Holliston PTSA January Newsletter

Message from the President

Happy New Year 2012!—I can hardly believe we have just celebrated a new year!  I hope your New Year’s resolutions are off to a strong start. Actually, my resolution this year is to not make any more New Year’s resolutions! Instead I am planning a year with a theme—this year, 2012, is balance. With the week between Christmas and New Year’s to reflect back on 2011, I realize that the PTSA has been a big force in bringing quality educational programming through Culture Connection, as well as providing significant funding to the schools so that technological advances and curriculum enhancements can be brought to our children. PTSA has also brought parent education to our community and social events for the school community. All of these are fantastic and worthwhile endeavors. However, what I think we lack is what started the PTA movement in the first place—and that is advocacy. We touched on it a bit in 2011 with the film Race to Nowhere.  But we have lost momentum.  The PTSA will balance out our mission this year by also being an advocate for all of our children and our schools. After all, it is for every child that we raise our one voice. 

Anyone interested in helping us with our mission?  Let us know at president@hollistonptsa.org.

Wishing you and your family a balanced new year!

—Annalisa Michielli, President, Holliston PTSA

Reflections Art Contest—“Diversity Means. . .” 

The results are in!  Thank you to all of our participants and judges.  Everyone worked hard to bring us our winners, who will go on to compete in the state Reflections Art Contest.  Good Luck to everyone!  The winning entries can be found on our Web site at www.hollistonptsa.org.  Come to see all of the amazing entries at our Reflections Art Reception on Wednesday, January 11, 2012, in the Miller Multipurpose Room from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Visual Arts:

Grade 9–12     Allison Lebel               1st place

                        Meghan Willis             2nd place

Grade 6–8       Michela Michielli        1st place

                        Michael Campbell       2nd place

Grade 3–5       Nolan McGovern        1st place

                        Isabella Ceresia           2nd place

                        Anne Galivan              3rd place

Grade preK–2 Merrick Moriarty       1st place

                        Declan Collins             2nd place

                        Chloe Drohan              3rd place                                

Literature:

Grade 9–12     Erin Bishop                 1st place

Grade 3­–5       Hannah Magoon         1st place

                        Kevin Foley                2nd place

                        Ella-Mae Sandford      3rd place

Grade PreK–2 Brent Magoon             1st place

                        Hailey Davis               2nd place

                        Eli Lammi                    3rd place

Photography:

Grade 9–12     Erin Bishop                 1st place

Grade 3–5       Olivia Briggs               1st place

Dance Choreography:

Grade 6–8       Michela Michielli        1st place

Musical Composition:

Grade PreK–2 Eva St. John                1st place

Film Production:

Grade 9–12     Meghan Willis             1st place

Grade 3–5       Ainsley MacLachlan   1st place

18th Annual PTSA Auction—Spring Fling—Friday, April 27, 2012, at the Warren Conference Center 

Don’t forget our Online Auction, which begins April 1st at www.hollistonptsa.org. 

Classroom basket viewing will take place in the Miller Multipurpose Room on Thursday, April 26, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Donations are welcome. We are in need of goods and services to put in both our Online Auction and our Silent Auction. Contact Annalisa Michielli at ampali@juno.com if you have something to donate. Volunteers are needed. If you are able to help set up for the Auction on April 27 or the classroom basket viewing on April 26, please contact Lisa Kaplan at lisabbk@verizon.net.

Membership

PTSA held a Membership Drive this fall. If you joined/renewed your membership by November 30, you were eligible for our prize drawing. This year, we gave away seven gift certificates—$25 each—to local businesses. Congratulations to our winners: 

Michael and Ellen Peck – Coffee Haven

Katie Copeland – Bird In Hand

Sharon and Glen Butler – Fiske’s General Store

Melissa Hurst and Gerald McMahon – Superette

Donna Kuchrawy – Grapevine

Sara and Shawn Peters – The Wine House

Lynn and Louis Iarussi – Kamala

From the Superintendent

“It’s Not Just about the Technology” 

You’ve probably noticed that we’re focusing quite a bit of our attention these days on technology in the Holliston Public Schools. With our upcoming BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Program at the High School and all of the innovative work using technology that is going on at Adams Middle School, Holliston’s classrooms are changing—and changing fast. But we’re not, as some are suggesting, focusing on technology because it is the next “shiny new object.” We’re focusing on technology because that’s the world in which our children currently live.

Technology, as the expression goes, is ubiquitous. Today’s middle and high school students use technology like we use books and pencils and paper. Students research, compose, and use a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools to demonstrate what they know and are able to do. Until now, though, students left their world of ever-present technology behind when they entered our schools and had to exist in our world—the world of paper, pencils, and hardcover books. That is changing and to me, that’s a good thing. 

But, just allowing students to bring their own technology in to school is not going to improve education, if the lessons that students are accessing are not taking advantage of the opportunities that technology offers. For example, the Internet is teaming with instructional videos on virtually any subject. Don’t believe me? I just watched a video today that provided me with step-by-step instructions on how to change the belt in my washing machine. Check out a Web site called Khan Academy, which contains over 1,000 videos teaching mathematics skills. Web sites like this offer teachers the opportunity to “flip” their classroom and have students acquire skills for homework and then, when they’re in the classroom, apply those skills to real-world problems, deepening their understanding of the concepts we want them to learn.

So, you see, it’s not just about the technology. It’s about the learning. 

—Bradford L. Jackson, Ed.D.

School Committee

Happy New Year to all our families! We hope everyone is relaxed and rejuvenated and geared up for the second half of the school year. Please stay tuned as the fiscal year 2013 budget development process starts. The next School Committee Office Hours are Thursday, January 12th, 9–10 a.m., at Coffee Haven. Hope to see you there.

—Erica Plunkett, Chairperson

Holliston Elementary PTSA (HEPTSA)

Holliston PTSA ScienceFest

ScienceFest returns on Saturday, February 4th! (Snow date is February 11th). Come by the Placentino Cafetorium from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a fun family day of hands-on science exploration for children from pre-K to 5th grade. ScienceFest offers a variety of activities from shooting off Alka-Seltzer rockets to making goopy slime to floating down the hall on a hovercraft! Suggested donation is $5 per family. Refreshments will be available for purchase during the event.

A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: If you would like to volunteer at this family event, or if you would like more information, please contact Annalisa Michielli at ampali@Juno.com.

Miller School Playground Project

Jump Rope for the Playground

Thursday, March 1st, the Miller School and Placentino 2nd grade will hold a Jump Rope for the Playground event during Physical Education class. This school service program is similar to the Jump Rope for Heart event our elementary children have participated in previous years, but this year the proceeds from the event will go to the Miller School Playground rebuild. 

Jump Rope for the Playground is a fun experience where children jump rope with friends and learn about the value of exercise and healthy habits and the importance of community service. Moreover, it empowers them to contribute to their school’s new playground. Their efforts truly will make a difference! 

Family and friends can support a child’s participation by making contributions. Donation envelopes and additional information about Jump Rope for the Playground will go home in children’s backpacks the last week in January. More information will also be updated on our Web site, http://www.millerschoolplayground.wordpress.com, as it becomes available. We encourage all the Miller children and Placentino 2nd graders to participate in this fun and important event! 

SCRIP for the Miller Playground

The Miller School Playground Project in conjunction with the Holliston PTSA is selling retail gift cards through a fund-raising program called SCRIP. With this program, you get the cards at face value and the Miller Playground benefits by getting a percentage of the sale through our SCRIP partnership (www.shopwithscrip.com).

You can raise money for the playground at no cost to you by supporting SCRIP. Please consider purchasing retail cards from the Playground Project and using them regularly to shop for your everyday purchases like food, gasoline, clothing, and entertainment. New to this program, the Miller School Playground Project will be selling cards at scheduled venues for immediate access to the cards. Please check out our Web site at http://www.millerschoolplayground.wordpress.com to learn more about this program.

Thank you for supporting the Miller School Playground rebuild!     

Personalized Bricks for the Miller School Playground

The Miller School Playground Project is offering parents and businesses the opportunity to personalize a brick that will be incorporated into the new playground’s patio area. Brick order forms and information can be found on the Placentino and Miller School parent tables or online at: www.millerschoolplayground.wordpress.com/upcoming-events/purchase-a-brick

Thank you for your support!

SCRIP

Support our schools by using SCRIP. You can purchase gift cards to many retail outlets (including Target, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Stop & Shop) and use them as gifts or to do your regular shopping. You get the cards at face value and our schools benefit by getting a percentage of the sale through our SCRIP partnership. For more information, please email Bonnie Zapolin at zapolins@verizon.net. 

Next HEPTSA meeting January 11 at 9:15 a.m. in the Placentino Cafetorium.

Middle School PTSA (MSPTSA)

The final months of 2011 were busy ones at the Middle School. The Magazine Drive fund-raiser was a success thanks to the support of parents, students, and teachers. This is the one and only middle school fund-raiser. Over the years the profits from this drive have funded technology and many curriculum enhancements for our teachers and their classrooms. Please remember that you can order or renew magazines all year long and the Middle School receives 40% of all those orders too! Check out the school Web site for details.

“Let’s Dance,” a long-standing tradition here in Holliston, was enjoyed by 70 of our 6th graders for six Thursday nights in November and early December. They learned the importance of good manners, etiquette, and some great dance moves under the wonderful tutelage of Mr. Paul Lamoureaux. 

After completing their team-building ropes course outings in October, our 7th graders bonded together in the now annual outreach for Project Just Because. In groups, the students held bake sales, sold handmade jewelry, and raised money in many ways to help provide holiday gifts for area families in need. Nice job 7th graders! 

All grades are continuing to participate in the Final Friday team-building events. These Fridays also include Food Pantry donation drives. Go Red! Go White! Go Black! Looking ahead. . . .There will be a 6th grade social event on Friday January 27th. Watch for more details. There will be an all-school dance supporting the Relay for Life on Friday, March 2. More details to follow on that as well. The 7th graders will be enjoying some “Middle of Middle School” activities in January. Our next MSPTSA meeting will be held on Friday, January 6, at 9 a.m. We will be planning all of these events and need your help! Please join us!

Happy New Year from all of us at RAMS! 

Holliston Music and Arts Parents Association (HMAPA)

As we begin a new calendar year, I’d like to reflect for a moment on the happenings of 2011. We in Holliston have been blessed with arts teachers who are truly committed to nurturing the artistic spirit and talents of our children. This care was on display in November as so many adults worked collaboratively to put on a wonderful production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat featuring students from every school in town. Thanks especially to Brian Hickey, Stu Britton, Michael Jones, and many parent volunteers for their work on the show. In December, the middle and high school choral and instrumental groups came together to present two exciting concerts. Not only did these concerts give parents the opportunity to hear the accomplishments of the various ensembles, but they also provided an excellent venue for rising middle schoolers to hear the possibilities once they reach high school. Thanks go to Stu Britton, Michael Jones, Joe Lordan, and David Stanton for preparing and encouraging these students. 

We in Holliston have also been blessed to live in a community that continues to support fine and performing arts programs even in a challenging economic climate. HMAPA appreciates your financial support from membership donations and our fund-raisers such as the citrus drive. In January we will hold our second fund-raiser, a pizza and cookie dough sale. We know that families are asked many times each year to support the various school and community programs in town; we truly appreciate whatever you can do. Thank you Holliston!

Holliston is truly a place where the holiday spirit of giving and caring is alive and well all year long. A fabulous example is the effort being put forth by a group of current and former students, along with their supportive parents, to organize Art Saves Mr. Lack, an event that will take place on January 21 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Holliston High School. The event includes an art sale, student artwork, crafts for kids, live music, and refreshments.  All benefits will support the medical needs of Doug Lack, art teacher and fine arts coordinator at Holliston High School. Please plan to attend!

Finally, we look forward to many terrific events in 2012, starting with the Miller Band Concert on January 31, in which some of our youngest performers will have a chance to demonstrate their musical learning.  Also mark your calendars for Jazz Night (Feb. 8), the RAMS musical Honk (March 9–11), and the High School Pops Concerts (March 16–17).  Happy New Year!

—Leslie Dooley, President, HMAPA