November 9th Update

Book Fair
Start your holiday shopping at the FitzGerald Elementary School Book Fair.  Timed to take place during American Education Week, the Book Fair will take place from November 18th through November 25th in the FitzGerald Library.  Proceeds from the Book Fair support the FitzGerald Elementary School Library. 

 

• Wednesday, Nov. 12th - RTN Cents-ible Savers Day
• Monday, Nov 17th @ 5:30pm: FitzGerald School Council Meeting
•
Wednesday, Nov 19th; 9:00 - 11:30am: Parent Visitation Morning
• Nov. 18th - 25th: FitzGerald Book Fair
• Thursday, Nov 20th: Chateau Night PTO Fundraiser
• Thursday, Nov 20th; 7:00 - 9:00pm: Citywide Elementary MCAS
         Parent Night at Whittemore School

• Friday, Nov 21st @ 9:00am: Coffee with the Principals
• Wed, Nov 26 - Fri, Nov 28: Thanksgiving Vacation
•
Wednesday, Dec. 10th - RTN Cents-ible Savers Day
• Friday, December 19th at 1:00pm: FitzGerald School Concert
 

Coming Soon: The New Elementary Standards-Based Report Card for Grades K-5
In December, 2008, all Waltham elementary students and parents will receive a standards-based report card that will be very different from the report cards of the past.  An article from The Daily News Tribune titled New Card System makes the grade is at right, and important and informative links follow:

Earn Free Money for FitzGerald School
Check out our Free Money page to take advantage of programs offering free money to help our school.  Click here for details.

RTN Cents-ible Savers Program
RTN Federal Credit Union is pleased to offer the “Cents-ible Savers Club” to FitzGerald Elementary School students.  The Cents-ible Saver Club is a savings program designed to teach students the power of saving and other key financial concepts.  All student members earn dividends on their savings account.  An initial deposit of $5.00, a completed membership card and photocopies of both the parent's government issued ID and child's social security card is necessary to open an account.  Click on the following links for more information:

First day for merged students at Fitzgerald School
by Jeff Gilbride, The Daily News Tribune, September 4, 2008
Lisa Cassidy Photo
Parents and school officials have a saying for the new Fitzgerald Elementary School: It's "The Fitzgerald School with a 'Bright' future."  School opened in Waltham yesterday with elementary students from the former Bright School and the old Fitzgerald School as classmates.  It cost the city approximately $24 million to tear down the old building and create the new one on Beal Road.  The Fitzgerald Elementary School was the seventh of eight public schools Waltham has renovated or replaced since 2001.

FitzGerald in the News Archives:

Remaining 2008 - 2009 FitzGerald PTO Schedule
All meetings are on Tuesday at 6:30:

December 9th
January 13th
February 3rd
March 3rd
April 7th
May 5th
June 9th

Remaining 2008 - 2009 FitzGerald School Council Schedule
All meetings are on Monday at 5:30pm

November 17th
December 15th
January 12th
February 9th
March 9th
April 6th
May 11th
June 8th

 

 

Waltham High addition only in early phase
The Daily News Tribune, November 9, 2008
The news of a potential addition to Waltham High School has some School Committee members scratching their heads.  Superintendent Peter Azar says the school district is only exploring its possibilities.  Azar said discussions about a possible addition will have to be ongoing between members of the School Committee, the City Council and the School Building Department.  more...

New director keeps schools running
The Daily News Tribune, November 7, 2008
The position school Superintendent Peter Azar described as one of the most important jobs in the district has been filled.  Gus Martinson of Osterville started Monday as the new director of human resources for the Waltham public schools.  more...

MCAS score fix a 'team effort'
The Daily News Tribune, November 6, 2008
The Waltham school district is taking aggressive action, including more teacher training and after-school courses for students, to boost sagging MCAS scores.  The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently placed Waltham High, Kennedy and McDevitt middle schools, and Whittemore, Northeast, Stanley and Plympton elementary schools on a list for improvement or corrective action, based on 2008 adequate yearly progress reports.  more...

Bake sales rake in big bucks for schools
The Daily News Tribune, November 5, 2008
The Parent Teacher Organizations were busy on election day selling baked goods to hungry voters to raise money for city schools.  Stationed outside three polling places, the sweets salespeople said long lines of early morning voters made up a bulk of their profits.  more...

New card system makes the grade
The Daily News Tribune, October 15, 2008
Traditional grading will soon be part of elementary school history.  If all goes according to plan, Waltham public schools will mail out the first round of standards-based report card to parents of students in second to fifth grade in December, and to kindergarten through first grade in January.  more....  (also see the left column for links to a letter and infomercial from Dr. Alexander Wyeth)

Survey results alarm Waltham parents
The Daily News Tribune, October 15, 2008
Drug and alcohol abuse is rising among local teenagers, according to a recent survey, but school officials are alarmed by the numbers of attempted suicides.  With figures in hand, school and city officials met with families at McDevitt Middle School last night to discuss the results and offer tips on changing the statistics.  Last night's forum was the first in a three-part series called Healthy Behaviors For Success and was sponsored by Waltham schools and the Waltham Partnership for Youth.  The next forum is Oct. 28, at 7 p.m., at Kennedy Middle School, 655 Lexington St.  more...

Students face new MCAS graduation requirement
The Daily News Tribune, October 1, 2008
Thousands of high school juniors who passed the latest MCAS exam may face yet another round of state-required testing before they can earn their diplomas next year.  Thanks to a new state requirement, students who received a "needs improvement" rating on the math and English language arts MCAS tests must complete an educational proficiency plan, or EPP, issued by their schools before they can graduate with their class.  more...

Libraries can't be silenced on banned books
The Daily News Tribune, October 1, 2008
Passionate about the "freedom to read," local librarians are reminding readers about their First Amendment rights during Banned Books Week.   The controversy has recently moved to the political forefront, after reports circulated that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, soon after being elected mayor of her hometown, Wasilla, Alaska, in 1996, questioned the librarian about what her response would be to the idea of potentially banning some books.  This spring, parents at McDevitt Middle School in Waltham asked officials to remove Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" from the school's library.  more...  

Busting school yard bullies
The Daily News Tribune, September 29, 2008
Dressed as nerd stereotypes with taped glasses and suspenders, two social superheroes led three of the city's elementary schools through a series of songs and motivational speeches decrying bullying.  more...

Students dig into Waltham's past
The Daily News Tribune, September 17, 2008
A handful of students were rewarded last night for spending the summer digging into their city's historic past.  City and school officials, corporate sponsors and families gathered at Gore Place where 67 students were honored for their participation in Historic Waltham Inc.'s second annual essay contest.  Click here to read the winning essays from grades 4 and 5

 

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