September 20, 2024

Weekly Information for September 20, 2024

Share Post

Dear Parker families, students and staff,

It was great to see everyone at Back to School Night last evening. I hope that you experienced Parker as your child does. Thank you for jumping in as if you were back in school. It made for a fun and meaningful evening for all of us. We look forward to seeing you again for PLP conferences on Friday, October 18th. Your child’s advisor will send details and an opportunity to sign up soon.


As you may know, this year we are celebrating Parker’s 30th Anniversary. We were founded in 1995 on the promise that we could get to know students well, to challenge and support students to use their mind well, prioritize depth over coverage, demonstrate mastery and support one another with a tone of decency and trust. We are proud of the tremendous success of our current students and 25 graduating classes!


We have a series of events and celebrations planned across the year. The goal is to reflect on the past, celebrate the present and prepare for a tremendously successful 30 years and beyond. We do all of this in the spirit of Parker – inclusive, welcoming and with students at the center. Please join us!


The first event is a Fun Run/Walk on Sunday, October 13th at 11:00 AM here on Devens. You can walk, run, hop, or skip the 5K – in-person or virtually – in costume or typical 5K attire. During and after the event, there will be family lawn games, a food truck, music, and more! Everyone who registers by next week will be guaranteed a Parker t-shirt designed by a talented graduate - and they are pretty cool shirts! Running, walking or cheering, we hope to see you there.

www.parker.school/run


Brian

This week’s topics: 
  • Parker 101 for Parents/Guardians
  • Parker Concert Band Begins!
  • School Photo Retakes
  • Financial Aid Night
  • AP Exams for Seniors
  • Support Our Seniors Potluck
  • Community Connections Night
  • Parent/Guardian Access to Homework
  • Hourly Substitute Opportunity
  • Parker 5K Fun Run Volunteers Needed
  • Flu/COVID Vaccine Clinic
Parker 101 for Parents/Guardians

Please join us for an orientation to Parker especially for parents/guardians who are new (or relatively new) to the school. These are intended to be companion sessions; you are welcome to attend just one, though we hope you can join us at both. Please contact Deb Merriam (deb@theparkerschool.org) or Matt Smith (matt@theparkerschool.org) with questions.


  • Part 1: Academics, Thursday, September 26th, 7-8:30 PM
    This session will focus primarily on the classroom experience and academic structures/expectations at Parker.


  • Part 2: School Culture and Communication, Tuesday, October 8th, 7-8:30 PM
    This session will focus on "everything else" about the school, including the advisory program, home-school communication, "discipline", extracurriculars & athletics, food programs, library and technology, and other important family and cultural aspects of the Parker experience.


Parker Concert Band rehearsals begin next week!

Parker’s Concert Band is starting soon! You can still join us provided you know the basics of playing a woodwind, brass, or percussion instrument. We even have 14 instruments in our collection that we can loan to you at no cost as well. Our rehearsals begin Tuesday, September 24th in Room 13. Rehearsals are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-4:30 PM. We will perform at Café Wednesday in mid-January, and we plan to offer another term starting in the spring semester. The activity fee for each semester is $100, and need-based assistance is available.


The details for signing up are:

  1. If you missed the informational meeting on Sept. 10, please fill out this sign-up form.
  2. To pay the $100 activity fee for the semester, just complete your payment through Parker’s Unipay page, clicking the “band” and “fall” options from the list. You can also bring a check or cash to the office in an envelope with your name and “Band fee” written on it. Checks should be made out to FW Parker Charter Essential School.

Students can drop your instrument off in room 13 before advisory on rehearsal days. Please contact us with instrument requests, need-based assistance requests, or any questions you may have: Jim jdesmond@theparkerschool.org or Marena mcole@theparkerschool.org.

 

School Photo Retakes

Students who missed having their photo taken on registration day and those wishing for a redo should visit the photographers in the morning next Wednesday, September 25, between 8 AM and 10 AM. These photos are used on school IDs, in Office 365, and in the yearbook, so please make sure you’ve had your photo taken this year. See Monique with questions.


Financial Aid Night

Attention Senior Families! Financial Aid night is Wednesday, September 25th at 6:30 PM. During this virtual event, Kevin Fudge from MEFA will be explaining the college financial aid process. Keep an eye out for an email from Jinnee that will include the meeting links for the event.


AP Exam

Attention Div 3 students! While Parker does not offer traditional AP classes, any student interested in taking an AP exam should see Jinnee by October 1st.


Support Our Seniors Potluck on October 1st

Seniors and their families are invited to join in conversation around the expectations, excitement, and challenges of the year ahead on Tuesday, October 1st from 5:30-7 PM in the Gym. Senior Seminar teachers/advisors will provide an overview of the senior year, Senior Project, and the graduation requirements along with this year’s installment of “Dear Diary”—a not-to-be-missed crowd favorite! Please bring a dish to share!


Community Connections Night on October 1st

We invite ALL members of the Parker community to meet with the Class of 2025 and learn about their Senior Projects on Tuesday, October 1st from 7-8:15 PM in the Gym! We hope you will offer suggestions for…

  • resources they could access
  • people/organizations with whom they might collaborate
  • experiential opportunities they could pursue
  • product ideas they might consider

Please feel free to bring guests from inside and outside the Parker community!


Parent/Guardian Access to Homework: School Connection app

Parker offers parental access to student class information through several mechanisms. Over the next few weeks, we will share more about those avenues of information here. Today, we are highlighting ‘School Connection’ which is a phone app (part of Microsoft Teams) you can download and then link to your student’s “Teams Assignments” account. This allows you as a parent/guardian to see nightly homework assignments, if that is information that would be helpful to you as you support your student’s success. Please follow the Parker instructions available here: School Connection Create Account.pdf. Note that you will need your student’s Parker email to link the account – the format for those is firstname.lastname@theparkerschool.org. We will offer some parent “help sessions” to learn more about these resources later this fall, so stay tuned!


Hourly Substitute Opportunity

Parker is currently seeking responsible, caring adults interested in working with middle and high school students as classroom substitutes. Familiarity with Parker’s mission and academic program is preferred. Substitutes will be called on an “as needed” basis based on their availability and will support students in following plans left by classroom teachers. Please contact Monique at mbeganski@theparkerschool.org if interested.


Last Call for 5K T-shirts

Register for the Parker 5K Fun Run by 9/25 to be guaranteed a t-shirt! www.parker.school/run. This will be a fun community event- come run, walk, skip, or jump the 5K in a Halloween costume or not! If you can’t make it to the run, signup to run virtually and still receive a t-shirt! T-shirts can be sent if not local.


Flu/COVID Vaccine Clinic

Our Flu AND COVID-19 (Moderna) vaccine clinic has been confirmed for Friday, October 18th, on PLP Day. This clinic is for staff, students, and family members (ages 5 and up). Please schedule your appointment from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM by clicking this link.

Parents of Athletes

Do you know how to find your way to Parker’s playing locations? We have a GREAT feature on our website with interactive Google maps - just enter your address to receive directions to any of our game and meet locations. Find this feature by clicking HERE.

Upcoming Dates of Note:
Wed - Sep 25 School Photo Retakes (morning)
Thu - Sep 26 Parker 101 - Part 1
Tue - Oct 1 Support Our Seniors Potluck
Tue - Oct 1 Community Connections Night
Tue - Oct 8 Parker 101 - Part 2
Wed - Oct 9 PSATs and SATs at Parker
Thu - Oct 10 Board of Trustees
Sun - Oct 13 Parker 5k Fun Run
Mon - Oct 14 Fall Holiday - NO SCHOOL
Tue - Oct 15 ACTs at Parker
Fri - Oct 18 PLP Conferences - No Classes
Looking for help with or concerning: Please contact:
a specific class or assignment the teacher of that class (see Parker email list)
technical support email: helpdesk@theparkerschool.org
your family's or student's health email: lzick@theparkerschool.org
mental health/emotional support needs email: skelly@theparkerschool.org
food insecurity/free and reduced school lunch needs email: mmckenna@theparkerschool.org

The Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School is committed to equal employment and educational opportunity for all members of the school community and prohibits discrimination on the basis of the basis of race, color, gender, pregnancy or pregnancy status, religion, gender identity, age, national origin, sexual orientation, homelessness, or disability, in the operation of the educational programs, activities, or employment policies.

Recent Posts

Information for September 11, 2026

By Xalli Gordon-Chavez • September 11, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, As you may know, Parker was started 32 years ago by local parents who wanted to play an active role in a new kind of school. Our partnership with families is essential to the success of our students. There are many ways to get involved. First and most importantly, we appreciate that 100% of our families actively participate in Registration Day on August 26 th and PLP days on October 9 th and March 12 th . Helping students develop personalized goals and learning plans, and building a strong relationship with their advisors, provides a strong foundation for the year. We also welcome you to attend Back to School night next Thursday, September 17 th . Families will experience Parker as their child does, following an abbreviated schedule to meet their teachers and get a feel for a typical day. Back to School night begins with Divisional orientations at 6:15 pm and classes start at 7:00 pm. This is a great night to learn about your child’s classes, but not their individual performance. If you have specific questions about your child, please reach out to their Advisors. We invite families to join the Parker Parent and Caregiver Community (PPCC) and the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). To get involved in the PPCC please send them an email at parkercaregivers@gmail.com and join their Facebook page . To get involved in SEPAC email them at parkerpac7@gmail.com . We thank the PPCC and SEPAC for their voice, support, and leadership. Families are also welcome to join one of the many committees, boards, working groups, or advocacy efforts of the school. If you are intrigued and want to learn more, see Brian or one of our staff members at Back to School Night. We are also looking for substitute teachers and some assistance in the library if you have time in your schedule. If you have questions or are interested, please reach out to Gabby ( gbrummer@theparkerschool.org or Bex ( bwilusz@theparkerschool.org . We always need families to help with key elements of the curriculum. For example, Math, Science and Technology (MST) is hoping to schedule up to six field trips for small groups of high-school aged students in the Spring to STEM-related businesses or non-profits in our region. One of our parents hosted students at Bristol Myers Squibb two years ago. Our students had an incredible experience exploring biotechnology research and development. If you may be interested in hosting a small group of Parker students and teachers, please let Brian or Diane ( dkruse@theparkerschool.org ) know. Finally, our Seniors need your help with their year-long Senior projects. On Tuesday, September 29 th at 7:00 pm we are hosting Community Connections Night, an opportunity for students to share their essential questions and ask for feedback, research ideas, and connections from Parker families. That same night, we host Parker 101 at 6:30 pm for new families to learn more about our program. Many families attend both events that evening.  I hope this is received as it was intended – an open invitation to get involved in ways that work for you and your family. We appreciate and value your partnership! We look forward to seeing you at Parker. Brian

Weekly Information for September 4, 2026

By Xalli Gordon-Chavez • September 8, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Essential questions are rich, complex questions that don’t have single or simple answers. They invite us to wonder about big ideas, to be curious, to seek to understand our own experience in the context of the broader human experience over time and across similarities and differences with others. Good essential questions (which we often call EQs) have a way of calling us to seek out answers and every “answer” raises new questions or illuminates different perspectives, propelling deeper inquiry. Every year, our students help us choose the essential question we will focus on as a school. In the spring, the junior class works in their advisories and as a class to develop themes and rough drafts of questions before debating and discussing and narrowing the many compelling possibilities down to two. On the last day of school, our students vote and at the Big End we share the EQ for the next year. This year’s question is: How can we grow by taking accountability? When I first heard our EQ, my attention went almost exclusively to the end—to the idea of accountability. How do we foster a sense of accountability? Is accountability internally generated or externally enforced—or always both? How does being accountable help foster growth and development? But as I sat with this question and talked about it with colleagues, the richness of the question unfolded and the complexity of what our students have asked us to think about this year came into fuller view. This question focuses on community—on we, not I. This prompts us to think about what holds us together when we aren’t all the same, if we don’t agree or share a common perspective, if we feel pulled by different priorities. It compels us to look around us and generate agreements, foster collaboration, develop alliances, and even to trust. This question asks us to grow—to stretch ourselves, to change, to develop, to move from where we are to a different, hopefully improved, perhaps more complex version of ourselves as a school community. And, finally, this question asks us to consider what we are responsible for, what we might have some ownership of, how we identify and take pride in the quality of our choices, actions, and work. At the start of this year, I am appreciating the way that our students have chosen a question for us that will cause us to dig deep into the way that we both take accountability for and hold each other accountable to our values which the 10 Common Principles outline. I am confident that this EQ will push us to grow and develop together this year and I look forward to all our work together supporting the growth of our students and our school community. Best wishes for a restful holiday weekend.  Bex

Weekly Information for August 28, 2026

By Gabby Brummer • August 28, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Welcome back to school. We are off to a terrific start! Huge welcome to the 81 new students and eight new staff members who joined us this year. As I said the everyone yesterday morning at the Big Beginning – we all made a choice to come to Parker. We chose a school that challenges students to use their mind well, sets high expectations for all students, and supports one another with a tone of decency and trust. Thank you for choosing Parker. We are all better for it. We want to recognize all the ways that students provide leadership at Parker. Our students serve as elected leaders of the JC and CC, sports captains and theatre leaders, Teaching Assistants and Student Ambassadors. These students and more make up the Parker Peer Leaders program. They played an essential role in welcoming our new students and setting the tone for a positive year ahead. It was great to see 84 students proudly wearing their Peer Leaders shirts at the Big Beginning. We appreciate all our student leaders! Please join us next Wednesday for the third annual Potluck Dinner hosted by the Parker Parent and Caregiver Community (PPCC). The dinner is next Wednesday, September 2 from 6:00-8:00 pm in the Parker auditorium. New and returning students and families are welcome. Please bring a dish and join us. It is a terrific way to kick off the school year, share a meal, and make a new friend. Thank you to the PPCC and the Parker Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) for their voice and leadership. We are looking forward to a great year. We hope to see you next Wednesday. Brian

Weekly Information for June 18, 2026

By Gabby Brummer • June 18, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Today we hosted the Big End for the 2025-2026 school year. We gathered in the gym for the final time, and we put a punctuation mark on who we have been and what we have done this school year. It’s important that we mark the ending of each year and that we pause to celebrate what we have accomplished, to notice how we have grown, and to reflect on what we have learned. Congratulations to the 214 Parker students who completed 329 gateways this year! Completing a gateway takes a tremendous amount of dedication, commitment and time and these students deserve to be celebrated for their accomplishments. Soon enough, we will find ourselves at the next Big Beginning—and we will focus on a new essential question and set new goals and take on new challenges as a community. In the meantime, it feels important that we take the time to celebrate and appreciate this year’s accomplishments for just a little longer. We will be here over the summer if you need anything, but please note that the main office has different hours than during the school year. Those are listed below for your reference and will be on the school website as well. I wish each of you a restful, restorative summer filled with what you hope for. We look forward to seeing you in August for Registration.  Best, Bex

Weekly Information for June 12, 2026

By Gabby Brummer • June 12, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, It has been a joyful and celebratory week at Parker. 187 students successfully Gatewayed in every division and every domain. The students showcased their learning, reflected on their growth, and celebrated the demonstration of learning that defines Gateways – and as the Common Principle concludes, “the emphasis is on the students’ demonstration that they can do important things.” Congratulations to our students for doing important things at Parker, all year and this week. We are heading towards the Big End next Thursday, June 18th. That is a long tradition of saying goodbye for the summer, signing yearbooks, and having a little fun as a community. Reminder that we have Noon dismissals on both Wednesday and Thursday next week. Junior retreat starts on Monday. Div 1 and Div 2 field trips are on Tuesday. We are pleased to announce that Parker will be helping with the summer camp at the Boys and Girls Club of Leominster and Fitchburg. The camp runs for six weeks for students entering grades 1-8. Parker will be running a series of science exploration sessions. See the attached flyer below for details. We value our terrific partnership with the BGCFL. We will send the final newsletter of the school year next Thursday. Thank you for helping to make Parker a very special place.  Brian

Weekly Information for June 5, 2026

By Gabby Brummer • June 5, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, I don’t always think about the origin of that word “milestones”, but likely because I have been using that word frequently lately, I have been thinking about its history. The word originally (and sometimes still) referred to large stones that were placed on roads to help travelers find their way and mark their progress in ancient times. Of course, transportation was different then. People traveled in slower ways and without the many devices we have which tell us how fast or how far we have gone, how to get where we are going, and if there are any dangers ahead. When we are on familiar journeys, in addition to the mile markers and signs customary on our roads, we also have all the familiar sights to help us understand our progress. Given Parker’s educational philosophy and unique academic program, many of our milestones are similarly distinctive. We spend a lot of time helping students understand and prepare for their milestone moments. It starts as early as 7th grade when students go to see Senior Project Exhibitions and the gateways of friends moving into division 2—or even earlier when they complete oral presentation assignments (OPs) is class. It happens when we include the Juniors in the graduation ceremony, not only to acknowledge the transition from one class to another, but also so that they know what to expect at a Parker graduation. They hear different examples of student speeches, and we hope they can start to think about if they want to speak and what they might say at their own graduation. Milestones, whether literal or metaphoric, help us to understand and recognize where we are on our path and to think about the next bit of progress we want to make. That is as true of the Division 1 and 2 gateways that will start next week as it is for the Graduation of the Class of 2026 which we celebrated on Wednesday evening. I hope you have had and will have an opportunity to celebrate and witness some of these important milestones with us in these last few weeks of the school year. I would also invite you to join us in celebrating the last Parker milestone for our most recent graduates. Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2026! We are excited for you and so proud of what you have already accomplished. Wishing you a restful weekend, Bex