Good morning Coffin School,

This is Mr. Ciembroniewicz and I hope this Monday morning finds you well.

It’s hard to believe it, but Wednesday will be the first day of spring. The poet Emily Dickenson once wrote that , “March is the month of expectation.”  I think I know what she means.  Most of the winter weather has passed and I find myself looking ahead to the warmer days.

Given the weather forecast, I’m going to have to practice patience.  Sounds like a March snowstorm might be coming our way and I sure we’ll see more snowy days.  This isn’t such a bad thing.  It makes me think back to winter and, in doing so, all that I’ve been learning this year.

I know that your families had conferences these last few weeks and trust that this was a chance for your teachers to share how much you’ve learned.  One thing that I love about
taking stock in March is that there are still months of school left. March can be the month of expectation, but it can also be one of opportunity.  So much to learn and the time to do it. Aren’t we lucky!

Two birthdays I want to acknowledge this Monday – Mr. Robert Tristram Coffin – the Brunswick poet whose name is on our school and Mrs. Murphy – our wonderful music teacher!

As Baxter Bear and his helpers would say, be kind, be gentle, be safe – and, be
responsible – that’s the Coffin Way.

Have a great week, everyone.

There will be a budget meeting this Wednesday @ 6:00 PM during which time K-8 Regular Instruction will be on the agenda.  Click HERE for complete agenda.

Below are excerpts from the budget summary page submitted with the Coffin budget packet, a FIRST DRAFT description of the proposed Behavior Interventionist position, and a summary of the proposed RTI Leadership stipend.

Budget Summary – excerpts

The FY 2014 budget for Coffin Elementary School reflects an effort to increase
organizational capacity while at the same time exercising fiscal responsibility.

Coffin Elementary is highly committed to the District goal of increasing achievement –
both socially and academically – for all students with a focus on some of our
most vulnerable populations:  in particular, our growing socio-economically challenged population.  As with much of the State, the school is seeing a dramatic increase in the psycho-social stressors that affect our population as well as corresponding behaviors that can regularly disrupt learning.  Targeted programming that is responsive, adaptable and flexible will significantly improve the ability to effectively set both students and staff up for greater degrees of success.

One significant proposal for FY 2014 is to add a Behavioral Interventionist at
Coffin Elementary School.  This position will allow for some targeted direct service, but, of equal importance, will be intended to increase organizational capacity through active and ongoing professional development for all staff.

Coffin School will continue to work creatively within our current fiscal footprint to
be responsive, adaptable and flexible with programming.  As opportunities present themselves, one litmus test moving forward will be assessing the extent that programming serves both specific student populations and our collective ability to effectively
serve all students.

Behavior Interventionist – DRAFT summary of proposed position

The position of Behavior Interventionist is designed to provide behavioral consultation to classrooms and school wide programming.  The primary focus of this position is to
improve and sustain the capacity of professional and para-professional personnel to plan, implement and evaluate behavioral interventions for all students.  In particular, the behavior interventionist will focus on supporting the increasing number of students
suffering from psycho-social stressors who consistently disrupt their own learning and the learning environments of other students and adults.  The range of behavioral / environmental circumstance covers prevention, rehabilitation, intervention, crisis, social development and school wide positive support planning as it relates to early childhood development.  An emphasis on data collection and data driven decision making is central to this role.

Response to Intervention Leadership Stipend

Part time hours:  135 hours/year @ $16.75/hour

Responsibilities:  Organization and coordination of Response to Intervention services at Coffin Elementary School.  Ongoing collection and input of all
Coffin academic and behavioral information into District’s electronic data
bases.

Good Morning Coffin School,

This is Mr. Ciembroniewicz and I’d like to share a few thoughts with you this Monday morning.

I heard a story yesterday told by a man named Kevin Kling.  It’s fable entitled, “When Pots Could Talk”.

“Back in the days when pots and pans could talk, which indeed they still
do, there lived a man. And in order to have water, every day he had to walk
down the hill and fill two pots and walk them home.

One day, it was discovered one of the pots had a crack, and as time went
on, the crack widened. Finally, the pot turned to the man and said, ‘You know,
every day you take me to the river, and by the time you get home, half of the
water’s leaked out. Please replace me with a better pot.’

And the man said, ‘You don’t understand. As you spill, you water the wild
flowers by the side of the path.’ And sure enough, on the side of the path
where the cracked pot was carried, beautiful flowers grew, while other side was
barren.

‘I think I’ll keep you,’ said the man.”

As with most fables, there is more than one lesson than one might consider.  It struck me that the man appreciated the pot, more than the pot valued itself, and was very much aware the beauty which came from their relationship – the gift of flowers on his daily path.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why they call it the present.”  I encourage you look at each day this way – as a gift and opportunity to practice using  your five senses – touch, taste, smell, sight and sound – to live actively in the present.

Regardless of the coming spring, there are always flowers blooming.

As Baxter Bear and his helpers would say, be kind, be gentle, be safe – and, be responsible – that’s the Coffin Way.

Have a great week, everyone.

BRUNSWICK SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

46 Federal Street

Brunswick, Maine 04011

Kindergarten Screening 

It is time to plan for kindergarten screening again.  All screening will take place at the Brunswick Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St., in Brunswick.

Screening Dates: Monday, May 20

Tuesday, May 21

Wednesday, May 22

Thursday, May 23

A child must be five years old on or before October 15, 2013, and reside in Brunswick.  Parents should call the Superintendent’s Office at 319-1900 after April 1, to register for screening.  We are unable to handle walk-ins that do not have appointments.

Kindergarten students will be enrolled in Coffin School.  Placement will be determined in order to balance class sizes and enroll students in appropriate special education classes.

Screening Process: Children will be screened by appointment for vision,
hearing, speech and language development, cognitive functioning, and fine motor
and gross motor development.  Our screening procedure is designed to provide a profile of each student’s abilities and readiness for school.  This process will help our teachers plan to meet the individual needs of each child.

Parents will be receiving a letter with the time and date of their child’s appointment in a packet with other information.      

Parent Information nights

Parent information night has been set as follows.  Please note that this is for parents only:  

          Thursday, May 09, 6:30 p.m. –CoffinSchool

Click HERE for a recent article in the Falmouth Forecaster.

Questions are starting to come regarding Kindergarten screening for next fall’s students and details should be finalized in the next two weeks.  This screening dates are potentially subject to shifts, but the Coffin information night is finalized.  Much more detail to follow in newsletters, newspaper advertisements and backpack letters.

Brunswick School
Department

Kindergarten
Screening
Dates:  May 20, 21, 22, 23, 2013

Kindergarten Information Night at Coffin: May
9, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

Click HERE for the article in last week’s paper.

Brunswick School Board Facilities Committee will be meeting in the Coffin School cafeteria on Wednesday, March 6 @ 6:00 PM to tour the school and hear an update from PDT Architects that includes a Q/A session.

Good morning Coffin School,

This is Mr. Ciembroniewicz and I’d like your attention for one
minute as I share a few thoughts.

Congratulations to Mrs. Murphy and to each and every one of you
for Friday’s beautiful choral concerts.  You were both wonderful performers
AND respectful audience members – each very important.

Alison Croggan, an Australian poet, playwright and librettist (BTW
– I had to double-check that last word – a ‘librettist’ is someone who writes
librettos which are musical compositions) recently wrote, “…all meet in
singing, which braids together the different knowings into a wide and subtle
music, the music of living.”

Friday’s performances were a nice reminder to me that although we
are all very different people, with many different experiences, we all benefit from
joining as a community – a community of students, teachers, family members and
of friends.  You children were the reason that  our community came
together and I hope you understand this.   It is so important to be
surrounded by and to reach out to positive, caring, and involved people who want
to help you succeed – in song and in life.

Our concert may be over, but your songs are still with me. Today promises to be another community-rich day as we celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday with read-alouds.  What a nice way to start the week!

As Baxter Bear and his helpers would say, be kind, be gentle, be
safe – and, be responsible – that’s the Coffin Way.

Have a great week, everyone.

Good morning Coffin School,

I hope this morning finds you rested and excited to be
back at school.

As I shoveled snow in the dark hours of this early
morning, a Robert Frost poem came to my mind.
This poem is about a person, a horse, snowy woods and perhaps much
more.  The author pauses
his horse drawn sleigh in the middle of a neighbor’s snowy woods – a lovely and
peaceful spot.  It seems that both he and
his horse know that there’s more ahead.

It’s entitled, “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

The months ahead offer some of our most productive
opportunities for learning.  We all know
what is expected of each other, we’ve spent many fruitful hours practicing together,
we’re returning from a lovely break and we have many ‘miles’ of rich learning
ahead.

It’s all very promising.

As Baxter Bear and his helpers would say, be kind, be
gentle, be safe – and, be responsible – that’s the Coffin Way.

Good Morning Coffin Community,

This is Mr. Ciembroniewicz and I’d like your attention for one
minute on this Monday morning as I share a few quick thoughts with you.

It’s impossible to miss all the pink, red and white hearts that seem
to be everywhere as Valentine’s Day approaches.  This weekend I re-read a
Jefferson Lecture by Wendell Berry entitled “It All Turns On Affection”.
Wendell Berry is an intellectual, a farmer, and above all, a thoughtful citizen
of the earth.  The affection he writes about is mostly that of place
(reminds me of Winslow Homer’s ‘downward travel’) and he maintains we should
give our affection to things that are, “true, just and beautiful.”

Thinking of where we all work, play and learn together – Coffin Elementary
School – I ask myself what is it about this place that brings out my
affection?  While Coffin School is most certainly a “unique” arrangement
of buildings, it’s not the actual structures that means so much to me.
It’s the people.  It’s the thoughtful children and adults with whom I have
the privilege of working with every day.  This is what I love about Coffin
School.

During this rainbow week of cornucopias and Valentines, take a few
minutes to center your attention and affection on all of those around
you.  Though Kindergarten and First Grade may not always seem it, our time
together at Coffin is brief.  Even so, I assure you that it will always
remain a special place in our hearts well-deserving of our affection.

As Baxter Bear and his helpers would say, be kind, be gentle, be
safe – and, be responsible – that’s the Coffin Way.

Have a great week.