[CabotCommunity] Cabot E-Jabberwock Issue 3

Tue Dec 19 10:01:01 EST 2006

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 

•  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> Main Office: 617-559-9400
•  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> CASP: 617-964-2749

•  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> Gym: 617-559-9407
•  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> Food Service: 617-559-9021
or 617-559-6315

•  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> Inclusion Facilitator:
617-559-9409      •  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> Nurse:
617-559-9404

•  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> Library: 617-559-9406
•  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> Psychologist & Social
Worker: 617-559-9405

•  <http://www.newton.mec.edu/Cabot/index.html> 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 <http://www.cabotpto.org/> 

Newton Public Schools     www.newtonpublicschools.com
<http://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
<http://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
<http://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 <http://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 <mailto:jeffrey_kahn at ml.com>  or
on his cell 617.686.8111 

Community News

Ice Skating Lessons

Bay State Skating School offers ice skating lessons for children (4 ½ & 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 <http://www.newtv.org/schedule/redprogramguide.html>  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

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/png
Size: 38908 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment.png 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 7999 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 725 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 250 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0001.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 566 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0002.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 718 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0003.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 526 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0004.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 644 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0005.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 396 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0006.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 296 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0007.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 670 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0008.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 841 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://cabotpto.org/mailman/private/cabotcommunity_cabotpto.org/attachments/20061219/274f801d/attachment-0009.gif 