Dear Runkle School Community,
It is a pleasure to be back with all of you for the 2009/2010 school year. Your warm welcome back, and many kind words have been much appreciated.
The new school year is off to a very positive start. Our aging, but proud school has been cleaned and prepared for one more glorious and successful school year. You will notice our lobby has undergone major cleaning and our main office has been painted a welcoming and cheery light yellow. We have also constructed some office cubicles on the lower level and main floor to be used by some of our specialists, hopefully to make it more convenient for staff and parent meetings.
New Faculty and Staff
The 2009/2010 school year brings many new faces to the Runkle School. We have a total of four new classroom teachers and five new specialists. Our new staff also includes thirteen new paraprofessionals who have been assigned to work with individual students or in our Learning Centers. New teachers include the following:
Hannah Kimball
Grade 2
Grade 5 teacher in Arlington, MA 2008/2009
Permanent Substitute Teacher Runkle School (Grade 5) 2008
Intern Runkle 2007/2008
B.S. Mathematics – Simmons College
Masters in Teaching – Simmons College
Stephanie Convicer
Grade 4
2008-2009 Intern in Jay Sugarman’s class
M.A.T. Simmons College
B.S. in Psychology Clark University
Kayla Myerson
Grade 6
Grade 5 Science/Math teacher Sharon MA 2007-2009
Paraprofessional in Brookline 2006/2007 Devotion School
Paraprofessional in Brookline 2005/2006 Driscoll School
B.A. Penn State University
Masters in Elem. Education Lesley College
Cathy Stahl
Special Ed. Teacher
Inclusion Aide Runkle School Learning Center 2007-2009
B.S. Elem. Education/ Psychology Keene State College
I am also very pleased to announce that Brookline has hired and trained full-time paraprofessionals to work in all Kindergarten classrooms throughout Brookline.
Enrollment and MCAS
School enrollments are up in all schools in Brookline, with Runkle School experiencing an increase of 33 students. In most grade levels our enrollments are in the 18 to 21 range, with Kindergarten being a little higher.
I am also pleased to announce, first glance at our 2009 MCAS scores for all grades was very encouraging. Significant improvement in all grades and groupings was realized throughout Brookline. Detailed MCAS results will be made available later this fall.
Our Building
The Runkle School Building Committee and our design team from Design Partnership of Cambridge continued to meet and make progress over the summer months. Schematic Drawings have now been completed and approved. The project continues to be on schedule.
Later this month we will go before the Massachusetts School Building Authority to obtain final approval of our design scope and budget. If all goes well our Runkle School Building and Renovation Project should go before Brookline Town Meeting for funding before the 2009 year ends.
Your Involvement and K-2 Assembly
In the meantime I welcome everyone to work with us to make the 2009/2010 school year an exciting and highly successful year for the children. We encourage all parents to get involved and share with us the many special moments this school year promises to create.
One of these very special moments occurs every Friday morning for our K-2 children, staff, and parents. This Friday morning gathering of the K-2 community has been a long tradition at Runkle School. These weekly gatherings provide opportunities for students, families, and faculty to come together to sing, recognize the success and accomplishments of our students and share relevant K-2 information. In keeping with this tradition, we invite kindergarten, first and second grade families to join us for our weekly Friday Morning Meeting. The meeting will take place in the gym and begin by 8:10 a.m.
All K-2 teachers are committed to the Responsive Classroom philosophy and approach, so our weekly gathering will be modeled after a Morning Meeting congruent with the Morning Meeting that K-2 Students participate in on a regular basis. There are four components of Morning Meeting: Greeting, Sharing, Group Activity, and News and Announcements. This year we will no longer use students awards as a highlight of each week’s assembly. Instead, our emphasis will be on the children’s work and their many accomplishments. Please join us whenever you can.
Finally, I would like to once again emphasize how impressed I am with the “Spirit of community” that exists here at the Runkle School. The commitment and child-centered caring we get from the staff and the on-going encouragement and support from the parents is very special.
Please know I am here to assist you in anyway I can. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, concerns or needs. My number one priority is to help everyone make this school year a wonderful and productive experience for the children.
Best wishes,