SPS District Newsletter

Dear SPS Families, Students, and Staff:

I hope you enjoyed a safe and restful winter break and shared quality time with your loved ones. As we begin the second half of the school year, I’m excited about the opportunities ahead and the progress we’ll make together.

To kick things off, I’m thrilled to introduce the new SPS Strategic Plan Data Dashboard, now available for you to explore anytime, on any device. The dashboard also includes the added convenience of instant language translation. I’m especially excited to share that it will allow us to celebrate key milestones while tracking our progress toward the goals outlined in our Strategic Plan. By sharing this wealth of information, we aim to enhance transparency, support data-driven decision-making, and strengthen our engagement with students, families, and staff.

The Somerville High Trivia Team is competing on WGBH’s High School Quiz Show this year! Congratulations Ella, Calla, Jack, Sam, Nate, Oliver, Coach (and SHS History Teacher) Theodore Blake and the rest of the SHS Team! Only the top 17 trivia teams in the state qualified for the annual tournament. Show your support by cheering them on as part of the studio audience during the show’s recording on January 25 (Tickets). The next match (if they win) will be recorded on January 26 (Tickets). Somerville's first match will air on WGBH and Youtube on February 22. Go #SHSHighlanders!

The Somerville Department of Public Works invited preschool and kindergarten classes across the city to name three snowplows during an annual competition. Students studied a curriculum unit designed by the SPS Early Education Department about community helpers and snowstorms, then brainstormed names for the plows. Winning classes got a visit from the City of Somerville snowplow with their winning name on the side. Congratulations to the winners!

• Fast and Flurrious (First place: Ms. Quintanilla’s ESCS UNIDOS K classroom)

• Snow Be Gone Kenobi (Second place: Ms. Ritchie’s Capuano PK ECIP classroom)

• Snowy McPlow (Third Place: Ms. Addie Down’s Healey PK classroom - pictured here)

Second graders in Erin McDonald’s class at West Somerville Neighborhood School ‘spread kindness with compliments’ in December. Each morning, Ms. McDonald and her students brainstorm ways to spread kindness. Sometimes they verbally highlight people or actions that spread kindness in their classroom community. On this particular day, student’s grabbed a colored pencil, then walked around to each of their peers’ desks to write a compliment about that child. “The students have such big hearts,” says Ms. McDonald.

Starry, a three-year-old Golden Retriever, stopped by to visit a fifth grade classroom at the Argenziano in December. Starry and her owner, Joan Friebely, are a certified therapy dog team and are part of the volunteer program in Somerville Public Schools. They have been visiting two Argenziano classrooms for a year now. Students and staff love Starry. In the words of one student, “she helps me get rid of stress and helps me focus.” Learn more about volunteers and opportunities to serve on our website.

Close to 250 K–8 students and families attended the 3rd annual Family Creative Computing and Robotics Night! Students from the SHS FIRST® Robotics Team and students from the SPS FIRST LEGO® League Team shared their competition robots. Community partners from MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten group, Lesley’s STEAM Learning Lab, and dozens of other student, parent, and teacher volunteers led stations. Families and children explored creative computing tools such as OctoStudio, ScratchJr, Scratch, and Splats, as well as robotics and physical computing tools like LEGO® Spike™ PRIME, micro:bit, and Makey Makey. - SHS Robotics Teacher, Laura Peters.

Argenziano students in grades K to 5 in the SPS Community Schools afterschool program performed for family and peers in the last event of the season. They spent 12 weeks working on circus performances with Veggie Circus, a local community organization that has been working with our afterschool students for 10 years. You can watch the videos here.

Our music educators prepared students for another season of wonderful winter concerts at every age level. If you missed an opportunity to see your child's concert or want to share it with family and friends, you can find recordings of the concerts on the EdTV Winter Concert Playlist.

Join the Athletics Department in honoring, Jerry Knight, the first inductee to the Somerville High School Athletics Ring of Honor. He was chosen for his amazing contributions to the Somerville High School athletic community. Jerry was a standout student-athlete who ran track and played basketball for Somerville High School until graduating in 1961. He coached at SHS, then served as Athletic Director until he retired in 2005. Come to the ceremony on Friday, January 10, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. in the Somerville High School Brune Field House.

Sunday, January 19 from 12:00–3:00 p.m. Cheer on the Somerville Boys and Somerville Girls Basketball teams at the annual Tufts Basketball Classic. Visit the Tufts University website for details about attending.

Any activities listed below are free, unless otherwise indicated.

January 20, 11:00 a.m – 1:30 p.m. in the East Somerville Community School auditorium. Don’t miss the chance to honor Martin Luther King Jr with Somerville Public Schools and the City of Somerville. Listen to a panel discussion on the film "Good Trouble," then enjoy an exhilarating dance performance by Boston hip-hop and breakdance troupe Floor Lords. A free lunch will be served for everyone who attends.

January 9 and 30. Everyone is invited to take a tour of one of our prekindergarten to grade 8 schools during School Open House dates. Just stop by a PK–8 school. Tours will last about an hour and start at 9, 10, 11 a.m., and noon. Please visit the Learn About our Schools page for more details.

Fridays and Sundays. Somerville High School students, with SHS IDs, are invited to the Somerville YMCA on Fridays from 7 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. for fun, free activities. Visit the YMCA website to learn more and register. The program is open to students aged 14 to 17 years old. Any changes to schedule or the program will be posted on their website.

January 27, 4:00 p.m. Want to learn more about World Languages offered around our district? Be sure to tune in to our next Superintendent's Facebook Live event where Dr. Carmona speaks with K–12 World Languages Supervisor Lisa DaCunha and a Somerville High School student.