Three music, science and arts events are on the near horizon, and four other events are also this week!

“Music and Me” – Our Spring Music Concert

This Friday, March 30th, in partnership with the Community Music Center of Boston, the Curley and the Curley SPC invite you to attend our spring concert, “Music and Me” from 10 – 11 a.m. The concert will feature students from K-1 through 3rd grade, and there will be some 4th grade students also performing. The concert will be held in the Upper School Auditorium. If your child is within these grades, please have them dress in the school uniform or wear a white top and blue pants/skirt.

A small number of parent volunteers are also needed before and during the concert. Help is needed to set up the risers in the auditorium, and to help bring the Kindergarten grades to the concert. If you are able to help, please contact, Lisa Marie Garver or Jeff Ward.

5th Annual Night at the Museum of Science

A reminder that this Friday, March 30th is also when our very popular 5th Annual Night at the Museum of Science event will take place. The event will last from 5:00 – 9:00 pm. The event is hosted by the science department and school parent council.

Registration for the event is required and should have come home with your child. The application form was also available online. The fun filled evening costs only $15 entrance for up to 7 children. The registration deadline has passed, but please contact the family center if you have questions.

5th Annual Curley K-8 Art Show

Also celebrating a 5th anniversary is our Curley K-8 Art Show. This year, the event will be held on Thursday, April 12th from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. Please use the Pershing Road bridge entrance. There will be a host of different things to experience:

• Performances by Ms. Taylor Knight and her dance students.
• Mr. Flanagan’s Middle School music students.
• Visual art by students from K-1 all the way to 8th grade. Proceeds of the 8th grade artwork sale will help fund the annual Washington, D.C. trip .
• Rally Middle School photo exhibit.
• Works by students of C.A.S.P., the Curley After School Program.
• Gently used Curley book sale (book drop off is happening this Wednesday).
• Special art exhibit from our faculty and staff, and our own Curley community artists.
• Delicious food will be served to support the Curley arts and science programs.

Four other reminders during these very busy few days:

1. This Wednesday, March 28th, a host of parents are planning to attend the public comment period of the Boston School Committee meeting, some possibly with their kids. This will be the last School Committee meeting during this year’s budget process. Following the comment period the School Committee will vote on the proposed budget. Parent Dan Barcan is slated to speak, and will become the 13th Curley parent to speak on our behalf this year. During each statement, other Curley parents have stood in silent solidarity in their Curley shirts. Please try to come and support Dan at this last meeting. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and the public comment period begins at 6:30 p.m. and last for an hour, though it may be done sooner. The meeting again takes place at 26 Court Street. For more information, contact Lindsey Weeramuni. Remember to wear your Curley shirt!
2. This Thursday, March 29th from 8:45 to 10 am is our monthly Principal’s Breakfast. Following the breakfast, there will be an important workshop on planning for college. It’s never too early to think about college – and it is not too late to start planning and saving! The workshop will provide you with some valuable information about how you and your child can prepare academically AND financially for college. The presentation will be given by Lena Eisen from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For more information, please contact our Parent Coordinator, Betty Villalba-Alvarado.
3. The night of Thursday, March 30th sees a favorite among Curley moms – MFABS (Mamas, Friendship and Beverages for Survival). Join other Curley moms at Bella Luna/Milky Way at 7:30 pm for a casual evening of beverages and mama-ship. Arrive whenever you can (it’s a “soft” start-time), and leave whenever you need to. In case you need your memory jogged, MFABS is a chance for mamas in the Curley K-8 community — and beyond — to get together for a drink and a chat. It’s just for fun; there are no dads, kids, or agendas other than to relax, vent, share, and otherwise take a load off our far-too-busy minds and souls. It recurs on the last Thursday of each month during school term. PLEASE SHARE THIS INVITE with any moms who might enjoy a night out! For more information, contact Lindsey Weeramuni. [Dads, one of us should step up to plan something similar… – Ed.]
4. Finally, Principal Slater and the BPS would like to invite parents to discuss the creation of a new school assignment system. Several community meetings are slated for this spring, the latest of which are 4 simultaneous meetings happening all over Boston this Saturday, March 31st. Click here to learn more about the meetings.

REMINDER: This Wednesday, March 28, 8-9:30 a.m. will be the last drop off day for donations for the Curley Used Book Sale. Please bring books to the Centre St. entrance; someone will be there to receive your donation. If you have donations and cannot make this date, please contact Jill Lazer (jmlazer@yahoo.com) to make arrangements. We also need volunteers to help with the sale. Please sign up on the Doodle poll if you are interested. The sale will be held the same night as the Art Show — Thursday, April 12.

Parents Jessica Ormsby (above, left) and Lisa Kincade (above, right) both spoke at the most recent Boston School Committee meeting on behalf of the Curley. Jessica, who became the 11th Curley parent to address the Committee this year, spoke during the open Budget Hearing. Lisa, the 12th Curley parent before the committee this year, then spoke during the public comment period of the regular meeting that followed. Each time a large number of Curley parents stood in silent solidarity, each wearing their Curley shirts, and each time were joined by Mather parent Andy Berg.

Jessica presented to the School Committee in detail the same proposals parents discussed with BPS Assistant CFO Seth Racine on Tuesday, March 20. She also spoke about her own experiences as a parent of a K2 child at the Curley who is trying to remain committed to BPS despite the proposed budget cuts.

Mather parent Andrew Berg delivering his statement on proposed budget cuts faced by the Mather next year. He graciously thanked the BPS for averting some, though not all, of the cuts the school faces.

Lisa spoke equally passionately about her fears of what the proposed budget cuts would mean for her 7th grade son Willie, who suffers from autism. She believes the cuts may lead Willie to regress, losing the progress he has made at the Curley. The Curley is Willie’s seventh school, and since being here, he has made the Honor Roll both terms and has earned the Principal’s Award. Willie had to move to the Curley from his previous school, Mildred Ave., because of budget cuts.

Video of the meeting is available on the City of Boston’s site here:

http://www.cityofboston.gov/cable/video_library.asp?id=2488

• Mather parent Andrew Berg’s eloquent statement on their school may be heard at the 11 minute mark.
• Jessica’s statement is at the 14 minute mark.
• BPS Assistant CFO Seth Racine’s comments to the Committee about the Curley are at the 21 minute mark.
• Superintendent Carol Johnson also made some very profound remarks (at the 41 minute mark) on funding levels district wide, noting that “I am not suggesting that the budget that we bring forward is adequate for all we want to do.” Her full remarks on the subject are well worth listening to. Committee member Mary Tamer later took this issue up as well at the 56 minute mark, asking how the district in the future can really define what is meant by “adequate” in a constructive manner.
• Lisa’s statement is at the 1 hour 20 minute mark.

Last School Committee Meeting is this Wednesday

The last School Committee meeting of this year’s budget cycle is this Wednesday at 6 p.m. where a formal vote on next year’s budget will taken. After that, discussions will move to the City Council. Matt O’Malley, Felix Arroyo and John Connolly has also received our presentation outlining our proposals. We look forward to discussing them with each Councilor as they consider the budget between mid April and the end of June.

In the meantime, on Wednesday, our final School Committee speaker will be parent Dan Barcan. Please try to come and support him at this last meeting. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and the public comment period begins at 6:30 p.m. and last for an hour though it may be done sooner. The meeting again takes place at 26 Court Street. Remember to wear your Curley shirt!

Past Statements to School Committee

All statements we’ve made to the School Committee so far, beginning with Lisa and Jessica’s statements, are listed below:

• March 21, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (Kincade – English)
• March 21, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (Ormsby – English)
• March 12, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English)
• March 7, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 28, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 15, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 1, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English version)
• February 1, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee(Spanish version)
• January 18, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English version)
• January 18, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (Spanish version)

The Fifth Annual Curley Silent Auction at Canary Square was a resounding success. Jess Ormsby, parent fundraising co-chair, is happy to report that over $13,000 was raised, which is 20% better than last year. Fantastic!

Huge thanks all around for the incredible number of people and businesses who donated their goods and services, and for those who bid on these items.

A complete donor list of individuals and businesses is here. Please thank them again when you see them next. The Curley School is blessed to have such strong community partners!

We are also very grateful to Mike Moxley and everyone at Canary Square for being such enthusiastic and generous hosts.

Most of all, many, many thanks are due to the tireless, unfailing efforts of all the parents who donated their time and energy in helping to organize such a successful event. They include the following: coordinator Jess Ormsby, Lisa Foulger, Flo Zimmerman, Laura Kollett, Jon Gummer, Sara Mallach, Inci Kaya, Susan Elsbree, Jenny Connolly, Molly Mariano, Kristin Shapiro, Pam Yosca, Daryn Stylianopoulos, Ashley Wiest-Laird and Bill Elsbree. Thank you all!

The Curley School Parent Council raises funds each year to supplement art, music and science education. It also helps with meetings and programs that enrich the core curriculum, and engage parents and the larger community in the academic and social education of our students. The largest initiative that is supported is a collaboration with the Community Music Center of Boston that brings instructors into the school three days a week to teach music to all grades.

Curley parents and guardians are cordially invited to our monthly Principal’s Breakfast on Thursday, March 29, 2012, 8:45 a.m. –  10 a.m., in the Upper School Library.

Following the breakfast, there will be an important workshop on planning for college. It’s never too early to think about college – and it is not too late to start planning and saving! The workshop will provide you with some valuable information about how you and your child can prepare academically AND financially for college.

The presentation will be given by:
Lena Eisen, Project Manager,
Early College Planning Initiave
Harvard Graduate School of Education

For more information, please contact our Parent Coordinator, Betty Villalba-Alvarado.

Principal’s Breakfast Flyer, March 29, 2012 – English

Les invitamos a nuestro Desayuno
Mensual con el Principal

29 de marzo, 2012
8:45 – 10:00 a.m.
En la Biblioteca de la escuela Intermedia

Seguido por la presentación:
Pensando temprano en la Universidad

Aprenda como Ud. y su hijo/hija se puede preparar academicamente y financialmente. Nunca es muy temprano para pensar en ir a la Universidad y no es muy tarde para ahorrar y hacer un plan.

Presentado:
Lena Eisen, Project Manager,
Early College Planning Initiave
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Para más información, por favor pongase en contacto con Betty Alvarado, Coordinadora de Padres al 617-304-6771.

ESPERAMOS VERLOS!

Principal’s Breakfast Flyer, March 29, 2012 – Spanish

Carrie Fletcher (back row, third from right) was the speaker at the latest BPS School Committee Meeting. She is pictured here with some of the other parents who attended in support.

Curley parent Carrie Fletcher was the tenth parent to speak on behalf of the Curley to the Boston School Committee meeting last week. She spoke at the second city-wide budget hearing of the year, held this time at the Thomas Edison K-8 School in Brighton.

At the heart of her statement are three specific policy changes to the funding formula we strongly feel need to be implemented. They are as follows:

1. Soft landing money (funds provided by BPS to cushion drastic funding declines from one year to the next at individual schools) is currently granted for one year only. We feel this timeframe negatively impacts the ability of individual schools and their students to successfully adjust to their new circumstances. Instead, we want to see soft landing money be granted to qualifying schools over a three year span. 100% of the amount should be granted for the first year, 66% of that original amount be granted for a second year, and 33% of the original amount granted for a third year. This way, adequate program transitions will be given time to better evolve, and individual schools will have more room to plan for the future in a graduated way that lessens negative impacts on students.
2. We would like the Weighted Student Funding formula to be revised to account for rapid growth and scale. Large K-8 schools in particular require additional resources to function properly, especially when enrollment jumps rapidly. As Carrie said, “The current formula’s attempt to resolve this tension via per-student allocations simply doesn’t work. There needs to be a multiplier for schools over a certain size, as well as an acknowledgement of additional impact when that growth happens very quickly.”
3. Currently, when a school has a population of over 80% of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, each additional student above that 80% enrollment threshold is given a higher weighted funding amount. We feel this threshold is far too high and recommend it be lowered to 70% of enrollment. This lower threshold also happens to be the state’s measure for categorizing a school as having a predominantly economically disadvantaged student population.

The Curley has seen a precipitous drop in funding while at the same time undergoing very large enrollment growth that is well above the district’s growth norms. Though we feel our policy recommendations will set right some of the ill effects of the Curley’s recent adverse funding history, we also believe our proposals will benefit all other schools who fall within the boundaries we’ve identified.

Next Meetings

We will present these policy changes in detail when parents meet with Assistant BPS CFO Seth Racine this coming Tuesday at 6 p.m. Please contact Lindsey Weeramuni for more details and background information.

We also plan to attend and speak at the last two upcoming BPS School Committee Meetings to continue to advocate for our students and for all other students in the district. The next meeting is this coming Wednesday, March 21 at 26 Court Street. Please note, the budget hearing begins one hour earlier than usual at 5 p.m. The regular meeting is slated to begin at 6 p.m.

Please come and support Jess Ormsby, our next speaker. Remember to wear your Curley shirt!

Past Statements to School Committee

All statements we’ve made to the School Committee so far, beginning with Carrie’s statement, are listed below:

• March 12, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English)
• March 7, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 28, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 15, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 1, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English version)
• February 1, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee(Spanish version)
• January 18, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English version)
• January 18, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (Spanish version)

In case you have not come across it yet, we have a Curley Wish List that lists the items needed by 32 of our teachers.

There is also another innovative way to donate to teachers in need of supplies: Donors Choose. Ms. Taylor Knight and Ms. Drakes are the most recent Curley teachers to post a project on Donorschoose.org. Donors Choose is a website that allows classroom teachers to request resources to use with students in their classroom. How it works is teachers request materials from specific vendors listed on the Donor’s Choose site, they write a brief project proposal, and then a web page is generated to promote the project to family, friends, co-workers and also to the wider school community. It is basically an online classroom wish list. Once the project is fully funded, the resources are sent directly to the teacher care of the school. Teachers are required to send thank you notes and complete some forms to prove receipt of the products.

Ms. Taylor Knight has a project posted called “Making Learning Visible.” 6 people have already donated to her project. Ms. Taylor Knight has requested a flat screen LCD Television to display the videos that students star in and help tape and edit with equipment that Ms. Taylor Knight received as part of a fellowship. Ms. Drakes’ project  “Put A Bird On It Art Lesson” is brand new and hasn’t had any donations yet. Ms. Drakes is asking for watercolors, watercolor paper, oil pastels and construction paper to use in all of her art classes.

In addition, Donors Choose is running a promotion through March 19th, where if you make a donation to either project, your donation will be matched. Enter “BLOOM” during check-out where it says “Match or gift code”  and your donation is automatically doubled.

Ms. Drakes’ project:
http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/690257

Ms. Taylor Knight’s project:
http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/1265786

Please pass this article along to anyone you think would be interested.

We have an astonishing 75 items to bid on tonight – and the list is still growing!

Yes. 75 items!

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the Silent Auction items at Canary Square:

• 20 different Red Sox tickets to auction off (including VIP tours and on-field batting practice)
• Gift certificates to area restaurants that include JP Seafood, Bukhara, Galway House, The Capitol Grille and Mandarin Gourmet
• A ton of local area business gift certificates and items from City Feed, JP Licks, Olde Tudor Painting, X-posure by Noel Hair Salon, The Footlight Club, Salmagundi, Fire Opal, GC Eyewear, and Arborway Auto Service
• Wrigley Field Chicago Cubs tickets
• WGBH Kids learning materials
• Artwork, jewelry and clothing
• Photography sessions
• Movie tickets
• Apple gift certificate
• Violin, ice skating, tennis, and BLS test prep lessons
• Cases of wine, baskets of food, and the ever popular “Bucket of Cheer” from Sam Adams
• Memberships to Curtis Hall, The Puppet Showplace, the Isabella Gardner Museum, and passes to other area museums and attractions…
• …and so, so many more, including…

• …A DATE WITH MAYOR MENINO!!

Remember, this adult-oriented fundraiser is tonight from 6-9 p.m. Book your sitter and come to Canary Square, which is a block away from the Curley (435 South Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain).

There is a suggested donation of $15 donation. All proceeds will directly fund the music, science and arts programs at the Curley K-8.

See you tonight!!

Three reminders for the next three days.

Monday:

BPS Budget Hearing

Monday, March 12

The second BPS budget hearing (different from regular BSC meetings) will be held on Monday, March 12 at 6 p.m. at the Thomas Edison K-8 School, 60 Glenmont Road, Brighton, MA 02135. Directions are here. It is a 15-20 minute drive from the Curley.

As always, come and support the parents who are slated to speak on behalf of the Curley this Monday, and don’t forget to wear your Curley shirts!

Tuesday:

5th Annual Silent Auction + Raffle at Canary Square

Tuesday, March 13

You’ve waited all year for this one! It’s our 5th Annual Silent Auction + Raffle at Canary Square.

Event Details:
Tuesday March 13, 2012 from 6p-9pm
Canary Square
(435 South Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain)

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be served and dinner & drinks will be available for purchase. Tell your friends and neighbors!!

Items to bid on include: sports (Red Sox!!) and theater tickets, restaurant gift certificates, portrait sittings, museum memberships, jewelry, artwork, and many goods and services donated by local businesses!

Opportunities to win One of Three amazing raffle baskets! All money raised goes to support Music and Art programming at the Curley.

Suggested donation $15 per person.

Please note that this is an adult-centric event, so please book your sitter and then come to one of the Curley’s signature events of the year.

Wednesday:

Book Donation Drop-off

Wednesday, March 14

This Wednesday, March 14, 8-9:30 a.m. will be another opportunity to drop off book donations for the Curley Book Sale.

The Book Sale will be on Thursday, April 12, the same day as the Fifth Annual Curley K-8 Art Show! Please bring your books to the Centre Street entrance. Someone will be at the door to receive your donation. There will be one more drop off day on March 28.

We are taking all kinds of books and could really use some books for adults and middle schoolers. If you have a donation, but are unable to make these dates, please contact Jill Lazer and we can make other arrangements. Thank you!

Julie Smith-Bartoloni and Julian Roquet speak at the latest Boston School Committee meeting about the impact of the proposed budget on our school.

Parents Julie Smith-Bartoloni and Julian Roquet became the latest parents to deliver joint testimony in support of the Curley at the last Boston School Committee meeting. Their statement is the fifth one we have made to the Boston School Committee. Parents from the Mather Elementary School graciously stood in solidarity with the other Curley parents while our statement was delivered.

Click here to view the video of the meeting.

• During the public comment period, students from English High in Jamaica Plain gave an impassioned statement for funding their girls softball team. Their statement occurs around the 36 minute mark.
• Julie and Julian, our own parents, deliver their statement begins around the 41 minute mark.

The statement delivered by Julie and Julian is linked to below, along with other past statements:

• March 7, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 28, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 15, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 1, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English version)
• February 1, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee(Spanish version)
• January 18, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English version)
• January 18, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (Spanish version)

Carlos Rojas, the student representative on the Committee, later asked for a report on the Curley’s ongoing budget concerns during the new business portion of the meeting.

Impromptu Meeting with the BPS CFO

After the public comment period, the Curley parents in attendance were asked by Tim Nicolette, Chief of Staff for the Superintendent, to meet with John McDonough, CFO of the Boston Public Schools, and Seth Racine, Assistant CFO. There was a wide ranging discussion about our funding and enrollment history. Our situation appears to be unique compared to other schools within the District.

We asked for more data detailing the enrollment and budget history for the eight other schools of comparable size and grade level to the Curley, beginning in 2009. We look forward to receiving this data from Mr. Racine.

We appreciate that the channels of communication between the Superintendent and parents remain active. We look forward to meeting with Mr. Racine in the near future to address our questions around how the weighted student funding formula may be augmented so that our students’ needs are better served.

Come Support our Parents at the Next Hearing Tomorrow!

The second BPS budget hearing (different from regular BSC meetings) will be held on Monday, March 12 at 6 p.m. at the Thomas Edison K-8 School, 60 Glenmont Road, Brighton, MA 02135. Directions are here.

As always, come and support the parents who are slated to speak on Monday, and don’t forget to wear your Curley shirts!

Please join us for our 5th annual Curley K-8 night at the Museum of Science. This year it will take place on March 30th from 5:00p.m. – 9:00pm. The event is hosted by the science department and school parent council. The fun filled evening costs only for $15 entrance for up to 7 children.

It includes:

• Discounted $15 entrance fee for up to 7 children and adults per family group
• Access to all Exhibit Halls
• No Parking Fees
• Featuring Free tickets to the IMAX Movie: Amazing Journeys at 7:00 p.m. sharp.

Registration will come home with your child if it has not already.

You can also print out the Registration form here:
Night at the Museum of Science Registration Form.

Please return registration and payment to your child’s homeroom teacher no later than Friday, March 23rd. Please contact the family center if you have questions.

Curley parents Andrés Barraza and Katie Fitch delivered the latest joint statement at the last School Committee Meeting.

For the fourth time this year, Curley parents delivered a statement to the School Committee, this time at the first Budget Hearing. Held at the Frederick Middle School in Dorchester, Andrés Barraza delivered a powerful statement in Spanish that was translated into English by fellow parent Katie Fitch. Once again, other parents wearing their distinctive yellow, green and black t-shirts stood in silent solidarity.

Their statement is below, listed together with all the other statements we’ve delivered so far.

• February 28, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 15, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (bilingual)
• February 1, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English version)
• February 1, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee(Spanish version)
• January 18, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (English version)
• January 18, 2012 statement to the Boston School Committee (Spanish version)

Next School Committee Meeting

The next School Committee meeting will be at Court Street and will begin at 6:00 where Julie Smith Bartoloni and Julian Roquet will deliver a joint statement. The public comment period begins promptly at 6:30pm and lasts an hour. Please try to attend for that period of time and once again show your silent solidarity.

Next budget strategy meeting and next SPC General Meeting

The next budget-specific strategy meeting will take place tomorrow, on Monday, March 5 at 7pm at Carrie Fletcher’s house (9 Park Lane).

Please join us also on TUESDAY, March 6 for our monthly parents’ council meeting.  We will meet in the Upper School Library from 6-8pm; please enter the building through the Centre St. doors.  Note:  this is a change from our usual Wednesday evening meetings because of the conflicting School Committee meeting that night.

We will discuss where we stand on our own fundraising efforts, the status of our ongoing projects, and a number of upcoming events (including next week’s fabulous Silent Auction (Tues. 3/13) and our upcoming Spring Art Show!)  We will have a brief overview of our ongoing strategy as we work to restore the Curley’s BPS funding for next year. (Please note that this will be a general parents’ council meeting with a number of topics.) All Curley parents and caregivers are encouraged to attend! Food, Spanish interpretation, and childcare will be provided on Tuesday at the general Parent Council Meeting only.