Thornton Burgess Middle School

8/15/09

Dear Families of Thornton Burgess Middle School,

As we quickly approach another school year, I would like to welcome all of our students and their families back from what we hope was an enjoyable summer break. On behalf of the faculty and administration, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all our best for a successful and enjoyable school year!

This year we will continue to cluster students by grade level teams. The floor plan of the school has remained relatively stable and students will not see much of a difference with the arrangement of grade level classrooms and their locations from last year. We will continue to arrange the school so that each team is separate from one another, and students will be together by grade level only. As you may be aware, the faltering economy took a toll on the regional school budget this year which had a negative result on programs and staff throughout the district. At TWB we lost some programs and staff which forced us to re-arrange the existing staff to meet the needs of our students and the demands of the schedule. As you may aware, Mrs. Dorothy Pepin replaced Mrs. Nancy Ryan as the full time TWB secretary during the summer months. We wish Nancy all the best for a happy and healthy retirement and wish Dorothy much success and happiness in her new position.

At this time I would like to announce the new members of our teaching/professional staff to you. As you know, Mrs. Chamberlain-Puffer retired at the end of this past school year. Replacing Chris Chamberlain-Puffer as the seventh/eighth grade Spanish teacher is Miss Rebecca Lewis. Miss. Lewis received her Masters degree from Smith College in the area of Spanish and she comes to us with outstanding references and recommendations. Also joining the Thornton Burgess staff will be Mrs. Lorry McMahon. Mrs. McMahon comes to us from Wilbraham Middle School where she has been their full time Library paraprofessional. We will be sharing Mrs. McMahon with Wilbraham Middle School as our Library paraprofessional this year and she will be with us on alternating Monday’s, every Wednesday and Friday.

The following roster will show you what teachers have been assigned to our grade level teams:

Grade 5

Mrs. Sawyer

Mrs. Normandeau

Mrs. Moriarty

Mrs. Duff

 

Grade 6

Mr. Taylor

Mrs. Cieplik

Mrs. Bauduccio

Mrs. Szymczyk

 

Grade 7

Mrs. Kace

Ms. Shinkle

Mrs. VanDerBeken

Mr. Kilmartin

Mrs. Mitchell

Grade 8

Mrs. Fiedler

Mr. Roberts

Mrs. Berrett

Mr. Pisacane

Mrs. VanDerBeken

Related Arts

Mr. Panasci (PE/Health)

Mr. Ingram (Music)

Mrs. Apgar (Art)

Mr. Pisacane (Computer Technology)

Mr. Kilmartin (Computer Technology)

Foreign Language (Spanish)

Miss. Lewis

 

 

 

 

We will continue to direct students as to where they should enter the building in the morning, and exit the building in the afternoon. Attached to this letter, you will find a map indicating where classrooms are located. With this map, I would also ask you to note and speak to your child(ren) as to where they should enter the building in the morning, and exit the building in the afternoon. Students in grades 5 and 6 should enter the main entrance of the building upon arrival whereas students in grades 7 and 8 will enter the building through the doors located at the northern end of the building. At dismissal, students in grade 5 will exit through the main entrance, students in grade 6 will exit from the southern entrance of the building, students in grade 7 will exit through the back northern exit of the building and will be escorted to the front of the building, and grade 8 will exit through the front northern exit. As always, if a parent is dismissing a child, we ask that they come into the building and sign their child out. Students will be called to the front lobby by a staff member in the office in order to meet their parent at that location. Students should not be meeting parents in the parking lot for any reason. For the security and safety of everyone, we ask that you help us comply with this expectation. Also as a final request, parents are reminded that student drop off to school should be at the crosswalk between the two center islands located in the front parking lot. Students should not be dropped off and/or left unsupervised before 7:30 AM as we have no supervision outside before that time. Bikers and walkers should time their departure from home so that they do not arrive on the TWB campus before 7:30 AM. It is also important to be aware that HWRSD is currently unable to provide late bus transportation service. Students staying after school must arrange for transportation home. This will include teacher and office detentions, homework club, additional support from staff, and after school activities. Students who remain after school must be picked up by 3:00.
(Please note that transportation will be available for students participating in the YMCA "September Sampler" program, and we are exploring resources for expanding after school activities and restoring late buses through new grant funding. We will keep you informed of our progress, and any opportunities.)

Mrs. Pepin had a busy summer enrolling new students and maintaining the daily routine of the front office. She worked with Mrs. Aberdale and Mrs. Fitts putting the final touches on student and teacher schedules’ while completing a variety of administrative tasks. Likewise, the custodial team under the direction of Mr. Dick Dranka did an outstanding job preparing classrooms and the school for the start of the school year. I am pleased to announce that we have a beautiful new gym floor, and new ADA compliant bleachers are to be installed during the week of August 17 th. Despite the work created by renovating the gym, the school is spotless and ready for students and staff on opening day.

Additionally, I am pleased to report to you that the preliminary results of the Spring MCAS tests looked very promising for TWB. As most of you are aware, last year we were in Improvement Year 1 because the scores of our special education subgroup of students fell below the mark needed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the area of mathematics. Within the next two to three weeks we should know how well our students performed on the MCAS testing that was conducted this past Spring. In the meantime, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requires me to alert all parents once again that because Thornton Burgess Middle School is a Title 1 school in Improvement Year 1 status, you have the right of School Choice. That means you can choose to send your child to the appropriate grade level at either Memorial School, Soule Road School or Wilbraham Middle School. If you do chose to transfer your child to one of those schools, the district will provide transportation for him or her at no cost to you. If you chose to transfer your child, it is very important to know, however, that when the improvement status is removed your child would eventually need to transfer back to Thornton Burgess Middle School. Since such a move should be considered carefully, any parents who wish to transfer their child should contact Dr. Donna Scanlon, Assistant Superintendent, by October 1, 2009. After that date, it will be assumed that you want your child to remain at TWB. Dr. Scanlon can be reached at 596-6045.

Rest assured that the administration, teaching staff and faculty are working diligently with your children to provide the best education possible. We are fortunate in that we were able to implement a variety of educational programs last year that we believe will help students achieve marked growth. These programs included:

  • the implementation of a new reading program in 5th grade
  • the implementation of the Developmental Designs for Middle School program
  • professional development for faculty members in the Keys to Literacy program which is designed to help students make meaning from their reading and learning
  • implementation of Study Island, a computer based study course designed to help with MCAS preparation

It is our intent to build on these programs this coming year, and to implement a variety of new programs and teaching strategies which will enhance educational opportunities at our school.

Please keep an eye on the school calendar which is posted on the HWRSD web site as many events will be taking place within the first several weeks of school. I would like to remind you and welcome you to our annual Open House, which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16th starting at 7:00. As always, we ask parents to stay with their children at all times during the evening, and not to allow children to wander off un-supervised.

In closing I would like to remind parents that every school is a training ground, but the middle school is much more than that. With its compliment of pre- and early adolescents, it is also the field upon which learning and abilities are tried, tested and perfected; personalities are formed and honed; and the patterns of a lifetime established. For the student, it is a time of tears and laughter, assurance and vulnerability, clumsiness and grace all wrapped up into one package and existing side by side.

It is up to us, therefore, to provide guides to aid them through this time of transition and afford them every opportunity to grow, to develop, to be children, to be young adults. We are implementers, guides, teachers, surrogate parents- we discipline, we encourage, we praise, we feel their pain with them and we rejoice with them. We are a middle school and we will help our children grow. I continue to be grateful for your support of our school and I look forward to working with you and your children.

Sincerely,

Noel P. Pixley
Principal