1985-Annual Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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Superintendent of Schools A total of 68 students and seven teachers partici- pated in foreign exchange programs: 15 juniors and seniors went to Barcelona, Spain; 15 juniors and seniors went to Paris, France; four Diamond ninth graders to Puebla, Mexico; 22 Clarke eighth graders to Antony, France; 12 Diamond ninth graders to Annecy, France. Most Lexington outbound students and their families hosted inbound foreign students in exchange. School staff and parents provided ex- tensive activities for their guests in the schools and community. The Lexington Rotary Club hosted both high school groups for special functions. The "Foreign Fling," fundraiser added $1,765 toward the exchange scholarship program which now has a total of $3,600. Seventy Bridge students visited Quebec. Guidance. The Guidance Department Career Center has continued to build its extensive information re- sources with the addition of more than 60 laser video discs on colleges. These are provided by the colleges at no cost to the schools. In October and November, the center sponsored seven Mini College Fairs for students and their parents; representa- tives from over 200 colleges and universities par- ticipated. For the second year, a group of area businesses, including Hewlett Packard, GTE, Raytheon and the U. S. Army AMAMRC Program, sponsored a High Technology Career Exploration Program for Lexington students; 20 boys and girls participated. To improve planning for post high school, the de- partment has started distributing guides to parents and students earlier than in the past; in the spring of the junior year respective families receive the first two parts of a three -part guide intended to help all students with their future planning. The Eleventh Annual Conference on Psychological Education was co- sponsored by Lexington and Newton North high schools; close to 500 educators and resi- dents attended. Among the program presenters was Howard Gardner of Harvard Graduate School of Education and the author of Frames of Mind. Information Science. The staff Academic Planning Committee, formed four years ago to encourage the introduction of technology into the system, has been replaced by the staff Technology Team, a committee which makes day -to -day decisions about the uses of A graphics problem in BASIC language during computer Zab class. Clarke Junior High School students Jeffrey KvaaZ and Brian Cheek at work. technology and develops long -term proposals for im- provement. Core members include: Assistant Super- intendent, Isa Zimmerman; Administrative Assistant for Planning /Research, Frank DiGiammarino; Coordinator of Information Sciences, Ed Good; Computer Specialist, Beth Lowd; and Instructional Materials Coordinator, Martha Stanton. The newly formed Advisory Committee on Computers in Education in Lexington (ACCEL) acts as a sounding board for the technology programs; this committee consists of Zimmerman, DiGiammarino and Lexington parents. A team of three staff members has devel- oped a word problem solving unit using Digital's Interactive Videodisc Information System (IVIS). Those involved were High School Housemaster Tony Capezza, Diamond English Chairperson Suzanne Hennessy and Ed Good. With their new skills the staff expects to explore other possibilities for producing software "in- house ". In 1985 -86 high school teacher Wendy Thompson introduced an instruc- tional program in cable television for students at the high school and both junior highs. Instructional Materials and Services. Under the directorship of Coordinator Martha Stanton, the Lexington Public Schools' libraries collaborated with Cary Memorial Library, the Pre - School PTA and ACT to sponsor the CELEBRATION OF BOOKS, a town -wide author /illustrator festival. More than 30 community organizations supported the events which took place between December 2 and 8. Over 60 authors, illus- trators, storytellers and puppeteers, including many nationally known and winners of the Pulitzer Prize and Newbury Awards, presented programs in the schools, Cary Library and various town facilities. Plans were completed to provide school libraries ac- cess to the Cary Library's on -line catalog, using the institutional cable loop to transmit data. Audrey Friend, Clarke Library Media Specialist, was awarded the Elizabeth T. Fast Service Award for her contributions to the fields of education and librar- ianship at the local, state and regional level by the New England Educational Media Association. Mathematics. Following the recommendations of an external committee of experts including Lexington residents, the department initiated curriculum' changes in the elementary math program in September 1985. The revised program is designed to increase students' problem solving ability and to enhance their mastery of computational skills. Lexington High School students, James Arnow, Eliot Levine, James Levine, David Pollen and Michael Sandy were finalists on the Massachusetts Association of Mathe- matics Leagues Olympiad examination; David won a cash prize for finishing among the top 20 students in the state. In addition students Jeff Holley, Scott Crawford and David Zeiders gave outstanding performances on the Mathematics Association of America's Annual High School Examination; Jeff and David qualified for the next level, the American Invitational Mathematics Examination. The Clarke and Diamond Junior High School Mathe- matics teams finished first and third respectively Education 29