‘Everything is good at the Hood’

Faculty and students share Hound Dog highlights

Published in the March 29, 2018 edition

By JILLIAN STRING

NORTH READING — J. Turner Hood School faculty, students and parents had the opportunity to host School Committee members Monday evening.

“These are the most exciting nights for the School Committee,” said committee chairman Mel Webster. “We started doing this about 10 years ago, going around to every school. We know that it’s a lot of extra work for the staff, and the teachers, and the students, and in some cases the parents, but it gives us a good feel as to what’s going on in each school, and it also gives the school a chance to show off what they want to show off.”

Hood School Principal Dr. Glen McKay presented an overview of happenings at the school.

“‘Hand in hand together we can’ is our theme here at the Hood School,” McKay stated. “We believe that working together, teachers, families, School Committee, school council, we can accomplish a lot of goals for our kids. We’ve done a lot working that way, and we’re very proud of it.”

MAKER SPACE demonstration, (clockwise from left): Director of Finance and Operations Mike Connelly and School Committee members Scott Buckley and Mel Webster join students Taygen Colarusso, Frankie Cataldo and Maria Serra in planning their boat design during the School Committee meeting Monday evening. (Jillian String Photo)

McKay shared photos from the school’s bi-annual auction fundraiser event, which occurred on March 24 at the Moose Hall. He also acknowledged parent volunteers at the meeting who helped orchestrate the event.

“There are so many things that we want to do for our students, and (the auction) always helps us. The funds raised go to such great things. In years’ past, we’ve bought Chromebooks, and we’ve bought iPads, and Smartboards, and all those great technology items, so we’re very excited to see where (the funds raised this year) go,” McKay said.

Student Council members Jackson Wesley, Nicole Hawley, Alexandria Sfikas, Madison DelVecchio and Francesca Cataldo attended the meeting to share their experiences as council members, and to present a video created by the student news team with the help of fifth grade teacher Whitney Cleary and digital learning specialist Sam Anthony.

The highlight of the presentation came when Cleary and first grade teacher Audra Mayuski explained Maker Days.

“We decided, with our maker space group, that we wanted to build a community throughout the Hood School, and have all of the kids work together as one,” Cleary said. “We had all 350-plus students separated into 17 mixed grade level classrooms K-5. We had kindergarteners talking to fifth graders and second- and fourth-graders discussing things, and they got to solve two different problems.”

The first of the two maker days occurred on January 12, and students were asked to create a podium for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The second maker day coincided with Read Across America. Guest readers came to read the book “If I Ran the Zoo” by Dr. Seuss, and students created cages for zoo animals.

“It was a really great experience for all grade levels,” Cleary said. “A lot of the kids came away with the simplest thing of ‘I made a new friend today,’ ‘I met someone new today.’ The kindergarteners saying hi to the fifth graders in the hallways, and they’re giving each other high-fives, I just thought that was a great experience to build that community.”

Cleary and Mayuski then divided up the committee members into three teams and had them participate in a maker event with fifth- and first-grade students. Within 15 minutes, each team had to construct a boat using only provided materials, such as tape, index cards, straws and aluminum foil.

The adult and student teams immediately set to work in a highly collaborative fashion. Students were quick to lead committee members through the planning phase, with committee members adding in necessary adjustments to designs.

Upon completion, the structural integrity of each boat was tested by launching them into a tub of water and adding coins to simulate passenger weight.

“One of my favorite things about (this activity) is the opportunity to watch kids take on leadership roles or take on a role working in a group,” McKay commented.

“Great job by the teachers setting up that hands-on exercise tonight. I really wanted to beat Jerry (Venezia), but I guessed we tied,” Webster jested.

The presentation concluded with a lively choral performance of “Rhythm of the Rain” under the direction of music teacher Janna Comeau.