Steering Committee
The G&P Steering Committee meets on the second Thursday of every month to discuss school-wide policies and plans. Childcare is provided, upon request. The meetings are open to the G&P community and any parent/guardian is welcome (and encouraged!) to come, observe and participate.
How and why the Steering Committee was formed: G&P was founded in the early 1970s by parents and teachers who believed in child-centered, progressive education. They believed that parents, teachers and staff must be partners in the development, growth, and governance of a vibrant and successful school. With that belief in mind, the G&P Steering Committee was created to be the governing body of Graham and Parks. It is composed of 5 elected parents, 5 elected teachers/staff, the administrative leadership of our school, and a community member. It is empowered to make decisions on policy issues that affect the school directly. The Steering Committee’s goal is to promote the continuous development of G&P as a progressive, child-centered school and to provide both parents and staff a voice in the governance of the school. A parent and teacher co-chair the committee and work closely with the Principal to design the agenda each month.
The role of the Steering Committee (SC):
Monitors student achievement and school environment
Provides feedback on the Budget and School Improvement Plan
Recruits parents/teachers to participate in hiring committees
Votes on significant changes to school policies and operations (which are not governed by the District)
Addresses school and district-related issues that affect G&P
Solicits parents’ opinions on important topics and keeps parents informed about issues coming before the SC
Who is on the Steering Committee?
Administrative Committee Members:
Anthony Byers, Principal; Jodie Darnell, School Operations Manager; Lauren Morse, Family Liaison
Teacher Committee Members:
Christina Astrove, Teacher 2nd Grade, Teacher Co-Chair; Mary Gallagher, 5th Grade Teacher; Marna Kennedy, SEI JK/K Teacher; Erin Garcia, SEI 3rd Grade Teacher, Hiring Committee; Liana Trail, Art Teacher
Parent Committee Members:
Carolina L.Z. Vieira; Kris Dickson; Karen Greenleaf, Secretary; Nicole Meehan, Hiring Committee; Dana Yalin, Parent Co-Chair
The Steering Committee is a great way to learn more about Graham & Parks, and to share your thoughts and ideas with the group. Each meeting as a “Community Feedback” section on the agenda which is a time for anyone at the meeting to ask a question, share a thought or request an item to be on a following agenda. If you have something you’d like discussed at a Steering Committee, please reach out to one of the Steering Committee parent representatives, Lauren Morse or to one of your Room Parents in your child’s classroom. If you would like to attend a Steering Committee meeting and need childcare or transportation support, please contact Lauren,
[email protected].
Food Assistance Committee
Thanks to those of you who have expressed interest in the G&P Food Assistance Committee! We are excited to coordinate our efforts this year to support G&P families in need and to connect our various food-related projects. The Food Assistance Committee has 3 main projects. The G&P Market, which provides fresh, free food to ALL G&P families, is held on the 2nd Thursday of the month. The Market is always a huge and wonderful event, that requires lots of help from parents and staff to set up, sign in families, restock shelves during the market and clean up.
The Backpack Program, which provides food over the weekend for families in need, could use 2-3 volunteers on Friday mornings from 8:30-9:30AM to help assemble the backpacks. And finally, the Annual Food Drive will begin in November and we will need volunteers to help get the word out, collect and sort the food and other logistics. Please contact Lauren, G&P Family Liaison if you’d like to volunteer at
[email protected] or 617-349-6577 x115.
G&P Garden Committee
Hello G&P Families! Join us for Garden Drop-Ins. Meet in the Courtyard. We will be there on Mondays from 2:15-3:45PM with tools & supplies for observing, watering, weeding, writing, planting, drawing, digging and a list of things that can be done. Come for the whole time...Come for 10 minutes...Come once...Come every week. See you in the garden! –Liz
CitySprouts: Cider Pressing Volunteers
Volunteer with your child's class to help press apple cider in the school garden! During our Annual Cider Pressing in October and November, we introduce children and teachers to the school garden by setting up an apple press in the garden and teaching kids how to make cider. We would love parent volunteers to help set up, do a little crowd control, and clean up afterwards. As a volunteer, you'll have the chance to sign up for a free raffle to win a fun family activity. Please come enjoy fresh cider and see how much the kids love being outside in the garden. We will be doing the Annual Cider Press at G&P on the following dates: Friday, October 21 in the Afternoon; Tuesday, October 25 in the Morning; and Thursday, October 27, All Day. If interested, please contact Andrea Locke at
[email protected].
Friends of G&P
The mission of Friends of Graham & Parks is to provide academic enrichment opportunities for every student, promote volunteerism, and engage all G&P families through fund-raising and community-based events. Please join us for one of our upcoming meetings on October 7th and November 4th in the Main Lobby at 8:30AM after drop-off. We will discuss plans for our upcoming events. We are collaborating with FCEP and the Arts Committee on the upcoming World Food and Dance Festival on November 5th. Questions? Email
[email protected].
FCEP - Family Cultural Exchange Program
The Family Cultural Exchange Program (FCEP) is a parent-run organization at Graham and Parks that strives to bring together families from all of the different countries and cultures represented at our school to build community, learn from each other, and have fun. This year FCEP will continue the tradition of meeting for coffee on the second Friday of each month at Bourbon Coffee, located at 1815 Mass Ave. Join us for "2nd Friday Coffee" on Friday, October 14th immediately following drop- off. Meet us in the school lobby at 8:30AM to walk over together, or come to Bourbon Coffee and find us there. All are welcome. We especially encourage new families and international families to join us.
Room Parents
Welcome to the 2016-2017 G&P Room Parents! This year a record number of parents from our community have signed up to volunteer as room parents for their child’s class. Some are repeat parents, many are first-time room parents.
What is a Room Parent?
At Graham & Parks, Room Parents do an amazing job in carrying out several roles:
–Supporting the classroom teacher, such as helping to recruit chaperones for field trips, assisting in organizing classroom breakfasts, organizing classroom snack, sending reminders from the teachers as requested
–Increasing communication to and from the various organizations at Graham & Parks, including the Steering Committee, Friends of G&P, etc. Parents – if you have feedback or questions for one of these committees, feel free to ask your Room Parent for help!
–Building community within the classroom:
-create a parent contact sheet for dissemination in the classroom, so parents can reach out to each other, arrange playdates, etc.
-inform parents about the many online resources available at G&P and beyond
-organize informal events for classroom families such as potluck dinners and get-togethers at the start or end of the year
-thank teachers by arranging cards and a classroom gift
If you haven’t already heard from your child’s room parent, please look out for messages from them in your email or child’s backpack. If you would like to reach out to a room parent, please ask your teacher for their contact information. Please join us in welcoming and thanking the parents (see below) who have volunteered to help strengthen our community at G&P!
Who are the Room Parents in my child’s class?
Special Start
104: Laura Pirani
JK/K
102: Jessie Scanlon
105: Julie Bowden, Lena Bruno, Robin Chen, Khemenec Pantin, Sarah Ward
103 SEI: Lujun Zhang, Hiroki Nato, Anne-Marie Fournier
K
101: Tony Corsentino, Missy Holbrook, Paul DuDarry
Grade 1
106: Ilana Fisher, Khemenec Pantin, Ala Salhab, Lea Lortie
110: Ashley Owens Wood, Suzannah McFerran
108 SEI: Fabiola Mendoça, Anne-Marie Roumy
Grade 2
107: Kris Dickson, Mohammad Akter Kamal
111: Sarah Smith, Graciela Galup
222 SEI: Eva Piirimäe, Ines Roman, Chiyuki Ito, Xiaoming Wang
Grade 3
216: Ena Valenzuela
217: Lena Bruno, Anna Zenkova
212 SEI: Anne-Marie Fournier, Hiroki Nato
223 SEI: Isabelle Vivodtzev, Yasodara Cordova
217A: Lena Bruno, Anna Zenkova
Grade 4
213: Liza Tague, Sharon Mombru
214: Testaye Yona, Sara St. Antoine
221 SEI: Donna Ye, Grisanaldy Vasquez
Grade 5
224: Nora Grodzins, Sarah Smith
225: Meredith Martin
217B: Meredith Martin
220 SEI: Hella Hygum, Olesya Koenig, Jin Sanlin, Andy Chen, Shiauyun Lu
G&P Arts Committee
The Arts Committee is holding its first meeting of the 2016-2017 year on Friday, October 14th, 2:30-3:30PM, in the conference room at G&P. Parents are welcome to come and hear about the upcoming arts events and brainstorm new ways to foster the arts in our school community. Children are welcome; materials for drawing and coloring will be provided. Please contact Nora Grodzins at
[email protected] if you have any questions!