Welcome, please come and browse the newsletter.

We made it to the first day of spring, and Boston beat the snow record with 108.6 inches of snow when 2.9 inches fell on March 15.  Boston beat the record by one more inch than the previous record set in 1995-96 and was declared by the National Weather Service to be the snowiest winter in Boston since snowfalls were recorded beginning in 1872.  Let's hope Mother Nature is satisfied with that and doesn't want to beat the record again next year.  It was a busy winter of school events, and the beginning of spring promises to be just as full.

Quote of the Month:  “Wisdom.... comes not from age, but from education and learning.”
― Anton Chekhov

The School Committee recommended and voted to change the school calendar to recognize and observe Yom Kippur beginning with the 2015-16 school year.  Another note on the calendar per School Committee policy is the start of school, which is Wednesday, September 2.  Given the late date Labor Day falls on, school will be in session Wednesday and Thursday with Friday off so families can enjoy the holiday weekend.

The Finance Committee continues to discuss the FY16 budget, going through the entire document line by line.   As you know we have submitted two budgets this year—the Available Revenue Budget and the Financial Task Force budget.  The last Budget Presentation before the April 7 Town Election and Override Vote is on March 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the Beech Street Center.  Please go to our website to view the presentation to see the impacts of both budgets.  As difficult as this budget season has been, the silver lining to the dark cloud is the engagement of the High School students and seeing them advocate for themselves and their school during this budget process.  They have learned how to be part of the democratic process, and we appreciate their involvement and effort to support their schools.

The School Committee voted to submit a Statement of Interest (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority to renovate Belmont High School.  The State will respond to our request by December of 2015.

Last year, the district purchased the Envision Math program to better address the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Mathematics built off of the Common Core which includes both content and practice standards. The program stresses conceptual understanding and quantitative reasoning, procedural fluency, and application of math in everyday situations. It generally presents mathematics in a “real life” context to which students can relate and embeds the mathematical practice standards into each lesson.  Concepts and skills are expected to be mastered, unlike our old program which exposed students to some concepts without expecting mastery.

Over the past two years teachers have spent time learning about each component in the program and the teaching techniques, such as questioning strategies, involved in problem based learning. They delved into the latest in educational research related to problem solving to support students’ abilities to apply reasoning skills and justify their answers.   They also spent time understanding the research behind the visual models employed in the program, such as the bar diagram, and how best to utilize them. With all of this information in mind, teachers continue to fine tune the program to fit the needs of our student population.

After completing our first year with Envision, teachers reported that complex concepts are broken down into manageable and methodical chunks which improve students’ understanding.   For example, second grade teachers reported a stronger understanding of place value from their students. This observation was affirmed by third grade teachers this year when they extended this knowledge into larger numbers. Routinely building the math practice standards into lessons has also had a positive impact. For example, fourth grade teachers reported that students came into the grade this September with a stronger ability to explain their mathematical thinking.

• Six students from Belmont High School qualified to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, AIME, Math Contest via their American Mathematics Contest AMC10/12  results. The AMC test is designed by the Mathematics Association of America to help identify those few students with truly exceptional mathematics talent. Belmont High School Math Department would like to recognize: Joseph Chen, grade 11; Anya Zhang, grade 11; Kevin Zhang, grade 11; Maggie Liu, grade 11; Erik Uhlman, grade 10; Kolya Illarionov, grade 10.
  
  The Belmont High School Math Team also made news this week, they qualified to compete in the State Math Meet in the large school category. The State Meet takes place Friday, March 27. Congratulations on qualifying, and good luck during this competition. 

• Wellington School held its annual Winter Carnival on March 7, which was great indoor fun during this long winter. There was a clown, face painting, a book sale just to name a few events.   A number of high school and middle school students volunteered at the Carnival.  The Carnival was organized by the PTO with support from local business sponsors.

•  On March 5 CMS hosted Chinese Opera performances by Ms. Qianyun Guo, Mr. Jun Guo and Ms. Zhijuan Shen, nationally awarded opera stars from Hangzhou, China.  Performances were co-organized by English Language Learner Teacher Katherine Lobo and Chinese Language Teacher Roger Chifeng Liu.  Faculty members, students, and other members from the Belmont neighborhood watched the performances, participated in workshops afterwards, and had a great experience learning about Chinese culture. 

•  Burbank and Wellington schools participated in "Jump Rope for Heart", co-sponsored by SHAPE America and the American Heart Association.  The event promotes physical education and awareness. Physical Education Teachers Aimee Doherty (Wellington) and Katie Cook (Burbank) had various jump roping activities, and students could raise funds to benefit the American Heart Association. Burbank collected $1,900 and Wellington $4,032.
  

• CMS Eighth Grade English conducted a Mock Trial, "Of Mice and Men", complete with courtroom sketches, an electronic newspaper, and, of course, a full courtroom of players.  The project allows every student to contribute to the preparation presentation, deliberation, and the outcome of the trial.  Well done to the faculty, staff, and students for the tremendous effort given to this project.   

• The Belmont High School Jazz Collective performed in the Massachusetts Association for Jazz Education (MAJE) Festival this month. Their performance at the district level on March 17 earned them a place in the State Finals on March 22. Their State Finals performance earned them a Silver Medal, which is the highest rating a BHS jazz ensemble has ever received at the state level.  Congratulations to the students and staff on his honor. 

• The BHS Spring Musical, Anything Goes, opens on Thursday March 26. There are shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:00 p.m., and a matinee show in Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.ticketstage.com/T/BHSPAC, and at Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center.

   In addition, Belmont senior citizens are invited to a special sneak-preview performance of Anything Goes on Wednesday afternoon (March 25) at 2:30 p.m. This performance is free for seniors.

•  The CMS Art Department will host a reception at Belmont Media Center (BMC) on Wednesday, March 25 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The reception will celebrate the artwork by CMS students on display at the BMC until March 30. The regular viewing hours for the exhibition are 10 AM – 8 PM.

•  The Belmont High School Bands will offer a free performance on Wednesday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. in the BHS Auditorium. The BHS Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Jazz Collective will perform a wide range of selections from the wind band and jazz repertoire. The concert is open to the public and admission is free.

•  The BHS Jazz Collective and the CMS Jazz Ensemble will perform their annual JAZZ NIGHT concert on Monday, April 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the BHS Auditorium. Joining the student ensembles will be acclaimed trumpeter, Trent Austin, who is one of the most sought-after jazz players in New England. This concert is sponsored by Parents of Music Students (POMS). It is open to the public and admission is free.

• The Massachusetts Music Educators (MMEA) Northeast Junior District Festival will take place April 8, 10 and 11 at Lowell High School. Dozens of students from CMS and BHS have been selected to perform in the honors chorus, orchestra, band and jazz ensemble at this festival, earning them recognition for being among the most outstanding musicians in grades 7-9 in northeast Massachusetts.

Here is the Winter Sports wrap with the Middlesex League All Star winners, congratulations to all!

Girls Basketball

Sophia Eschenbach-Smith

Linda Herlihy

Boys Basketball

Matthew Kerans

Adam Klecknker

Girls Indoor Track

Rachel Berets

Julia Cella

Sophie Klimasmith

Anoush Krafian

Marley Williams

Boys Indoor Track

Ari Silverfine

Boys Ice Hockey

Joseph Paolillo

Girls Ice Hockey

Erin McLaughliin

Serena Nally 

Wednesday, 4/1

Boys Lacrosse @Watertown

Girls Lacrosse @home vs Watertown

Girls Tennis @home vs Watertown

Boys Tennis @Watertown

Monday, 4/6

Girls Softball @home vs Newton South

Tuesday, 4/7

Girls Outdoor Track @Stoneham

Boys Outdoor Track @home vs Stoneham

Baseball @Watertown

Congratulations to the CMS Boys and Girls Basketball teams.  Both teams finished with a record 9-0. It was the third consecutive undefeated season for the Girls--well done!

Please note that the annual Kindergarten Registration Day for children entering kindergarten in September 2015 combines registration, visiting, and screening into a single kindergarten orientation event held, *by appointment, according to the following schedule:

Butler School, Burbank School, Wellington School, Winn Brook School:

Thursday 4/30 and Friday 5/1 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

In order to qualify for admission to kindergarten, a child must be five years old on or before September 1, 2015.  Proof of residency is required.  See additional Registration information on our website.  www.belmont.k12.ma.us

At the time of their orientation appointment, parents will meet, with both a school nurse and a counselor, to discuss their child’s developmental history.

Letters describing the process for kindergarten orientation will be sent to all families, listed on the town census, who have children of kindergarten age.  Letters will describe the process for making an appointment.

The next guest on Belmont Schools Now is Arto Asadoorian, the Director of Fine and Performing Arts.  He will talk about all the programs offered, student accomplishments, and the future of the arts.  Tune in for the conversation and a look at Fine Arts in the making as you watch one class paint their pinch-pot “monsters” and see photos of BPS student concerts and artwork.  This installment of Belmont Schools Now airs Tuesday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m. with repeats on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m., and Sundays at 11:00 a.m. on Comcast Channel 8 and Verizon Channel 28 and on Belmontmedia.org.  

• The Foundation for Belmont Education (FBE) in partnership with Belmont Savings Bank Foundation announces a new teacher recognition program to recognize the contributions made by teachers in the Belmont Public Schools.  Community members and high school students can submit nomination papers for a teacher, and a sub-committee of the FBE board will pick one teacher from each of the six schools in the district.  Winners will be announced on April 17 followed by an awards presentation ceremony on April 30 where family, friends, students and colleagues can gather to celebrate the teachers.  For more information on this special event please see the FBE website.  To nominate a teacher go to the Belmont Savings Bank website.  The nomination deadline is March 31.

• The FBE Annual Spring Dinner was a great event, one that was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended and yours truly. There is still time to support the work of the FBE during the Online Auction.  There are more than 270 items up for auction, please go to the FBE website for more information.  Bidding ends on Sunday, March 29 at 10:00 p.m.

Below are events for March 26 through the beginning of April:

3/26, 27, 28 - 7:00 p.m. on 3/26, 27, 28; and a 1:30 p.m. show on 3/28 - BHS Auditorium - "Anything Goes" BHS Spring Musical

3/25 to 3/30 - 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Artwork by CMS students on display at Belmont Media Center.

3/29 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Burbank Library - Library Night

3/30 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - All Town Ensembles

3/30 - 7:00 p.m. - Beech Street Center - Precinct Meeting with Budget Presentation by Superintendent Phelan

4/1, 4/6, 4/7 - Opening Day Varsity Lacrosse, Tennis, Softball, Outdoor Track, and Baseball; see above Athletics listing for detail

4/1 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - Free Concert by the BHS Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Jazz Collective

4/2 - 7:00 p.m. - Chenery Community Room - PTO meeting with guest Sen. William Brownsberger

4/3 - Early Release all schools - Good Friday

4/6 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - Annual JAZZ NIGHT from BHS Jazz Collective and CMS Jazz Ensemble Free Concert

4/7 - 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Belmont Town Vote for Offices, Candidates and Override

4/14 - 7:00 p.m. - Chenery - School Committee Meeting (rescheduled from 4/7)

COMMENTS:  If you have any questions or comments about the Superintendent’s Newsletter/Blog, please email me at jphelanblog@belmont.k12.ma.us.