Natick Report

More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

Natick teachers make cameos at SpeakEasy Stage’s THE PROM

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To celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, several cast members from SpeakEasy Stage’s production of THE PROM invited influential teachers in their lives to join them for a show and a moment of tribute on stage during the May 13th matinee performance.

Natick-based teachers Noreen Diamond-Burdett and Danielle Bourdeau were joined by Music Director Paul Katz and cast member Tori Heinlen for a reunion to highlight the impact that teachers have on the lives of creative professionals and artists.

THE PROM continues through June 10 at Roberts Studio Theatre, 527 Tremont St., in Boston. 

Music Director Paul Katz with Jr. HIgh and High School Music Teacher Noreen Diamond-Burdett
l.-r. -- Dance Teacher Danielle Bourdeau, Tori Heinlein and Visual Arts Teacher Hannah Wright

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Natick Education Foundation awards over $40K in grants for 2022-23

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Natick Education Foundation has announced the 2022-2023 Grant Award Winners. The NEF has funded 18 grants totaling $40,000. That’s up from over $22k for six projects in the 2021-2022 grant cycle.

Congratulations to the recipients as they impact the school communities with their ideas and actions.

Grants were awarded in two categories—Classroom Innovation and Professional Rejuvenation.

Classroom Innovation grants seek to enhance classrooms and programming in the Natick Public Schools. Among the 14 grants awarded were to:

  • NHS’s Ray Salemi to modernize the NHS Robotics class
  • Aiden McCann and Keri Crawford to encourage opportunities for teamwork through artistic expression
  • Kennedy Middle School’s Sarah Murphy, to update that school’s library collection
  • Natick Preschool’s Jill Ricardo to support science exploration.

Professional Rejuvenation grants seek to support educators in their professional development, pursuit, or passion. Among the four grants awarded was one to Memorial Elementary School’s Kimberly Araujo to support classroom mental health.

The next grant application window will begin in early January 2024. Grant award winners are selected in mid-March, and funds become available in April.

 

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Natick School Committee appoints Bella Wong as interim superintendent

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The Natick School Committee this week voted to appoint Dr. Bella Wong, outgoing leader of the Lincoln Sudbury Regional School District, as interim superintendent of Natick Public Schools pending negotiations. The School Committee voted 6-0-1 in favor of Wong.

(See the Natick Pegasus recording of the deliberation and vote meeting.)

Current NPS Superintendent Dr. Anna Nolin in February was selected to lead the Newton Public Schools system.

Wong has been in her role as superintendent/principal for Lincoln Sudbury since 2013, but in October announced she would not be seeking to renew her contract.

Wong joined the Lincoln Sudbury district after serving four years as superintendent for Wellesley Public Schools. Her tenure there ended after a year filled with various controversies, including financial mismanagement by the team. Wong’s background includes teaching as well as administration, plus serving as a School Committee member in her own community.

Natick School Committee chose Wong from a list of four finalists, including Tim Luff, deputy superintendent at Natick Public Schools. He had indicated an interest in serving as interim superintendent, but not taking the job permanently (Wong also indicated she was not looking for the permanent job). Luff’s supporters on the Committee pointed to his ability to provide continuity at a time when the school leadership team has undergone significant turnover, including some new principals.

The four interim superintendent finalists, all of whom the School Committee interviewed this week:

While the School Committee has decided to hire an interim—and then go full bore looking for a permanent replacement for Nolin starting in early summer and extending through the fall—Committee members indicated they want an interim superintendent under whom the district won’t stagnate. Committee member Matt Brand likened it to having a baby sitter who actually interacts with the kids they’re watching rather than just sitting on the couch and looking at their phone. “We wanna move forward no matter who the choice is,” said Brand, who was complimentary of all four candidates.

School Committee member Catherine Brunell said Wong was her first choice for several reasons, including her push for equity initiatives in the Lincoln Sudbury district and that she “speaks a common language” with the Natick school community based on similar strategic plan and profile of a graduate work.

Kate Flathers praised Wong for being clear about the role of an interim superintendent. “She articulated where she as an interim superintendent would support immediate priorities and in her words ‘help them get traction’… I got no sense that she would want to be disruptive or change our trajectory in any way,” she said.

School Committee member Cathi Collins said she was concerned about hiring Wong because “I don’t understand how leaving two districts under a cloud means you have better experience. I don’t, and I think we’re going against everything our staff and faculty asked us to do.”

While Committee Chair Dr. Shai Fuxman had Luff as his first choice, he voted for Wong in the end. “I’m excited about the fact that she sees in her next step in her career more generally the importance of mentoring. Future education leaders will certainly need that….,” he said.

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Natick marks May with many mental health programs

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The Town of Natick as part of National Mental Health Awareness Month will sponsor a series of events and activities throughout May to promote positive mental health and to connect community members with valuable resources.

Natick mental health awareness

“It is important that we normalize community conversations about mental health in order to combat the stigma that has historically been a barrier to people seeking support,” said Jamie Errickson, Natick Town Administrator.

What’s going on

Virtual and in-person events: In addition to virtual mental health awareness events during the month (a mental health literacy webinar presented by Senate Senate President Karen Spilka on May 8, 7pm, and a “Youth Mental Health” webinar on May 17, 6:30-7:30pm),  there will be in-person informational opportunities at the Natick Farmer’s Market on May 13, and a suicide prevention training seminar at the Morse Institute Library on May 24, 6pm-8pm. Registration information for these events here.

Natick mental health awareness

Shining a light: Look for Town buildings to be lit up at night in green, the international symbol of mental health awareness. Green signifies new life, new growth, and new beginnings.

A banner event: A mental health awareness banner will hang over North Main Street in downtown Natick in mid-May.

Natick mental health awareness

Natick mental health awareness

Wearing of the green: Don’t be surprised if you’re gifted with a green ribbon at the Farmer’s Market, the library, or other places around town. Wear yours with pride, compassion, and as a signifier that mental health should be prioritized, not stigmatized.

It takes a village—partner departments and organizations

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Sneak peek: We tour the Natick Historical Society museum before its grand reopening

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By contributing reporter Christine Schell.

The Natick Historical Society (NHS) makes history this weekend with its much-anticipated museum reopening on Sunday, April 30, from 1-4pm, on the ground-floor of the Bacon Free Library. Featured artisan Ron Michael will demonstrate the arts of caning and basket weaving, and visitors can experiment with quill pen writing.

Bacon Free Library, South Natick

What’s there to get excited about? Well, plenty! A 2017 renovation resulted in the museum’s collection being housed in two different locations. When the pandemic hit and NHS closed its doors for almost three years, Director Niki Lefebvre was challenged to think “inside” the box—that is, how to reunite the NHS collection back into that jewel box of a room in the historic library. With deliberate consideration of the NHS mission (“Building community by inspiring connections to local history.”), along with the curator’s code that values professional preservation methods, and a historian’s canny sense for telling a rich story, Lefebvre and research manager Gail Coughlin ushered Natick’s history firmly into the 21st century. And they got everything under one roof.

Natick Historical Society

Yesteryear’s display of stuffed exotic birds has flown the coop. Lefebvre notes that NHS’s special niche is, well, Natick history. “If you want to do local history in this space, all the tools and resources are here in one space,” she said. Lefebvre encourages folks to research their houses and families, explore artifacts from Natick’s past, and engage with her and Coughlin, who are both well-versed in the town’s past.

Due to the small space they’re working with, the NHS team is unable to display all the town’s artifacts at once. However,  thoughtful integration of multi-media technology has allowed Lefebvre and Coughlin to make parts of the large NHS collection available visually. For example, next to the Natick High School display case is a video monitor that shows vintage high school football games.

Natick Historical Society

Judicious use of QR codes makes some of the large collection accessible online, enhancing museum artifacts with virtual content. Also, the NHS website and its You Tube channel are chock-full of information on the archived collections, online catalog, and more. Lefebvre notes that “you don’t need to stop learning when you leave the museum. If you find something interesting, then when you get home, you can continue the conversation.”

Displayed artifacts of note include the Algonquin Bible translated into Algonquin languages by indigenous linguists and Rev. John Eliot in the late 1600s. (A digitized edition of another Algonquin Bible is available via a link on the NHS website.) Also, four land documents from the 18th century link by QR code to several more land documents, and in total trace the story of the gradual dispossession of indigenous land by recent arrivals.

Natick Historical Society

Coughlin said that a few of her favorite artifacts are part of the Natick High School display case. A 1920s photo of the high school girls’ basketball team after an undefeated season “shows the legacy of athletic women who have accomplished things.” An 1878 copy of Bertha Valentine’s high school music reader sheds light on Natick’s educational interests and priorities from almost 150 years ago.

Natick Historical Society

NHS staff invite the public to visit and explore the museum’s story of Natick. There’s seating for research, and plenty of natural light streams through six massive windows that offer scenic views of the Charles River basin, Eliot Church, and some of South Natick’s other historic buildings.

Natick Historical Society

LOCATION: 58 Eliot St., Natick MA (ground floor of the Bacon Free Library)
GRAND REOPENING: Sunday, April 30, 1pm-4pm
REGULAR VISITING HOURS: Tuesday, 4pm-6:30; Thursday,10am-1pm; 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month, 1pm-4pm
VISIT BY APPOINTMENT: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9am-5pm
PARKING: On-street parking on Eliot Street or Mill Lane. Additional parking in the lot behind 207 Union Street.
ACCESSIBILITY: The Museum is wheelchair-accessible through the garden door. There is no accessible restroom and no wheelchair access to the library on the upper level. Accessibility can be limited during the winter months. Please call ahead.