School Principals Offer Words of Thanks to MCPE
When asked to offer some comments on MCPE, the principals from the five schools in town had many words of gratitude, thanking the organization for supporting teachers in their ongoing hopes of enriching the experiences of their students.The following is a letter from Dale Street Principal Kim Cave.
personally, have felt so supported by the MCPE for the past 20 years first as a classroom teacher, then the Director of Curriculum and now as the Principal of Dale Street. I am constantly amazed at all of the system-wide support we have received through the Coalition over the years. The Coalition has encouraged us to seek funding for programs, projects, materials and professional development that we may not have been able to fund through the existing budget. I also believe that the Coalition is a positive “voice” for the schools’ successes. By sharing our goals and creative ideas with the Coalition, we know that we are not only gaining the financial support, but also the public relations to let the parents and community know and celebrate the many positive aspects of our schools.
Since I have been the principal, the MCPE has funded several key programs that have allowed us to provide academic support and enrichment for small groups of students as well as the entire student body. The MCPE funded the training of several teachers in creating a Language Based Classroom. We now have six classroom teachers and two specialists fully trained and implementing all that they have learned and we are very proud of our program. Last year the MCPE funded our High School Tutoring Program which allows high school students to fulfill a community service expectation by working with selected at-risk fourth and fifth graders after school. The benefits for both groups of students are innumerable and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without the initial funding from the Coalition. The program is now a part of the Dale Street budget. This year we received a grant that allowed us to purchase 50 new AlphaSmart Neos. These machines replaced the first set of AlphaSmarts Dale Street received seven years ago from another Coalition grant. Every student in the school has access to an AlphaSmart; helping him/her with keyboarding skills and writing proficiency. We feel extremely fortunate to have this amazing teaching technology tool.
Every year Dale Street has an overarching theme that we incorporate in everything we do. Last year it was “we are all in this together” and this year it is “everything is connected.“ The MCPE fits these themes so perfectly. I could go on and on about the many positive reasons I believe that the MCPE provides that extra support that allows Medfield to continue to be the excellent district that it is. I can well imagine how much work goes into the Coalition and I am grateful for all that the parents provide to support, enhance, enrich and improve their children’s educational experience.
Kim Cave, Principal, Dale Street School
Judy Noble – Medfield High School
The coalition has been extremely helpful in supporting many different aspects of the high school experience. Funding has been provided for many endeavors such as project adventure, the social norms marketing initiative of our peer leaders, and a new after school strings program offered through our music department. All of these special opportunities enhance the experiences for our students. As principal of the high school I am very thankful to have the resources of the MCPE.
Andrea Trasher – Memorial School
We so appreciate having MCPE as a resource to help fulfill the hopes teachers have for ways to enhance our curriculum. Through the Coalition’s generosity and thoughtfulness we are able to keep learning fresh for our students and teachers.
Robert Parga – Blake Middle School
The Coalition has been an incredible resource to the Blake Middle School. Their generous funding has made a significant impact on teaching and learning.
The following is a letter from Blake Middle School Principal Robert Parga.
We want to thank the Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) for recently approving two grants. In March, the MCPE approved the purchase of 40 digitally coded heart rate monitors for our Physical Education Department. These monitors will be used to increase student’s personal knowledge in using heart rate monitors, so that they are able to train smart, measure progress, and avoid injury by understanding heart rate zone training. In April, the MCPE approved the funding for a Virtual Science lab. This highly interactive educational tool will enhance the science curriculum for the entire 8th grade. This Virtual Physical Science lab in conjunction with the Smartboards, will bring the classroom to the forefront of science education. In addition to regular lab exercises, the virtual lab will allow the students to explore more dangerous and expensive labs without the risk, cost or hazzard. Once again, on behalf of the Blake students and staff, I want to thank the MCPE for their support.
Robert Parga
Principal
Blake Middle School