Principal Rubino's Weekly Update

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Please join me in welcoming Bryan Ruscak to Parker Middle School. Mr. Ruscak is our Title 1 Math Interventionist.

Title 1 is a federal program that provides funds to schools to improve academic achievement of disadvantaged students. It is part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act first passed in 1965. The act has been reauthorized multiple times and is now known as the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act (ESSA). Students who are eligible for Title 1 services do not have to be from low-income families. Students are eligible based upon criteria such as but not limited to i-Ready diagnostics, attendance, MCAS, and teacher recommendations. If your child has been identified as a student to receive Title 1 services, you will receive an email from Mr. Ruscak, which includes a family compact. The compact sets out the responsibilities of the students, parents, and school staff in striving to raise student achievement.

Mr. Ruscak will be my special guest for the next “Coffee and Conversations with Principal Rubino.” During this session, you will hear more about Title 1 at Parker Middle School and get to learn more about our new Title 1 math interventionist.

Join me at Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 9 a.m. for the next “Coffee and Conversation with Principal Rubino” via Zoom: https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/84997881056

Monday, Nov. 13 is our next PTO meeting. Join me to learn more about our School Improvement Plan and Challenge Day SEL Experience for our 8th grade students. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and you are welcome to join in person or via Zoom: https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/85845982809

Eighth-Grade families, please be sure to check your emails later this week for more information about the Challenge Day program.

A reminder that there is no school Friday, Nov. 17 due to staff professional development.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, Nov. 13:

Essex Tech Presentation to Grade 8 Students

PTO Meeting - 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 17:

No School for Students/PD Day for Staff

Wednesday, Nov. 22:

Early Dismissal at 10:45 a.m.

Thursday, Nov. 23:

Thanksgiving Day - No School

Friday, Nov. 24:

No School

Tuesday, Nov 28:

Team Endeavor Lexington Field Trip

Wednesday, Nov. 29:

Team Inspire Lexington Field Trip

Wednesday, Nov. 29:

Coffee and Conversation with Principal Rubino via Zoom at 9 a.m.

Special Guest: Title 1 Interventionist Mr. Bryan Ruscak. https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/84997881056

Dec. 1 and Dec. 2:

REF Festival of Trees @ Parker Middle School

To access the 2023-2024 District Calendar, click here.

To access the Cultural Holidays Calendar, click here.

On Thursday, Mrs. Peterson and the Parker Leaders put together an assembly to honor Veterans from the Parker Community. We joined together as a full school community in the auditorium to honor, celebrate, and remember all those who have served our country. Students also placed American Flags outside of Parker Middle School. The flags will be removed Monday morning. Thank you to all those in our community who serve or who have served.

Within the 8th grade Financial Literacy curriculum is an online simulation called The Stock Market Game.

SMG introduces young people to saving and investing through a simulation of the stock market and bond market. Students get to trade and manage their own virtual $100,000 investment portfolio.

Midway through the game, Parker Middle School Financial Literacy Teams have impressive rankings, earning top spots across the region! Out of a field of 275, Parker Middle School has teams in 3rd, 7th and 11th place and another 3 in the top 100!

As we all know this is a very tough market to make money in! Congratulations to all!

President Biden issued on October 29, 2021 a proclamation designating November 2021 as "National Native American Heritage Month." 2022: President Biden issues on October 31, 2022 a proclamation designating November 2022 as "National Native American Heritage Month."

The month is a time to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, histories and acknowledge the important contributions of Native American people. It’s a time to educate students about different tribes, raise general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and in ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges

Come join us for a fun family gathering on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 10:30 a.m. We will have hot drinks, light breakfast fare, crafts, and afterwards we will walk together to the Reading Education Foundation's Festival of Tress at Parker Middle School. The Festival of Trees is an annual reading tradition and is fun for all ages!

Registrations are via the QR code on the flyer or this Eventbrite link.

📌 Our next PTO meeting is Monday, November 13 at 7 p.m. at Parker Middle School and via Zoom (https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/85845982809). All are welcome! Take a sneak peek at our upcoming agenda: https://tinyurl.com/Nov23PTOmtg

📌 Three weeks left in the Charleston Wrap sale, open now through 12/4/23! https://tinyurl.com/ParkerCW2023

Shop online for upcoming November & December holidays, gift wrap, candles, eco-friendly items, personalized gifts, kitchen items, gourmet snacks and more. A portion of all sales will be donated to Parker. Shop now and items are delivered after ordering - no waiting for the end of the sale!

📌 Dues donations still needed to run all of the programs we have planned for our students and staff: The Parker PTO helps support students and staff throughout the year in a variety of ways, and runs solely on family donations. We fund the after school library hours, enrichment & field trip opportunities, staff appreciation luncheons, purchase student agendas and more! Please consider supporting these efforts through a dues donation. Suggested amount is $100/family but any donation is appreciated. Thank you! https://givebutter.com/ParkerPTO

New this year: we are now accepting donations via credit card, Venmo, PayPal, and ACH payments via the GiveButter link! Checks are also welcome and should be made payable to Parker PTO and sent in to the Parker Main Office. Pay online: https://givebutter.com/ParkerPTO. (On Apple iPhones, use Safari to access the Venmo option. On Android devices, use Chrome. On desktop computers, use any browser.)

*Please note that an optional GiveButter tip is automatically selected but can be adjusted in the dropdown before completing payment.

📌 Parker PTO Tree: We are happy to present the Parker PTO tree “Shrek the Halls” for this year’s Festival of Trees. As many of you probably know, the REF Festival of Trees is an important fundraiser for the Reading Education Foundation. It is also a fun family & community event. Parker is a proud annual participant, and our tree reflects the upcoming spring musical!

We have created an Amazon wish list as well as a Sign Up Genius to collect items for the tree. Both links are below. We would appreciate any donations to help create our Shrek themed tree this year. If you would prefer to make a monetary donation so we can purchase tree supplies, that would also be appreciated. Please drop off all donations by 11/29 to the Parker Main Office.

Amazon Wish List (ordered by 11/22): https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1TW54E12SNRM0?ref_=wl_share

Sign Up Genius (items dropped at Parker Main Office by 11/29): https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4BACAB2CA0FD0-45904232-parker

Monetary contribution (collected through 11/22): https://givebutter.com/ShrekTheHalls

Make sure you come see our “Shrek the Halls” tree on Saturday, 12/2 and Sunday, 12/3 at Parker!

Questions? Contact: Alicia Weaver (ambweaver4@gmail.com) & Julie Sheeran (julie_franke@yahoo.com)

📌 SAVE THE DATE!

- Tuesday, 11/21 pie pickup: If you ordered pies in the recent pie sale, pickup will be at Parker from 5-7pm. This is the only time to pick up pies as we have no way to store them.

- Friday, 12/1 enrichment program: Ball in the House will be visiting Parker for an all-school enrichment presenting "And Now I See: Race, Racism and American Music." https://www.ballinthehouse.com/

- Coming soon: The Parker PTO will be providing our awesome staff with a holiday breakfast in December! Stay tuned for how you can help.

📌 WAYS TO STAY CONNECTED:

• Email: parkerptopres@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkerPTO
• Instagram: @ParkerMSPTO
• Parker PTO webpage: tinyurl.com/ParkerPTOpage

For students and families who have asked, here is a recent photo of my puppy, Maui, who is now 14-weeks-old. He's getting big, sleeping through the night, and 99 percent potty trained!

The Parker Middle School will begin Annual Screenings including Postural, beginning next week. The purpose of Postural screening is to find early signs of possible spinal problems in children in grades 6-8. It is not a diagnostic service but a program to identify young people who should have further medical evaluation. If your child has any unusual findings, you will be notified and asked to take the child to a physician as a precaution. The majority of students exhibit no findings. If nothing unusual is found, we will not be contacting you again until the screening next year.

Annual State mandated screenings include:

Grade 6: postural-scoliosis

Grade 7: postural-scoliosis, hearing, vision, height/weight

Grade 8: postural-scoliosis, sbirt

For postural screening please send students in clothing (during PE days) that will help support visualization of the spine. Students should be checked with their backs bare. Boys should be bare to the waist; girls should wear two-piece bathing suits or shorts and a halter.

There is an alternative to opt out. If you do not want your student to participate, please email/submit a written request specifying which screening(s) to omit and submit current documentation of screening by their health care provider.

Parker screenings opt out link: https://forms.gle/bkUS6Anz3cPmxptE8

Please see the links for state information about school health screenings, immunizations and school exclusions: https://www.mass.gov/lists/school-health-screening,https://www.mass.gov/info-details/school-immunizations#school-and-camp-requirements-,

Chart reviews will continue to update immunization records, parents can upload updated vaccinations and documents directly on the snap health portal.

Grade 7 & New Students: Tdap & Meningococcal vaccines are required for the start of 7th grade, and the district requests an updated physical.

Reading Public Schools Snap Health Portal: https://www.reading.k12.ma.us/en-US/health-services-83f6862d/snap-health-portal-7580ab3a

Health offices can be reached via the health portal, or email/phone.

In Health,

Nurse Kate

kate.shmulsky@reading.k12.ma.us

We are looking for one student representative from Parker to join with school, town, and community leaders to help solve problems for our youth.

What is the Reading Children's Cabinet?

The Reading Children’s Cabinet brings together key leaders and
community members that serve children and youth. Our goals are to
strengthen collaboration, align resources, and help to close
programming gaps. The Reading Children’s Cabinet builds on the strong
cross sector leadership already in place in Reading with Reading Public
Schools, Town leadership, the Reading Police Department, community
leaders, business leaders, parents / guardians, and students all coming
together to empower youth to thrive.

What is the time commitment?

We anticipate that the time commitment will include three official meetings in the 2023 – 2024 school year, with the possibility of interim working group meetings to develop action plans for priorities that are identified.

Meeting dates for the 2023 – 2024 Reading Children’s Cabinet are as follows:

December 6th, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

March 6th, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

June 5th, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Meetings will be held at the Reading Public Library and are zoom optional.

I'm interested. Now what?

If you are interested in this unique opportunity and are able to commit to attending all 3 meetings, please complete this form.

METCO unites suburban towns with Boston to engage in a reciprocal learning partnership in support of all students. Because of this, every child who attends school in Reading Public Schools is a METCO student and every parent or guardian who has a student in RPS is a part of the METCO community.

"Since its founding during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, the METCO program has enrolled tens of thousands of Boston students of color in predominately white school districts, creating the opportunity for those districts to experience the advantages of learning and working in a racially and ethnically diverse setting."

Essex North Shore's Annual Open House: Saturday, November 18, 2023

Essex North Shore’s Annual Open House will be held on Saturday, November 18, 2023. Two sessions will be offered. Pre-registration will be required. Additional information will be available at EssexNorthShore.com in the coming weeks as will posters and “Apply Now” cards for your offices and schools.

Northeast Metro Tech Open House is scheduled for Wednesday, November 1, 2023 from 6:00pm – 8:30pm

The Special Education Parent Advisory Council works for the understanding of, respect for, and support of, all children with special needs in the community (including ALL children on IEPs or 504 plans and children who may require specialized support). Watch this brief introductory video to learn more!

Visit the SEPAC WEBPAGE

Sign up for our mailing list

Follow SEPAC on Facebook or Instagram

See our 2023-2024 Calendar of Events

Thank you to everyone who attended the 10/17 meeting. The video of recorded portions will be posted on our website soon. Thanks to Etain O’Dea for serving as Election Coordinator and to Dana Levin for taking notes. New SEPAC board members are Chris Kowaleski, Dilly Wilson and Jacyln Lee. Returning SEPAC board members are Zea Lennard, Eunice Kenyon and Lindsay Conti.

Upcoming events:

SEPACsgiving November 13-19 (sign up for sessions by November 3rd)

SEPACsgiving will be an opportunity for general members to connect with other general members in self-selected groups (eg ADHD, Dyslexia, SAIL, OOD, etc.). Members will "give" presence, time, resources, support, encouragement, and compassion to one another. The initial meeting, for which you can sign up using this link, will be 30 minutes long, virtual, and with an identified point person present to help facilitate conversation, take general notes of broad ideas and questions the group would like shared with the SEPAC board and/or Student Services, and help identify and plan for next steps. Members MAY share contact info and choose if and how they would like to continue/grow their network. Please sign up by November 3rd to allow organizers enough planning time.

SEPAC Tree

Watch emails for news for how to participate in the creation of a fantastic SEPAC tree for the REF Festival of Trees. SEPAC is proud to once again participate in this fantastic community event which supports our schools! Thank you Alyssa Scaparotti for volunteering your time, resources and vision for this year’s tree.

Are you on our mailing list? Check to see if you received an email from “SEPAC” at about 5pm on Tuesday 10/17. If you did not, you are not on our confidential mailing list, and you are missing out! Simply send an email to sepacreading@gmail.com and we will add you to our private list.

Youth MHFA for Adults Supporting Youth

The Reading Coalition for Prevention & Support invites adults to participate in a special course. Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among children and adolescents ages 12-18. The course will teach you how to apply the MHFA Action Plan including: Assess for risk of suicide or harm, Listen nonjudgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help and Encourage self-help and other support strategies. The instructor, Erica McNamara, is credentialed through the National Council on Mental Wellbeing for Mental Health First Aid USA. Join us for all 4 sessions to become certified as a first aider on November 9, 16, 30 from 6-8 pm and Dec. 7 from 6-8 pm at the Reading Public Library. Register at https://conta.cc/3DKbCQQ

Please take the time to read through the handbook to review our policies regarding school attendance.

The best way to report any attendance issues (absence, tardy, or dismissal) for your child is by sending an email to the Parker absentee line – wspabsences@reading.k12.ma.us

Please make sure to give us:

• Student Name

• a reason for the absence or tardy

• expected date of return

• for dismissal, the name of the person who will be dismissing your child

Ms. Rochelle M. Rubino, M. Ed., CAGS

Principal

Dr. Jill Story

Assistant Principal

Email: rochelle.rubino@reading.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.reading.k12.ma.us/parker/
Location: 45 Temple Street, Reading, MA, USA
Phone: 781-944-1236
Twitter: @WSParkerMS