Monday, October 22, 2012
Photos from the West School PTO Halloween Dance; O'Donnell Middle School students pledging to "stay above the influence" and Gibbons School students taking part in a walk to school day.
Editor's Note: Take a look at some of the activities that have been going on as of late in the Stoughton Public Schools. Have any photos from recent school events you would like to share? Know of any school events coming up you would like to see included on Stoughton Patch? Email jeffrey.pickette@patch.com. *** West School PTO Celebrates Halloween The West School PTO held its Halloween Dance Friday, Oct. 19 at the elementary school. Take a look at photos from the dance in the media gallery (photos #1-8). *** O'Donnell Middle School Students "Stay Above the Influence" The following is from OMS Principal Matt Colantonio/teacher Kathleen Wasik: The month of October is designated as substance abuse prevention month. Oct. 18 was Above The …
Thursday, September 27, 2012
State releases spring 2012 MCAS scores. See how Stoughton fared on the test in grades 3-10.
With the Spring 2012 MCAS scores for Massachusetts’ public schools being announced last week, the scores for the Stoughton Public Schools were discussed at the Sept. 26 Stoughton School Committee meeting. The test is administered in grades 3-8 and in grade 10. Third, fourth, sixth and seventh graders were tested in reading/English Language Arts and in mathematics. Fifth, eighth and tenth graders were tested in those two subjects, as well as in science and technology/engineering. The MCAS test is scored at the advanced level, proficient level, needs improvement level and warning/failing level. Stoughton's results by grade and school are posted below (results from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the …
Friday, August 17, 2012
Margaret Morgan has been hired as the new principal of the West Elementary School in Stoughton. She is the reigning Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators Association middle school principal of the year.
Article updated at 2 p.m. on August 17: With less than three weeks to go before the start of the 2012-2013 school year in Stoughton, the vacancy for the West Elementary School principal position has now been filled. School Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marguerite Rizzi announced the hiring of the new West School principal Friday morning. Margaret Morgan, former principal of the Chocksett Middle School in Sterling, MA, will now lead the K-5 students and faculty at the West. Morgan is the recipient of the 2012 Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators Association (MSSAA) Edmund K. Fanning Middle School Principal of the Year Award for the 2011-2012 school year. She replaces former West School principal Brendan Dearborn, who had been …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Five Things You Need to Know Today: Borrow a Kindle from the Stoughton Public Library; Flamingo Flocking Fundraiser; Stoughton Middle School Hockey Team Tryouts; and more...
"Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 1. Borrow a Kindle from the Stoughton Public Library You can now check out a Kindle for two weeks from the Stoughton Public Library. Kindles come preloaded with a selection of popular titles. See a library staff member for more information. You must be 18 or older and a Stoughton resident in order to borrow a Kindle. 2. Flamingo Flocking Fundraiser If you start to see a bunch of plastic flamingos popping up around town, there is a good reason why. The Stoughton High Class of 2013 is holding a "Flamingo Flocking Fundraiser." From the SHS Flamingo Flocking website: "You can flock a friend for a donation as low as $15. …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Five Things You Need to Know Today: Stoughton Searching for New Human Resources Director and Procurement Officer; Stoughton Life Teen Fundraiser at the Chateau; Summer Nutrition Program at the West School; and more...
"Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 1. Stoughton Searching for New Human Resources Director and Procurement Officer The Town of Stoughton has posted job openings on the Massachusetts Municipal Association website for two department head positions - Human Resource Director and Procurement Officer. The Human Resources position has been vacant since April when Martin McNamara was named Town Administrator in Boylston. McNamara was the first HR director for the newly created department. Meanwhile, Lindsay Pope left as the town's Procurement Officer to take a job in another Boston-area community. Her last day was on August 3. According to the Mass. Municipal …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Five Things You Need to Know Today: Senator Joyce Backs Repeal of Citizens United; Summer Nutrition Program at the West School; Bingo at the Senior Center; and more...
"Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 1. Senator Joyce Backs Repeal of Citizens United Stoughton's State Senator, Brian A. Joyce (D-Milton), recently voted for a resolution calling for the United States Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, restoring the first amendment and ending unlimited outside spending in elections, according to a press release from his office. This is not the first time local politicians have weighed in on this contentious issue of campaign financing and whether the "First Amendment prohibited the government from …
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Five Things You Need to Know Today: Board of Selectmen Meeting; Summer Nutrition Program at the West School; Bingo at the Senior Center; and more...
"Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 1. Board of Selectmen Meeting The Stoughton Board of Selectmen will meet Tuesday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Hall (third floor, Great Hall). The meeting starts in executive session (closed to the public), discussing contract matters with Police Chief Paul Shastany. The selectmen then reconvene in an open session, open to the public. A packed open session agenda includes hearing from Fire Chief Mark Dolloff in regards to the undetonated firework incident and receiving an update from the Town Manager Search Committee The full agenda is posted here: Revised Agenda 07242012.pdf 2. Summer Nutrition Program at the …
Monday, July 23, 2012
Welcome to "About Town with Mark Snyder," a column that will keep you up to the minute with what's what, who's who and what's going on around town. If you see or hear something we could use here, let us know by sending an e-mail to pmpco@aol.com.
CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS WEST SCHOOL PRINCIPAL'S EXIT: In a letter to parents on Friday, Brendan Dearborn announced his resignation as principal of the West Elementary School to take a position in Walpole. Just about six weeks from the start of the 2012-2013 school year (school starts September 5 for students in grades 1-12), Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marguerite Rizzi told About Town that there is already a job posting for the position of West School principal. "We will be conducting a search. I'm sure we can find a good candidate," she said. When asked about the possibility of an internal candidate, Dr. Rizzi replied, "we will do an open search." Dr. Rizzi acknowledged it was late in the summer to be searching for a new principal. "It is…
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Welcome to "About Town with Mark Snyder," a column that will keep you up to the minute with what's what, who's who and what's going on around town. If you see or hear something we could use here, let us know by sending an e-mail to pmpco@aol.com.
WEST SCHOOL PRINCIPAL LEAVES: Brendan Dearborn, principal of the West Elementary School, notified parents on Friday that he was taking a position in another district. Dearborn, who became principal at the West in July of 2008, followed the previous principal, Debbie Levitz. He had been an assistant principal and a teacher at the school for three years prior to his appointment. Dearborn wrote parents: "I hope everyone is having a great summer! I write this email with very mixed emotions. I have recently accepted a Principalship in another school district. I have loved my time at the West School both as a teacher and as the principal. I have met so many wonderful families and children here over the last seven years that I will never forget. …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Five Things You Need to Know Today: More EEE Detected near Stoughton; Weather Forecast; Summer Nutrition Program (And More...)
"Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 1. Additional EEE-Positive Mosquito Pools Found Near Stoughton According to a release from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), "numerous additional EEE-positive mosquito pools" were collected from a site in Easton on July 17, where Eastern Equine Encephalitis-positive mosquito samples were also found last week. As a result, the DPH announced on Tuesday that aerial spraying for mosquitoes will take place in 11 cities and towns in southeastern Massachusetts starting next week, including Bridgewater, Carver, Easton, Halifax, Lakeville, Middleborough, Norton, Plympton, Raynham, Taunton, and West …
Sarah
10:55 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
Students from low income families tend to do more poorly on the MCAS and the West has a higher percentage of these students than the other schools in town. The achievement gap between low income and middle/higher income students is a problem in many, many places. Its cannot all be blamed on language differences. If you want to look at more of the details of the scores, they can be found here: … more ›