winter 2016 final - holyoke public schools · ated, hands-on, integrated experiences; engaging...

Holyoke Public Schools—Visit us on the web at: http://www.hps.holyoke.ma.us

Happy New Year! 2016 is poised to be an exciting year for the Holyoke Public Schools as our turnaround initiatives truly begin to transform the student learning experience across our schools.

There is tremendous energy throughout our school community as we have teams of dedicated staff, community members and outside partners working on critical aspects of our turnaround work. Specifically, Full school day teams- Teams at each of our elementary schools are rethinking next

year’s school day and year. They are planning to strategically utilize a longer day to provide students with more enriching educational opportunities and staff with ample time to plan/collaborate, to individualize student learning, and design dynamic lessons. Parents, students and community will be asked to play an integral role in shaping the new day for students. We thank them in advance for sharing their voice.

Secondary redesign team- This group of teachers, community members, higher education officials and workforce development leaders has been meeting since October to craft a series of recommendations for the secondary experience in Holyoke. They have visited schools across the state, facilitated focus groups with students, studied the best practices in high school design and reviewed multiple data points. It has been their intent to examine how to establish pathways that individualize the learning experience for students as they move from middle school through high school and ultimately to college and/or career. I am confident that their guidance will result in improved out-

comes for students during their high school career and ensure that students leave our schools with the preparation to thrive be-yond the Holyoke Public Schools. We look forward to sharing these recommendations with our staff and families for input by the end of February.

Central office review- We have con-tracted with seasoned financial, educational and operational consultants to offer a plan for more strategically using our finite re-sources to maximize impact on classrooms.

We are committed to a lean and nimble central administration that is in service of the differentiated needs of our schools. Depending on a school’s academic and non-academic

Winter 2016

Volume 14, Issue 2

Holyoke Publ ic Schools

Announcements 2

School News 3-11

Athletics 12

Spanish 13-16

Holyoke Public Schools

Inside this issue:

Edition Highlights:

● Celebrating Three Kings

● Rulon Anderson— Partners in Excellence Awardee

● HHS Participates in Patriots Anti-violence Partnership

● The Memory Project

● Dean’s Mini House Project

● Pennies for Pets

An Exciting New Year

An Open Letter to the Holyoke School Community

By Dr. Stephen Zrike, Receiver

Connections A Community Working Together

Receive updates on district news, view videos and photos!

Like us www.Facebook.com/HolyokePublicSchools Follow us https://twitter.com/HPSHOLYOKE

Receive updates on district news, view videos and photos!

Like us www.Facebook.com/HolyokePublicSchools Follow us https://twitter.com/HPSHOLYOKE

McMahon Artist: Jordan Dudas

HHS Student Artist: Joarvi Edwards (See Memory Project on page 10).

Dr. Zrike’s letter, continued on page 4.


Connections

Mission Statement

The mission of the

Holyoke Public Schools is to provide

educational opportunities for all students to reach

their full potential in a safe, secure, healthy learning environment while valuing diversity

and promoting responsible citizenship.

“All children have gifts. Some open them at different times.” ~Patricia Polacco

Holyoke School Committee

Mayor Alex Morse

Dennis Birks

Erin Brunelle

John Brunelle

William Collamore

Nyles Courchesne

Irene Feliciano-Sims

Mildred Lefebvre

Devin Sheehan

Rosalee Tensley Williams

Connections Newsletter

Edited by: Judy Taylor [email protected]

Translated by: Luz Aguilar and Jacqueline Escalera

Registration for the 2016-2017 School Year

will begin Monday, February 22nd. We will be enrolling students in the following classrooms: Full Day Dual Language Pre-K, Kindergarten and Grade 2.

This innovative program at Metcalf School offers: language acquisition opportunities in English and Spanish; research based curriculum that is aligned with the district's benchmarks and state's curriculum framework. Visit http:/www.hps.holyoke.ma.us/duallanguageprogram.htm to access applications and pro-gram information. Submit completed application to the attention of Amy Burke, Principal at 2019 Northampton Street, Holyoke, MA. Call 413-534-2104 for more information.

Dual Language Program Enrollment

The HPS is excited to partner with the Springfield Empowerment Zone to launch TeachWesternMass, a new partnership seeking teachers who demonstrate

determination, collaboration, and a passion to make sure all their students excel in the classroom. Learn more more at www.teachwesternmass.com

There are exciting opportunities for employment with the Holyoke Public Schools.

Visit the district website and apply today!

EMPLOYMENTOPPORTUNITIES


The Little Library By Tammy Lawrence

Eighty students visited the Community Library which is located in the courtyard at E.N. White School and were able to take home a book of their choice to read and enjoy over winter recess. (Right) Tryanna Ayala and Davian Diaz, from Mrs. Sher-burne's 3rd Grade class enjoy borrowing books from The Little Library in the school courtyard.

More E-Readers for Students By Vanessa Aponte The Tiger Pride Community Organization has purchased leading technology in order to offer E.N. White students a powerful reading experience. Thanks to the many E.N. White students, families and staff who consistently support the Tiger Pride Community Organization’s fundraisers, a surplus of earnings was available. The TPCO voted to purchase 12-Samsung Galaxy Tablets and several e-books with those extra earnings. These tablets are now in the school's library and available for use by all students-grades Kindergarten through eighth grade and their teach-ers! They are a 'hands-on' educational tool which will inspire children to read as well as improve their reading skills. The library's paraprofessional, Vanessa Aponte, has already begun book clubs and the middle school council will utilize the tablets’ cameras to capture and report some of the latest activities at the school for the EN White Facebook page.

Middle School Book Club By Vanessa Aponte

Every Wednesday from 8:17-8:56 a.m., the Middle School Book Club at E.N. White, overseen by Ms. Aponte, gathers at the library to read a varie-ty of books, engage in discussion, and partake in snacks. Using Nook tablets donated by the Tiger Pride PTO, the students strengthen their reading skills and interpret the material in thoughtful and entertaining ways. The club members partner up at tables, on beanbags, and even the stairs, to read together and share their ideas about what the author wrote and what the story represents. At the moment, the students are reading the 2007 novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, written by Jay Asher. The novel focuses on the consequences of bullying and how even the smallest comment can lead to a dangerous outcome. With the novel as a reference, the students are not only learning to improve their reading and writing, but they are also learning how to speak out against the mis-treatment of others.

Fire Safety By Hilary Russell E.N. White’s PreK and Kindergarten students learned some vital lessons in fire safety when Lt. Maria Pelchar and the Holyoke Fire Department visited our school. Students learned how to be safe at home and how to recognize a fire fighter dressed in safety gear so they are not afraid of what they look like. Students were also treated to seeing the fire truck outside and learning about the equipment on the truck. Right, Jahriel Rivera, a pre-school student, learns about fire safety from Maria Pelchar from the Holyoke Fire Department.

Stone Soup By Faith Glanville and Karen Kent

A Stone Soup Celebration was held in Mrs. Glanville's first grade class; students and fami-lies enjoyed the Stone Soup students made during their play.


Connections Connections Connections

Buddy Time for First and Seventh Graders By Lori Steele Middle school students at McMahon Elementary are working on their character. In addition to academics like math, science, history, and language, students are learning to be empathet-ic, caring, and respectful to one another and to those around them. This character develop-ment is taught primarily by counselors and teachers using the 2nd Step Curriculum. However, here at McMahon we get to put this character development into action! Mrs. Steele’s sev-enth grade homeroom has had the opportunity to “Buddy” with Mrs. Kennedy’s first grade classroom. Every Wednesday, the “Buddies” partner in room 223, to learn from one anoth-er. Both academic goals, like addition and reading, and social goals, such as teamwork and patience, are met during this “Buddy” time.

Often, the eager first graders come with books they’ve chosen to read aloud themselves. The seventh grade buddies must listen attentively, create text dependent questions and model enthusiasm for reading. Other times the buddies practice addition facts with flash-cards. First graders meet an academic goal of adding to ten while seventh graders practice empathy. During flashcard time, the seventh graders practice looking into those cute, little, first grade faces and feeling excited when they get an addition problem correct, feeling disap-pointment when one is incorrect, and then modeling perseverance in encouraging those little buddies to keep learning. Recently, first graders participated in a rich, hands-on mathe-matics lesson that utilized Legos. The seventh grade buddies created some great math ques-tions that had their “Buddies” modeling mathematics with the Legos and using math vocabu-lary such as: how long, count, add, and how much longer.

The mission of the Holyoke Public Schools is to provide educational opportunities for all students to reach their potential … and promoting re-sponsible citizenship. Having these “Buddies” work together often is definitely providing an opportunity for both first and seventh graders to reach their potential academically and socially.

Aubrey Cavanaugh enjoys her hands-on math lesson that included using Legos.

outcomes, we want to provide a continuum of supports that adds value to their improvement efforts. I am confident that the recommenda-tions from this review will result in a structure that enhances teaching and learning throughout HPS.

Kindergarten planning team- The work of this group to explore options for our youngest learners and their teachers has been rich and thoughtful. They’ve spent time in kindergarten classrooms in Holyoke and Boston and have researched many approaches to kinder-garten instruction. Thanks to their leadership, we will move next year to the Focus on K2 curriculum for all kindergarten classrooms in the district. This curriculum shifts our thinking from seeing play as separate from learning, to a critical part of the learning process for young children. This work will shift our practices from being primarily focused on content and teacher directed instruction to child initi-ated, hands-on, integrated experiences; engaging authentic discourse between students and teachers, and planning based on children’s interests and skills. With this new curriculum, kindergarten classrooms in Holyoke are filled with purposeful, engaging and well-structured activities that are fun and designed to develop each unique child. I am excited to support our kindergarten educators as they do the work to adopt this new model for learning in Holyoke.

Special Education Review- We are working with the Education Development Center to conduct a comprehensive review of our spe-cial education programs. We expect the review to provide us with– the identification of systemic best practices, suggestions for improv-ing our programmatic infrastructure and a 3-year strategic plan for continuous improvement. Additionally, we want to be sure that all staff have the resources, tools and the expertise to best serve our students with disabilities. It is our intention to design a system that truly individualizes and personalizes learning for children regardless of their academic profile.

These are just some of the efforts underway to position the Holyoke Public Schools for future success. We appreciate the input that so many of you have provided thus far and are eager to solicit additional feedback as we move to implement these recommendations. We are truly fortunate to work with a community that strongly advocates for children and is committed to making the changes necessary to create an ex-emplary educational experience for the young people of Holyoke.

Dr. Zrike’s letter, continued from page 1.


Connections Page 5

Celebrating Three Kings Day

By Melanie Wise

On the evening of Thursday, January 7th, nearly 300 people attended Kelly School’s Three Kings Day Celebration. Culturally relevant to the largely Puerto Rican Holyoke Community, this cele-bration contained homemade dishes, music, a raffle for gifts, and a brief play performed by teach-ers regarding the origins of this holiday. Students received party favors from Kelly teachers who were disguised as the Three Kings, and they had the opportunity to be photographed with them.

Thank you to the Kelly School parents who prepared the food and desserts, donated beverages and silverware, served the food, distributed raffle tick-ets to attendees, and prepared goody bags for each child to take home. For those students who did not win the raffle, there was a table full of free books.

Some other highlights from this event were the many school surveys completed that evening by parents, the generosity of those who donated food and gifts, and the overall spirit of togetherness. The commitment of families to being an active part of the school climate and culture was nothing short of impressive. When community comes together, it’s a beautiful thing. Thanks to the support from members of the community, this event was a great success. The Kelly School serves as a meeting place for people of all ages, from all walks of life. Simply by attending this celebration, older family mem-bers supported the idea of active participation in the local community, setting a wonderful example for students.

Discover Puerto Rico By Amy Burke

Dual Language students at Metcalf School celebrated their second annual Discov-er Puerto Rico event. It was a time to celebrate the heritage of Puerto Rico as the students are immersed daily in Spanish, the native language of the is-land. Students invited their families to a performance of poems and songs from Puerto Rico in both English and Spanish. While dressed in Folkloric Puerto Rican outfits, students danced a choreography organized by their dance teacher to the tune of a popular salsa song. The Coqui Dance Group closed the performance. Then, the event ended with delicious typical Puerto Rican food from El Morro Restaurant in Springfield.


Connections Connections

From left to right: Donahue staff members with smiles include Jennifer Gonzalez (Family Access and Engagement Coordinator), Karyn McDer-mott (Assistant )Principal), and Erica Hernandez (Family Liaison).

Cookies and Hot Cocoa with Santa By Jennifer Gonzales-Morales

This holiday season, Toys For Tots donated toys to the Family Engagement Team at Maurice A. Donahue School. On December 18th, the Family Engagement Team distributed toys to every child that came to our Cookies and Hot Cocoa with Santa event at school. This event was planned by the Dolphin Pride Community Organization. Families and students had a truly great time! They listened to holiday music, ate cookies, drank hot cocoa, and took pictures with Santa. Teachers and staff from Donahue School volunteered to help make this event a memorable day for the Do-nahue Families.

Computer Teacher Mr. Kinne volunteered to dress as Santa.

Donahue School news continued on page 7.

From left to right: Donahue staff members with smiles in-clude Jennifer Gonzalez (Family Access and Engagement Coordinator), Karyn McDermott (Assistant Principal), and Erica Hernandez (Family Liaison).

By Iwona Langlois

The fourth grade classes at Maurice A. Donahue School are helping our community by having a school-wide fundraiser called Pennies for Pets. The students are collecting change from December 2015 through April 2016 at our school. These funds will be donated to local animal shelters to rescue animals from being euthanized, and assist the shelters with their expenses.

Students are very excited about this project. Kalena, a fourth grade student, said, “ I have been wanting to do a collection like this, because I love animals! Everyone is pretty excited, because who doesn’t love animals …even lizards?”

As of January 20th, the students had collected $321.00. Maegan, another student, is really happy with how much we have collected. “ I don’t like that animals are being euthanized. All animals should have a home and maybe through our collection we can get them one. We found out that in our two fourth grade classes we have 43 dogs, 26 cats, 6 turtles, 12 fish, 1 Chinchilla mouse, 2 Bearded Dragons, 10 birds, and 1 guinea pig. See how much we love pets!”

The collection will be donated in April, because it is National Pet Month. The two shelters that we have chosen to support are Dakin Humane Society and the ASPCA, both in Springfield, MA. Anyone willing to donate, please contact Mrs. Langlois or Mrs. Rodriguez at Donahue School.

PENNIESFORPETS


Introducing the Morganettes By Melvina Holmes

This is my second year here at Morgan and it truly has been a rewarding year. I’m learning and growing so much and am very appreciative of the experiences I’ve had so far. One of those lasting memories would be our first talent show. It was such a success, and as a result, students came to me asking for another shot at the arts. They wanted to sing, dance, act and be a part of something great. Their persistence and motivation birthed a movement; the Morganettes! Many of our students are passionate about music. The rhythm, lyrics, and the mood it evokes have a strong influence over them. Music can express many facets of life and is relatable to our children and their lives. This is why the school chorus is the key element in the overall performing arts experience.

We started off as a small group of sixth and seventh grade students who just wanted to sing. The students rehearsed more than twelve songs for two hours every Monday, practicing their pitch, tone, and perfecting their crafts. Our first winter concert was held on December 22nd at Morgan where the students did a phenomenal job! For some it was their first time, and for others, they were no strangers to the mic! Overall, I was overwhelmed with joy, pride, and great satisfaction. Here we are, a month later, and I still stand speechless every time our students exer-cise their gifts. Even with a slight schedule change where our rehearsals are now every Tuesday, the students’ commitment is unaltered. We’ve now almost doubled in size and are preparing for our upcoming concerts. To the members of the Morganettes, new and old (Jailynn, Santia, Shantel, Keilany, Lakeysha, Taisha, Serenity, Diyanne, Misael, Aisha, Alaisha, Nashira, Nicole, Carlette, Darlynne, Alainys, and Andrea): I thank you for helping me convey my love of song through your talents. I would also like to recognize and convey a great thank you to Mrs. Davis, our special Morganette. Without you all this would never be possible.

Back row, left to right: Misael, Darlynne, Aisha, Nicole, Nashira, Alainys, Carlette, Alaisha, Serenity Front row, left to right: Jailynn, Santia, Shantel, Diyanne, Keilany

Donahue School’s Winter Concert By Ms. Stewart Donahue music students performed winter concerts on December 21st and 22nd under the direction of their music teacher Ms. Stewart. Stu-dents performed for each other on the 21st, and for a standing room only audience of parents on the 22nd! Music celebrating a variety of cul-tures and holidays, such as Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and Three Kings Day, was performed. Thank you to all the families who came out to support their students and the Donahue music program!

Donahue School news continued from page 6.


Connections Connections Peck-Lawrence

Peck Articles, submitted by Cathy Foley

Presents for Points

Lawrence School has a program every year called Presents for Points. This annual program begins after Thanksgiving and ends before Christmas. During those weeks Lawrence stu-dents earn points for their attendance, homework and behavior. Classroom teachers as well as the specials teachers distribute the points.

The day before Christmas vacation, the gym is decorated and filled with over 300 gifts. Each student is allowed to choose one gift and then have it wrapped. The students can give their gift to whomever they choose. The students with the most points come to the gym first. Every 10 minutes a new group of students go to the gym based upon the amount of points accrued. The students love this incentive and we love seeing their facial expressions when they enter the gym! Thank you to Rita Aguilar and Marian McGee who manage this program and all others who assist. We are also grateful to the Lawrence, staff, teachers and commu-nity members who have donated the gifts.

The Eating Healthy Microwave Program was presented by the Food Bank of Western MA on Friday, January 6th. The workshop pro-vided a demonstration of a variety of affordable and healthy meals for a family to cook in a microwave and nutrition resources to try at home.

Congrats Peck Volleyball - #1 for the second year in a row.

On December 23rd Peck faculty and students enjoyed a basket-ball jamboree. All grades, both girls and boys, were able to play basketball in very competitive competitions. Also, the ever popular Faculty vs Student Game took place. Congratula-tions to all participants in a fun filled afternoon.

Winter Festival Peck families and friends enjoyed a special holiday evening on December 18th—a Winter Festival was held in the Peck gym. The night was full of family fun, arts and crafts, activities, hot chocolate, cookies and an opportunity to have family pictures taken. Also many who attended received an early holiday pre-sent. Local agencies and community partners were in attendance to provide information regarding services offered to Peck students and families in order to help improve their learning experience.

Celebrating Puerto Rico Recently, Peck families and friends were invited to an evening of celebrating Puerto Rican heritage. The event commemorated the Encounter of Three Cultures – “The Tainos, Africans and Spaniards”. Guests were treated to a wonderful evening of performances, music and traditional food.

Gear Up for WPI Recently a group of seventh and eighth grade students went on a field trip to Worcester Polytechnic Institute to engage in STEM related activities. Our students were hosted by Engineering Ambassadors and Pre-College Outreach Program college students. This trip was made possible by Car-men Lindsey through the Gear Up Program.

Lawrence Articles submitted by Patty Eagan Lawrence School news continued on page 9.

Two of the top “point getters” with Mrs. McGee, physical education teacher.

Lawrence Campus

Peck Campus


On Wednesday, December 16th parents and students were invited to Lawrence School for a Gingerbread House making activity. It was a huge success with every table in the Lawrence Cafeteria in use. The night began with a viewing of the Gingerbread Man movie. Children were then given the materials with minimal direction on how to make a gingerbread house. They took the challenge and created many different styles with help from their parents. The results were festive and very creative. Students and parents were engaged and had a great time. Second grade teachers Darren Walsh, Sue Leary, and Samantha Pepin along with Yamaris Rivera (Lawrence Full Service Community School Family Engagement Coordina-tor) enjoyed creating this fun night for our families..

Family Fun at Lawrence By Samantha Pepin

Lawrence School news continued from page 8.

Non-Fiction Family Celebration

By Kelly Doktor

On Tuesday, December 22nd, students in Loran Carpenter’s and Kelly Doktor’s second grade classrooms hosted a Non-Fiction Family Celebration at Sullivan Elementary School. As a culminating activity following the completion of the Non-Fiction unit and the Operation Outreach book, Kia’s Manatee, students created dis-plays featuring specific details about manatees.

A large part of the celebration included making a local connection with compassion to animals, so both classes held a supply fundrais-er to donate to Dakin Humane Society in Springfield. Families generously contibuted paper towels, dog and cat food, cat toys, laundry soap and cleaning supplies.

Possibly the most exciting part of the day was when both teachers announced that they had adopted a 19 year old manatee named Doc from Save The Manatee Club The adoption fee helps to maintain the health of the manatee in Florida. Doc was previously cut by boat propellers, the number one cause of manatee deaths. Students have learned so much about manatees and they enjoy coming in to say hello to Doc’s photo with adoption certificate each morning!

Celebrating the Three Kings

By Kristina Kirton

On January 6th, over 150 members of the Sullivan School community gathered to celebrate Three Kings’ Day. The cafeteria was crowded, as parents and students shared in a night of parranda and cultural potluck dishes brought in by each family.

There were musical performances and poems recited by students in grades one through three. Families were also treated to a performance by local musical group San Miguel Arcangel. The music was wonderful and the students enjoyed singing along and dancing.

Parents enjoy the gallery walk, learning about manatees.


Connections Connections Connections Connections

Rulon Anderson Honored with Partners in Excellence Award Congratulations to Rulon (Jamie) Anderson, a science teacher at Holyoke High School, who has been honored by Mass Insight Education with a Partners in Excellence Teacher Award for his work in the Advanced Place-ment Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) Program. He is one of 54 Massachusetts Advanced Place-

ment teachers who are being recognized for exemplary contributions to student success during the academic year 2014-2015.

HHS Library Receives Grant Holyoke High School received a $1,500 grant from bestselling author James Pat-terson to support its school library. In addition, Scholastic Reading Club will match each dollar of Patterson’s donation with “bonus points” that teachers can use to acquire books and other materials for their classrooms. Holyoke High School was selected from 27,924 applications for funding grants.

HHS to Participate in Patriots Anti-Violence Partnership Attorney General Maura Healey recently announced that Holyoke High School was selected to participate in the first phase of her office’s new anti-violence partnership with the New England Patriots. There are 98 schools from six regions across the commonwealth that will be participat-ing in this initiative that is being funded by a $500,000 gift from the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and $150,000 from Healey’s of-fice. Game Change: The Patriots Anti-Violence Partnership will train two adult representatives from each school at six regional trainings across Massachusetts. According to a press release from Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office, “The trainings will be conducted by Mentors in Vio-lence Prevention (MVP), a nationwide leader in addressing violence prevention. Run by the Center for Sport in Society at Northeastern University, MVP uses a sports-themed curriculum and employs collegiate athletes and former professional athletes as trainers. The program will also include online support tools for schools and an evaluation component to determine the effectiveness of the program in changing attitudes and behaviors.”

The Memory Project

HHS senior Joarvi Edwards, a student in Ms. Henshaw’s Portfolio Development classroom, completed a portrait for an orphan in Madagascar this semester as part of the Memory Project, “a nonprofit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create portraits for youth around the world who have faced substantial challenges, such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents, and extreme poverty.” In the fall, Mrs. Henshaw received a photo of the orphan (left) which was used by Joarvi to create the por-trait (right) that will be delivered to the child in Madagascar. The Memory Project will soon send a video of children receiving their portraits. Students are looking forward to viewing the video of this exciting moment. Mrs. Henshaw has participated in the Memory Project for five years and the HHS student photos have always been well received. Congratulations to Joarvi on a job well done!

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SAVE THE DATES: - Shrek the Musical: March 31st, April 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Joarvi Edwards displays the por-trait that she created using the photo (left) sent by the Memory Project. This portrait is also showcased on the cover page of this newsletter.


Athletics continued on page 11.

Outerwear Drive Do you have some extra warm items that you no longer use? Dean is collecting warm outerwear items for students in need, who are underdressed for the weather. Dean welcomes your gently used sweatshirts, sweaters, jackets, coats, and other warm items. Items are being collected in Dean’s main office. Contact Mrs. Carbone for more infor-mation at 413-534-2071.

Grief and Loss Group Dean’s Teen Clinic has opened registration for the “Grief and Loss Group.” The group is open to any Dean Tech student who has suf-fered the loss of a loved one at any point in their lives. Our thinking is that shared experiences help us to connect and find emotional and physical support in a safe and non-judgmental environment. Interested in more information? Contact Charlotte at the Teen Clinic, School Nurse Wax or Mrs. Carbone, Wellness Coordinator at Dean.

Congratulations to the Dean students who were accepted to American International College and awarded Presidential ($16,000 a year for all four years) or Dean ($14,000 a year for all four years) scholarships:. (Above, left-to-right) students with accompanying scholarship and shop information include:

Genesis Arvelo, (Presidential), Health Services Shop

Danishka Rivera Perez, (Presidential), Health Services Shop

Robert Fonseca, (Presidential), Programming and Web Design/Networking

Shaline Serrano, (Dean), Culinary Arts Shop

Wendelyn Hidalgo, (Presidential), Cosmetology Shop

Stephanie Hidalgo, (Presidential), Cosmetology Shop

Destination Graduation By Cynthia Carbone Dean Technical High School is thrilled to once again welcome UMass Nursing students, along with their Clinical Director, Dr. Nancy Gilbert, RN, PhD, to Dean Tech, for their Senior Clinical Practicum through April. Placement at Dean Tech provides the nursing students the op-portunity to analyze and examine the role of the professional nurse in community based practice and to apply the nursing process in commu-nity based care. Primary health concerns of the community and the role of the nurse and community for health promotion, health mainte-nance, and disease prevention are important parts of their work with us. At Dean, we recognize that high school graduation is a social de-terminant of health and a leading health indicator. Additionally, we know that Healthy People 2020 targets high school graduation as a goal for promoting health. With this in mind, nursing students are partnering with administrators, staff, teachers, students, and the Teen Clinic, to assess aspects of high school graduation, develop a community health diagnosis, and work with Wellness Coordinator, Cynthia Car-bone, RN, MSN, MEd, to plan a community wide health and resource fair. Mark your calendars for April 7th, during Public Health Week, and save the date, so you can join Dean for their third annual school and community health resource fair, "Destination Graduation. "

(Above, left to right) Edeni (Health Services Shop) who was ac-cepted to the Elms College and offered a merit scholarship of $17,000 renewable every year and Raneisha (Carpentry Shop) who was accepted to Becker college and offered a merit scholarship of $10,000 renewable every year. Congratulations to these Dean students who will be the first in their families to go to college.

Tiny House Project By Mr. Arroyo Dean’s electrical department was recently invited by the Transition Coordinator (Norm LeBlanc of Dean Tech) to participate in a Tiny House project being built by students who are seeking their GED through the YWCA of Western Massachusetts. Funding for this project comes from a September 11th Remembrance Grant through the Corporation for National Service.

This program was put in place to assist homeless or disabled veterans. Tiny houses are becoming a popular option for singles and couples due to their affordability and ease of transport. They are typi-cally 100-400 square feet in size and consist of one bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom.

Upon receiving the invitation to participate in the wiring of the Tiny House, I (Mr. Arroyo an instructor of the electrical shop) immediately coordinated transportation with Mr. Leblanc and sched-uled a day to meet Chuck Dustin (Lead Construction Trainer from YWCA) to make the necessary wiring plans. Once all the arrange-ments were made, the house was roughed wired in under a week with the help of the following students: Victor C., Francisco M., Daraymond L., Nick S., Travis A., Anthony S., Alex B., David C., Lextor S., Luis A., and Manuel C.

Everyone in electrical shop, students and staff, are very appreciative of the opportunity to work on this project and of the coordinating efforts of Norm LeBlanc who continues to help students from an urban setting to be exposed to not only a job but a career pathway.

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS



Visit our Athletic Department webpage http://www.hps.holyoke.ma.us/athletics.htm For Program Information, contact: The Athletic Office, (413) 493-1683 [email protected]

WINTER HIGH SCHOOL Athletics by Melanie Martin All Winter Athletic Teams at DTHS and HHS are working hard to be successful! Here are some season highlights as of January 21st.

Congratulations to the following athletes on their athletic achievements: HHS Senior Evan Sullivan achieved his 100 Career Point in Ice Hockey.

Dean Tech Senior Wrestler, Jose Berrios joined the 100 Win Club.

HHS Junior Skier, Andy Meir is in 8th Place in the South Division and 24th Overall in the PVIAC Ski League.

HHS Junior Basketball player, Callie Cavanaugh has scored her 1,000 Career Point (below, right).

Carlos Torres (left) and Angel Medina, two Holyoke freshmen indoor track athletes competed in the 600 meters at the State Freshmen / Sophomore Meet in Boston on January 2nd.

Athletics Videos

For videos produced by the HPS Media Center, visit http://www.hps.holyoke.ma.us/channel12.htm


Una Carta Abierta a la Comunidad de la Escuela Holyoke

Un Año Nuevo Emocionante

¡Feliz año nuevo! 2016 está a punto de ser un año emocionante para las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke ya que nuestras iniciati-vas del plan de reestructuración verdaderamente comienzan a transformar la experiencia de aprendizaje de los estudiantes en todas nuestras escuelas. Hay una tremenda energía en toda nuestra comunidad escolar ya que tenemos equipos de personal dedicado, miembros de la comunidad y los socios externos trabajando en aspectos críticos de nuestro trabajo de reestructuración. Específicamente,

Equipos de Jornada Escolar de Día Completo – Los Equipos en cada una de nuestras escuelas primarias están replanteando día escolar y año escolar para el próximo año. Ellos están planeando utilizar estratégicamente un día más para proporcionar a los estudiantes las oportunida-des educativas más enriquecedoras y personal con tiempo suficiente para planificar/colaborar, para individualizar el aprendizaje del estudiante y diseñar lecciones dinámicas. Se le pedirá a los padres, estudiantes y la comunidad a desempeñar un papel integral en la formación del nuevo día para los estudiantes. Les damos las gracias de antemano por compartir su voz.

Rediseño Secundario del Equipo - Este grupo de maestros, miembros de la comunidad, funcionarios de educación superior y líderes de desarrollo laboral se han estado reuniendo desde octubre para elaborar una serie de recomendaciones para la experiencia secundaria en Hol-yoke. Han visitado las escuelas de todo el estado, grupos de enfoque facilitado con los estudiantes, estudiaron las mejores prácticas en el diseño de escuela secundaria y han revisado varios puntos de datos. Ha sido su intención de examinar la forma de establecer las vías que individualizan la experiencia de aprendizaje para los estudiantes, ya que pasan de la escuela secundaria a través de la escuela secundaria y en última instancia a

la universidad y / o carrera. Estoy seguro de que su guía resultará en mejores resultados para los estudiantes durante su carrera en la escuela y asegurar que los estudiantes salen de nues-tras escuelas con la preparación para prosperar más allá de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke. Esperamos poder compartir estas recomendaciones con nuestro personal y familias para la introducción en el mes de febrero.

Revisión de la Oficina Central - Hemos contratado a consultores financieros, edu-cativos y operativos experimentados para ofrecer un plan de manera más estratégica utili-zando nuestros recursos limitados para maximizar el impacto en los salones de clase. Esta-mos comprometidos con una administración central magra y ágil que está al servicio de las necesidades diferenciadas de nuestras escuelas. Dependiendo de los resultados académicos y no académicos de la escuela, queremos proporcionar apoyos continuos que agrega valor a sus esfuerzos de mejora. Confío en que las recomendaciones de esta revisión resultará en una estructura que realza la enseñanza y el aprendizaje a lo largo de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke.

Planificación del Equipo de Kínder – El trabajo de este grupo para explorar opciones para nuestros estudiantes más jóvenes y sus maestros ha sido rica y reflexiva. Han pasado tiempo en los salones de kínder en Holyoke y Boston y han investigado muchos enfoques para la enseñanza de kínder. Gracias a su liderazgo, nos moveremos el próximo año para el Enfoque en el currículo K2 para todos los salones de clase de kínder en el distrito. Este currículo cambia nuestra forma de pensar de ver el juego como algo separado de aprendizaje, de una parte fundamental del proceso de aprendizaje para los niños pequeños. Este trabajo desplazará nuestras prácticas de ser principalmente enfocados en el contenido y la instrucción dirigida por el maestro al niño, con manualidades, experiencias integradas; participando en discurso auténtico entre estudiantes y maestros, y

Por Dr. Stephen Zrike, Receptor de las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke

Visite www.Facebook.com/HolyokePublicSchools y dale “me gusta” para recibir noticias, videos y fotos actualizadas del distrito.


Volume 14 Issue 2

Invierno 2016


La carta del Dr. Zrike a la comunidad continuación en la página 14.

Estos son los puntos mas sobresalientes del Boletin

Artista Jordan Dudas, McMahon

Artista Joarvi Edwards, HHS

Artista: Jordan Dudas



Lenguaje Dual Grado Uno en las Escuelas La inscripción para el Año Escolar 2016-2017 comenzará el lunes, 22 de febrero

Vamos a inscribir a los estudiantes para las siguientes clases – Día Completo de Lenguaje Dual Pre-K, Kindergarten y Grado 2.

Este innovador programa en la Escuela Metcalf ofrece: oportunidades de adquisición de lenguaje en Inglés y Espa-ñol; plan de estudios basado en la investigación que está alineado con los puntos de referencia del distrito y el marco curricular del estado. Visite: http:/www.hps.holyoke.ma.us/duallanguageprogram.htm para el acceso a las aplicaciones e información del programa. Presentar solicitud completa a la atención de Amy Burke, Principal a 2019 Northampton Street, Holyoke, MA. Llame al 413-534-2104 para más información.

La carta del Dr. Zrike continuación de la página 13. la planificación basada en los intereses y habilidades de los niños. Con este nuevo plan de estudios, los salones de kínder en Holyoke están lle-nos de propósitos, con la participación de los niños en actividades que son divertidas, diseñadas y bien estructuradas. Estoy muy contento de apoyar a nuestros educadores de kínder cuando hacen el trabajo a adoptar este nuevo modelo de aprendizaje en Holyoke.

Revisión de Educación Especial - Estamos trabajando con el Centro de Desarrollo de la Educación para llevar a cabo una revisión integral de nuestros programas de educación especial. Esperamos que la opinión que nos proporcione con- la identificación de las mejores prácticas sistémicas, sugerencias para mejorar nuestra infraestructura programática y un plan estratégico de 3 años para la mejora continua. Además, queremos estar seguros de que todo el personal tenga los recursos, las herramientas y la experiencia necesaria para servir mejor a nuestros estudiantes con discapacidades. Es nuestra intención de diseñar un sistema que verdaderamente individualiza y personaliza el aprendizaje de los niños, independientemente de su perfil académico.

Estos son sólo algunos de los esfuerzos en marcha para posicionar las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke para el éxito en el futuro. Apreciamos la entrada que muchos de ustedes han proporcionado hasta ahora y estamos deseosos de solicitar comentarios adicionales a medida que avanza-mos para aplicar estas recomendaciones. Somos realmente afortunados de trabajar con una comunidad que aboga fuertemente por los niños y que se ha comprometido a hacer los cambios necesarios para crear una experiencia educativa ejemplar para los jóvenes de Holyoke.

Las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke se complace en asociarse con Springfield Empowerment Zone para lanzar TeachWesternMass, una nueva asociación en busca de maestros que demuestran la determinación, la

colaboración y la pasión para asegurarse de que todos sus estudiantes sobresalen en el salón de clases.

Todavía hay oportunidades de empleo con las Escuelas Públicas de Holyoke. Visite nuestro sitio web del distrito y aplique hoy!

ACTUALIZACIONDERECLUTAMIENTO


Escuela Sullivan—Celebrando el Día de los Tres Reyes Por Kristina Kirton

El 6 de enero, más de 150 miembros de la comunidad de la Escuela Sullivan celebraron el Día de Reyes. La cafetería estaba llena, ya que los padres y los estudiantes compartieron una noche de pa-rranda y platos culturales traídos por cada familia. Actuaciones musicales y poemas fueron recitados por los estudiantes en los grados de primero a tercero. Las familias también pudieron disfrutar de la actuación de la agrupación musical local de San Miguel Arcángel. La música fue maravilloso y los estu-diantes disfrutaron cantando y bailando

Los Reyes Magos estuvieron presentes durante toda la noche. Tres estudiantes valientes de octavo grado se ofrecieron para representar a los Tres Reyes. Ellos tomaron fotos con los estudiantes y las familias y repartieron dulces. Todos se fueron con una sonrisa en sus caras y el amor en sus corazo-nes. Fue una noche maravillosa.

Escuela Metcalf —Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico Por Amy Burke

Estudiantes de Lenguaje Dual en la Escuela Metcalf celebraron su segundo evento anual del Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico. Fue un tiempo para celebrar la herencia de Puerto Rico ya que los estudiantes están inmersos diariamente en español, el idioma nativo de la isla. Los estudiantes invita-ron a sus familias a una actuación de poemas y canciones de Puerto Rico, tanto en Inglés y Español, mientras que vestidos con trajes Folklóricos puertorriqueños y bailaron una coreografía organizada por su maestra de baile al ritmo de una canción de salsa popular. El Grupo de Danza Coqui cerró la actuación. Entonces, el acto finalizó con una comida deliciosa puertorriqueña típica del Restaurante El Morro en Springfield.

Rulon Anderson Homenajeado con el Premio de Compañeros de Excelencia Por Judy Taylor

Felicitaciones a Rulon (Jamie) Anderson, un maestro de ciencias en la Escuela Secundaria Holyoke High, que ha sido homenajeado por Mass Insight Education con un Premio a la Excelencia de Maestro Compañero por su trabajo de Colocación Avanzada en el Programa Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería y Matemáticas. Él es uno de los 54 maestros de Colocación Avanzada de Massachusetts que están siendo reconocidos por sus contribu-ciones ejemplares al éxito de los estudiantes durante el año académico 2014 hasta 2015.

Escuela Holyoke para Participar en la Asociación de Antiviolencia Patriots Por Judy Taylor

La Abogada General Maura Healey anunció recientemente que la Escuela Holyoke High fue seleccionada para participar en la primera fase de la nueva asociación contra la violencia de su oficina con los New England Patriots. Hay 98 escuelas de seis regiones de Commonwealth que participa-rán en esta iniciativa que está siendo financiada por una donación de $ 500,000 de la Fundación Caritativa de New England Patriots y $ 150,000 de la oficina de Healey. Cambio del juego: La Asociación de Anti-Violencia Patriots entrenará dos representantes adultos de cada escuela a los seis cursos de capacitación regionales en Massachusetts. De acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa de la Oficina de la Fiscal General Maura Healey, "Los entrenamientos se llevarán a cabo por los mentores de Prevención de la Violencia (MVP), un líder a nivel nacional en el tratamiento de pre-vención de la violencia. Dirigido por el Centro para el Deporte en la Sociedad de la Universidad de Northeastern, MVP utiliza un plan de estudios de temática deportiva y emplea a atletas universitarios y ex atletas profesionales como instructores. El programa también incluirá herramientas de apoyo en línea para escuelas y un componente de evaluación para determinar la eficacia del programa en el cambio de actitudes y comportamien-tos".


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