Our science teacher Ms. Selznick would like us to remind you the Science Fair this year will be held on Thursday, February 14 in the Upper School Gym. It has been extended until 6 p.m. this year.

In addition to the resources she has provided earlier, below is an organization guide for setting up the presentation board:

• Science Fair Experiment Board Set Up

She adds that all students will be graded on their science projects.

She is also looking for judges to help judge Science Fair entries. So please contact Ms. Selznick directly if you can help, or if have any other questions about the Fair.

UPDATE: The Science Fair will feature the work of 3rd – 6th and 8th grade students. Students can use cardboard boxes if they don’t want to buy a science board.

UPDATE 2: For those planning to make your own presentation board, I looked at an old presentation board used by my eldest as a guide. It is 36 inches tall by 48 inches wide. The board has three panels, with the side panels being 12 inches wide each, leaving the middle one to be wider at 24 inches. See the picture above for reference.

The Curley school is looking for volunteers to work in the lower school library. For more information, please contact Alison Schwartzbaum or the lower school office 617-635-8239.

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La escuela Curley esta necesitando padres voluntarios para ayudar en la biblioteca de la escuela elemental. Para mas informacion, por favor pongase en contacto con Alison Schwartzbaum.

The Curley School Parent Council’s Fundraising Committee is currently soliciting donations for our March Silent Auction. This adult-only event is one of the most fun, important, and popular SPC fundraisers. Event proceeds help fund the music program, class field trips, the purchase of art and science supplies, and many other school initiatives. Last spring we had our best year! Can we top that?

Desirable auction items that are sure to generate much excitement include:

• sports and theater tickets
• electronics (flat screen TV’s, iPads, etc)
• hotel stays
• beer and wine baskets
• time-shares or vacation rentals
• services: painting, architectual, beauty
• artwork, hand-made items, jewelry
• gift-certificates

Please contact us if:

• You have a good or service you would consider donating,
• Your employer has a community outreach program that contributes to such fundraisers,
• You know a business owner (family friend or acquaintance) who may be interested in contributing.

Please note: Many local businesses have been extremely generous at past events. Please contact us BEFORE soliciting companies or local businesses to ensure someone hasn’t already contacted them and to receive our formal solicitation letter with tax information.

Email: curleysilentauction@gmail.com • Phone: Jess @ 617-840-1811

The event will be March 12th from 6-9 pm at Canary Square. SAVE THE DATE!

All are welcome to help! Please let us know if you can attend our next planning meeting on Feb. 12 @ 7:30pm or if you wish to help in any way. Thank You from the Silent Auction Committee: Jess Ormsby, Molly Mariano, Inci Kaya, Maria Fredericks, Kristin Jurkoic, Arusha Hollister, Flo Zimmerman, Heidi Brooks and Lisa Foulger

Below are two messages we have been asked to post by two Curley teachers. The first is a reminder about the February 6th Art Show, and the second concerns the February 15th Kindergarten Dance Performance.

Both were also announced via the ConnectEd telephone message service the Curley uses to contact parents and guardians, hence the famous “Good evening Curley families” salutation!

February 6th Art Show

Good evening Curley Parents and Guardians, This is Ms. Brown; I’m a student teacher from Mass College of Art. I am proud to invite you to view the work your children have created in art class this year with me and Mr. Cardoso. I will host an exhibit of student work on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH FROM 5:30-7:00PM at the River of Life Church (440 CENTRE ST, JAMAICA PLAIN). Please come out and support your children, enjoy some refreshments, and speak with the young artists about their amazing work!

[Please note: student work is drawn from the 3rd, 7th and 8th grades – ed.]
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Venga y apoye a nuestros trabajadores y talentosos estudiantes de arte ! La Sra. Brown, una profesora estudiante de Massachusetts College of Art and Design, pondrá una exposición de obras creadas por los estudiantes de las clases de 3ro, 7mo y 8vo grado, ella ha estado trabajando bajo la dirección del Sr. Cardoso. La exposicion es el miercoles. 6 de Febrero de 5:30pm – 7:00pm. En la Iglesia “River of Life” 440 Centre st JP.

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February 15th Kindergarten Dance Performance

Good evening kindergarten families and Curley ambassadors of dance families.

On Friday, February 15th at 9 am, your child will be performing in this year’s Kindergarten production, The Firebird.

In preparation, students are hearing the folktale from Russia, rehearsing ways to express the music through movement and creating costumes in Mrs. Drakes and Ms. Zidonik’s classes.

On performance day, students should wear plain T-shirts in any color (no logos or writing please), leggings or sweatpants that aren’t too baggy. Also avoid shoes that make it difficult to move, such as boots. We will provide costumes for their character.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions. I look forward to seeing you on February 15th.

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Queridas familias del Jardin Infantil,

El viernes 15 de Febrero, a las 9am, su hijo/a va hacer una aparicion en una presentacion de arte del Jardin Infantil llamado, The Firebird.

Como preparacion, los estudiantes estan eschuchando el cuento folclorico de Rusia, ensayando maneras de expresar la musica a traves del movimiento y creando sus disfraces en las clases de Mrs. Zidonik e Ms. Drakes.

El dia de la actuacion, los estudiantes deben usar camisetas simple en cualquier color (por favor sin logos o escrituras), mallas o pantalones deportivos que no sean muy grandes.  Evite tambien los zapatos que hacen que sea dificil de moverse, como botas.

Vamos a ofrecer disfraces para sus personajes.

Gracias
— Kim Taylor Knight

The Curley After School Program (CASP) and the Center for STEM Education at Northeastern University have launched a joint program called “The Art of Flight” as part of their Future Inventors Club. Open to 4th-6th graders from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m., it will run every Thursday from now until May, 2013.

Daniel Sullivan, the Program Coordinator, describes “The Art of Flight” program thus:

We are planning to run the Future Inventors club this semester around “The Art of Flight”, first taking the students through some simple model airplanes and gliders, parachutes, and then into rocketry.  We did the paper rockets activity last semester, and will build on this and incorporate some new extensions from this.  We started last week with a few “brain games.”  The next few weeks we will focus on airplane models, then transition into parachutes and end with some fun rocketry activities (nothing with actual chemicals or explosives, of course only paper and air).

Please contact Torri Canada or Daniel Sullivan for more information or download the program flyer below:

• Future Inventors Club Flyer Spring 2013

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Two other great CASP programs that were also announced recently are the Golden Lion Martial Arts program and the February Vacation Camp for Budding Inventors.

Good morning Curley family. A quick reminder that this month’s meeting of the School Parent Council will be happening on Wednesday at 8:45 in the upper school library. We have an action packed agenda that includes reports from all your favorite committees and working groups, as well as information about the launch of our super-exciting schoolyard playing field campaign. And, as always, continental breakfast and Spanish interpretation available.

Hope to see you there.

This week’s Paw Prints from principal Jeff Slater:

• THANK YOU to the teachers who presented and led sessions at Tuesday’s professional development: Laura Shea, Jaime Staraitis, Alissa Ferro, Caitlyn Gable-McSheffrey, and Adrian Ward-Jackson.
• Congratulations to K1 SEI para-professional, Cinthia Aquavivas, for becoming a grandmother to Carlos Daniel!
• Did you know that 6th grade Science teacher, Jen Felicetti, got a set of Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks for her classroom from DonorChoose.org? What a great way to get access to technology in the classroom!
• Speaking of technology, be sure to read about the donation of iPads to 4 of our Practical Academic Community Education (PACE) autism classrooms from the Brown Rudnick Charitable Foundation.
• We are extremely excited to welcome back Sarah Quatrale from her maternity leave to the 5th grade! And, we look forward to Sharon Pina-Pitts’ transition (across the hall) to Danielle Moran’s 5th grade AWC class to cover Danielle Moran’s maternity leave!

Please join us for the next SPC meeting at 8:45AM in the upper school library on Wednesday, February 6th. Coffee + pastries will be provided! Our agenda includes all the usual updates from our important working groups & committees (Leah from the School Site Council on parent/family communication; Noreen will check in with us on the IEP Support Group; Molly & Jess on Fundraising and the Canary Silent Auction; Dominic on establishing a tax-exempt status for the Friends of the Curley…and more). This meeting will also serve as the official launch of Phase II of our Schoolyard Improvement Plan: The Curley Playing Field Capital Campaign.

Have you ever wondered where that beautiful outdoor classroom came from? Here is your chance to find out. Julie Smith Bartoloni, Liza Stearns, and Rebecca Nieto will start off our meeting with a quick overview of Phase I (mostly completed!) of the Curley Schoolyard Improvement Plan. Kieran Fitzgibbon and Doug Rand are leading the next critical phase to complete the master plan: replacing the vast expanse of concrete outside the Upper School with a multi use, green, playing field for sports, recess, and more. This will be a huge effort, but we can do it! If you are interested in learning more about what you can do to help with Phase II, shoot an email to Kieran <kfitzgibbon@statewiderm.com>.

Remember, you are the “P” in SPC and we need your support, input, and enthusiasm to keep going. If you cannot make the meeting and are interested in participating, please email your friendly neighborhood co-chairs Genevieve Day <genevieveday@mac.com> or Dave Demerjian <davedemerjian@mac.com>.

Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be available at the meeting.

Just a reminder that the Curley School Parent Council will be having a kickoff meeting to plan for this year’s Canary Square Silent Auction. The meeting will happen at Canary Square, on Tuesday January 29th at 7pm.  The silent auction is a fun, adults only night that is one of  our biggest fundraisers of the year, but we need your help to make it a success. If you can’t attend the meeting but want to be involved, please email Jess Ormsby or Molly Mariano.

And be sure to book your babysitter now for March 12th so you be there for this year’s event!

This week’s Paw Prints from principal Jeff Slater:

• I would like to send a HUGE “thank you!” to Candida Mundo, Maria Amy-Moreno, and Tara Luchetti for their assistance in organizing for the new WIDA/ACCESS state assessment for English Language Learners. We couldn’t have done it without them!
• Our Winter Concert was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who participated! We have such talented students!
• David Vasile in our PACE (autism) program is making great use of technology in his classroom. Students in David’s class use a SMART Board to manipulate geometric shapes and solve mathematical problems. The SMART Board is a great tool for engaging students with different learning needs.
• Thank you to our Curley parents for organizing the bake sale to support one of our Curley families in need. They raised $1,000 though their efforts! We have such a wonderful, caring community!
• “THANK YOU!” to Maria Monteiro-Roby and the Science Team for helping out with the Curley Night at the Museum of Science! We had whopping 390 people in attendance!

The thriving Curley life!

In addition to Thursday’s Principal’s Breakfast and Parent Report Card Night and ex-Principal Mirna Vega-Wilson’s retirement party on Friday, here are several quick updates and reminders.

• Golden Lion Martial Arts After-School Program
  CASP director Torri Canada is pleased to announce the kick-off (pardon the pun) of the Golden Lion Martial Arts Program. Run by Mr. DePalm, one of our Phys Ed instructors, is an eight week program that meets twice each week, and is open to students from grades 3 through 8. The fee of $40 covers all sessions.
  CASP Martial Arts Program. (Nifty graphic design care of our art teacher Cathy Drakes.)

• TOMORROW: K-5th Grade Winter Music Concert at 9 a.m.
  Families and friends are warmly invited to attend a musical celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy presented by the Kindergarten through 5th Grade students on Wednesday, January 23, 2013, 9 a.m. in the Upper-School Auditorium.There will also be a Parent Reception at 8:30 am in the Auditorium Lobby

  The Curley music program is organized and funded through joint effort of the Curley School Parent Council, the Community Music Center of Boston, Edvestors, and the Boston Public Schools.
  
  Music specialists Jay Gates, Patrice Monahan and Liza Kitchell
  

• Canary Square Silent Auction Kickoff Meeting
  The first planning meeting for the next Canary Square Silent Auction will be this Tuesday, January 29, 7 p.m. at Canary Square. The 6th Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser at Canary Square, (an eagerly anticipated adult-only event for Curley parents, teachers, staff and community members – no really, I’m NOT kidding) will be on Tuesday, March 12th this year. As always Fundraising co-chairs Jess Ormsby and Molly Mariano really, really need your help to put together our biggest adult-oriented fundraiser of the year. So get involved and beat last year’s great haul! For more information, contact Jess Ormsby.

• “Firebird: A Folktale in Movement” Dance Performance
  On February 15th, at 9 a.m., the K1/K2 classes will present “Firebird:  A Folktale in Movement”. Included in the performance will be the Curley Ambassadors of Dance, in featured roles. The performance is based on the picture book by Jane Yolen, and features the music of Igor Stravinsky.

  The performance will last about 35 minutes and will be performed in the auditorium.

  To volunteer to help with the production, or for other questions, please contact Kim Taylor Knight.

Stephanie Selznick, the Curley’s K-5 science specialist, has sent us a set of materials to guide your young scientist complete their Science Fair project successfully. Please click below:

• Science Fair Project Information

She writes that, “During the next few weeks your child will be designing a science project that uses the scientific method to solve a problem… This project will be completed at home. The project is due at school on February 14th, 2013. Students will be giving classroom oral presentations to judges on their projects on February 14th, 2013.”

She adds that though parents and guardians play a very important role in fostering student learning, “It is important that your child wrestle with problems and try to solve them… let the final project reflect you child’s individual effort and design.”

For more information, contact Ms. Selznick directly.

UPDATE: The Science Fair will also be held in the Upper School Gym during the school day on Thursday, February 14, 2013. Because it is Valentine’s Day, the Fair will end at 4 p.m.

A busy week coming up at the Curley.

Monday, January 21
Though there is no school on Monday, the school will be open. The parent community is hosting a bake sale during Curley MLK Day of Service. If you would like to contribute to the bake sale please contact the school or click here. All contribution will go towards a fund for a student who was recently injured.
(Near front entrance on Centre Street)

Wednesday, January 23, 9:00 a.m.
Families and friends are warmly invited to attend a musical celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy presented by the Kindergarten through 5th Grade students.
(Upper-School Auditorium)
Parent Reception at 8:30 am in the Auditorium Lobby

Thursday, January 24

• 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. – Families First will be presenting a workshop on Homework battles: Easing Tensions, Getting Down to work
  (Upper School Library)
• 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. – PARENT/TEACHER REPORT CARD NIGHT.
  Please make sure to talk to your child’s teacher about his/her progress.
  (You child’s classroom)

Friday, January 25, 6- 10 p.m.
Retirement party for our former Principal Mirna Vega-Wilson. For location, reservation and rsvp  information, please click here.

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Buenas Noches Familias:

La escuela Curley Les invita cordialmente a las siguientes actividades:

• El lunes enero 21
  Los padres de la comunidad haran una venta de comida durante Martin Luther King dia de service si usted desaria partcipar contacte a la escuela. Todos las contrubuciones iran al fondo de el estudiante que fue recientemente herido.
• El miércoles, 23 de enero, 9:00 a.m.
  Familiares y amigos están cordialmente invitados a asistir a una celebración musical del legado del Dr. Martin Luther King, presentado por el Kindergarten hasta quinto grado.
  (Arriba a la Escuela Auditorio)
  Recepción de Padres a las 8:30 am en el lobby del Auditorio
• El jueves, 24 de Enero a las  9 a.m.
  La agencia de “Families First” estara dando una presentacion sobre las Tareas y tensiones, como hacer de este tiempo sea menos dificil y que puedan sentarse a trabajar.
  (En la Biblioteca de la escuela Intermedia)
• El jueves 24 de enero a las 5-7 p.m.
  Noche de Las conferencias de Padres y maestros y el reporte de notas. Asegurense de hablar con la o los maestros de jus hijo/hija sobre su progreso.
  (Usted aula del niño)
• El Viernes, 25 de enero a las 6-10 p.m., Retiro de fiesta para Mirna Vega-Wilson.

Esperamos verlos a todos.