the harrington herald - Harrington School PTA

December 2009
Volume 12, Issue 4
THE HARRINGTON HERALD
Harrington School • 328 Lowell Street • Lexington, MA 02420 • (781) 860-0012
Elaine Mead, Principal • Suzanne Kouri & Suzanne Bruno, PTA Presidents
A Message from the Principal
PTA Notes: Lemons to Lemonade
Elaine Mead, [email protected]
Claire Sheth, [email protected]
PTA Secretary
Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, a practicing child and
adult psychiatrist, spoke to an overflowing
crowd at Clarke Middle School in late
October. His topic was “Finding the Buried
Treasure in ADD.” Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
has been the focus of Dr. Hallowell’s practice and
the subject of many books he has written. As a
father of two children with ADD and himself an
adult with ADD, he was able to combine personal
experience with his years of helping others to find
the gifts and avoid the problems associated with
the diagnosis. Dr. Hallowell, an engaging speaker,
was able to convey powerful messages with humor and a passion that resonated with the audience.
I was most impressed with his “strengthbased” approach. Rather than focusing exclusively on the deficits associated with ADD that
can bring shame, negativity, and isolation, we
were challenged to recognize that many very
creative and accomplished individuals have experienced the ADD challenge. Dr. Hallowell
asked the audience to reflect on our language
and our approach. He raised the idea that with
each of the negative attributes typically associated with ADD, there are positive “mirror traits.”
He noted that the more we can reframe a child’s
symptoms in terms of the “mirror” trait, the more
accurate we will be in describing the total child.
The message and the approach are hopeful and
build positive pathways for children. For example, negative symptoms along with their mirror
traits include: distractible/curious, impulsive/creative, intrusive/eager, disorganized/spontaneous, stubborn/persistent. Helping
students, parents, and educators appreciate and
develop these hidden strengths is the challenge.
According to Hallowell, the first step in this
journey and the number one rule of parenting is to
. . . continued, page 2
Harrington Herald
If your house is anything like mine you
have watched your child “fall to pieces” every
now and again…Some days more than others;
some kids more than others. And, if you are anything like me, you’ve been left scratching your
head wondering, “Where did this come from?”;
and, more importantly, “What can I do to help
them?!” The answer: teach them the art of turning lemons into lemonade—teach them resiliency.
According to Harrington’s School Counselor, Amy Chamberlain, resiliency is “the ability to
experience and manage difficult situations while
still maintaining a productive life and emotional
health.” Moreover, it can be learned!
To that end, the PTA, with Amy Chamberlain, are happy to announce some exciting initiatives designed to help our children cultivate this
vital life skill. Amy is working closely with other LPS
elementary school counselors and METCO social
workers to develop and pilot classroom lessons
that target specific resiliency skills. On January 8th,
Harrington’s ACT program will be welcoming Brett
Outchcunis—“Ooch”— a professional personality
and life coach for kids; “a modern-day Mister
Rogers with a twist of cool.”
His program, Positive Spin, is a 50 minute program
aimed at “empowering every student to turn
negative situations into positive ones”, and focuses on the issues our children encounter
. . . continued, page 2
December
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TeePee Dan by Dan Cripps for 5th Grade
Meet the Musician by Daniel Kobray--all school—
Positive Spin Program
Barnes & Noble fundraiser
Peace Concert (for School) 9:00 am
Peace Concert (for Parents) 9:00 am
School Council Meeting 7:30am – 8:30am
No School - Winter Vacation begins (12/24 - 1/3)
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Principal’s Message, continued…
PTA Message, continued…
enjoy your children. Spend time together, do
nothing, hang out, and have fun! I agree! The
cornerstone of what children really need is LOVE.
The connection to a parent and other caring
adults is essential. And children who struggle with
the impact of ADD need this love and connection
even more. In his book, Super Parenting for ADD:
An Innovative Approach to Raising Your Distracted Child, he outlines a 5-step plan for promoting strengths and creating a joyful and productive life. The five steps, Connect, Play, Practice, Mastery and Recognition, begin with the
love and encouragement. “A connected childhood includes multiple connections, multiple
points that hold a child in place, stabilizing her
and giving her joy as well as direction.” (Super
Parenting for ADD, p. 90.)
Many celebrations in December include
gift giving. The gift of connection is one I wish for
all your children and your families. I hope that the
holiday season will give you the opportunity to
nurture and promote these connections. In his
book, Dr. Hallowell offers a long list of possible
connections to develop. A few examples that he
develops are family, friends, neighborhood, the
past, nature, the arts, and spirituality. These are
truly gifts that keep on giving! I hope your holidays
are filled with joy and positive connections. Dr.
Hallowell has a web site for further information.
http://www.drhallowell.com/
I welcome your feedback and suggestions.
every day—popularity, making and keeping
friends, bullying and dealing with failure. He
achieves this through personal stories, music,
magic, imagination and dance. There will be two
performances on the 8th—1 for K-2 and the second for 3-5th. Parents are welcome to attend either performance.
For parents, the PTA is excited to announce Harrington’s first ever “book club!” We
invite parents to join us at the March general
meeting to discuss the book, Raising Resilient Children: Fostering Strength, Hope, and Optimism in
Your Child, by Dr. Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein—psychologists with 50 years of clinical experience between them. Based largely on case
studies, the authors articulate ten principles which
they believe lead to resilience in children (from
Amazon.com reader reviews). The idea for a PTA
book club originated from parent recommendations at our October meeting and we hope many
of you will join us in reading and discussing the
book. To make it even easier, copies of the book
will be available at the fundraising gift-wrapping
event at Barnes and Noble in Burlington on December 9th! See future editions of the Herald for
details on the book club and get reading!
Harrington Shines at Trivia Bee
Sue Schiffer, [email protected]
LEF Communications
The Harrington Hawkettes team of Dawn
Aquiar, Ellen Cameron and Flavia Vidal demonstrated an impressive arsenal of trivial knowledge
at the Lexington Education Foundation Trivia Bee
on Thursday, November 5th. This year, however,
was not meant to “bee” for a Harrington championship. The Bee was won for the first time by the
Klee-Bees who knew the answer to "In what year
did the original Apple II computer appear?" Answer: 1977. The LEF Trivia Bee raises about $16,000
annually to support grant programs for the Lexington Public Schools. Thank you for your participation in the Trivia Bee.
Harrington Herald
Harrington Listserv
Are you missing your child's coat or
lunchbox? Wouldn't it be great to see pictures
of the latest items in the school's Lost & Found!
 Do you want to know about other programs
like soccer, parenting seminars, babysitters
that become available?
 Do you have questions that you would like to
ask or information you would like to share to
the school community?
You really should join the "Hawks" list serve (different from the school PTA Listserv) to get all the informal buzz around town. To join the other 160
members of the group, or for more information
please send an email to Leslie Zales at
[email protected].

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METCO Family Friends
Linda Resnick, [email protected]
Rita Ross, [email protected]
We began our Family Friends year with a
fun group Pizza Party on October 1. We wish to
thank the PTA for sponsoring the pizza and give
our huge thanks to Roberta Wehmeyer for allowing us to use her Art Room and for giving us her
continued support year after year. It’s great to
have the opportunity for everyone from Lexington
and Boston to get together.
There is no Family Friends visiting day in
December. Please note that there have been
three changes to the remaining FF dates. The revised schedule is as follows:
January 21*
February 4
March 4
* revised dates
April 8*
May 20*
Please update your
June 3
calendars
Even though we’re not getting together in
December, this is a great time of year to think
about friendship and community. These are
among the underlying values of Kwanzaa, a
unique African American celebration that focuses
on the traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce, and selfimprovement. Kwanzaa is neither political nor religious and despite some misconceptions, is not a
substitute for Christmas. It is a time of reaffirming
African-American people, ancestors and culture.
Kwanzaa, which means "first fruits" was founded
in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, and has come
to be observed by more than18 million people
worldwide.
Kwanzaa is based on the Nguzo Saba
(seven guiding principles), one for each day of
the observance, and is celebrated from December 26th to January 1st.
Umoja (Unity) stresses the importance of
togetherness for the family and the community.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) requires
that we define our common interests and make
decisions that are in the best interest of our family
and community.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
reminds us of our obligation to the past, present
and future, and that we have a role to play in the
community, society, and world.
Harrington Herald
Ujamaa (Cooperative economics) emphasizes our collective economic strength and
encourages us to meet common needs through
mutual support.
Nia (Purpose) encourages us to look within
ourselves and to set personal goals that are beneficial to the community.
Kuumba (Creativity) makes use of our
creative energies to build and maintain a strong
and vibrant community.
Imani (Faith) focuses on honoring the best
of our traditions, draws upon the best in ourselves,
and helps us strive for a higher level of life for humankind.
Box Tops
Ellen Cameron, [email protected]
Jacqy Fiore, [email protected]
Continue to clip out Box Tops and bring them
in on Tuesday mornings. We love seeing all your
faces and bright smiles. Visit the Harrington Website to print up a page of 25 buses to glue on your
25 Box Tops and you can pick a prize from the top
shelf! Don’t have 25? Not to worry, use a portion
of the sheet to bring in your collection of 5 and
pick a prize from the 1st step.
http://harrington.lexingtonma.org/boxtop5.pdf
Happy HARRINGTON HOLIDAYS and remember to ask the chef in your house to check all
packages for a Box Top before it is recycled! Ask
your relatives to donate their Box Tops to the
cause. Grandparents love to do
this! Please be sure to check
the expiration date to make
sure it is still worth the $.10
for Harrington! ENJOY THE
SEASON!
Have a Dry & Cozy
Holiday
Please support the Harrington 5th
graders by purchasing a Lexington
umbrella or stadium blanket. They
both are navy and white with the Lexington logo
and make great gifts for relatives or graduating
students.
Umbrella - $15.00
Stadium Blanket - $30 or 2 for $50
To purchase please contact Anne Stevens
([email protected]) or Kerry Heyda
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([email protected])
School Committee Update
Lisa Smith, [email protected]
The next scheduled School Committee
meeting will be Tuesday, November 24th. It is
Summit II with the Board of Selectmen, Appropriations, and Capital Expenditures and will be in the
Selectmen's meeting room at 7:30. This is one of
about four meetings that the four boards have as
the School Committee prepares the budget for
the March town meeting.
The following scheduled School Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, December
1st in the Selectmen's meeting room at
7:30pm. The agenda will be as follows:
7:00 p.m. Call to Order and Welcome
Public Comment - (Written comments to be presented to the School Committeeoral presentations not to exceed three minutes.)
7:40 p.m. Superintendent's Announcements
7:50 p.m. Members' Reports/Members' Concerns:
8:00 p.m. Discussion Items:
1. Educational Technology - Status Reports and
Future Plans (60 minutes)
9:00 p.m. Action Items
1. Vote to Accept Donation of Dictionaries from
the Lexington Chapter of the Elks Organization (15
minutes)
2. Vote to Approve Lexington High School Trip to
Golfito, Costa Rica (5 minutes)
3. Vote to Accept $410 Donation to the Bridge
School Gift Account from the Intel Volunteer
Grant Program (5 minutes)
4. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of
November 2, 2009 (3 minutes)
5. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of
November 3, 200 (3 minutes)
If you would like to send documents or inquiries to the School Committee, you mail send
them in the mail to: Lexington School Committee,
Lexington Public Schools, 146 Maple Street, Lexington, MA 02420. You may also contact the
Committee by e-mail at: [email protected]. The School
Committee meetings are televised on Lexington
Cable TV. The dates and times can be found in
the Lexington Minuteman.
ACT Programs
Harrington Herald
Sandy Kiefer and her 'Talking Cello' performed for the 1st grade classes on Nov. 6. Sandy,
a musician and educator
(www.yamass.org/music3.htm), demonstrated to
students how music and words are connected by
first telling a story with words and sounds from her
cello, and then using only the sounds to convey
the story. Afterward students created their own
story as a group, which Sandy interpreted musically and performed on her cello. The program
was sponsored by the PTA and organized through
ACT (Arts Created Together).
On November 5th, Harrington’s kindergartners were regaled by the beloved author of nursery rhymes, Mother Goose, as part of the Arts
Created Together (ACT) curriculum. Dressed in
historically accurate and finely detailed costume,
Mother Goose entertained and engaged the
children in an interactive performance of her famous nursery rhymes, songs and stories.
A sampling of nursery rhymes, recited in
wonderful, dramatic fashion, included Cackle
Cackle, Mother Goose, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,
Baa Baa Black Sheep, Jack and Jill, Little Jack
Horner and Sing a Song of Sixpence. Mother
Goose prefaced each rhyme with a lively discussion of its inspiration and origin and then encouraged the kids to participate with their own dramatic flair.
Mother Goose then had the children form
a circle to play a game to the song, Here We Go
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Looby-Loo. Every child had the opportunity to
suggest a body part, which then became the
theme of the song to which the game was played
and danced.
Mother Goose ended her performance
with an animated retelling of the classic fairy tale,
Little Red Riding Hood. The children were captivated as she brought each character to life with
pantomime and superb acting.
The performance cleverly integrated relevant class lessons and age appropriate information. As Mother Goose bid farewell to lords and
ladies of kindergarten, it was clear that she had
inspired the curiosity and imagination of all.
A Heartfelt Thanks . . .
… to all the volunteers for GREEN FRIDAY:
Jennifer and the Chartwell Staff, Paul Cuzzupe
and Mark Freitas, The Harrington Staff, and all the
parents that have helped out each Friday: Catherine Monaghan, Meenakshi Chhabra, Mary Heveran, Gen Ng, Raana Khavandgar, Judith Mulvihill, Johanneke Deverie, Francesca Pfrommer,
Janet McKenney, Maria Sagan, Meg Muckenhoupt, Julie Read, Raana Khavandgar, Meg
Muckenhaoupt, Yanling Zhang, Mariam Fein
Cole, Raana Khavandgar, Linda Zeger, Yanling
Zhang,
Green Friday parent volunteers assist students to
recycle plastic items and trays during the lunch
period. Each week the students keep a tally by
grade of the amount of people recycling at Harrington. Each Friday morning they announce the
amount of students who recycled the week before.
… to Hua Dong, Reina Garcia and Sophia Bruno
for helping with the 5th Grade Snack Shack at
Walk for the Arts!
… to all the BBY parent walk guides, shadows and
grade coordinators for volunteering your time to
help organize and guide the children in the exploration and observation of Harrington's backyard
this fall. We would also like to thank the parents
who helped out by being walk guides for other
classrooms other than their own. We hope to see
all of you during the winter walks!
… to all the families who participated in Third,
Fourth, and Fifth Grade Family Math Nights this
fall. Children explored three-dimensional shapes
and their silhouettes; investigated 2- and 3dimensional shapes with pentominoes; built Platonic solids out of newspaper; played games;
solved puzzles; and generally had fun experimenting with a wide variety of hands-on math activities. Special thanks to the parents who ably presented the math nights so far: Vladimir Bulovic,
Miriam Fein-Cole, Lynnell Stern, Steve Vincent,
and Linda Zeger. Thanks also to those parents
who prepared or collected materials or otherwise
lent a hand in making the evenings run
smoothly: Lara Buchanan, Aviram Cohen, Katie
Cutler, Kim Goldinger, Denis Kefallinos, and Judi
Williams. Stay tuned for more Family Math Nights
in the winter and spring (Grade 1 -- January 19;
Grade 2 -- March 9; and Kindergarten -- March
23)!
Harrington Herald
Green Friday Ladies get in the Halloween
spirit!
Any parent interesting in joining this group, can
always contact Katie Cutler @katiepcutler
@rcn.com.
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Harrington Elementary School
Supporting
Harrington
Elementary School
Wednesday, December 9th @
Barnes & Noble Burlington
Come join the fun and be a part of a special storytime with our Harrington School Teachers!
Wednesday, December 9th
9:00 am – 11:00 pm
• 6:30 pm: 1st Grade Teacher, Mrs. Liz Sherriff
Barnes & Noble
• 7:00 pm: 3rd Grade Teacher, Ms. Kathy Martin
98 Middlesex Turnpike Burlington
• Check out the “limited edition” Kevin Youkilis with
Curious George book, which makes a great holiday gift.
(Store 781.273.3871)
• Don’t forget to visit our Registration Table and view our
Librarian’s “Wish List of Books”.
Don’t forget, a % of your purchase,
Café & Music included benefit our
school.
Also, order your holiday cheesecakes and B&N will deliver them right before
the holiday to our school for your pick-up convenience!
NOTE:
If you can’t make it, just call your order in on the 9th and mention our Bookfair voucher number so
a % of your sale still benefits our Harrington Elem. School
Bookfair I.D. #480624
The Harrington Herald
Layout & Submissions: Cristina Burwell - (781) 862.2018, [email protected]
Proofreader: Leslie Zales – [email protected]
The Harrington Herald is the monthly newsletter of the Harrington PTA, published ten times a year. In keeping with PTA Newsletter Policy,
the Herald will print items directly related to the schools and their PTA’s. This includes curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities that are PTA- or system-supported, and school-sanctioned projects. All articles are subject to editorial discretion. Newsletter material may be emailed to Cristina Burwell (see above). If you cannot email your submission, please call her to make other arrangements.
Visit the Harrington School website for online editions and archive at http://harrington.lexingtonma.org.
Next Submissions Deadline: 20 December
Harrington Herald
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