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It’s good to be back! Of course there are no guarantees that the weather will behave but I fervently hope we won’t have any more cancellations. The forecast looks good for our last day of Winter Sports on Monday. Skiers and boarders will go to the Mountain. Skaters will return to the Marlboro Town Park where we had a great time this week! In addition to bringing sleds, kids should also bring snowshoes if they have them. We’ll take a small group on a snowshoe hike through the nearby woods.
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It was good to see so many of you (and several students!) at Town Meeting where the school budget passed and financial support for MASP was also approved. At the end of the school portion of the agenda, a question was raised about our flags. The school flies the U.S. and Vermont flags with the Junior High, as one of their classroom “jobs”, responsible for putting the flags up and taking them down. There are days when this doesn’t happen and some community members notice and are concerned. Many people spoke to this at Town Meeting and, as you can imagine, a wide range of opinions about what the flag means to each of us, what it means to our students, and what role this plays in education were offered. All agreed that the very fact that we were able to have this frank and spirited discussion is due to the most basic principles of democracy and free expression that the flag represents. At yesterday’s Morning Meeting, the Junior High heard about Town Meeting and had their own spirited discussion. Please consider talking with your children about your family’s beliefs about the flag.

Before the Winter Vacation each Junior High student presented his/her “I project”. These projects are on topics of personal interest to the students. They involve extensive research and preparation for the presentations. As we commit to assessing students’ learning through their demonstration of this learning, these I projects become increasingly important and the quality improves. The projects this year were excellent. Here are the topics:

Zoe – Dog Agility and Training
Starcie – Michelle Kwan, Figure Skater
Nicolai – Chicken McNuggets
Emma – Haya Miyazaki, Animator
Tim – Solar Cars
Ferne – Bamiyan Buddhas
Alex – Mount Everest
Mandy – Produced Documentary Film on Design Tech
Audrey – Ku Klux Klan
Lloyd – Produced - I movie
Colby – Future Cars
Liz – Portrait Photography
Jackson – Hip Hop
Skylar – Ella Fitzgerald
Ashleigh – Nadia Comaneci, gymnist
Charlotte – Domestic Violence

On Monday evening you had the opportunity to take in another wonderful demonstration of learning at the Winter Workshop Showcase. Thanks again to the School Board and the Vermont Arts Council (under the auspices of the National Endowment of the Arts) for the funding that made it possible. Thanks to artists Aurora Corsano, Todd Roach, Bonnie Stearns, Dianne Clouet, and, our own Lauren von Krusenstiern. And congratulations to the students for their accomplishments fueled by curiosity, persistence, and risk taking.

Several weeks ago I included a mandated report on the percentage of MES teachers who are “highly qualified” in the subject areas they teach. I also need to let you know that you are welcome to call me to ask about your child’s teacher’s qualifications.