September 20, 2024

Weekly Information for September 20, 2024

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Dear Parker families, students and staff,

It was great to see everyone at Back to School Night last evening. I hope that you experienced Parker as your child does. Thank you for jumping in as if you were back in school. It made for a fun and meaningful evening for all of us. We look forward to seeing you again for PLP conferences on Friday, October 18th. Your child’s advisor will send details and an opportunity to sign up soon.


As you may know, this year we are celebrating Parker’s 30th Anniversary. We were founded in 1995 on the promise that we could get to know students well, to challenge and support students to use their mind well, prioritize depth over coverage, demonstrate mastery and support one another with a tone of decency and trust. We are proud of the tremendous success of our current students and 25 graduating classes!


We have a series of events and celebrations planned across the year. The goal is to reflect on the past, celebrate the present and prepare for a tremendously successful 30 years and beyond. We do all of this in the spirit of Parker – inclusive, welcoming and with students at the center. Please join us!


The first event is a Fun Run/Walk on Sunday, October 13th at 11:00 AM here on Devens. You can walk, run, hop, or skip the 5K – in-person or virtually – in costume or typical 5K attire. During and after the event, there will be family lawn games, a food truck, music, and more! Everyone who registers by next week will be guaranteed a Parker t-shirt designed by a talented graduate - and they are pretty cool shirts! Running, walking or cheering, we hope to see you there.

www.parker.school/run


Brian

This week’s topics: 
  • Parker 101 for Parents/Guardians
  • Parker Concert Band Begins!
  • School Photo Retakes
  • Financial Aid Night
  • AP Exams for Seniors
  • Support Our Seniors Potluck
  • Community Connections Night
  • Parent/Guardian Access to Homework
  • Hourly Substitute Opportunity
  • Parker 5K Fun Run Volunteers Needed
  • Flu/COVID Vaccine Clinic

Parker 101 for Parents/Guardians

Please join us for an orientation to Parker especially for parents/guardians who are new (or relatively new) to the school. These are intended to be companion sessions; you are welcome to attend just one, though we hope you can join us at both. Please contact Deb Merriam (deb@theparkerschool.org) or Matt Smith (matt@theparkerschool.org) with questions.


  • Part 1: Academics, Thursday, September 26th, 7-8:30 PM
    This session will focus primarily on the classroom experience and academic structures/expectations at Parker.


  • Part 2: School Culture and Communication, Tuesday, October 8th, 7-8:30 PM
    This session will focus on "everything else" about the school, including the advisory program, home-school communication, "discipline", extracurriculars & athletics, food programs, library and technology, and other important family and cultural aspects of the Parker experience.


Parker Concert Band rehearsals begin next week!

Parker’s Concert Band is starting soon! You can still join us provided you know the basics of playing a woodwind, brass, or percussion instrument. We even have 14 instruments in our collection that we can loan to you at no cost as well. Our rehearsals begin Tuesday, September 24th in Room 13. Rehearsals are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-4:30 PM. We will perform at Café Wednesday in mid-January, and we plan to offer another term starting in the spring semester. The activity fee for each semester is $100, and need-based assistance is available.


The details for signing up are:

  1. If you missed the informational meeting on Sept. 10, please fill out this sign-up form.
  2. To pay the $100 activity fee for the semester, just complete your payment through Parker’s Unipay page, clicking the “band” and “fall” options from the list. You can also bring a check or cash to the office in an envelope with your name and “Band fee” written on it. Checks should be made out to FW Parker Charter Essential School.

Students can drop your instrument off in room 13 before advisory on rehearsal days. Please contact us with instrument requests, need-based assistance requests, or any questions you may have: Jim jdesmond@theparkerschool.org or Marena mcole@theparkerschool.org.

 

School Photo Retakes

Students who missed having their photo taken on registration day and those wishing for a redo should visit the photographers in the morning next Wednesday, September 25, between 8 AM and 10 AM. These photos are used on school IDs, in Office 365, and in the yearbook, so please make sure you’ve had your photo taken this year. See Monique with questions.


Financial Aid Night

Attention Senior Families! Financial Aid night is Wednesday, September 25th at 6:30 PM. During this virtual event, Kevin Fudge from MEFA will be explaining the college financial aid process. Keep an eye out for an email from Jinnee that will include the meeting links for the event.


AP Exam

Attention Div 3 students! While Parker does not offer traditional AP classes, any student interested in taking an AP exam should see Jinnee by October 1st.


Support Our Seniors Potluck on October 1st

Seniors and their families are invited to join in conversation around the expectations, excitement, and challenges of the year ahead on Tuesday, October 1st from 5:30-7 PM in the Gym. Senior Seminar teachers/advisors will provide an overview of the senior year, Senior Project, and the graduation requirements along with this year’s installment of “Dear Diary”—a not-to-be-missed crowd favorite! Please bring a dish to share!


Community Connections Night on October 1st

We invite ALL members of the Parker community to meet with the Class of 2025 and learn about their Senior Projects on Tuesday, October 1st from 7-8:15 PM in the Gym! We hope you will offer suggestions for…

  • resources they could access
  • people/organizations with whom they might collaborate
  • experiential opportunities they could pursue
  • product ideas they might consider

Please feel free to bring guests from inside and outside the Parker community!


Parent/Guardian Access to Homework: School Connection app

Parker offers parental access to student class information through several mechanisms. Over the next few weeks, we will share more about those avenues of information here. Today, we are highlighting ‘School Connection’ which is a phone app (part of Microsoft Teams) you can download and then link to your student’s “Teams Assignments” account. This allows you as a parent/guardian to see nightly homework assignments, if that is information that would be helpful to you as you support your student’s success. Please follow the Parker instructions available here: School Connection Create Account.pdf. Note that you will need your student’s Parker email to link the account – the format for those is firstname.lastname@theparkerschool.org. We will offer some parent “help sessions” to learn more about these resources later this fall, so stay tuned!


Hourly Substitute Opportunity

Parker is currently seeking responsible, caring adults interested in working with middle and high school students as classroom substitutes. Familiarity with Parker’s mission and academic program is preferred. Substitutes will be called on an “as needed” basis based on their availability and will support students in following plans left by classroom teachers. Please contact Monique at mbeganski@theparkerschool.org if interested.


Last Call for 5K T-shirts

Register for the Parker 5K Fun Run by 9/25 to be guaranteed a t-shirt! www.parker.school/run. This will be a fun community event- come run, walk, skip, or jump the 5K in a Halloween costume or not! If you can’t make it to the run, signup to run virtually and still receive a t-shirt! T-shirts can be sent if not local.


Flu/COVID Vaccine Clinic

Our Flu AND COVID-19 (Moderna) vaccine clinic has been confirmed for Friday, October 18th, on PLP Day. This clinic is for staff, students, and family members (ages 5 and up). Please schedule your appointment from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM by clicking this link.

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:
Wed - Sep 25 School Photo Retakes (morning)
Thu - Sep 26 Parker 101 - Part 1
Tue - Oct 1 Support Our Seniors Potluck
Tue - Oct 1 Community Connections Night
Tue - Oct 8 Parker 101 - Part 2
Wed - Oct 9 PSATs and SATs at Parker
Thu - Oct 10 Board of Trustees
Sun - Oct 13 Parker 5k Fun Run
Mon - Oct 14 Fall Holiday - NO SCHOOL
Tue - Oct 15 ACTs at Parker
Fri - Oct 18 PLP Conferences - No Classes

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 October 26, 2025
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
By Cindy Johnson October 17, 2025
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
By Cindy Johnson October 10, 2025
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
By Cindy Johnson October 3, 2025
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
By Cindy Johnson September 27, 2025
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
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