littleton public schools

Littleton Middle School Students Earn First, Second, Third Place Awards at State Science and Engineering Fair

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Middle School Students Earn First, Second, Third Place Awards at State Science and Engineering Fair

LITTLETON — Superintendent Kelly Clenchy is pleased to announce that several Littleton Middle School students earned first, second and third place awards at the Massachusetts Middle School State Science and Engineering Fair this weekend. 

The fair was held at Worcester Tech High School on Saturday, May 11. Six Littleton Middle School students competed in the fair with five science and engineering projects. 

Madeline Shea, an eighth grade student, received a first place award at the fair for her engineering project. Shea designed a device to measure the amounts of ozone and particulate pollutants in the air, and she also learned how to code and created three prototype devices for her project.

Brandon LaVoie, an eighth grade student, was awarded a second place award at the fair with his hovercraft project. LaVoie built a hovercraft and tested the effect of ground temperature on the lift and speed of the machine.

For her project on the effect of UV light in the degradation of watercolor pigments, eighth grade student Katherine McDonagh won a second place award. She built a UV light chamber for her project to expose selections of watercolor pigment to UV light. She then used Photoshop to measure red-green-blue color values in pigments that both had been exposed to the light and had not.

Aparna Deokar, an eighth grade student, placed third at the fair for a civil engineering project. Deokar tested her hypothesis to see if bioconcrete could be made with a fungal material instead of bacteria, which is added to fill any cracks that may form in the concrete. She made a control concrete block, a block with fungal mycellium and a block with non-activated mycellium. Deokar then used a compression machine to create cracks in the concrete blocks and measured the sizes of the cracks over time. 

“The depth of knowledge and understanding of science and engineering concepts that these students exhibited with these projects is remarkable,” said Valerie Finnerty, an eighth grade science teacher at Littleton Middle School. “Each one of them found rich topics, researched extensively and conducted their work with close attention to detail. It is so exciting to see them recognized for their hard work.”

Shea, LaVoie, McDonagh and Deokar are eligible due to their success at state and regional science and engineering fairs to enter the Broadcom Masters program, a national competition for students who earn top scores in regional and state science and engineering fairs.

“It is thrilling to see our students using their big-picture understanding of science and engineering to conduct such high-level, challenging research,” Superintendent Clenchy said. “Congratulations to each of these students. Your hard work and knowledge of these topics is exceptional.”

Earlier this month on Friday, May 3, seventh grade students Hannah Jonsson and Julianna Magin also placed third at a regional Middle School Science and Engineering fair in Lowell with their project, titled “OJ All the Way.” Jonsson and Magin compared the amount of vitamin C in frozen, fresh and concentrated orange juice.

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Littleton Public Schools Present First Set of Excellence in Teaching Awards

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Public Schools Present First Set of Excellence in Teaching Awards

LITTLETON — Superintendent Kelly Clenchy is pleased to announce that the Littleton Public Schools presented its first pair of Excellence in Teaching Award to two teachers last week.

On Thursday, April 25, Littleton ESL teacher Sue Pettengill and Russell Street School fourth grade teacher Nicole Patterson were each recognized for their outstanding work supporting their students and going above and beyond what’s expected of them. The awards are distributed annually to one teacher at each school who exemplifies what it means to be a teacher across several categories.

The award recognizes teachers’ ability to be deeply engaged and have a mastery of their subject matter. Honorees are also recognized for setting high expectations of their students, establishing learning environments based on mutual respect, addressing diverse student needs, utilizing creative and innovative techniques and remaining committed to improving themselves.

“Both of these teachers are tremendously committed to their students’ success above all else, and that dedication is on display in the way they work each and every day,” Superintendent Clenchy said. “Nicole and Sue embody all that it means to be an educator, and while they don’t do it for the accolades, we’re all extremely proud to honor them in this way and grateful for their shared energy and enthusiasm.”

Pettengill began her career in Hudson as an elementary school teacher before coming to Littleton to lay the foundation for an ESL program. In doing so, she worked to single handedly establish a program and personally worked with all of the district’s English Language Learners.

In the 11 years since, she has worked continuously to support students whose first language is not English, dedicating herself to supporting all of her students, especially those who are most in need of her help. In the two years they have worked together, one of Pettengill’s students went from both not speaking English and being non-communicative to presenting in front of his class and even reading the morning announcements at Shaker Lane.

Pettengill also serves as a mentor to newer teachers and is an integral part of Shaker Lane Game Night.

Patterson joined Russell Street School four years ago as a substitute teaching assistant before eventually becoming a full-time teacher. In doing so, she’s displayed a remarkable combination of passion and professionalism and established herself as an invaluable member of the Russell Street team.

She’s also stood out for her commitment to getting to know each of her students and helping them set goals for their personal growth, playing an instrumental role in building their confidence and self-efficacy. Patterson has built a reputation for her flexibility and collaborative spirit, first by accepting a transfer to fourth grade and then by volunteering to step into a team leader role after a colleague began her maternity leave.

Honorees from each school are awarded $500 to utilize for classroom materials or activities. The remaining two award winners will be announced next month.

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Littleton Student Makes Cards to Support a Deeply Personal Cause

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Student Makes Cards to Support a Deeply Personal Cause

Seventh grade student Abby Nordhausen launched a website this February about her passion for paper crafts, and her decision to sell handmade cards to raise funds for the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA). (Courtesy Photo Beth Nordhausen)

LITTLETON — For Abby Nordhausen, crafting isn’t just a hobby. It’s a way to raise awareness — and funding for research — among friends and family about a disease she struggles with personally. 

Nordhausen, 12, is a seventh grade student at Littleton Middle School. She has Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune disease that affects her muscles, causing her legs to ache, her eyelids to droop, and regularly leaves her feeling exhausted.

Although her disease makes it hard for Nordhausen to participate in sports, she’s found her niche in making crafts and artwork. In addition to making cards, she enjoys crafting flowers and decorating her home around the holidays. For example, this Valentine’s Day, she decorated her home with paper hearts.

When she was approximately 9 years old, Nordhausen started selling handmade cards at family parties for $1. Since then, she’s continued to sell cards to family and friends, and has raised $200 to donate to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) to support research for a cure.

On Monday, Feb. 11, she launched “ASN Cards and Crafts” at abbynord06.wixsite.com/mysite, a website that shares her experience with Myasthenia Gravis, her efforts to raise money for the MGFA by selling cards to friends and family, and also offers tutorials on how to make paper crafts. Her older sisters, Emma, 16, and Anna, 15, helped her create the site.

“I decided to donate because I’ve always wanted to sell cards, but I don’t really need a lot of money,” Nordhausen said. “Because I have my family, and I’m lucky. I decided to donate the money so it can help spread awareness and let other people know about Myasthenia Gravis.”

“I just thought it would be a cool hobby to have, and to teach other people how to make these crafts,” she added. “I always have people asking, how do you do that? I decided to make a website to share it with everyone.”

Nordhausen said her favorite cards to make are birthday and thank-you cards.

“Abby is one of the nicest kids I’ve ever come across in my entire life,” said Littleton Middle School Principal Cheryl Temple. “It does not surprise me at all that she’d want to give to others.”

“They’re fun,” Nordhausen said. “They make people happy.”

Since she launched her website earlier this week, Nordhausen said she’s gotten a lot of support and interest from her classmates.

“Everyone has liked it,” She said. “I feel like it’s cool to let everyone know about my disease. They think it was actually a cool idea because I’m not just doing it to get money for myself. I’m doing it to share awareness about my disease and raise money for the foundation to help other people, not just myself.”

While Abby’s cards are currently open for sale only to friends and family, those interested in donating to the MGFA on her behalf can do so by clicking here and donating to support her family’s team for the Boston Myasthenia Gravis walk on Sat., May 4.

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Littleton Middle School Hosts Earthview 

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Monday, Feb. 11 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Middle School Hosts Earthview 

LITTLETON — Sixth graders had a chance explore the world without leaving the Littleton Middle School gym last week. 

On Friday, Feb. 8, students had an opportunity to step inside a giant inflatable globe and stand atop a large floor map, giving them a hands-on complement to their ongoing study of world geography. 

The globe and map are part of Earthview, a Bridgewater State University project that has come to Littleton Middle School for the last several years through the support of the PTA. Bridgewater State professors joined the students and led lessons inside the globe and on the National Geographic floor map. 

While inside the globe, students were given an overview of the world from continent to continent, as well as a hands-on look at the affects of climate change and the impact humans have on the environment.

As they stood on the map, students were given locations to find and also learned how to travel across highways, rivers and oceans listed on the map.

“Earthview is such a great opportunity for our students to build their understanding of geography in an engaging and fun way,” social studies teacher Lilly Ogden said. “The kids got a close-up look at the continents and an appreciation for the scale of our planet. They also were reminded of our connection with other countries.”

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