Pentucket Spotlight on Excellence: Award-Winning Author Holly DiBella-McCarthy Visits Sweetsir School

pentucketporta on November 17, 2023

MERRIMAC — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Stephanie Dembro are pleased to share that award-winning author Holly DiBella-McCarthy recently visited students at Sweetsir School.

DiBella-McCarthy visited Sweetsir School on Oct. 16. During her visit, she read her books “Dilly Duck Plays All Day” and “Dilly Duck Plans a Parade” to pre-school and kindergarten students.

“Dilly Duck Plays All Day” is a counting, friendship, and rhyming picture book written to expand pre-reading skills, math skills, and emotional vocabulary for children ages 3-6. In “Dilly Duck Plans a Parade” children learn about compassion, color and creativity as Billy Beaver – who has color-blindness – learns to use his senses to find color for the big parade; children learn about empathy and the true meaning of friendship with Dilly and her crew.

“‘Dilly Duck Plans a Parade’ is a great way to talk to students about inclusivity and working as a team,” Special Education Teacher Mikayla Philips said. “Billy Beaver is color-blind but that doesn’t stop Dilly from including him in her parade fun! The kids at Sweetsir enjoyed connecting this to our core value of being inclusive!”

“Students enjoyed having a special reader and were engaged during the story. Several follow up activities were available that offered practice with skills we have been working on, including counting out ducks to match a numeral and rhyming,” said Pre-school Teacher Tracey McCarthy. “They also enjoyed acting out a related song and have been singing that song in class during play time the remainder of the week!”

After reading her books, DiBella-McCarthy engaged students in hands-on learning activities.

“My picture books are written to make learning fun for children and the adults who read to them,” said DiBella-McCarthy. “At Sweetsir School, the staff and teachers welcomed me warmly, and the students were engaged while practicing grade level concepts. It was a fabulous experience.”

DiBella-McCarthy is a former special education teacher and public-school administrator specializing in pre-reading skill development. To learn more about DiBella-McCarthy and her award-winning work, visit her website at hollydibellamccarthy.com.

“We were delighted to have Holly come to Sweetsir and read to our students,” said Principal Dembro. “She is a wonderful and talented author, and her books bring so much joy to our school community.”

Award-winning author Holly DiBella-McCarthy reads one of her children’s books to Sweetsir School students. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District)

Pentucket Regional School District Invites the Community to Stadium Celebration

pentucketporta on October 18, 2023

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Brenda Erhardt would like to invite the community to the official celebration of the new stadium built at the Pentucket Regional Middle High School.

WHEN:

Friday, October 27, starting at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:

PRSD Stadium, Pentucket Regional Middle High School, 24 Main St.

WHAT:

The Pentucket Regional School District invites community members to attend a celebration to recognize those involved in the planning and construction of the new stadium at the Pentucket Regional Middle High School.

The celebration will take place during the Pentucket varsity football game versus Northeast Metro Tech. Residents, community members and others are encouraged to attend to show their support and spirit at the game.

Recognitions of the Pentucket Regional School Committee, Building Committee, athletic teams and band members will take place at half-time.

“We hope to see members of the school community come out to cheer on our football team and recognize those who played a part in the creation of this beautiful stadium,” said Superintendent Bartholomew.

Pentucket’s Page School Welcomes Multiple New Staff Members

pentucketporta on September 12, 2023

Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Emily Puteri are pleased to announce that Page School has welcomed multiple new hires.

Page School has welcomed eight new hires to the team.

Alex Cordeiro joins the District as Page’s new Assistant Principal and Special Education Coordinator.

Staff changes include Amanda Huberdeau to the role of pre-k teacher, Suzanne Sutherland to the role of library/media aide, Natalie Rowe, Heidi Coyne, and Kathrine Phillips have all been hired as paraeducators, Jessica Fox as a speech/language pathologist, and Emily Wood as a special education teacher for Grade 5.

“These qualified, caring individuals will make great additions to the team at Page School,” said Superintendent Bartholomew. “We are excited to see them bring their expertise and skill to their roles, and we cannot wait to see what the school year brings!”

Pentucket Regional School District Students Participate in German American Partnership Program

pentucketporta on September 11, 2023

Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to share that Pentucket Regional High School students will participate in the German American Partnership Program (GAPP).

The German American Partnership Program (GAPP), supported by the United States State Department, allows students from the U.S. and Germany to visit a secondary school in the other country. More than 400,000 American and German students have participated in the program since its establishment nearly 50 years ago.

Pentucket’s last GAPP exchange took place in 2014. For the past two years, German Teacher Stephen Petersen and Pentucket German IV students participated in a virtual exchange program, the German American Virtual Exchange (GAVE), with students from Stadtgymnasium Emsland in Rheine, Germany.

Pentucket students will finally meet their virtual exchange partners in person this year, as they engage in the GAPP. Students from Germany will visit Pentucket from Oct. 2-15, where they will live with host families to experience American family life firsthand.

Throughout their visit, students will also have the opportunity to get a feel for the Massachusetts educational system through shadowing a Pentucket student who is learning German at the high school, and visiting a district elementary school, Whittier Tech, and Boston University. Students will also get to take a trip to Boston, Newburyport, a local farm, and the beaches on Plum Island.

“In the past, life-long connections have been made between Pentucket and German students through this program,” said Pentucket Regional Middle High School Foreign Language Department Chair Linda Hackett. “We are excited to be bringing back the GAPP to Pentucket and are confident that our students will benefit from the connections made with the students from Germany.”

The Pentucket School Committee approved the program for the 2023-24 school year last spring.

Plans are being made to take Pentucket students to Rheine in June 2024.

German GAPP Coordinator Christophe Kotte, left, and the students who will visit Pentucket this fall. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District)

Pentucket Regional School District Welcomes Staff Members at New Teacher Orientation

pentucketporta on August 30, 2023

Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to share that the District welcomed its new staff members at New Teacher Orientation last week.

Orientation, held on Aug. 23-24 at Pentucket Regional Middle-High School, was designed to welcome new teachers to the District, discuss the District’s core values and beliefs, and become energized for the coming school year. Special Education Literacy Teacher Laura Coakley facilitated for about 30 new staff members.

The orientation began with a welcome address and introductions from Superintendent Bartholomew, Payroll/Benefits Coordinator Brandy Perusse, Human Resources Specialist Lisa Giampietro, Human Resources Coordinator Sabrina Simone, and Coakley.

Coakley then provided an overview of the orientation schedule, goals, and materials. Assistant Superintendent Brent Conway jumped into a discussion about Pentucket’s core values, inclusivity practices, and curriculum and instruction.

Assistant Superintendent Conway also facilitated an educator evaluation session, where teachers engaged in the goal setting process which serves as the foundation for the educator evaluation system.

Catherine Page, Sam Kwong, and John Kwiatek, members of Pentucket’s IT team, gave a technology overview, including details about Google Classroom, Infinite Campus, and logging into Chromebooks and the PRSD website.

The orientation also covered a variety of other important topics including special education, student safety, professional growth, keys to success at Pentucket, and more.

The two-day orientation closed the with a luncheon provided by the Pentucket Association of Teachers. New staff met their mentor teachers at the luncheon, who will support them throughout the year in a book study and other collaborative meetings.

New teachers will participate in follow-up orientation meetings in September, October, and December to keep track of their progress throughout the fall.

“New Teacher Orientation is a great welcome to our tight-knit district,” said Superintendent Bartholomew. “We believe it is important that new teachers get to know their colleagues and become familiar with the values within our schools. We are excited to see what the new year brings for everyone at Pentucket!”

The Pentucket Regional School District welcomed its new staff members at New Teacher Orientation. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District)

 

Pentucket’s Bagnall School Welcomes Multiple New Hires, Leadership Team Members

pentucketporta on August 29, 2023

Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Jim Day are pleased to welcome multiple new hires and two new members of the leadership team at Bagnall School.

The Pentucket Regional School District has hired five new teachers at Bagnall School. Hannah Gohr has been hired to the role of kindergarten teacher, Madi Codair to the role of Grade 4 teacher, Korri Finn to the role of Grade 6 teacher, Laurel Chabib to the role of life skills teacher, and Camille Torres to the Therapeutic Intervention Program (Grades 3-6).

Bagnall School also welcomes four more staff members who have been hired for a variety of roles including Library and Media Staff Member Lisa Pitella, and Paraprofessionals Oliver Bucco, Molly Casey, and Nicole Freeman.

There are also two new members to Bagnall’s leadership team.

Jennifer Barreto will join the District as Bagnall’s new Assistant Principal. Caitlin Guilfoil, who has been Bagnall’s Special Education Coordinator for four years, will expand her role as an official administrator within the school’s leadership team.

“We are thrilled to have these qualified individuals join our team,” said Superintendent Bartholomew. “They each bring a wealth of knowledge and passion to Bagnall School, and I am confident they will be valuable assets within our District. Welcome to you all!”

Pentucket Regional School District Urges Caution Amid Increase in COVID-19 Cases

pentucketporta on November 1, 2021

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew wishes to share that the Pentucket Regional School District has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases involving students in lower grades in recent weeks.

Fourteen positive COVID-19 cases have been reported at Bagnall Elementary School, including 12 among students. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education mandated that two sixth-grade classes be fully tested because of the increased number of positive cases. Four COVID-19 cases have been reported at Page Elementary School.

Through contact tracing, most of the 18 cases were determined to be connected to social gatherings outside of school involving multiple Pentucket district students.

Superintendent Bartholomew recommends that parents have their child tested if there is close contact with someone who has COVID-19, and to keep their child home until they receive a negative test result. Parents of students age 12 and older who have not yet vaccinated their children are urged to do so to help protect them from the virus and curtail its spread.

“The health and well-being of our students and staff is a paramount concern at all times,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “I ask that parents and guardians use this new data to inform their decisions about their children’s activities outside of school.”

100% Pentucket Update: All Elementary Schools to Return to Fully In-Person Learning No Later than April 5

pentucketporta on March 10, 2021

Superintendent Justin Bartholomew wishes to provide the community with an update regarding the 100% Pentucket Working Group, which has been reviewing guidance from state and federal authorities and has been keeping the Pentucket Regional School District’s administration updated with vital data on the feasibility of returning to fully in-person learning in the district’s elementary schools.

Pentucket Regional School District Forms “100% Pentucket” Initiative to Facilitate Return to Five-Day In-Person Learning

pentucketporta on February 26, 2021

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that, in partnership with the towns of Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury, a working group has been formed of professionals and representatives of the district and its member communities to determine a path forward that results in a return to five-day in-person instruction this spring.

Pentucket Student Artists Nominated for Statewide Virtual Exhibit

pentucketporta on January 20, 2021

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Jonathan Seymour are pleased to share that the work of five Pentucket High School students has been submitted for consideration for the Massachusetts Art Education Association’s Massachusetts Amazing Emerging Artists Recognition Exhibit this March.