This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• Plant Sale: Please volunteer our great 15th Annual Plant Sale on Saturday May 2nd, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot across the street from the school. We need volunteers to help with set up, cash out and breakdown after the sale. Kids are welcome and encouraged to attend. Buy your annuals, herbs, and vegetables and support the Curley K8. There will also be a bake sale so please sign up here if you can contribute a delicious treat or donate water to sell. In it’s 15th year, this is our longest running fundraiser and a favorite community event. Mark your calendars now, then stop by on the 2nd for your plants, baked treats and fun kid activities – oh, and tell your friends and neighbors! WE NEED VOLUNTEERS to make this event a success again this year so please sign up online if you are able to help. The Annual Plant Sale supports art, music, science and technology at our school. Questions? Please contact Curley parent Kristin Jurkoic.
• Wake Up the Earth Parade: Bring your friends! … ALL Kids, Students, Friends, Families and any supporters of the Curley are welcome to join ion the fun. We will be making some parade arts & crafts outside after school 4/27-5/1, the week leading up to parade. When: Saturday, May 2nd at 10:45 a.m.
 Where: Meet at the Curtis Hall on South St. & Centre St. Parade begins marching (toward Stony Brook) at 11 a.m.
• School Climate Survey: We want to hear what you think about your child’s school! BPS offers parents the opportunity to fill out a survey every year. Students and teachers also fill out surveys at school. Please let us know what is good, and what needs to be changed or worked on to make your school better. Your feedback is very important and results from the survey will be incorporated into a school’s Quality Score. If you would like to participate, please fill out a survey by May 1, 2015. Paper copies will be sent home of click this link to complete it online (offered in all languages as well): http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/Domain/737. Please help us improve our school. We need families to participate!
• End of Year PARCC for Grades 3-8 (and MCAS for 5th and 8th Grades): There is another round of PARCC testing coming in May (See dates below). We are asking all families to assure that their student arrives to school on time, gets a good night sleep the night before and eats a healthy breakfast. City Year made this video to get students excited about this week. Here is the link so you can watch with your child https://youtu.be/_xft5Z_zj-k. We are all proud of each and every student and we want to ensure that students work hard and do their best and that is what matter most!
  • 5/5 Science MCAS (5th and 8th Grades)
  • 5/6 Science MCAS (5th and 8th Grades)
  • 5/11 PARCC ELA EOY (Grades 3-8)
  • 5/12 PARCC ELA EOY (Grades 6-8)
  • 5/18 PARCC Math EOY (Grades 3-8)
  • 5/19 PARCC Math EOY (Grades 3-8)
• Arrival and Dismissal: The school hours are 8:30am-2:30pm. We open each morning at 8:15am for breakfast and students may proceed to homeroom. All parents are welcome to escort their child to class if they arrive before 8:35am. Anyone who arrives after 8:35am is marked tardy. Also we are asking that families do not dismiss their child after 1:45pm to assure a safe dismissal transition.
• Social Media: If you are on Twitter be sure to follow me @principalgrassa. This is a great way to share up to date information about the Curley.

Show your Lion pride!
Come march with the Curley K-8 school in the Wake Up The Earth Parade 2015!

When: Saturday, May 2nd at 10:45 a.m.
Where: Meet at the Curtis Hall on South St. & Centre St. Parade begins marching (toward Stoneybrook) at 11 a.m.

It’s the same day as our 15th Annual Plant Sale.

Bring your friends! … ALL Kids, Students, Friends, Families and any supporters of the Curley are welcome to join ion the fun.

We will be making some parade arts & crafts outside after school 4/27-5/1, the week leading up to parade:

• Stop by and make: Pennants, Lion Masks & Manes (maybe tails?), Instruments, etc.
• We will be carrying the Curley Banner from prior parades and have a new paper mache Curley Lion to carry!

We will have the black Curley Lion T-shirts of all sizes for purchase to wear in the parade if you wish.

Please feel free to bring ANY instruments to the parade so we can make some noise and wear any Curley gear you already have to show our Lion pride!

If you need more information or have any questions, please reach out to the Curley WUTE parade committee: Riyo Hirota, Jess London-Rand, Dana Willeke, Elisabeth Nevins, Annie Carter, Maria Barletta and Ann DeGeorge or email: ann.c.degeorge@gmail.com, tel: (617) 251-6777.

Hope you can make it!

Please volunteer our great 15th Annual Plant Sale on Saturday May 2nd, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot across the street from the school.

We need volunteers to help with set up, cash out and breakdown after the sale. Kids are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Buy your annuals, herbs, and vegetables and support the Curley K8. There will also be a bake sale so please sign up here if you can contribute a delicious treat or donate water to sell.

In it’s 15th year, this is our longest running fundraiser and a favorite community event. Mark your calendars now, then stop by on the 2nd for your plants, baked treats and fun kid activities – oh, and tell your friends and neighbors!

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS to make this event a success again this year so please sign up online if you are able to help.

The Annual Plant Sale supports art, music, science and technology at our school.

Questions? Please contact Curley parent Kristin Jurkoic.

********

Por favor únase a nosotros en la Escuela Curley K-8 School a nuestra Treceara anual de 15

VENTA DE PLANTAS
El Sabado 2 de mayo, 2015
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

En el estacionamiento que esta al frente de la escuela en la calle Centre.

Recaudación de fondos para apoyar los programas de arte, ciencias, música y la tecnología en nuestra escuela.

Necesitamos voluntarios para hacer de este evento un éxito de nuevo este año, así que por favor inscríbase en línea!

¿Preguntas? Por favor, póngase en contacto con Curley padres Kristin Jurkoic.

********

March in the Wake Up The Earth Parade

That same day as the Plant Sale, Curley parents will also be walking again in the Wake Up The Earth parade as well!

Meet other Curley students, parents, staff, and teachers at Curtis Hall at 10:45am for the 11am parade. Wear your Curley shirts!

Remember the lion walking all the way back in May 2010? Here’s a reminder via Rebecca Nieto’s excellent video:

For more information, please email Ann Chinchilla DeGeorge.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Curley 1st grade welcomed Anna Adler from ReadBoston into their classrooms last week.  On two separate mornings, Anna spent an hour in each classroom, singing and sharing stories with rhyme and rhythm.  She also shared poems written by young people including several from Wendy Ewald’s book, “The Best Part of Me” which inspired students to write original poems about the best part of themselves.

Theo in Ms. Bank’s classroom wrote an ode to his brain:

Oh Brain, I love my brain.

If I didn’t have you then I couldn’t think and I couldn’t talk.  So I am lucky to have you.

Brain, Brain, you are not insane.  You send messages to my body.

So thank you brain, thank you for everything.

Oh Brain, I love my brain.

While his classmate, Annelise  focused on the other end of things:

My feet are the best because I can walk with them

And I love to step on the floor!

Hear more poems at “Movement & Metaphor” where students in 1st and 2nd grade will be reading, dancing and expressing themselves through poetry.  Please join us, Thursday, April 16th at 9:10 AM in the Upper School Auditorium.  Thanks to our School Parent Council, coffee and pastries will be available in the hallway at the back of the auditorium prior to the performance.

ReadBoston‘s weekly storymobile sites for Summer 2015 aren’t finalized yet, but include several of our local libraries and parks.  Storymobile is a great free opportunity for families to hear dynamic storytellers and all children get to chose a new book to take home.  Can’t wait for Summer? (Me neither!)  During April vacation, ReadBoston will be running a Fairy Home Building Workshop at Schoolmaster Hill in Dorchester.

Pictures: Ms. Ciardi’s student, Alias, showing his artwork to go along with his poem and Ms. Bank’s student, Emmanuel hard at work on his poem.

Please mark your calendar for this great annual event on Saturday May 2nd, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot across the street from the school.

Buy your annuals, herbs, and vegetables and support the Curley K8. There will also be a bake sale so please sign up here if you can contribute a delicious treat or donate water to sell.

In it’s 15th year, this is our longest running fundraiser and a favorite community event. Mark your calendars now, then stop by on the 2nd for your plants, baked treats and fun kid activities – oh, and tell your friends and neighbors!

We need volunteers to help with set up, cash out and breakdown after the sale. Kids are welcome and encouraged to attend.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS to make this event a success again this year so please sign up online if you are able to help.

The Annual Plant Sale supports art, music, science and technology at our school.

Questions? Please contact Curley parent Kristin Jurkoic.

********

Por favor únase a nosotros en la Escuela Curley K-8 School a nuestra Treceara anual de 15

VENTA DE PLANTAS
El Sabado 2 de mayo, 2015
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

En el estacionamiento que esta al frente de la escuela en la calle Centre.

Recaudación de fondos para apoyar los programas de arte, ciencias, música y la tecnología en nuestra escuela.

Necesitamos voluntarios para hacer de este evento un éxito de nuevo este año, así que por favor inscríbase en línea!

¿Preguntas? Por favor, póngase en contacto con Curley padres Kristin Jurkoic.

Our fantastic Arts Showcase is back! The 8th Annual Curley Arts Showcase will be on Thursday, April 16th from 5:30pm – 7:30pm in the Upper School Gym.

Come and see your student’s artwork, watch a performance by the Curley Ambassadors of Art, and meet old friends and make new ones. It’s always a lively and fun evening, and we look forward to seeing you again!

For more information, or to help, please contact art teacher Anna Youman.

– Get inspired and respond for spring volunteering opportunities highlighted at the end!

Curley School parent volunteers are increasingly making their way into our older elementary and middle school grades. Check out Ms. Pradas’ 4th grade classroom, where recently classroom volunteers Jessica Curran and Nikki Douglas sat down to share their stories.

“The idea of volunteering can be intimidating and inconvenient,” said Jess, mom to 4th grader Jo, “but every time I show up to Ms. Pradas’ class I am greeted with warm smiles, waves, and polite kids that are working hard at their educations.”

Jess volunteers every other week with Ms. Pradas’ reading group time. “We have been reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins, which has been funny and entertaining because the children are so interested and enthusiastic about the book. One of my favorite moments is observing the class return from lunch. Ms. Pradas uses different techniques for focusing the children, such as breathing and rhythmic hand movements. It is so sweet and effective, and the children are learning techniques that will help them throughout their lives.”

Nikki, mom to 4th grader Leo, agreed on the rewards of being in the class. “I had the chance to start to get to know four kids [during reading group] and their different personalities which was a lot of fun. When we came across a challenging vocabulary word, we would use clues to try to figure out the meaning of the word. We also practiced reading in different voices, depending on how the character was feeling, which the kids really enjoyed. Every few pages we’d all get up and stretch.”

How do the students respond to having parents in the classroom? “The kids always smile and wave at me,” said Jess. ” The kids seems so happy to have a parent in the classroom. Being there has allowed me to meet a whole new group of children that I had never interacted with before. It has been a very rewarding and enjoyable experience.

“It is never too late to volunteer. I did not start volunteering in my daughter’s class until her 4th grade year, and even though I missed opportunities during her lower school years I am grateful that I have taken the time this year to contribute to the Curley school,” concludes Jess.

And it’s helping Nikki engage even more with her own child’s learning: she reflects, “Volunteering has enabled me to find new ways to support [my son] with both his strengths and challenges.”

Thanks to all our fabulous classroom volunteers who support our hard-working teachers.

ALL Parents – R.S.V.P. to our teachers if you’re able to help with these highlighted opportunities!

SPRING ARTS SHOWCASE:  (email Anna Youman, art teacher, at azyouman@gmail.com)

Thursday April 9, 3:00 – 5:00pm (preparation: meet in Mr. Holmes/Ms. Drakes room)

Thursday April 16, 3:00-5:30pm (set up: moving table, displaying artwork); 5:30-7:30pm (during show: face painting, art activities, food distribution); 7:30-8:15pm (break down of show)

COMPUTER CLOSET PROJECT: (email Konstantinos Petmezis, 4th grade teacher, at kpetmezis@bostonpublicschools.org)

Flexible to your schedule: Organize closet for more effective technology use in Upper School.

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 8th from 3:00pm-4:00pm in room 121. All families are welcome!
We’ll be brainstorming ideas for executive function skills and other planning ideas for next year. If you need child care for this meeting, please email Ms. Grassa: kgrassa@bostonpublicschools.org

This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• PARCC: We are proud of all students in grades 3-8 for completing 5 days of PARCC testing in ELA and Math. All the students gave their best effort!
• School Climate Survey: We want to hear what you think about your child’s school! BPS offers parents the opportunity to fill out a survey every year. Students and teachers also fill out surveys at school. Please let us know what is good, and what needs to be changed or worked on to make your school better. Your feedback is very important and results from the survey will be incorporated into a school’s Quality Score. If you would like to participate, please fill out a survey by May 1, 2015. Paper copies will be sent home of click this link to complete it online. (offered in all languages as well) http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/Domain/737
  Please help us improve our school. We need families to participate!
• AWC/General Education Integration Meeting: Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 8th from 3:00pm-4:00pm in room 121. All families are welcome!
• Principal Breakfast: Friday, April 10th from 8:45am-9:45am we will hold our April Principal Breakfast and review the PARCC assessments that your children are taking this spring.
• Monday, April 13th: Students should wear Red, White and Blue to show their support for the Red Sox on Opening Day!
• April Break: Just a reminder to all families that April vacation will begin after school on Friday, April 17th and we will all return to school on Monday, April27th.
• Arrival and Dismissal: The school hours are 8:30am-2:30pm. We open each morning at 8:15am for breakfast and students may proceed to homeroom. All parents are welcome to escort their child to class if they arrive before 8:35am. Anyone who arrives after 8:35am is marked tardy. Also we are asking that families do not dismiss their child after 1:45pm to assure a safe dismissal transition.
• Snow: We are asking all families to talk with their children around throwing snow. We want all students to be safe and we are asking that all adults and students leave the snow on the ground during arrival and dismissal. We are also asking that families and students use the shoveled spaces to walk and not to walk through the snowy yard. This is to help assure that no one falls and gets hurt. Thank you!
• Social Media: If you are on Twitter be sure to follow me @principalgrassa. This is a great way to share up to date information about the Curley.

Last Tuesday, we held our silent auction, and although we are still tallying numbers to announce, it seems to have been a great success so far. Details to follow soon.

This announcement is to alert you and your network to some additional items which came in late and/or remain for bid on our online auction site. Items include Red Sox and Celtics tickets for games being played this month. Please continue to show your support by checking it out and forwarding to anyone who may be interested in supporting our school.

Visit www.biddingforgood.com/curleyk8 to learn more about what’s still available!

In an innovative move to enhance Boston’s 2024 Olympic bid, and to raise money for Boston Public Schools, the Curley K-8 School Parent Council today offered the use of our playing field and running track to the USOC as Boston2024’s venue for the Olympic track and field events.

Parents believe this will be a perfect way to spread the message of international peace while raising some money for photocopying paper as well.

“We thought about it a lot,” said Molly Brigham, the Curley’s School Parent Council co-chair. “We realized our playing field was the ideal venue. It’s brand new, so the Boston2024 organizers won’t need to build a whole new stadium. And it’s close to the Stony Brook T, and the 39 bus stops right outside. Transportation is not an issue. I mean, right?”

Curley parents have already conducted a thorough feasibility study, and have concluded some possible obstacles would in fact turn out to be distinct advantages instead. The running track accommodates only two adult lanes, but can be repainted to hold three, so that the bronze medalist can also compete at the same time.

“This way, we just need to invite a lot less athletes, so saving the Olympic organizers even more money on travel costs,” said Kieran Fitzgibbon, one of the co-chairs of last year’s playing field campaign. He did concede that there would have to be some additional construction. “We will of course have to invest in some more seating, but I found a great deal on E-Bay for some bleachers, and the shipping is super cheap too: check it out here, aren’t they nice? The track is a little less than Olympic size, but we also think athletes won’t mind the venue. It’ll feel a lot more intimate a setting, bet they’ll like it.”

“If we help host the Olympic track and field games at the Curley,” added Brigham, “We think this would be a fantastic way to raise money for all BPS schools. Our K2 families are already talking about what to bake for a two-week long Olympic bake sale, and many of our 3rd graders have already offered to set up lemonade stands.”

Third grader Joden added, “It’s going to be really hot because it’s the summer so people will want the lemonade Curley kids can make to cool them down I get really thirsty when it’s summer and the sun is shining my friend Ellie doesn’t like lemonade so she said she’d bring some orange juice instead I bumped my knee in gym yesterday do you want to see?”

Mendell School parent Kristin Johnson is very excited to be involved too. “The Mendell parents will bring a lot of cups, the athletes are going to be super thirsty. Parents in Allston-Brighton will bring napkins for the spectators because baked goods can be crumbly, and parents in East Boston have offered to donate plates too. The Boston Public Schools face such a tough budget outlook these days. But we BPS parents have a bold plan to redress some of our federal, state, and local budget funding problems, and to bring peace and international reconciliation for two weeks ten years from now.”

Curley parent Heshan Berents-Weeramuni did admit a couple of other hurdles still needed to be overcome, but didn’t see them as insurmountable obstacles. “Apart from the seating, we will also need to add a sand pit for the triple and long jumps. But come on, what a great legacy to leave the neighborhood toddlers and their families once the games are done! I’m mean the Brewer Street tot lot is great and all, but on a nice Saturday, it’s like rush hour around that sandpit!”

Berents-Weeramuni also added that parents have not been able to gauge the Principal’s interest yet, but believe that’s more to do with cell phone issues than anything else. “I keep calling our Principal,” he said, “and start talking about hosting the Olympics at the Curley, but her line keeps getting cut off after about 5 seconds. I am sure she’s in a cell phone dead zone, or she’s so excited about the idea she keeps dropping her phone or something.”

Fitzgibbon expects the USOC and Boston2024 will respond to their requests for a site visit soon, but hopes not too soon. “The snow on the playing field needs to melt first,” he explained.

For more enquiries on this April 1st announcement by our School Parent Council, especially if you have a large truck to help bring the bleachers from Iowa if when we win the E-Bay bid (so we can save on the shipping costs), email us!

DonorsChoose.org, a fundraising site many teachers use to raise resources for specific classroom projects, has been used by many Curley teachers to improve instruction for our students.

There are FIVE Curley projects currently in need of funding, for Ms. Clark (three projects), Ms. Ferro, and Ms. Quatrale.

Ms. Clark has three projects – one for materials such as velcro to help create re-closable communications books for her 1st and 2nd grade autism students, a second project seeking funding for a lockage storage cabinet, and a third project for three low cost swings to help develop body awareness, tactile processing, and fine motor skills, and to help better facilitate verbal communication between students and teachers while students are using the equipment.

Ms. Ferro is trying to raise money for two iPod Touch devices to allow her 7th graders to access educational apps, such as Learning Ally, so that will assist them to better access the curriculum.

Ms. Quartile wants to raise funds to purchase a range of supplies and equipment, including iPads, crayons, a timer, binders, and a hole punch for her 3-5 grade ESL students.

Please help if you can, the link is below:

http://www.donorschoose.org/school/curley-k-8-school/62879/?active=true

The general DonorsChoose page that lists all our teachers is also here (a number next to their name shows an active project):
http://www.donorschoose.org/school/curley-k-8-school/62879/?teachers=true

Many thanks to you all for helping our teachers help our kids.

This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• PARCC: PARCC Performance Based Assessments will be given in grades 3-8 in Math this week and each grade will complete 2 sessions on Monday, March 30th and Tuesday, March 31st. We are asking all families to assure that their student arrives to school on time, gets a good night sleep the night before and eats a healthy breakfast. City Year made this video to get students excited about this week. All students viewed this video at the Curley Shares Assemblies and several asked if they could watch it at home this weekend! Here is the link so you can watch with your child: https://youtu.be/_xft5Z_zj-k. All students worked hard last week during three days of testing! We are all proud of each and every student and we want to ensure that students work hard and do their best and that is what matter most!
• Report Cards: All students in grades K-5 should have received their 2nd term report cards on Friday afternoon. Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions.
• 8th Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser: Thank you to all the families who helped make this event a success! We appreciate all that you do to help the Curley be the BEST K-8 School in Boston! We are lucky to have such a supportive community on our side.
• School Parent Council: The next SPC meeting will be on Thursday, April 2nd from 6pm-8pm in the Upper School Library. All families are encouraged to attend.
• No school on Friday, April 3rd: There will be no school this Friday, April 3rd in observance of Good Friday.
• AWC/General Education Integration Meeting: Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 8th from 3:00pm-4:00pm in room 121. All families are welcome!
• Arrival and Dismissal: The school hours are 8:30am-2:30pm. We open each morning at 8:15am for breakfast and students may proceed to homeroom. All parents are welcome to escort their child to class if they arrive before 8:35am. Anyone who arrives after 8:35am is marked tardy. Also we are asking that families do not dismiss their child after 1:45pm to assure a safe dismissal transition.
• Open Teaching Positions: BPS has posted all open positions for SY 2015-2016 at www.teachboston.org. The Curley has several openings on this site and we encourage families to share this information with their networks. We are seeking top candidates who believe in the K-8 model and align with our Curley Cares Initiative. We are also interested in having families participate on our hiring committees. Interviews are scheduled thus far for the following dates. All of the interviews will take place from 3pm-6pm and we need families to commit to the entire time block. We can assist with day care for families that volunteer on those specific days.
  • Monday, March 30th 3pm-6pm: grade 4 & PACE
  • Thursday, April 2nd 3pm-6pm: Instructional Coach

  Please let Katie Grassa know if you are interested in helping us with this process and if you need day care as well: kgrassa@bostonpublicschools.org.

• Snow: We are asking all families to talk with their children around throwing snow. We want all students to be safe and we are asking that all adults and students leave the snow on the ground during arrival and dismissal. We are also asking that families and students use the shoveled spaces to walk and not to walk through the snowy yard. This is to help assure that no one falls and gets hurt. Thank you!
• Social Media: If you are on Twitter be sure to follow me @principalgrassa. This is a great way to share up to date information about the Curley.