Happy New Year! and welcome to the freshness that the New Year brings for our Heath families. Soon you will be receiving information about your student's semester grades, effort and attendance. Classes will continue to stretch our children’s thinking ability, eighth grader information will arrive in your mailbox from Brookline High School and we will ready ourselves for new winter sports and activities. Also please keep an eye out for information about our wonderful upcoming music performances, talent show and art show date! Thank you to all of our students who remain so actively involved at Heath! 

Dear Heath Parents and Students,

As new principal of Heath School, I am proud to welcome you to the 2011/12 school year. This academic
 year, we begin a new chapter of our school's storied history. We enter together, a journey based in a deep commitment to student success, both academic and social, and to continuous 
improvement across the school, striving to be the best comprehensive school in Brookline. With a wide range of academic challenge, many clubs, activities, and events, Heath affords all of our 
students the chance to feel involved in the school and invested in their Heath school experience. Due to our
 sincere commitment to helping all students reach their intellectual potential, I am proud that we offer world 
languages at grade 2 through 8, rigorous courses of study in all academic areas, and a range
 of enrichment opportunities through its exceptional and talented programming. Our faculty and staff is a bright, committed, and caring group of adults who strive to meet students' academic needs while guiding our children socially and emotionally as they grow and develop into adults. A host of clubs 
and service opportunities round out the range of available options for Heath's students to find their niche, grow and learn, and to distinguish themselves in our internal and external communities. In the classroom and beyond, the students and adults who comprise the Heath School 
community make this school an exceptional place in which to learn and teach.

It is my pleasure to have met so many of you in the previous six months and to be able to begin service in my role as principal behind the wonderful leadership that Milly has established for Heath. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you, and I am excited and invigorated by the opportunity for our educational journey together beginning August 31, 2011. Please watch for the very important dates and times for our first few days for both the district as well as for Heath School.

Last year showed amazing growth in our design and function at Heath. We saw improvements in student learning by following our student cohort groups in the areas of literacy, math and integrated learning structure. I have also learned about a very positive movement toward the completion of formative and common assessments, a study of data as it drives instruction, and an increase in positive behavioral interventions. Through continued study, review, and reflection of this past year's accomplishments, specific building goals for the 2011/12 school year will be identified.

I will be working with staff in the specific areas listed below, as targets for our year to follow.

1. Continuation of the study of Literacy and Writing at all grades. (Literacy team)
2. Next steps in the study of the RTI and Professional Learning Communities and their relationship to one another.
3. Further the study of team collaboration and common practices for instructional design
4. Continue the study of the "safe school" and the impact of the Brookline Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan on Heath School.

All of these targets are directly related to the district wide commitment to the strategic areas of focus in academic excellence, educational equity, thriving in a global society and continuous improvement using data. Our overarching objective continues to be our steadfast commitment to what's best for children, a student centered approach to instructional delivery, and the development of the 21st century student.

I would like to express my appreciation for all of the many summer activities and changes that have helped Heath School move forward. Thank you to all of our families who made time to reflect and engage students as a way to enhance our collective efficacy.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to a few new/changed staff members. I am excited to say that our vision continues to bring a wealth of talent and enthusiasm to Heath and will only enhance our continual dedicated efforts toward excellence. Welcome to Kellee Terkla as our new grade 5 staff member who will be working alongside Vanessa Ouellette, and Greta Egge who will be working with Margot Fox, Bruno Molteni who will be joining us in French, and Kristin Ford who will be our new Administrative Assistant! Currently there are positions remaining in the paraprofessional category that will be hired soon. As such, we will we include them into the Heath family soon!

Just a reminder that our traffic patterns and construction has been studied for efficiency and safety, and I will update you as often as information is presented to me. At this time, construction is tentatively due to commence in mid October. It is my understanding that the larger construction noise and actual demolition will take place after 2:20 PM.

And so, with only a few more weeks left to relax and refresh, I thank you in advance for our commitment to our students, to each other and to the rebirth of the new school year. Please feel free to visit at any time, and I look forward to seeing you on August 31, 2011!

Best,

Carrie Wilson

When I was very young, I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. Then, in junior high, I started French. Kindergarten was put on hold because I knew that I was destined to teach foreign languages. I never thought about being a principal. I just wanted to be a teacher and share my love of learning.

I loved teaching, but life offers us unexpected opportunities. As a mid-career teacher, I chaired a principal search at Hanscom Middle School in Lincoln, MA. At the end of the search, I realized what a huge impact a principal could have on children and on their education. The Superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools encouraged me to consider educational leadership as a new career pathway, and I decided to return to school to take courses in educational administration.

Within a very short time, the possibility of creating a school where all children could flourish, where teachers shared in the leadership and where parents partnered with the school was intriguing and began my interest in the principalship.

These past thirteen years in Brookline have been an amazing journey. I have been fortunate to lead a school in a town that has long tradition of educational excellence and support for its schools, and I have been blessed to work in a community that is as supportive as Heath. Heath is an outstanding school. In fact, I do believe that it is a model for public education at its best. We’re not perfect, but we are pretty darn close.

Great schools are not just about great leaders. Heath is a great school because of the amazing faculty and staff, the strong partnership with families, and a culture that embraces all children. I may have had the vision, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the parents, the faculty and staff, and the children. Thank you for helping me accomplish my dream.

It is impossible to thank everyone individually, but there are some people that deserve special recognition. First, as many of you know, this was an unusual year for me with deaths in my family and then a series of mishaps that required medical attention. During these times, I knew that I didn’t have to worry because Vice Principal Sally Dean just stepped in and took charge.

I also want to thank Terri Manchester, Heath secretary, for her graciousness, sense of humor and superb organization and management skills. Terri, along with Debbie Fay in the front office, make sure the children are well cared for on a daily basis and make the office a welcoming place for families and children.

Many thanks to Peggy Campion, School Nurse, who has gotten us through bouts of illnesses and provided excellent emergency care to children and adults in the building. Thank you to John Miner who oversees our emotional well-being. A special thank you to senior custodian Bob DeGraw who takes great pride in this building and keeps it sparkling along with Mark Power and Bob Murphy. Thank you also to Evelyn Petroski and the cafeteria staff who take good care of all of us.

Thank you and kudos to the amazing Heath faculty and staff. I have always believed that one of principal’s most important jobs is to hire excellent faculty. My benchmark was always my children. Would I want this person to be my children’s teacher? The answer at Heath is a resounding “yes.” Heath’s teachers are bright, talented, dedicated professionals who work harder and smarter than any other faculty that I’ve worked with. They are now the benchmark for the teachers that I want my grandchildren to have.

One of my favorite groups to work with has been the PTO co-Presidents and Vice President. This year is no exception. Michelle Ephraim, Vicki Lester and Ellen Rizika have brought a high level of professionalism to the PTO along with Polly Ribatt, Heath PTO Treasurer. We now have better communication on-line; they brought new people into chairmanships of committees, and they have set up an excellent speaker series. They have supported teacher initiatives and programs for families. I can’t thank them enough for the many, many hours they put into their jobs in support of Heath’s children and teachers.

I also want to give Michelle, Vicki, Ellen, Courtney Goldthwait, Polly Ribatt and Stacey McCarthy my heartfelt thanks for the fabulous retirement celebration. I was thrilled that more than 250 people attended the event including current and past teachers and families, and we could all celebrate the Heath community together. It was an evening I will always remember.

Most of all, I am thankful for the incredible young people who enter Heath’s green doors every day. This year’s 8th grade class is a bright, spirited group of students. I expect that they will do great things in the future. It has been a pleasure to work with them and to get them know them for all these years. As my last graduating class, they will always be very special. I wish them the very best in high school and beyond.

One of the hardest things for me will be saying good-bye to all the children and not being here to watch them progress through the grades. Bob Gracia, our former guidance counselor, used to say that teachers plant the seeds but don’t always see the fruit. One of the greatest joys of being a Pre-K Principal is that I do get to see the fruit – the tremendous progress children make during their years at Heath. There can be bumps and bruises along the way, and children develop at different speeds although we do nudge them along. But there is nothing better than seeing a second grader who couldn’t read in first grade now reading on grade level or a sixth grader who couldn’t look me in the eyes, now joke with me and smile. The success stories and knowing what is possible keep us pushing ahead. Heath’s kids will always be in my heart.

End of year transitions are always difficult, but this year we fortunately have very few faculty changes. Jennifer Fairbanks is moving to 3rd grade, and I have hired Kellee Terkla as a fifth grade teacher. Kellee has a BA in English Language and Literature from Colby College and a Masters in Elementary Education from University of Massachusetts Boston. She has taught at Shady Hill in Cambridge since September 2005 and was previously at Buckingham, Browne and Nichols Lower School. Kellee served in the Peace Corps in Malawi, Central Africa and was a 2007 Fulbright Scholar. We are thrilled that Kellee is joining our faculty. Sally Dean will be full time vice principal. Carrie Wilson will hire the .4 FTE 7/8 French teacher and a .2 FTE music teacher. In a reshuffling of school psychologists, Robyn Toback will return to Heath as school psychologist 2 days/week, and Debbie Dutton will be at Baker and the high school.

My last Heath School Building Committee meeting will be June 30th. These last few months the architects have met with faculty and curriculum coordinators to get their input and tweak the final plans. The Building Committee held a public meeting for parents and neighbors to discuss traffic and parking during the construction. The first phase of the building construction will start this summer with hazardous waste abatement, and Carrie Wilson will keep you abreast of the changes in the fall.

Heath is poised to move to new heights under the leadership of Carrie Wilson. I hope you will give her all the support that you have given me. I wish her the very best.

I will miss you. Thank you again giving me the best thirteen years of my career.

With love and admiration,

Milly

The hyacinths and crocuses in the school courtyard are beginning to blossom, the robins are flitting among the trees, and it’s MCAS. All are sure signs of spring in Brookline. In school, we are still well immersed in the work of the current school year, and we are also looking ahead to September. As my tenure at Heath is coming to an end, Carrie Wilson and I have been discussing which decisions I will make and which we will be sharing in the upcoming months. I will, for the last time, be making the final decisions around class placement. 

In late April, the staff and I will begin the class placement process. Class building is a team effort to which we devote a great deal of time and thought. Grade-level teachers, literacy and math specialists, special education teachers and related service providers, the teachers, Dr. John Miner, Sally Dean and I all work together on the placement process. Your child’s current classroom teacher has the very best current information and rich insight concerning how each youngster works best in school. This information, combined with data from specialists, provides the basis for class placement. Our goal is to build balanced, compatible classes of similar size. We balance classes with respect to gender, social maturity, special learning considerations and achievement levels. We also try to ensure that each child has a friend in the new class. Good in-school friends are children who work well together and support one another in a school setting. Friendships that are productive and rewarding outside of school are not always conducive to school learning. Sometimes, children have formed exclusive friendships with one or two children, and we feel it is in the best interest of both children to be separated so they can broaden their social horizons. Please understand that the placement team is the decision maker in these instances. If you have additional information that you feel we might not already know, please submit it to me in writing or via e-mail < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it > no later than Friday, April 29, 2011. Sometimes I receive letters asking that a child not be in the same class as another youngster. Please remember that our primary objective is to ensure that each child will be assigned to a classroom in which he/she can learn and grow academically and socially and to build classes that will function as lively, heterogeneous units. As it is the responsibility of the school to make class placements and determine teacher assignments, I will not accept requests for specific teachers. Be assured that much thought and care go into this process, and Carrie Wilson and I will confer about any requests for changes. Class assignments and class lists will be mailed home in early July.

Spring time also raises concerns about unsupervised children on the playgrounds before and after school. I cannot stress enough that there is NO supervision from the school on the playgrounds before or after school. Please remind children that when they arrive at school, they are expected to go directly to the cafeteria and not to play outside. After school, students should be supervised by parents or a responsible adult. Please remember that our safety rules and code of conduct are in effect any time children are on school grounds. We expect good sportsmanship, fair play and appropriate language at all times. Students who do not behave appropriately will not be permitted to stay on school grounds after school.

I hope you will join us at International Night on April 27th. This is always a wonderful family event for the entire school. Remember to mark your calendars for Mayfair, too, on Saturday, May 14th. 

Enjoy the spring!!        

Milly Katzman, Principal