SCHOOL NEWS 

District News 

            Help Earn Money For The Schools.  The Chatham PTA is now collecting and redeeming Hood Sox Tops For Kids from April to October. Each cap is worth five cents.  Drop-off locations for the summer are at the Chatham Laundry Center, Chatham Town Offices and Monomoy Youth and Family Center. The school that collects the most caps per student wins a visit from a Boston Red Sox Player! For further details or questions, please contact Rhonda Sandison at 508-430-4532 or rhondasandison@comcast.net. Thank you for your support!

Chatham Elementary School

            Chatham Pre-school Program: This month the children will be talking about farms and all the different animals that come from eggs.  They will enjoy the story of “Mrs. Wishy Washy” and her “lovely mud.”  We will begin our unit on animals and animal babies.  The students will study animals from the zoo and farm animals.  Later we will enjoy May activities around letters and the story “Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom.”  In June, we’ll wrap up our school year with sea life and ocean fun!  We hope to squeeze in a trip to the park as an end of the year activity.

            Third graders at Chatham elementary are learning about sea captains and their historical significance through a series of workshops facilitated by Richard Curcio and others at the Atwood House Museum.  Two weeks ago, Mr. Curcio provided an informative lecture about various artifacts associated with sailing.  As an activity, students brainstormed common family names in Chatham both from the past and today then looked at a census report from 1790.  This past week, Monomoy Community Services transported students to and from the museum for a visit to gain a greater understanding of those who sailed the seas. 

Chatham Middle School           

            Eighth grade students traveled to the State House in Boston last Friday to compete in the annual Project Citizen competition.  Eight teams from across the state presented public policy measures designed to improve their local communities.  Students in Mrs. Macomber’s eighth grade class won the portfolio division of the competition, and their work will be displayed this summer at the National Conference of State Legislators, to be held in early August in New Orleans, La.  The project examined the safety measures present in public schools and offered practical suggestions and recommendations for improving those measures.  Students in Mrs. DiGiacomo’s class and Mrs. Barnes’ class also presented strong projects as well, each addressing other public policy issues that impact schools.  Project Citizen, a curriculum created by the Center for Civic Education, is sponsored by Senator Moore in Massachusetts.  

Chatham High School

            Students in grades 10, l1 and 12 went on two field trips recently to see some live theater as an enhancement to their English curriculum.  The entire junior class traveled to Harwich Junior Theatre to see a production “Little Women, the Broadway Musical.”  The play is an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved “Little Women,” the story about the four March sisters growing up in 19^th century Concord.  The play is a direct connection to the students’ study of Transcendentalism as Alcott is the daughter of noted Transcendentalist Bronson Alcott. Louisa May’s education and upbringing was rooted in Transcendentalism, which is apparent in the play.  After seeing the performance, students had to write a critical review of Harwich Junior Theatre’s production.

            All students in grades 10 and 12 went to Cape Cod Community College to see Shakespeare Now’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” This is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies and involves the mishaps of two mismatched couples.  Both sophomores and juniors study Shakespeare, and the chance to have both classes attend a live performance was a wonderful opportunity for students to experience Shakespeare as it was meant to be enjoyed.

            The community internship students have been learning about how to manage their finances, launch a career as a filmmaker, have a successful college internship, and how to start a business.  In April, Nancy Bober, a financial consultant from Wachovia Securities, talked with students about how to stay debt free and plan for a secure financial future.  Even though the students are just high school seniors, Bober emphasized that it is never too early to plan. She gave each student a package of information that explained the basics of investing and answered their questions.  Bober also cautioned students against taking on credit card debt and gave them some advice on how to avoid pitfalls in this area.  “It’s all in your hands,” she told the class.  In May, Chris Seufert of Mooncusser Films, a Chatham High School graduate, spoke to the class about his careers as an independent filmmaker and photographer.  He has done everything from music videos to documentaries about the fishing industry and showed students some clips of his work. 

            On May 14, the community internship class traveled to Northeastern University for a field trip.  In the morning they met with Scott Weighart, senior coordinator of co-op education. Weighart talked with students about the importance of internships.  He had students participate in several role playing scenarios in which they had to figure out the best way to act in job simulations that required them to use effective communication skills. Weighart also told students that while specific technical skills are important to employers looking to take interns, even more importantly are interpersonal skills and a positive attitude.  In the afternoon, students attended an entrepreneurship class taught by John Friar, executive professor of entrepreneurship.  Sitting in with Northeastern students, the Chatham students were asked to participate fully by answering questions and giving their opinions about starting a business including the decision to hire employees and questions relating to salary and benefits. 

            English teacher Elaine Aschettino has been awarded an externship from the Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket School to Careers Partnership.  She is one of four teachers Cape-wide who have been selected to participate in the program.  Teachers will work at a Cape business or non-profit agency for part of the summer and bring back what they learned to their classrooms in the fall.  Ultimately, the teachers will design a curriculum based on their summer experience.  According to Coren Peacock, manager of the partnership, the goal of the externship program is “to provide teachers with a medium to exchange ideas with professionals, experience the host company’s business environment, structure, and expectations of its employees.”   The experience provides teachers “with work-based applications that can be introduced into classroom projects, curriculum, and pedagogy,” Peacock said. Aschettino will be working at a local Cape Cod museum on a project linking the arts to English.  The other three externs selected are Carol Riley of Mashpee High School, Shane Brennan of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School and Catherine Mitchell of Barnstable High School. 

            CHS French language and culture news:  And they’re off!  Our seniors in French V finished their term projects and final essay this week.  The two senior topics were: “De l’Esprit des Lois” (Montesquieu), by Farrell Helbling, and “L’Existentialisme et Jean-Paul Sartre” by Michelle Spencer.  Both students wrote an extensive essay, prepared a Powerpoint presentation, and presented their work to their classmates entirely in French.  They both did an outstanding job!  And our French III through French V students are off as well!  A trip to France complete with a five-day family stay is planned for next spring vacation.  Our students look forward to being able to use the language and culture skills they have been working so diligently to develop.  Even more so, they are looking forward to making news friends a continent away! We also have begun a French club.  All students wishing to practice speaking French or curious about the francophone cultures we explore are welcome to join. Vive le Français!

6/12/08