October - Fletcher Maynard Academy

Gazette
Fletcher Maynard Academy
October 2012
FMA Students, Staff, and Community Members Pose Before
Their Big Ride
FMA Bikes Across the City!
On Thursday, September 12 a group of Fletcher Maynard
Academy 3rd through 5th graders, accompanied by faculty and
staff, mounted their bikes and headed off on a ride across the
city. Accompanied by police escorts to help with traffic, the
gaggle of bikes first rode from FMA to Kendall Square, the
Museum of Science, and into Boston. Before the ride students
learned about part of a bicycle and how to safely ride a bicycle
around town from FMA staff and Cambridge Police officers.
Students and staff alike commented on how exciting and
educational the event turned out to be.
At the Fletcher Maynard teachers staff and administration
work tirelessly to grow and nurture the whole child. While our
primary focus is on the students’ academic growth where we
enlist the sweat and tools provided by the district, the staff and
the community; we also make sure to work towards students’
physical and emotional health. We don’t want to grow scholars,
we want to grow healthy, happy and well socialized scholarly
citizens. To this end, we regularly implement curricula, offer
courses and host events, such as this bike ride, that target the
world beyond academics. And of course, we’re well aware of
the interrelatedness between the physical, emotional, social, and
cognitive: each benefits from the other; the stronger the pieces
the more solid and stable the whole.
The Fletcher Maynard would like to thank all the different
stakeholders that made our bike ride so successful. We’d
continued on pg. 3
October Happenings
•• Friday,
Friday,October
October5,5,8-9:30am
8-9:30amFMA
FMALeadership
LeadershipTeam
Team
Meeting
Meeting
•• MONDAY,
MONDAY,
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
8 COLUMBUS
8, COLUMBUS
DAY;DAY;
NO SCHOOL
NO
• Wednesday,
SCHOOL October 10, 8-9am PTO Meeting
•• Thursday,
Wednesday,
October
October
11,10,
Author:
8-9amMarc
PTOBrisset
Meeting
Visit
•• Friday,
Thursday,
October
October
19, 11,
Grade
4:30pm
5 Visits
Author
Boston
Marc
Lyric
Brissett
Opera
•• Wednesday,
Friday, October
October
19, Grade
24, Spirit
5 Visits
Day Boston Lyric Opera
•• FRIDAY,
Wednesday,
OCTOBER
October 24,
26, Spirit
HOLIDAY;
“Attitude”
NO SCHOOL
• FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, HOLIDAY; NO SCHOOL
FMA Open House Welcomes Parents
On Thursday, September 20, the FMA held its first
open house for the 2012/2013 school year. From
6-7:30 parents were invited to meet with their
children’s teachers to learn about the goals and plans
for helping students excel and achieve.
The first thing on the parents agenda upon entering the
building was a school-wide meeting in the gym where
the Principal Robin Harris & FMA Leadership Team
Co-Chair, Toni Kim welcomed parents and family
members and discussed the school’s academic and
community goals for the year. Parents then went to
the back of the gym where they had the opportunity to
meet and learn from specialists, special educators, and
FMA community partners.
The parents then had the opportunity to visit their
children’s classrooms where they received a handout
that included a welcome, classroom expectations, a
little about a student’s typical day, and opportunities
for parents to get involved in the classroom. Teachers
talked through the major points on the handout, gave
clarifications, and answered questions that parents may
have had.
The Open House template and the standardized
communication--both in print and in person--are part
of the Fletcher Maynard’s attempt to improve its
communication about what it does, what it wants to do,
and where it could use some support. We understand
that each classroom and each teacher will have their
unique strengths, needs, and goals and should be able
to tailor their communication accordingly; however we
also believe that there are common sets of information
that can and should be communicated clearly to
parents. While this template is targeted specifically for
parents and family members, we plan to cast our focus
upwards and outwards as we seek to engage more
stakeholders in our work to educate, nurture, and grow
21st century citizens and learners. Please see templates
on the school website.
FMA Scholars Interview Madame Butterfly!
On Friday, October 19, scholars from Grade 5 will
join members of the Boston Lyric Opera in a rehearsal
for their upcoming production of Madame Butterfly.
Scholars will be invited to ask questions and interview
cast members as they prepare to Create Their Own
Opera!
FMA Learns About Our Habitat!
Over the course of two classroom visits in September,
the 3rd grade students of rooms 310 and 311 got to
get up close and personal with some creepy crawly
organisms. Some students were even brave enough
to touch the large millipede that came for a visit!
The visits were part of an ongoing partnership with
the Maynard Ecology Center and Massachusetts
Audubon Society who help educate the students about
the habitats around them. This includes three in-class
visits and two upcoming field trips to the Charles
River and Maynard Ecology center. During the inclass visits, the students were encouraged to observe
and explore various habitats, while also learning about
the basic needs all organisms must have to survive.
Our habitat experts are really looking forward to
getting into some real “field” work and doing some
hands-on exploration in the next few weeks!
Author Marc Brissett Visits the FMA
Author Marc Brissett, a graduate of the Roberts School
(old Fletcher Maynard) and friend of staff member Terry
West, will visit the FMA on Thursday, October 11, to
discuss his upcoming book, Invisible, about twin boys
and the secrets that separated and still bind them. Mr.
Brissett was a former track and basketball player during
school and has applied the same intensity to his writing
as he once did to sports. The book signing and discussion will be held at 4:30pm. Please join us.
WE’RE LOOKING FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS!
The Fletcher Maynard needs the support of parents and family
members to do work necessary to make the school the best it can
be! Please consider joining one of the committees below to help
out. Please contact Principal Harris (rharris@cpsd.us), family
liaison, Phyllis Newton (PNewton@cpsd.us), or Uche Amaechi
(amaechi@mac.com) with any questions.
• Arts Council
• Science Fair Committee
• Autism @ FMA Committee
• School Climate Committee
• International Dinner of Thanks
• Rooftop Committee
• Room Parent
FMA Bikes (Ctd. from pg 1)
...like to thank the administration, faculty and staff
(especially principal Harris and Coach Evan) that worked
so dutifully to plan, build support for, and execute the
bike ride. We’d like to thank the parents that joined us in
the planning and provided equipment. We’d also like to
thank the Kennedy Longfellow, King Open, and Baldwin
schools for providing loaner bicycles for students who did
not own a bike. And finally, we are forever indebted to
the numerous external supporters for helping with bicycle
safety lesson and guiding us safely through out ride: the
City of Cambridge, Morgan Staples from Cambridge
Bicycle, Julianne Idlet from Cycle Kids , Joel Burke, CPS
PE Department and the Cambridge Police Department
(especially Sargent Murphy and Officers Ortiz, Burroso &
Mahoney).
BABY U HAS STARTED AT THE FLETCHER MAYNARD ACADEMY!
What is Baby U?
• Baby U is a program for mothers and fathers with a child 3 years old or younger OR expecting
a baby
What happens at Baby U?
• Parents connect with other parents
• People share their strengths, their stories and ideas with each other
• Parents learn new tools and strategies to support their children and handle the stress of
parenting
• Parents and children have fun separately and together
Baby U is a 16 week program. What does Baby U consist of?
• 10 weeks of workshops on parenting issues from child development to discipline
• 5 weeks of playgroups
• 6-8 Home Visits
When does Baby U start?
• October, 13th 2012 for Fletcher Maynard Academy and other families living in Area 4 (and
East Cambridge?)
• The program is on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Fletcher Maynard Academy
What else should I know about Baby U?
We provide: Transportation - Food - Childcare for parents’ children during workshops
• There will be a lottery for two $400 cash prizes for those who attend 80% of events
• Each week there is a chance to win $20 gift cards or a toy
How do I sign up?
• Call one of the names below and give us your name and phone number and a Baby U Staff
person will contact you
For more information, please contact:
Carolyn Acosta at 617 947-5044 • email: BabyU@cambridgema.gov
Robin Harris at 617 201-7817 • email: rharris@cpsd.us