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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Packed House for Annual Townwide Inventors and Scientists Fair

The Westford Academy gymnasium was filled to the brim with innovative Westford kids and proud parents on Monday.

These are just a few of the great student inventions on hand at the Westford Academy gymnasium on Monday afternoon. If you want to share pictures of your child's great experiment or invention, share it by clicking on the "Upload Photos and Videos" button. Also make sure to check out pictures from the fairs in 2011 and 2012!

Monday, May 13, 2013

School Committee Addresses Various Westford Academy Policies

The board took at look at recommended changes to the Westford Academy student handbook last week.

  The School Committee unanimously approved a set of recommended changes to the Westford Academy student handbook during their meeting last week. Presented by Westford Academy principal James Antonelli and Dean Robert Ware, the change that drew the most discussion was that of not allowing students who are failing two or more classes or who were absent to attend extra-curricular events such as proms or sporting events without administrative approval. Ware and Antonelli told the board they wanted to modify the existing wording in the handbook to provide flexibility for the administration in cases where it may help the student to attend events as well as instances where it wouldn't, also citing that discussions already take place with the …

Jen Peavey

6:26 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013

Did Westford Academy teachers vote in another Survey Monkey or did Adam Goldberg take those with him to Lexington?   more ›

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Principal Cohen Prepares to Say Good Bye to Stony Brook

For seven years, Peter Cohen has been at the helm of Stony Brook Middle School here in Westford, but this summer he leaves to pursue his doctorate and perhaps a position as a School Superintendent.

  Stony Brook parents and students have come to know Principal Peter Cohen over the past seven years, but in just a few short weeks, they will have to say good bye. Cohen will be leaving Stony Brook Middle School at the end of this school year to finish his doctoral dissertation at Boston College with the hopes of potentially moving up to a job as either an Assistant Superintendent or Superintendent, a position he has already sought elsewhere without success so far. Whether he finds another job or not, Cohen says he will focus on his dissertation, which he expects to finish next March. "This has been a terrific experience, its a great school system and fantastic teachers, but what really makes it a terrific system is that the kids are so …

Jen Peavey

6:24 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013

I bet most townspeople don't even know the school $$$$$ wasted by being paid out to Murphy for wrongful termination, was hushed up big time and I understand terms of payout was no disclosure of $$$ by Murphy...yet there was no money last year for young teachers to get their steps, much rotten in Denmark that has yet to see the light of day   more ›

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Newsweek Names Westford Academy as #187th Best High School in America

The magazine's 2013 rankings came out Monday.

On mobile? You can see interactive map here. Newsweek has ranked Westford Academy as the #187th high school in the country. For its rankings, Newsweek sent out a survey to more than 5,000 high schools in the U.S., with about 2,500 schools responding in 2013. You can see the details about Westford Academy's ranking, and every other ranked high school by clicking on the markers in the interactive map above. The survey scores were then weighted and calculated using several criteria including on-time graduation and college acceptance rates. In addition, instead of averaging the number of courses offered, this year Newsweek considered the percentage of students enrolled in AP, IB or Advance International Certificate courses. The final scores …

Barbara Flynn

12:50 pm on Sunday, May 12, 2013

I'm thrilled that we have great schools and awesome teachers but it makes it financially very difficult to live in this town especially as a single parent. I also substitute in this town and have made $70/day since I started and this is my 12th year. There are no raises for subs. I make the same amount as someone starting today. Yes, I do other jobs because I couldn't afford to stay here …   more ›

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Election Day in Westford - FINAL RESULTS

Westford's got not one, but two elections going on today. We'll be out and about throughout town today with updates from the field.

Final Results Hazelton 1859 Peraner-Sweet 1798 Jarvie 1654 Jefferies 1206 UPDATE 8:41 p.m. - Corrected numbers Hazelton - 1560 Peraner-Sweet - 1425 Jarvie - 1397 Jefferies - 965 UPDATE 8:36 p.m. - Hold on, it looks like we may have been given bad numbers. UPDATE 8:32 p.m. Combined totals (5 of 6 precincts reporting, only waiting on Stony Brook School) Hazelton - 1529 Jarvie - 1427 Peraner-Sweet - 1272 Jefferies - 1118   UPDATE 8:25 p.m. Precinct 4 334 Peraner-Sweet 241 Jefferies 290 Hazelton 249 Jarvie Precinct 6 191 Peraner-Sweet 131 Jefferies 235 Hazelton 236 Jarvie UPDATE 8:22 p.m. Precinct 2 - Blanchard School Jefferies 198 Peraner- Sweet 285 Jarvie 315 Hazelton 345   UPDATE - 8:17 p.m. - Precinct 1 Jefferies 182 Peraner-Sweet 283 …

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Westford Student Honored For Prowess in Reading Braille

Eight-year-old Alan Quan was honored during Monday night's School Committee meeting.

For many folks, overcoming some of life’s obstacles can be daunting at times. But for eight-year old Alan Quan of Westford, there are no obstacles standing in his way. Quan, who is visually impaired, received a Special Recognition Certificate from Westford Public Schools superintendent Bill Olsen at this past Monday’s School Committee Meeting.  The Award honored Quan and his first place finish in the 2013 New England Braille Challenge which is put on by the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, MA. The Regional Braille Challenge is a reading and writing competition for students who are in grades one through twelve.  Part of the competition included the reading of two passages and then the spelling of forty-five braille spelling words. …

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Hartley

1:36 pm on Tuesday, May 7, 2013

My bad -- I was reading the article and they kept saying "Quan". Alan GREAT JOB !!   more ›

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

PHOTOS: The WEF Big Event

Local friends of Westford education gathered in Chelmsford to raise money for the Westford Education Foundation

Each year, the Westford Education Foundation invites friends of Westford education to help raise money in their annual fundraising event, better known as the "Big Event" Here are some photos from the the Eighth Annual Big Event earlier this week. If you were there and took any photos, feel free to share them by clicking on the "Upload Photos and Videos" button. More information on the Westford Education Foundation can be found at their website.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Nashoba Tech Golf Tournament Benefits Athletics

The Friends of the Nashoba Valley Technical High School District will host their first annual golf tournament Saturday, April 27, at Stow Acres Country Club, 58 Randall Road, Stow, with a shotgun start at 1 p.m.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Should Stand-Alone Honors Nights Be Scrapped?

One nearby school district thinks so.

Ipswich school officials have decided to fold the district's Middle School Honors Night into a wider school assembly this year, saying it made students who weren't honored feel left out, the Salem News reported this week. The Ipswich Middle School principal reportedly sent parents a letter explaining the decision, saying having an exclusive honors night can be emotionally damaging and can impact a student's academic growth. "The honors night, which can be a great sense of pride for the recipients’ families, can also be devastating to a child who has worked extremely hard in a difficult class but who, despite growth, has not been able to maintain a high grade point average,” the principal's letter read, according to the Salem News. Instead…

highflyer

2:29 pm on Monday, March 25, 2013

The honors ceremony will be included in a whole school assembly. This sounds like a reasonable compromise. The school will save a little bit of money from not having to heat, and power the assembly for a night.   more ›

Monday, March 18, 2013

Threat of Winter Storm on Tuesday Postpones MCAS Testing

Due to the expected winter storm on Tuesday, the state announced that the MCAS English Language Arts Composition test for students in grades 4, 7 and 10 has been postponed until Monday, March 25.

Since much of Massachusetts is expecting a winter storm on Tuesday, and with it the possibility of numerous school closings or delayed openings, the MCAS English Language Arts Composition test for students in grades 4, 7 and 10 has been postponed until Monday, March 25, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced on its website.  Here in Westford, Patch has learned of postponements at the Abbot School, Day School, Blanchard School, Westford Academy, Blanchard School and Stony Brook School. The test will be made up, beginning on March 25.   Click here for more information from the Mass. DOE. 

Alex Finnegan

2:43 pm on Sunday, April 7, 2013

That is the aproach they take in Singapore. At least with math. Their program doesn't move as fast as USA. Instead they take their time making sure the concepts are well engrained and understood by the students. As they get older they start to see the benefits and surpass other countries. IMO there is too much put on children these days. Before and after school programs, homework, projects, …   more ›

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