Professional Development and a couple "Save the Dates"

Last week was a week of learning opportunities for all the staff in our district. In line with our strategic plan goal of rigorous and relevant instructional practices being implemented in all our classrooms, our district Leadership Team spent two hours last Thursday (March 13th) discussing practices that have been proven by research to have a positive impact on student learning from the work of John Hattie, known as "visible learning". The Leadership Team delved into seven different practices that have been identified as very effective and tied them to the new Educator Evaluation System. We also talked about how these practices would look in action in our classrooms. After working in small groups, ideas were shared with the whole group. Our Leadership Team has been working with teachers to foster the best practices possible in our classrooms and to ensure that the proper resources are provided to assist them in that process.

BHS Principal Christine Vigneux presents her group's work on "questioning" as an effective instructional practice to the Leadership Team.

On Friday, March 14th, teachers and paraprofessionals gathered for Edcamp Btown 2014. This is the second time we have used this model for professional growth across the district. Teachers and paraprofessionals had direct input into the design of the day with over 40 sessions offered on a variety of topics, most of which were facilitated by our own staff. Topics included: curriculum alignment in a variety of areas, using assessments to inform instruction, how to work with students with autism, using technology in the classroom, and much more. It was a very successful day with a lot of positive feedback from teachers and paraprofessionals alike on the variety and value of the sessions. Our thanks go to the BHS cafeteria staff for making a yummy lunch that all could enjoy and to our district's PTO groups: CSSR PTO, CHCS PTO, and Jabish Brook PTO, for sponsoring the lunch.

Physical Education Teachers learn about orienteering from Mr. Cowles, BHS PE Teacher

Teachers learn ways to integrate technology in the classroom from Mr. Butler, Music Teacher and Instructional Technologist at SRE

Grade 5 teachers from CHCS work together on curriculum planning

Save the dates!

There are two dates coming up in the near future where we will work to promote awareness of a couple of important issues to students and families in our district. The first is is "Light It Up Blue" on Wednesday, April 2, 2014, in cooperation with our district Special Education Parent Advisory Council. This event is to promote awareness of Autism as part of Autism Awareness month. We are asking students and staff to wear blue in commemoration of April 2nd as World Autism Day, sponsored by the United Nations. More information will be forthcoming in this blog and on our web site - stay tuned!

The second date is Tuesday, April 15th, as we celebrate Purple Up! for Military Kids. Several of our students and staff members in Belchertown have family members who are serving our country in the military. These families face special challenges that go with military service, including long periods of separation during periods of deployment. Purple Up! is a way to show support for our military families. Why purple? Purple is the color that symbolizes all branches of the military blended together into one unifying color. So get your purple ready for April 15th and wear it as a show of support for families who have members who are sacrificing in service to our country!

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this blog, please feel free to contact me phone (413.323.0423) or email me: superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

Teachers of Excellence to be Recognized

Each year, the Belchertown Public Schools recognize teachers of excellence. These individuals are nominated by colleagues and selected by their School Councils to receive this recognition. The 2014 Belchertown Teachers of Excellence are: Ryan Butler, SRE Music Teacher; Rachel Goldenberg, BHS Science Teacher; Melissa Gramuglia, JBMS Physical Education Teacher; and Louise Levy, BHS Science Teacher. These teachers will be formally recognized at the March 18^th School Committee meeting.

The Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Awards program allows us to move three of our candidates forward to be recognized. This is always a very difficult decision to make, but I am pleased to announce that Rachel Goldenberg, Melissa Gramuglia, and Louise Levy have been named as the recipients of this award. They will be recognized at an awards dinner at the Log Cabin on Tuesday, May 6^th. These awards are sponsored by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and other generous corporate donors, to whom we are grateful for their support of educators across the Pioneer Valley.

Congratulations to these teachers on your achievements!

Professional Development Day on Friday

This is a reminder that there will be no school for students on Friday, March 14th, as our staff will be attending professional development workshops for the day.

Budget for the 2014-2015 School Year

The Senior Leadership Team and program directors have been working on a first draft of the budget for the next school year. The budget will be presented to the School Committee on Tuesday, March 18th (please note that this meeting has been changed from the originally scheduled date of March 11th). The meeting will take place in the SRE library at 7:00 pm. Following the initial presentation of the budget, but prior to a final vote, parents/guardians and community members will have three opportunities to give input into the process. There will be two Coffee & Conversation with the Superintendent gatherings (TBA) and a public budget hearing prior to a School Committee vote on April 29th. Watch this blog and our web site: www.belchertownps.org for more information.

End-of-the-Year Calendar

What a winter! At this moment in time, we have used six snow days, making the last day of school Monday, June 23rd. The forecast for the middle of this week does not look promising, so let's hope that maybe the snow will pass us by! I had the opportunity to get a breath of spring at the Mount Holyoke flower show over the weekend. It was nice to see and smell all the beautiful flowers and have hope that spring will be coming soon.

A preview of Spring at the MHC flower show!

Graduation for the Class of 2014 has been set for Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 2:00 pm in the BHS gymnasium. I know our seniors are excited about this upcoming event and milestone achievement in their lives!

A rumor seems to have started...

A rumor seems to have started via a student Twitter account that a $20,000.00 piano was purchased with district funds. I would like to set the record straight on this matter. No such instrument has been purchased, nor are there any plans to do so in this budget or next year's budget. Thank you for doing your part in helping to set the record straight.

As always, feel free to contact me regarding this blog post: 413.323.0423 or superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools