FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Third grade students enjoyed a special Weather presentation yesterday by Todd Gutner, the evening meteorologist for WBZ TV.  The students enjoyed the presentation very much!  The Willard staff enjoyed a special Mexican-style lunch provided by the Staff Appreciation Committee yesterday.  The staff is grateful to the Staff Appreciation Committee and the many parent volunteers who contributed to this luncheon and appreciates the generosity of the Willard Parent Community.

Last week, Student Information Sheets were issued to parents.  Along with the Student Information Sheets, parents received a letter outlining the student placement process and the parameters for completing the Student Information Sheets.  Student Information Sheets are due to your child’s classroom teacher by April 13^th.  Looking ahead to the 2012-2013 school year, we expect that our enrollment numbers will remain relatively stable.  Based on the current enrollment projections, I anticipate the following classroom configuration for the upcoming school year:

• Kindergarten – 4 classes
• Grade 1 – 4 classes
• Grade 2 – 5 classes
• Grade 3 – 4 classes
• Grade 4 – 4 classes
• Grade 5 – 3 classes

The school district has sent all parents a survey relating to bus transportation.  Parents are encouraged to participate in the survey and are reminded that the survey closes on April 15^th.  All parents are also reminded that Concord’s Annual Town Meeting begins on Monday, April 23^rd.  The School Budget and other school-related issues will be voted on that evening.  All parents are encouraged to attend.

April is National Poetry Month.  Schools across the country typically spend time during the month of April sharing poetry and writing poetry with students.  Willard is certainly no exception!  This year, Willard has been invited to participate in a Science Poetry Exchange with a Bermuda School.  As part of the exchange, many Willard teachers have agreed to provide time for their students to write and illustrate a science poem.  We look forward to completing this project later in the month and receiving poems from our partner school.  Boston College Professor (and Willard grandfather) George Ladd is facilitating this exchange project. This opportunity provides our students with an authentic audience for their work as authors and illustrators and also provides them with the chance for an interesting cultural exchange.

Willard Kindergarten Registration has been scheduled for April 24^th and April 26^th. Registration packets have been mailed to the parents of incoming kindergarten students. Along with the packet, a letter containing the specific date, time, and classroom location for your child’s Kindergarten Registration was sent.  I look forward to greeting approximately 70 new kindergarten students and their parents at Registration.

Over the past two weeks, principals have been asked to help Food Service Director Alden Cadwell reach out to families with outstanding lunch account balances.  Parents are expected to maintain a positive balance in their child’s lunch account at all times.  Until outstanding balances are paid and a positive balance is established, parents are expected to send their child to school with a lunch from home.  Any parent who has a question about their bill should contact Food Service Director Alden Cadwell at 978-202-1165 or via email at (acadwell@colonial.net). As you know, you can make payments to your child’s account online through the NutriKids site, which can be accessed on the Willard School Home Page.

I am happy to announce that plans are in process for the return of Family Reading Night at Willard on Wednesday evening, May 2^nd from 6:30 – 7:30 PM.  During this event, teachers will be stationed in various classrooms and will welcome students and parents into their classrooms to listen to some wonderful books read aloud.  We will organize the reading stations by age and/or grade level.  When you arrive for the event you will pick up a program outlining the reading locations, identifying the teacher readers, and identifying the books that will be read.  Last year’s event was well attended and well received. I hope that many families will be able to attend. Please add this date to your calendars!

I hope that all families enjoy a relaxing April School Vacation!

As always, thank you for all you do for Willard School. - Pat Fernandes, Principal

 

WILLARD NEWS & EVENTS

Register Today for the Willard Science Fair

Don’t forget to register for Science May-hem  today! All registrations are ONLINE and must be received by Wednesday, April 11th to ensure student scientists have display space, a participation gift, and super scientific door prizes! Click here to register now! or visit www.willardptg.org — to find everything you need.

Registration confirmation e-mails will be sent to all participants’ parents on Thursday, April 12th. Parents must answer the survey questions included in the e-mail (or accessible by its included link) in order for their child(ren) to be fully registered for the Science Fair.  If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail by Friday, April 13th, please e-mail sciencefair@willardptg.org as soon as possible.

Start Your Engines!

Start Your Engines! As we drive towards the Willard Carnival, we are going to kick things off with an incredible pre-event auction item: 4 TICKETS to the 2012 Indianapolis 500!  You will be receiving an email about how to bid on this amazing item! This Memorial Day weekend you could be sharing the excitement of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

 

Auction and Raffle Items Needed!

Gather your neighbors together and submit a neighborhood donation! Past ideas have included a child’s bike, Razor scooter, digital camera and more. What a great excuse to get your neighbors together for a barbecue to brainstorm how your collective generosity can be so powerful.   Now is your chance…..calling all donations for the 2012 Carnival Silent Auction or Raffle!   See website for auction form.

Check out the *new* Willard PTG website!

The Willard PTG website has been migrated to a new platform (WordPress) for easier updating. It should look very much like the old site! You maybe won’t even be able to tell the difference.

BUT, if you have any individual pages on willardptg.org bookmarked (e.g., Contacts, Calendar etc.), you should update them as URL conventions have changed. Start here and navigate to the page you want and create a new bookmark.

Please send feedback to webmaster@willardptg.org if you notice anything that isn’t working properly or if you have any suggestions or concerns. We welcome feedback!!

You may have also noticed that the Willard Weekly looks different this week due to the new platform.We are working hard to restore some of the features that are now missing. Please send comments to willardweekly@willardptg.org. Thanks!

Willard PTG Needs You!

Planning is underway for next year’s PTG Committees and several Committee Chair positions are open! Volunteering as a Committee Chair is a great way to lead an event or project and get involved in the Willard community. Enlist a friend to co-chair with you! Training and how-to manuals will be provided. Please review the openings below and email president@willardptg.org if you are interested.

PTG Board of Directors Opening

• Auxiliary Responsibilities include communicating events and issues of the Willard Community to all households in the Willard district and creating opportunities for residents without Willard students to learn about the school on an as needed basis. Should be available for special projects and to fill in if other Board Members are absent. Attend monthly PTG Board and General Meetings.

PTG Committee Chair Openings

• 5th Grade Celebration Chair(s) Coordinates, with 5th Grade teachers and Principal, events for 5th grade students and families, including class yearbook, all 5th grade picnic and field day, class gift/service project, and graduation events. Planning begins in late winter, events occur in June.
• School Committee Liaison Coordinates with other liaisons from Thoreau and Alcott to attend School Committee Meetings; reviews and edits summary notes for clarity and objectivity; submits summaries to PTG newsletters and websites. Duties are year-round (School Committee meets twice monthly — Liaison attends only one in every three meetings.
• Chess Club Chair(s) Coordinates all aspects of the Willard before-school chess program. Duties are once-a-week, year round commitment.

COMMUNITY NEWS & EVENTS

Patriot’s Ball

Hear ye! Hear ye! The April 14th Patriot’s Ball is coming, the Patriot’s Ball is coming! The Patriot’s Ball is a party, a dance, a fun time. It will be held from 7:30 PM to midnight at the National Guard Armory on Everett Street in Concord . The night’s entertainment will include live music from the band “FireFly”.  There will be refreshments, door prizes, and a cash bar. The evening concludes with a Grand March of patriotic and military songs followed by a walk to Concord Center to see Samuel Prescott ride again. (We suggest you bring comfortable shoes and a warm coat for this walk). Tickets are $25.00 per person. and can be purchased at the Concord Town Clerk’s office, Concord Hand Designs, the West Concord 5&10, the West Concord Pharmacy or by calling Meg at (978) 371-0192.

Concord’s Holocaust Memorial Observance

As holocaust survivors become older and fewer, it’s more important than ever to hear their stories. On April 22nd, the Sunday following vacation week, we’re honored to have Leon Rubinstein, a Holocaust survivor and his son Wade Rubinstein, owner of West Concord’s ice cream shop Reasons to be Cheerful, talk about the memoir of survival Wade helped his father record. Leon lost his Polish family and home to the Nazi regime, hid in a hole for years, was conscripted to the Russian Army as a teenage soldier and smuggled into British Palestine on the cusp of the Israeli War of Independence before coming to America in the 1950s. We hope you’ll come listen on 4/22 at 7:30 pm in the Concord Town House. Sponsored by the Board of Selectmen and the Concord-Carlisle Human Right Council.

Thoreau Road Race

GirlPower!

A Positive Growth Experience for Girls 10 to 14 Sponsored by Concord-Carlisle Schools, Adult and Community Education Three one-week sessions meet at CCHS, Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM daily. July 9-13 July 16-20 July 23-27 9th through 13th, July 16th through 20th, July 23rd through 27th

Fee:  $525 includes lunch sponsored by Whole Foods, snacks, professional instruction and materials

Be inspired. Try something new. Discover your unique strengths, and empower yourself in a nurturing and non-competitive setting and have the freedom to try new things while feeling safe, nurtured and supported.

To register, contact Concord Adult and Community Education at 978-318-1432 or visit www.ace.colonial.net (keyword Girlpower); for questions, email susanne@dancingwellness.com.

In Case You Missed It

• April Vacation Week at Emerson Umbrella: April Vacation Week is fast approaching! No need to worry about what to do for the kids – take a trip around the world at Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts April 17-20! Children will explore arts of India, Greece, and South America – making art objects, food, and discoveries along the way. Guardians and friends will be invited to come in on Friday to see art work and share in some delicious cultural snacks made by the students. We hope you will join us! Online registration at http://www.emersonumbrella.org/classes/school-recess-week/
• Milldam Nursery School: Milldam Nursery School is accepting applications for the 2012-13 school year. Please visit our web-site to get download and application and request a tour. www.milldamnurseryschool.org Milldam is a cooperative preschool located in the Center of Concord, 20 Lexington Road.
• Thoreau Society & Thoreau Farm Trust On-Line Auction: Running March 1-29, The Thoreau Society and the Thoreau Farm Trust are hosting an online fund raising auction to raise money for their respective missions. You can visit the auction site from the Thoreau Society’s homepage, located at www.thoreausociety.org. The Thoreau Society is the oldest and largest organization devoted to an American author and is dedicated to promoting Thoreau’s life and works through education, outreach and advocacy. Since 2001, they have been designated the official Friends group of Walden Pond, supporting the visitor services, conservation projects and park operations at the State Reservation, site of Thoreau’s experiment in living deliberately (1845-1847) and inspiration for his classic work, Walden (1854). The Thoreau Farm Trust manages and maintains Thoreau Farm, the birthplace of Henry D. Thoreau. Thoreau Farm also offers a host of programs and classes dedicated to exploring Thoreau’s ideas in the 21^st century. For more information visit us at www.thoreausociety.org and at www.thoreaufarm.org.
• Community Chest Spring Gala: The Concord Carlisle Community Chest Bi-Annual Fundraising Gala “It Only Takes a Minute” is just around the corner on Saturday March 31st. We are a little more than half way to our goal of having at least 300 attendees for this event. The games have been finalized, the silent auction items have been posted and we are excited for what will be a very fun night for a great cause. Purchase Tickets: http://cccommunitychest.org/ Silent Auction Items: http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/Browse.action?auctionId=154153342Babysitting: Finally, if you are looking for a babysitter for the night the Friends of the Concord Carlisle Girls Lacrosse will be doing a Babysitting for Donations on that same night. You can learn more about this by visiting their website at: http://www.friendsofccgirlslacrosse.org
• CCPI Survey: The Concord Carlisle Parents Initiative wants to know what’s on your mind! Please take part in this 10 item survey to help CCPI identify parents’ concerns. We appreciate your responses and look forward to offering programs that meet your needs. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PQWGXVX
• Cyber Safety Discussion: To complement the K-5 library’s digital citizenship curriculum, the Center for Parents and Teachers, in collaboration with the Concord-Carlisle High School Parent Association, presents Keep Your Kids Safe Online. This discussion, featuring attorney and public speaker Onyen Yong from the Middlesex Partnerships for Youth CYBER SAFETY, will be held at Concord Carlisle High School, 7 PM on Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Free, and open to all. Questions? Please contact us at cpt@colonial.net or call 978-202-1143. See the Cyber Safety Program flyer for more information.
• Patriots’ Day at the Concord Museum: Monday, April 16, 2012 – Make a visit to the Concord Museum part of your Patriots’ Day tradition! This year commemorate the day by learning about Paul Revere—one of our greatest patriots. Visit with a colonial silversmith (12:00-2:00) as he demonstrates techniques that Revere used. Since 1975, silversmith Stephen Smithers has been researching and refining the classic art of silversmithing as practiced by master silversmiths like Paul Revere throughout history. Take part in our Paul Revere Quest to discover more about the 1775 midnight ride and see the famous lantern that hung in the Old North Church. Explore the Museum’s galleries and admire Paul Revere’s silver work, and then draw your own! All family-friendly activities are free with Museum admission. The Concord Museum, open from 9:00-5:00 on Patriots’ Day, is located on Cambridge Turnpike at the intersection of Lexington Road. For further information visit: www.concordmuseum.org