May 23, 2025
Weekly Information for May 23, 2025
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Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff,
The next few weeks will be very busy and meaningful for our school. Students, work hard, ask for help and finish strong. As we approach Graduation, Gateways, Junior Retreat and much more, take a moment to thank all your teachers, family and friends who have supported you and contributed to your success. We don’t do it alone.
We are looking forward to tonight’s prom at Wachusett. We appreciate the Parker teachers and families who help to make prom a safe and fun evening for our students. It is one of the many ways that we come together to celebrate and build memories as a community.
Next Wednesday, May 28th, we welcome Rabbi Josh Breindel as our guest speaker for a community conversation on antisemitism and hate speech. The community conversation will focus on the history and impact of the Nazi swastika, its unique impact on the Jewish community with its association to antisemitism, and its use in the normalization of hate speech more broadly towards other groups. We explore what steps young people can take to stand up and bring hope. Thank you to the Multicultural Connections student group for hosting this important discussion. We end the day with Advisory reflections and an activity.
Thank you to the Parker Parent and Caregiver Community (PPCC) for hosting yesterday’s Ice Cream Social for new students and families. We had over 100 attendees. We will be hosting a series of events over the spring and summer to welcome new students and families, including a potluck dinner the night before registration day on Tuesday, August 26th. Details to come.
I hope that you enjoy the long weekend with your family and friends. On Monday, May 26th we observe Memorial Day, a solemn remembrance of the 1.3 million Americans in the military who died serving our country. We appreciate the men and women in uniform for their service and ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedoms. We pause on this day in remembrance and gratitude.
Brian
This week’s topics:
- Launching Our Seniors
- D3 Spanish Field Trip
- Lost & Found – FINAL CHECK!
- Event Parking Reminder
- SEPAC Meeting
- 30 Gifts Participation Drive
- 5K Volunteers Needed
- MCAS Testing
Launching Our Seniors
Members of the Class of 2025 are looking forward to their last day of classes on Friday, May 30th, and to their Graduation ceremonies the following week! Seniors are also planning to continue the tradition of a “Senior Prank” on Friday morning, May 30th. Every year, Seniors welcome students and staff with a unique theme on the morning of their last day. Previous themes have included “Beach Party” and “Pirates v. Ninjas.” This year’s theme is still a secret! But the theme is likely to involve performance/engagement during morning drop-off. That could involve costumes, squirt guns, and music. We’ve asked the seniors to be safe, respectful and fun-loving during morning drop-off. We will be outside to ensure everyone’s safety.
In the past, some parents have voiced concerns about squirt guns hitting their vehicles during drop-off. If you and your child want to avoid the scene, please consider alternatives to on-campus drop-off for your student next Friday morning. Antietam Street or P5 are the best options. Students may enter the building through the back doors if they wish.
Spanish Field Trip
Division 3 Spanish students went on a field trip to the El Punto Urban Art Museum in Salem, MA. The Punto Urban Art Museum features about 50 murals across four city blocks, many created by world-famous street artists. During this field trip we explored cultural connections through the murals and learned about the neighborhood traditionally home to numerous immigrant groups in Salem. This museum is recognized as a National Historic District located in a predominantly Latino-influenced barrio known as El Punto.
Lost & Found – FINAL Check!
You are welcome to check the LOST & FOUND at any time during these final weeks of school to see if there are any items belonging to you or your loved ones! ALL unclaimed items will be donated after the school year ends.
Event Parking Reminder
During school events (e.g., Graduation, Gateways), our on-campus parking is insufficient for our whole school community. Please remember and join in our community norms by parking in the Museum Lot (P-5), located across Jackson Road, allowing guests with limited mobility to use the available spaces on campus. Thank you!
SEPAC Meeting
ParkerPac will be holding an online meeting from 7-8:30 PM Thursday, 5/29, via zoom. Part of our time will be dedicated to hearing from families about what SEPAC presentations they would like to have next year. Here is the zoom link:
- Topic: PARKERPAC Zoom Meeting
- Time: May 29, 2025 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84097696327?pwd=MDOMDdApzqmvGWDW5eshxZCN4gAk34.1 - Meeting ID: 840 9769 6327
- Passcode: 156030
Contact Jesse Lowe with questions at jesselowe7@mac.com.
30 Gifts in the Month of May!
Donor participation matters, so we’ve set a goal of 30 gifts in the month of May to show we have many donors who stand up for Parker students and teachers with their donation! We still need your help! Current and new donors are encouraged to participate! EVERY donor is APPRECIATED and ESSENTIAL to Parker!
This month, it’s all about participation. Whether you give $30, $130, $300 or $3,000, your gift brings us one step closer to our goal and helps keep Parker thriving.
Click here to make your gift today! THANK YOU!
Parker 5K Fun Run Volunteers Needed
Are you looking for ways to get more involved at Parker? We need to form a committee to start planning our 2nd Parker 5K Fun Run! The event date has been set for Sunday, October 12, 2025! Please reach out to Katrina at ktedstone@theparkerschool.org to learn more.
MCAS Spring Testing
MCAS testing wraps up with 8th grade Civics MCAS on May 27. A small number of 10th graders will take the Bio test in early June.
Cafeteria Menus
Sports Schedule
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 - May 26 | Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL |
| Tue - May 27 | 8th Grade Civics MCAS |
| Fri - May 30 | Last Day for SENIORS |
| Wed - Jun 4 | NOON Dismissal |
| Wed - Jun 4 | GRADUATION |
| Fri - Jun 6 | Gateways Begin |
| Wed - Jun 11 | Divisional Trips |
| Thu - Jun 12 | Board of Trustees |
| Mon - Jun 16 | THE BIG END - Last Day of School |
| Mon - Jun 16 | NOON Dismissal |
| 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 race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, gender identity, age, national origin, sexual orientation, homelessness, or disability, in the operation of the educational programs, activities, or employment policies
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Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, We had a joyful and spirited week at Parker, highlighted by the Division 1 Halloween party and costume contest on Wednesday. Thank you to all the teachers and Peer Leaders who host this special event every year. To all our students, have fun celebrating Halloween this evening. Be safe and make good choices. We are looking forward to the start of postseason competition for Fall sports. Girls Varsity Soccer is headed to the state playoffs! We enter the playoffs with a 14-4 record. First round games are announced tomorrow. Most likely we play on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, with a chance to host the first round on Devens. Go Parker! Our Middle School Cross Country Team is competing tomorrow in the MS State Championships on Devens. Our High School XC Team will compete Saturday, November 8 on Devens with the hope of finishing high and qualifying for the MIAA All-State Championship at midday on Saturday, November 15 th on Devens. Save the date! Good luck to all our runners! In the next few days, you will be receiving a letter in your mailbox announcing the Annual Fund. In the letter, I profile the experiences and successes of one of our seniors, Wren Fountain. Thank you to Wren and her family for sharing her story of perseverance and love and the important role that Parker played in her progress. Thank you and congratulations to Wren! The letter serves as a kickoff to the Annual Fund appeal, our yearly fundraiser. As you may know, the funding model for public charter schools does not cover the costs of building or maintaining our school. As a result, we divert up to 15% of our operating budget to meet our facility costs every year. We believe that our students deserve access to the same resources as students across the state. As I write in the letter, every penny that we raise goes directly to our students – in the form of small class sizes, more direct attention and academic support, and greater access to clubs, sports and activities. We worry about our ability to maintain ratios of 8 students to every one adult. While the funding model wants us to increase class sizes, or change our hands-on, reflective and iterative approach to learning – we do more with less and we turn to our friends for help. Help us maintain our challenging and personalized model for all students. We appreciate your generosity and support! Click Here to donate Brian
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Have you ever heard of a root cellar? Or maybe you have one? I have found myself thinking about root cellars and how they work a lot as we head toward the late fall when the trees are bare and the days get shorter. Root cellars (and I am not an expert) are these relatively ingenious spaces that use the natural conditions of the ground below the frost line to create a stable environment that helps preserve and store food. Before we had indoor refrigeration, they were an essential tool for food storage. They helped ensure access to fresh food and healthy sustenance all year long. Certain characteristics of this time of year can make it seem like not much new is happening—that there is no growth or change. Maybe that is why things like the first snowfall can be so exciting. I like to think of this time of the year as a little bit like a root cellar—it’s a time to store up all the excitement and growth from the fall and to use it to fuel what’s next. It might have a bit more of a “keep going” feeling to it than a “look at all these new things” feeling, and it gives us a way to savor and benefit from the abundance of the fall and to look forward to the ways it might support the new growth cycle in the spring. In terms of schoolwork, this might look like repeated practice of certain skills, or it might feel like slow progress in the assessments of academic work. It might mean being asked to rethink and redo and revise work, putting in time and energy and believing in growth we might not see or feel yet. The fall sports seasons are headed toward their close and the girls’ varsity soccer team moved their record to 11-3, avenging an early season loss against Monty Tech, while the boys’ varsity soccer team also avenged an early season loss with a tie against Abby Kelley this week. The cross-country team performed well at Conference Championships, with boys’ varsity winning with a perfect score, girls’ varsity coming in second with many personal records, and boys’ and girls’ JV also winning their races. Whether it’s one of these athletic accomplishments, or the memories of the Mirror Lake field trip, the 4 Square tournament, Community Connections Night for Senior Projects, or the class of 2027 30 Gourd challenge, there are many different memories and experiences we can put into our root cellar at the moment to sustain us as we move toward what’s next. Wishing you all a restful fall weekend. Bex
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Thank you for joining us for today’s PLP meetings. We appreciate the hard work that students and advisors put into the day, creating goals and strategies for the year ahead. Many of our students were both nervous and excited to lead their PLP meetings. Congratulations on this important milestone. PLPs are an essential component of our personalized education, in partnership with families, that defines Parker. Great day! Congratulations to Seniors Elsa Achtem and Dylan Stark who were honored as Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship program. This award is generally reserved for the top two percent of PSAT test takers each year. We are very proud of their success and contributions to Parker! Thank you, Elsa and Dylan. We are nearing the end of the regular season for our Fall sports. We have had 120 student athletes participate, a record high. Congratulations to our Girls Soccer team for posting an 11-3 record. They continue to climb the state power rankings as they look forwards to the postseason tournament. Our Girls and Boys Cross Country teams continue to roll, both finishing the regular season undefeated at 10-0. The Boys team won the prestigious Twilight Invitational last week. We are looking forward to an exciting postseason. We would love to see Parker fans turn out in support! Our Parker theatre is hard at work building sets, learning lines, rehearsing scenes for two exciting shows – Governing Alice and Eurydice – performed back-to-back on December 11-13. As profiled in our school newspaper, “The plays will be fun and tragic and silly! Please come if you enjoy catharsis!” Join us. Have a great weekend. Brian
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, I have been spending a lot of my time in Advisory lately—visiting sometimes with 2 or 3 advisories in a day. These visits are helping me to meet one of my goals for the fall which is to get to know all our students—yes, to learn almost 400 names (first names first—last names later…) but also to know our students as more than names and faces. During these visits, I have had the privilege of asking and answering questions about each other like “What is something you are proud of?,” drawing 10 second animals, sharing a meal, playing 4 on a couch, playing reverse charades, and sharing a rose, bud, and thorn for the week. Earlier this year, I talked about building a strong foundation at the start of the year. In that metaphor, the advisory program is a cornerstone of our foundation at Parker, with four important purposes that include academic advising, community service, community conversations, and group dynamics/recreation. It’s a student’s advisor who checks in with them weekly about their academic work and progress. It’s the advisor who coordinates and hosts the Personal Learning Plan (PLP) conferences twice a year. It’s the advisor who supports this small group of students in building community during morning and afternoon advisory each day. Advisory is at the heart of so much of what we do as a school to get to know our students well and foster community. When we have an important issue to discuss or want to learn about something together, we will turn to community conversations and our “Super Advisories,” cross-age constellations of multiple Advisory groups. Advisory is critical not only to how we personalize the experience of school for students but also to the work of fostering a tone of decency and trust in our community, two of our 10 Common Principles. In the last thirty years, more schools have developed and implemented advisory programs. I see this as a sign they are recognizing something we have always believed: that when students feel a sense of safety, belonging, and community, they engage more fully in their learning, and that when at least one adult knows a student well, they are more successful in school. I hope you will get your own glimpse into the special and important work our advisors do through the upcoming PLP conferences—and I hope you will build your own relationship with your student’s advisor so that we can partner in supporting our students as they learn. Wishing you a restful long weekend ahead! Bex
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, It was a busy and exciting week at Parker. We have certainly hit our stride a month into the new school year. Thank you to everyone who joined us for Community Connections Night at Parker. Our Seniors did a terrific job describing their Senior Projects and welcoming ideas, connections, opportunities and resources as they launch. We appreciate all the families and friends who joined us. You provide invaluable guidance to our students! If you were unable to join us but still want to share your suggestions, please review the students’ topic areas in the document linked below, and then you may contact the Senior Seminar teacher. Class of 2026 Senior Project Declarations of Interest On Wednesday, we spent a lovely day at Mirror Lake on Devens with our Division 1 students. We do this trip every two years, providing a unique opportunity for Div 1 Advisories to work and play together. The highlight is always the cardboard boat race. After careful planning and team construction, one member of each Advisory captains their boat on a short course. Thank you to all the Division 1 students and Peer Mentors who tried something new and learned about teamwork and engineering. Congratulations to our Boys Cross Country team for winning the Ocean State Cross Country Invitational for the first time in school history. Our Boys Varsity team finished first out of 55 of the best schools from the region. We also placed 5th in the Boys JV race, 2nd in the Boys Freshman race and had three medalists in the Girls Freshman race. Outstanding showing at a very competitive meet. Finally, this week we welcomed students from Sophianum, our sister school in the Netherlands. We are delighted to host this exchange program for the second time, hosting ten Dutch students at Parker in October and then sending ten Parker students to the Netherlands in April. We are very proud of all the students and families who stepped towards this opportunity, sharing their homes and culture with students from across the world. This is a fun and important exchange for all of us. We look forward to seeing you in two weeks, Friday, October 17th for PLP day. Have a great weekend. Brian
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of community lately—what shapes and supports it and why it matters. I think at its core, a community is more than a mere group of people. There is a degree of shared investment in a common purpose or a common value that brings communities together—and there is a willingness and commitment to doing work aligned to our shared purpose or values collectively that both grows from and contributes to community. These traits ideally contribute to a feeling of connection or even belonging that are at the heart of true community. There are many places where I get to see the ways that the people who inhabit Parker every day are building and shaping community. Earlier this week, for example, I spent two blocks with the senior class as they came together as a group to share their Senior Project Declarations—short summaries of what they plan to study for the year, who they will work with, and what they will create. There was a theme song. Each student took a turn sharing their work. Everyone else in the group listened respectfully and celebrated the work others shared. These students already know each other. They have worked together for years—in and out of the classroom—and still, this shared experience gave them an opportunity to learn even more about each other and to share a moment that was at once common and highly individual. This highlights one of the aspects of community that might be easily overlooked: genuine community is not an exercise in sameness, even though it is about something shared. Real community grows from an investment in creating connection across differences, learning together, supporting each other in doing challenging things. Next Tuesday, September 30, we are hosting several events (see details below) including Community Connections Night—which will give any member of the Parker community a chance to come learn about this year’s Senior Class Projects and offer resources and ideas to support the seniors’ ongoing work. We hope you will join us if you can and invest some of your own time and energy in both getting to know and contributing to our rich and vibrant school community. Best wishes, Bex
