Monday, June 22, 2015

Special Election Tuesday

Just a reminder that the polls will be open tomorrow at the JFK, Luce & Rodman Buildings from 7 AM - 8 PM.  The town is voting on a two story, 8-Room Hansen Elementary Addition that is part of a $4.1 million debt exclusion override.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

JFK Interim Principal Named

Good morning.  I am pleased to announce that Ms. Christine McMahon will take on the role of Interim Principal at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School for the school year 2015-16.  Ms. McMahon has been a team chair/administrator in our district since 2012, first at the Hansen and then at the JFK.  Prior to that time, she was a Vice Principal at the Matthew Kuss Middle School in Fall River and Special Education Team Facilitator at the Resiliency Prep High School in Fall River. 

Ms. McMahon, who is certified as a Principal/Assistant Principal, has a CAGS in Administration from the American International College in Springfield, MA, along with a Masters in Special Education from Bridgewater State University. 

Ms. McMahon has worked closely with Sarah Collmer and Jayne Moore on the administrative team at the JFK for the past two years.  She is familiar with the JFK community and is a strong administrator in our district.  The appointment of Ms. McMahon will allow a smooth transition for the school and district during the 2015-16 school year, and we are excited to see her take on this very important role.
Sincerely,

Jeffrey W. Granatino
Superintendent

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Wednesday, June 17th Early Release

Please remember that tomorrow, June 17th, will be an early release for Professional Development.

Thank you.

Special Election on Hansen Addition Takes Place on Tuesday, June 23

This is a reminder to all Canton voters that last month's Annual Town Meeting voted to place the proposed 8-room addition at the Hansen Elementary School on the ballot for a debt exclusion override vote.  The election will take place on Tuesday, June 23rd.  The projected cost for the project is $4.1 million.

Here's a breakdown of the projected costs for the project:

Hansen Elementary
School Construction Cost Estimate 1/13/2015    

Architect/Engineering                                                     $250,000    
Construction costs                                                           $3,599,900    
Soft Costs                                                                        $94,000    
Furn. Fixtures and Equipment                                         $58,000    
Remove/Disposal Existing Modulars                              $70,000    
Contingency                                                                     $275,000    
Total Project Costs                                                           $4,346,900    
Less Architect/.Engineering (Prev. Funded)                   -$250,000    

Funding Request                                                               $4,096,900
                                                                     
                                                                 Rounded to      $4,100,000

Friday, June 12, 2015

Start Time Change for 2015-2016

Good afternoon. I wanted to inform you that last night, the School Committee voted unanimously to appropriate funding for the leasing of six additional school buses.  By doing so, the district will now move to three tiers of transportation instead of the four tiers we currently utilize.  This allows the district to move to a later start time at the secondary level and will combine the CHS and GMS on the same tier.

Starting on September 1, 2015, the district will operate with the following start times.

Tier 1-             7:50- 2:10- GMS
                        8:00- 2:24- CHS

Tier 2-             8:35-2:50
                        JFK Elementary
                        Hansen Elementary

Tier 3-             9:05-3:20                    
                        Luce Elementary (St. John’s students ride on this tier as well)
                       
In addition, the School Committee had previously voted to start rotating the elementary tiers starting in the 2016-17 school year.  That plan is still in place and will not be impacted by the change in start times.

While this will be a new schedule and one that may take some time to adjust to, it was made with the best interest of our students in mind.  This topic has been studied over the last few years by the School Committee, administrators, teachers, parents and students.  We join many districts in the region, including Duxbury, Hingham, Sharon, Needham and Bedford, who have recently made this change, based primarily on the wealth of information that highlights the need for a later start time for our older students. 

As many of you know, the School Committee had identified class size and start time at the secondary level as two of their biggest priorities in the FY16 budget process.  Through the financial support of the community, we were able to add staffing across the district to begin addressing those class size concerns and, with last night’s vote; we were also able to address the issue of start time change at the high school.


Thank you.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Envision The Future Program

This summer, 3 Galvin Middle School sixth grade girls will participate in the Envision the Future Program, a program for “futurist girls” ages 10 – 14 years of age.  This five-day science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) residential summer program will be held at Bridgewater State University from Monday, July 20 to Friday, July 24, 2015. Envision the Future is a program of the SE MA STEM Network and will model practices that foster interest in STEM fields, provide opportunities for girls to explore career options with STEM professionals, meet role models in STEM fields, and connect with girls with similar interests and aspirations.
This year GMS sixth and seventh grade girls were asked to write an essay as to why they felt it would be appropriate to attend such a program and how they would bring back the information they learned to their classmates.  Ten of our science and technology teachers read through 250 word essays.  Three scholarships were offered for the 5-day program with one scholarship provided by the Children’s Dental Health Center in Stoughton and two from the Canton Public Schools.  Ten of our science and technology teachers read through 250 word essays.  The winners of the essay contest and those who will attending this year’s program include Genevieve Cordiero, Kaitlin McKenna and Abbey Nee.

Pay & Ride Bus Applications

While pay and ride bus applications were due in by Friday, May 29th,  applications turned in after that date will be subject to a $50 late fee.

Again, applications received after June 26th will be processed and if seats are available, transportation will be provided on a first come, first serve basis, beginning on or about October 1.

School Committee Meeting- Thursday, June 11th

A reminder that the Canton School Committee will have their last regularly scheduled meeting of the school year on Thursday, June 11th.  The Committee will be in Executive Session at 6:30 PM with the public meeting commencing at 7:00 PM.  Here's a link to the agenda.

Monday, June 8, 2015

CPACSS Meeting Wednesday Night

Just a reminder that the next CPACSS meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 10th from 7-9 PM at the CHS Library.

This will be a Parent Networking Night/ business meeting.  We hope you can attend and share what you would like to see for workshops next year and any concerns or suggestions you may have for us to talk about.

Hope to see you there.

Where They Are Going

Congratulations to the Class of 2015.  They were a special group of young men and women and they were honored in a tremendous graduation ceremony this past Friday night.  Below is a list of where these graduates are heading next year.

Good luck to you all.   You will be missed:

Amherst College
Assumption College
Auburn University
Bentley University
Boston College (2)
Boston University (3)
Brandeis University
Bridgewater State University (3)
Bryant University (3)
Bunker Hill Community College (3)
Cape Cod Community College
Carnegie Mellon University
Champlain College (2)
Coastal Carolina University (6)
College of Charleston
College of the Holy Cross
Curry College (5)
Dean College (3)
Emerson College
Fairfield University (4)
Fisher College
Fitchburg State University
Framingham State
Hofstra University
Indiana University at Bloomington
Johnson & Wales University (Providence)
Keiser University-West Palm Beach
Massachusetts Bay Community College
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Massasoit (15)
MCPHS - Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences (2)
Merrimack College (4)
Michigan State University (2)
Neumont University
New York University
Nichols College (2)
Northeastern University (4)
Paramedic School (2)
Plymouth State University (2)
Pratt Institute
Princeton University
Providence College (4)
Purdue University
Quincy College
Quinnipiac University (3)
Radford University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (3)
Rochester Institute of Technology
Roger Williams University
Sacred Heart University
Salve Regina University (2)
Springfield College
St. John's University - Queens Campus
Stonehill College (4)
Suffolk University (3)
Syracuse University (3)
Technical College of the Low Country
The University of Alabama
The University of Tampa (3)
Tufts University
Universal Technical Institute
University of Bridgeport
University of Central Florida
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Connecticut (2)
University of Delaware (2)
University of Denver
University of Hartford
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Maine (3)
University of Maryland, College Park (2)
University of Massachusetts Boston (2)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst (11)
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth (4)
University of Massachusetts, Lowell (7)
University of Miami
University of New Hampshire (9)
University of New Haven (2)
University of Rhode Island (2)
University of South Carolina (5)
University of Tampa
US Air Force
US Marine Corps (2)
Western New England University
Westfield State University (6)
Yale University

*The number in parentheses reflects how many students will be attending that institution.


Thursday, June 4, 2015

CHS Tennis Court Project Set to Begin Next Week

We are excited to see the CHS Tennis Court project begin next week.  The contractors are now shooting to begin midweek due to some delays in other projects this week due to weather.  The current courts will be offline throughout the summer, with a target date for completion set for Labor Day.

While the courts will be the focus of the work, the Lipton Playground, adjacent to the courts, will also be offline during the duration of the project.  We have put up temporary fencing on the other side of the high school to provide a play space for our preschool and for Cole Harrington.

As you may remember, the School Department has sought to take on this project for many years.  The funding was tough to come by and it was not until the Community Preservation Commission came into being here in Canton that we were able to move forward.  Through district capital funds, money from the CPC and financial support from the Board of Selectmen, we were finally able to move forward with this project.

We are very excited to see this project begin and we know it will be a huge resource not only for the schools, but for the entire town.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

2nd District Math Workshop a Huge Success!!

On Wednesday, May 27th, our elementary math specialists, Maryanna Biedermann, Susan Brass and Kerri Falzone, presented the second of three workshops for parents of Kindergarten, grades one and two students.  This workshop was an even even bigger success than the first.  In total, we have had approximately 85 parents attend the two workshops which have focused on "hands on" activities for assisting parents in working with their children on math homework and in increasing understanding of the math curriculum.

Comments about the workshop from parents in attendance included:

"I love that the district puts on these parent-learning nights to help get us up to speed.  That is priceless and we really appreciate all your effort."

"I now know that my child is going to have exposure to a program that will increase his number sense and increase his flexibility."

"The math teachers gave me a better understanding of what to expect for my first grader."

"I now know how to use cubes to make "tens" and "ones" to help the kids visualize better.  I also have a better understanding of how the kids learn how to read time."

"I now feel more confident in reviewing math skills with my child."

"I now have a better understanding of the overall math program."

"I am leaving with being able to talk the new language of basic math.  THAT was helpful!"

"This evening was very helpful and insightful of how the children are being taught math in class so that parents can use the same strategies at home to reinforce and help with homework.  I appreciate the teachers taking their time to teach us these strategies."

The third workshop will be held on Wednesday, June 10th from 6-8 PM in the JFK Cafeteria.  Child care will be available.

CHS Class of 2015 Graduation Friday Night, June 5th

Just wanted to remind everyone that the Class of 2015 will have their graduation ceremony on Friday evening at 6:00 PM.  If weather obliges, the ceremony will take place outside on the turf at the CHS Memorial Field.  If the ceremony has to be moved inside, it will take place in the CHS auditorium.

Certificate of Residency Forms For 5th & 8th Grade Families

It has come to our attention that the Residency Recertification letter we recently sent out to all of 5th and 8th grade parents did not include the Certification of Residency Form.  We are sorry for any confusion.  
We have sent an email to all fifth and eighth grade families with the proper form attached.  In addition, here is a link to our the Certification of Residency Form that is posted on the district website

Please include this form when returning your documents.

Thank you!

Monday, June 1, 2015

Luce Students To Be Honored at Upcoming PawSox Game

Below is the list of students from the Dean  S. Luce Elementary School who are being recognized by the Pawtucket Red Sox as the 2015 Incentive Winners.  Recipients are recognized for completing the Reading Challenge during February vacation.

The students to be honored are:

Kindergarten
Nora McLean

Grade 1
Justin Lesser
Charlotte O’Neill
Avish Kumar
Derek Pfingston
Maddison McCoy
Isabella Zagame
Maicey Greitzer
Grace Clarke
Mikaela Chin
Ava Deleconio
Matt Wright
Abigail Mulkern
Nissy Kahuha
Mira Fisher
Dillon Sheppard
Trevor Zack
Karen Wu
Bharat Ramanathan
Jonathan Dupiche
Jacob Smith
Aarna Kant
Zoya Gildenberg
Patrick Maguire
Gina Zollo

Grade 2
Micah Chen
Will Archibald
Kayla Walsh
Benjamin Wright
Francesca Luongo
Joseph Clarke
Ryan Garrett
Charles Gong-Harjula
Ava Berardi
Emma Cummings
Gabriella Jones
Ava Klidas
Daphne Golden
Annie McLean
Maxwell Eagles
Jack Neeser
Hannah King
Jayden Hinds
Katherine Ryan
Gaurav Gopakumar Nair
Naizaire Santos

Grade 3
Jada Prentice
Maksim Alves
John Flaherty

Grade 4
Leo Estrada
Felipe Sena
Ryan McLean
Laura Walsh
Jack Flaherty
Matty Lesser
Han Hong
Curtis Rosebrugh
Alex Smith
Akshay Kumar
Danny Smith
Carson Eagles

Grade 5
Hailey Lennon
Christopher Pho

Suraj Ramanathan

Upcoming CPACSS Meeting on June 10th

The next CPACSS meeting will take place next week on Wednesday, June 10th from 7-9 PM at the CHS Library.

This will be a Parent Networking Night/ business meeting.  We hope you can attend and share what you would like to see for workshops next year and any concerns or suggestions you may have for us to talk about.

Hope to see you there.