DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS T-SHIRT!
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!
September 8, 2024
Weekly Information for September 6, 2024
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Dear Parker families, students and staff,
We are off to a great start to the school year. We are proud of all our students for engaging so meaningfully and joyfully in Parker. We want to recognize all the new students who have joined us this year. Attending a new school can be very stressful and hard, particularly in the beginning. It can also be incredibly rewarding and transformative. We are very proud of you for coming to Parker, for working hard in your classes, for meeting new people and showing resilience when you face obstacles. We are a better school and a better community because of you!
I also want to thank our older students for their outstanding leadership over the first two weeks. Division 3 students are serving as teaching assistants, mentors, captains and ambassadors. They have embodied the tone of decency and trust. That was on display yesterday in our first Super Advisory of the year. Through fun name games and ice breaker activities, we are starting to get to know one another across divisions. We meet again next week to begin unpacking the Essential Question (EQ) of the year: “Who do we want to become?” Thanks for being you and making a positive contribution to your community!
This Wednesday, September 11, 2024, we mark the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th attack. We remember family and friends we lost on that day, honor those who serve in the military and as first responders, and reflect on the humanity that unites us all.
We look forward to seeing parents and caregivers at Open House on Thursday, September 19th. We will share the full schedule and details next week. Thank you for joining us and experiencing Parker as your child does.
Have a great weekend,
Brian
This week’s topics:
- Back to School Night on September 19th
- Parker 5K Fun Run
- Parker Parent/Caregiver Community
- Faculty Appreciation
- Parker Concert Band
- Harvard Pavilion Grand Opening
- Parker Life Reminders
- Drop-off and Pick-up
- MART Shuttle
- Meal Information
- Directory and Carpool List
Save the Date!
Back to School Night is Thursday, September 19th! Details will be provided next week. Please Note: This event is for parents/guardians—not for students. We ask students to stay at home. If your child or children must join you, they must be always with you under your supervision. Thank you!
Parker Parent/Caregiver Community (PPCC)
Welcome to the 2024/2025 school year at Parker!
The PPCC is a parent/caregiver led group with a mission to create a space where parents/caregivers from different towns can get to know one another, both online and in person, to support one another and our families, as well as the teachers and school. We are a resource for new-to-Parker families and returning families alike. We foster community by organizing events related to teacher appreciation and parent/caregiver socializing, by maintaining our own Facebook page, and by communicating with the administration, parents and caregivers about their needs and volunteer opportunities as they arise.
If you have questions for or about PPCC, want to join our email list, or are interested in a leadership role within the organization, send us an email at parkercaregivers@gmail.com.
Our Facebook page is a great place to get your questions answered and connect with other families! Join here: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/Dtmu843m6YcJM2rv/?mibextid=K35XfP
Want to get involved? We will be holding our first planning meeting of the year virtually on September 11th at 7:00 PM. Please join us by clicking the link found in your weekly email!
Faculty Appreciation from PPCC
Our teachers and staff go above and beyond to support our kids and families! One way we show them our appreciation for all they do is to provide weekly snacks to sustain them during their Wednesday staff meetings. You can find out more details and sign up to contribute here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4AA4A829A1FA7-parker2
Join the Parker Concert Band (a call to all brass, woodwind, and percussion players)!
Parker invites band instrument players from all grades, 7-12, to join our concert band. We hold band rehearsals after school on Tuesdays and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. The band runs for the semester, culminating with a performance at Parker’s student-led coffeehouse, “Café Wednesday”. The activity fee for each semester is $100, and need-based assistance is available.
If you have learned the basics of any band instrument, please join us this fall! No auditions are necessary: you just need to have learned the basics of playing your instrument.
Need an instrument? Parker has the following instruments available for loan at no charge: trumpet, trombone, baritone (euphonium), French horn, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, and clarinet. We also have concert drums for percussion players.
Students who are interested should plan to come by our informational lunch meeting on Tuesday, September 10 in room 13 to learn more and sign up. If you can’t make the meeting, stop in to chat with Jim Desmond in room 13 or Marena Cole in room 43. Get your lunch first and then come join us!
ALSO: We are always accepting donations and loans of band instruments that may be lurking in closets! If you have instruments, please email Jim jdesmond@theparkerschool.org or Marena mcole@theparkerschool.org.
If you don’t know how to play a band instrument but still want to make music, consider joining the Parker Singers during community elective block. We meet about every other Friday to sing fun songs together. Signups will happen in the coming weeks.
Parker Life Reminders
School Begins at 8:30 AM. Please plan to get your children to school by 8:15 AM so they may be present in their advisories by 8:30 AM. Breakfast can be picked up in the cafeteria and taken to advisory. Students arriving between 7:30-8:00 AM should go to the library.
Parents/Guardians must notify the school office daily of any Late Arrivals, Absences, or Early Dismissals. Please let the office know of an absence before school starts using the Attendance Line, which is available 24 hours a day at 978-772-3293 x1. In the case of a prolonged absence, the student’s parents/guardians should notify the principal or designee in a timely manner. It is not acceptable for students to call themselves in late, absent, or dismiss themselves. Parents are notified when their child is not in attendance without any prior notification regarding the absence. Teachers take attendance in every class and notify the school office if any student is missing.
Students should be in a supervised space with an adult after school. Students who are not working with a teacher, participating in an adult-supervised after-school activity, or with a coach should go to the library or lobby. Students should be picked up no later than 4:30 PM on M, Tu, Th, F and 3:00 on Wed. There is no after-school supervision on noon dismissal days although some sports may have practice or games.
Drop-Off and Pick-Up Norms
The following practices will help reduce congestion and make drop-off and pick-up times flow more smoothly:
- Only TURN RIGHT out of the parking lot during peak traffic times
- Consider an off-peak pickup time with your student: 3:45 instead of 3:30, for example
- Drop-off and Pick-up students on Antietam Street and have students use stairs to access school
- Use the lot at P-5 across Jackson Road as a “cell phone lot” to standby until your student is ready or have them walk to you there
Please refer to this page for our Traffic Flow Plan.
MART Shuttle
MART currently offers shuttle service with stops in Bolton at the Country Cupboard, Lancaster at the Library, and Leominster at the Boys and Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster.
Students pay $4 per ride or $120 per month. Students are welcome to use the service every day, one or both directions, or as needed. To schedule, call 978-345-7711 and select Option 3. For questions, contact keary.connors@mrta.us.
To participate in the after-school Teen Program at the Boys and Girls Club, students will need to join the club for $30 per month. For additional details, see their website at Boys and Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster. We will also be running our co-op Robotics program with the BGCFL again this year.
Meal Information
Reminder one free breakfast and one free lunch per day are available to all students this year. Children enrolled at Parker are eligible for these free meals regardless of free and reduced status. Additional information and the current menu are available on the cafeteria page of our website. https://www.theparkerschool.org/news#Cafeteria
Student Directories and Updated Carpool List
The student directory and an updated carpool list will be available towards the beginning of October.
Lunch Menu
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: | |
|---|---|
| Thu - Sep 13th | Board of Trustees |
| Tue - Sep 19th | Back to School Night |
| Wed - Sep 25th | School Photo Retakes (morning) |
| 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
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
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
