Follow up to Westborough Connects Hot Topics: Elementary & Middle School Work

Elementary & Middle School Workshops follow up

May 24, 2018

Hello! You received this email because you registered for the May 14th Westborough Connects Hot Topics: Elementary & Middle School Workshops event at Mill Pond School. The evening was a great success with 8 featured workshops on a variety of topics of interest for parents/caregivers of K-8th grade students.

We have attached presentations from several of the workshops so you can review what you learned and check out information on some you were unable to attend.

Westborough Connects wishes to thank the Westborough Public Schools for their tremendous support and partnership on this event, particularly Superintendent Amber Bock, Asst. Superintendent Daniel Mayer and Mill Pond Principal Suzanne Kenny. We also wish to thank the workshop leaders who took their own time during this busy month of May to put together some outstanding presentations for all of us.

Finally, thank you to all of you who attended our first Hot Topics event. Westborough Connects is excited to offer these free events, focusing on important topics for families with school-aged children. In the coming months, we will also be offering free programs for people of all ages - from children to seniors. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions on future programming. Please keep it coming! Stay tuned for our next Hot Topics event in the fall 2018.

Westborough Connects Welcomes You!

Are you interested in being part of a team with the goal of building a more connected and kind community in Westborough that is welcoming to all?

Westborough Connects is STILL FORMING and we welcome you!

To sign up for a Westborough Connects Committee, go HERE.
For Committee Descriptions, go HERE.

All are welcome to join this growing group of community members of all ages who are interested in building a more connected community. Join us!

Youth Behavior Risk Survey: What Do We Really Know About Our Kids?

Thank you to Roger Anderson, WPS Coordinator of Physical Education and Wellness; Chip Dapolite, WPS Resource Officer and Westborough Police Chief Jeff Lourie for this important presentation on behavior risks of our middle and high school students.

Click here for presentation slides.
Click here for more information from the 2016 overall findings.

Exporing Mill Pond's "Imagination Station" Makerspace

T hank you to Alison DeFiore, Mill Pond technology teacher, Dee Kohler, Mill Pond Librarian and to the many Mill Pond students who were on-hand for this interactive showcase of the amazing makerspace at Mill Pond.

Click here for a video about Imagination Station.

Science Teaching and Learning: Shifting from "Learning About" to "Figuring Out"

Thank you to Rebecca Katsh-Singer, Science Curriculum Coordinator, for taking us through this new, hands-on approach to science learning in our classrooms.

Click here for the presentation.

Today's Classrooms: Meeting the Needs of All Students

Thank you to Amber Bock, Daniel Mayer and WPS Director of Student Services Sherrie Stevens for taking us through the classroom experience and the "cast of characters" who work with our students everyday.

Click here for the presentation slides.

Food Matters! How to Create and Foster Healthy Relationships with Food

Thank you to Catherine Nourse, MPH, RDN, LD for leading an interactive and informative workshop on the relationship between food and nutrition AND our kids.

Click here for the presentation and materials for her presentation.

Growth Mindset for Parents to Support Growth Mindset for Students ,

Thank you to our Mill Pond School counselors, Christine Brouillard and Karen Hong for walking parents and caregivers through the concepts of a growth mindset.

Click here for an Education Week article by Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. In the article, Dweck outlines the concepts and approaches of a growth mindset for educators.

Social and Emotional Learning & School Curriculum

Thank you to Kim Tynan, WPS Clinical and Social Emotional Learning Coordinator; Maryann Stannard, Fales School Principal; and Courtney Balacco, WHS Clinical Coordinator of Center for Student Success for introducing parents/caregivers to social and emotional learning and what that means at WPS.

Click here for a useful McGraw-Hill Education article on the principles of social and emotional learning.

The Technology-Infused Classroom

Thank you to Hastings Grade 3 teacher Julia Horwitz and MPS Grade 6 teacher Stephanie Garrett for showcasing the technology tools being used in our K-8 classrooms and demonstrating the value proposition with a little help from some MPS students! Your students are among the best resources for information on what programs, sites and apps they are working with in school and at home!

Stay tuned for more information from Westborough Connects soon, including programming plans for fall/winter 2018. Thank you!