A Fitting Tribute

On Saturday, September 29th, approximately 80 people gathered by the Belchertown High School tennis courts to pay tribute to teacher, coach, collegue, and friend, Marilyn Higgins. Marilyn served the Belchertown Public Schools between 1987 and 2012 as a physical education teacher, and tennis and girls' soccer coach. She passed away on January 31, 2012 after a valiant fight against plasma cell leukemia.

Matt Baker, fellow physical education teacher at Swift River Elementary School, requested that we name the tennis courts in Marilyn's memory. The School Committee voted unanimously to approve the request. As a result, the courts are now designated as the Coach Higgins Courts.

This sign stands as a reminder of Marilyn's work in our schools, featuring her trademark phrase, "Work hard, play harder, travel often, laugh daily, and always help others first." Marilyn's family was on hand and did the honors of unveiling the sign.

Marilyn's legacy lives on in the lives of all who knew her, including the thousands of students whose lives she touched over her 25-year career. We miss her presence, but now have a reminder of her work every time someone visits the tennis courts to play a match.

As always, if you have any questions about anything posted on this blog, feel free to call me at 413.323.0423.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

News of the week

Over the past two weeks, four of our five schools welcomed families during a series of Open House events. Families of students at Swift River Elementary School, Chestnut Hill Community School, Jabish Brook Middle School, and Belchertown High School were able to tour the schools and meet our administrators and teachers. Cold Spring School will host their Open House on October 3rd at 6:00 p.m.

Representative Denise Andrews came to visit Belchertown High School on Friday, September 21st. Last week was Mass Harvest Week, highlighting the use of locally grown produce in schools. Ann Marie Beaupre, our Food Service Director, has partnered with Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown and a farm in Hadley to bring fresh fruit and vegetables into our school lunch program. Representative Andrews is running for the seat that will represent parts of Belchertown, when we will be part of a new legislative district, in January. She was most impressed with the school, our staff and students, and enjoyed a healthy lunch including fresh items from local farms.

On Friday, September 21st, we bid farewell to Patricia Susen, Director of Special Education. Ms. Susen has taken a position with the Oxford, MA Public Schools. We wish her well in her new position. The position has been posted and advertised. The Personnel and Policy Subcommittee of the School Committee has set a search process in motion to find a permanent replacement, which has been redefined as a Director of Student Support Services. An interim Director has been selected, Patricia Stevens. Ms. Stevens is a retired superintendent from the Granby Public Schools, and has extensive experience as a Director of Special Education.

On Saturday, September 29th, we will officially dedicate the tennis courts at Belchertown High School in memory of Marilyn Higgins, beloved physical education teacher, and tennis and girls' soccer coach, who passed away in January after a courageous battle against cancer. The dedication will take place at 10:00 a.m. by the entrance to the tennis courts next to the high school. The community is welcome to join us, along with Marilyn's family, as we honor her legacy to our district.

Classrooms of the Future

I had the opportunity to go to MIT on Thursday afternoon,September 13th, to participate in an NBC Learn town meeting on the future of technology in the classroom. It was an interesting event, which was streamed live on the Internet. The future of teaching, coupled with the power of technology, has the power to customize learning for every student. Two panels participated, one on the issue of access and one on the vision for new learning environments. Both promise and concern were a part of the discussions. The promise of harnessing the power of technology to engage students with dynamic content in a collaborative environment is very exciting to think about. Giving them the ability to access learning and collaborate with others in their own classrooms and across the world via the Internet and learning platforms is very powerful. However, access is a huge issue, not only here in Belchertown, but across the country. The panelists identified the digital divide as a two-pronged problem. The first is geographic in nature, where smaller communities in more rural locations have a more difficult time accessing broadband connections that can support video streaming and access, as well as not having the financial support to provide the necessary infrastructure and equipment to realize this vision. The second is socio-economic. Disadvantaged students often don't have the kinds of access that their more affluent peers do at home. These are large scale issues that must be addressed both locally and nationally.

It was a thought-provoking event at which I was able to get front-row seat along with several of my colleagues from across the state. Being that close to two panels of experts and practitioners was most exciting! You can see the archived videos from the event on www.educationnation.com.

In other news this week, the School Committee met on Tuesday evening to conduct business. Several items were discussed and voted upon, including those having to do with the budget, personnel items, and reports from subcommittees who will have business to conduct in the near future. The Personnel and Policy Subcommittee will meet on Tuesday, September 18th, at 7:00 pm in my office. The Property and Transportation Subcommittee will meet on Friday, September 21st, at 10:00 am in Tadgell School. Agendas for both of these meetings are posted in the District/School Committee area of our web site, www.belchertownps.org.

Of course, the big news is the current status with regard to Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus in the region. Our town is doing all we can to prevent undue risk. On the school side, we are curtailing all activities after dusk. The Belchertown Fair Committee, with the support of the Selectmen, has postponed the fair fireworks originially scheduled for September 20th at Chestnut Hill Community School, due to its proximity to Red Maple Swamps, which are prime breeding grounds for EEE mosquitos. The fair itself is still scheduled to go on as planned on September 21st and 22nd and precautions are being put in place for this event to take place. Residents of the town are being urged by our Board of Health to take personal precautions: wearing long sleeves and long pants if out between dusk and dawn, and using insect repellents recommended by the Massachusetts Department of Health. The fact sheet from DPH is on the main page of our web site for your information.

As always, if you have any questions about the information you see here, please feel free to call my office at 413.323.0423.

Best Regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

A Day of Remembrance

September 11, 2012 marks the 11th anniversary of the 9-1-1 attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. A crystal-clear day, much like today, changed the lives of Americans forever. At Belchertown High School, this day is marked each year by a Day of Remembrance ceremony. At 8:00 am, students, faculty, and staff gathered to remember those who lost their lives, those who serve our country in the military, and those who serve our community as emergency responders.

Students at BHS observe a Day of Remembrance

After the pledge of allegiance, the Symphony Band played the National Anthem and Amazing Grace. Mrs. Vigneux, BHS Principal, marked the day with words of remembrance for those who perished on that day, those teachers and students who have passed away, and with gratitude for the service of our military personnel and emergency responders. The assembly observed a moment of silence in their memory.

BHS Symphony Band plays Amazing Grace

I am proud of the respect shown by the BHS student body for those passed and those who serve. They are a shining example of the strength of our community.

Twists and Turns in a Busy Week

This week has been an especially busy week with some unexpected twists and turns along the way.

As everyone continues to settle in, I finished off my visits to all the schools and classrooms, welcoming back our staff and students. I always enjoy chatting with the students as the year begins. I asked how things were going and everyone was all smiles and I heard a few comments like "Great! Awesome! and Excellent!" coming from students in grades Kindergarten through 12!

The School Committee's Technology Advisory Committee met on Wednesday, September 5th to discuss the implementation of a survey of all teachers regarding how they use technology and how they would like to be able to use technology  as a teaching tool in the future. Final touches will be made to the survey and it will be sent out soon so we can get their feedback.

Looking ahead to that future, some of our staff will be visiting school districts that have integrated a high level of technology successfully into their classrooms to see how they use it and what hurdles they have had to overcome to realize their vision along the way. We hope to use the information from the teacher survey and our visits to these districts to help us continue to plan for creating 21st century learning environments that harness the power of technology to enhance our curriculum and instruction.

The Playground Committee also met on Wednesday, September 5th to see a preliminary set of plans and concept drawings for Jessica's Boundless Playground. It was wonderful to see the excitement in the room as ideas were exchanged and a vision began to come together for our town for a playground that will allow full handicap accessibility for both children and adults with disabilities while being able to play and interact with others who are not disabled! Team Jessica - a fundraising group working with the Playground Committee - is gearing up for a fundraiser on September 16th: a motorcycle ride followed by a dinner at the Ludlow Elks Club.

On the unexpected side, the remnants of Hurricane Isaac hit with a vengeance on Wednesday morning, September 5th, just as our middle and high school students were coming to school. A lightning strike to a transformer knocked out power to the middle and high schools at approximately 7:30 am, so a lot of scrambling to address the situation happened very quickly. I am very proud of the work of our bus drivers who delivered the students safely despite the torrential rains, and of the administration and staff in both buildings who managed to get students moving into classes and continuing on with instruction while Gary Brougham, our Town Administrator, and I worked with National Grid to expedite the repairs. Power was restored shortly after 9:15 am and the day went on as usual.

Another unexpected turn of events in our town was precipitated with the discovery of a case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) found in a horse stabled in town. The Department of Public Health (DPH) issued a "critical" warning for Belchertown and strongly recommends that we reschedule outdoor activities after dusk in order to reduce the risk of exposure until we get a hard frost. We are complying with this request for our athletic and after-school events. See our web site's main page for more information and to access documents from the DPH related to EEE.

One of DPH's recommendations is to use insect repellent with DEET. A trick suggested by our School Nurse Leader for those who might not be comfortable spraying directly on to themselves is to spray a bandana or neck scarf with the repellent and wear that to reduce risk of exposure. The breed of mosquito that spreads this disease is particularly resistant to insecticides and repellents, so caution is the word of the day.

The Board of Health and Board of Selectmen will be meeting together on Monday, September 10th to discuss next steps with regard to the critical alert issued by DPH. The School Committee will take this matter up as part of their agenda on Tuesday, September 11th. Click here to see the agenda for the School Committee.

Enjoy the weekend and stay safe! Dr. Houle

A new year has begun!

Our new school year got off to a smooth start overall and we are back in the swing of things! We have welcomed the following new staff to our district:

• Cold Spring School: Brendan McCarthy, Kindergarten Teacher; Lauren Mislak, Paraprofessional
• Swift River Elementary School: Allison Carey, Grade 3 Teacher; Karl Quist, Physical Education Teacher
• Chestnut Hill Community School: Jennifer McNulty, Art Teacher; Ron Oparowski, Paraprofessional; Linda Cristina, School Year Secretary
• Jabish Brook Middle School: Jennifer Poli, Reading LT Sub; Justin Mitchell, Grade 8 Math LT Sub
• Belchertown High School: Nicole Desabrais, English; Fintan Lindsay, Math; Mark Horan, Math/Computer Programming; Martha Halperin, Science LT Sub; Zachary Siano, Internal Suspension Supervisor/Guaranteed Sub
• District-wide: Kim Frisino-Hurst, Desktop Support Specialist; Dr. Joseph Silverman, School Psychologist; Johanna Hammer, Autism Behavioral Specialist; Kimberly Sarnacki, Physical Therapist.

Not only are classes off to a start for the school year, other activities have gotten underway as well. Over 200 students have chosen to participate in our athletics program this fall. They posed for a group picture on Thursday, August 30th:

They are a fine looking group and we wish our student athletes all the best in their fall season!

The School Committee has cancelled their previously scheduled meeting on Tuesday, September 4th. They will meet on Tuesday, September 11th. Two subcommittees of the School Committee will meet on Wednesday, September 5th. The Technology Advisory Committee will meet at 5:00 pm in the Superintendent's Office - click here for more information and a link to the agenda.

The Playground Committee will meet at 7:00 pm in the library at Chestnut Hill Community School on Wednesday, September 5th. Click here to see the agenda for this meeting.

As we enter into the second week of school we wish all our students, staff, and families the best of success in the coming school year.

As always, if you have any questions about this update, please feel free to call my office at 413.323.0423.

Best regards, Dr. Houle, Superintendent of Schools