January 21, 2024

Weekly Information for January 19th

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Dear Parker families, students and staff,


Congratulations to the 52 students from every division and domain who gatewayed over the past two days. The students did an outstanding job, showcasing their learning, answering questions and welcoming feedback from the audience. Thanks to the peers, teachers and families who supported the students along the way and attended their gateway. It was a terrific celebration of their growth and success.


Next week will be an exciting week of transition for many students. All the students who gatewayed will start in their new division next week. Students in Division 3 begin new classes on Tuesday. We also have six new students in grades 7 and 9 joining Parker next week. They will join Parker 101 and 7th Seminar and jump right into advisory and classes. We are thrilled to welcome these new students to Parker.


So many of our students will either be new to Parker, new to the division or starting a new schedule next week. That’s a lot of change, which can be both exciting and stressful. As always, the Parker community will help students through the transition. Ask for help, say hi to someone new, invite students to eat with you at lunch. We are all better for it.



Have a great long weekend. Monday is a professional development day for teachers as we prepare for the start of second semester. See you all on Tuesday.   


Brian

This week’s topics: 
  • Faculty Planning on Monday
  • Parker Parent Group
  • Valentine Appreciation Event
  • Parker Annual Fund
  • Coach of the Year
  • Yearbooks
  • Don’t Miss the Application Deadline (March 1st)!

Faculty Planning on Monday

There will be no school for students on Monday, January 22. Classes will resume on Tuesday, January 23, for the first day of the second semester.

 

Newly Formed Parent Group

Reminder that parents are welcome to join the Parker Parent and Caregiver Community group (PPCC0. The goal of this informal group is to foster communication and explore ideas for future events related to teacher appreciation and parent/caregiver socializing. We hope to be a resource for families new to Parker and a space where parents/caregivers from different towns can get to know each other, both online and in person, to support one another, the teachers and school.

Join the Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3718239368409629


Save the date: the PPCC will hold a remote meeting on Monday, February 5th, at 11:00 AM. Meeting link provided beforehand.


Faculty and Staff Valentine Appreciation Event Sponsored by Parker Families

Valentine’s Day is in a few weeks and it's time for the Faculty and Staff Appreciation Event to show our Parker staff a little love. The idea is simple - we are hoping to gift a book or gift card to every staff member. If you would like to participate, you will be assigned a staff member and given information on their book preferences. You would then purchase a book or gift card as a gift from the Parker community for that staff member and drop it off or have it mailed to Parker. If you're ready to sign up or have questions, please complete this form. Thank you for helping to celebrate and appreciate Parker’s stellar staff!

 

Parker Annual Fund

What makes Parker, Parker?

Authentic student teacher relationships. How does that happen? Small class sizes, advisory, low student teacher ratios, and adults that care!

Make a gift today to support the extraordinary things that happen at Parker. We need everyone’s help to reach our $200,00 goal!


Coach of the Year

We congratulated Athletic Director Ben Benoit earlier for being recognized as the Boys' Cross-country Coach of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross-country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Now we are congratulating him for being named as the MA State Track Coaches Association Coach of the Year for Boys Division 3 Cross Country 2023! Ben’s coaching peers voted him as the recipient of this honor, and he will be presented with the award at a conference in March. Congratulations, Ben!


Yearbooks

Reminder that yearbook prices will increase by $5 after January 31st. Click here to order your yearbook from Jostens.


Make sure to scroll the page to find the correct version of the book you’d like to order. Yearbook ($55) is the hard cover book, while the soft cover ($35) and Division 1 ($15) books are listed lower on the page as Exclusive Offer. Division 1 books contain everything but sections for Division 2, Juniors, Seniors, and senior parent ad pages.


Seniors: Don’t forget to submit your baby photo and senior portrait by January 31st!

 

Don't Miss the Application Deadline (March 1st)!

Parker is currently accepting applications for students entering grades 7, 8 and 9. Siblings of current students planning to attend the Parker School for the 2024-2025 school year MUST complete an application and return it to Parker no later than March 1, 2024. Current students do not need to reapply. You are welcome to call our front office prior to March 1, 2024, to verify your application has been received. You may click here to sign up any of the remaining Information Sessions. The Lottery will be held on Thursday, March 7, at 4 PM. Please send interested friends to parker.school/enroll for more information.

Parents of Athletes

Do you know how to find your way to Parker’s playing locations? We have a GREAT feature on our website with interactive Google maps - just enter your address to receive directions to any of our game and meet locations. Find this feature by clicking HERE.

Upcoming Dates of Note:
Mon - Jan 22 Faculty Planning - No Classes
Tue - Jan 23 Second Semester Begins
Tue-Wed; Feb 6-7 10th Grade Biology MCAS
Fri - Feb 9 Div 2 & 3 Dance
Tue - Feb 13 Board of Trustees
Tue - Feb 13 Div 2 Exhibition Night
Fri - Feb 16 NOON Dismissal
Mon-Fri; Feb 19-23 Winter Break

Looking for help with or concerning: Please contact:
a specific class or assignment the teacher of that class (see Parker email list)
technical support email: helpdesk@theparkerschool.org
your family's or student's health email: lzick@theparkerschool.org
mental health/emotional support needs email: skelly@theparkerschool.org
food insecurity/free and reduced school lunch needs email: mmckenna@theparkerschool.org

The Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School is committed to equal employment and educational opportunity for all members of the school community and prohibits discrimination on the basis of the basis of race, color, gender, pregnancy or pregnancy status, religion, gender identity, age, national origin, sexual orientation, homelessness, or disability, in the operation of the educational programs, activities, or employment policies.

Recent Posts

By Cindy Johnson September 19, 2025
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, It was great to see everyone at Back-to-School night last evening. Thank you for joining us and experiencing Parker as your child does. It was a positive and affirming night for all of us. Parker was founded in 1995 by local parents who wanted to do school differently. They imagined a school where their child was challenged to use their mind well, where they would be known deeply by their teachers in a community with a culture of decency and trust. We are proud to have lived that mission, in partnership with Parker families. We look forward to seeing you at PLP conferences on Friday, October 17th. Your child’s advisor will send details and an opportunity to sign up for a 30-minute session soon. Fall PLP conferences are an essential opportunity for the student to create their own learning goals for the year, with support from their family and advisor. These goals are often aligned to the Parker Habits of Learning including inquiry, organization, collaboration, reflection and perseverance. Students prepare their plans and prep for the meeting in Advisory across the next month. It is a productive and iterative process with meaningful results for our students. Thank you for your help. We appreciate the leadership of the Parker Parent and Caregiver Community (PPCC), founded two years ago to foster an involved and inclusive community. All families are welcome to join the Facebook group at Parker Parent and Caregiver Community | Facebook . Thank you to the PPCC for everything that they do to build and sustain our community, including the warm welcome you extended to new students and families across the spring and summer. We are all better for it. Please join us for a coffee with Bex on Wednesday, October 1st at 8:30 AM in Room 40. As our new Principal, Bex welcomes your perspective and feedback. Join us to say hi. Thank you for your partnership! Brian
By Cindy Johnson September 13, 2025
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, I love the start of a new school year—not just because the empty building comes back to life with the presence of the students, faculty, and families and not just because it is a chance for a new beginning—though I do appreciate those things. What I enjoy most about the start of the school year is the way it sets the important foundation for everything that comes next. The thing about foundations is that they are not particularly glamorous, they are rarely the star of the show. Not many of us notice the foundations of buildings we enter or live in—unless there are problems with them. A good, solid foundation does its job without calling attention to itself, and the foundational ideas and beliefs at the core of what we do and believe at Parker is what I am noticing and appreciating in the foundation building I see happening every day. Here at Parker, the Common Principles are the ideas that matter most to our foundation and the most important work in our classrooms, hallways, clubs, and teams is teaching, practicing, and holding ourselves accountable to the ways we live those out in the day to day work. What does that look like? It looks like extra time in advisory and divisional gatherings in these first few weeks, fostering relationship building with new teachers and new classmates. It looks like learning about the advisory routines for Academic Advising and Academic Block. It looks like reviewing and learning about divisional norms and expectations. When I think about how this translates to classrooms, I am struck by the foundation building in the classes that book-end a student’s academic experience at Parker—7th Seminar which introduces key concepts like the Habits of Learning* , self-advocacy, and the process of revision, and Senior Seminar which challenges students to apply all their Habits and Skills to a year-long independent project they design. Some of what we work really intentionally to build with our students across their years with us is the willingness to try hard things, the perseverance to keep going, and the ability to reflect and revise based on feedback. We intentionally revisit these foundations every year. We intentionally ask our students to apply them to new and more challenging tasks as they progress from division to division. We intentionally shift more and more of the work involved in these tasks to students so that they each build their own solid foundation. Like all good foundations, these might not feel like the most exciting or glamorous work we do. Certainly, big demonstrations of learning like Gateways and Senior Exhibitions get more fanfare—but what I want to celebrate and call to your attention is how every little thing we do now enables those “bigger” things later. So, as we wrap up our first five-day week of the school year, I invite you all to notice and appreciate the foundations you might see being built for the year ahead. Happy Friday and happy weekend! Bex *The eight habits of learning at Parker are Inquiry, Expression, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Organization, Attentiveness, Involvement and Reflection.
By Cindy Johnson September 7, 2025
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, It is with great pride that I reflect on the first two weeks of our new school year. We all started new routines, embraced our new classes, and made new friends. Congratulations on a terrific launch! Parker was founded on the belief we could do school differently, challenging students to use their minds well in a culture of decency and trust. It starts with knowing our students well, as learners and human beings. We believe that all students can succeed and thrive – and we provide the personalized support and encouragement that students need. Our students and staff work incredibly hard to meet these high standards. As our founders Ted and Nancy Sizer wrote in The Students Are Watching, “What we need to consider and then to create is the kind of environment [that convinces young people that they] are in a place which believes in them – and from which they can, therefore, learn well and deeply.” Through the 10 Common Principles and their leadership as co-principals, Ted and Nancy set the standards for academic rigor, student engagement and community that define Parker today. We are proud of all the ways that our students embrace and live these values every day at Parker. For example, our student Ambassadors and Peer Leaders came in over the summer to welcome and support new students and families. Their kindness and positive energy created a welcoming environment for our newest students. Many of these same students are serving as Peer Mentors to Division 1 advisories. They serve as role models, leading different games and facilitating discussions about school culture. They also run the Halloween party, Mirror Lake trip, Film Festival, and Field Day for Division 1. Our Teaching Assistants (TAs) provide similar support within our academic classes. TAs in 7th Seminar, Spanish, Wellness, and MST provide wisdom, small group facilitation, and one-on-one support. They help set the tone for the class, model appropriate participation and collaboration skills, and make connections with individual students. For example, this week in 7th Seminar, our TAs helped students learn some of the technology that we use to communicate while reflecting on the importance of connecting with their teachers. Finally, our Division 3 students served as leaders and role models during the first Super Advisory yesterday, leading their cross-divisional groups in activities to help build community and connection. They modeled taking risks and the importance of building community. Thank you to everyone who makes Parker a special place to learn and grow up. Together, we are off to a great start!  Brian
By Cindy Johnson August 30, 2025
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Welcome Back! We are delighted to be back to school, to welcome almost 100 new students and families, and to begin another school year together. Thank you to our Peer Leaders, PPCC and everyone on staff who helped to welcome new students and families to Parker. Everyone at Parker experienced changes this year, as we walked through the renovated walkway, welcomed our new Principal, Bex Wilucz, and adjusted to new schedules and routines. We are so proud of all our students for embracing these changes, for doing your best work and for being supportive of your classmates. Parker is an extraordinary place because of you! Thank you and congratulations for a terrific first week. We are all looking forward to another great year at Parker. Enjoy the long weekend. Brian
By Cindy Johnson June 14, 2025
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Thank you for a great year! We are so proud of our students for your hard work and tremendous growth all year. Congratulations to all the students who Gatewayed over the past two weeks. Gateways are a public exhibition and celebration of learning for our students and our whole community. It is also a terrific way to end the year. We look forward to our last day of school – the Big End – on Monday. We welcome the Juniors back from their retreat and unveil the Essential Question for next year. It is a fun and aspirational way to transition. We also start the front walkway construction project later that day, to be finished in time for the start of school in August. The Main Office will be in Room 28 all summer. Have a great summer. Take advantage of the break to try something new, read a good book, work a summer job. We will be back together soon enough. Brian
By Cindy Johnson June 7, 2025
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Congratulations to students in the Class of 2025. We are very proud of our Seniors! As I said on Wednesday night, graduation is a big deal for the graduates, their families and our school. 30 years ago, a small group of local families and educators were bold enough to imagine this little school, to draft a charter, find a building, and convince enough families and staff to give Parker a chance. From the very beginning, we put students at the center of all learning, challenged them to use their minds well in a community of decency and trust. 30 years later, we conferred diplomas to 56 exceptional young people in the Class of 2025. Congratulations to our students – to their families and their teachers – and to everyone who played a role over the last 30 years! Best of luck to all the students participating in Gateway presentations today and next week. This can be a stressful and exhilarating moment for our students, an authentic opportunity to reflect on their learning as they progress to the next level. Our students are focused and determined to do their best work – and then we celebrate their learning and success. It is a very meaningful way to end the year. We also look forward to Junior retreat and divisional trips next week and the Big End on Monday, June 16th. Summer vacation starts at Noon on June 16th. Thank you for your hard work, positive attitude and for supporting one another. We look forward to a strong end to a terrific year.  Brian