Strategic Priorities Snapshot
Periodically, we will share some snapshots of our strategic priorities and action steps for this year. This year's Deeper Learning Goal is to:
This is a continuation of our work last year where we spent time introducing our Portrait of a Learner competencies across the district and providing opportunities for students to reflect on the competencies (super powers) and their own strengths. A powerful outcome of last year's work happened at the start of this year when our elementary students were giving new student tours. One of the 4th grade students told the new students all about PoL superpowers! We also have received positive feedback from students and families regarding having public showcases/presentations/sharing of learning with authentic audiences. This could be sharing work online, engaging with community partners, presenting to peers, showcases and symposiums that invite the community in, civic projects that are shared with local leaders. There are so many avenues to have students have meaningful expression of their learning, to create products of learning, and to engage authentic audiences. Be sure to invite me in when you are going to have these celebrations of learning as it is my favorite moments to hear from students what they have learned. We also received a lot of input on the need to maximize/adapt our schedules to better meet the needs of our students and programs. We hope you bring your ideas to the table for future discussions on how we can improve our schedules. 1st mentor meeting - Tuesday, September 26th - 3:45
All district mentors will be meeting in the Miscoe Staff room on Tuesday, September 26th at 3:45 for the first time to organize and review MURSD mentoring supports and activities. All new mentors will also be gathering on October 16th from 8:30-2:00 for mentor training. Reach out to Andrea Rutkowski (arutkowski@mursd.org) if you have any questions.
PD Committee meeting - Wednesday, September 27th at 3:45
The District PD Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, September 27th. Connect with your committee members to share ideas for PD, or feel free to join us. We'll meet in the Miscoe Staff room at 3:45.
Approaches to Play and learning Resources Pilot
As an extension of the posted SEL Resources for Grades 1-3, DESE’s Early Learning team, in collaboration with volunteer educators, has drafted resources for grades 1-3 to support development of the Approaches to Play and Learning competencies in the areas of eagerness and curiosity; focus, attention, and persistence; and organizational skills.
Teachers and administrators are invited to pilot these resources from October through December. The Department is holding an informational webinar with more information about the resources and pilot and will offer the webinar twice: 3:00-4:00 p.m. on Monday, September 25 and 7:30-8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 26. Interested teachers and administrators are encouraged to register for the webinar. Anyone with additional questions about this opportunity can email Jane Haltiwanger at Jane.Haltiwanger@mass.gov. Practical approaches to strengths-based math Classrooms
As a nice follow-up to last week's newsletter, for the listening pleasure of teachers in grade K-5, check out this podcast on practical approaches to build strengths-based math classrooms, produced by the Math Learning Center (Bridges). Also check out the October Numbers Corners "workouts" - videos posted by veteran teachers with tips and tricks to implementing Numbers Corners for the month of October - log in to Bridges site and then click the links (K, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5). Reach out to Molly Smith, Kami Ellis, or Lauren Lajoie, our K-8 math teacher leaders if you have questions about the site or see something else you think your colleagues would benefit from.
School and district teams that are involved in welcoming and supporting newcomer students are invited to join DESE from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 28 for a webinar featuring representatives from Salem Public Schools, who will share some best practices and lessons learned. The webinar will also highlight updates to DESE’s newcomer FAQ (download). Registration is open online.
On a related note, the U.S. Education Department has re-released its own Newcomer Toolkit, originally published in September 2016. This toolkit is a resource for State, local, and school leaders in supporting multilingual learners and general education educators who directly serve immigrant and refugee students. Additionally, a national English Learner Toolkit reminds educators of the civil rights of families of newcomer students. MA teacher stem fair
Educators and their families are invited to a free Massachusetts Teacher STEM Fair from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 30 at Patriot Place Conference Center. Attendees can participate in hands-on STEM lessons and learn about STEM organizations. Registration is open online.
Cybsersecurity Training modules
Our district is one of many school districts and municipalities who are part of a state sponsored cybersecurity training program. We initially signed up last year to participate in this Fall and were placed into the Spring modules by the state. Each month they released cybersecurity training modules to staff members to complete. These are the frequent reminder e-mails that you may have received last year or into this year. We are receiving information that the cybersecurity training may end up being a requirement from the state and those of us participating now are receiving the training earlier. I personally have gone through the modules and while cybersecurity is certainly not my number one interest of choice to spend some of my time, I will admit that I have learned new skills as a result of participating in the training. We do recommend that you try to chip away at the modules at your leisure as the more of us collectively who are trained, the less likely our schools will be vulnerable to various cybersecurity attacks, which are on the rise. We will be providing PDPs in Teachpoint for those who complete the modules to recognize your time and efforts to learn more about this improtant safety topic.
#MURSDTHRIVES...You INSPIRE ME
We are launching this year's "You Inspire Me" nominations in our weekly updates. Please take a moment to complete the "You Inspire Me" nomination form to celebrate any member of our school community. They will then be either highlighted in our monthly district newsletters to the community or they will receive a personal notification that they have been nominated and why.
laughter is the best medicine
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Belonging "Human learning is socially constructed: we come to understand the world through our interactions with others. Feeling part of a community of learners is a powerful motivator." --Camille Farrington in Design for Belonging: How to build inclusion and collaboration in your communities. "Belonging happens when people feel safe, seen, and accepted." --Christine Wong Yap in Design for Belonging: How to build inclusion and collaboration in your communities. One topic that I am reading, learning, and reflecting about is belonging. In the book Design for Belonging they have various reflective activities to think about and try out. Periodically, I will share some of the ideas they share. According to the author, belonging is the invitation to be your full self, however that looks. It is the opportunity--no matter who you are--to learn, live, and love, to be honored, encouraged, and allowed to develop as you and as part of the groups that develop and celebrate our identifies, needs, and contributions. If we look at this idea from the lens of our work with students, belonging often falls along a continuum. We may make efforts to celebrate diversity, or increase inclusion, or ensure equity in practices; however, are we reaching the end of the continuum where we design for belonging, where students truly feel safe, seen, accepted and have a voice they feel comfortable using. Collectively, as an organization, we create our own culture through our every day actions. What are we doing each day to foster and grow a sense of belonging for all? Reflective activity: Build awareness. Think about a moment when you felt like you truly belonged and could express your authentic self. Remember how that felt and the conditions that created that moment. Then think about a moment when you didn't have a sense that you belonged. What were the elements that contributed to that feeling. Then in the next week, look for moments when belonging is evident and try to see what elements created those moments. Starting with StrengthsEvery learner brings with them their own passions, interests and strengths that, if recognized and nurtured, lay the foundation for deeper learning experiences, stronger personal connections, and increased engagement. Last week Andrea Rutkowski, Colleen Terrill and I hosted our first New Educator workshop where we shared some of the ways MURSD embraces this truth. We started by considering how the competencies in the Portrait of a Learner support a strengths-based approach to engaging students. Did you know that in the elementary schools, students are introduced to these competencies as super-powers? At the high school each freshman identifies the competency that they most closely identify with and describe their strengths as a POL scholar? New Educators also heard how our S3 (Systemic Student Supports) partnership starts with strengths, by providing a "Whole Student Review" framework for educators to collaboratively discuss what they know about the strengths, interests and passions of each student, and to partner with families to learn more. Lee Ann Jung, author of the book we offered as a book study last year, Your Students, My Students, Our Students, reminds us that honoring students aspirations and interests (Chapter 5) sometimes takes a back seat when conversations shift to why students are not growing as expected. She encourages us to bring student strengths, interests and passions back to the forefront, and to acknowledge our own diverse strengths to work as well-rounded teams supporting all our students.
Early Literacy Universal Screening Elementary teachers all across the district will soon be conducting early literacy universal screening for students in grades K-3, and communicating the results with parents. Although MURSD has been using the same universal screener for years, new regulations from DESE require that, similar to vision screening, each young student participate in this screening to assist in the detection of possible reading difficulties. Universal screening will only be conducted by elementary educators, but it impacts everyone who has or supports early readers. Leah Hagen and Brianna Zalusky presented at the last School Committee meeting and their presentation which includes DESE resources can be accessed here. We need your ideas - Join the PD Committee Interested in helping to advise about learning opportunities for you and your colleagues? There's a way to get involved. Join the PD Committee. Each school has representatives that work together to recommend PD both district-wide and at the school level. We need your ideas and input. The PD Committee will meet 4 times this year as a whole team and the first meeting is coming up on Wednesday, September 27th from 3:45-5:00. Whether you are a seasoned MURSD educator or brand new to the district, we welcome you. If you have ideas but cannot participate in the group, please reach out to those from your school on the Committee. We value your input and feedback. MURSD Mentors - first meeting September 26thAll educators serving as MURSD mentors will be gathering in the Miscoe Hill staff room on September 26th at 3:45 for our first mentor meeting of 23-24. Mentors who have not yet participated in mentor training should also put on their calendars October 16th from 8:30-2:00 where we'll meet in the Nipmuc Gathering Room. Reach out to Andrea Rutkowski (arutkowski@mursd.org) with questions. Creating Neurodiversity - Affirming schools -free webinar This week join Amanda Morin, Sara Kesty and Emily Kircher-Morris as they present a series of live and interactive events designed to help you create a classroom and school that better serves the needs of all learners. Dates for the series are as follows: 🎙️Sept. 19 @ 7:30pm EST - Feat. Amanda Morin 🎙️Sept. 21 @ 7:30pm EST - Feat. Sarah Kesty 🎙️Sept. 22 @ 7:30pm EST - Live Collaboration & Workshop with Emily Kircher-Morris You’ll have the chance to join the conversation by interacting with the presenters and fellow participants. This series is free and is recorded, so those who cannot attend can access recordings by registering. Sign up today. Strengthening your lens as an equitable educatorThis five-part series, offered by MPY, allows participants to engage in a deeper dive into conversations centered on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Specifically, while each session explores a particular topic, all sessions provide practical tips, transparency, honest practices, and actual case studies that provide participants with various perspectives as well as an opportunity to strengthen one’s mindset and equity lens. The ultimate goal is that all participants can walk away from this series feeling more confident and prepared for the challenges that undoubtedly persist in our schools, agencies, and communities. Here is the schedule of sessions:
Data wise - Free, self-paced mooc Educators have an ever-increasing stream of data at their fingertips, but knowing how to use this data to improve learning and teaching — how to make it less overwhelming, more useful, and part of an effective collaborative process — can be challenging. Data Wise, a group of Educators and Professional Development providers out of Harvard have created a free 10-week, 10 hour MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) that will introduce you to Data Inquiry using the Data Wise framework (very similar to the one MURSD will roll out). Here are the learning outcomes for the course:
Tech update from this past week1. Printers - If you still have printing issues, please put in a helpdesk ticket or stop by the physical helpdesk. We often see mismatches in passwords, meaning you may have a different password for logging on to our network and your school GMail/Macbook. We can help you change your password and get it sorted out. 2. Copiers - We resolved the issues with the copier and printer app not appearing on the copiers. If you see a problem please report it to your school office. 3. Canva - We are aware of an issue with logging into the app. We are working with the vendor to fix the issue. 4. Helpdesk Availability - We have two students from BVT Seniors working at Miscoe (Ben) and Nipmuc (Vanessa) every other week assisting Sam, Chris, and Felipe. We are still catching up on the wave of tickets from the first week of school, so please note that we might not always be physically in the building but we are monitoring the ticket system. Here is the physical schedule we are aiming to keep: - Miscoe and Nipmuc - Mornings until 11 am - Elementary Schools - 11:00 until dismissal These hours are subject to change depending on staff availability and issues that arise during the day. "Laughter is the best medicine." Onto A cooler and wet week Thank you for the amazing team effort that took place last week to manage the excessive heat. I know the conditions in our hottest classrooms were brutal and I really appreciate how each school staff created flexible short-term solutions to help one another find relief. Fortunately, it looks like we are trending with more seasonable temperatures. We will be keeping an eye on the potential for excessive rain as Hurricane Lee may track near Massachusetts by the end of the week. Whatever extreme weather comes our way, I know we will always come together to support one another. Strategic Action planning 2023-2024 During our MURSD in Concert PD day, you all had the opportunity to review our new strategic plan. Each year of the 5-year plan we create annual goals, aligned to targeted priorities and we develop action steps that will bring those goals to fruition. At the School Committee meeting this evening, we will be presenting the following draft of strategic priorities for the 2023-2024 school year.  For many of us, we remember. We remember where we were the moment we first heard about the first plane crash. We remember hearing that our nation was under attack. We remember watching the second plane and the buildings fall. We remember how numb we felt. We remember the flags everywhere in the streets. We remember the rallying speeches. We remember the people we lost. We remember the individual stories. We remember how we were united. I remember I was a high school teacher and was told by my department chair as I was in the middle of teaching only to turn on the TV to watch both buildings fall. I remember that we knew we had students in our school who had parents on the plane that left Boston. I remember how I had to stay calm and keep them feeling as safe as possible, even though we weren't sure what was happening. Today marks a day that brings up many emotions for people who were impacted by this event in their lives. Please take the moments you need and ask for support if you need it. First New Educator Workshop - Tuesday, September 12th at 3:45 Andrea Rutkowski and Cheryl Kirkpatrick will host the first in a series of new educator workshops on Tuesday, September 12th from 3:45-4:45 at the Nipmuc PDC. The focus on this month's workshop is getting to know your students' strengths and needs, and will include an introduction to Thrively, our S3 partnership, Open Architects, a data platform that brings together academic, SEL and behavioral data. These tools/partnerships are relatively new and all educators new to the district within the last 3 years are invited to attend this workshop. Educators new to the district this year are encouraged to attend. Instructional Partners meet Thursday, September 14th Our Instructional Partners PLC will be meeting for the first time on September 14th from 8:30-12:30 in the Nipmuc PDC. Lunch will be provided (contact Kim Lowther with dietary restrictions). Instructional Partners are colleagues that hail from every school and will be using this year to plan supports and resources that will assist educators in growing practices embedded in our strategic plan - practices that promote deeper learning, high-quality instruction, and attending to equity, inclusion and wellbeing. Contact Cheryl if you have questions. International Dot Day - September 15th International Dot Day will be celebrated on September 15th. This year is in celebration of the book, The Dot by Peter Reynolds being in publication for 20 years. Peter Reynolds and his Fable Vision Company have teamed up with Flip (formerly Flipgrid) to celebrate International Dot Day and are asking students and teachers to participate in a Flip activity. Click this link to register and learn more. Data Wise - Free, self-paced MOOC Educators have an ever-increasing stream of data at their fingertips, but knowing how to use this data to improve learning and teaching — how to make it less overwhelming, more useful, and part of an effective collaborative process — can be challenging. Data Wise, a group of Educators and Professional Development providers out of Harvard have created a free 10-week, 10 hour MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) that will introduce you to Data Inquiry using the Data Wise framework (very similar to the one MURSD will roll out). Here are the learning outcomes for the course:
Be sure to start your annual trainingsOur annual trainings are available on Safe Schools (Vector Solutions). We are asking that folks go through them by October 15th. For new educators, these trainings may take several hours, so don't wait until the last minute! Let Kim Lowther (klowther@mursd.org) know if you have have questions or are having trouble. For laughs For inspiration What are we reading? #MURSDReadsWe'd love to expand our collective sharing of what books we are reading in the district (both fiction and nonfiction). If you have some recommended books for others that you are currently reading or have just read, please pass them along.
What a Week! Okay...it wasn't a full week yet, but it certainly was an awesome few days. Thank you for your enthusiasm and how you opened your hearts to our new staff as well as to our students. It was all positive vibes at each of the buildings this week. I asked middle school students who their first day was when I was standing with them at pick-up and they all said "Great!" I asked why...."My teachers" was the #1 answer. It even beat out "recess." It was fun to dress up with our Memorial folks in superhero gear on opening day to see the astonished faces of our students coming in. At Clough, our kindergarten students were wowed by the fire trucks and kept calm by the staff (you were all so great!) when they closed off part of the building to investigate an odor. At Nipmuc, the students enjoyed the wellness activities, staff sported the Nipmuc gear with style! At Central Office everyone hit the ground running with new hires, budget requests, facility requests, transportation, tech needs, and so much more behind-the-scenes work that keeps the buildings running. Here is to an even better week ahead!  What a great way to kick off the year!See some photos from our Opening Day, District-wide PD and the first day of school last week. We hope you feel like you got to meet some new people, have some fun with some old friends, dive into our new Strategic Plan, and learn a bit about various AI applications that might be useful in your classes or work. Here is a link to the reel of your Battle of the Bands videos that Colleen compiled. Grammy's will be delivered to the winners in the next several days. Enjoy! with gratitude for so much!!!So much of what we did last week came together because of the incredible people we work with each day. Many thanks to Dianne Mucci and Team Food Service for providing an incredible "Tailgate" spread and breakfast and coffee. Thanks to our custodians for all the repairs, improvements and cleaning done over the summer, and a spacial thank you to the Nipmuc custodians for all of their work hosting us for 2 days. Many, many thanks to our Administrative Assistants - the folks who really make it all happen - Amy, Amy and Nicole at the high school, Kim & Lauren at the central office, and all the Administrative Assistants at the schools who organized races, charcuterie boards and signs, while preparing for new students of all ages. The Technology Department was everywhere last week - helping with Opening Day and PD, as well as troubleshooting for so many things during the first 2 days of school. Also, a special thanks to the Music Department, and especially Simon Harding for music trivia, lights and sound for our kick-off days. Finally, many thanks to the PD Committee for their energy, ideas and enthusiasm. If you'd like to join this bunch of creative educators, reach out to Colleen or Cheryl. New Educator Workshops starting next week - September 12th Andrea Rutkowski and Cheryl Kirkpatrick will host the first in a series of new educator workshops on Tuesday, September 12th from 3:45-4:45 at the Nipmuc PDC. The focus on this month's workshop is getting to know your students' strengths and needs, and will include an introduction to Thrively, our S3 partnership, Open Architects, a data platform that brings together academic, SEL and behavioral data. These tools/partnerships are relatively new and all educators new to the district within the last 3 years are invited to attend this workshop. Educators new to the district this year are expected to attend. Instructional Partners meet on September 14th Our Instructional Partners PLC will be meeting for the first time on September 14th from 8:30-12:30 in the Nipmuc PDC. Lunch will be provided (contact Kim Lowther with dietary restrictions). Instructional Partners are colleagues that hail from every school and will be using this year to plan supports and resources that will assist educators in growing practices that will help us build the instructional practices embedded in our strategic plan - practices that promote deeper learning, high-quality instruction, and attending to equity, inclusion and wellbeing. Contact Cheryl if you have questions. Resources to support families needing translationsMany thanks to our amazing ELL Department, Debby Coyle, Denise McGovern and Kim Lopes, who have been reaching out to schools to share valuable information regarding translation guidance & resources. If you missed it in your email here is some of what they shared: MURSD Guidelines for Translation and Interpretation This doc delineates methods for written translation at different levels within the district and provides different options for communicating with families. Also included is a list of district-approved interpreters and translators. Flow-Chart: Communicating with Families Requiring Translation or Interpretation We created this flow chart to help show the most effective methods of 2-way communication with families who speak languages other than English. It includes the primary contact numbers for each of our district-approved interpreters, but more detailed information can be found in the Guidelines doc linked above. Talking Points for Teachers This slideshow explains how to set up and use Talking Points for instant 2-way communication with families who require translation. It is available as an app or on the website and is linked to your school email address (not your personal phone number). Please let me know if you would like help to set this up. It is quick and my favorite method to stay connected to families without needing to go through an interpreter. Annual TrainingsOur annual trainings went up on Safe Schools (Vector Solutions) on August 4th. We are asking that folks go through them by October 15th. For new educators, these trainings may take several hours, so don't wait until the last minute! Let Kim Lowther (klowther@mursd.org) know if you have have questions or are having trouble. Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) provides cutting-edge information and high-quality professional development trainings to member school districts. Professional development continues to focus on mental and behavioral health, social and emotional learning, trauma-sensitive classrooms and building a school culture that supports anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion. MPY has a newly updated website for 23-24 which provides members with an easy process to register and apply for PDP and/or CEUs for webinars and conferences. Unlike last year where educators used a disctrict username and passcode to log in, this year each individual participant from member schools will have their own MPY account, with a unique username and passcode. MURSD Educators will establish their account on MPY’s website, by accessing this invitation and creating a unique username and password. MPY will approve members’ accounts within 24 hours. Here are the types of programming educators can access through MPY: Virtual Webinar Series: Whether live or recorded, these often multi-part series span several sessions. Registering for one registers you for all. If you miss a live session, recordings will be sent to you and available for 7 days. On-Demand Library of Feature Speakers: Some of MPY's speakers have been made available, on-demand. This means that anyone can view the recorded webinar at any time. You'll still need your username and password to access them. Hybrid conferences: MPY also organizes conferences which members can attend either in-person or virtually. For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Applying for PDPs/CEUs
Primary Source Primary Source offers a variety of formats and programs– from 4-week asynchronous online courses to virtual lectures to learning institutes, book groups, and self-guided modules. As a partner district, Mendon-Upton has priority access to all of our courses and programs this year:
Online Courses, such as Elementary & Secondary- Engaging Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Students & Families If you are interested in registering for any of these courses and programs, reach out to Kim Lowther (klowther@mursd.org) Tech update The following were updates sent from Joe Leacu to staff last week for your review.
The new helpdesk link is https://mursd.incidentiq.com/ Please use your Gmail password to log in. Please log a ticket so we don’t forget about you. Direct emails are always nice, but right now we are swamped. for Laughs for inspiration  OPENING DAY-AUGUST 28THWe are looking forward to seeing everyone in person for our opening day festivities at Nipmuc High School. Our opening day for teachers and staff is Monday, August 28. We will be starting our day at Nipmuc High School in the morning and then returning back to school buildings. We will spend time meeting and welcoming our new staff members and celebrating our more veteran educators for their years of service and dedication to our amazing school district. As we reconnect with one another, I'm also looking forward to expanding our moments of laughter and joy as we build our community together. I'd like to invite everyone in the district to join for the Superintendent's Welcome in the Auditorium. We have a few special surprises in store and would love to take advantage of the opportunity to all join together in celebration as we embark on the 2023-2024 school year. 7:30 am - 8:15 am Coffee and Breakfast Available-Cafeteria 8:15 am - 9:00 am Superintendent's Welcome-Auditorium (All welcome) 9:00 am - 10:00 am Association Meetings MURTA Meeting-Auditorium Paraprofessionals/ABA Techs-Cafeteria Administrators-Gathering Room 10:00 am - 10:30 am Travel Back to Respective Buildings Classroom and Curriculum Planning 10:30 am - 12:30 pm Faculty Meetings in Respective Buildings 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch (on your own) 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Staff: Classroom and Curriculum Planning Welcoming our newest colleaguesOrientation this past week was was fun and informative thanks to so many coordinated efforts, and a new educator cohort with spunk and energy to spare! See a few photos below. Many thanks to Andrea Rutkowski, Lead Mentor; Colleen Terril, Liz Black and team, who provided an exceptional Tech Bootcamp; Dianne Mucci and team for healthy and creative nourishment; Mo Coburn for a safe and fun bus tour; and many of you who are supporting our newest colleagues as mentors. See below for upcoming mentoring and induction dates and a link to the mentor and induction calendar. Kim Lowther will be circulating calendar invites shortly so you'll have these dates on your calendars. Check out some of the fun pictures below.
 After opening day on Monday, August 28th, we will spend Tuesday, August 29th together at Nipmuc to ring in 23-24 by learning and laughing together. The PD Committee has planned a fun, interactive day that will allow each of us to meet new colleagues, and consider how we can contribute to making the next 5 years in MURSD our best! Dress comfy and come early at 7:30 for coffee and pastries. Our program starts at 8:00 a.m. and lunch will be provided. We experienced some technical difficulties last week with getting the registration up on Vector Solutions/TeachPoint. We think it's fixed. Register your PDPs on Vector Solutions/TeachPoint by finding the available event, "All Staff MURSD in Concert: All District PD," and use these instructions, watch this video, or read this trouble-shooting doc if you are new to Vector Solutions/TeachPoint. Reach out to Kim Lowther (klowther@mursd.org) if you have questions. Resources to start the year for K-5 Teachers Bridges Numbers Corners videos We want teachers to know that The Math Learning Center, creators of the Bridges Curriculum have resources to start the school year for teachers posted on their website including some great Numbers Corners videos. Log onto Bridges with your MURSD username and password and check them out. Many thanks to Molly Smith, Kami Ellis, Ryan LaBarre and Linda Cote for their leadership in K-8 math, attending workshops over the summer and helping us stay abreast of resources and practices that will help students thrive in math! Reading Universe - free literacy resource for all teachers of reading Liz Garden, Principal at Clough Elementary, has been working over the past couple of years with a national team of literacy experts to develop a free professional development website specifically for foundational reading instruction. It's called Reading Universe. It's meant to be a powerful resource for all teachers where they can find actual video clips, lessons, activities, research, assessments, etc. Here is a short video clip that explains it. Check it out!!! If you find particularly useful, post about it and tag #MURSD, or connect with your Curriculum Assistants, Department Chairs and Instructional Partners to let them know. MASS Literacy Online Course - Free & 15 PDPs Since 2020,the Mass Literacy Guide has empowered MA educators with practical, effective teaching strategies, tools, and resources to support evidence-based practices that cultivate the literacy talents of ALL our students in grades preK-3. To support all educators in getting to know the wealth of information and resources within the Mass Literacy Guide, DESE is providing an asynchronous online course, available at no cost to any educator who works in a Massachusetts education organization. Participants who complete the course will receive 15 PDPs. As a result of the learning experiences in this course, participants will deepen their understanding of how to:
Grade 5-12 teachers- participate in the Stem week challenge! PBL Works has refreshed and re-imagined theirSTEM Week Challenge from last year to continue to create opportunities for all students to learn about in-demand STEM careers and network with industry professionals. The STEM Week Challenge is a high-quality, meaningful K-12 applied project-based learning experience for Mass STEM Week – with added emphasis on flexibility to meet educators and students where they are. Students will have the opportunity to investigate in-demand careers and dialogue with industry experts to answer the driving question "How can we prepare and inspire members of our school community to pursue impactful STEM careers?" PBL Works offers Professional Learning offered to educators interested in the STEM Week Challenge. Register here and reach out to Colleen or I if interested. The workshops are offered on the following dates, but will be recorded so registering will get you recorded access:
Technology Resources for allThe Tech Department has been hard at work this summer on a couple of important items. The following is from Sam O'Neil's August 16 email:
Making Connections with Technology We all know it is important to form relationships with your students and one way to do that is to get to know them during the first couple of days of school. Below, see a few Icebreakers and activities to check out that might help your students connect:
Reach out to me (cterrill@mursd.org) with any questions or if you'd just like to conect about trying something new. --Colleen Annual Mandated TrainingsOur annual trainings went up on Safe Schools (Vector Solutions) on August 4th, and are available for you to review. We are asking that folks go through them by October 15th. For new educators, these trainings may take several hours, so don't wait until the last minute! Let Kim Lowther (klowther@mursd.org) know if you have have questions or are having trouble. SEI ENdorsementFor those of you who still need to achieve SEI endorsement, the following fall schedule of courses were announced by the French River Education Center. For inspiration For laughs I hope you have had a great summer!Hi everyone! I hope this weekly update finds you well and your summer has been filled with magical moments for you. The above pictures sum up a few of my personal 2023 summer positive highlights include baseball, peaceful time in Maine, college visits, concerts, time with my dog JoJo and a magical family trip to Ireland. I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures so bring photos to share upon return. I won't give you the super official-OFFICIAL welcome back yet as you still have one more week until we all gather together on August 28th; however, we wanted to check in to start providing you with district information in advance of our opening. It's going to be a great year! Warm Regards, Maureen While you were gone. . . Scenes from our busy summerFrom the MURSD Summer Enrichment Programs, to new facility upgrades, to camps, curriculum acquisitions, and general silliness, see what you missed while you were gone. new educator orientation - Tuesday, August 22nd, 23rd, & 24th We are looking forward to welcoming our newest members to team MURSD this week. On Tuesday, August 22nd, 23rd, and 24th we'll be hosting orientation for them at Nipmuc's PDC. The days are packed with activities, information and time to set up rooms and meet mentors. Please join Andrea Rutkowski, Lead Mentor and I, in welcoming your newest colleagues. Let's see how many photos of our veterans welcoming and assisting their colleagues we can post!!! #MURSDThrives #WeAreMURSD Opening Day-August 28thWe are looking forward to seeing everyone in person for our opening day festivities at Nipmuc High School. Our opening day for teachers and staff is Monday, August 28. We will be starting our day at Nipmuc High School in the morning and then returning back to school buildings. We will spend time meeting and welcoming our new staff members and celebrating our more veteran educators for their years of service and dedication to our amazing school district. As we reconnect with one another, I'm also looking forward to expanding our moments of laughter and joy as we build our community together. Here is the tentative schedule and if any changes are made this week, we will highlight them for you in next week's memo. 7:30 am - 8:15 am Coffee and Breakfast Available-Cafeteria 8:15 am - 9:00 am Superintendent's Welcome-Auditorium. 9:00 am - 10:00 am Association Meetings MURTA Meeting-Auditorium Paraprofessionals/ABA Techs-Cafeteria Administrators-Gathering Room 10:00 am - 10:30 am Travel Back to Respective Buildings Classroom and Curriculum Planning 10:30 am - 12:30 pm Faculty Meetings in Respective Buildings 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch (on your own) 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Staff: Classroom and Curriculum Planning District-wide PD - August 29th After opening day on Monday, August 28th, we will spend Tuesday, August 29th together at Nipmuc to ring in the new year by learning and laughing together. The PD Committee has planned a fun, interactive day that will allow each of us to meet new colleagues, and consider how we can contribute to making the next 5 years in MURSD our best! Come early at 7:30 for coffee and pastries. Our program starts at 8:00 a.m. and lunch will be provided. As usual, we'll have details of the day and instructions for how to register your PDPs on TeachPoint posted to the PD Website a week in advance. Please reach out to Colleen Terrill (cterrill@mursd.org) or me if you have questions. Reach out to Kim (klowther@mursd.org) with dietary restrictions or if you have trouble with TeachPoint. We are looking forward to seeing everyone!! -Cheryl a new mentor program for ABA techs and Paraprofessionals We are excited to announce that ABA techs and Paraprofessionals will benefit from a new mentor program that is starting this year. Experienced ABA techs/Paraprofessionals can access this application form if they are interested in being considered as a mentor. Many thanks to Marabeth Ishler and Kaitlyn Assam whose ideas and leadership alongside Jen D'Angelo and Mary Hess have made this invaluable support a reality.  Annual Trainings postedOur annual trainings went up on Safe Schools (Vector Solutions) on August 4th, and are available for you to review. We are asking that folks go through them by October 15th. For new educators, these trainings may take several hours, so don't wait until the last minute! Let Kim Lowther (klowther@mursd.org) know if you have have questions or are having trouble. SEI endorsementFor those of you who still need to achieve SEI endorsement, the following fall schedule of courses were announced by the French River Education Center. welcoming newcomersSchool and district teams that are involved in welcoming and supporting newcomer students are invited to join DESE from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 24 for a webinar. This session will expand on DESE’s newcomer FAQ (download). A follow-up session at 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 28 will feature representatives from districts and other entities who will share best practices and ideas. For laughs For inspiration Happy summer MURSD! rest, reflect & rechargeFrom everyone at the central office and the MURSD leadership team, we want to wish each and every one of you a fabulous summer break. Breath deeply, sleep late, get outside as much as you can, and reflect on the many ways, big and small, your efforts have had an impact on the lives of students. When August 29th comes around, we'll gather again, re-energized and ready to make a difference for students and each other. Enjoy your summer! #mursdrecharge Robin Benoit named principal of Miscoe Hill We are delighted to announce the appointment of our next Miscoe Hill Middle School Principal, Ms. Robin Benoit (soon to be Dr. Benoit) who will begin on July 1, 2023. Ms. Benoit's selection from a wide pool of qualified candidates is a testament to her exceptional qualifications and 28 years of dedication to education as a teacher and leader. Her educational leadership doctoral dissertation defense, scheduled for later this week, will soon confer upon her the well-deserved title of "Dr." Ms. Benoit brings with her nearly 20 years of invaluable experience as a STEM middle school teacher in esteemed institutions such as Ashland, Francis W. Parker Charter School, Nashoba Regional, and Concord. Throughout her teaching career, she has held various roles, including mentor, coach, class advisor, PD committee member, Strategic Planning Committee member, and School Council member, demonstrating her commitment to both student and teacher development. Having embarked on a leadership path, she served as a K-12 STEM Coordinator in Nashoba, where she made significant contributions to the coordination of middle school standards-based reporting systems and the development of a middle school advisory program. Subsequently, she spent six years as the associate principal of the Bromfield School in Harvard Public Schools, further honing her leadership skills and middle school expertise. In her most recent role as the Director of Instructional Design in her district, Ms. Benoit spearheaded the review of math, social studies, and literacy practices. Additionally, she provided vital support to teachers in implementing instructional strategies for English Learners, designed professional development initiatives focused on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and played an instrumental role in implementing co-teaching teams. She understands the development of the whole child, one of our district's core values, where high standards for academic excellence are always coupled with social-emotional learning while creating well-rounded opportunities where all students thrive. Ms. Benoit's colleagues and teachers hold her in high esteem, describing her as someone who forges deep relationships and possesses a reflective nature, who is essentially a life-long learner to the core. They commend her as being a true "teacher at heart" whose decision-making is always guided by what is in the best interest of students. Her ability to see the bigger picture and empathetically listen to others has earned her the respect and admiration of her colleagues and is the foundation of strong relationships with students, teachers, staff, and families. During the selection process, the Miscoe Hill stakeholders were impressed by her thoughtful responses, genuine love for middle school students, extensive teaching background, and collaborative approach. She emerged as the ideal candidate to lead our school community towards excellence and continuous growth. Please join us in warmly welcoming Ms. Robin Benoit as our next principal. We are confident that her leadership, passion for education, and unwavering commitment to students will greatly benefit our school and propel us to new heights of excellence. Welcome to Central office, Kim Lowther! We are delighted to announce that Kim Lowther has accepted the role of Central Office Administrative Assistant and will be shifting where she hangs her hat from Miscoe Main Office to the other side of the building in the central office. Many of you know Kim from her decades-long dedicated service to the district and most recently in her role as Assistant to the Principal of Miscoe Hill. All of us in the Central Office are beyond happy to have her working with us as of July 3rd. She'll be supporting all of us in processing stipends, conference requests, PD days, TeachPoint, and so much more. Please join us in welcoming her to this new role! --Maureen and Cheryl Teacher Leader stipend contractsThis spring we have even more teacher leader opportunities than usual owing to the introduction of Instructional Partnerships. Contracts for all roles will be sent to educators today if you have not already received yours. Please sign and return your contracts to Kim Lowther (klowther@mursd.org) to ensure you get paid. Please reach out to Cheryl if you have questions or don't receive your contract. calling all mentorsIn the upcoming weeks more of our hiring will happen and you know what that means - we'll be looking for mentors. If you are interested in mentoring, please contact your principal and also apply through this form. If you haven't been trained you will participate in the training starting in October. Each year we have a great group of mentors, and we are looking forward to next year. Summer Curriculum Projects We had many excellent applications for summer curriculum work this year. We also received a couple of grants to help support this work. As a result we'll be approving even more summer curriculum projects than usual. Contracts for these projects will be sent out today. Please return signed contracts to Kim Lowther (klowther@mursd.org) as soon as possible. Final project deliverables are due no later than August 18, 2023. If there is any member of your group who does not receive a contract it could be because they did not submit their application. Feel free to reach out to Cheryl with questions. click below to share the titles you love!  PD Workshop - June 22nd from 9:00-1:00 Even thought he summer will be but 2 days old, members of the PD Committee and others interested in participating, will gather this Thursday, June 22nd form 9:00-1:00 to begin to plan PD for 23-24. We'll work together to identify plans that feel like the right next steps in our collective learning journeys. All Department Heads and Curriculum Assistants are also cordially invited and those who attend will be paid and treated to lunch. Join us as we work together to plan our learning for next year! Reach out to Cheryl if you are interested but have not received the calendar invite. Wonders training for elementary Educators - June 23rd We have organized an optional, virtual training for elementary educators who may not have been formally introduced to our Wonders ELA curriculum resources yet. When the district adopted Wonders a few years back, it provided training to all teachers. Since there have been so many educators who have joined us since then and have asked us for this training we are providing it in a way that you can participate from the comfort of your own home. The training will take place on Friday, June 23rd from 8:00-11:00 and can be accessed at this link. Participants should expect to learn more about the curriculum resource, how it is designed to support literacy instruction and has received the designation as a High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) through DESE. If you participate you will, of course, receive PDPs for attending. Please be sure you've registered so we have an accurate headcount. Learn about Project-Based Learning for free - PBL 101 As part of the school leadership network, MURSD has been training educators in the underpinning of project-based learning through a workshop called PBL 101. This 3-day workshop provides participants with all you need to be able to start designing gold-standard PBL units. Several districts around the commonwealth who are also providing PBL 101 training have identified the following days to run their PBL 101 training (see schedule below). If you are interested in attending any one of these trainings, please reach out to Cheryl. We also hope to provide PBL 101 training in the fall, so stay tuned. Here are the dates and locations for PBL 101 being offered this summer: June 26th-28th - Woburn HS August 2nd-4th - Ivy Street (Brookline, MA) August 8th-10th - Waltham HS August 16th-18th - Boston Collegiate Charter School (Dorchester, MA) SEI Endorsement As you know, educators are required to obtain SEI endorsement within a year of teaching English Learners or before earning professional licensure. And, each time we renew our professional licenses we each need to earn 15 PDPs in the area of teaching English Learners. We always try to make you aware of opportunities to complete these licensure requirements. Here are three: Sheltered English Immersion Refreshers Course Earn up to 15 PDPs - Not the full course Mondays, July 10, 17, 24 and 31, 2023; 9:00am - 12:00pm - Plus (3) additional hours asynchronously online This course will cover topics related to the SEI Endorsement course and is open to all educators. It is a refresher for those who completed the endorsement course and an introduction to those who have not taken it. Topics covered will include:
SEI Teacher Endorsement Course Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners SEI Endorsement full course run by North River Collaborative (67.5 PDPs) Online Mondays: September 18-December 19, 4:00-7:00 p.m. $589 members $599 nonmember districts (we are members) Register online: SmartPD link through your own school district’s SmartPD link, or at https://app.smartedu.net/nrc/pd/ Questions? Call 781-878-6056: Kimberly Beck x102, email kbeck@nrcollab.org Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Teacher Endorsement Course Run by ACCEPT Collaborative - full course (67.5 PDPs) Cost: $425 Format: Location: Live Virtual Sessions via Zoom Date/Time: September 27th; October 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th; 4:00pm – 7:00pm; November 1st, 8th, 15th & 20th*; December 6th & 13th; 4:00pm – 7:00pm *Please note that the class will meet on Wednesday with the exception of November 20th Capstone Presentations: December 20, 2023; 4:00pm – 8:00pm To register click here   the home stretchAs we enter the last few days of the school year, I'd like to bring you back to our opening day in August to remind you of our beginning of the year goals and to reflect on this year's journey together. Because you know I love music references, I shared the example of the chant "I believe that we will win" that is often used in big athletic games, followed by Pitbull's "I believe that we will win" music video. We talked about how if we worked collaboratively together as a #TeamMURSD we could accomplish anything together.
In working together as a team, we also were posed three questions and challenged to think about the student's MURSD journey PreK-12 if we would successfully understand, support, and engage each learner.
 What I want to share myself as I look back on the year is how proud I am of your leadership, commitment, and dedication to our mission to empower all learners to thrive. When I see the growth of our students learning coupled with their personal narratives about their strengths and passions, I know we are on the right track. If we were all together at the end of the year, like the beginning, we would be covered in confetti in celebration of an amazing school year. ---Maureen  Panorama Survey-due Friday Our end-of-year Panorama survey on school climate, well-being, and belonging was launched two weeks ago. We are asking that all teachers and staff take this survey. Ask your colleagues if they've done it, and encourage them to take the 20 minutes to do so! The data will help us plan and monitor how we are doing to support you. You should have received an email with the subject line, "Request for Feedback." If you did not receive the email and link please reach out to Dave Quinn to let him know. We ask that you complete the survey by this Friday June 16, 2023. Thank you in advance for your feedback and reflection. Inspired Learning Day june 14th Earlier this year we held an Inspired Learning Day Design Challenge with the purpose to bring to life the Portrait of a Learner competencies. One goal was that students would walk away having a strong sense of the competencies. Now, on this coming Wednesday we are hosting our district inspired learning day where we will deepen those connections between the POL competencies through unique learning experiences and reflective moments. What I'd challenge all of us to think about is what a positive end outcome would be if we met our collective goals for this District Inspired Learning Day. What would it look like if our students were inspired? What would it look like if they had moments to explore their interests? If it was truly an inspired learning day, what would the students be talking about when they went home and were asked about the day? How will we make the connections between the learning experiences and our Portrait of a Learner competencies? What would it look like if all of our learners, including all of you were inspired by what was taking place on this day? The following universal reflective questions that could guide our student's reflections could include:
I can't wait to see all of the creative and inspiring moments! Juneteenth Lessons For those of you who are looking to make some connections to Juneteenth or to provide a lesson or background to students, here are a few resources: Blackstone Valley Curriculum Consortium Promising practices |
