The Runkle News
Newsletter published weekly by the Runkle PTO
Submissions by Wednesday, 12:00 pm to [email protected]
School main phone number: (617) 879-4650
Absence line: (617) 879-4249
Website: www.runkle.org
Newsletter Editors: Nafeeza Hafeez, Michele Petryk, Shalini Kasida
Issue: #22-16
January 31, 2016
PTO MESSAGE OF THE WEEK: Wed: 7/8 Basketball, School Council; Thurs: K-2 Morning
Meeting, MS Science Club, Gr 5 Band Concert @ BAKER SCHOOL; Fri: Bingo Night!!!
From the PTO
Dear Runkle Community,
There is so much going on at Runkle these days that it's hard to know
where to begin with our "thank yous."
Thank you to Dyan Bhatia and her team for organizing another successful
This Week's Events
No Middle School Art Club
Mon, Feb 1
Book Swap.
Girls Basketball
Thank you to Sandy Costello for coordinating so many great Middle School
3:15 - 4:15 pm
Activities so far this year -- especially Friday's Gaming Afternoon. Thanks
also to Emily Dolbear and Spring Salvin for being on the front lines at
Wed, Feb 3
Baker @ Runkle
Friday's event.
Boys Basketball
Thank you to Ms. Gallo-Toth for organizing another great author visit this
3:30 - 4:30 pm
coming week -- this time for third grade. See details below about
author/illustrator Giles Laroche's visit to Runkle on Friday.
A belated thank you to Sophie N., who played Grieg's Morning Song on
piano for January's Music in the Morning. The next Music in the Morning
will be Wednesday, February 24 at 7:40 a.m. Please contact Matt Burke if
you or your child would like to perform.
We look forward to Bingo Night this Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria.
Please join us -- it is a great family event! See details below and sign up
here to volunteer.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Catherine Burke, 617-738-8844, [email protected]
Wed, Feb 3
Runkle @ Baker
School Council Meeting
Wed, Feb 3
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Runkle Library
K-2 Morning Meeting
Thurs, Feb 4
8:05 - 9:00 am
Middle School Science Club
Thurs, Feb 4
2:30 - 3:30 pm
Fifth Grade Band Concert
Thurs, Feb 4
7:00 pm
Lynne Chuang, 617-875-9663, [email protected]
Baker School
Runkle PTO Co-Chairs
Bingo Night
Fri, Feb 5
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Cafeteria
New Student Health Survey Results
Examined.
This Friday, February 5
5:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria
What percentage of children in Brookline
Public Schools use alcohol or marijuana,
are stressed, fast more than 24 hours to
Join us for this perennial favorite event -- prizes and pizza
galore!
lose weight, or report being bullied?
The recent Brookline Wellness
Committee/B-PEN summit "What Are
We need volunteers! Please sign up here to help out.
This community event is funded by your contributions to the PTO
Annual Fund. Thank you!
Brookline Kids Really Up To?" examined
some of the most recent statistics from
Public Schools of Brookline's Student
Health Survey, and the roughly 100
participants brainstormed ideas for
addressing many of the most pressing
concerns regarding teen stress,
Middle School Activities at Runkle
marijuana and alcohol use, technology,
adult/student connections, body image
and eating disorders, and
Thank you to Spring Salvin and Emily Dolbear for running the
Middle School Gaming Afternoon in the Library on Friday! About 35
sixth, seventh, and eighth graders were engaged in board games
for a couple of hours under the guidance of Eureka Puzzles. The
students took a quick break for snacks and went right back to
enjoying each other's company.
This event would not be possible without parent donations to the
PTO Annual Fund and without volunteers to make it happen. It was
such a success that we will lobby to put it in the budget again for
next year.
relationships/sexuality. B-PEN's new
Parent Network Update summarizes the
event's key findings and
recommendations for going forward. To
dig deeper into survey results, check out
the Executive Summary and the
Summary Comparison Tables .
Preorder your yearbook!
Did you know that all students K-8 are
included in the Runkle School
Yearbook? Portraits as well as many
candid photos of school events are
included, and make a great memory of
Please take note of these PTO-funded activities coming up for
middle school students at Runkle:
Drop-In Art Club: Monday, Feb 8 at 2:40 pm
the school year.
Don't forget to preorder your yearbook
today! Preordered yearbooks cost $20
until March 1st, after which the price
will rise to $23 through June 1st.
Science Club: Thursdays Feb 4, 11
Yearbooks will still be available in
June for $25 if you do not choose to
preorder. To order, visit this webpage.
Tide Pool Coming to
Runkle 3rd Grade
On March 17, the N.E. Aquarium tide
pool is coming to Runkle School.
SAVE THE DATE for our annual
Middle School Dance
Friday, March 11, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Thanks to the Brookline Education
Foundation's Early Education
Opportunity Fund, 3rd grade
classrooms will handle and observe a
wide range of live animals from the
local waters. This unique tabletop
All events are FREE to attendees, and are only possible because of
parent donations to the PTO Annual Fund.
exhibit recreates salt marsh, sandy
beach, and rocky coast habitats. For
more information about this and other
BEF funds and programs, please
visit brookineeducationfoundation.org.
Absence Line Reminder
If your child will not be in school for
any day(s), please call the absence
line, 617-879-4249, BEFORE
8:00am to report the information.
The PTO annual Book Swap, held this past Thursday, was a rousing
success! We collected over 1500 books, and as of Friday afternoon, only a
handful remained in the cafeteria lobby!
Thank you to all the families who donated their prized books. With your
You can leave a message for multiple
days if needed.
Town Meetings
contributions, we were able to distribute excellent quality literature to all
those participating in the swap. It's wonderful to see the pleasure our
children take when they leave the swap with their new treasures! A special
thanks to Spring Salvin, Cathy Rose, Charu Deshpande, and Megan
MacGarvie for all of your time spent sorting and arranging books into a
wonderful and friendly display!
We are already looking forward to next year's swap! Keep saving those
School Committee Meeting
Thursday, Feb 4, 2016
6:00 PM - 9:35 PM
James F. Walsh School
Committee Room
5th Floor, Town Hall
books!
NOTE: All times are approximate.
Dyan Bhatia
Click here for all town meetings.
Seeking Volunteers for
Unless otherwise posted, the public is
welcome to attend all meetings.
Understanding Disabilities Units
Understanding Disabilities is a district-wide program that utilizes a nationally
recognized, award-winning curriculum, Understanding Our Differences, to
teach children to "see the person and not the disability." The program is
taught by parents to students in the 4th grade.
Classifieds
Please note: The Runkle News and PTO have
not researched and are not responsible for the
services, products, and/or requests made in
these ads.
You do not need to have a child in the fourth grade to volunteer, just a
desire to help children develop understanding and respect for fellow
students and others with physical, sensory or developmental disabilities.
TUTOR
The units and dates are:
students have the ability to succeed and
Physical Disabilities - Thursday, February 25
Allergies & Asthma - Wednesday, April 6
If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions, please email
Valerie Godhwani at [email protected].
From the Principal's Desk
Hi, everyone, and welcome to the second half of the school year! We
passed the halfway point this past Wednesday. We will also be celebrating
First Grade teacher/ tutor believes that all
use their strengths. Contact tutor
at [email protected] or call
617-794-7311.
HOMEWORK COACH
Coaching includes helping students
organize assignment books, binders, and
backpacks. Communication with the
student's classroom teacher clarifies
expectations, and gives me a view of your
child as a learner. A long-standing
Runkle parent with an MEd with a
our 100th day, snow permitting, on Wednesday, February 10.
specialty in learning disabilities. Have
A little bit of each of the three A's this week: Academics, Athletics, and the
Contact Joan [email protected].
Arts!
This past Saturday, ten Runkle upper-grade students took part in the MetroBoston MathCounts competition. Runkle's team, coached by Mr. Lass,
finished first among the eight Brookline school teams, and 5th out of the 32
teams overall in this very challenging MathCounts chapter. As a result,
Runkle is among those schools advancing to next month's State
taught many years in the classroom.
COOKING INSTRUCTION
Former Baker Parents starting a new
business called My Chef Debby, a private
cooking instruction business. For more
info go to:
www.mychefdebby.wix.com/mychefdebby
competition! Congratulations to Iris (who finished with the 7th highest
individual score of the 200+ participants), Sam, Alex, Ilaria, Ben, Josh,
Maya, Nima, Margaret, and Anay!
Managing the Runkle News
Congratulations to the girls' and boys' basketball teams on another round of
To subscribe, please go to
victories this past week! You can see the girls' squad in action on the
www.runkle.org and look for the
Runkle hardcourt this Wednesday afternoon against the Baker Bulldogs.
Runkle's 7th and 8th grades will be putting on THE MUSIC MAN Jr this
SUBSCRIBE icon.
April! Auditions are scheduled for this Wednesday and Thursday
To unsubscribe, please hit
afternoons, starting at 4:30 p.m. The musical will be directed by Ms. Jenn
"Safeunsubscribe" at the bottom of
Vento, who has directed several shows for us in the past.
This past week the Runkle community got to enjoy two concerts --the
Grades 4-8 Band Concert on Wednesday night and the Runkle/Lincoln
Grades 4-8 Strings Concert on Thursday night, which featured a concluding
number featuring close to 100 strings musicians from both schools
your email.
performing the second movement of Beethoven's "Pathetique" Sonata in C
Minor. Congratulations to all students involved in these concerts, and to
Directors Michelle Cavalieri and John Ferguson!
Jim Stoddard
News from the Vice-Principal
Dear Families,
I canít believe that we have passed "halfway" day already. Wednesday,
January 27th was our 90th day! I really have enjoyed getting to know all of
your children this year. I am working hard to learn everyone's name and
have the names stick in my relatively old brain.
A big challenge that all schools have is maintaining a calm and quiet
environment in the cafeteria. This challenge ranges from Kindergarten to
8th grade. We have reintroduced cafeteria rules for our K-2 classes that
include staying seated and raising hands to ask permission to leave for the
bathroom. The students want to eat their lunch in peace. It ís getting
better.
We are also trying to teach and reinforce the need for respect in all of our
classrooms. (The R in RUNKLE stands for Respect!) Runkle has been fortunate
to have a Social Skills Curriculum in our classrooms that starts as early as Pre-K.
We need the support of parents to reinforce some of these skills. Our students
need to know that the adults at Runkle have One Voice. We ask that you reiterate
this message at home. This means that if any adult (e.g., paraprofessional,
classroom aide, custodian, teacher, or administrator) gives a student a direction,
it is expected to be followed. Students' first response should not be, "It wasn't
me," or "No." All of the adults at Runkle aim to treat students with respect as well,
and we all care about our student safety and happiness. If we are directing
students to, say, pick up food they have dropped on the floor, it is because it can
create an unsafe situation...and it is the right thing to do.
We will revisit this theme at our K-2 Morning Meeting on Feb. 4th. I would
love to share any social skills that we are addressing with parents as often
as possible. I welcome your feedback and support.
In Kindness,
Donna Finnegan
A Note from the Library
On Friday, February 5th, nationally recognized Author/Illustrator Giles
Laroche will be presenting and working with all Grade 3 classes from 8:10
a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Library.
Giles will speak about the process of writing and illustrating using the
technique of cut-paper relief. He will bring some of the original art work from
his books to share, including a sneak peak at the illustrations he did for the
book Now You See Them, Now You Don't: Poems about Creatures that
Hide, which will be released on February 16.
His art work relates to the 3rd Grade Science Unit on the study of
Structures, and it is an integrated project with the 3rd class classrooms,
Art, and the Library.
We invite any interested 3rd grade parents to attend Giles' introduction
presentation from 8:10 to 8:50 a.m.
This event is generously supported by the Runkle PTO!
From Mr. Lass
This Week's Problem:
An "Average" Problem
Doug, Dick, and Dean are triplets in Mr. Finch's first-period Algebra I class.
Friday's exam is to be their last in that school.
On the following Monday, after the triplets have left the school, Mr. Finch
announces the class averages. "Before Doug, Dick, and Dean left, the
class average was 74% -- not bad, really. However, removing their scores
causes the class average to rise by one percentage point. Okay?"
"Furthermore," he adds, "the ratios of the triplets' scores is
6 : 5 : 3. What are the scores of our three departing friends?"
Last Week's Problem:
The Box Supper
Back in the olden days, community groups in rural areas held a fund-raising
event called a box supper. It worked like this:
Young ladies would cook a meal at home, put it in a box, and decorate the
box. Once at the event, young men would bid on the boxes in auctions.
Each box would go to the one who offered the most money, and he would
have the privilege of eating the food with the girl who had prepared it.
Of course, certain girls wanted to eat with certain boys, so word of how girls
would decorate their boxes got around, so that boys could be sure which
one to bid on.
Sally Jo prepared a roast beef sandwich with homemade bread, apple
salad, and pink lemonade. Her boyfriend, Joseph, paid a modest sum for
that box. (It cost him an odd number of dollars.)
Mary Lou's specialty was juicy slices of ham with a pineapple sauce,
potatoes, and peppermint tea. Her boyfriend, Leroy, won that box for 25
fewer dollars than three times what Joseph spent.
But it was Judy Ann's specialty of Southern Fried Chicken that stole the
show. She topped the meal off with mashed potatoes and gravy, and that
new soft drink sensation everybody was talking about, Dr. Coker. Her
boyfriend Jay paid five times the positive difference between what Joseph
and Leroy paid.
We want to know just how much Jay paid, but you need to know two more
facts:
- The total amount of money raised was twelve times Joseph's payment,
and
- The sum of the money paid by these three gentlemen was $4 more than
the amount paid by everybody else who bought boxes.
Solution:
Jay paid $65 for his meal.
Eric Lass
Math 7/8
From the Community
Brookline's Pan Asian Lunar New Year Celebration
Saturday, February 6th from 1-3pm
Brookline High School, MLK Room & Atrium, 115 Greenough Street,
Brookline, MA
Free & Open to All; Light Refreshments
Celebrate - Chinese New Year (
)/Korean Seollal (
)/ Vietnamese Tết
Enjoy - Lion Dancing, Asian food, Music, Crafts, Games, Performances
(Chinese Yoyo, Genki Spark Taiko Drumming, and more!)
Games - Interactive table games for children and adults
For More Information & to RSVP - RSVP at http://tinyurl.com/BrooklineLNY16
Contact Chi Chi Wu at [email protected] or Chris
Chanyasulkit: [email protected]
for more information.
School Food & Nutrition Policy Community Forums
February 4, 2016 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm John D. Runkle School Library
February 9, 2016 8:30 am - 10:00 am Brookline High School MLK Room 115
Are you aware that the school wellness policy for the Brookline Schools is being
updated? Are you interested in shaping the food culture in the Brookline
schools? Parents, students, and faculty and staff are invited to:
· Learn the results of the 2015 Brookline schools food and nutrition environment
survey
· Contribute to the vision of a healthful school culture including school meals,
foods throughout school, and food literacy
Community meetings will focus on the nutrition and food culture portion of the
wellness policy. Please join members of the Brookline Schools Wellness
Committee and participate in this important discussion!
MBTA's Proposal to Raise Student Monthly Passes
Parents interested in commenting (deadline: Feb 12)
Student LinkPass (bus plus train) will rise from $26 to $32 per month.
All the info on the proposal, public meetings, and how to comment can be found
here:
http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/MBTABackOnTrack/?id=6442455611
The most convenient and relevant meeting is Feb 2, 5-7 pm, at the state
transportation building near the Boylston T station. Abby Swaine, Chair,
Brookline Public Transportation Advisory Committee
Valeo Futbol Club
Valeo Futbol Club is a soccer academy that provides opportunity for kids to learn
the game, challenge themselves, and become better people both on and off of
the field. We run programs for children ages five, all the way through 18.If you
would like to learn more about Valeo Futbol Club, please visit valeofc.com! For
any questions or comments, please email [email protected].
Cragged Mountain Farm
Cragged Mountain Farm (CMF) is a summer camp in rural New Hampshire
established by Dr. Henry Utter in 1927. It has been owned and operated by the
Utter family ever since. Our campers range in age from 10-15 years old. The
average camper population is 55-65 children over the course of the four
weeks. Unlike many other summer camps, we feel the co-ed nature of the camp
environment enhances the learning experience in many positive ways. Boys and
girls have separate sleeping and bathroom facilities. Most of our campers return
summer after summer and often become CMF counselors, trip leaders and other
staff members. See our website for more
details:http://www.craggedmountainfarm.com
Devotion Science Fair 2016
Saturday March 12th, Devotion School
Calling all scientists! The Science Fair is a fun and exciting day full of amazing
student science projects and an Expo with great hands on activities,
demonstrations, and interactive games. We invite all kids to explore an idea,
question, or experiment YOU are EXCITED about! There will be lots more
information coming soon (mid-January) about what a science fair project is, how
to think up and test you idea, and how to present your results. In addition to the
Science Fair, there will also be a Science Expo. This year's Expo theme is "The
Science of the Environment". At the Expo you can learn about how we can help
the environment, how what we do affects the environment, and about exciting
new technologies that scientists are dreaming up to make the world a better
place.Your project does not have to be about the environment. It can be about
anything you like! This event is open to all students throughout Brookline, grades
K-8. The registration website will open soon. You'll be getting more info in
January. GO SCIENCE!
Summer Learning! Making Summer Learning Fun & Engaging! Tutoring With
A Twist
Tutoring and enrichment for students entering 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade
Tanya Paris, Kindergarten Teacher, Runkle School, Brookline, MA. 617-8794658
Tutoring with a Twist: Uses a fun, child-centered approach to integrate art, math,
literacy, science, and social studies learning while exploring our local community!
Curriculum created by Tanya Paris & Lauren Kelly,certified Brookline
teachers.
Student to teacher ratio of 3:1. Space is limited to 6 students per week.
Extra support for those that need a bit of a boost as they approach grade
level, as well as enrichment and challenge opportunities for those that are
reading at or above grade level.
1 hour of direct literacy instruction per day via phonics, guided reading,
and extension activities.
Art, Science, Math, and Social Studies connections provided through
exciting local field trips: The Belkin Family Lookout Farm, Paris Creperie,
deCordova Sculpture Park & Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard
Museum of Natural History and more!
Space is limited. Sign up today! http://tutoringwithatwist.weebly.com/
BROOKLINE ARTS CENTER'S WINTER CLASSES ENROLLING NOW!
The BAC is offering some exciting classes this Winter! Some classes include Art
with Movement and Music for ages 2-3, Recycled Creations for ages 5-7,
Clayworks for ages 8-12, Hand Sewn Art for ages 13+ and Cartooning and
Comics for adults. To Register and View more classes:
www.brooklineartscenter.org.
Announcing 2016 Trainings: BE THE PARENT YOU WANT TO BE!
A New Way of Understanding and Parenting Kids
Do you ever feel frustrated with your child? Find yourself shouting often and
imposing punishments or rewards in reaction to challenging behavior? Do you
wish you had a more effective parenting approach that also helps to build a better
relationship between you and your child? Think:Kids Collaborative Problem
Solving (CPS) approach, based in MGH's Department of Psychiatry, provides
parents with concrete tools to better understand and parent their kids in the face
of day-to-day challenges - e.g., getting to school, homework, screen time,
bedtime - and more serious challenges. It's based on the understanding that
many kids lack the skill, not the will, to behave well - specifically skills related to
problem solving, flexibility and frustration tolerance. This training helps parents
to: 1) Shift their thinking and approach to foster positive relationships with their
child; 2) Reduce their child's challenging behavior; 3) Solve problems
collaboratively and proactively; 4) Help their child develop skills related to selfregulation, communication and problem-solving. For more information and to
register for Jan. or Mar. workshop in
Brookline http://betheparentyouwanttobe.weebly.com
MANDATORY ORIENTATION TRAINING BYB Youth Umpire Program
Mondays, March 21, 28, April 4, 11. 5:00- 7:00 p.m.
Public Safety Building, 350 Washington St., Brookline
Please fill out registration form and submit to Melissa Isles Smith no later than
February 19, 2016. Applications should be emailed to
[email protected].
*** Training is Mandatory for ALL umpires - returning & new. You must attend
all 4 sessions and pass written exam to be considered.
Please check out our website for additional information regarding the program.
http://brooklineyouthbaseball.org, click on tab labeled Programs and the Youth
Umpires.
The Brookline Youth Climate Adaptation Challenge
Saturday, April 2
Pierce School, Brookline
A fun and educational event designed to inspire students to think about
sustainable solutions to environmental issues they are passionate about.
An extraordinary environmental science fair for grade groups K-1st, 2nd-3rd, 4th5th, 6th-8th and 9th-12th. For additional details, click on link.