Monday, October 17, 2022

Staff Newsletter: Week of October 17, 2022

The Hive

Breaking down barriers and building bridges.

“The best school in Boston”


Week of October 17, 2022

Dates


10/17 Academic Superintendent Visit (10-12)

10/18 Grade 2 Room 204 to MIT

10/19 PD @ 3:45

10/19 Governing Board Meeting

10/20 Field trip to Arnold Arboretum:  K0/K1: 101 102 103

10/20 Mr. Chery at Bolling Building

10/21 PINK DAY

10/25 Grade 2 Room 205 to MIT

10/28 Pajama Day

10/31 Halloween: No Costumes

11/3 Field trip to Arnold Arboretum: Grade 3: 203 202

11/9-11/10 Picture Day

11/14 Grade 3 Room 203 to MIT

11/17 Grade 3 Room 202 to MIT

Updates


Attendance from Last Week

Since the beginning of the year, attendance has been on a steady decline. Regardless of

grade or age, every student’s absence at Lee Academy has an impact on this figure. If there

are any concerns or information to share, please make Ms. Govi and Ms. Jasmine aware of it. 



We Were Kids Once!

Can you guess who this staff member is? Staff members are encouraged to bring a picture

or portrait of when they were elementary school-aged. This is an opportunity for joy and helps

build community. The small bulletin board outside of the main office will be transformed by Ms.

Zoraida and will host pictures of when the staff was young. You can bring a picture in or email

Ms. Zoraida a picture and we will print them. 


Invite Families to Come In:

Encourage parents to come into the classroom and volunteer. Parents in the building and

classroom were a major aspect of the school culture and climate pre-pandemic. 

Shared with families:


Ask your child’s teacher about opportunities to come into the classroom and volunteer. In order

to volunteer, you must complete this CORI formand bring in an ID with you to the main office in order to be copied, and then

administration/secretary will inform the teacher once the process has been completed.  


There are many ways families can volunteer to support the classroom and school: reading a

book, sharing information with students relevant to their content/learning (ie., culture or

occupation), copying papers/homework, bulletin board, organizing classroom libraries,

working with a small group, etc. 


Adult SEL

Have you put in for a personal day? There are several staff members who have not scheduled

a personal day since the beginning of the year through December. If you have not taken a day

off yet, I strongly encourage you to schedule a personal day and put it in the system. Be sure

to take care of yourself! Calling out sick or taking a day off because your child is not a

personal day. Be intentional about taking a day for yourself and your mental health. 

 

Assistive Technology Website: Email from Ms. Harley (SLP)

I wanted to share this resource with you all. This is the link to our Assistive Technology

Website: 

 

https://sites.google.com/bostonpublicschools.org/bps-assistive-technology/home?authuser=1

 

The website includes great information on assistive technology, adapted curriculum, core

boards, core word strategies, resources for parents, and more! 


PINK DAY on Friday

My name is Jackie Stroud, and I am one of the many faces of a “Caregiver” for a Breast

Cancer Survivor.  

Why am I passionate about Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

Unfortunately, breast cancer has stricken my family, NOT once but twice.  In 1996, my big sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double

mastectomy.  Then twenty-five years later, in 2021 my mother was diagnosed with breast

cancer and part of her treatment plan required a double mastectomy.  

In 2020, I became my mother’s caregiver due to Covid.   In 2021, I once again became an

instant caregiver for my mother due to breast cancer and I panicked. Why? The sound of my

mother having breast cancer scared me. I was not prepared to take on this huge challenge. 

I was determined to provide my mother with the love and care she deserved.   Being a

caregiver is a tough and exhausting job.   There was no training for watching my mother

struggle to survive breast cancer. My journey as a caregiver has not been easy.   It has been

a learning experience and I tried to learn everything I could about the disease.   I hope

one-day others will not have to experience the journey of caregiving for a breast cancer

survivor…because one day there will be a cure.  In 2022, I became aware that I am a

high-risk candidate for the disease.  I guess you cannot escape from your genetics.  

Why do I advocate for breast cancer?

Thanks to research, Breast Cancer Treatment has come a long way.  It is no longer an instant death sentence.  I advocate for the disease to

raise awareness in communities, and ensure research continues to find a cure, not just a

treatment, and so all families are provided the support and education needed to understand

the disease.   Breast Cancer is not discriminatory, and it does not ask for permission to enter

your body. It affects both women and men, rich or poor and it crosses all racial lines.   

I encourage both women and men to get annual breast screening and conduct monthly

self-breast exams at home.   Learn and know your body and don’t be afraid to say something

should you find a change in your breast.  Learn and know the risk factors for breast cancer.  

Thank you all for participating in our first Breast Cancer Event.  I’m looking forward to this

becoming an annual event.   

“WEAR PINK” in the month of October!

Literacy

Heggerty email was sent out expectation 7 minutes a day share data

Most staff members and classroom teachers should have received an email for the Heggerty portal/online resource. If you did not, please let Mr. Chery know as soon as possible. 

Early Childhood Literacy Liaison

Jocelyn Lumley will be our Early Childhood Literacy Liaison this school year. Jocelyn has

worked extensively for the district over many years. She has experience as a paraprofessional,

a teacher, a literacy coach, and was also involved in the district’s rollout of some early

childhood initiatives such as OWL and Building Blocks. She will be joining Keri on a learning

walk through classrooms on the morning of Tuesday October 18th. Jocelyn is hoping to get a

sense of the literacy structures and routines we have up and running and will collaborate with

Keri to establish support and learning opportunities to put in place this year as we embrace

the Focus and Fundations curricula. 

 

Math

ST Math

Our weekly goal as a school is 8,500 puzzles. We have about 20 students that did not get on at all last week. Below we have the break up by grade level. Please be aware that Kindergarten (K) includes both K0/K1 and K2 combined. Please address the alerts this week. We strongly encourage productive struggle but we do not want students to get frustrated and discouraged. 



ST Math Goals For the Week

Goal for the Year

K0/K1

30 mins

20 puzzles

 

80% Progress completion 

K2-Grade 1

60 minutes

40 puzzles

Grade 2-Grade 3

90 minutes

60 puzzles

 

Special Education/Support/CBHM

Reinforce students are to ask for permission to give adults hug; Safe Bodies Unit


Special Education iPads

We recently received two additional iPads dedicated for special education assessments,

such as the WIAT. All of the iPads are now housed in a tech tub in Ms. Zoraida’s office near

the radiator and staff attendance board. Please use them as needed and return them in a

timely manner for others. Thank you. 

                                                           


Operations

New Staff:

The new additions to Lee Academy has been cleared to start today. Paraeducators Ms. Serena and Mr. Pomare in the ABA classroom. Welcome!


Field Trips:

Many field trips on the calendars. If you are not a classroom teacher/staff and are interested

in supporting a field trip as a chaperone, please let me know as soon as possible. We are in

need of volunteers. 

Shoutouts


No Shoutouts ☹️Please click on the link above to shoutout a staff member.

Later

Picture Days:

Cafeteria B will be off-limits and students will eat in the classroom and dance will take place in

the classroom.

What’s Happening At LAPS

Links/Forms

Incident Report

IEP Acknowledgement

ShoutOuts


Reminders


Food/Snack

Remind students not to share food products


SWARM: 

When you are in need of support in the classroom due to behavioral challenges, please text

the SWARM. The group message should include, the classroom teacher, paraeducator,

Ms. Jen (617-775-8748), Ms. Jamsin (617-286-4081) Ms. Maude (857-829-1787) and

Mr. Chery (857-308-8836). 


SWARM may be used for bathroom support as well. 


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