Did you know that donations made to the Annual fund are unrestricted and go directly towards the operating budget?  The Annual Fund ensures competitive faculty salaries, technology in the classrooms, current curriculum materials, and last, and most important, our arts and athletic programs.  Annual Fund dollars positively impacts students and faculty every day.

With only seven weeks left to make a gift please consider making your gift today!  Making a gift is easy -  all you need to do is click on www.nashobabrooks.org/onlinegift/ and use your credit card.

Thank you in advance for your support.

The Cambridge Science Festival is a celebration showcasing the leading edge in science, technology, engineering and math. The multifaceted, multicultural event makes science accessible, interactive, and fun and this year will be held April 20^th – April 29^th.

The hands-on science curriculum at Nashoba Brooks School begins in Kindergarten and goes through Grade 8.  Students complete experiments and explore their curiosity in three cutting edge science labs that provide an inspirational and inventive learning environment.  After the fourth grade students submitted to the contest, they wanted to do further research to get answers to their questions.  Therefore the pursuit continues as Science Teacher, Joe Karr, teaches them valuable research techniques.

Sarah Armitage was recently awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship awarding her post graduate study at the University of Cambridge beginning next October.  The Gates Cambridge Scholarship was established by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for scholars of outstanding academic merit and leadership potential from outside the United Kingdom to study at the University of Cambridge.

The scholarship supports students who are accepted by Cambridge to pursue a second bachelor’s degree as an affiliated student (a two-year program); to take one-year postgraduate courses; or to do research leading to a doctorate. The Yale Gates Scholars for 2012–2013 were chosen from an applicant pool of around 750.

Sarah will be pursuing a Masters Degree and her interest in British urban history during her year at Oxford.  She will begin orientation to the program in early fall along with about 90 other participants, 30 of which are US Citizens, and 60 of which are non-US and non-British citizens.  A truly interntational learning environment.  Currently, Sarah is in the midst of writing her senior thesis at Yale University in New Haven.  Her thesis explores the bombing of London during the First World War; her master’s dissertation will be on the municipalization of health services as a pre-cursor to the National Healthcare System.

Please join us in congratulating Sarah in her accomplishments and wishing her the best of luck across the pond this fall.

Nashoba Brooks School’s commitment to service learning plays a key role in our mission to educate children for a life of continuous learning, accomplishment, and leadership in a diverse and changing world.  As part of the academic program, Nashoba Brooks School empowers students to be responsible citizens through service learning initiatives.  All members of the Nashoba Brooks community, from preschoolers to eighth graders, are involved in meaningful service activities.  The goal of the school is to channel students’ interests and talents while opening their eyes to new ideas, diverse experiences, and global awareness.  Not only do students develop skills that will serve them throughout life, they build lasting relationships and develop a better understanding of problems and how to solve them.

This year has been an exciting one.  Polly Vanasse provides an overview of this year’s Service Learning projects below.

YOUTH IN PHILANTHROPY

Three new projects began this year, including the start of a Youth in Philanthropy Club that meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:40 AM.  In all, twenty-three students became members of YIP.

In order to assess need and to learn about local organizations, the YIP group visited the Nashoba Learning Group, a school for autism spectra children in Bedford.  Instantly, the students were engaged and welcomed by the NLG faculty and students.  We helped them make dog gift baskets for the holiday season, we helped students with their individualized programs, and students eagerly asked to go again.  Several began to volunteer on a weekly basis, and we returned to volunteer in February and April.

Youth in Philanthropy solicited grants from organizations whose missions seemed to fit well with the school’s mission.  We received six applications from the 18 that we sent out, including the five that students later voted to support:

1. Children’s Island in Argentina: Children’s school program   $800
2. Minuteman Arc for Human Services program $1500
3. The Miracle League in Acton  $1500 for baseball uniforms for a special needs team
4. The Africa Food and Peace Project- $2000 for scholarships for two young women students to URDT school
5. REACH beyond Domestic Violence- $2000 for youth educator to teach high school students about relationship violence and alternatives.

THANKSGIVING SERVICE PROJECTS

Thanksgiving this year found several classes engaged in service projects.  The fourth graders collected supplies to make hygiene kits for CWS emergency relief programs.  These kits go to victims of earthquakes, flooding (Vermont) and other natural disasters as well as refugees.

Sixth and second graders made flower arrangements for the Open Table.  Seventh and Third graders gathered to make cards for servicemen and placemats for veterans.  Kindergarten and Fifth grades practiced singing for the assembly.

FOOD DRIVE

We ran a food drive for the Open Table in Maynard and visited in December to take the food collection, 660 cans, and to help serve diner.  We found the facility, in the Maynard Clock Tower building, to be very clean, neat and spacious.  The clients were well cared for and the pantry was stocked to overflowing.  We enjoyed visiting with the guests at each table, learning more about them, and helping to unload food.  We found more than enough volunteers and felt that we might actually be in the way.  Future food drives will benefit the Concord Open Table, which ha a greater demonstrated need, a poorer facility, and fewer volunteers.

HEADING HOME

Seventh graders once again worked with Heading Home to identify a young family and plan their move to their first apartment.  Our Family was ready to move on January 17.  We acquired furniture through many volunteers and room leaders, and collected everything in a U-Haul on the Friday before the move.  Twenty-three students and families showed up to help on Saturday morning, and the move was completed by noon.  Mom and her three-year-old daughter were thrilled to find their new space, especially the princess room and the living room with a study desk.  Mom is a student at Bunker Hill Community College, in the Criminal Justice program, having been on her own since she was 17.  Maeve Bacon helped us with the planning and Wendy Jacobs once again visited Nashoba Brooks to talk with our students and make sure they understood the institutional reasons for homeless families in Massachusetts.  A month earlier, Ellie Solomon and her brother had received the Volunteer of the Year Award from Heading Home at their Annual Gala.  Two weeks later, four seventh graders and I volunteered at the Prudential Center to solicit donations of gifts for families associated with Heading Home.  We had, as a seventh grade class, adopted a family  (Mom, 10 year old son, 3 year old twin daughters) and delivered their gifts that day as well.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Seventh and eighth graders had two guest speakers: one from One Family Scholar program director who brought a young woman who had been the recipient of a full scholarship and school supplies while she attended Bunker Hill CC as a homeless person.  Valerie talked openly with our students about what it was like to be homeless, to receive help with her education, and she shared her exciting plans for a business marketing and branding schools.

The second speaker was the founder of God’s Child, a program in Haiti and Ecuador including an orphanage in Ecuador and many mentoring programs.  The girls were inspired by his story and by the amazing work that he continues to do with disadvantaged children.

BOOK DRIVE

The school-wide book drive was a huge success this year. Sixth and seventh graders worked during free periods to sort and box books, and eighth grade leaders Allie, Anne, Elise and Alexandra spent several Tuesday afternoons working hard.

On February 14, students from grades 6 and 8 delivered some of the 3,500 books collected in the BookShare book drive to two charter schools in Boston.  We returned for the third year to the Young Achievers’ Math and Science Academy in Dorchester and had a tour of the school before reading to kindergarten classes.  A second group of students made their first visit to the Bridge Boston Charter School in Jamaica Plain.  Our students were able to read to children in small groups and loved being mentors to these enthusiastic young students in preschool through kindergarten.  Students were enthusiastic to continue the program.

CHANGE FOR CAMBODIA

Other student initiatives during the winter included the Change for Cambodia coin drive, sponsored by the student reps, which benefited both the Sharing Foundation (foundation sponsoring orphanages in Cambodia, Montessori schools, and sewing programs for young women) and the Harpswell Foundation (foundation that provides college housing for young women in Phnom Pehn).  Thanks to the spirited participation of the second graders who did jobs for change, and the third graders who donated their can drive collections, as well as the reps’ snack bar during the Fenn Nashoba musical, we collected $300 for the Sharing Foundation and $400 for the Harpswell foundation.  We also took a huge load of cans to Open Table Concord.

MALAWI

Eighth graders focused their efforts this year on raising money for Malawi, where Joanna Murphy is a Peace Corps volunteer.  Money collected through t-shirt and bracelet sales, jewelry, hot chocolate and ice cream sales, gate receipts from the musical and other initiatives all helped the students send enough money to Malawi over the last two years to support Joanna’s Women’s Collaborative, to introduce rocket stoves to the village, to rebuild the bridge that connects the village to others, and to help develop a windmill for electricity and communications.

READ FOR SEEDS

Read for SEEDS was once again a program for the second and fourth grades who got pledges for the reading they did over a two week period in April.  The money is used by Gaining Ground to purchase seeds and garden tools.

THE “N FACTOR”

The second annual student talent show, the “N Factor”, is on April 24.  Students will participate in order to raise funds for Children’s Island.

Eighth graders read letters that they wrote to Martin Luther King, Jr.  Below we share a few of them with you:

Dear Martin Luther King Jr.,

Silence is the greatest form of submissive bearings. A passive state of being refuses you the ability to say what you believe; the gift of the capacity to state an opinion is the greatest gift of all. We find comfort in seeping into the static of the silence, our opinions invisible, like vulgar waves that claw at the outskirts of the sand, inferior and alone. You even said yourself that our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Your outstretched hands, powerful and sincere, have reached far enough to touch the lives of those divided hearts. Your voice, filled with desperation and hope, has reached the ears of the little black boys and black girls and the little white boys and white girls. Your eyebrows, furrowed with frustration and anger, your eyes, fire inside and glazed with pride, your heart, omnipresent and full. All the eyes on you, all the hope and all the hate, hoping freedom will ring and a dream, a fierce and everlasting dream will become genuinely undeniable. You said a man who won’t die for something is not fit to live. The irony of this is that you are no longer living, but you died from the cause of flickering hope.

Dear Martin Luther King Jr. … Your dream has not come true, but with the hope from those divided hearts, our hands will one day come together to change this half awakening, change the state of only a dream, but into reality instead.

Best wishes,
Molly D’Arcy

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Dear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,

Why? Why did you do it? What made you slam down the hand you were dealt and demand another one instead of simply folding?  You are an amazing person, but I simply cannot wrap my mind around what went on inside yours.  There were so many people who just lay down and tried to make themselves believe that time would take care of everything.  Why didn’t you?  Well, I am painfully aware of your motivation.  The discrimination showed by the majority of the United States towards racial minorities in your time was appalling.  The discrimination shown by the majority of the United States towards racial minorities in my time is appalling.

If I am correct in thinking that many people in the world believe that their actions while here on Earth are insignificant, why didn’t you?  As much as I would like to think that everything I do is important, does have an impact somewhere on something or someone, I simply cannot fathom that in the extensive realm of our universe, my simple existence is of any real profundity.  And though I do think that I am nowhere near in the place to compare my actions to yours, I do believe that I can relate to you as a person, and one extremely interested in the human race.  There was something different in you.  A fantastic belief in every being, including yourself, that I can’t help but marvel at.  Plainly, I am rather in awe of you.

The belief that one is important is, I believe, essential to the motivation of one to actually doanything.  And though it may sound simple, I think that you would agree with me that it is rather hard to come by.  So how in the world did you? It twists my innermost cerebral ponderings in order to comprehend the amount of simple self-confidence that you possessed.  You truly believed that not only was every person capable of changing the world for the better, but it was their solemn duty to each other, their community, and themselves to attempt to do so.  It is truly inspiring, all that you have done.  You could say that you have influenced me.  A lot.  Actually, you should say it.  If you could, that is, if you were still here.  And may I just say that if I lived in the year that you made your historical march to Washington, I would be truly honored to walk with you.

Yours,
Tessa Awalt-Conley

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Dear Mr. King,

Words fail to capture my appreciation for you. Your courage astounds me. Your actions influence me. Your words moveme. I am inspired by the things you do and there is very much I wish to say to you.

Your courage astounds me. Each new day, you are brave wherever you are. Whether leading marches, waiting in jail, making speeches or advising your children, you display determination and show no sign of defeat. People attempt to shut you down with words, actions, threats and harassment but you have the soul to move forward with force and ignore the danger signs. And whether you feel crushed or worried on the inside, it is impossible to know. On the outside, you stand tall. I admire you for that. Countless others admire you for that. Your courage and determination provides a strong example for others for how to move forward in situations.

Your actions influence me. You fight for what you believe in. You take a stand for your friends, neighbors, brothers, sisters and the people you have yet to encounter. I ask, how? How do you have the knowledge, strength and desire to do so? I believe it is because the pain of segregation stings you and stabs you in your soul. Furthermore, it stabs the souls of your family, friends and neighbors. It stings the hearts of your children and all the little black boys and girls who have to live with the cruel laws of segregation. You are aware of this; you think of others before yourself; and you realize the necessity of change and are willing to take any steps to get there. I think what you do is incredible. It opens my eyes and inspires me to speak out, use my voice and the one life I am given to do worthy things.

Your words move me. Your “I have a dream” speech was incredible, moving and motivating. It made me realize that despite the color of our skin, the beliefs we have and the backgrounds we come from, we are all human. We are all looking for the same things in life. We are all equal.

From you, I learned the importance of perseverance, especially in difficult times. From you, I learned the importance of speaking out, especially at things that I feel are unjust or need to be recognized. Finally, from you, I learned that we are given one life. We are given one chance. We are given one opportunity: one opportunity to speak out, to make change, to inspire and to live. One very short life.

Lastly, I have so many things that I want to ask you. So many things I wish to know. Firstly, are you aware of the impact you have had on millions of people? I truly hope you are. In addition, what are your reactions to the progress our country has made with regards to discrimination? Finally, whom did you gain so much inspiration from? I am curious to know because it is people like you who inspire me.

If anything else, please know that I admire you greatly for the things you do. You have helped our country and world become a better place.

Sincerely,
Grace Campbell

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Dear Martin Luther King Jr.,

Courage.  Where did you develop the courage to stand up for the issues that were so important to you?  Before you took a stand, African-Americans were being treated unfairly.  After you stood up for what you believed in, you changed the way people of different races and ethnicities were treated.  You made a difference in America.  You advanced the civil rights movement and you changed the lives and futures of Americans for generations to come.  Thank you.

As you once said, “I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.”   How did you manage to make such a powerful impact with words and without violent actions?  Many activists and protestors during your time became physical while talking about important issues.  You taught us that we must love, not hate.  Thank you.

Knowing, Knowledgeable, Kind.   Martin Luther King Jr., it is remarkable that you gave a speech about your death the day before you were assassinated.  It is mind-boggling to learn that over a quarter million people gathered in Washington D.C. to hear a speech that later would go down in history.  And it is with a grateful heart that I appreciate all the change you brought about and the difference you made all around the world.

Thank you MLK!
~ Sarah Anderson

The Kindergarten class at Nashoba Brooks School celebrated their 100^th day of school on Wednesday, February 16^th.  The students celebrated the big day with many fun, interdisciplinary activities such as weighing a 100 items, going on a 100 step adventure, completing a 100 chart puzzle, and designing a 100 centipede shoes art project.

When you ask a seventh grader how they’d like to spend their Saturday, most would probably say “sleep in” or “hang out with friends”.  But our students had a different idea.  Twenty-two seventh grade girls from Nashoba Brooks School chose to spend their snowy Saturday doing something meaningful.  They volunteered for Heading Home, an organization whose mission is to end homelessness in Greater Boston, moving a twenty-one-year-old college student and her two-year-old daughter out of a shelter and into their first apartment.

The event was well orchestrated, with the students preparing well ahead of time.  First, they solicited donated items for the home, and raised money to buy the rest – everything from beds to toothbrushes.   On the move day, the girls toted everything they had collected into the eighth floor Somerville apartment including lamps, pillows, sheets, toys, books, kitchen supplies, artwork, furniture, towels, and all of the things that make a house an inviting home.  After moving in all of the essentials, the students went to work on transforming the apartment into a warm, well equipped home.  They built a desk, put together a green retreat bedroom for mom, a princess room with toys and books for the daughter, a cozy living room, and set up an entire kitchen.  In addition, they stocked the pantries with supplies, the closets with clothes, and the refrigerator with food.  Everyone in the class pitched in with the students doing the lion share of the work.  The students felt grateful that through their hard work they were able to make a difference and help a good cause.

The school’s partnership with Heading Home, Inc. started through an alumnus, Wendy Jacobs, who is the organization’s Chief Development Officer.  The organization fits perfectly with the school’s commitment to service learning and mission to educate children for a life of continuous learning, accomplishment, and leadership in a diverse and changing world.  As part of the strong academic program, Nashoba Brooks School empowers students to be responsible citizens through service learning initiatives.  All members of the Nashoba Brooks community, from preschoolers to eighth graders, are involved in meaningful service activities.  The goal of the school is to channel students’ interests and talents while opening their eyes to new ideas, diverse experiences, and global awareness.  Not only do students develop skills that will serve them throughout life, they build lasting relationships and develop a better understanding of problems and how to solve them.

Provided by Sue Wurster, Humanities Teacher and Founding Chair of the Massachusetts Middle School Forensic League

Nashoba Brooks School is a member of  the Massachusetts Middle School Forensic League, consisting of seventeen public, private, and parochial schools from all over eastern Massachusetts.  In addition, Nashoba Brooks has at least one visit each year from schools located in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Nashoba has been an integral part of the development of this league, and the team–while smaller than most–has always fared quite well.  This year is no exception.  Eighth grade team captains Elizabeth Andre and Claire Banse serve as able student leaders and role models as excellent competitors.  This year, both have won awards for their performances at each contest they have entered.  On Sunday, Elizabeth placed 4rd in Declamation, and Claire placed 5th in Play Reading.  In addition, seventh grade Jesse Ryan has been elected to serve as a captain as well.  It is our practice to elect one captain in seventh grade who is then joined by an eighth grade co-captain elected the next year.  Jesse represents the team on the league’s student leadership council and is, at the moment, leading the group in a “Multiple Reading” presentation of a one-act play by Steven Gregg called This is a Test.  She, too, is a highly successful competitor who has won awards at each contest she has entered.

This year, the league has instituted a “single flight” style contest as well as our traditional “double flighted” ventures.  In these shorter tournaments, students may enter only one event (as opposed to two at our longer contests).  All three of these new contests, this year, are being held at Nashoba.  Our second one, held on Sunday, was a very spirited and successful one.  Not only did Claire and Elizabeth win awards, but so did sixth graders Zoe Kane, Maggie Cheever and Lucia Stein.  Zoe and Maggie, whose earlier wins this year require them to move beyond the “Novice” category, both received Honorable Mention ribbons in the challenging varsity category of Prose Reading.  Lucia will now join them in the varsity category after her 4th place showing in the novice event!

Provided by Coach Polly Vanasse

Nashoba Brooks School is enjoying a terrific season of squash.  Led by a group of 13 eighth grade veterans, the team has come together and is working hard in practice on both fitness and skills.  Caroline Conway has consistently excelled this season at #1, beating all but one #1 player in great matches.  Caroline is ranked 40^th nationally in her age group (13’s).  Captains Margaret Davey (Groton) and Vivian Foley (Concord) have proved to be solid competitors, pulling out two close matches with their clutch play in late games.  Overall, Nashoba Books has lost once to Dana Hall and beaten them a second time in a match so close that games, not matches, were used to decide the result.  The Fessenden victory was similarly close.  The team lost to Meadowbrook’s strong group; it was Caroline Conway’s only defeat of the season. The team won decisively against the older but less experienced teams from Middlesex and Groton.  They dominated the girls of the Nobles Middle School Team and won against Milton Academy.  With three more weeks in the season, the team looks to improve their individual skills thanks to the coaching of pro Ali Roche, who took over for Paul Ansdell in February.  Right now their record stands at 7-2. The twenty players of this year’s Nashoba Brooks Squash Team hope to complete the most winning season in the team’s thirteen-year history.