Allow me to share the following updates:
• Virtual Coffee with the Superintendent On Monday, March 20th at 7:00 p.m., I will host the next Virtual Coffee for families and parents. The link for the meeting is here:
Virtual Coffee with the Superintendent 03/20/23 at 7:00 p.m. I will share brief school updates and then provide time for open and direct conversation, comments, and questions from participants. The zoom meeting will last 45 minutes and will not be recorded; additional and planned dates include April 10 and May 22. I look forward to seeing you!
• 10 Minutes With... The latest ten minute spotlight video features a conversation with our School Resource Officers, Joe Brienze, Nicole McMahan, and Rocket (!) is available here:
10 Minutes With...
• Staff Accolades It's an honor to recognize the following staff members who have achieved personal and professional goals and/or have been supporting our schools and students in a variety of amazing ways:
Needham High School music teacher Spencer Parrish led the high school jazz band to a Gold Medal performance at the Massachusetts Jazz Educators Association competition....Sunita Williams Elementary School 4th grade teacher George Goneconto recently brought his entire class to a School Committee meeting to share how they are incorporating the Portrait of a Needham Graduate competencies into creative work around environmental sustainability. . . High school teachers Hans Batra and Dan Smalley led dozens of robotics students and three teams to the FIRST Tech Challenge Championship at Andover High School last weekend. . . NHS social studies teacher Cathy Dowd presented with the Needham League of Women Voters (LWV) at this past week's Massachusetts Civics Learning Week symposium about the high school's Civics Showcase partnership with the LWV.
Congrats also to three of our faculty members who have recently been named Doctors of Education: Erica Spiegel (Chicago School of Professional Psychology) from Sunita Williams, Tamatha Bibbo (Boston College) from Pollard, and Jessica Downey (Boston University) from High Rock. Kudos to them for completing an incredible learning journey and modeling for all students what it means to be a lifelong learner.
Finally, this weekend check out
Art in Bloom at the Needham Library and observe some beautiful pieces curated by NHS teacher
Maria Sartori and her colleagues, and don't forget about
Beauty and the Beast premiering at Newman thanks to the creative forces of
Kristen Mazzochi,
Jonathan Vanderwoude, and a host of others!
Have a great weekend, and thank you for sharing your amazing children with us!