Teaching & Learning Newsletter

Dear Holliston Families and Community,

I am writing to share some bittersweet news. After five incredible years as your Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, I will be leaving my role on June 30, 2026, to step into a new adventure as the Superintendent of East Longmeadow Schools.

Reflecting on my time here, I am incredibly grateful for this community. It has been an absolute privilege to lead our instructional initiatives and work alongside such a dedicated team of administrators and teachers. In particular, it has been a true pleasure working with our District Curriculum Team to move our curriculum and curriculum reviews forward. Together, we’ve tackled challenges, grown our digital learning tools, and made meaningful changes that will benefit our classrooms for years to come. (Please check out the newsletter that shows some incredible learning that is currently taking place.)

Above all, my heart belongs to the students of Holliston. Their curiosity, resilience, and bright potential have been my "why" every single day. Watching them grow and succeed has been the absolute best part of my job, and I will carry those wonderful memories with me forever.

Please know that I am fully committed to making sure we have a smooth, seamless transition over the remainder of June so our schools don't miss a beat.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for welcoming me into a community that values education so deeply. I wish Holliston Public Schools nothing but the best!

With warm regards and gratitude,

Dr. Joanne Menard

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

How do we prepare students for an unpredictable world? We look to the performing arts!

Under the Massachusetts DESE Arts Curriculum Framework, performing arts education go far beyond technical skill. The state standards explicitly anchor learning in critical thinking and artistic risk-taking.

By practicing the core processes of Creating, Performing, and Responding, students learn to experiment, embrace the vulnerability of trial and error, and constructively critique their own work. The stage and the rehearsal room serve as safe laboratories where making a mistake isn't a failure—it’s a necessary step toward innovation. When students take creative risks today, they build the resilience and problem-solving skills they need for tomorrow.

What happens when you give students a blank canvas and the freedom to fail? You get the stunning, deeply moving collection at this year’s K-12 Art Saves Lives Art Show.

More than just a display of technical skill, this exhibition is a live demonstration of the Massachusetts DESE Visual Arts standards in action. The state framework explicitly requires students to engage in artistic risk-taking and critical thinking—challenging them to move past easy answers and experiment with complex concepts, materials, and personal expression.

By pushing through the messy creative process of drafting, refining, and problem-solving, our young artists haven't just created beautiful gallery pieces; they have developed the critical resilience needed to navigate a changing world. Come see how art truly shapes, challenges, and saves lives.

Learning a new language truly clicks when it steps out of the textbook and onto the stage. Under the guidance of Sra. Jimenez, our high school Spanish students recently transformed the school courtyard into an open-air theater, adapting the beloved Puerto Rican children's book Kiki Koki into an original Spanish-language play. Sra Portocarrero-Heisler provided assistance by teaching students how to dance the merengue.

This energetic project perfectly showcased the Massachusetts DESE World Language Framework in action. By working as a team to script, rehearse, and perform, Spanish students directly applied the state’s core standards for Communities & Connections and Presentational Communication Standards.

Taking their language practice into the fresh air of the courtyard allowed students to take creative risks, build authentic fluency, and problem-solve on their feet. It was a beautiful reminder that when deep communication meets genuine fun, language learning sticks for life.

True wellness isn't just about breakneck activity in the gym or memorizing facts in a classroom—it’s where the two meet.

Our programming intentionally merges Physical Education and Health Education, a unified approach that directly reflects the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Framework. The state standards explicitly structure learning around building health and physical literacy simultaneously.

By targeting the state's core practices—specifically Self-Management and Decision-Making—we teach the mechanics of physical fitness alongside emotional regulation and stress management. Bringing these two elements together ensures our students don't just become more active; they build the deep, lifelong resilience needed to navigate challenges with confidence.

Who says libraries have to be completely quiet? Librarian Seth Golder and Performing Arts teacher George Wiethman recently joined forces to launch an exciting new collaborative event: Jazz and Books!

By bringing live music into the library's Book Fair, this partnership beautifully embodies the Massachusetts School Library Standards, which champion equity of access—the mandate to break down traditional barriers and connect students with literature by any creative means possible.

Under the state frameworks, the modern library is a vibrant, community-driven hub of discovery. By blending the improvisational energy of jazz with a curated book selection, Mr. Golder and Mr. Wiethman created an inclusive, high-energy environment where students could discover new titles and see learning as a fully interconnected experience.

Our Kindergarten through Grade 2 students have been building a deep understanding of mathematics through hands-on learning, problem-solving, and meaningful discussions. Students use tools, models, drawings, and math manipulatives to explore concepts and explain their thinking, helping them develop confidence and flexibility as mathematicians. Rather than simply memorizing procedures, children learn to make sense of math, share their strategies, and learn from one another. We are incredibly proud of our Placentino mathematicians, who have worked hard all year to grow their math skills, persevere through challenges, and strengthen their mathematical thinking every day.

During our animal and plant unit, the students learned about the basic needs of plants and animals and how living things grow and change. They explored how plants and animals depend on their environments to survive. The students participated in observations, discussions, and hands-on activities to develop scientific thinking skills. Students observed animal artifacts, such as a stag beetle, dragonfly fossil, and a cocoon! Students also planted radish seeds on cotton wool to see if the seeds could grow on cotton wool.

Students compared the ways different animals and plants use their body parts and senses to do the things they need to do to grow and survive, including typical ways parents keep their young safe so they will survive to adulthood. Students have planted pea seeds in the courtyard, observed the growth and watered the plants each week in the pea patch. Below is a picture of students at the pea patch! Students also investigated which designs made paper umbrellas more stable in a gentle breeze.

Students looked beyond the structures of individual plants and animals to look at the environment in which the plants and animals live as a provider of the food, water, and shelter that the organisms need. Students below built paper models of bat habitats. The next picture shows students observing animals in science viewers and then describing their animal’s traits! They also explored real life phenomena happening at Death Valley National Park as they wondered why that desert habitat has a SuperBloom of flowers for a couple of weeks once every 5 - 7 years!

As we wrapped up the final months of Makerspace, our students continued to grow as engineers by planning, designing, collaborating with teammates, persevering through challenges, and redesigning when needed. In March, we celebrated National Crayon Day by building crayon boxes and crayon towers, and each student designed a unique crayon to add to our Positively Placentino wreath displayed in the main hallway.

In April, students participated in STEAM Play Time, using a variety of building materials to create imaginative designs and inventions. A special thank you to our PTO for purchasing new building materials that helped inspire creativity and problem-solving throughout the year!

In May, classes took their engineering skills outdoors to create nature houses and nature-inspired artwork using materials found in the environment. We ended the year with our exciting Pool Noodle Palooza, where students designed and built structures using pool noodle pieces or worked together as a class to transport a ball from one end of the room to the other using teamwork, communication, and collaboration.

We are so proud of the creativity, perseverance, and engineering mindset our students have developed this year!

Thank you, as always, to our families for your continued support of this amazing space. We are so grateful for your generosity—and we happily welcome ongoing donations to keep the creativity going!

We are thrilled to share a major update regarding your child’s literacy education! Following a comprehensive, multi-year review process led by our K-5 ELA Curriculum Review Committee, Holliston Public Schools is officially launching a new, high-quality literacy curriculum this fall: Amplify CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts)

Our goal is to ensure every student in Holliston becomes a confident, skilled, and joyful reader and writer. Here is a quick look at what this new curriculum means for your child and how we will be partnering with you at home.

Amplify CKLA is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and is fully aligned with the Science of Reading.

Research shows that skilled reading requires a strong foundation in two equal areas:

1. Word Recognition: Explicit, systematic instruction in phonics, decoding, and spelling so students can read words accurately and automatically.
2. Language Comprehension: Building rich background knowledge and vocabulary so students deeply understand what they read. Instead of reading disconnected stories, students will dive into immersive Knowledge Units that build deep understanding over time across history, science, literature, and the arts. By exploring these fascinating topics, students naturally build the advanced vocabulary and critical thinking skills they need to succeed across all subject areas.

We know that families are our most important partners in education. Amplify CKLA includes fantastic resources to keep you connected to what your child is learning in the classroom, including:

1. Built-in Family Newsletters: Distributed at the start of each unit to explain the topics and stories your child will explore.
2. "Take-Home Pages" & Online Resources: Aligned homework and fun activities to reinforce skills at home.
3. Conversation Starters: Great questions you can ask at the dinner table to keep the discussion going.

We look forward to embarking on this exciting literacy journey with you and your children!

Warmly,

Jennifer Mann & Caitlin Kinsky

Placentino & Miller Humanities Curriculum Specialists

Below you will find some images of students engaging with the Amplify CKLA resources throughout the piloting process.

Our third graders are keeping cool with a delicious math project! As they dive deeper into the world of fractions, students put their understanding to the test by creating the perfect "fraction ice cream sundae." This hands-on activity allowed them to visually represent and partition wholes into equal parts, transforming abstract math concepts into a sweet, tangible masterpiece. (3.NF.A.1)

Our impressive fourth graders have officially taken dominion over the world of fractions! Through dedication and hard work, these young mathematicians have mastered the art of decomposing fractions into smaller, manageable parts. They have also been utilizing number lines as powerful visual tools, allowing them to precisely identify a fraction's value and confidently compare different fractions. (4.NF.A.2, 4.NF.B.3.a, 4.NF.B.3.b)

On June 1st and 2nd, the Discovery Museum brought an exciting, hands-on Weather & Climate lesson to all third-grade classrooms, giving our young scientists a chance to step into the shoes of meteorologists and climate engineers. After predicting typical weather patterns for various global regions, student teams collaborated to design and build structures capable of withstanding those exact elements—with the ultimate, high-stakes mission of keeping their beloved "puff pal" safe and dry! A massive thank you to our incredible PTO for sponsoring this memorable, high-impact learning experience that showed our students how much fun it is to weather any storm together! (3-ESS2-1,3-ESS2-2, 3-Ess3-1, 3.3-5-ETS1-1,3.3-ETS1-2, 3.3-5-ETS1-4(MA))

Get ready to blast off with our 5th-grade scientists as they wrap up their space unit with an incredible, NASA-Inspired Mission Project! Stepping into the role of aerospace research teams, student groups were challenged to pitch the destination for NASA's next big spacecraft exploration, choosing unique targets ranging from local celestial bodies like Ganymede to mysterious, distant exoplanets. Through rigorous research, they gathered data on each target's atmosphere, gravity, and composition to build a compelling, persuasive argument for further exploration. Groups will be presenting to their peers on Tuesday July 23! (5-ESS1-1, 5-ESS1-2)

Our 5th-grade students proudly celebrated the culmination of Miller Makes and Innovates, an exciting, year-long Project-Based Learning experience. Seamlessly blending Digital Learning with STEM, this program challenged students to think like true engineers by asking tough questions, designing creative solutions, testing their ideas, and constantly reflecting to improve their work.

The innovation didn't stop when they left the Makerspace. To capture their growth and share their creations, students learned the fundamentals of Google Sites. Each 5th grader built a personalized digital portfolio, serving as a dynamic digital stage to showcase their projects, reflections, and unique innovations from the class. (3-5.ETS1-1, 3-5.ETS1-2, 3-5.ETS1-3, 5.DTC.a.1, 5.DTC.b.1)

RAMS has concluded a multi-year curriculum review in Science this year. We have selected DESE approved Lab Aids: Issues in Science, which will be started by our incoming 6th grade in 26-27.

It centers on a phenomenon based approach where students are discovering the scientific content through questions and investigations. Two-thirds of the curriculum is hands on and collaborative for greater student participation. It also includes the option do work on the Chrome book, or completely off screen if preferred. Full translation into 150 languages and other adaptive tools are included to meet all learners. We are so excited to begin this journey in the Middle School.

Some changes are starting in Math in the 26-27 school year. 7th grade will begin its reinstated Math 7 Accelerated course. This course will provide a direct pathway to Algebra 1 by covering all of 7th grade DESE Math Standards, plus a portion of 8th grade grade content to meet the prerequisites for Algebra 1. Students in Math 7 next year will still have the opportunity to enter Algebra 1 in 8th, and will be given preparatory materials to work with should they find themselves ready for more challenging material as the year progresses. Be on the look out in September next year for information about opportunities in Math as our pathways evolve to meet student need and individual journeys with the subject!

Preparatory materials in the form of a checklist that works with IXL, our Math benchmark and practice program, have already been distributed to all 7th grade students in case they are choosing to try for Algebra 1's second opportunity in the Fall. These are optional, but a great way for students who have their sights set on Algebra 1, to prepare. The test will be given in the first week of school in September and a sign up form will go out shortly before to enroll to take the Algebra 1 retest.

Our Marine Biology classes recently took a field trip to the world-renowned scientific hub of Woods Hole. At the WHOI Ocean Science Discovery Center, students explored the incredible legacy of the Alvin deep-sea submersible, famous for exploring the Titanic and capturing footage for Shark Week. The adventure continued at the MBL Marine Resources Center, where students went behind the scenes to view live marine animals used in active scientific research. Highlights included observing squid and their giant nerve axon used in research, holding skates, sea, horseshoe crabs and sea stars, as well as learning about the vital conservation efforts surrounding the fascinating horseshoe crab.

Our Geometry students are stepping into the shoes of architects and engineers for their latest 3-D design project! Using their knowledge of volume and surface area, students are sketching, building, and decorating original complex structures composed of cylinders, cones, pyramids, and prisms. This hands-on challenge requires precise calculations including accounting for hidden, overlapping surfaces which bring their geometric masterpieces to life.

With only two students remaining after the seniors graduated, Mr. Brooks' Personal Finance class turned the opportunity into a creative learning experience. Students designed a comprehensive review game covering all five previously learned units, created 3D-printed game pieces, and are currently field-testing their games with other math students while gathering feedback to enhance the final version.

Grade 7 ELA: Students read The Giver by Lois Lowry, a dystopian novel that allows students to explore various themes such as: Safety vs. Freedom, Individuality vs. Conformity, and Standing Up for What Is Right. Students wrote thematic analysis essays based on these topics and more as an end-of-the-unit assessment. Now 7th graders are engaged in a Mimic Poetry unit, analyzing various forms of poetry and then mimicking the poets' forms and styles in their own writing.

Grade 8 ELA: Since April, classes have been reading and analyzing Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Students did their end-of-the-year writing assessments breaking down Juliet’s final soliloquy and writing about how she has evolved as a character over the course of the play. Students will wrap up the unit by either viewing film versions of the scenes to compare to Shakespeare's written word, or perform small scenes for their classmates.

Grade 7 SS: Students explored the civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome, learning about their governments, cultures, achievements, and lasting influence on the modern world. One standout project challenged students to design a pair of "Athens Golden Age" Nike shoes, creatively incorporating important people, ideas, and accomplishments from Athens during its golden age. The project showcased both historical understanding and artistic creativity.

Grade 8 CIVICS: Our Grade 8 students are officially stepping into their roles as active global citizens! In a powerful intersection of research and community engagement, students recently explored what it truly means to have a voice in society and the importance of civic action. Drawing from deep-dive research conducted in their ELA classes, they transformed their findings into inspiring "call to action" posters. From environmental advocacy to local community welfare, these visual projects demonstrate not only their sharp critical thinking and communication skills but also their passion for driving real change.