Some Bridge and Bowman Students Starting the Year with Classes in the Cafeteria

With contractors lagging several weeks behind schedule, some students at the Bridge and Bowman elementary schools in Lexington began the year with classes held in the cafeteria and gymnasiums.

For some of the students at the Bridge and Bowman elementary schools in Lexington, the 2012-2013 school year has begun with classes in the cafeteria and mealtime in temporary structures outside their under-construction schools. According to Patrick Goddard, the town’s director of public facilities, renovation projects at the two elementary schools slipped behind schedule over the summer and contractors TLT Construction failed to turn over the renovated areas of the buildings on Aug. 17, as had been the plan. As a result, the schools will be utilizing non-traditional teaching spaces, such as the cafeterias and gymnasiums for classroom instruction for the next two or three weeks. “There has been a lot of effort on the part of the …

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Raising Lexington

Raising Lexington: Making Homework Fun

With school back in swing homework can’t be far behind and creating good habits can make everyone’s life easier.

  Now that I have school-aged children I feel the homework debate brewing. Some feel it takes away from the little time families seem to have with each other these days, and others feel is reinforces what is taught in school. I fall somewhere in between the two. I understand some of the arguments on both sides. But, for now, I am putting on a positive face for my kids and making it fun and productive. I will take my fight to the streets another time -- and in another article. So, how do you make homework fun and productive? First, get rid of any of the bad homework baggage you’ve collected from your school days and start anew. We all have memories of being exhausted with pages of algebra to do and Shakespeare to read, so let all of that go…

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Audra Myerberg

2:11 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Denise, that sounds like a great plan. I always need some quiet during dinner prep anyway and this would work well in our house. Thanks for the tip!   more ›

Five Mass. School Bus Laws You Might Not Have Known

School's almost back in session, but were you aware of these state laws on school buses?

  Most Lexington students know the "Rules of the Bus," but here are a few Massachusetts' state laws about school buses you might not have known. #1. Everyone knows to stop when a school bus is loading and unloading passengers, but what you may not know is that if you don’t stop, you could get a ticket of up to $250. That fine can go up to $2,000 and a suspended license of up to a year for subsequent offenses (MGL 90-14) #2. Oh, speaking of stopping behind a stopped bus, even fire trucks, police cars and ambulances with their sirens on have to stop until the passengers have been loaded or unloaded. (MGL 89-7B) #3.  Tell your kids to sit down, because bus drivers can be fined up to $500 if they drive the bus when the kids aren’t sitting down…

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Heading Back to School in Lexington? Let Us Help

The Lexington Public Schools start the 2012-2013 school year next week. Here are some of the people, places and things you'll need to know before they do.

Back to School Calendar Teachers within the Lexington Public Schools head back to school next Monday, Aug. 27. For students, the school year begins the following day, Tuesday, Aug. 28, with the first full day for all students on Wednesday, Aug. 29. And then school’s closed on Aug. 31 (offices open though) and Sept. 3 for Labor Day. Back to School nights are: Thursday, Sept. 20 for elementary schools, Sept. 27 for the middle schools and Oct. 4 for Lexington High. Check out the full 2012-2013 school year calendar, on the LPS website. Getting to School For those students signed up to take the bus to school, passes were mailed out earlier this week. According to the district website, bus routes will not be published in the local newspaper, nor…

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Frugal Family: Back-to-School Shopping Strategies

School starts next week. The requisite buying spree doesn't have to break the bank.

The children of Lexington will soon be donning new outfits, tossing backpacks over their shoulders and stepping onto buses. Parents will be attempting to capture the first-day-of-school smiles with their iPhone cameras. What are they doing now? They’re enjoying their last moments of  freedom. They’re swimming, hanging out with their friends, and eating ice cream. And they’re shopping. Here are suggestions for stretching back-to-school dollars. Take inventory of what you’ve already got. Have the kids try on all their clothing to see what still fits. Wash the backpacks and see how they look. Find all the school supplies and decide what is still usable. Make a list of what’s needed. Kids who are kindergarten-aged and older can understand the …

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Meet Jonas Clarke Middle School's New Principal

With the school year just around the with Jonas Clarke Middle School's new principal Anna Monaco.

Back in May, Superintendent of Schools Paul Ash wrote that he was "pleased to inform" Lexington that Anna Monaco will be the next principal of Jonas Clarke Middle School.  Her tenure as principal began July 1, and Monaco jumped into the principal's office at Jonas Clarke after having served as vice principal at the school for the past four years. Monaco's experience comes from 12 years as a special education teacher, with seven of those years spent in town. To kick off her career, Monaco taught at Winchester as an aid in their special education department before jumping to teach in North Reading. Monaco is a Lexington resident and received a BA from Colby College and earned her Master's from Simmons College. “I could not be more excited to…

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