This April Update will have important FY20 Budget information, a recap of Design Your Learning Day, the recent One Love training at MHS and important links for parents. Don't forget to visit #medfieldps or Twitter or Google to see all of the great experiences our kids are having in the Medfield Public Schools! I wish all of you an awesome April break!
FY20 Budget Update
The Medfield School Committee voted unanimously to support a revised, lower FY20 budget proposal to present at Medfield Town
Meeting later this month. The Warrant Committee also voted to support the budget at it's March 29th meeting.
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The revised budget included a
reduction of the proposed budget increase from 4.54% to 3.99%. The reduction
will help the town to bring a balanced budget to residents at Town Meeting on
April 29th and avoid the need for an override.The revised budget now comes in at $36,471,424, a 3.99% increase from the FY19 budget of $35,070,766.
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I am pleased that the school committee has accepted the newly proposed budget for FY20 and we are confident that we are presenting a
sound, balanced school budget for Medfield residents to consider at Town
Meeting. Our goal each year is to always look for ways to keep our budget as low as possible, while still being able to provide an exceptional education and learning environment for our students.
The reductions in the revised proposal, which total $190,030, included freezing the FY19 Budget on March 25 and using the $85,000 in savings toward the special education tuition rates in the FY20 Budget, and taking out a $30,000 increase to the technology budget. There were also individual retirement and leave of absence personnel matters that were resolved that further reduced the district's spending. A new kindergarten teacher will be added to address increased enrollment and multiple part-time positions would be added to the special education department, including a teacher, transitional coordinator, and psychologist.
Medfield School Committee Chair Anna Mae O' Shea Brooke added, "The goal at the beginning of this process was to put a school budget forward to residents that meet the needs of all students and staff for the next fiscal year and beyond. I believe this budget has met that goal and hopefully residents agree at Town Meeting in a few weeks."
The overall increase to the FY20 budget would help to maintain most current staffing levels and programs district-wide. The budget would also allow the district to fund increases in teacher salaries and compensation and all other collective bargaining agreements, fund increases to student transportation costs and fund increases in professional development initiatives. Please remember to attend Town Meeting on April 29th at 7:00 in the MHS gym.
Additional budget documents can be found here.
Design Your Learning Day-2019 |
Medfield's Design Your Learning Day (DLD) was held at Medfield
High School on April 4 and featured over 100 professional development programs, activities and education sessions that teachers could take part in throughout the day. There were also multiple speakers who gave presentations about a variety of educational and experiential subjects. Teachers from across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire traveled to Medfield to take part in the event.
In 2012, Medfield's DLD began as a small professional development day for Medfield teachers focused on technology. Since then, the program has grown and evolved to include teachers from across Massachusetts and other states and covers a variety of topics and activities focused on good teaching practices, social and emotional well-being for students and teachers and the latest in education technology trends.
Our teachers and teachers from districts all over the region look forward to this event every year. Being able to bring so many educators together to collaborate and learn from one another truly is a special experience. The DLD Committee of Neal Sonnenberg, Diane Horvath, Kerry Cowell, Kate Jones, Ann Lodge, and Stephanie Worthley did an amazing job planning this event. There were also about 25 student volunteers who, on their day off from school, helped out during the event.
Some of the sessions offered this year included a yoga class, a cooking class, a data analytics course, a program on examining grading practices, sessions on coding, a student-led course on E-sports, a student-led session on LBGTQ inclusivity and programs about augmented and virtual reality.
Neal Sonnenberg, Technology Integration Specialist summed it up best, "DLD gives teachers the freedom to choose which topics they would like to learn about and offers insight into what other school districts are teaching and how they approach education and learning. The teachers get an opportunity to learn from one another while giving each other new ideas and methods to use in their own classrooms."
The day started in the auditorium with five teachers giving short speeches called "Passion Pitches" to those in attendance. The attendees then broke off into four different sessions that they chose to participate in throughout the day. At the end of the day, a short video presentation done by student volunteers was shown giving the highlights of the event and a final Passion Pitch was given to wrap things up.
"One Love"Training for Healthy Relationships |
| The One Love Foundation recently visited Medfield High School and gave an in-depth presentation to seniors about understanding the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Founded in 2010, the One Love Foundation works to educate people about how to maintain healthy relationships, while teaching them about the signs of unhealthy relationships that they or their friends and loved ones may be in. On Tuesday, April 2, all Medfield High School seniors attended a video presentation by the One Love Foundation and then broke into small discussion groups led by student facilitators. This initiative is led by Mr. Parga, Principal and Dr. Worthley, the Director of Social-Emotional Learning. "In a few months our seniors will no longer be walking the halls of Medfield High School and many will find themselves away from home at college or in the workforce," Worthley said. "As they venture off on their own, some will soon begin new relationships. We want all of our graduating seniors to know how to build a healthy relationship, how to get out of relationships that aren't working and how to identify unhealthy behaviors. One Love's presentation does a great job of teaching those important skills to young adults." |
| The week before the presentation, a One Love staffer came to speak with 32 MHS seniors to train them to be group facilitators. The group facilitators were taught how to lead the discussion with their peers following the video presentation. They were taught what warning signs to look out for and how to help someone who may be in an unhealthy relationship. |
The 40-minute video, shown to the approximately 190 students in the senior class, follows the story of a girl in college who is in a relationship with her boyfriend. The girl's friends and family members present her with warning signs that she is in a bad relationship. After the video, the students broke out into the group discussions led by the student facilitators. |
"The group discussions really resonated with the students because they were able to candidly talk about these issues among their peers," Mr. Parga said. "I want to commend the students for their maturity in dealing with this serious topic and hopefully they all took away the fact that there is help available if you find yourself in a bad relationship." |
Some warning signs of an unhealthy relationship include: |
- An imbalance of power in the relationship, a feeling of ownership and having one partner isolate the other partner from their friends and family
- A partner who is controlling in general. Tries to control who their partner talks to, where they go, who they're friends with, etc.
- Physical or verbal abuse
- On again, off again relationships
| How to help a friend in an unhealthy relationship: |
- Be supportive
- Talk to your friend or loved one
- Focus the discussion on the unhealthy behaviors
- Don't place blame on the friend or loved one
- Offer solutions and help in the future
For more information, visit the One Love Foundation's website here.Important Links |
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