Teaching & Learning Newsletter

The district curriculum team is pleased to provide the Holliston community with our Winter Teaching & Learning Newsletter. It provides families with information on: Holliston's curriculum reviews, latest professional development day, math book study, upcoming Mathapalooza and Scholastic Book Fair, French Immersion, 100th Day at Placentino, Science/Wellness/Health at Miller, English Language Arts, Service Learning Community Showcase, Digital Learning and Computer Science, and Perfoming/Visual Arts.

Enjoy,

Joanne Menard, Ed.D.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction

Joe Hicks, K-12+ Humanities Curriculum Coordinator

James Levasseur, K-12+ STEM Curriculum Coordinator

Dr. Ida Pappas, K-12+ Unified Arts Curriculum Coordinator

The World Language Curriculum Review committee members kicked off their first meeting in October of 2023 and have met monthly. In our initial meetings, we developed both a Vision of effective World Language curriculum and instruction and explored the differing philosophies between our three language tracks (French Immersion, Spanish FLES, Traditional French and Spanish). The committee began to gather a list of resources to consider adopting and have begun to develop a tool to review the materials with consideration of the MA Frameworks. In order to collect additional viewpoints, the committee developed surveys to go out to the community, students and teachers. We are also looking at the K-12 World Language program with the perspective of the new Proficiency Standards, and with an eye towards equity. This is the estimated timeline for the rest of the year.

The Secondary English Language Arts Curriculum Review Committee (grades 6-12) met in early December to continue its work. The group engaged in an analysis of our current curriculum to uncover strengths and opportunities for growth. The committee also met in early February to compile a list of recommendations that will be sent to the Superintendent.

The Primary English Language Arts Curriculum Review Committee met for the first time during the district-wide professional development day on January 31st. The committee learned about the curriculum review process and began to craft a vision statement. The goal of this committee will be to review our English Language Arts programming for the elementary schools and to make recommendations to the Superintendent by the end of the 24-25 school year. This spring, the committee will compile data, both qualitative and quantitative, about our current English Language Arts Programming. Here is a timeline for the Primary ELA Curriculum Review Process.

The STE curriculum review started in September of this school year (2023). Here is our timeline for the curriculum review process. The curriculum review team is composed of members from all four schools. We started the process by creating a vision of STE education at Holliston Public schools. We are in the process of finalizing this vision. The next step in the curriculum review process was to look at our current curriculum and complete a gap analysis. We are currently in the process of analyzing this gap analysis to see what improvements can be made to STE instruction across the district. We have also identified areas that we would like to focus on as we move through this curriculum review. At our next meeting we plan to create a survey for the community to get feedback on the community values around STE instruction. Please look out for this survey from our curriculum review team.

The STE Curriculum Review Team proposed to put forth a recommendation to pursue a couple of Project Lead The Way Pathways (Biomedical, Engineering, and Computer Science) which will prepare out high school for the State Endorsed Innovation Pathways. This recommendation has been sent to the superintendent for approval to submit to the school committee.

January 31st was an opportunity for the Holliston World Language teachers to join five other school districts (Ashland, Bellingham, Hopkinton, Milford, and Millis) at RAMS auditorium to work directly with conference presenter and podcast host Joshua Cabral. While he spent a majority of the time presenting research, and diving deeply into language proficiency and modes of communication and assessment, it was also a time for World Language teachers in our area to discuss their curricula, programs and classroom strategies. The response from teachers was overwhelmingly positive. It was a great day for World Language.

At the January 31st Professional Development Day teachers spent the first half of the day attending two presentations. One of the presentations was Landan Callahan from Safe and Supportive Schools. The other presentation was from Central Administrators and the district’s technology integration specialists (Winnie Carey, Allie Curley, and Tina Cortis). They presented on how to use AI in the classroom to provide more inclusive instruction at all grade levels.

Additionally, during our January 31st Professional Development day, lower elementary teachers began the process of revamping our K-2 Social Studies Curriculum. The team spent time reviewing the Massachusetts History and Social Science Frameworks, and then began to create Transfer Tasks for students. A Transfer Task is an end of unit assessment that gives students an opportunity to showcase their learning from the unit. Next, teachers will begin to develop Essential Questions, Enduring Understandings, as well as key skills, knowledge, and vocabulary for each unit of study.

In the afternoon, STE, Math, and Primary ELA held curriculum review meetings. The other Math, STE, and Digital Learning Computer Science teachers worked on aligning curriculum and preparing for pilots of different curricular resources.

Additionally, Ashely Bouchard (our Elementary School Math Specialist) has been working hard to plan Mathapalooza which will be held on March 14th at 6:30-7:30 in the shared Placentino/Miller Gymnasium and Cafeteria. Mathapalooza was designed to overlap with the Scholastic Book Fair for the elementary schools. Lynda Canal, Miller and Placentino Librarian, has been planning this amazing event for months in conjunction with our PTA. This is a wonderful night out for the family to enjoy some fun and games in the area of STEM, while also supporting literacy.

The lower elementary French Immersion Teachers have been working with Kim Lockhart, an elementary French Immersion and Reading Remediation teacher in Kingston, Ontario and advocate for students with reading disabilities in Second Language Programs. Her work focuses on implementing evidence-based reading instruction in the French Immersion setting. During this year-long Professional Development series, our French Immersion Teachers are learning about how to improve their own literacy instruction, aligned to the same expectations and shifts that our traditional classroom teachers have implemented.

Throughout the month of February Mr. O'Connell's Grade 5 French Immersion students are providing all students and staff with a brief video to share their knowledge of French language and culture. So far, we have enjoyed entries "S'il vous plait," "Merci beaucoup," and "Je ne sais pas." It has been a wonderful way to share students learning with the school, while educating the community about French language and culture.

Placentino Elementary School celebrated the 100th day of school on February 6th. They day was filled with fun and games centered around the number 100! A big think you to the PTO for donating 100 Day Pencils for all the students!

Above is a video created by Mrs. Dowling's grade 3/4 Montessori class on weather and Erosion. Standards being addressed in this lesson: 4-ESS1-1 and 4-ESS2-1

With the shift to science into the general classroom, Holliston Wellness/Health teachers Julie Day and Laura Leonard are able to add Health curriculum in the third and fourth grades. Preparation for this additional curriculum started in the summer of 2023. For a week, we were able to unpack the Draft of the new Wellness standards, look at district-provided curriculum resources and research additional materials online. Units were then identified with specific content topics in relation to standards for each grade. Once the Wellness Standards were adopted at the beginning of the school year, we were able to adjust our units and begin developing the lessons. In January, these new Health lessons began. Overall, we are excited to be able to provide the much needed Social-Emotional Learning lessons to guide students to handle their stress, anxiety and manage healthy relationships. This curriculum also addresses important topics such as self-advocacy, strategies on making healthy decisions around food and personal safety, as well as identifying the variety of Trusted Adults around students who can answer their questions and handle their concerns.

6th grade students recently read A Long Walk to Water, a novel about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, Nya in 2008, who travels 2 hours on foot, twice a day to a pond for fresh water, and Salva in 1885, who becomes a “lost boy” of Sudan. The story is one of perseverance and hope. Students did research on the impact of water scarcity and water borne diseases and presented to various staff and community members the last week of January. They also pitched their ideas for a fundraiser.

One of the new courses being offered this spring at Holliston High School is Fashion through the Ages. Developed by English Language Arts Teacher Shawna Frost and student Ishika Ghandi, the course “invites learners to explore culture, identity, and gender through the lens of fashion. From Billy Porter to Harry Styles, students will learn about the history of fashion and fashion icons who have influenced society by pushing boundaries and challenging the norm.” Students will engage with two powerful memoirs, A Visible Man, by Edward Enninful, and Unprotected, by Billy Porter. The course is centered around Project-Based Learning. Recently, students presented on traditional fashion in a variety of cultures. The course is based on a project that Ishika developed as an outcome of her work in her Intro to Global Citizenship class. Mrs. Frost and Ishika spent a year designing and planning the course and its projects.

On January 17th, students in Ms. Mills’s Community Service Learning class held an end of semester Community Celebration. Over the course of the semester, students developed meaningful and innovative projects to address the many needs of our community. Students worked with many different community organizations and across a variety of disciplines to develop impressive projects. Students showcased their projects and reflected on how their work impacted both the community and themselves as individuals.

Check out the Service Learning 2023-2024 Website to learn more about the individual projects!!

Holliston High School was selected to participate in PACE. This is a program that partners MA districts with MIT in order to increase enrollment in computer science courses at the high school level. The focus of this program is to specifically increase diversity within our computer science program. The team of Sarah Kuhn, Tom Levesque, Elisa Taylor, and James Levasseur meet regularly with other towns in the area and the MIT representatives to plan and discuss how to increase diversity in our CS programs.

Holliston Performing Arts just concluded its winter performance season. In December, two joint concerts for HHS and RAMS Band and Chorus were held and recorded on local television. In January, Miller Elementary held their Band and Chorus concert. While it is always a time to highlight student learning and celebrate accomplishments, this year was also a time to say goodbye to some beloved music teachers: Beth Holmgren, Matt Grina and Ilanna Tariff. We wish them all luck in their future endeavors, and welcome aboard Andrew Wray (HHS) and George Weithman (RAMS)! Just this week, George learned that four RAMS students were selected to participate in Jr. District Band. Congratulations!

This year we welcome two new elementary Visual Art teachers, Michelle Poulos and Maureen DeBor. They bring with them immense talent and collaborating spirit. It is clear from the many art displays in the elementary schools that the program is in good hands. The curriculum continues to have engaging content centered on famous artist, a variety of techniques and mediums, and full of student hands-on creativity.