This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• Principal Breakfast: Please join us on Friday, January 31st in the Upper School Library to learn more about restorative circle practices. All families are welcomed and food will be served.
• End of Quarter 2 (6th-8th grade): The second quarter will close on Friday, January 21st and report cards will be sent home within two weeks.
• School Choice Forms: 6th and 8th grade parents – CHECK BACKPACKS! We received the Exam School Choice form from BPS, and Sue Trotz handed them out on Tuesday, January 21st, and needs them back to the Curley by January 29th. For parents of 8th graders, all applications to pilot and special schools have continuously been distributed since Thanksgiving. We have not received the official high school choice forms yet but will notify families as soon as we do receive them.

  On Tuesday, January 28th High School Choice forms will be distributed to our 8th grade students. Please review your options as a family together, number your choices and make sure all special applications and recommendations are completed for high schools that require these processes. We look forward to helping our students through this transition.

• Snow: Families we are asking that you keep your children off the lawn and away from the snow during arrival and dismissal each day. This will assure the safety of all students as they enter and exit the building during these slippery winter months. We appreciate your support in holding all Curley Community Members accountable to this as well.
• 6-8 Open House (Parent Conferences): On Thursday, January 30th from 5pm-7pm Curley Lower School staff will offer an evening time for parent conference. Please be sure to schedule a time with your child’s teacher if you have not already had a conference with them this fall.
• Donation: Northeastern University’s Center for STEM Education is excited to announce the donation of $500 to the Curley PACE program on behalf of a fundraising campaign which began in 2013. The campaign was led by Jillian Wudarczyk, former STEM employee and Northeastern University alumni, in order to raise money to purchase much-needed classroom supplies, equipment, and technology. In fact, you can still donate to the program here!

  The PACE program has enhanced the lives of many students at the Curley School who are living with the everyday challenges associated with autism. Because of a very limited budget, the school and teachers are restricted to just how much they can provide the students.  New technology, techniques, and tools are being created every day to help students with autism learn. With this fundraiser, we hope to provide some of the newest supplies available to give these students the best school experience they can have!  Donated funds will be used to purchase supplies such as ink and lamination paper, iPads and associated software, and other tools and furnishings for the students’ and teachers’ classrooms.   

  Thank you to the previous donors including: Cynthia Poole, Joe & Lynn Noll, Grace Hall, Henry Wudarczyk, Ricky Wolfe, Jason Noll, Lauren Horn, Filip Cacinovic, Daniel Schwartz, Lisa Schwartz, Jamison Pezdek, Erica Levy, Daniel Sullivan, and Jillian Wudarczyk!

• Support the Curley K-8: There are several more opportunities for families to help support the Curley K-8 School.
  • We have less then 40 days to go to finish our fundraising for the school playing field. If we do not meet this deadline the building of the playing field will be delayed for an entire year. Please help us to meet our goal so that the start of SY2014-2015 we will have a brand new playing field. For more information about the field and fundraising campaign, visit playingfield.curleyk8.com.
  • We also have three Curley representatives running the 2014 Boston Marathon! The first, parent Dan Barcan, is running to support the playing field, if you are interested in donating to his race please visit dbboston2014.squarespace.com.
  • The second, Alisa Ferro, Curley 6th grade ELA teacher, is also running the Boston Marathon to raise money for Tenacity. Tenacity is a FREE afterschool program for our middle school students that focus on literacy and tennis. Ms. Ferro’s fundraising efforts will help us to continue this program in the upcoming years.
    http://www.razoo.com/story/Running-The-Boston-Marathon-For-My-Students.
  • The third, Keith Schultz, is a community member, who is graciously running to support our music, arts and science programs. To follow his training and aid him in his fundraising, visit
    http://keeponrunning716.blogspot.com/.
• Curley Night at the Museum of Science: Thank you to the School Parent Council and Science Team for sponsoring the 7th annual Curley Night at the Museum of Science. Special shout out to the nearly 300 families and staff who braved the cold weather to attend our annual science night. And to our volunteers who helped make the night a success: Ms. Ferro, Ms. Felicetti, Ms. Iatrou, Ms. Mehari, Ms. Murphy and Ms. Selznick.