“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have
the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished by how much he'd
learned in seven years…”
Mark Twain
Hi All;
The super bowl is in the record books, and that means it can’t be long until spring training! Hope springs
eternal for our boys of summer, and we have certainly been spoiled over the last decade with our sports in
New England.

Last week there was an incident outside North Quincy High School that resulted in a student being shot by
another student after school. This is the second such incident in recent months (recall there was also a
shooting outside Brockton High School earlier this year), and I am expecting a refresher Code Yellow drill in
the near future. While I hope we never experience such a situation here, it is important to be prepared.
Remember that there are really two types of Code Yellow drills – Internal and External. Either type of
situation will be announced via the intercom from the main office. As the name suggests, an Internal Code
Yellow involves a threat of some sort INSIDE the building. Just to review the protocol provided in your
multi-colored flip book manual (that should be under your classroom phone), if you are teaching a class
during an INTERNAL code yellow you should stop teaching, pull down the shades, lock your classroom
door, and move students away from visibility through the doorway. Students should not leave the room, and
any students seen in the halls should be ushered into the nearest classroom immediately. The idea during an
internal situation is to keep the corridors clear of students and teachers. Teachers not teaching should stay in a
lockable classroom or office area out of sight.
During an EXTERNAL code yellow, there is a possible threat OUTSIDE the building. In these instances, the
exterior doors are locked and monitored, you should pull down the shades, and you may continue teaching as
usual. In the event you are not teaching during an external code yellow, you should go to the nearest first
floor administrative office (main office, F-hall office (currently grade 12), or D/E hall office (currently grade
10) for instructions.
There will be many “what if” scenarios (lunches in the cafeteria, study halls, library, PE classes, day care &
pre-school, etc…) that will require specialized instruction, and these cases are being reviewed in coordination
with our school resource officers and the police. In general, actions will be coordinated from the main office
in conjunction with the police, and information will be provided via intercom from this location. As I
mentioned, these directions may be modified based on the situation, and I anticipate some degree of change as
we practice. Thanks in advance for your preparation and assistance.

This past weekend the Massachusetts Academic Decathlon competition that was held on February 6, at
North Reading High School. Framingham High School's team received 5 awards for various categories and
finished up as the 7th place team out of the 16 teams in the competition. Of particular note was FHS junior
Scott Todd who received a gold medal for scoring the highest out of all participants in Mathematics and
honorable mentions in Chemisty, Language and Literature and Economics. The team placed 7th overall out
of 16 teams. Congratulations to the team, and also to science teacher Dan Seeley who advises the group.
The FHS boys and girls a capella groups joined forces over the weekend and competed against 9 other
groups at the TeenLife Community Service Fair that was held at the Chestnut Hill Mall. The students who
performed were Harry Meltzer, John Ribiero, Matt Scranton, Philip DaCosta, David Olson, Greg Royce,
Aaron Schine, Connor Fallon, Lisa Graveline, Kayla Andrew, Monica Wiles, Anna Arata, Jill Sulfaro, Amy
Fintonis, Hannah Radner, Lindsay Ortmeyer, and Emily Grove.

As we approach the February break the winter athletic season begins to wind down. This past weekend, the
FHS Boys Swim Team won Bay State League title, finishing the league season undefeated. They are moving
on to sectionals next week, and this is quite an accomplishment for the group. Congratulations to coach Ron
Perreira and all his swimmers!

Teachers may be interested in a workshop being presented by the Framingham Special Education Advisory
group this Thursday Night, February 11 from 7:00 – 9:00 PM at Walsh Middle School. The workshop is
titled "Assistive Technology and Inclusion" and features speaker Cynthia Levine. Ms. Levine, an education
consultant and assistive technology specialist from the Shriver Clinical Services Corp, will speak about
assistive technology to help kids with special needs integrate into inclusive classrooms. She’ll discuss various
types of AT & how educators can effectively implement AT to the benefit of all learners. This presentation is
open to the public. It is geared toward parents, guardians, & education professionals who teach children with
special needs. All TEACHERS attending can get PDPs (Professional Development Points). All attendees
will receive a Certificate of Attendance. There is no cost for this workshop. If you would additional
information go to: info@f-sepac.org.

We will be hunting down students’ course selection sheets this week in preparation for next year. Last week
there was a big turnout for our annual Curriculum Night, and the next wave of parents is very eager to get
moving here at FHS. Thank you to all who turned out to help. The sheets will be collected during homeroom
beginning on Wednesday this week, with the intent of getting them all in and to the grade offices before the
February vacation.

Please take time to rest up over vacation, and get ready for the long fairly uninterrupted stretch from February
through the next week off in April. Make sure that you spend some time planning your classroom work over
that eight week chunk of time, as that is the best time of year to get prime learning accomplished. While we’ll
have some degree of interruption for MCAS, for the most part this is quality time.