6-12: Beyond Facebook: Sites That Will Support Your Child at SchoolPresenter: Colin Neenan – SHS Library Media Specialist
There are web sites that can help your child develop research skills, study for tests, compose bibliographies, and write papers. Find out about these sites and more. |
6-12: Common Core StandardsPresenter: Lis Comm – Director of Secondary Education
Will the new Common Core Standards mandate what we teach our children? Will Westport students have difficulty meeting the standards? Will we need to change our curriculum to align with the standards? All of these questions will be answered in this informative and timely session. |
6-12: If You Want to do Better in School, Get Up and Move AroundPresenters: Dave Gusitsch – K-12 Physical Education Department Chair, Mike Caetano and Jeff Doornweerd – SHS Teachers
This session will review the short and long term benefits of movement in relation to learning. Parents will discuss activities and resources that support the positive impact that movement has on the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains. |
6-12: Resilience ProjectPresenters: Elaine Schwartz – Guidance Department Chair, Victoria Capozzi, Leslie Hammer, and Deborah Slocum – SHS Guidance Counselors
Join our Staples High School guidance counselors as they share new information and strategies on developing persistence, self-control, curiosity, conscientiousness, grit, and self-confidence in our children. |
6-12: Solving Real World Problems in Math and Social StudiesPresenters: James D'Amico – Social Studies Department Chair, Jeremy Royster - BMS Teacher, Nikki Butcaris – BMS Teacher, Trudy Denton – SHS Teacher
Teachers will demonstrate a real world interdisciplinary problem that has already been used in the classroom, and share techniques for parents to use at home in order to support students. |
6-12: Standards Based Grading: How Grades can Help Your Child SucceedPresenters: Nat Dewey, Ann Didelot, and Maggie Gomez – SHS Teachers
This year several Staples teachers have piloted Standards Based Grading practices in their classrooms. What exactly does this mean? What does your child’s interim report look like? And how does this system support your child by encouraging perseverance? Learn all of this and more at this update on a brand new Westport initiative. |
6-8: Developmental Guidance: What Are the Most Important Issues Facing Your Middle School Student?Presenters: Garan Mullin – CMS Counselor, Sara Harding – BMS Counselor
Our middle school guidance counselors will share the topics and issues that are most important in the lives of these students and provide parents with the language and skills to continue the discussions at home. Topics covered will include stress, peer pressure, bullying and the transition to high school. |
6-8: STEM in the Middle SchoolsPresenters: Dr. AJ Scheetz - Science Department Chair, Art Ellis – STEM Teacher BMS, David Oestreicher – STEM Teacher CMS
Watch our two middle school STEM teachers demonstrate an actual project from this year’s STEM curriculum. Learn how to support your aspiring STEM students at home to develop perseverance, curious minds, and to succeed at inquiry based learning. |
6-8: The New Middle School Literacy ModelPresenter: Julie Heller - English Department Chair, Steve Rexford - BMS Teacher, Caitlin Grogan - CMS Teacher
Middle school students are experiencing writing in a whole new way: writing workshop. This session will introduce you to writing workshop as a learning model, highlight the differences between the traditional writing process and writing workshop, and give you some tips on how to help your student embrace the concept of real revision. |
K-12: Whatever Happened to Blackboard?Presenter: Natalie Carrignan – Director of Technology
Do you know how to check your child’s grade? Can you access the new social studies curriculum for your child’s grade? Do you know how to change your contact information? Get answers to all of these questions and more in this review of the district’s new technology. |