Happenings At Hale

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a while since the blog has been updated. Not because there have been a lack of activity. I will try to be more efficient as time moves on.

It is hard to believe we are officially at the Thanksgiving break, with school closed for five days. As always the time has moved fast.

Today we had the annual football game here at Hale. The 8th grade girls prevailed over the 7th grade in an exciting game. In the boys game there was a bit of an upset as the Shannon Sarno led 7th grade boys scored a narrow victory of the Kevin Keaveney led 8th grade boys. Kevin is taking comfort in the fact next year's 8th grade team is already a well oiled machine! It was a fun day and thanks to the student council for their organization and to all Hale staff for their assistance.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday and I will look forward to seeing everyone after the well deserved break.

Costume Day

2010-10-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

It was a school spirit day at Hale, and it was well displayed all morning. There were some very creative costumes that were displayed. I admire both the courage and the creativity many of our students exhibited. Some of our staff members were also very impressive participants. It was a fun monring for all!

Cross Country Excels!

2010-10-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday afternoon I had the opportunity to attend the Hale School Cross Country meet. It was a beautiful late October day and the meet was held at our new course at the Delaney conservation area.

We have an amazing number of students who have run on both our boys and girls cross country team this year. They have been very successful this year and it was quickly obvious why. It was very impressive to see how many student athletes can run 1.8 miles in a very short period of time and look like they took a brief casual stroll through the neighborhood. I was very impressed with the athletic ability and spirit among the team. So many kids mentioned to me they could easily run the course again.

I often say that I love the way the school community comes alive through athletics and extra-curricular activities. It was certainly that was Tuesday as I was amazed by the large number of spectators who were able to view this meet. It really added to the spirit of the day!

The Many Uses of Data

2010-10-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

I would like to use the blog from time to time to explain some of the educational initiatives we are undertaking here at Hale.

One of the terms we often hear in society is “data driven decision making”. Education is certainly a field where this has become a keystone and it something we are dedicated to in the Nashoba Regional School District as a whole. We believe ii we have good data informing our instructional decisions we are able to be more precise in helping students through their journey to learn.

Recently we released MCAS scores for all our students and this represents a key piece of data we utilize to inform instruction. MCAS data is a broad indicator; it shows us where we stand from year to year. Our teachers at Hale do a magnificent job studying this data, not only to allow us to individualize learning for specific students, but also they reflect upon it to determine changes in the overall instructional approach. Teachers in each grade and MCAS subject area develop an action plan each year that identifies areas of the MCAS where we underperform and they develop specific strategies around instruction in those areas.

We also develop and use data that gives us insight into what is happening in the present. For the first time this year we are using a new program called AIMSweb. This program utilizes “probes” in Math and ELA to get a baseline on a student’s progress. All students in the entire school were tested over the last couple of weeks. We will test students two more times over the school year to evaluate progress. In addition there are additional “probes” that can be used more often than three times a year with specific students. We can progress monitor students every couple of weeks. This approach immediately informs us if instructional techniques are working. The software provides a myriad of reports that assist staff in progress monitoring at different levels such as individual students, class, grade and entire school.

The AIMSweb program was piloted by the District the last two years in Lancaster, and has been shown to be a very effective tool in monitoring the effectiveness of instruction. One of the nice things about this program is the probes are informative, yet they are efficiently administered. We do not need to sacrifice a lot of class time to be informed! We are excited to be able add this data set to the resources available to help students be successful at their job of learning. I will keep you informed as to the success of this program.

Student Council Elections!

2010-10-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

My blogging is not as regular as it should be, I apologize. I hope to improve my frequency and also get some pictures up on the blog of some of the action here at Hale.

Last week we finished our student council election process. It is a very thorough process that had widespread participation this year with four candidates for president, six for vice president, three for treasurer and two for secretary. All very well qualified. Last Tuesday they spoke to the entire school assembly as part of a candidates forum. They even took questions. The speeches were very varied in terms of approach and content, but truly all well done.

Last Thursday was election day and the rule was any race that the winner did not obtain a majority of votes would result in a two person run-off. The vice presidential contest required such a run off on Friday. At the end of the day Friday the executive board was in place. The members are:

P.J. Anastas President

Sarah Clopeck Vice President

Lyndsey Hawkes Treasurer

Brooke Perisho Secretary

Congratulations go to the executive board and all the other candidates. The level of participation was great.

Thanks to Mr. Keaveney for making it an enjoyable, informative and educational process for all involved!

2010-09-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

Well it was an extremely busy week at Hale, with the open house last Thursday night and the first dance of the last Friday night. Dances are great events as the kids have a lot of fun and it is great to see them at the school relaxing and enjoying themselves. One goal I have as prinicipal is to perfect, or at least vastly improve, the after dance pick up routine!

I was very pleased with how many people were able to attend the open house last week. I received a lot of positive feedback from the staff as to the number of people they were able to talk to. I hope it was obvious to everyone attending what a vibrant school this is, a great staff and kids who are eager to be an active participant in their education. I really enjoy being able to be part of it.

Last Friday was an early release day for the students, but the staff was busy at work beginning to analyze the MCAS scores. We have a multi step process when we do this. First we look at the overall results and analyze which standards the largest number of students struggled with. We then reflect upon the curriculum and instruction to see what actions can be taken to help students become proficient in the standards in which we underachieved. When that work is done we turn to individual student scores and analyze them in depth and develop an individualized improvement plan for any student in the needs improvement or warning levels. There is a great deal of work that goes into this process from beginning to end.

I know some people have MCAS fatigue, as it has been often mentioned to me. Although I understand that sentiment, the reality is MCAS is the standard to which we are presently held to as public educators. What I think is great about the approach in this District is that although our curriculum is aligned with the state standards and therefore should produce positive MCAS results, we do not just teach to the test. We work hard to assure a full, well rounded learning experience that should be reflected in our students experiencing true learning, while being prepared to meet the MCAS requirements.

A Big Week Ahead at Hale

2010-09-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

The fourth week of school at Hale is going to be a busy one.

On Thursday evening our annual back to school night open house will be taking place. The program begins at 6:30 pm. with a presentation in the auditorium, and is followed with full run through the schedule of classes. This is an informative night that hopefully as many people as possible will be able to attend.

Friday evening is going to be the first dance of the school year for all grades. The dance is held in the gym from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The cost is $5.00 and it is sponsored by the student council. It is important to note that attendance at the dance is limited to current Hale students.

MCAS results are being mailed today and should be received later this week. Overall the performance at Hale was very good. The new reporting format is informative and I am hopeful you will have a clear idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your child’s answers. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Please continue to suggest any blogging topics of interest to you.

Voting Day at Hale

2010-09-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

One think I really like about blogging is I have the space and opportunity to write about many different things. One of the problems I have is that I often get writer’s block as to what people may be interested in reading about. So if there is a subject you would like me to possibly write about, be it a trivial matter, a general question, a desire for a look “behind the scenes” or whatever else please send me an email.

The answer to our trivia question from last week is two of our new staff members. Kelly Devlin, our school guidance counselor, and Jamie Tucker our P.E. teacher, are both graduates of Nashoba Regional High School. I must admit this was a coincidence I was unaware of myself until last week. I thought it was an interesting fact about two people new to Hale.

Yesterday morning we had our first monthly meeting of the Hale Parent Support Group for this year. The PSG is a great group of dedicated people who raise money for important school functions and perform tremendously in support roles. The publication of the monthly newsletter is a major undertaking for them. The first edition will be out next week. Please use this great resource. Their major fundraising project, which is a magazine drive, will be undertaken later this fall. I appreciate all the work these people do for Hale under the leadership of Karen Wall. I know they are always looking for more volunteers to assure the organization stays strong.

Today being the state primary voting day, Hale School has been open to the community hosting the Town of Stow’s only polling place. We generally have been able to accommodate students and voters alike with minimal adjustments on past election days. Today was no exception. I suspect the turnout has been light as it seemed like a very quiet day voting.

Again please feel free to send any ideas for blog topics!

Friday Afternoon!

2010-09-10T10:37:00.001-07:00

Another week of school coming to a close here at Hale and it has been a busy one, as I guess it always is.

The heat has finally left the building which is a refreshing change. I love heat and the summer as much as anyone and this has been a great summer. However, it is not a great combination in a school with a couple of stories and no air conditioning. It was a great job by staff and students alike to tolerate the heat last week and get school underway. I hope the weather remains mild but not hot.

In addition to my blog I am also using twitter, more for fun and occasional comments. You can find me at @haleprincipal on Twitter. The other day I put out a trivia question, that I have yet to answer so I will add it here. So this weeks trivia…what two Hale faculty members are a graduate of Nashoba Regional High School? Sometimes trivia can be a fun way to learn interesting facts about the Hale community so I will offer more in the future if you can’t get this one.

Our back to school night is only two weeks away, Thursday, September 23rd. Be sure to mark it on the calendar as I look forward to meeting as many people as possible that night.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Forum to Discuss Bullying

2010-09-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

When the legislature passed the new anti-bullying law last spring it put the spotlight clearly on the issue. My experience at Hale has been that this is not a pervasive problem, though there are some challenges from time to time. I think overall as time has passed since last spring perhaps the issue is in better perspective overall.

Although it is a long way off right now, I have arranged for Elizabeth Englander to present a parent forum on bullying prevention on February 10th at 6:30. We are very lucky to get her at Hale as she is one of the most renowned speakers on this matter in Massachusetts. Not only will she be conducting the parent forum she will also be doing a staff training session that same day. If you have your 2011 calendar already I urge you to reserve this date, as I guarantee it will be a dynamic and worthwhile event.

If you are aware of any bullying situations, in any form, it is important to let us know here at the school. We want all students to feel safe and secure at all times and we will work hard to make that happen.

The First Day is in the Books

2010-08-31T13:01:00.001-07:00

It was great to see all our students back at Hale for the 2010-2011 school year. I think for a first day it went very well. The busses seemed to be on time at school for the most part, lunch went well, all the logistical things you hope for. The teaching staff here at Hale is of course second to none, so one we get beyond logistics the instruction we know will be great.

The one challenge we face this week is the heat. Hale does not have air conditioning in the classroom area and they can get warm, especially on the second floor. We are doing the best we can to mitigate things and will continue to do so for the rest of the week as there is much work to be accomplished. The long range forecast for next week looks like we will have temperatures that are a bit more conducive to a learning environment.

The bottom line is we are off to a great start!

Welcome to The New Blog

2010-08-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

I really do believe communication, two way communication, is essential to any organization, especially a large one like Hale.

I know during the last year feedback, thoughts and suggestions made by staff, students and parents alike made a big difference to me. I incorporated many ideas that did not originate with me into successful events here at Hale. I hope this blog is a way to keep you informed, and ultimately me informed so we can continue to benefit from each other's input.

I know I am looking forward to tomorrow, seeing our students for the first time in 2 months! I had a great summer personally and hope everyone else did. The weather was fantastic, kind of a make up summer for last year's less than ideal weather. I spent a lot of time on the golf course, and for one of the first times ever I think I went a season without getting rained on. I wish it was going to be a little cooler for the opening week but we will make the best of it and will soon be longing for warmer weather.