The one event parents look forward to every year is almost here.

You all know the SPC’s fabulous 7th Annual Silent Auction is THIS Tuesday, March 25th from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. at Canary Square in Jamaica Plain!

But you also know this takes a lot of help to bring it all together. So please help by signing up through our equally fabulous Doodle Poll and help with prep work today, or on Tuesday before, during and after the event.

Click the link below:
The Silent Auction Volunteer Doodle Poll

This eagerly anticipated adults-only event is not only one of our major fundraisers, it is also very fun!

Need Childcare?

Still having trouble arranging childcare? The Curley After School Program can help. Director Torri Canada and her staff will offer babysitting for kids aged 4 and up. Torri may be reached at tcanada@bostonpublicschools.org or 617-777-9330.

A suggested donation of $15 includes light refreshments and a chance to bid on exciting items. This year, they include some of the following:

• For adults AND kids, be a Principal for a morning with Principal Grassa
• Lots of Red Sox and Celtics tickets. Lots of them!
• Chef prepared meals made by the chefs of both Canary Square and Tres Gatos
• Local and regional restaurant gift certificates including to Ten Tables, Oishii, Boston Chops, Fajitas & Ritas, and many others
• One month of after school care from CASP
• Kids party package: Fiore’s pizza, custom-made ice cream, entertainment by Ms. Knight
• Artwork, custom furniture, and jewelry
• Beer and wine gift bundles
• Vacation stays near and far
• Balloon rides
• Museum passes
• Lunch with NECN Sportscaster Chris Collins

Here’s the full list of auction items.

This year, you will also be able to make a simple contribution as well.

All the funds we raise will directly benefit the music, arts, science and after school programs at the Curley.

How else can you help?

• Can’t come but want to contribute? Please think about making a donation directly to the Curley School Parent Council. How? Just click on the Donate button at the top of this page.
• A Twitter user? Retweet the SPC’s Twitter announcements about the event and venue with location based hashtags such as #JamaicaPlain, #Roxbury, #Roslindale, or #Boston.
• Thank the folks at Canary Square personally! Owner Mike Moxley and every single other Canary Square person has been incredibly generous with their time and energy!

Again, remember, all the funds we raise will directly benefit the music, arts, science, technology, and after school programs at the Curley.

For more information, contact Heidi Brooks, Molly Mariano, or curleysilentauction@gmail.com.

The final Budget Hearing of the Boston School Committee (BSC) will be held tonight, Tuesday March 18th at 6pm at the Edison K8 School, 60 Glenmont Road, in Brighton. Next week’s meeting will be the meeting where the BSC votes on the proposed BPS budget.

Come and support parent Curley parent Melissa Elow as she delivers her testimony on the impact of the proposed budget cuts.

Wear your Curley T-Shirts and proudly stand with her as she delivers her testimony, and stand also with the parents of the 21 other schools (so far…) we are working with.

We hope to have a strong presence at this meeting, and we hope you will all join us.

Three More Parents Have Testified

Tonight’s budget hearing is only the latest one of many at which Curley parents have attended, delivered testimony, and supported fellow Curley and BPS parents.

Two weeks ago, in Hyde Park, parent Amy Sobota gave a very powerful and heartfelt testimony on behalf of the Curley and the wider BPS family.

Unfortunately, since the hearing was not at Court Street, the usual video feed is not available. You can nonetheless read her testimony below:
Amy Sobota – BSC Testimony – 030414

Last Wednesday, as there were two back to back meetings, two Curley parents delivered testimony.

The first was Noreen Power (pictured above), who spoke on behalf of two other Curley parents, Nilfa Villalona, and Yoisy Santos.

Their testimony can be seen at the 1 hour 30 minute mark of the video here. You may also read their testimony below:
Noreen Power-Yoisy Santos-Nilfa Villanova – BSC Testimony – 031214

Curley SPC co-chair Dave Demerjian (pictured above) then testified with an equally powerful piece of testimony you can see here at the 2 hour 12 minute mark. You may also read Dave’s testimony below:
Dave Demerjian – BSC Testimony – 031214

In each of these 3 meetings, we were proud to stand in silent solidarity with the many other parents who spoke on behalf of their schools and the wider BPS family. Though all of their testimony were equally powerful, the testimony of the parents from the Mary Lyon, and the many parents who have spoken in support of the Adult Program are especially worthy of note.

Please come and support every BPS parent tonight.

We Have Been Busy – Join Us!

In addition to the other testimony Laurie Ciardi, Carrie Fletcher and myself have delivered at the BSC, we have helped build a collection of parents from 21 BPS schools (so far), we have held meetings with City Councilors Matt O’Malley, Tito Jackson, and Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff, we have met with Superintendent John McDonough, Mayor Walsh’s education advisor George Perry, School Committee member Michael Loconto, State Senator and Senate Education chair Sonia Chang Diaz, we have testified with other parents at the joint Ways and Means Committee at the State House, and we have met with Representative Jeffrey Sanchez.

We have embarked on a large and successful email campaign, and we have organized a meeting of the State’s Boston delegation to which we have invited the Boston School Committee members to attend as our guests and partners. We have established a thriving organization email list for both the Curley and for a BPS-wide parent collective, and we continue to meet with State Representatives, Senators and City Councilors as the budget process moves beyond the School Committee, with three meetings planned alone today and tomorrow.

We could not have asked for a better set of dedicated, dynamic, thoughtful, and passionate fellow BPS parent partners from other schools either. The 21 schools coalition we are a part of stretch from across Boston, from Brighton to Mattapan, from the South End to Hyde Park, from Dorchester to West Roxbury.

Next week, Monday March 24th at 6:30 pm, we will host City Councilor Tim McCarthy, and we hope everyone can join us to brief him.

For more information or to find out how to get involved, please contact Heshan Berents-Weeramuni, Carrie Fletcher, or Jill Lazer.

This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• MCAS: Testing window will being on Tuesday, March 18th and close on Monday, March 31st. The 4th and 7th graders will take the Long Composition on Tuesday, March 18th and all students grades 3-8 will take ELA Session 1 on Thursday, March 20th and ELA Session 2 on Friday, March 21st. We will use the following days for make-ups. We ask 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.
• PARCC Pilot: The Curley K-8 has been chosen to pilot the new PARCC assessments online. Six middle school classes will be taking the test from April 1st-3rd. We will not receive information about the results but they state is using the info to help plan for the full implementation in the future.
• March 17th: There is not school due to the Evacuation Day holiday.
• Hiring: We are still looking for help from families with hiring staff for next year. If you are interested in interviewing candidates as part of our Personnel Subcommittee please email Katie Grassa. We still need at least one parent to volunteer for Tuesday, March 18th from 3:00pm-6:00pm.
• Donor’s Choose: One of the major projects that we have been trying to get up and running is creating a Grade 3-5 Book Room with sets of current leveled reading texts. Donor’s Choose, a non-profit website that helps teachers, is having a great “challenge” happening right now that might aid us in accomplishing this goal. Many teachers here at the Curley funded projects through this website with the generous donations of friends and family. Now we are asking for your help! Please consider donating a “gift card” for $20 or more. We could earn up to an additional $3,000 dollars for this project if we get 50 or more donors to give $20 or more! The challenge part is to get at least 50 donors before next Monday, March 17th! (The details of this “challenge” are below.) The donation is under Kim Daly, but this project will buy new texts at many levels that will benefit all students in grades 3-5. We truly appreciate your generosity in support of creating a book room that has motivating titles and meets the diverse needs of students at the Curley. Please follow the link below to donate a gift card that will go to funding this project. http://www.donorschoose.org/kimberly.daly.

A reminder that the next meeting of the Curley’s School Site Council (SSC) is tonight, Tuesday, March 11th from 5:30pm – 7pm in the Library. The SSC meets every second Tuesday of the month during the school year.

SSC meetings are public and open to all, though please note, only elected SSC representatives may vote.

The SSC is the governing body of the school and consists (at a minimum) of the Principal, six BTU members, and seven parents. For more information covering it’s scope and role, past minutes, past agendas, and governing bylaws, please click here.

This evening’s meeting agenda is below:

1. Passing minutes from the February meeting (1 minute)
2. Announcements (1 minute)
3. Public Comment Period
4. Principal’s Comments – Katie
   1. Quality Schools Plan Update (5 minutes)
   2. Budget update on FY14-15 numbers (10 minutes)
   3. Comments at the Principal’s discretion (2 minutes)
5. Standing and Ad-hoc Committee Report
   1. Personnel Committee/Hiring report (10 minutes) – Katie
   2. Health & Wellness report (5 minutes) – Sue
   3. Instructional Leadership Team report (5 minutes) – Katie
   4. Parent Involvement report (5 minutes) – Maria and Betty
   5. School Climate (5 minutes) – Katie
   6. Uniforms (5 minutes)
   7. Other standing or ad-hoc committee reports (5 minutes)
6. Old Business
   1. AWC curricular and climate changes (10 minutes) – Katie
   2. AWC priority seats for JFK students (5 minute) – Carrie/Katie
   3. PARCC Assessment Rollout (10 minutes) – Katie
7. New Business – topics placed on agenda for discussion for next meeting (2 minutes)
8. Other Business (2 minutes)
9. Motion to adjourn

For more information, please contact Heshan Berents-Weeramuni.

This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• AWC/General Education Planning: Please join us to discuss and plan some changes to the curriculum in grades 4-6 next school year. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 12th from 3:00pm-4:00pm in room 111 and babysitting will be available. Please email Maria Monteiro-Roby in advance to obtain a baby-sitting spot.
• MCAS: Testing window will begin on Tuesday, March 18th and close on Monday, March 31st. The 4th and 7th graders will take the Long Composition on Tuesday, March 18th and all students grades 3-8 will take ELA Session 1 on Thursday, March 20th and ELA Session 2 on Friday, March 21st. We will use the following days for make-ups. We are asking all families to assure that their student gets to school on time, gets a good night sleep the night before, and eats a healthy breakfast.
• 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.
• PARCC Pilot: The Curley K-8 has been chosen to pilot the new PARCC assessments online. Six middle school classes will be taking the test from April 1st-3rd. We will not receive information about the results but they state is using the info to help plan for the full implementation in the future.
• March 17th: There is not school due to the Evacuation Day holiday.
• Health and Wellness Committee: The next meeting is this Tuesday, March 11th from 3:00pm-4:15pm in the Guidance Office.
• School Site Council: Meeting Tuesday, March 11th from 5:30pm-7:00pm in the Upper School Library.
• 7th Annual Curley Silent Auction: The organizing committee for our 7th Annual Silent Auction at Canary Square, which is on March 25th from 6-9 pm, are looking for auction items. Please see here for details.

Our kindergarten celebrated their 100th day of school last week and I am in awe of our school’s busy calendar midyear.  Parents and teachers raising money and running marathons for the playing field, books, technology; collecting boxtops for end of year field trips; parents and teachers lobbying politicians to increase the BPS budget, and the launch of an impressive email campaign to address recent budget cuts.

Our calendar is marked with meetings, this morning’s Kindergarten dance performance and fundraisers like the Silent Auction later this month.  We rarely head off to school without an extra bag of toilet paper rolls for Mrs. Drakes recycled art projects, boxtops from our cereal for Mr. Righini or outgrown clothing for the uniform exchange.  I am tired just looking at all that is going on and making dinner and helping with homework isn’t even on the calendar!

One strength of a large diverse school is that we have the numbers to engage in a lot of initiatives and leverage all of our individual strengths.  In short, I don’t have to do it all.  Whew!  You don’t have to do it all either, but it does all fall apart if you do nothing.  I encourage all of you to look for your place(s) in our school community.  Find something that is of particular importance to you or your child.  When you put your efforts towards something you truly care about then I hope you will find (as I have) that the experience is energizing and rewarding instead of feeling like another thing you have to fit into your day.

If building school community is of particular interest to you, I invite you to join us next Tuesday, March 11th to continue our discussion about Circle Practices.  At 9 AM we will meet with the 6th grade teachers in in Ms. Beadrault’s room #211 and at 10 AM we will meet with the 8th grade teachers in Mr. Melzer’s room #219.  The feedback we receive from the teaching staff will help shape how we bring Circle practices back into our school.

We welcome you to join us for whatever time you have Tuesday morning.  If you can’t make either meeting please contact Curley teacher Linda Solomon-Key for other ways to get involved.

Below is an urgent note from Principal Grassa about interviewing teachers for available positions.

Hope many of you can help.

____________________

Curley K-8 Families,

We have 6 weeks to fill 11 open positions!

This is a lot of work but will have a positive impact on our school climate and academic outcomes. As part of the School Site Council (SSC) we have a personnel subcommittee which consists of two parents (Carrie Fletcher and Darryl Elow), one teacher (Connie Redden) and the principal (Katie Grassa). This committee is charged with interviewing for all open positions. With the time constraint we have it will be impossible for my whole committee to sit on each interview.

I am reaching out to staff and families who would like to be a part of this process. Below is the schedule for the interviews that will take place and we may need to add a few more times as well. Please email me at kgrassa@bostonpublicschools.org if you are interested in participating. We are asking volunteers to commit to one whole evening and not multiple evenings.

• Grade 4 (gen ed) on Monday, March 10th from 3:00pm-6:00pm
• Grade 6/7/8 history (2 positions) on Wednesday, March 12th from 4:00pm-7:00pm
• Grade 4 SAR on Tuesday, March 18th from 3:00pm-6:00pm
• SPED/Resource Gr. 6-8 Thursday, March 20th from 3:00pm-6:00pm
• Grade 2 SEI on Monday, March 24th from 3:00pm-6:00pm
• K-2 science specialist Wednesday, March 26th from 3:00pm-6:00pm

Please let me know which interviews you can attend ASAP.

I am screening people now and will invite candidates. We will also be sending people to watch candidates teach or invite them in for a demo.

– Principal Katie Grassa

You may have heard about next year’s proposed budget cuts.

This is your chance to help.

And it’s as easy as 1 – 2- 3.

1. Click the red button below to email the Mayor and Boston School Committee. This will open your email program with an email message that’s already pre-addressed to the members of the Boston School Committee, the Mayor, and members of the City Council, and crafted specifically for them.
2. ***Important*** – scroll down all the way to the bottom and SIGN IT, and enter your neighborhood in the space provided. If you want to include your address, your Councilor will appreciate it.
3. Hit Send.

Then REPEAT for the second orange button to email the Boston State Representatives and Senators with a different email tailored to the State. Don’t forget to sign this second email at the bottom. If you want to include your address, your Senator and Representative will appreciate it.

That’s it!

For more information or to find out how to get involved, please contact Heshan Berents-Weeramuni, Carrie Fletcher, or Jill Lazer.

Thank you.

_____________________

If you run into any technical issues, below are the plain text files for both emails. You can simply cut and paste the addresses, subject line, and message directly into a blank email:

Email to the Boston School Committee, Mayor and City Councilors – plain text

Email to the Boston State Delegation – plain text

Our advocacy work around fighting the deep cuts we as a school, as well as other schools, faces next year continues at a frantic pace.

TONIGHT, our K2 parent Amy Sobota will testify at the Boston School Committee’s budget hearing.

The meeting is in Hyde Park at the Hyde Park Education Complex 655 Metropolitan Avenue, Hyde Park at 6pm, tonight, Tuesday, March 4th.

As ever, a group of Curley parents will join her and show their solidarity by standing silently with her as she speaks.

Wear your Curley shirts! Come and join us.

We will do the same for other parents from other schools. Our organizing is gathering pace as we work with now 17 other schools, coordinating our actions, and advocating for all schools in our BPS family. These schools are from all over Boston, from the Winship in Brighton to Young Achievers in Mattapan, from the Hurley in the South End to the Roosevelt in Hyde Park.

(Then, make sure you make it back to Canary Square to relax and take part in a planning meeting for the March 25th 7th Annual Silent Auction at 8pm tonight!)

1st Grade Teacher Laurie Ciardi Testifies at the Last BSC Meeting

1st Grade Teacher Laurie Ciardi delivered our testimony at the last BSC meeting, giving a comprehensive review of the problems we have encountered with BPS enrollment miscalculations in the past, and the lack of confidence we have in the enrollment projections for next year. We first testified this year at the last January meeting of the BSC, and then the next meeting saw parent Carrie Fletcher testify on the how scale is missing from the funding formula.

Laurie’s testimony is here:
Laurie Ciardi’s BSC testimony 2-26-14

You can also watch the video of the entire meeting here. Public comments began at the 25:0 minute mark. Susan Field, a Mendell parent was followed by Laurie (at the 29:00 mark), and later by John Lerner, also of the Mendell, Marie Herb of the Roosevelt, and parents from the Clap and Philbrick, all of whom spoke about budget cuts. Each school stood with the others as they spoke in turn. Many adults and students also spoke eloquently about other BPS budget cuts they face, including to the adult program.

We’ve been busy!

We’ve been busy! We’ve argued our case with City Councilors Matt O’Malley, and Tito Jackson, and Jessica Taubner, Councilor Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff, and were joined at that meeting by parents from 10 other schools.

Last week we petitioned George Perry, Mayor Walsh’s Education Advisor, and were joined by parents representatives from 6 other schools. We also met with Superintendent John McDonough last week. The Superintendent mentioned the meeting in passing at the 3:00 hour mark.

We met with State Senator Sonia Chang, who is the chair of the State Senate Education Committee, and we will meet with State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez tomorrow (Wednesday). We will also be meeting with Boston School Committee member Michael Loconto, who has been gracious in agreeing to come and visit the Curley this Thursday at 7pm. All are welcome to both meetings. Please contact the three coordinating parents before for details.

We are also very grateful that so many parents have also stepped in to speak at the forthcoming school committee meetings too – thank you!

We have several more meetings being planned with other members of the City Council, the School Committee, and the entire State Boston State delegation. We also need people to go and testify at the State’s House and Means Committee hearings!

Our email campaign we will launch TOMORROW – promise!

Join the Organizing!

For more information or to be involved, again please contact Heshan Berents-Weeramuni, Carrie Fletcher, or Jill Lazer.

Some upcoming meetings at the Curley:

• School Parent Council (SPC)
  The School Parent Council meeting is this Wednesday, March 5th at 8:45am in the Upper School Library. The agenda will include an update on playing field committee, planning for Canary Square Auction, which is taking place on March 25th at the Canary Square, an update on the Advanced Work Class and the budget crisis. Come find out ways to get involved at the Curley. Coffee and pastry will be served and there will be Spanish interpreter.

• Boston School Committee budget hearing meeting
  Boston School Committee budget hearing meeting is on Tuesday, March 4th at 6pm at the Hyde Park Education Complex, 655 Metropolitan Avenue in Hyde Park.

  It’s Curley parent Amy Sobota’s turn, following on from the three previous testimonies given so far this year.

  Come show your support, wear your Curley T-shirts, and stand silently in solidarity with Amy and the 18 other schools we are actively working with.

  For more information or to be involved, please contact Heshan Berents-Weeramuni, Carrie Fletcher, or Jill Lazer.

• Parent Group on Families and Immigration
  There will be a parent group on the effects of immigration on families; the first meeting will be on Friday, March 14th at 8:45am.

• K1 and K2 Dance Performance
  Also, the Sleeping Beauty performance will be on Friday, March 7th at 9 am in the auditorium starring K1 and K2 students and featuring the Curley Ambassadors of Dance. The show is about an hour in length.

We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming events!

******************

Queremos recordarles de los siguientes eventos para esta semana.

• Reunion del Concejo escolar de Padres es el miércoles 5 de marzo a las 8:45 a.m. en la biblioteca de la escuela Intermedia.  La agenda incluye, reporte del Comité del Campo de juegos planeamiento del evento de la subasta de Canary Square la cual se llevara a cabo el 25 de marzo. Reporte sobre el programa de clases avanzadas y la crisis del presupuesto escolar. Vengan enterense de lo que esta pasando en la escuela Curley y vea de cómo Ud. Puede involucrarse.  Tendremos Café y algo de comer como tambien interpretación al Espanol, para los padres Hispanos es importante de que se hagan presentes! Necesitamos su ayuda y presencia.

• La reunion del  presupuesto del Comité escolar es el martes 4 de marzo a las 6 p.m. en el Complejo de Hyde Park.Para obtener más información o para participar, por favor contacto Heshan Berents-Weeramuni, Carrie Fletcher, o Jill Lazer.

• Se invitan a las familias imigrantes a un grupo para discutir los efectos de inmigracion sobre las familias, la primera reunion se llevara a cabo el 14 de marzo a las 8:45 a.m.

• La bella durmiente – presentacion es el 7 de marzo.
  A las 9 de a.m. en el auditorio para K1 K2 y los embajadores de la danza, la presentacion es aproximadamente de 1 hora.

Esperamos verlos.

This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• AWC/General Education Planning: Please join us to discuss and plan some changes to the curriculum in grades 4-6 next school year. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 12th from 3:00pm-4:00pm in room 111 and babysitting will be available. Please email Maria Monteiro-Roby in advance to obtain a baby-sitting spot.
• MCAS: Testing window will being on Tuesday, March 18th and close on Monday, March 31st. A more specific schedule for each grade level will accompany next week’s Paw Prints.
• 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.
• Dance Performance: The kindergarten and CAD dance performance will take place on Friday, March 7th from 9am-10am in the auditorium.
• School Parent Council (SPC): The March meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 5th from 8:45am-10:45am in the Upper School Library. All families are welcome.
• PARCC Pilot: The Curley K-8 has been chosen to pilot the new PARCC assessments online. Six middle school classes will be taking the test from April 1st-3rd. We will not receive information about the results but the state is using the information to help plan for the full implementation in the future.

We are planning one of our biggest fundraisers, the 7th Annual March 25th Silent Auction!

Come to a fun planning meeting at Canary Square Tuesday March 4th at 8pm.

We need your help… many small jobs available/no previous experience required/fun way to meet new parents and socialize.

Let us know if you have any questions or would like to help but can not make the meeting.

Have a connection or an idea for an auction item? Let us know!

So, after you return from the 6pm BPS budget hearing in Hyde Park on Tuesday, come by, relax, and help plan our auction at 8pm!

For more information, email Molly Mariano (or call her at 617-519-0167) or Heidi Brooks.