littleton public schools

Littleton’s Russell Street Elementary School Fifth Grade Band and Chorus Host Spring Concert

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

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Media Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton’s Russell Street Elementary School Fifth Grade Band and Chorus Host Spring Concert

LITTLETON –Superintendent Kelly Clenchy is pleased to share that the fifth grade band and chorus performed a variety of songs at the annual Spring Concert last week.

On Thursday, June 6, family, friends, teachers, administrators and fellow students gathered in the Littleton High School auditorium to listen to the Russell Street Elementary School fifth grade band and chorus.

The concert was the culmination of the students’ studies in band and chorus this year. In the case of the band students, they began the school year by learning how to read music and properly handle their instruments before putting it all together last Thursday. 

The band was led by its director, Hilary Bridge, and performed seven songs including “Crown of Majesty” by Robert Sheldon and “Section Battle Rag” by Brian Balmages. An eighth song was performed by percussion players alone. 

Chorus Director TJ Gansenberg conducted his students as they performed three songs, including a Caribbean/South American folk song titled “Shake the Papaya Down,” an African American Spiritual titled “Somebody’s Knockin’ at Your Door” arranged by Scott Atwood and “The Dum Dum Song,” adapted from the Minnesota Boychoir.

“These students have learned so much about music this year, and were thrilled to have this opportunity to perform in front of their families and peers,” Superintendent Kelly Clenchy said. “Congratulations and bravo to these young musicians, and to their directors, Hilary and TJ.”

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Littleton Middle School Offers Students Portal to the Rest of the World

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

For Immediate Release

Friday, May 31, 2019

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

Littleton Middle School Offers Students Portal to the Rest of the World

Littleton sixth grade students took part in the Portal to the World project that visited Littleton Middle School this week. (Courtesy Photo Lilly Ogden)

LITTLETON — Students and teachers at Littleton Middle School had a rare opportunity this week to step into faraway places without having to leave the building.

The inflatable Portal to the World enables students to step inside and connect via video with people from around the globe, and they used it yesterday to meet and talk to students and others from Herat, Afghanistan and Levos, Greece. Wednesday, teachers were the first to step in the portal and visit with educators from Nairobi and Stockholm inside portals of their own as part of a professional development day.

Teacher Lilly Ogden spearheaded the effort to bring the portal to Littleton as a way to provide her sixth grade students with a powerful learning experience that builds upon their yearlong study of world geography. Unlike a simple Skype or FaceTime experience, the Portal provides an immersive environment with advanced audio visual technology that allows participants to feel as if they’re sitting in the same room as someone thousands of miles away.

“The portal is a one-of-a-kind way for our students and community as a whole to expand their understanding of the world around them,” Ogden said. “By stepping into the portal, students will be able to close the gaps of distance and step outside of their comfort zones to forge meaningful connections.”

While visiting with people from Afghanistan, the students discussed their locations, daily lives and foods they like to eat. They also learned about fasting during Ramadan, which is ongoing. While talking with people from Greece, students learned about the community center where the Greek’s portal is housed, including the digital media education programs it offers to refugees who live on the island.

The Portal is provided by Shared_Studios, which developed it with an eye toward making the world a smaller, more connected place. The Portal’s arrival in Littleton was made possible through a grant from the Littleton Education Foundation and the Kimball Foundation, as well as through the support Steve Chinosi and CJ Morse of the Andover Public Schools and Shared_Studios.

 

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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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