If you’re looking for a good week-long enrichment program this summer, look no further than the Curley K-8!

Come explore art, science, and sports through the great outdoors right here in our Schoolyard and Jamaica Plain neighborhood. We will make art in our beautiful Schoolyard and Outdoor Classroom, play sports outside, do science experiments in nature and take field trips to some of the beautiful natural spaces right here in Jamaica Plain. The activities will be run by three of our very own Curley K-8 teachers: Anna Youman (Art), Mark Rhigini (Phys. Ed.), and Stephanie Selznick (Science).

Let’s go outside, have fun, and learn.

Program Details
Dates: August 8-12, 2011
Time: 9:00 AM -2:00 PM
Place: Curley K-8 Lower School
Program Fee: $150 a student
Open to Ages 5-12

Limited capacity, reserve your spot by June 17th and get $25 off.

Please mail checks along with a letter listing your name, the student’s name(s), your phone number and email address to:
Mark Rhigini
Curley K-8
40 Pershing Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Please make checks payable to: Curley Enrichment Program.

• Students should bring their own lunch and a water bottle to keep hydrated each day.
• For students who don’t attend the Curley K-8, there will be additional medical and emergency contact forms to fill out.
• A portion of the funds will be donated to the Curley Schools’ Arts, Physical Education and Science Departments.

For more details, please email Anna Youman or Stephanie Selznick.

Please join us on Tuesday, June 7 at 9:30 a.m. for our annual Spring Concert featuring students in the K1, 1st, 4th, and 4th/5th split classes. The concert will held in the Upper School Auditorium.  We hope to see you there!

As always, please remember to bookmark – and regularly check! – the Curley online calendar, where you’ll find the most recent information about Curley events.   You can click any calendar item to view the event details or to add the event to your own Google calendar.

It’s time for our annual spring appeal – you will receive a hard copy of the letter below in your child’s backpack this week.  If you are able to help, please send your donation to your child’s teacher by June 1st in the envelope that was provided.  If you would prefer to mail your donation, you just need to add a stamp. You can also easily donate online by clicking the red “Donate Now” button at the top of this page.

Dear Curley Families,

We hope the year has been going well for you and your family. We are all fortunate to be part of such a wonderful and vibrant school community led by our principal, Jeff Slater, his administrative team and our talented teachers.

We are writing to you on behalf of the Curley K-8 School Parent Council (the SPC). You, as a parent or guardian, are a member of the SPC and are an important partner in our school’s effort to provide a high-quality, well-rounded education for all students.

The SPC helps to enrich classroom learning with community-building activities throughout the year such as the Fall Fling, the Spring Art Showcase and field trips for every grade. We also fund special projects such as the auditorium’s new sound system and the purchase of 20 new keyboards for the upper school music studio. This year the SPC contributed $13,000 for music programming provided by our partner, the Community Music Center of Boston. Every student at the Curley is now receiving a range of musical instruction – beginning in K-1 and going all the way through 8th grade. None of this would be possible without the long-term financial support and commitment of the SPC.

The continued “belt-tightening” in the Boston Public Schools means support from Curley families is more important than ever.  Along with other efforts, we are working with the school staff to expand our support by providing year-round music instruction for the lower grades and a new drama program in the upper grades. To continue our current programming and respond to budget-cuts, we need to increase our annual fundraising by at least $10,000 this year.

Help achieve this important goal! We are asking all Curley families to donate to our spring fundraising drive. No amount is too small to give. Whether you can give $5 or $50 or $100 or more – your contribution to the Curley school will go directly to the music and drama programs. If your family can help in any way large or small, we can reach our goal of 100% of Curley family participation. Please help us succeed!

Thank you,
The Curley K-8 SPC

Please join us next week for the Curley K-8’s first International Heritage Week, during which we will enjoy tastes from around the globe!  The week (agenda below) will conclude with our International Night for Curley community members.  We’ll showcase our community’s multiple talents and skills – we want you to share your diverse passions while we celebrate this diverse planet!

Our talent showcase is on Thursday May 26th at 6:00 pm and will be open to students, staff, and parents alike.  All talents and skills are welcome, whether a performance,  an art exhibit, or a craft design.  The sky’s the limit.  We also desperately need parent volunteers to help with two dress rehearsals and setting up for the big night.   If you or your child would like to participate in the showcase and/or volunteer, please email Curley parent Rachel Buckingham and/or our dance instructor, Kim Taylor Knight.

International Week Agenda

5/23        Monday                 Read Alouds
5/24        Tuesday                Traditional Dress
5/25        Wednesday          Arts & Crafts
5/26        Thursday              International Night
5/27        Friday                    Movies

Please join us on Saturday, May 21 from 10am – 2pm for our annual spring community clean-up day at the Curley!  This year we will again work in partnership with Boston Cares to clean up and beautify the Curley grounds and property.  Kids and adults are welcome to drop by for a little (or a lot!) of time.  Come help make our school shine!  If you can bring push brooms or wheelbarrows, please do.

Below are a few of the projects we’ll be working on – we hope to see you on Saturday.

• Outdoor Classroom – rake, weed
• Adventure Area/Playground/Behind School – sweep, trash pick-up, prune shrubs
• Outside K2 Classrooms – weed, mulch trees, thin day-lilies, create “edge” for garden bed
• Front of Lower School – weed, mulch trees, create “edge” for front garden
• Front of Upper School – trim bushes, tend to planters, sweep, trash pick-up
• Mow/weed-whack grassy areas
• Outdoor painting – touch up black perimeter fence, repaint yellow lines on the ground
• Indoor painting  – prep and paint hallway(s) on 2nd floor of Lower School

Many thanks to the Curley students, parents, teachers, administrators, and friends who marched in this past Saturday’s Wake Up the Earth parade.  Our Curley pride was on full display – we had everything from stilt walkers to bike riders to lion masks!   As our photos* demonstrate, a fabulous time was had by all.

*While photos from our in-school events are available only to our Curley community members through our password-protected pages, we will sometimes share pictures of public events (i.e., those that take place in public spaces and/or to which the general public was invited.)  If you have any questions about our photo policy, please email Carrie Fletcher.

Please help Curley K-8 School support kids in need!  We’re hosting a BPS-sponsored drive for kids’ clothes, shoes, and jackets to be donated to Cradles for Crayons, an innovative nonprofit that provides disadvantaged children with the essential items that all kids need in order to flourish.  Please bring  your donations to the Curley this week – the deadline for giving is Thursday, May 12.     There will be boxes in the entrances of both the Upper and Lower Schools.

Many of you have observed that our Lost & Found areas are literally overflowing with coats, hats, sweaters, and more.   If your child is missing any of his or her winter gear, please check the lost and found this week! All items that are not claimed before Thursday will be donated to Cradles to Crayons on May 12.  (And, going forward, all unclaimed lost & found items will be donated on the first of each month.)

State Rep Jeffrey Sanchez gathers with Curley kids and parents at our annual plant sale

Curley pride was on full display at our annual plant sale last Saturday, April 30.  Grey skies and chilly weather didn’t deter our committed plant sellers and all of the friends and neighbors who purchased flowers, vegetables, and greenery to get their gardens and yards ready for spring.  Adults and children alike enjoyed browsing the offerings, kids enjoyed decorating their own flower pots, and everyone over-indulged on our delicious bake sale items!   Check out our photos* to see how much fun we had!

Many, many thanks to everyone who purchased plants, to all of the volunteers who made the plant sale a success in every way – we were delighted to have state rep Jeffrey Sanchez and city coucilor Matt O’Malley among our visitors.  Special thanks to Curley parents Anneta Argyres, Susan Elsbree, Molly Mariano, and Heshan Weeramuni for all of their hard work organizing this event!

*While photos from our in-school events are available only to our Curley community members through our password-protected pages, we will sometimes share pictures of public events (i.e., those that take place in public spaces and/or to which the general public was invited.)  If you have any questions about our photo police please email Carrie Fletcher.

Curley Yard Sale – Saturday, May 7. Please remember to donate items to this Saturday’s Curley Yard Sale, which will be held in front of the Upper School (493 Centre St.) – we need your donations by Thursday, May 5.  This is a great way to do your spring cleaning and help the Curley at the same time!  We’d love to receive gently-used household and kitchenware items, tools, art supplies, kids’ art, toys, bags, jewelry, and high-end clothing.  Please contact Upper School art teacher Jesse Cardoso if you have questions about this event.   Please bring your donations to the Family Center by Thursday, May 5.

March with your Curley friends in the Wake Up the Earth Parade.  We’ll meet at the Monument at 10:30 a.m.  Wear your Curley colors and bring your lion crafts to help display our Curley pride!  And make sure to stop and buy something when you march past the Curley Yard Sale.  🙂

Please join us for our annual Curley Plant Sale on Saturday, April 30, 10 am – 1 pm. We will have our usual excellent selection of plants, so come buy some new plants and flowers to get your gardens and yards ready for spring!  This year we’ll also have a bake sale and craft activities for the kids – please join us in the Parking Lot across from the school on Centre Street.

We still need a few volunteers to set up, work the cashboxes, assist customers, and clean up at the end of this event.   Please sign up online if you can help!

Many of you know that, in past years, the plant sale has coincided with the Wake Up the Earth festival.  Because of our plant vendor’s schedule, this year’s sale will be a week before the May 7 Wake Up the Earth event.  Because this is a change in routine, we’re asking you to please spread the word to your friends and neighbors so that they don’t miss the sale!

Curley pride on display!

March in the Wake Up the Earth Parade! Curley families, teachers, and administrators will once again march in JP’s annual Wake Up the Earth Parade on May 7.  Curley kids are encouraged to bring their own lion crafts to show off our Curley pride!  We will meet at the Monument at 10:30 a.m. for the parade’s 11:00 a.m. start – the parade will head down Centre St. toward Stony Brook Station.  Please feel free to join us anywhere along the parade route – and be sure to wear your Curley colors!

Support our Curley Yard Sale by donating or buying items! Please contribute to (and visit!) our giant Curley yard sale, which will be held in front of the Upper School on May 7.  We are looking for items in good condition, such as household and kitchenware, tools, art supplies, kids’ art, toys, bags, jewelry, and high-end clothing.  Please contact Upper School art teacher Jesse Cardoso if you have questions about this event.  Please leave your donations in the Family Center by Thursday, May 5.

Congratulations to Lower School art instructor Anna Youman, who has been selected for a prestigious  2011 Teacher as Artist (TAA) fellowship.  Anna will travel this summer to Barcelona, Spain to study at a Creativity Workshop with Shelly Berc and Alejandro Fogel.  She will then go on to southern France to the artist retreat Mas Pinet, an an which hosts a large variety of workshops and classes for artists.   Please join us in wishing Anna a wonderful and enriching summer.

Our community is fortunate in that there is no shortage of artistic talent at the Curley: many of you will recall that Curley Dance & Theatre Arts teacher Kim Taylor Knight won a TAA fellowship last year!  Kim went to New York City to study dance.  You can read about Kim’s fellowship experience on TAA her blog.

TAA is a competitive local fellowship program that awards up to eight fellowships each year to arts educators in the Boston Public School system.  TAA fellowships enable outstanding arts educators to explore individual artistic goals and dreams while connecting with new practices and resources in their disciplines.  The goal of the program is to enhance the quality of arts education in the Boston Public Schools. TAA Fellows’ home schools receive a $1,500 award to support the Fellows’ Post-Fellowship work and Fellows themselves receive a scholarship to attend Boston Arts Academy’s Summer Institute for Arts in Education.

Click here to download the full 2011 TAA Application

Click here to download the 2011 TAA Guidelines

Click here to download the TAA Resource List

Each $5,000 award may be used for the cost of tuition, fees, room and board, travel, necessary materials or equipment, childcare, and other relevant expenses. Fellows’ home schools receive a $1,500 award to support the Fellows’ Post-Fellowship work and Fellows receive a scholarship to attend Boston Arts Academy’s Summer Institute for Arts in Education.

Congratulations to our 6th, 7th and 8th graders who participated in the Curley’s After School Nuestro Futuro program and in the Youth Summit that was held at the Curley K-8 School on April 13. This youth-led summit that examined nutrition, exercise, a variety of other health concerns, and community activism – and was written up in the JP Patch!  Special thanks to Torri Canada, Uchenna Uduale (Dir of NF), and Linda Martinez and Flavia Perea ( Tufts professors), who were all involved with this important program.