DNA - District News & Announcements

October 2023

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This newsletter is affectionately called the DNA because it's a beautiful collection of unique stories and experiences contributing to the development and function of our school communities. (Also it's an acronym for District News and Announcements ;) )

We hope you enjoy seeing some of these behind the scenes stories and will join your fellow community members at upcoming events!

To close out National School Lunch Week, let’s hear from our Director of Food Service, Food Service Operations Manager, and of course, our students! Thank you to our vocal students at Stapleton, Cameron, and FHS who shared their favorite school lunches with us!

We'd like to acknowledge and thank 60 FPS educators who will begin a district-funded program to learn a new language! 40 educators are taking Portuguese and 20 educators are taking Spanish. The classes are in-person twice/week at Fuller and Cameron Middle Schools and run through December. The course program, developed by three FPS educators, focuses on the linguistic practices for educators to better communicate with students and families.

On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, Framingham Public Schools hosted a Community Partner Appreciation Event to honor the work that our community partners have contributed to the FPS community over the last several years. Through an incredibly difficult pandemic, our partners have gone above and beyond to support students and families. You can watch the recording on Facebook, just fast-forward to about 24:00 (the speaking program started a little later than anticipated).

In addition to honoring MassBay Community College, the MetroWest YMCA, and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, we were also able to honor Ms. Tiffany Lillie who has led so much incredible work with and through our community partners. As shared previously, Ms. Lillie is wrapping up her time here at FPS and starting a new professional journey. She will be missed and we all wish her the best!

Respect means treating yourself and others with courtesy and consideration.

The Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum is all connected to this theme/trait and is supported with activities during morning meeting, mindfulness, discussions, books, art, team-building, games and more!

Six Conversation Starters About Respect:

• What does respect look like and sound like in your culture?
• Why is it important to show respect at school and outside of school?
• What does it mean to respect ourselves?
• What are ways you can demonstrate respect for others? Yourself?

• How do you feel when other people respect/disrespect you?
• What should you do when you feel someone else is not being respectful?

In partnership with Open Spirit in Framingham, check out these custom made videos about our theme of the month. They include mindfulness and yoga with our themes.

• Respect: Active Listening Meditation
• Respect: Active Listening Meditation -Portuguese
• Respect: Active Listening Meditation -Spanish
• Respect: Boundaries Yoga
• Respect: Boundaries Yoga -Portuguese
• Respect: Boundaries Yoga -Spanish

If your child's school is not included below, that does not mean they aren't doing wonderful, exciting things! We look forward to sharing even more news and updates in the Good News Network section of future District Newsletters!

Hemenway families and staff put their heads, hearts, and hands together to create a cheerful facelift for the school. Participants painted panels throughout the springtime with a theme of "Hemenway Culture & Community", and Buildings and Grounds installed them over the summer break. The project was funded by the Hemenway PTO Grant program, and facilitated by Visual Arts teacher. (Photos below)

Elementary and Middle Schools across the district started the school year with a focus on social emotional learning and building relationships. In Elementary School we celebrated "10 Days of SEL" through extended morning meetings, practicing routines and expectations, and celebrating identity. At the Middle School we celebrated "20 Points of Connection" by introducing the format of community building circles. This intentional focus on SEL and relationships sets the groundwork for academic engagement and positive school culture. (Photo below of our 'Groovy Work')

Congratulations to Jose Luis Martinez, Educator at Fuller Middle School, who recently attended the annual Hispanic Heritage Breakfast in Boston! Mr. Martinez was honored as a Community Hero; his work with our students makes him a hero everyday!

Thanks go to Alberto Vasallo and Unicare for the kind invitation and for recognizing and celebrating Hispanic community heroes from across Massachusetts.

In Applied Environmental Science, students built coral reefs out of LEGOs, and used the models to extrapolate how corals protect us from storms. Did you know that a healthy coral reef can block as much as 97% of the energy of a powerful wave?! Students also learned which corals are more resistant to severe storms, why algae take over where corals have died out, and about the effect of turbidity caused by activities like logging on the survival of corals.

Congratulations to Jeff Weinstein who was recently nominated and selected to be featured in the Teacher Spotlight, a new program from the Patch and T-Mobile. From the nomination, Mr. Weinstein "is a long-time respected leader in the school and the entire district. Through music and other high-engagement teaching techniques, he makes a unique and lasting impact on students even out of his classroom - as well as other teachers, administrators and parents." Read more here: https://patch.com/massachusetts/framingham/respected-leader-framingham-schools-gets-teacher-spotlight

Fifth graders at Stapleton recently participated in a presentation introducing a variety of in-school 'jobs' that enhance the school experience for everyone! As part of the newly created Eagle EmPOWERment Squad, 5th graders are given leadership opportunities throughout the school. In the presentation, students learned about each opportunity:

• Safety Patrol: Assist kindergarteners in getting to (and from) their destinations at certain times each day.
• Mentor/WIN Block Committee: Assist in K - 4 classrooms with read alouds, games during recess, or assistance during specials. Encourage students to do their best work and abide by the CORE Values of Stapleton.
• Student Council/Student Voice Committee: Monthly collaboration with peers / educator(s) to discuss school community happenings, ideas for improvements, and brainstorm ways to implement changes.
• Community Meeting Helper: Collaborate closely with educators to help plan and participate in monthly community meetings (ties to character trait of the month).
• Morning Announcement Conductors: Work with office staff in the mornings to announce lunches and recite the pledge of allegiance. Remind students of Stapleton's CORE values.
• Multilingual Committee: Become a peer buddy and establish personal connection with a multilingual student and help introduce students to the school and CORE values.

Stapleton 5th graders interested in joining the Eagle EmPOWERment Squad can apply via Google form. Shoutout to the Stapleton 5th Grade Team and Vanessa Deyoe for creatively providing leadership opportunities for our 5th graders!

As part of their first science unit (Science and Engineering Practices), 5th grade students from Brophy Elementary School worked in pairs to design and create their own catapults! The students were tasked with designing, creating, testing, improving, and then launching their catapults. The 5th graders then presented why they chose their design, what improvements they would have made, and what successes they had! All of the student engineers worked extremely hard on their catapults! (Photos below)

The full Press Release can be read on the FPS Website.

• Priscila Sousa, District 5 School Committee Member and Vice Chair, who also serves as a Massachusetts State Representative, recently received the La Promesa Award from Latinos for Education.
• Adam Freudberg, District 4 School Committee Member, has been selected to receive the Massachusetts Association of School Committee’s (MASC) Division II All-State School Committee 2023 Award.

School Bus Drivers $25-$31/Hour

• $5,000 Sign-on Bonus for fully licensed school drivers.
• Must be at least 21
• Must have your license for 3 consecutive years
• Must have the ability to pass background checks and drug test

incentive.

School Van Drivers $19-$20/Hour

7D drivers are needed! No 7D Certificate? They provide PAID training.

• Must be at least 21
• Must have your license for 3 consecutive years
• Must have the ability to pass background checks and drug test

LEARN MORE BY VISITING THE NRT WEBSITE: School Bus Driver-Paid Training- Framingham

2023 SWIACKI CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Framingham State University is currently promoting the 2023 Swiacki Children’s Literature Festival, which is an annual celebration of children's books featuring renowned authors and illustrators in the field. This year's featured author includes Dashka Slater (The 57 Bus, Accountable, The Antlered Ship) and artist is Ekua Holmes (The Stuff of Stars, Black is a Rainbow Color). The event takes place on Thursday, November 2, 2023 at FSU.

You can register by October 31st and learn more on their website: www.alumni.framingham.edu/sclf2023.

UPDATED: 2023 Swiacki Children's Literature Festival Essay Contest

Note: This opportunity was previously shared in the September DNA, but since then has been broadened for high school participation and the deadline was extended to October 16th.

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST

Eligibility: Students at Cameron, Fuller, or Walsh Middle Schools OR Framingham High School

Essay Question: How do you relate to one of the characters or themes in a Dashka Slater novel?

Languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish

Guidelines:

Essay Category

• Original work of the student
• Five paragraph essay, typed in Times New Roman, 12 point font, with one-inch margins all around, and double-spaced

Photo Essay

• Original work of the student, may include family photos taken by others with permission
• Contains 15 to 20 pictures with comments connecting to the contest question

Video

• Original work of the student, may include family video taken by others with permission
• Video should be between five to ten minutes in length.

All entries must include: Student’s name, School, Grade level, Mailing address, Phone number, and Email address

Prizes: One winner will be chosen per grade level, and one student will be named the Overall Winner. All eight winners will receive a signed copy of one of Dashka Slater’s books plus an invitation to attend the Swiacki Children’s Literature Festival at Framingham State University. Each student may bring two guests (for example, a parent/guardian and a favorite teacher). The festival includes a dinner, book signing, and presentations from both Dashka Slater and artist Ekua Holmes. If a student is chosen as a winner, they must attend the festival on Thursday evening, November 2nd, 2023.

Submission: Completed work should be presented to a librarian at Framingham High School or Cameron, Walsh, or Fuller Middle School; John Garrigan at the Framingham Public Library Main Branch; or to a librarian at Framingham State University’s Henry Whittemore Library.

Questions: Samantha Westall, curriculumlibrary@framingham.edu

Deadline: All essays must be submitted by October 16th, 2023.

Pre-registration is required for this beloved fall event organized by Framingham Parks and Recreation. Registration begins October 2 and will remain open through October 26th (or until full). Costumes are encouraged! Join community members for pumpkin painting, arts & crafts, and a hayride through Cushing Memorial Park! Our friends from the Framingham Police Department, Fire Department, & Library Bookmobile will also be there to spread some pumpkin cheer! This is a rain, sleet, snow, or shine event!

10/28/2023

$5 resident | $10 on-resident

Ages 3 - 12

01:00 PM - 03:00 PM

Cushing Memorial Park - Cushing Maintenance Building

Register on the Parks and Rec Website

The Media and Communications Office hopes to improve and refine the submission process over time and always appreciate hearing from staff, parents/guardians, and students with events, accolades, shoutouts, and more.

Submit your good news to communications@framingham.k12.ma.us for a special shoutout in future newsletters and social media posts!