Thursday, February 7, 2013
Westwood schools were originally going to be released early Friday; the superintendent decided Thursday night to cancel school.
Westwood Public Schools have no school Friday, Feb. 8, because of the impending blizzard. The district originally announced school would be released early, but canceled classes in response to Gov. Deval Patrick's directive. The following is a letter released on the district's website: For Westwood-centric updates and cancellation notices, bookmark our storm center hub on Westwood Patch.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Junior Seau's family is suing the NFL and President Obama says that, if he had a son, he would think twice before letting him play football.
The issue of concussions in football is back in the forefront of people’s minds now that: In an article released on Jan. 27, President Obama told The Republican, I'm a big football fan, but I have to tell you if I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football...I tend to be more worried about college players than NFL players in the sense that the NFL players have a union, they're grown men, they can make some of these decisions on their own, and most of them are well-compensated for the violence they do to their bodies. You read some of these stories about college players who undergo some of these same problems with concussions and so forth and then have nothing to fall back on. That's something that I'd like to…
Thursday, January 10, 2013
A University of Cincinnati student recently won a restraining order against her parents after they tracked her every move.
Heading off to college is a chance for not only students to grow, but for their parents to adapt to life changes as well. But in some cases, the parents may not have such an easy time letting go. So has been the case with one college student that made national news recently. A 21-year-old music student at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music recently convinced a judge to grant her a restraining order against her parents, according to The Huffington Post. The student, Aubrey Ireland, reportedly told the court that even though she had made the dean's list, her parents would still drive 600 miles from Kansas to Ohio, making unannounced visits to her school, accusing her of drug use, promiscuity and mental illness…
Friday, December 21, 2012
The company-wide blackout is to honor the memory of those killed last Friday in Connecticut.
This morning at 9:30, Patch will join with AOL in a company-wide blackout as "moment of silence" to honor the victims of the elementary school shooting in Newtown, CT, last week. According to Techcrunch, "The campaign was inspired by a call for a moment of silence by Connecticut’s Governor, and spearheaded by Causes and SV Angel. It follows a coalition of tech leaders calling for more gun control." Other companies likely taking part in the "Web Moment of Silence" include Adobe, Duke University, Salesforce and WillCall. How will you participate in the moment of silence? Tell us in the comments.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
One school system says no.
Webster students were told to change out of their T-shirts that paid tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre last week, according to Fox 25. One of the students, a first-grade boy, was wearing a shirt that read "Rest in peace, the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School. And in the front is all the kids' names," his parent Tiffany Elliot told FOX 25. Elliot told Fox 25 she talked to her son about the shooting and thought the best way to handle it was to have him show his support for the victims. But the school, said Elliot, disagreed, saying it wasn't their place to discuss the tragedy with students. Instead, Superintendent Dr. Barbara Malkas told Fox 25, "... I don't feel it is the school's right to take that privilege of …
Monday, December 10, 2012
State ethics law prevents public school teachers from accepting gifts valued at $50 or more, and they have to disclose, in writing, any gifts received. Is this affecting your gift-giving?
(Editor's note: As many parents consider what to get their child's teacher this year, we've republished this reminder about gift-giving rules.) The tradition of giving a gift to the classroom teacher is complicated, with some school systems discouraging it, and others advising parents to keep the gifts inexpensive. State ethics law prevents public school teachers from accepting any gift, Christmas or otherwise, with a value of $50 or more. And, they must disclose the gifts they accept that are worth less than that. The law took effect in 2010 and is the same for this school year. Full disclosure: I was a middle school teacher in Springfield; this was the first time I had a job in which people gave me gifts. I received a few small items …
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Monday, December 3, 2012
Massachusetts is one of five states to add 300 hours of class time every year for certain schools. Will it help?
Will more time in school translate into greater student achievement? Federal and state officials announced Monday that Massachusetts, along with Connecticut, New York, Tennessee and Colorado, are participating in a pilot program to find out. Csmonitor.com reports that the program will add at least 300 hours of learning time in some schools starting next fall. Fall River and Lawrence are the two Massachusetts towns included in the pilot project. Boston.com reports that this new program adds to an effort launched six years ago in Massachusetts to lengthen the school day in several school districts. The pilot program reportedly will last three years and include almost 20,000 students in 40 schools with an eye to bringing in more schools if …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Passionate teacher encourages students to explore other cultures and will lead trip to Peru in February, where they will visit remnants of ancient civilization, learn about Peruvian culture and volunteer at a poverty-stricken elementary school.
This February, when most Westwood High School students will be using their vacation time to hang out with their friends around town, Spanish teacher Katelyn Testa will be taking 19 students to Peru to visit historic sites, see the culture firsthand and spend time at an impoverished elementary school. “Peru is just amazing,” said Testa, the energetic seventh year Westwood High teacher. “I told the kids, ‘this opportunity might not come up again.’” Which is one of the main reasons many of the students decided to go on this trip. “Peru seems really different and interesting,” said Izzy Donabed, a sophomore going on the trip. “It’s different than going to France or Spain because it’s more difficult to get to Peru and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Massachusetts had an adjusted graduation rate of 83 percent for the 2010-2011 school year, while Westwood High School's adjusted graduation rate that year was 98.9 percent.
Massachusetts didn't make the top 10 high school graduation rates in the nation, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Education on Monday, but Westwood schools have a higher graduation rate than the state average. The graduation rates released Monday are for the 2010-2011 school year—the first year for which all states used a common, adjusted four-year cohort graduation rate, according to a U.S. Department of Education press release. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) spokesman JC Considine told Patch in an e-mail that Massachusetts has been computing cohort graduation rates since 2006, which are available on the DESE website. According to the preliminary state-reported data…
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Westwood High School being honored in Washington, D.C. this week along with 37 other high schools as "Exemplary Performing."
Earlier this year it was announced that Westwood High School had been named a Blue Ribbon School, one of 38 schools receiving an "Exemplary Performing" status from the Secretary of Education. Now, two months later, the National Awards Ceremony is taking place. Principal Sean Bevan is there, as is social studies teach Jonas Sherr, who was chosen by department heads as the teacher to represent the high school faculty. "It's definitely a great honor to represent the faculty," Sherr said in an email last week. "We have a tremendous group of teachers here. They really care about their students and with the help of our administration and support from the community, they've created a great environment for kids to learn." Yesterday the events in …
Peg
12:59 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013
My opinion about football at the adult level is this: I saw Wes Welker get head butted twice during the playoffs directly in front of the referee and neither hit was called. The referee should be fined just as the football player should be fined, heavily. Until they get serious about it the dirty players will continue to do it and the refs will continue to let it slide. more ›