the deterioration of public education, it hides its consequences from precisely those
people who could do something about it…”
Hodding Carter
Hi All;
Another weekend snowstorm strategically placed to avoid missing a day of school. The Welches were able to
take advantage of the conditions and get out for an afternoon of snow tubing on a local hill, and the
temperatures were quite comfortable. The snow was a little crusty on top and there was a good bit of water
underneath, so steering away from the large puddles at the bottom of the hill was a critical requirement. My
10-year old Alison didn’t seem to mind getting soaked, but with 4-year old Amber on my back on top of our
tube in the prone position I got drenched in a spectacular splash more than once. The trudging back up the
hill combined with shoveling the heavy, wet snow in the driveway left me pretty spent by late afternoon
yesterday.
Our family also experienced a full-blown Internet and telephone outage (unrelated to the storm) over the
weekend and this had a huge impact on our ability to stay connected with family, friends, and co-workers. I
had no idea what a stumbling block this would become! Not having a home telephone really didn’t affect us
too badly since we have cell phones to substitute, but the absence of e-mail and Internet access really threw us
for a loop. Bundling together these services with cable television is big business, and my wife and kids really
expressed a sense of urgency and desperation after I disconnected and re-connected every wire I could
identify. Once I got the service guy on the phone I couldn’t honestly tell whether my attempts at repair
ultimately became a bigger problem than the initial issue. Despite all my negotiating, a service visit wasn’t
possible until Tuesday at the earliest. This created a lot of scrambling to the point that our neighbors provided
some relief in the form of web searches and e-mail checking. My kids will have to survive without Internet
games and Facebook for a least a couple of days and they will hopefully survive unscathed.
This experience reminded me of how much more connected our current students are than previous
generations. How many students were carrying a cell phone to school ten or fifteen years ago? Nowhere near
as many as today, and students’ mechanisms for connecting with each other are numerous. These new
connections provide great opportunities for them, and some consternation for us. Did you know that the state
of Louisiana recently passed legislation mandating that educators who contact students via electronic means
through any non-school issued device must document this contact to their supervisors? Due in part to the
potential pitfalls these new technologies provide, our professional development half-day on January 28th will
feature MTA attorney Ira Fader who is a veteran presenter and authority on the importance of boundaries
when using technology as an educator. Mr. Fader will discuss important considerations when using
technology as a teacher, and he will be providing us with examples of when these mechanisms can become
problematic. He will address the entire faculty and staff from 12:00 – 1:00 PM in the auditorium. While he
really wanted 90 minutes, I was nervous that this would be a little too much to swallow, but he insists that
people normally are riveted for the time that he is speaking and pepper him with questions afterward. I suspect
that many of us will find his presentation very interesting and relevant to our daily work. Thank you to the
FTA and Rosemary Jebari who assisted in connecting us with Attorney Fader for this presentation.
Today is the day of the special election for the person to replace the late Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate.
The race certainly has provided a lot of ads in the last few days. Please make sure you take the time to vote
today as the outcome of this special election clearly has local, state, and national implications for the future.
Most polls are open from 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM.
As we move toward the second half of the year we will quickly come upon the annual Salute To Framingham
celebration. In 1992, the Salute to Framingham was created to honor individuals for their outstanding
commitment and service to Framingham’s youth. Now, eighteen years later, the Salute to Framingham has
grown into one of Framingham’s most anticipated annual events. Once again, this year’s honorees join a
select group of people who have made a real difference in the lives of the children of Framingham. On
Thursday, March 18th, Salute to Framingham will be honoring Richard Chesmore, Arthur DelPrete, and
George Hulme as the 2010 award winners. In addition to these three honorees, the Salute program also
recognizes teachers and staff who make each day “special” in Framingham Public Schools. We also
acknowledge graduating FHS students who positively impact the school community. You can support the
Salute to Framingham dinner by purchasing a ticket to attend the event or placing an ad in our program book.
Details on this year’s honorees as well as ticket and sponsorship information are available at
www.framinghamhighschoolfoundation.org Proceeds from the Salute to Framingham benefit the
Framingham High School Foundation. The Salute is the largest single annual fundraiser for Framingham
High School. As always, all proceeds from the event are used to benefit FHS students by supporting
activities, the arts, and athletics at the school.
As we begin exams this week, it is important to remember that all students are expected to take exams in
every class, with the only exception being 9th graders in Wellness classes and guidance seminar. All students
are also expected to remain in their exam classrooms for the entire testing period. If students do not have an
exam but must arrive on the morning buses they are free to use the library or cafeteria for additional
preparation during that time. As always there will be a number of students absent on exam days, and those
students are expected to make arrangements to take their exams during the make-up period or at other times as
discussed with their teachers if the make-up time is already taken. Thank you for your help as we work to
make sure that the use of this time is as consistent as possible.
As we turn the corner into second semester, all students will be receiving new schedules on Monday, 1-25-
10 as we start the second half of the year. In most instances, students’ major courses will remain the same,
but there have been a very small number of changes to adjust for fluctuating class sizes and adapt our staffing
for maximum efficiency. There will be many changes in electives, and unfortunately due to staffing cutbacks
and enrollment increases in recent years, we will not be able to provide enough sections for every student to
enroll in courses that they desire. Those students that cannot be accommodated with their desired electives
will be assigned to study halls monitored by faculty on duty assignments. Please make sure you check the
duty roster assignments for second semester as sent out by vice-principal Mark Albright last week. You may
well be changing your typical assignment, and there certainly will be room changes and other nuances to the
new setup, so check carefully and avoid surprises.
Statistic Of The Week
Number of students new to Framingham enrolled at Framingham
High School (as of 1-15-10) since the end of the 2008-09 school year:
156
Number of those students enrolled in one of the ESL/Bilingual
programs at FHS:
41