Dear Morse School Families & Caregivers,
This will be a week of special events for children and adults at the Morse School. Tonight, our 5th graders will participate in the Ballroom Dancing Showcase in the War Memorial Gym at CRLS, where we will be joined by student dancers from the Amigos, Baldwin, King, Kennedy-Longfellow, and Peabody Schools (Student dancers should arrive by 5:15PM; the performance begins at 6PM). Tomorrow will be an early release day for children, then on Thursday we will welcome all Morse School families to our annual Math & Literacy Carnival (pizza sales begin at 6PM; Carnival doors open at 6:15PM!). As noted at the end of this message (below), there will also be opportunities for parents and caregivers to participate in upcoming Friends of Morse, School Council and Race & Equity Working Group meetings.
Welcome Ben Hechler!
Please join me in welcoming Ben Hechler, who will be serving as our Physical Education teacher for the remainder of the school year. “Mr. H” grew up in Brookline and graduated with a degree in Social Sciences from Harvard Extension School. He comes to the Morse community from Match Charter Public High School in Boston where he was an Associate History Teacher and the Girls Varsity soccer coach. Before Match, Mr. H was a K-12 substitute with Brookline Public Schools and coached the Boys Freshman soccer team at Brookline High School. He also served as an AmeriCorps member with City Year at the Burke High School in Boston. He is excited to join Morse for the rest of the year and looks forward to making P.E. as fun as it always was for him growing up in school!
April 10th Parent Workshop on Helping Kids Navigate Digital Tools
Please save the date for an April 10th workshop aimed at providing Morse School parents and caregivers with tips, tricks, and resources for troubleshooting some common questions and concerns about our children and their use of social media, cell phones, and other digital tools such as TV, internet, and video games. This interactive presentation, which will take place in the Cafeteria from 6-7:30PM, will include research-based suggestions for supporting students using these tools as they grow in our increasingly connected world. Pizza and childcare will be provided. If you are interested in participating, please RSVP by following this link or by reaching out to the Morse School Tech Specialist Jen Lavalle ([email protected]). RSVP here! >>
Opportunities to Shape Your Child’s Schooling Experiences
Over the coming month, there will be many opportunities for parents and caregivers to help shape the schooling experiences of children at the Morse School:
- This evening, the Friends of Morse will hold its monthly meeting (6:30-8PM in the Morse Library). The Friends of Morse organizes many of our community events and helps to raise funds that go back into supporting enriching learning experiences for Morse School students throughout the year. The group is always looking for parent volunteers to help make this important behind-the-scenes work a success. Please consider stopping by to lend your voice, energy and creativity to this important group!
- Tomorrow evening (Tuesday 3/12), the Morse School Council will meet to discuss some important upcoming decisions, including plans for hiring new staff members and possible changes to the way in which we divide core content-area teaching assignments at our upper grades. Although the School Council includes elected staff and parent representatives, meetings are open to all members of the Morse School community. Please consider joining us tomorrow evening from 4:30-6:30PM in the Morse Library.
- On Thursday, March 21st, we will be hosting our Second Trimester Parent Conferences. These conferences provide an important opportunity for parents and teachers to discuss students’ academic progress and social development. Please keep an eye out for a notice or e-mail from your child’s teacher with information about how you can sign up for your child’s conference.
- On Thursday, March 28th (4:30-6:30PM in the Morse Library), we will hold the next meeting of the Morse Working Group on Race & Equity. This group has begun a process that we hope will ultimately engage all members of our school community in conversations about the way that race and culture impact the daily experiences of children and adults, and how we can work together to address the lingering effects of systemic racism in our school. These steps align with the Cambridge Public Schools Vision for Equity & Access and are similar to conversations that are taking place in other CPS schools. The Working Group includes both teachers and parents. If you are interested in joining the team and contributing to these conversations, please send me an e-mail ([email protected]) so that we can include you in our planning process.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing many of you at these upcoming events and meetings!
Sincerely,
Chad Leith
Principal