related to our own behavior…”
Henry Miller
Hi All;
We have just about made it to the December break, and this past weekend’s storm will hopefully be only a
slight inconvenience to our morning commute as opposed to the basis for a day off from school. The winter
solstice will occur at 12:47 PM today marking the sun’s lowest point in the sky during the course of the year.
Already the days are beginning to get longer and the sun is setting later, though you wouldn’t know it since
we are just about to enter the teeth of winter.
By this point everyone in the building should have had the opportunity to experiment with the new wireless
network activated throughout the building last week. If you are having any particular issues getting
acclimated, please refer to the notices circulated by Director of Technology Adam Seldow last Thursday. He
is anxious to hear about any spots in the building that do not have consistent, strong signals, and if you
experience this type of trouble please be sure to contact the help desk or Adam directly. This coverage will
likely usher in a whole host of other opportunities that we haven’t even thought of yet, so I am eager to hear
about any applications you have been able to utilize as a result of this access. Please let me know how it is
working.
I had the opportunity to meet with Superintendent Steve Hiersche and Director of Business Operations Ed
Gotgart last week to go over initial thoughts on the FY11 budget. I presented the needs for FHS by
reviewing the past four years of my time here and the increase in enrollment combined with the decrease in
staffing that has occurred. I don’t think I need to elaborate on the difficult fiscal climate we are all dealing
with, and while there were no hard and fast estimates, I don’t expect we will be seeing any relief from budget
pressures in the short term. The federal stimulus money the district anticipated from last year ($3.4 Million)
actually came in a good bit lower than that ($2.5 Million), and the resulting $900K deficit is hopefully being
covered by some utility savings and other non-personnel savings. Nothing is clear yet, and the timeline for
the budget submission process will likely get firmed up in January. I will keep you all posted.
Two issues of note took place at last week’s School Committee meeting on Tuesday, December 15. The
proposal for a school-based health care center at FHS received approval from the school committee and this
has paved the way for the facility to open some time in January. As mentioned last week, the Department of
Public Health has already inspected the space and given its approval, and I expect this to become a reality
later next month. Information will be forwarded to FHS families shortly.
Also at the school committee last Tuesday night, the superintendent announced the date for the presentation of
the district re-structuring plan that focuses on student assignment. This plan will be announced on
Tuesday, January 5 at the school committee’s regular meeting @7:30 PM. The meeting will be held in the
FHS back gym in order to provide quality video feed through the FHS TV station. There will also be public
hearings held in January to hear information and feedback about the proposals. This information will be of
most interest to those with children in the elementary school years and dates for public hearings should be
posted to the FPS website shortly.
The FHS Model UN team did well at the first New England International Economic Summit hosted by the
Federal Reserve of Boston last week. Only 4 awards were given for 70 teams, and while many of the other
teams were created as a result of a class dedicated to the study of economics, the FHS team was one of the
few that was comprised solely of students participating as part of an after school club. Team Panama
comprised of Julia Gibson, Natasha Scaria, Emad Taliep, and Shivam Kumar won the award for the middle
income countries and their economic proposal was also chosen for debate. Both team Panama and team
Denmark (Chandrea Peng, Philip de Costa, Andrew Pinheiro, and Chloe Kounadis) did a great job. As always
they represented Framingham well. It was an exhausting day of trade, debate, negotiation, and economy
theory. Congratulations to all the students and to advisors Susan Colella and Erin Powers from the FHS
History Department.
As many of you are aware, the FHS Drama Company is heading to Scotland in the summer of 2010 to
participate in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Parents of the group are sponsoring a “Scotland Night” at
Temple Beth-Am on Saturday, January 9, 2010 to raise funds to help defray the cost of the trip. Scottishthemed
performers, including a bagpiper, will greet guests as they arrive. There are many spectacular items
available at both a silent and live auction. Tickets to this black-tie-optional, adults-only (21+) event include
the entertainment, a buffet dinner, and admission to the live & silent auctions. Cost per person is $30 in
advance (plus a handling fee of $1.50) – available online through www.ticketstage.com – or at Centre Music
in Framingham; $35 at the door (if there are still tickets left by then, as the venue has only 200 seats
available). There will also be a cash bar.
Linda Curtis from our College and Career Center has a number of exciting opportunities available for
students at FHS. JA Academy is a free, after-school program for high school students in which students learn
to run their own company and sell products with the help of business professionals and college students.
Students develop and execute a business plan, sell stock to fund growth, and drive production and sales. JA
Academy meets every week from 3:30 – 5:30. Students can apply to attend at either Boston College held on
Tuesdays starting January 26th to May 4th or at Boston University held on Wednesdays from January 20th to
May 5th. Both campuses can be reached via the Green Line. If interested, please go see Ms. Curtis in the
College and Career Center for more information and for an application.
The Ashland Fire Department in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America offers a program for anyone
between the ages of 14- 21 who might be interested in a career in firefighting. The program runs the 2nd and
4th Monday every month from 6-9 PM. Through this program students will become CPR, First Aid and First
Responder certified as well as learn the various steps involved to become a firefighter. For more details and
to register, please send any interested student to Linda Curtis in the College and Career Center in the library to
register.
Josie Kealty and Dan Nicholson from the FHS Art Department have informed me that FHS art students will
be having a show at Barnes and Noble. It will be running from this weekend until the end of January. The
artwork will hang on the wall between Barnes and Noble and Starbucks. The students will also be submitting
entries to the Globe Scholastic Art and Writing contest at the beginning of January. Congratulations and good
luck to all the students and their teachers!
Please have a restful and relaxing December break. Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2010!
Statistic Of Week
Winter Solstice Daylight Hours
Sunrise = 7:10 AM
Sunset = 4:15 PM
Vernal Equinox Daylight Hours (March 21, 2010)
Sunrise = 6:46 AM
Sunset = 6:58 PM
Summer Solstice Daylight Hours (June 21, 2010)
Sunrise = 5:08 AM
Sunset = 8:25 PM