or 617-527-5438), Nominating, if you?d like to join this worthwhile effort.
CABOT BROADCAST
Out of District Policy Statement for 2007
School Publication of Out-of-District Policy Statement - 2007:
?Out-of-District placements for students who wish to attend a school in Newton other than his/her district school are limited. Such placements are made on a space available basis only. Newton families, as well as members of Units A, B, C, D, E, NESA Custodians and Boston parents of students participating in the METCO Program, should call the Attendance Office at 617-559-6030 for information.* Students who receive acceptance for Out-of-District placement must remain in the school selected or file for out-of-district placement at the appropriate time.
? Applications for the following school year must be submitted on forms, which will be available in the Attendance Office at the Education Center beginning November 1.
?A lottery will be implemented to determine the order in which placements will be made. Completed applications, signed by the in-district principal, can be submitted no earlier than the first school day in January in the school year preceding the desired registration and no later than the last school day in January. Applications submitted after January 31 will not be included in the lottery.
?Hand-delivered applications will only be accepted from the parent or legal guardian. Application forms must have the 'Reason for Request' section completed in order to be considered.
?Class size in a given grade, in a given year, in a specific school, may preclude any placements including siblings.
?Parents will be responsible for transporting their child to the out-of-district school.
*It should be noted that Tuition-Free Enrollment is limited to regular education programs only.
Understanding Our Differences
Newton Schools Foundation In an effort to recycle our curriculum books through our program we are
asking if anyone has any past Understanding Our Differences curriculum
books ? if they would leave them in the school office in your designated
PTO area. We will have the current coordinators send them to our office.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
The Newton Schools Foundation thanks you! Last spring your support for the 2006 Honor Thy Teacher Campaign celebrated 638 NPS educators and raised over $43,000 to support this year's grants. With your support 33 exciting new grants are in progress for the 2006-07 school year including over$25,000 for systemwide elementary school grants which will directly impact Cabot. In addition, Cabot was awarded funding for two 2005-06 grants, Lunch Aide Training for Bullying Prevention and Professional Development to Improve Math Instruction.
Covering a number of curriculum areas, the combined grants will directly impact the school experience of over 18,500 students and 941 teachers in all 21 schools. Since the NPS student enrollment this year is over 11,500, this indicates that many students have the opportunity to participate in innovative programming in more than one of their classrooms on a daily basis.
Please take a minute to thank the present and past grantees in your school for their creativity and encourage teachers to apply for funding for the 2007-08 school year. Also, please check out our website for further information: www.nsfonline.org
Fundraising And they?re off?You should have received your letters regarding the Campaign for Cabot-the single largest fundraiser that we do. The Cabot PTO provides approximately $133 per child to the school while the Newton Public Schools provides only $88. Please be as generous as possible when you receive the letter and give as much as you can so we can continue to provide all the wonderful opportunities that we do! Very special thanks to Liz Haas, Michele Weinfeld, Leslie Warner, Sue Finegan and Susan Phillips for getting the mailing out the door!
Approximately 79% of you became dues paying members of the PTO this year. While the services we provide are free, your contributions entitle you to a great Cabot Directory which will be invaluable throughout the year. There are a very limited amount of extra directories available, so join the 79% who have paid dues for the 2006-2007 school year!
Rounding out the very beginning of school, the Cabot Community Supper raised about $600 for the school while more importantly, raising the spirits of many who enjoyed playing on the field, catching up with friends and enjoying the school spirit.
Our Coffee Pond Picture fundraiser did not raise what we were hoping for so the PTO through other funds will have to subsidize the Community Park project, as $1,000 was promised to them. Thanks to those of you who did participate, we hope your portraits are everything you expected! And, as you saw the boxes of gift wrap lining the hallway-your sales earned approximately $7,800 for the school. A great way to kick off the holiday season!
We still don?t have results yet from our night out at Papa Ginos but anecdotally, there were Cabot families there from the beginning to the end, having fun and taking a night off from cooking.
As you get ready to start your holiday shopping, don?t forget to go through this link: http://www.cabotpto.org/shop.html where you can access many of your favorite stores and earn money for Cabot at the same time. We?ve earned about $125 already-think of how this can grow if you simply begin your online shopping here! Some of the stores you can order from include Best Buy, Target, Amazon, KB Toys, Barnes and Noble and many more. Check it out, there?s more than you realize! In the coming month, there will also be a flyer coming home about shopping at the Learning Express in Newton Center.
Finally, don?t forget to continue clipping box tops and putting them in the box in the main lobby. It?s easy to do and is quick money which adds up for the school. We mailed off our first batch of for the year. We?ve collected 1,280 Box Tops so far this year! We?ll keep counting, so please keep clipping! When you clip the Box Tops, please make sure not to cut off the expiration date. And when you start your on-line shopping, please begin at www.Cabotpto.org which will link you to the Box Tops website. If you have any questions, please contact: Isabelle Thacker, 617/795-2332, isabelle at thackers.net
Thank you all for your continued support of this wonderful school. With your help and generosity, we accomplish great things.
Fifth Grade Activities Attention all Fifth Grade parents and guardians. On Monday, Nov. 20, at 8:30AM, in the library you are invited to the 5th Grade Activities Breakfast to find out what special events are in store for your children in the upcoming year and how you can help. If you have any questions contact Lori Dix at dixfamily at verizon.net.
Creative Arts & Sciences On October 26th, the Creative Arts and Sciences program brought renowned ethnomusicologist Semenya McCord to Cabot School. The concert highlighted African ?American experiences through spirituals, blues and jazz. Cabot School enjoyed a rollicking musical history tour as the children clapped and sang their way from calypso through swing and doo-wop to what was termed the ?first? rap song - ?Straighten up and Fly Right? by Nat King Cole. Ms. McCord and her band members on bass, piano and drums illustrated how people over the years have both communicated with each other and gathered strength through music. Ms. McCord closed with a song written for her father and encouraged us all to explore our own family?s unique history through music.
Social Action Committee Candy Drive and UNICEF
Once again a big thank you goes to Cabot students and families who collected more than $1,000 for UNICEF and contributed more than 500 pounds of candy to Rosie's Place in Boston. Every year Rosie's Place looks forward to Cabot's candy donation which goes to the needy families they serve over the course of the year.
Food Drive for Head Start
Cabot Food Drive for Head Start in Newton starts this week. Please bring in canned or dry goods for donations. A collection box will be set up in the front lobby of the school. Collections will end just before the Thanksgiving school break. Thank you all for your generous contributions! Sharon Whitham - SAC Co-Chair
Donor Angels Holiday Gift Drive
Cabot will again this year participate in the Community Service Gift Drive for the Second Step program. This is an opportunity for you & your family to send a gift to a deserving child for the holidays. Fliers came home in your child?s backpacks a few weeks ago asking if you would like to participate and the amount you would like to donate for a gift. The forms are being processed right now. You will receive a confirmation of your participation identifying the specified gift you will need to buy and return to Cabot on the date identified on the flier. Thanks in advance for participating. If you did not send back a form and you would still like to participate, donations of wrapping supplies and gift cards are always welcome. This program was a great success last year. The families of the Second Step were very appreciative and happy with the help they received. If you have any questions please contact Rose Flynn roda at gis.net
Literacy
Resource Center At Cabot School, we are offering students in grades three, four, and five an opportunity to take the National Mythology Exam. Students must sign up with their classroom teachers by December 4, 2006. The exam will be given between February 19 and March 2, 2007.
The National Mythology Exam, sponsored by the American Classical League, is a multiple choice, machine scored exam given across the country each year to assess students? knowledge of Greek and Roman Myths. Each year, the American Classical League announces the study pages in d?Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths for this self-directed study of mythology. Signing up for the exam requires students to make a commitment to study the material. At Cabot, we offer the exam to any students in grades three, four, and five who consider themselves ?scholars? in this literary genre.
For more information, please contact me by email carolyn_nelson at newton.k12.ma.us or by phone at Cabot School (617) 559-9400. - Carolyn Nelson, Literacy Specialist
Community News
Newton Holiday Crafts & Art Festival
Skiing & Snowboarding Registration
Debate over Newton North High School Building Plans
Conversations about Newton North ? Public Forum
Drumming Lessons Newton Holiday Crafts and Art Festival
The fifth annual CELEBRATE NEWTON! HOLIDAY ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL will take place on Sunday, December 3rd from 10 am until 4 pm at Newton South High School. This Citywide PTO-sponsored fair raises money for ALL Newton schools. For the past four years, Celebrate Newton! has attracted shoppers and spirit from across the city, and this year's fair promises to be even better. The day will feature 60+ artisans with ties to Newton: crafters and artists in the show are Newton residents, teachers, parents, students, employees, alums and more. Shoppers can also enjoy onsite craft projects, live music from community and school groups, a silent auction, bake sale and lunch cafe. ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE NEWTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Please see www.perugi.com/newton for more details. Questions? Please contact Sara Coen at 617-558-3695 or at saracoen3 at aol.com.
Sking and Snowboarding Registration
The Newton Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring skiing and snowboarding at Nashoba Valley. Six week program beginning in January 2007. Tuesday afternoons for grades 3-5 and Friday evenings for grades 6-12. Lessons available. Registration now available at www.ci.newton.ma.us/parks . For further information call Stephanie Pelkowsky at 617 796 1500
Debate Over Newton North High School Building Plans
As most of you know, a recent petition asked the Board of Aldermen to reconsider its approval of the site plan for a new Newton North High School building. Since the Board decided to stick by its approval, the question will come to a public vote on January 23rd.
Voters will be asked whether they support or oppose the Aldermen's decision to approve the current site plan for the new Newton North High School building. Two ballot question committees have been formed; Newton North Now supports approval of the site plan, while Voters for a Better Newton North opposes it.
We want to encourage parents to stay informed about this upcoming vote on an issue of tremendous importance to education in the City of Newton. The upcoming CONVERSATIONS ABOUT NEWTON NORTH described below should be a good place to start.
Renovation of both high schools became an issue several years ago because of overcrowding and the deteriorating physical conditions. The problems continue at Newton North. As reported in Jennifer Price, Principal of Newton North High School's monthly newsletter (http://www.nnhs.net/administration/principal/) the results of the NEASC accreditation process at Newton North included a point about the condition of the school building. The information below is the final bullet from her report.
". They felt that our building was not a conducive learning environment for our students. We will mostly likely be seen as deficient in this area.
Overall, this was a very positive report and many of us hope that this report will serve as a catalyst to make needed changes."
As the campaign continues, we will strive to keep the Cabot Community informed about the project by sending updates and highlighting important events and communications, such as the Public Forum listed below. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.
Sarah Hemphill sarahhemphill at rcn.com
Emily Hess Politicalresources at hotmail.com
Sharon Dwyer jsordwyer at rcn.com
Kate Dulit kate.dulit at verizon.net
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT NEWTON NORTH
Public Forums on Newton North Referendum
Conversation One: The Site Plan
November 28, 2006
7:30 pm
NNHS Lasker Auditorium
Newton's League of Women Voters, the Newton PTO Council and the Newton Schools Foundation have joined together to offer citizens an opportunity to learn more about the upcoming referendum on the approval of a site plan for a new Newton North building. The organizations will hold two forums, titled "Conversations about Newton North," so that voters will be able to ask a balanced panel questions about the issues involved in the ballot question they will be voting on January 23rd.
The first forum will be held November 28th and will focus on the site plan itself. The second forum, to be held in January, will focus on the finances of the project. Both forums will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Newton North's Lasker Auditorium.
Panelists for the first forum will be David Cohen, mayor of Newton; George Mansfield, Ward 6 alderman and opponent of the site plan; Alan Mayer, architect and member of Voters for a Better Newton North; and Dori Zaleznik, chair of the Newton School Committee. The evening will begin with a brief introduction to the site plan. Following that, each panelist will have five minutes to briefly state their position. The remainder of the evening will be devoted to questions from the audience, moderated by Amelia Koch of the League of Women Voters.
In addition to the forums, tours of the existing Newton North building will be available on two different dates. The first set of tours will be offered immediately before the first forum, on the evening of November 28th starting at 6:00 pm. The second set will be offered during the day on Saturday, December 2nd from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
For more information, visit www.newtonptocouncil.org, emailconversations at newtonptocouncil.org, or call Lisa Mirabile, at 617-332-5374.
Drumming Lessons
The Fine Arts Department of the Newton Public Schools is offering beginning drum lessons for students in grades four and five. Semi-private lessons will be held on Tuesday afternoons after school at Newton North High School. There is a fee which includes 14 lessons. Yearly registration begins immediately. For more information call 781-721-0490.
- Submitted by Gil Graham
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Co-President
10 Worth Circle,
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-1821
MaryKathF at aol.com
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Tue Nov 28 11:54:06 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:54:06 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] JabberLite for Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
Message-ID: <008101c7130d$d179ee00$6401a8c0@Jo>
JABBERLITE FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH 2006
This email contains information about the following:
Campaign for Cabot
Update on the School Committee meeting yesterday & the space crunch issue
Cabot PTO's online shopping link & Learning Express Fundraiser
Information regarding Newton North
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at
www.cabotpto.org
December 6, 2006
PTO Learning Express Fundraiser
December 11, 2006
School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
December 14, 2006
Early Release Day, 12:30 PM Dismissal
December 15, 2006
Hanukkah Begins at Sundown
December 19, 2006
Affinity Group
December 19, 2006
CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM
December 20, 2006
CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM
December 22, 2006
CASP Play for Students
December 25 to Jan 1
Vacation, NO SCHOOL
December 26, 2006
Kwanzaa
January 1, 2007
Vacation, NO SCHOOL
January 2, 2007
School resumes
January 4, 2007
Understanding our Differences Grade 5 1:00 - 2:45 PM
January 8, 2007
School Council 6-7:30 PM
January 8, 2007
School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
January 10, 2007
All-City School Chorus Concert, Brown Middle School 7:30 PM
January 15, 2007
Martin Luther King Day, NO SCHOOL
January 18, 2007
Winter Concert, 10:45 AM & 7:30 PM
Campaign for Cabot
The Campaign for Cabot is our largest source of fundraising for the whole
year and it goes a long way to ensuring the PTO can
fulfill its mission to provide the services & support identified in the
budget. Thank you to all the 16% of families who have so far
contributed and helped raise $9,494! Our goal is to raise $24,000 to ensure
the PTO can continue to underwrite all the
fantastic services we provide to all the students at Cabot. So if you have
not yet contributed please take a moment to think
about how much your child benefits from all the enrichment activities
provided & financed by the PTO. This year we are striving
towards 100% participation from our community of families, so please
contribute whatever you can. There is
an old Scottish & Jamaican saying - "Mony a mickle makes a muckle" - every
penny adds up!!
And remember any donations are tax-deductible!
Update on the School Committee meeting yesterday & the space crunch issue
At last nights School Committee meeting enrollment projections were
presented which indicate that Cabot is expected to need another
2 classrooms next Fall in addition to those classes we currently have: an
additional K class & an additional 1st grade class. Generally, the
report concluded that Newton Public Schools would experience a general
growth on student population, particularly at the Elementary
School level & especially at Kindergarten. The report contains a lot of
information so please take a look at it online at
http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/docs/11_27_06/Enroll%20Report%20
11.06.pdf
Also at this meeting the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jeff Young, made his
recommendations on how he would like to see the School
Committee address the short terms space needs of the 5 Elementary Schools
identified as having space issues. He proposed 8 actions for their
consideration,
which in summary included these of specific interest to the Cabot community:
* Recommended the School Committee purchase & install 8 modulars for
use as classrooms for the start of the 2007/08 school year,
2 of which would be for Cabot - this would protect the art & music rooms as
specialty rooms & eliminate the need for co-hort redistricting for Cabot.
* Eliminate 3 existing choice zones, effective September 2007,
including the 2 choice zones for Cabot & Underwood near Fairmont & Bellevue.
He recommends that existing students & future siblings be grandfathered but
new students entering Sept 2007 for the Cabot zones would be sent to
Underwood.
* Commence the process of securing the Carr School for future use
* His report can be seen in full at
http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/docs/11_27_06/elem_space_rec_11_
27.pdf
Points of further interest raised at the meeting:
* Mayor Cohen identified that he has included in his capital
improvement plan for next year $900,000 for modulars & could raise that to
$1million if the School Committee could fund the difference - Dr.Young's
report estimates the cost for purchase & installation of 8 modulars
to be approx. $1.1 to $1.2 million.
* The schools recommended to have 2 modulars each (Cabot, Pierce &
Zervas) would need to have them co-located in order to reduce installation
cost.
Onsite surveys have already concluded 3 possible sites for Cabot - outside
the current Kindergarten entrance, on the blacktop, and on the
faculty parking area. Of these, the last 2 only can accommodate 2 modulars.
Specific site discussions will be had with School Principals etc to
determine the best location. Such details will not be decided by the School
Committee's vote on December 11th but will need to be resolved prior to
modulars orders being placed during Mar/April.
* Dr. Young stated all other non-classroom space needs such as SPED,
after schools programs etc,.would be addressed by the long term facilities
plan.
This was identified as starting in the new year with a deadline of May 2007
in order for Newton to file requests to meet State deadlines for renovation
reimbursement.
What happens next?
* December 11th is when the School Committee vote on their proposals
to address the short term space issues, which may or may not reflect Dr.
Youngs.
You can stay informed by reading his proposal, coming to this meeting or
watch it live on NEWTV. Thanks once again to the Cabot parents who showed
up last night!
SHOPPING FOR THE HOLIDAYS
If you are shopping online for the holidays or birthdays don't forget to go
to www.cabotpto.org first & then click on the
Shopping icon!!
You will pay exactly the same prices BUT a % of your total purchase will be
donated to the Cabot School PTO! All of the main online
stores participate, so check it out by visiting
http://www.cabotpto.org/shop.html
Also, on December 6th the Learning Express store in Newton Center will again
run a fundraising day to benefit Cabot School.
Coming home soon will be a flyer with more information. Simply shop at the
store on December 6th identify yourself as Cabot School &
the Learning Express will donate a $ of the total sales generated!!
Our thanks go to Julie Stonehill for organizing this & other small
fundraisers like Papa Ginos.
Social Action Food Drive
Thanks to everyone who helped make this year's Thanksgiving food drive a
success -- we delivered three carloads of food to the
Newton Creative Start program last Wednesday morning! The Creative Start
program enrolls over 100 students, and the parents
of those students count on Cabot School's generosity each year to make
Thanksgiving dinner a reality. Thanks again to everyone
who donated, and to those on the Social Action committee who collected and
delivered the food.
NEWTON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
As advertised in earlier emails tonight is Conversation One: The Site Plan
held at the High School's Lasker Auditorium at 7:30pm.
Newton's League of Women Voters, the Newton PTO Council and the Newton
Schools Foundation have joined together to offer
an opportunity to learn more about the upcoming referendum on the approval
of a site plan for a new Newton North building.
Two forums will be held titled "Conversations about Newton North," so that
voters will be able to ask a balanced panel questions
about the issues involved in the ballot question they will be voting on
January 23rd. Panelists for the first forum will be David Cohen,
Mayor of Newton; George Mansfield, Ward 6 Alderman and opponent of the site
plan; Laura Naylor, member of Voters for a Better Newton North;
and Dori Zaleznik, chair of the Newton School Committee. The evening will
begin with a brief introduction to the site plan.
Following that, each panelist will have five minutes to briefly state their
position. The remainder of the evening will be devoted to questions from the
audience, moderated by Amelia Koch of the League of Women Voters.
The second forum to be held on January 9th at will focus on the finances of
the project. Both forums will be held at 7:30 p.m. in
Newton North's Lasker Auditorium.
In addition to the forums, tours of the existing Newton North building will
be available on two different dates. The first set of tours will
be offered immediately before the first forum, on the evening of November
28th starting at 6:00 pm. The second set will be offered
during the day on Saturday, December 2nd from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
For more information, visit www.newtonptocouncil.org
,
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Thu Nov 30 12:38:04 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 12:38:04 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Celebrate Newton! Holiday Arts & Crafts Festival -
this Sunday
Message-ID: <000f01c714a6$4c73e9a0$6401a8c0@Jo>
Come on out to support the Newton Schools Foundation AND Newton artisans,
including teachers, students, parents, employees, alums and more!
WHAT: Fifth Annual Celebrate Newton! Holiday Arts and Crafts Festival,
sponsored by Newton PTO Council
WHEN & WHERE: Sunday, December 3rd at Newton South High School, 140 Brandeis
Rd. from 10 am until 4 pm
FOR KIDS: cookie decorating, gift card-making, beverage booths, live music,
reasonably priced handmade gifts, pizza cafe, bake sale, friends & more!
FOR ADULTS: holiday shopping from 60+ Newton artisans, silent auction, live
music, bake sale, hot drinks booth, pizza cafe, author signing & more!
ALL PROCEEDS: benefit the Newton Schools Foundation teacher grants programs.
LOVE TO BAKE? We could still use donations for the bake sale. Feel free to
drop baked goods off at NSHS on the day off the fair, starting at 8 am.
SILENT AUCTION: donations still welcome!
CONTACT: www.perugi.com/newton, 617-558-3695 or saracoen3 at aol.com
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/23/small_crafts_advisory/?
page=full
We hope to see you there!
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Fri Dec 1 09:25:55 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 09:25:55 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Gift Policy of Newton Schools
Message-ID: <002101c71554$9d01b740$6401a8c0@Jo>
Each year the PTO is asked to send out this reminder to families:
Newton School's Gift Policy
As we enter into the holiday season, please remember the Newton School
Committee Policy: "No teacher in the performance of regular duties shall
receive presents from the pupils under his or her direction." Each year
families are reminded of this policy, and each year most families comply.
It is very natural for children and their families to want to acknowledge
and thank their teachers at holiday time. Here are some suggestions:
1. A note of appreciation to your child's teacher, or a card made by your
child, would be treasured.
2. A homemade acknowledgement to your child's teacher or faculty member,
such as cookies or baked goods.
3. You may wish to honor a teacher or staff member through a donation to
the Campaign for Cabot. Checks should be made to the Cabot PTO, with a note
indicating that it is for the Campaign for Cabot. This is a terrific way to
honor a teacher and support the parent-run enrichment programs at Cabot
School.
Please do not solicit money from families for class gifts.
If you need further clarification please speak with the Principal Marilynne
Quarcoo or your PTO Co-Presidents, Jo Doherty and Mary Kathryn Fallon.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Happy Holidays!!!
Share the joy!!!
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Mon Dec 4 10:44:34 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 10:44:34 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot PTO Fundraiser at the Learning Express Toy
store - Newton Center - this Wednesday!
Message-ID: <002601c717bb$1b391f00$6401a8c0@Jo>
On Wednesday, December 6th
Shop anytime during Wednesday 9:30am to 7pm,
Mention Cabot School and they will donate
20% of your purchase price to the
Cabot PTO!
Where: Learning Express
1296 Centre Street
Newton
617-969-2722
Phone / Fax Orders also apply -- catalogues available in the school office
Any questions?
Contact Julie Stonehill at 617-964-4937 or jastonehill at rcn.com
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From marykathf at aol.com Tue Dec 5 10:03:25 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2006 10:03:25 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] JABBERLITE for Tuesday December 5. 2006
In-Reply-To: <8C8E69462C24C5E-FCC-39EC@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8E63893C736F9-AE4-3196D@MBLK-M33.sysops.aol.com>
<8C8E69462C24C5E-FCC-39EC@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8E695A63AE62E-FCC-3A8D@FWM-D45.sysops.aol.com>
JABBERLITE Tuesday, December 5, 2006
This Jabberlite contains information about:
Campaign for Cabot ? Where does your money go?
Online Shopping and Learning Express Fundraiser
Cabot Math Challenge
Community Service Gift Drive to The Second Step
Cabot Space Crunch Update
Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education
Conversations About Newton North
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at www.cabotpto.org
December 6, 2006PTO Learning Express Fundraiser
December 11, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
December 14, 2006Early Release Day, 12:30 PM Dismissal
December 15, 2006Hanukkah Begins at Sundown
December 19, 2006Affinity Group
December 19, 2006CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM
December 20, 2006CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM
December 22, 2006CASP Play for School
December 25, 2006Christmas
December 25 to Jan 1, 2006Vacation, NO SCHOOL
December 26, 2006Kwanzaa
January 2, 2007School resumes
January 4, 2007Understanding our Differences Grade 5 1:00 - 2:45 PM
January 8, 2007School Council 6-7:30 PM
January 8, 2007School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
January 9, 2007Conversations About NNHS:Part II -The Finances NN Lasker Auditorium, 7:30PM
January 10, 2007All-City School Chorus Concert, Brown Middle School 7:30 PM
WHERE DOES YOUR MONEY GO? HOW DOES THE PTO USE MY MONEY?
Each week we will highlight a different area to illustrate how your money is spent & the good it yields. First, let?s start with Cabot?s dedicated teachers and faculty. Many of our teachers dig deep into their own pockets to provide necessary materials and supplies for their classrooms and students. To alleviate that & to ensure our children still benefit from outstanding educational experiences the PTO provides each grade and specialty teacher with a lump sum at the beginning of the year. Did you also know that when Cabot has to open a new classroom that Newton Public Schools does not provide any funds to equip that classroom with additional materials. To address this the PTO gives each NEW teacher additional financial assistance. This year some $6,500 was distributed amongst Cabot faculty and staff which were again very gratefully received. Each year the PTO receives many, many notes of thanks from grateful teachers, some of which we thought we would share with you:
?I truly appreciate your support?. I will be able to expand our resources for many children?
?Please know how much Cabot staff appreciates your support?
?With fading funds your donation is even more beneficial?
?Thank you for the very generous check you provide to all teachers to help us offset classroom expenses?
?Thank you so much for the money, I can use it to buy materials to use with my students?
?I have been able to buy workbooks that I can use with groups & individual students?
So if you have not yet contributed to the Campaign for Cabot, please take a moment to think about how much your child benefits from all the enrichment activities provided & financed by the PTO. To date we have 20% participation. Thank you so much to those who have contributed already, your generosity is greatly appreciated. There is still time to contribute and to make that tax deductible donation before the end of the year. This year we are striving towards 100% participation from our community of families, so please contribute whatever you can.
SHOP FOR THE HOLIDAYS ?
AND EARN $$ FOR CABOT AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!
If you are shopping online for the holidays or birthdays don?t forget to go to www.cabotpto.org first & then click on the Shopping icon!! You will pay exactly the same prices BUT a % of your total purchase will be donated to the Cabot School PTO! All of the main online stores participate, so check it out by visiting http://www.cabotpto.org/shop.html
Also, on WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 6th the LEARNING EXPRESS store in Newton Center will again run a fundraising day to benefit Cabot School. Simply shop at the store on December 6th, identify your purchase is to benefit Cabot School & the Learning Express will donate a % of the total sales generated!! Our thanks go to Julie Stonehill for organizing this & other small fundraisers like Papa Ginos.
CABOT MATH CHALLENGE - Problem #2 Now Available
We are thrilled to announce that 26% of Cabot students choose to participate in the first Cabot Math Challenge Problem. Problem #2 is now available. Copies can be obtained from teachers or the Challenge Page of the Cabot PTO web site, www.cabotpto.org . Please submit your solution by Thursday December 14, 2006. Keep up the great work!
If you have any questions contact Emily at politicalresources at hotmail.com or Shara at Shara7 at gmail.com .
COMMUNITY SERVICE GIFT DRIVE
Thank you to so many of you who have signed-up to donate holiday gifts to the families of The Second Step, Newton's Shelter for domestic violence. By now you shoul d have received your form back listing what was requested. Please bring all donations to Cabot School on either Monday 12/11 or Tuesday 12/12, where volunteers will be on hand to accept them. Gifts must be new and unwrapped. Please put a post-it Note on each gift with the name and age of the recipient on it and the name of the student making the donation. If you would still like to participate, The Second Step is always in need of wrapping paper & supplies and gift cards. Volunteers will bring the gifts to The Second Step's North Pole where they will be wrapped and tagged until the holidays. Thank you for your participation and thanks to Rose Coppola Flynn who organized this gift drive.
DECEMBER 11th is thE NEXT School Committee meeting DURING WHICH THEY WILL VOTE ON THE space crunch issue
At last week's School Committee meeting enrollment projections were presented which indicate that Cabot is expected to need another 2 classrooms next Fall in addition to those classes we currently have: an additional K class & an additional 1st grade class. Generally, the report concluded that Newton Public Schools would experience a general growth on student population, particularly at the Elementary School level & especially at Kindergarten. The report contains a lot of information so please take a look at it online at http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee/docs/11_27_06/Enroll%20Report%2011.06.pdf
Also at this meeting the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jeff Young, made his recommendations on how he would like to see the School Committee address the short terms space needs of the 5 Elementary Schools identified as having space issues. He proposed 8 actions for their consideration, including those listed below which are of specific interest to the Cabot community:
Recommended the School Committee purchase & install 8 modulars for use as classrooms for the start of the 2007/08 school year, 2 of which would be for Cabot ? this would protect the art & music rooms as specialty rooms & eliminate the need for co-hort redistricting for Cabot.
Eliminate 3 existing choice zones, effective September 2007, including the 2 choice zones for Cabot & Underwood near Fairmont & Bellevue. He recommends that existing students & future siblings be grandfathered but new students entering Sept 2007 for the Cabot zones would be sent to Underwood.
Commence the process of securing the Carr School for future use
Points of further interest raised at the meeting:
Mayor Cohen identified that he has included in his capital improvement plan for next year $900,000 for modulars & could raise that to $1million if the School Committee could fund the difference - Dr.Young?s report estimates the cost for purchase & installation of 8 modulars to be approx. $1.1 to $1.2 million.
The schools recommended to have 2 modulars each (Cabot, Pierce & Zervas) would need to have them co-located in order to reduce installation costs. Onsite surveys have already concluded 3 possible sites for Cabot - outside the current Kindergarten entrance, on the blacktop, and on the faculty parking area. Of these, the last 2 only can accommodate 2 modulars. Specific site discussions will be had with School Principals to determine the best location. Such details will not be decided until the School Committee?s vote on December 11th but will need to be resolved prior to modular orders being placed during Mar/April.
Dr. Young stated all other non-classroom space needs such as SPED, after schools programs etc,.would be addressed by the long term facilities plan. This long term facilities plan will be started in the new year with a deadline of May 2007 in order for Newton to file requests to meet State deadlines for renovation reimbursement.
What happens next?
December 11th is when the School Committee will vote on their proposals to address the short term space issues, which may or may not reflect Dr. Youngs. You can stay informed by reading his proposal, coming to this meeting or watch it live on NEWTV. Thanks once again to the Cabot parents who showed up last week!
Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education
Meeting Dec 7, 2006 at 7:30 PM ??Planning for Your Special Needs Child: EstatePlanning, Special Needs Trusts, Preserving Eligibility for Public Benefits and Guardianship? by Attorney Ken Shulman.
Ken focuses on estate planning and related issues for people with disabilities and their families. He has served as a board member for several human service agencies including the Greater Boston ARC. He has also served as a consultant to the Massachusetts Office of Handicapped Affairs,the Massachusetts Disability Law Center and the Massachusetts Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee. Currently he is co-chairman of the Elder and Disability Planning Committee of the Boston Bar Association. The meeting is at the Education Center,100 Walnut St, Newton, MA, 02460, Room 210. For more information, please contact Lucie Chansky at 617-244-7310 or luciec at comcast.net .
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT NEWTON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
In case you missed the special meeting about NNHS "Part 1:The Site Plan" last Tuesday, the meeting is being re-broadcast on NewTV Red, The Government Channel: Comcast 9, RCN 13. Please check www.newtv.org for broadcast times, under "Special Meeting Coverage: Conversations about NNHS Part 1: The Site Plan." The second forum will be held on January 9th and will focus on the finances of the project. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Newton North's Lasker Auditorium.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Co-President
10 Worth Circle,
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-1821
MaryKathF at aol.com
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Wed Dec 6 13:55:53 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 13:55:53 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Last call for Cabot lost and found box - cleared
out Friday 8th December!
Message-ID: <008b01c71968$27c8e940$6401a8c0@Jo>
Last call for lost and found box
At the end of the school day on Friday, December 8, 2006, the Lost and Found
bin in the school lobby will be cleaned out and its contents donated to The
Second Step shelter for battered women and their children. There are many
beautiful winter jackets, sweatshirts and polar fleece jackets, boots,
lunchboxes, as well as other clothing items in the bin. If you or your
child is missing something, come on down before the end of the day on Friday
and collect your belongings and take them home. Our thanks go to Cabot
parent Eileen Morrison for the managing the Lost & Found box!
We are cleaning out the box monthly. The next clean out will be in early
January 2007
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Wed Dec 6 14:07:35 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 14:07:35 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot Maths Challenge - Problem #2 & Answer to
Problem #1
Message-ID: <009801c71969$d6cf7890$6401a8c0@Jo>
CABOT MATHS CHALLENGE
Congratulations to the 110 Cabot School students that participated in the
first Cabot Math Challenge Problem! Keep up the great work.
Below is the Cabot Math Challenge Problem #2. The correct due date is
DECEMBER 14, 2006 (this is a revised date).
The solution to Problem #1 is attached to this email. It is also posted on
the Maths Challenge notice board opposite the art room at school.
If you have any questions contact Emily at politicalresources at hotmail.com or
Shara at Shara7 at gmail.com.
CABOT MATH CHALLENGE
Problem # 2
People that worked on this solution:
First name
Last name
Grade or age
Teacher
*
* Trying to solve the problem is more important than the getting the
correct answer.
* Submissions that do not show how you found your answers will not be
counted.
* Showing your work can include an equation, a picture or a written
description.
* Please show your work on these pages and staple additional pages as
needed.
* Please be neat and have fun!
* And remember, even though there are 7 questions listed below, you only
have to
submit your solution to the one or ones that interest you to get credit.
Please place your solutions by December 14th in the in-boxes one of these
classes:
Mr. Tirrell, Mrs. Moriarty, or Mrs. Robertson.
:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):
-):-):-):-):-)
Time to Get Up
Brad is a student at Cabot School. Before leaving for school he needs to:
Eat Breakfast - 15 minutes Make lunch and load pack- 10
minutes
Get Dressed - 12 minutes Brush his teeth - 3
minutes
1. How long does it take Brad to do all the tasks listed above?
2. If it takes Brad 20 minutes to walk to school and he wants to arrive
at school at 8:20 am, what time does he need to leave the house? If he
needs to do the tasks listed above before he leaves, what time does he need
to get up in the morning?
3. If Brad requires 9 hours and 40 minutes of rest to do his best work,
what time does he need to fall asleep?
4. Brad stays in school until 3:00pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and
Friday. On Tuesday he gets out of school at 12:30. How many hours each
week is Brad in school?
5. What percentage of the week (7 days) does Brad spend at school?
Using a circle graph, display the amount of time Brad spends in school and
the amount of time he spends out of school. Explain how you got to your
answer. Tell us what assumptions you made.
6. Approximately how many hours each week do you sleep? Pick one other
activity that you do on a typical week. Make a graph comparing the time you
spend in school with sleeping and with this other.
Make a graph comparing the time you spend in school with sleeping and with
this other activity.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From marykathf at aol.com Tue Dec 12 15:00:10 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:00:10 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Jabberlite for Tuesday December 12, 2006
In-Reply-To: <8C8EC3D7CA42722-3BC-1BF7@MBLK-M21.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8EC3D7CA42722-3BC-1BF7@MBLK-M21.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8EC3F43598FA3-1134-1D15@MBLK-M02.sysops.aol.com>
JABBERLITE Tuesday, December 12, 2006
This Jabberlite contains information about:
Campaign for Cabot ? Where does your money go?
Library Book Donations
Online Shopping and X-Hale Boutique Fundraiser
Cabot Math Challenge
Community Service Gift Drive to The Second Step
Cabot Space Crunch Update
Newton School Gift Policy
CASP Survey now online
Gift Wrap Top Sellers
Upcoming Dates
A complete & updated calendar for all events for the year can be found at www.cabotpto.org
December 11, 2006School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
December 11 - 15, 2006CASP Survey Online
December 14, 2006Early Release Day, 12:30 PM Dismissal
December 15, 2006Hanukkah Begins at Sundown
December 19, 2006Affinity Group
December 19, 2006CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM Fiddler On The Roof
December 20, 2006CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM Fiddler On The Roof
December 22, 2006CASP Play for School Fiddler On The Roof
December 25, 2006Christmas
December 25 to Jan 1, 2006Vacation, NO SCHOOL
December 26, 2006Kwanzaa
January 1, 2007Vacation, NO SCHOOL
January 2, 2007School resumes
January 4, 2007Understanding our Differences Grade 5 1:00 - 2:45 PM
January 8, 2007School Council 6-7:30 PM
January 8, 2007School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
January 9, 2007Conversations About NNHS:Part II The Finances Lasker Auditorium 7:30PM
January 10, 2007All-City School Chorus Concert, Brown Middle School 7:30 PM
January 15, 2007Martin Luther King Day, NO SCHOOL
January 18, 2007Winter Concert, 10:45 AM & 7:30 PM
WHERE DOES YOUR MONEY GO? HOW DOES THE PTO USE MY MONEY?
Each week we will highlight a different area to illustrate how your money is spent & the good it yields. Last week we talked about Cabot?s dedicated teachers and faculty to which we distributed $6,500 to help offset classroom materials and supplies, for which many teachers dig deep into their own pockets. This week we?d like to talk about other Programs sponsored by the PTO which directly benefit our children. This year $1,250 was paid for the Child Assault Prevention Program. This is a city-wide program run yearly in Kindergarten, 2nd grade and 5th grade to reduce vulnerability to verbal, physical & sexual assault and violence. Through age-appropriate, skill-oriented classroom workshops, children learn and are encouraged to use practical skills to become confident in their own problem-solving abilities, strengthening their capacity to recognize and respond to uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situations. Children are taught the importance of assertiveness, peer support and turning to trusted adults for assistance. Taught that everyone has the right to be Safe, Strong and Free, children are guided step-by-step from fear to confidence by means of non-threatening language and active participation. In order for your child to participate in these workshops, you are required to sign a permission slip. To find out more about this city-wide program, go to the Newton Community Service Center website, www.ncscweb.org
The PTO also sponsors the Understanding our Differences Program, provided in partnership with the Newton Public Schools. This program delivers a series of six instructional units that provide specific informational and experimental learning activities related to: Deafness/Hard of Hearing; Blindness/Visual Impairment; Learning Disabilities; Physical Disabilities; Special Medical Conditions such as Asthma, Diabetes and Epilepsy/Seizure Disorders; and Developmental Disabilities/Mental Retardation. A wide variety of materials and activities are utilized including: slide shows, videos, books, simulated activities, group discussions, hands-on activities, adaptive equipment and discussions with guest speakers. The PTO pays $250 for this program each year.
In an effort to keep our students healthy and able to attend school, and thus these great programs, the PTO spent $500 to provide antibacterial wipes for all of our classrooms.
So if you have not yet contributed to the Campaign for Cabot, please take a moment to think about how much your child benefits from all the enrichment activities provided & financed by the PTO. To date we have 25% participation, or 81 families. Thank you so much to those who have contributed already, your generosity is greatly appreciated. There is still time to contribute and to make that tax deductible donation before the end of the year, just drop your check in an envelope and place it in the PTO mailbox in the office. We are checking it twice a day, so we will be sure to get it! This year we are striving towards 100% participation from our community of families, so please contribute whatever you can. For each family who donates, another square is covered on Humpty in our main lobby. Help us color Humpty in!!
LIBRARY
Looking for the perfect way to honor your favorite teachers - how about donating a book to the Cabot Library in their honor. Forms will be coming out this week with Marilynne's blue sheet.
SHOP FOR THE HOLIDAYS ?
AND EARN $$ FOR CABOT AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!
If you are shopping online for the holidays or birthdays don?t forget to go to www.cabotpto.org first & then click on the Shopping icon!! You will pay exactly the same prices BUT a % of your total purchase will be donated to the Cabot School PTO! All of the main online stores participate, so check it out by visiting http://www.cabotpto.org/shop.html
Also, if you are still looking for something to wear this holiday season or you need a special gift for a special female, visit X-Hale Boutique at 1183 Walnut Street in Newton Highlands on FRIDAY DECEMBER 15, for a fundraising day to benefit Cabot School. Simply shop at the store on December 15th, identify your purchase is to benefit Cabot School & X-Hale Boutique will donate a % of the total sales generated. Store hours are from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, (sorry no other coupons or specials can be used toward these purchases).
CABOT MATH CHALLENGE REMINDER?
Just a reminder that Problem #2 needs to be returned by Thursday December 14th
Copies can be obtained from teachers. Keep up the great work! If you have any questions contact Emily at politicalresources at hotmail.com or Shara at Shara7 at gmail.com .
COMMUNITY SERVICE GIFT DRIVE
Thank you to so many of you who donated holiday gifts to the families of The Second Step, Newton's Shelter for domestic violence. Our volunteers were in the lobby yesterday and today collecting numerous packages, boxes, bundles are bags! Volunteers packed their cars to bring the gifts to The Second Step's North Pole where they will be wrapped and tagged until the holidays. Thank you for your participation, and your generosity, your help will truly make a special holiday for many families. Thanks to Rose Coppola Flynn who organized this gift drive.
SPACE CRUNCH ISSUE ? ITS OFFICIAL? 2 MODULARS ARE HEADED OUR WAY!
Its official, the School Committee last night voted to address short-term space issues by purchasing 8 modular classrooms, 2 which will be for Cabot. Our gratitude goes to the tireless efforts of our Political Action Committee, Sarah Ecker, Isabelle Thacker and Sue Covitz for their time and energy this fall addressing the Space Crunch as the Cabot School Representatives. Thanks to you, the Cabot Community, for your show of support in attending the School Committee Meetings and the Open Forum, and for completing the Cabot Space Crunch Survey. Although we have received approval to purchase the modulars, now we have to site them and integrate them. Stay tuned!!
NEWTON SCHOOL?S GIFT POLICY
As we enter into the holiday season, please remember the Newton School Committee Policy: ?No teacher in the performance of regular duties shall receive presents from the pupils under his or her direction.? Each year families are reminded of this policy, and each year most families comply. It is very natural for children and their families to want to acknowledge and thank their teachers at holiday time.
Here are some suggestions:
1. A note of appreciation to your child?s teacher, or a card made by your child, would be treasured.
2. A homemade acknowledgement to your child?s teacher or faculty member, such as cookies or baked goods.
3. You may wish to honor a teacher or staff member through a donation to the Campaign for Cabot. Checks should be made to the Cabot PTO, with a note indicating that it is for the Campaign for Cabot. This is a terrific way to honor a teacher and support the parent-run enrichment programs at Cabot School.
Please do not solicit money from families for class gifts.
If you need further clarification please speak with the Principal Marilynne Quarcoo or your PTO Co-Presidents, Jo Doherty and Mary Kathryn Fallon. Thank you for your cooperation.
CASP SURVEY NOW ONLINE
CASP Members please be sure to check your e-mail for the CASP Survey. TheCASP Board is asking CASP parents to give us input on what they value about the program. The survey will only be on line until Friday December 15th. Don't miss your opportunity to weigh in; it only takes a few minutes. By participating you will have the chance to win one of our great raffle prizes!! Thanks in advance for your support. Questions should be addressed to Vicki Gartland at vgartland at comcast.net .
GIFT WRAP
Thanks to everyone who supported this year's Gift Wrap fundraiser. Thanks to you the Cabot PTO raised nearly $8000. Congratulations to this year's top ten sellers, they are:
Bennett and Alyssa Kaplan
Henry Johnson
Luke Fisher
Teddy Robertson
Jack Walsworth
Brewster Taylor
Anthony Niles
Marisa Proia
Rohan Doherty
Larz Lee
Good work.
Compiled for you by the Cabot PTO
Mary Kathryn Fallon
Cabot PTO Co-President
10 Worth Circle,
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-1821
MaryKathF at aol.com
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From marykathf at aol.com Wed Dec 13 14:41:30 2006
From: marykathf at aol.com (marykathf at aol.com)
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 14:41:30 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Fundraising Day with x-hale boutique December 15
In-Reply-To: <8C8ED03264D63FC-1018-4CCE@FWM-M39.sysops.aol.com>
References: <8C8ED03264D63FC-1018-4CCE@FWM-M39.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <8C8ED05D275B9FA-125C-4C92@FWM-M36.sysops.aol.com>
x-hale boutique is sponsoring a Cabot School PTO Fundraising Day on Friday December 15.
Are you still looking for something to wear for the holidays? Do you need a gift for a special someone? Is that workout wear wearing out? x-hale boutique specializes in all types of clothing for women, including Denim, Casual Wear, Footwear & Accessories, Tops and Active/Performance Wear.
Visit x-hale boutique anytime on Friday December 15 and x-hale boutique will donate 15% of your purchase to the Cabot School PTO. Please make sure you mention the Cabot School PTO in order for us to benefit from your purchase!
Friday Store hours: 10:00 AM ? 7:00 PM
x-hale boutique
1183 Walnut St
Newton Highlands, MA 02461
(617) 581-6530
(No other coupons or promotions can be used toward these purchases)
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Mon Dec 18 11:13:33 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:13:33 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Campaign for Cabot!
Message-ID: <006b01c722bf$777458c0$6401a8c0@Jo>
Dear Cabot Families:
Great news! So far we have received contributions from 74 Cabot families!
Thank you so very much to those families for getting the Campaign off to a
nice start. It represents nearly 25% of our families here at Cabot. This
year we are aiming to have as close to 100% of our families participating in
the Campaign. To get us closer to that goal we thought it would be
motivating to end the year with the nice round number of 150 families
contributing. Because then we could end the year close to the 50% mark in
terms of participation and I am a firm believer in the power of
participation.
Do you know the expression "every mikkle mek a mukkle?" It's a very
powerful saying that has both Jamaican and Scottish roots which basically
means that every little bit counts toward the bigger goal. Large donations
are terrific and so are many smaller donations. Every donation is welcomed!
The PTO will spend $133 for every student at Cabot school this year. Using
that as a guide please give whatever you can. Cabot is a diverse community;
in monetary terms some can afford to give more, and others less. Our goal is
to move towards our target of $24,000 encouraging EVERY family to contribute
- whatever the amount. We really want to focus on encouraging every family
to participate whatever the amount. Each and every contribution to the
Campaign is your vote that what the PTO does for our children is enriching
and worthwhile.
The PTO has postponed sending out "official" reminder letters for the
Campaign for Cabot until early January. We're hoping that more families
will make contributions before then so that we'll have fewer "reminder"
letters to send. So, if you haven't sent in your contribution, please
consider doing it now. If you can't find the donor card don't worry. Just
write your check payable to Cabot PTO, identify any faculty and/or teachers
that you wish to honor with your contribution on a piece of paper and pop
that into an envelope marked Cabot PTO. Send it in your child's backpack or
drop it into the PTO mailbox in the office. In addition, doing this before
the years end means you will be able to deduct this contribution from your
2006 taxes.
We wish you and your families all the best this holiday season and hope you
enjoy a happy and healthy 2007!
Thank you,
Jo & Mary Kathryn
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Tue Dec 19 10:01:01 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 10:01:01 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot E-Jabberwock Issue 3
Message-ID: <004901c7237e$800a7950$6a01a8c0@Jo>
Cabot School
e-Jabberwock
Respect for self and others Lifelong learning
Commitment to school and community
Issue 3 December 19th 2006
Cabot School Contact Information
? Main Office: 617-559-9400
? CASP: 617-964-2749
? Gym: 617-559-9407
? Food Service: 617-559-9021
or 617-559-6315
? Inclusion Facilitator:
617-559-9409 ? Nurse:
617-559-9404
? Library: 617-559-9406
? Psychologist & Social
Worker: 617-559-9405
? Call Back/Safe Arrival:
617-559-9390 Call by 8:20 a.m. to report tardiness & absences
Cabot School website www.newton.mec.edu/cabot/
Cabot School PTO www.cabotpto.org
Newton Public Schools www.newtonpublicschools.com
Calendar
Dec 19 (Tues) - Affinity Group
Dec 19 (Tues) - CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM
Dec 20 (Wed) - CASP Play 7:00 - 8:00PM
Dec 25 to Jan 1 (Mon to Mon) - CASP Play for School
Dec 25 to Jan 1 (Mon to Mon) - Vacation, NO SCHOOL
Dec 26 (Tues) - Kwanzaa
Jan 1 (Mon) - Vacation, NO SCHOOL
Jan 2 (Tues) - School resumes
Jan 4 (Thur) - Understanding our Differences Grade 5 1:00 - 2:45 PM
Jan 8 (Mon) - School Council 6-7:30 PM
Jan 8 (Mon) - School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
Jan 9 (Tues) ? Conversation Two: Newton North Financing, Newton North High
School,7:30 PM
Jan 10 (Wed) - All-City School Chorus Concert, Brown Middle School 7:30 PM
Jan 15 (Mon) - Martin Luther King Day, NO SCHOOL
Jan 22
(Mon)
-
School Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM
Jan 25
(Sun)
-
Winter Concert, 10:45 AM & 7:30 PM
Marilynne?s Message
A year ago at this time, we had already had a snow storm so great that it
left children at school until 4:30pm. I remember how the 4th graders in Mr.
Ripp?s class went out to help dig out teachers and clear the snow that fell
so rapidly we thought we might be in school for the night! This fall has
been unseasonable with some days warmer than usual and others more like the
temperatures for December in New England. It is true the weather in our
parts is very unpredictable. This has brought some different challenges
this fall as winter approaches.
I still remember the day 5th graders revolted and came inside because it was
too cold. It was cold and the wind was blowing but many students were not
prepared for the temperatures outside. The 5th grade is not the only grade
coming to school without the appropriate attire. Many children are coming
to school with too light clothing. While we do experience ?runaway? heat in
some classroom, most are kept at a reasonable temperature. A few others are
just plain colder than we might like.
What does this mean? It means that children will be most comfortable if they
dress in layers. Wearing a sweater and two t-shirts or tops is not a bad
idea. Layering allows children to adjust their clothing to both indoor and
outdoor temperatures. Some families say they don?t want to battle with their
children?s clothing preferences. At school, I ask all personnel to insist
that children wear whatever outerwear they brought to school for recess
periods. It seems to make sense! We prefer not to ?do battle? with a
youngster who adamantly refuses to put on a jacket or tells a mistruth about
what they have with them so they don?t have to wear a particular item of
clothing. If children are expected to wear their outer clothing, I think
we?d see a smaller lost and found bin that typically contains new clothing.
Please consider having a discussion about this with your child. While it may
not affect their academic performance, it does impact the quality of school
for all!
WELCOME TO NEW FAMILIES
GOODBYE TO OTHERS
We welcome the Geffen, the Gubert and Mazzei families to the following grade
levels in January. One student in Gr 1, two students in Gr 3, one student in
Gr 4 and one student in Gr 5. We will also bid farewell to the Sylvan family
who are relocating to another community.
NO SCHOOL DAYS/Delayed Starts
Please note that you do not call the school to determine if school has been
cancelled or delayed due to snow. Please refer to the documents available on
line. The Newton website and most local radio and television stations post
announcements as early as 5am in the morning. It is the practice of the
district NOT to dismiss school early due to inclement weather.
Progress Forms
On January 26th, all elementary students in Newton will be issued their
progress forms. Forms are sent home with students. Parents and caretakers
are asked to return a signature sheet to indicate receipt. We have been
holding parent/teacher conferences this month in advance of the written
report. Feel free to log onto www.newton.k12.ma.us.edu
to learn more. Sample progress forms for
each grade are available. The next progress form is issued in June. Formal
parent/teacher conferences occur again in April and May. Parents/guardians
can request a meeting with a teacher at any time if there is a concern.
On-going communication is the best way to ensure that you are aware of your
child?s school experience and overall performance.
PTO Pen
The end of the year already! Time has really flown by but what a lot we have
accomplished as a community! Our big news is that through hard work,
diligence & application Cabot will be getting 2 modulars next Fall to
accommodate the expected additional classrooms needed for 1st grade and
Kindergarten. Our thanks go out to our hard working Political Issues
committee and their volunteers who spent too many hours reading & attending
School Committee meetings. And we would also like to thank the whole of the
Cabot community for rising to the occasion. Your thoughtful, considered
comments from the survey allowed our voices to be heard loud and clear by
the School Committee.
With the decision of the modulars behind us there are still more issues to
attend to. The long term facilities plan will be initiated in the New Year
with completion due May 2007. Its goal is to identify the specific
facilities Newton Elementary schools should have to ensure equity and
provide a living database recording what facilities our schools currently
have and the shape they are in. Out of this plan Newton will submit to the
State a list of its top elementary schools for renovation/rebuild to apply
for state assisted funding and reimbursement. Obviously we want Cabot to be
top of that list so there is much work left to be done! Are you concerned
about what the criteria for facilities will look like? Would you like the
opportunity to influence the criteria which will go a long way to shaping
how our schools will look in the future? If these issues concern you then
please consider getting involved. As the saying goes, many hands make light
work!
Our campaign for Cabot is moving ahead at a steady rate. To date we have had
28% of our families participating ? that?s 90 out of 375 families. This year
we really want to focus on every families participating in giving whatever
amount they can. We would like to see each and every family standing behind
this campaign so that we can provide the enrichment programs and services to
our students that we have all come to depend upon. So we urge you to join us
to color up the Humpty displayed by Lost & Found in the main lobby. Every
square covered by a color sticky represents a family that has participated.
And I do want to stress that it is not necessarily about how much you can
donate but the fact that you participate that is really important
..
Remember ?Mony a mickle makes a muckle?!!!
A huge thank you to all of you who have volunteered at Cabot so far this
year, in classrooms, at special events, in the library, on field trips, as
reading partners and math tutors. You help to make Cabot such a special
place and for that we thank you! Remember there are many, many opportunities
to help out at Cabot which will suit nearly everyone?s schedule!
And finally in closing I would like to wish you and your family a happy
Holiday season and a great New Year.
>From my family to yours we wish you a happy and healthy 2007!
There?s an old Scottish saying ?Lang may your lum reek!?- may there always
be fire in your hearth!
Jo Doherty
PTO co-President
Mary Kathryn Fallon
PTO co-President
Upcoming Events at cabot
Understanding Our Differences
The fifth grade will have an Understanding Our Differences unit on physical
disabilities on January 4th from 1:00 to 3:00pm. Our guest speaker with a
physical disability will be Linda Hiller, a Newton parent who has been a
part of the UOD program for many years.
Fundraising
Box Tops
Campaign for Cabot
GIFT WRAP
Thanks to everyone who supported this year's Gift Wrap fundraiser. Thanks to
you the Cabot PTO raised nearly $8000. Congratulations to this year's top
ten sellers, they are: Bennett and Alyssa Kaplan, Henry Johnson, Luke
Fisher, Teddy Robertson, Jack Walsworth, Brewster Taylor, Anthony Niles,
Marisa Proia, Rohan Doherty and Larz Lee. Good work to everyone who
participated!
BOX TOPS
If every one of our 420 student brought in one Box Top worth 10? for each of
the 24 weeks remaining in the school year, we could receive a check from Box
Tops for $1,008! Each Box Top counts so please, please, please clip them and
bring them in. At 15 weeks into the school year, we are averaging 112 Box
Tops/week. Which means that on average, we are collecting 0.27 Box
Tops/student/week. We can do better than that! This is a program that wants
to reward us for being a big school, so please start/keep clipping! Any
questions: contact Isabelle Thacker, isabelle at thackers.net, 617/795-2332
CAMPAIGN FOR CABOT
Humpty desperately needs to be filled in with color. Due to the great art
work of Zeina Kahhale last year, we have resurrected Humpty, but as you can
plainly see, he needs some help getting put back together!!! Thanks to the
28% of Cabot families who have already made donations to the Campaign for
Cabot but to keep our services intact we need more families to participate!
The Cabot PTO provides approximately $133 per child to the school while the
Newton Public Schools provides only $88. Please be as generous as possible
during this season of giving and give as much as you can so we can continue
to provide all the wonderful opportunities that we do!
As you finish up your holiday shopping, don?t forget to go through this
link: www.cabotpto.org/shop.html where you can access many of your favorite
stores and earn money for Cabot at the same time. Some of the stores you can
order from include Best Buy, Target, Amazon, KB Toys, Barnes and Noble and
many many more. Check it out, there?s more than you realize!
Thank you all for your continued support of this wonderful school. With your
help and generosity, we accomplish great things.
Music
The Fine Arts Department of the Newton Public Schools is offering beginning
drum lessons for students in grades four and five. Semi-private lessons
will be held on Tuesday afternoons after school at Newton North High School.
There is a $250 fee which includes 14 lessons. Yearly registration begins
immediately. For more information call 781-721-0490.
Submitted by Gil Graham
>From the Nurse
With the cold and flu season upon us, it is important to keep your child
home when ill (guidelines in Oct. note) . If everyone does his or her part,
hopefully the spread of disease can be diminished. If your child is
diagnosed with "strep throat", please report this to the health room. This
will help in tracking cases and recommending throat cultures for any
children who may have been exposed. Remember that 24 hours of antibiotic
therapy is required for children to return to school.
This year there is a high level of concern about the flu. Here are two good
websites for information: http://www.cdc.gov/flu and
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease.htm
Ms.Bennett and I have shown the cough safe video to grades 2-5, it got a
great response from the students, being both humorous and informative. I am
sharing the web site..... I would love for all of the Cabot community to
view this. So please take the time and share it with your family and
friends, as we will all appreciate it. The web site is coughsafe.com
(it is only 5 minutes long). I plan on teaching
grades K and 1, the importance of hand washing and the proper way to cough
and sneeze. Let's try to keep ourselves as healthy as possible this
season............
Please notify the health room if your child has been injured, hospitalized,
or ill for an extended period so that I can assist with any issues that may
arise.
Karen Kerrigan, RN
Literacy
Resource Center
At Cabot School, we are offering students in grades three, four, and five an
opportunity to take the National Mythology Exam. Students must sign up with
their classroom teachers by December 4, 2006. The exam will be given between
February 19 and March 2, 2007.
The National Mythology Exam, sponsored by the American Classical League, is
a multiple choice, machine scored exam given across the country each year to
assess students? knowledge of Greek and Roman Myths. Each year, the American
Classical League announces the study pages in d?Aulaires' Book of Greek
Myths for this self-directed study of mythology. Signing up for the exam
requires students to make a commitment to study the material. At Cabot, we
offer the exam to any students in grades three, four, and five who consider
themselves ?scholars? in this literary genre.
For more information, please contact me by email
carolyn_nelson at newton.k12.ma.us or by phone at Cabot School (617) 559-9400.
Carolyn Nelson, Literacy Specialist
CABOT BROADCAST
Building a Community Foundation
Building a Community Foundation by Cabot Parent Jeff Kahn
Some people come to Cabot School to drop off their children and to pick them
up at the end of the day. They support the Cabot School with their tax
dollars. However, sometimes parents want to do more to support the school by
volunteering their time or donating money and making their school a better
place.
Many communities try to make their community a better place too, even those
that on the surface can ill afford to do so. Cleveland is ranked the second
poorest big city in the United States and has been among the 12 poorest
cities for the past six years. However, last year $85 million was handed out
to the residents of Cleveland and to various not-for-profits based in
Cleveland by the Cleveland Community Foundation started in 1913. Its
endowment is $1.3 billion.
Another community with closer proximity to Newton is Lowell, a city with a
population of 100,000. Last year, $2,500,000 was handed out by the Lowell
Community Foundation started in 1995. Its endowment is just $11 million.
What is a Community Foundation? A community foundation is a tax-exempt
public charity created by and for the people in a local area. It enables
people with philanthropic interests to easily and effectively support the
issues they care about?immediately, or through their estates. Community
foundations have in-depth knowledge of their communities. They remain alert
to emerging needs in order to respond quickly and effectively. They convene
groups?including donors, nonprofit leaders, and elected officials?to work
together on community problem-solving. And they foster greater giving and
volunteering in their communities.
I believe a community spirit lives within Cabot and within Newton. Peter
Karoff, a Newton resident and the well-known founder of The Philanthropic
Initiative, recently stated that community foundations ?awaken the citizen
within?. My goal in launching a Newton Community Foundation is to do just
that. A modified version of John Dunn?s poem ?No Man is an Island? can be
found on www.newtoncommunity.org : .
We are all connected to the mainland. Connected to one another. When one
suffers, we all suffer. When one soars, we all soar. When one cries, we all
cry. When one rejoices, we all rejoice. We are here on this earth, in this
life, to connect to one another. Nurture one another. We are the Newton
Community Foundation. We connect people to make life better. We connect
fulfillment to dreams. We connect answers to problems. We connect resources
to opportunities. We connect to make life better.
We connect for today. We connect for tomorrow. We connect hope to despair.
We connect faith to doubt. We connect light to darkness. We connect joy to
sorrow. We are the Newton Community Foundation. This is our community, this
is our home. There will always be people who care. And there will always be
people who need. We will always be the people who connect.
Peter Karoff has already made himself available to help build this community
foundation. I would like those parents in the Cabot Community who are
awakened citizens or would like to awake other citizens to contact me. I
look forward to hearing from you.
Jeff can be reached at jkahn at chicagogsb.edu or
on his cell 617.686.8111
Community News
Ice Skating Lessons
Bay State Skating School offers ice skating lessons for children (4 ? & up)
and Adults
Cleveland Circle
Sundays 12:00 noon starts Jan. 7th
Sundays 1pm starts Jan. 7th
Thursdays 4pm starts Jan. 4th
Fridays 4pm starts Jan. 4th
Newton Daly Rink
Saturdays 1pm starts Jan. 20th
Sundays 1pm starts Dec. 10th
Mondays 4pm starts Jan. 22nd
Mondays 7pm starts Dec.11th
Tuesdays 3pm starts Dec.12th
Waltham Rink
Sundays 4pm starts Dec.10th
Saturdays 1pm starts Dec. 9th
Newton South Recreation Complex
The Newton Parks and Recreation Department is opening the Newton South
Recreation Complex in January of 2007. This state of the art Recreation
complex will feature sports, fitness, and recreation programs for all ages.
The Newton South Recreation Complex is located at the Newton South High
School. Activities will begin on January 21, 2007. Pre registration is
required so check out our website at www.ci.newton.ma.us/parks or call
Channon Ames at the Newton Parks and Recreation Department at 617-796-1529
for more information.
Sking and Snowboarding Registration
The Newton Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring skiing and
snowboarding at Nashoba Valley. Six week program beginning in January 2007.
Tuesday afternoons for grades 3-5 and Friday evenings for grades 6-12.
Lessons available. Registration now available at www.ci.newton.ma.us/parks .
For further information call Stephanie Pelkowsky at 617 796 1500.
Conversations about Newton North, Part Two: The Financing
January 9th at 7:30 pm in the Lasker Auditorium, Newton North
The program will feature Sandy Pooler, Chief Administrative Officer of
Newton; and Jeff Seideman, President of the Newton Taxpayers Association.
Further information on the program will be posted here as it becomes
available.
In case you missed ?Conversations about Newton North Part One: The Site
Plan? on Tuesday, November 28th, NewTV will be broadcasting the event
frequently over the coming weeks; check the red channel program schedule on
www.newtv.org for
times.
The Newton Schools Foundation, The PTO Council, and League of Women Voters
would like to thank Mayor David Cohen, Alderman George Mansfield, School
Committee Chair Dori Zaleznik and Voters for a Better Newton North
representative Laura Naylor for participating in part one of our
?Conversations For a Better Newton North? forum last week. We'd also like to
thank the approximately 200 people who attended, especially those who asked
questions during the evening. The purpose of the forum was to discuss the
site plan for a Newton North High School that is the subject of a city-wide
referendum on January 23rd.
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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From jcdoherty11 at comcast.net Wed Dec 20 08:06:03 2006
From: jcdoherty11 at comcast.net (Jo Doherty)
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 08:06:03 -0500
Subject: [CabotCommunity] Cabot School - important information from Dr.
Quarcoo
Message-ID: <003301c72437$9af69140$6a01a8c0@Jo>
The PTO has been asked by Dr. Quarcoo to send out this letter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------
December 20, 2006
Dear Parents/Guardians:
We have been made aware of an incident that happened at
Countryside School last Thursday. We have been asked
to forward the information along to our own school community.
While on recess duty, a teacher observed a man taking pictures
of children as they played at recess. When the teacher
approached him and asked what he was doing, he replied he was a grandfather
from West Roxbury and that he liked children.
It was explained to him that families must give permission before pictures
can be taken. He quickly left the premises when told
what he was doing was inappropriate. He has not been seen again.
The incident was reported to the Newton Police. An officer was
dispatched to Countryside and filed a "suspicious incident"
report as a result of the interview he conducted with the teacher on duty.
The Newton Police are conducting a thorough investigation
and will make sure that all of their officers are aware of the incident so
they can be vigilant on their patrols around our schools and playgrounds.
Let me again state that this incident was reported at
Countryside. No such reports or activities have been reported here at
Cabot.
We remain vigilant about protecting the safety and well being of our
students and faculty.
Our faculty and staff have been made aware of this situation.
We will not be sharing this information with our students.
If you have any concerns, please contact the office.
Sincerely,
Marilynne Smith Quarcoo, Ph.D.,
Principal
---------------------------------------------------
Jo Doherty
Cabot PTO Co-President
11 Leonard Avenue,
West Newton, MA 02465
617-332-1530
jcdoherty11 at comcast.net
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