[MSS News] Branching Out Newsletter

[Michael Bessette]

The best way to view the Maple Street School Principal's Newsletter - Branching Out , is to follow this link:

http://www.hopkintonschools.org/mss/branchingout/05-09-12.pdf

The raw text version, without the Dates to Remember Calendar and formatting follows below.
Thanks!


Dear Parents and Students:

May is here and with it has come a flurry of activities and events that are keeping us very active at MSS.  Grade four NECAP assessments have started this week for the subject of Science, MAP assessments for the Spring have begun in all grade levels, and we have wrapped up several big projects such as the World’s Fair in Grade Six.  All told, it is a very busy place!

We have some terrific news for our community on the hiring front.  Maple Street has three new staff members on board for next year, and we are very excited to welcome them onboard.  Though new to their role at MSS, all three have had connections to the District in prior years, or have filled other roles in the past.  

After an extensive interview process involving over 75 candidates for consideration, a fourteen person hiring committee made of teachers, a parent, student, Police Chief, two guidance Counselors, and myself unanimously selected our newest Guidance Counselor Laura Wullenweber to join our staff for the coming year.  Ms. Wullenweber rejoins the Hopkinton School District after having worked in the Weare School District and having served as an Interim Counselor at Harold Martin School.  We were very fortunate to have such a strong field of candidates available to select from, and we are confident that Ms. Wullenweber will be an amazing fit for our school.

Equally exciting, MSS welcomes back Trish Walton to MSS.  Having been a grade five teacher at MSS several years ago prior to working in the Hopkinton High School, Ms. Walton will join our fourth grade team and bring her energy, enthusiasm, expertise, and caring to grade four.  Combined with the existing talents of the current grade four teachers, this combination will be a wonderful team for children in our school.

Finally, we are thrilled to announce the hiring of Karen Locke as our new ICT (Technology) teacher for the school.  Already serving our school as a Technology Integrator and a Technology Assistant, Ms. Locke will expand her role to cover ICT, a course taught this year by Ms. Bachelder who will return to the High School to teach Art.  By combining the role of ICT teacher and Tech Integrator, Ms. Locke will have a strong program in place to teach and implement technology use for students, both inside and outside the classroom.

In other areas of excitement, the school community took its annual Earth Day field trip to the movies this past week, as we travelled to the Hooksett Cinemagic to see the Disney Nature film, Chimpanzee.  Aside from the great movie itself, the opportunity to travel together as a whole school, students and staff together all sharing the same experience is an amazing experience that is difficult to describe.  Whether it is the collective “oohhhs and ahhhs” from kids as they watch the movie, or the clapping and “wave” in the seats prior to the show, the whole event is a great opportunity to be a community sharing a common experience we can all learn from.  

Finally, we want to be sure to send out a plug for the upcoming PTA Fun Fair this Saturday at HMS.  As many are aware, this is a HUGE event for the PTA and is their main fund raiser for the organization.  Without the Fun Fair and your participation, the PTA would struggle to provide the financial resources it so generously provides to all our schools.  Please, even if you can only stop by for a few minutes, swing into the Fun Fair to enjoy a quick game, eat a cookie, or just share a smile to help raise funds for the PTA.

Have a great week ahead! 
 Michael Bessette

Principal, Maple Street School

mbessette at hopkintonschools.org

1-603-746-4195

1-603-746-6863 (Fax)

 

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