Principal Slater today reported that our very own Robert Baroz has been invited to share the stage with President Obama tomorrow at the American Jobs Act event at the White House! Mr. Baroz, is a 6th and 7th grade English teacher at the Curley K-8. Principal Slater adds, “We are fortunate to have one of our colleagues represent the Curley at such an event where the President will be promoting jobs funding in education. Keep an eye out for Robert on the news during the President’s event!”

Mr. Baroz (left) was named earlier this summer by the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as one of 16 teachers from across the country to be Teaching Ambassador Fellows for the 2011-12 school year. Congratulations Mr. Baroz!

K0, K1, and K2:  reminder that our Kindergarten Welcome Picnic is tomorrow – Saturday, September 10.  We’ll meet from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. on the Lower School playground.

Please bring a dish or drink to share, and get ready to meet (or reconnect with) your Curley friends!  Our principal, kindergarten teachers, and other administrators and staff will also be there.  We look forward to seeing you there!  CURLEY K-8 uniform polos will be available to purchase, so bring your checkbooks!

Our Day of Service will also take place tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Kindergarten families are welcome to participate!

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, a moment that through tragedy brought together cultures, bridged differences, and united citizens of goodwill around the world in a spirit of unity and commitment. In tribute to all of those who were lost and the tens of thousands who rose in service, 9/11 was designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance through the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

This Saturday, Sept. 10, you and your family can play a part of a national coalition committed to generating one million acts of service & remembrance throughout the month of September.  Together with our partner, Boston Cares, volunteers at the Curley K-8 will be repainting line games in the playground, painting the outdoor fence, and helping organize the school library.  Volunteers will also have the opportunity to write letters of support for local service men and women from Massachusetts or create a section of a quilt to be made for those who have lost loved ones in either 9/11 or one of the two current wars.  We hope you can join us for this Day of Service.

(Please note that our Kindergarten Welcome Picnic will also be taking place on Saturday from 11:30 – 1:30 in the Lower School playground.)

This activity is open to all ages, and will overlap with our annual K1/K2 picnic.  Stop by for a little or a lot this Saturday between 9:00am and noon to be a part of the Curley Community Making a Difference.  Questions? Contact parent Julie Smith-Bartoloni.

School starts tomorrow – Thursday, September 8 – for children in grades 1 -8.   Welcome back!  Here’s some useful info about drop-off procedures as we get ready for the new school year.  Kindergarten drop-off info for Monday, September 12, is also included below.

Grades 1 – 3 (Thursday, September 8)
Breakfast (8:00 a.m.): Children arriving for breakfast should go to the Lower School’s side entrance, which is off of the teacher parking lot on Pershing Road.  Mr. Neal will be on duty in the hallway outside the Lower School cafeteria/gym and will make sure children get to the cafeteria.  Children will be dismissed from breakfast to the schoolyard to line up with their classes.

Regular Drop-Off (8:20 a.m.): Students in grades 1 – 3 should go to the Lower School playground area to find their teachers and line up.  Everyone will enter the building at 8:30.

Grades 4 – 8 (Thursday, September 8)
Breakfast (8:00 a.m.): Children arriving for breakfast should go to the Upper School cafeteria.  They can come into the building via the main front doors on Centre St. or via the Lower School side entrance in the teacher parking lot on Pershing Road and cross through the “bridge” to the lower level of the Upper School.

Regular Drop-Off (8:20 a.m.):  Students in grades 4 – 8 should go to the Upper School outdoor area behind the building to find their teachers and line up.  Teachers will retrieve their students at 8:30 to enter the building.

Rain plans: If it’s raining, students in grades 1–3 will gather in the Lower School cafeteria/gym instead of outside.  Students grades 4– 8 will gather in the auditorium.  Students attending breakfast beginning at 8:00 a.m. should proceed to the appropriate cafeteria as usual.  Breakfast students in grades 1 – 3 will stay in the cafeteria.  Students in grades 4 – 8 will go to the auditorium after breakfast.

K0, K1 & K2 (Monday, September 12): 🙂
8:20 a.m.: Drop-off occurs in front of the Lower School, at the kindergarten classroom/play area.  The kindergarten teachers and para-professionals will be outdoors to welcome the children and their families.  Kindergartners must be dropped of in the front outdoor space (not in the classrooms) for the first week or two of school.  The kindergarten teachers will let you know when classroom drop-off is permitted, at which point kindergartners may be taken to their classrooms at 8:20 a.m.

It is important to respect our drop-off rules – even thought it can be tough on caregivers!  – so please help our teachers make the kindergarten transition as easy as possible for all students.  Some children may have a difficult time, and having an upset child clinging to a parent in the classroom often sets off a chain reaction among other children who may have been doing fine until noticing someone else clinging to mom, dad, or another caregiver.  Years of experience have taught us that letting the children enter the classroom together as a group, without their caregivers, makes this process easier on everyone.  If your child is anxious or upset at the transition, a teacher or paraprofessional will be able to comfort him or her and help her adjust – and rest assured that you will soon be welcome to drop off in the classroom!

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Invitation To Give Feedback On Your Engagement In The School

Dear Curley Parent/Guardian,

As part of my participation in National Board Certification for Principals, I am requesting you to complete a survey of your level of engagement in our school. I will use the engagement survey results to improve the school.

Your responses will be anonymous. The system will ask for some personal information (i.e., name, e-mail address, phone) for the purposes of auditing and quality of data. However, this information will not be used to identify you and you may submit your responses free of this concern.

Your link is personal to your feedback group and must not be shared or forwarded. Please access the survey from the following address: http://login.chpd.com/login/pc4ut/48820

Please complete this survey by September 30, 2011.

You must complete this survey in one sitting. You will not be able to close the survey and resume later. As your feedback is important to this initiative, please ensure you access the survey at a time and in an environment conducive to completing it.

Technical support information is available upon launching the survey.

Thank you for your participation in this program.

Jeffrey S. Slater, Principal
Boston Public Schools
Curley K-8 School
493 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
(617) 635-8176

Invitación para dar a conocer su opinión sobre su compromiso en la escuela (padres)

Estimados padres de Curley:

Como parte del National Board Certification for Principals (Comité Nacional de Certificación para Directores), les solicito contestar una encuesta acerca de su nivel de compromiso en nuestra escuela. Utilizaré los resultados de la encuesta sobre compromiso para mejorar la escuela.

Sus respuestas serán anónimas. El sistema les solicitará cierta información personal (es decir, nombre, casilla de correo electrónico, teléfono) a los efectos de auditar la calidad de los datos. Sin embargo, esta información no será utilizada para identificarlos, por lo que pueden enviar sus respuestas sin esta preocupación.

Su enlace le pertenece al grupo sobre el cual darán su opinión y no debe ser compartido ni enviado a otra persona. Accedan a la encuesta desde la dirección siguiente: http://login.chpd.com/login/pc4ut/48820

Respondan esta encuesta antes el 30 de septiembre de 2011.

Tendrán información de ayuda técnica a su disposición al abrir la encuesta.

Gracias por participar en este programa.

Jeffrey S. Slater, Principal
Boston Public Schools
Curley K-8 School
493 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
(617) 635-8176

As many of you know, some teachers have a list of specific supplies that your child should bring to school this year.  This information usually comes home in the form of a paper list, so keep an eye out once school starts!

We are also working with the teachers to get these supply lists posted on our website – we’ve create a “live” online document that teachers can add to at any time.   Several teachers have already posted details about both required and requested classroom items, so take a peek now and check back as the first day of school approaches!

A post-Irene check on the Curley orchard (located at the front of the Upper School) has revealed that much of our fruit is ready to be picked!  We may have lost our plum tree due to wind, but it will be easily harvested.  There is also a fair amount of dropped fruit still fine to eat as well – especially pears.  (There is some spoiled dropped fruit as well, just to warn you).

A ladder will come in handy if you have the time or interest in harvesting.  Our Orchard Team is probably able to harvest a only small amount of this fruit, so please come get some so that it doesn’t go to waste!

A reminder that high priority for enrolling in next year’s Curley After School Program (CASP) will be given to registration forms received by August 5th. You will be advised by phone of your enrollment status by August 12th.

For the introductory program letter in English and Spanish, registration forms also in English and Spanish, as well as for general information about the Curley After School Program, please visit the CASP page.

Please join us at Canary Square at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 to share your input on the Five R’s Bully Prevention Plan. This is a collaborative working group comprised of staff, parents and students. All are welcome.

To read the draft Plan to be discussed, click here.

The Curley After School Program’s application materials for the 2011-2012 school year are now available. You may pre-register for September 2011 by July 7th to guarantee your child a slot. This year, the program is also expanding to children in Grades 6 through 8. Click here to access the CASP page. Make sure to read the Program’s introductory letter (English, Español) for tuition rates and application deadlines.

Congratulations to all our 8th Graders who had their Moving On Ceremony today. Jose Lopez, our 8th Grade Social Studies teacher, put together the excellent video above celebrating their year.

Good luck to you all, and keep in touch!

This year, the Curley K-8 participated in the BPS Farm to School Initiative, a program that makes connections between K-12 schools and local farms.  The initiative works to increase healthy meal options in school cafeterias; improve student nutrition; provide agriculture, health, and nutrition education opportunities; and support local and regional farmers.  Through the Farm to School Initiative, Curley kids were able to participate in “Local Lunch Thursdays” to get a taste of new local produce each week.

Over the next few weeks, the (very leanly-staffed!) BPS Farm to School team will be evaluating the work they’ve done this year.  They’ll also be thinking about how to expand the program next year – and they would love some feedback from our community.   What would you like to see from the Farm to School Initiative next year?  Please take a moment to think about your wish list: what are the top 5 things you’d like the Farm to School Initiative work on at the Curleyl (or district-wide) next year?   These could be things that might change or increase from this year (e.g., more in class workshops related to Farm to School) or totally new ideas (e.g., start school gardens).  We’d love you to share your ideas in our website’s “Leave a Reply” section of this article – then we’ll compile them and send them onto the Farm to School people (even if we have more than five ideas)!

For more information about the Farm to School Initiative and how it operates in BPS, you can contact Kim Szeto, the Farm to School Coordinator for BPS’s Food & Nutritional Services division.

Last month’s parents’ council meeting had so many topics that we  didn’t get through our full agenda!  Please come to our year-end wrap-up/summer planning meeting on Tuesday, June 21 from 6-8pm.

We’ll discuss a few updates, and will begin planning for this summer and next year.  If you’ve been wanting to get involved this year but haven’t found the time, or if your family will be new to the Curley community next year, now is a great time to start learning about all of the cool things that are happening at our school!

Agenda Items for June 21
SPC Budget Update
SY 2010 -2011 wrap-up
Initial planning for SY 2011-2012
Candidates for SPC/SSC roles next year
Kindergarten Playdates (Summer 2011)
Kindergarten Picnic (September 2011)
Back to School Reception (September 2011)
Fall Fling (October 2011)

We will meet in the Parents’ Center (lower level of the Upper School, across from the 3rd grade classrooms).  Because the main school doors are generally locked at 6pm (and there isn’t always someone there to answer the bell after hours), please come to the back door of the parents’ center.   The door will be propped open.

Directions to Rear Entrance of Parents’ Center

• From Upper School main entrance: Go down the sidewalk and through the Centre St. gate, which is on the far left if you are facing the Upper School main entrance.  Walk straight back behind the Upper School – you will see a blue door propped open.  If you get to the Lower School playground you’ve gone too far.
• From Lower School main entrance: If you’re facing the Lower School main entrance on Pershing Road, go to your right.  Walk past the K1 doors that lead to the front play space, go toward the playground, and follow the blacktop around past all of the play structures and the basketball hoop.  As you cross into the Upper School outdoor space, you will see a propped-open blue door on the side of the Upper School building.

The Curley Faculty Senate, Principal Jeffrey Slater and the School Parent Council are proposing the adoption of the 5 R’s Bully Prevention Plan as school policy for the 2011-12 school year. The working draft document is linked below. The Curley School Site Council has endorsed the process of the development of this plan. Portions will be provisionally implemented at the beginning of the 2011-12 school year, with a period of evaluation and review in October and January.

Please click here to read the working draft document and to comment on it.

• • •

Los Cinco R’s – Creando una Escuela sin Bullies

El senado de la facultad de Curley, el principal Jeffrey Slater y el consejo de los padres de la escuela están proponiendo la adopción del plan de los 5 R’ s de la prevención de bullies como política de la escuela por el año escolar 2011-12. El borrador esta enlazado abajo. El consejo del sitio de escuela de Curley ha aprobado el proceso del desarrollo de este plan. Porciones del plan serán puesto en práctica provisionalmente al principio del año escolar 2011-12, con un período de evaluación y de revisión en octubre y enero.

Por favor, clic aqui para leer y hacer comentarios sobre el borrador.