The first quarter certainly saw a great deal of activity. We
had a great school opening at Pilgrim! September
saw Rhode Island Attorney General, Patrick Lynch
speak to our freshmen about the importance of
remaining in school. Our annual
parent/guardian-filled Open House took place on
September 22. September also saw a first place
finish (state-wide) in the large high school
division for one of our blood drives for the Rhode
Blood Center. This one took place on September 25.
Our thanks to Mrs. Sharon Rix and her student
helpers for organizing this great community effort.
Our Commissioner’s Visit took place on September 29
and 30. A number of visitors from the Rhode Island
Department of Education and within our own district
carefully looked at how teaching and learning takes
place at Pilgrim. I am happy to report that this
visit was quite successful. My thanks to all
stakeholders who contribute daily to our success. We
will take all recommendations made by the Committee
and prepare ourselves for the Commissioner’s Review,
which will take place on February 2, 2010. September
also saw us reflecting on our 2008 NEASC report and
School Improvement plans. Mrs. Pam Bernardi also
joined us in September. She replaces Mrs. Marilyn
Massey as Pilgrim’s Graduation by Proficiency
Coordinator. We welcome Mrs. Bernardi to the “Home
of the Patriots” as she works with all of our
students who need to demonstrate proficiency within
our graduation demonstration pieces—Senior Project
and Digital Portfolio.
October was a very busy month at Pilgrim. Over a five-day
period, all Warwick public high school students sat
for the annual NECAP state testing in
English/language arts (Reading and Writing) and
mathematics (October 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15).
Hopefully, we will maintain our AYP (Adequate Yearly
Progress) for the sixth straight year. October
19-24 was “Spirit Week” at Pilgrim. Each day of the
week was devoted to a particular theme (Monday was
“Color Day”, Tuesday was “Career Day”, Wednesday was
“Sports Day”, Thursday was “Fashion Disaster Day,
Friday was “Spirit Day”). The week saw our annual
Student/Faculty football game under the lights and
our fall Pep Rally. The week culminated in the
Homecoming Dance on Saturday, October 24. October 30
saw an in-school celebration for our seniors, which
included our annual Senior Halloween Assembly .The
costumes were very creative!
November was full of activity. On the 7th was the
annual Faculty/Staff “Talent Show”. The “acts” saw a
tremendous mixture of legitimate talent and
hilarious slapstick. Our thanks to Mrs. Phillips and
Mrs. Cote for their organizational skills and to Mr.
Paul Cannistra from our school committee for his
efforts in making this night so spirit-filled. Our
students enjoyed the “Battle of the Bands” that took
place on the 13th. November 18th
saw Pilgrim sponsor a H1N1 vaccination clinic.
Approximately 850 students at Pilgrim (70%) were
vaccinated on this day. The seasonal flu vaccine was
given on December 9. Between November 20-22, the
“Pilgrim Players” held their fall production. This
year’s fall play was “Thoroughly Modern Millie”.
This presentation exhibited, once again, the
multiple talents that our students possess. Great
job! Our thanks to Mr. Denningham, drama coach and a
member of our English department, for his hard work
with our students. Our Student Council sponsored a
“Teacher Appreciation” breakfast on the 20th.
Our thanks to Mrs. Noble and members of the Council
and Executive Committee for their generosity. It was
greatly appreciated. As you may know, all of our
classes sponsor various events to raise money for
their respective class. The 23rd saw the
Junior Class sponsor a volleyball tournament.
Students had a great time. Our thanks to Mrs.
Bizragane and Mrs. Reynolds, junior class advisors,
for helping the juniors with this event, which will
help to cover some expenses that the juniors will
experience this year. The 25th saw
motivational speaker, Mark Mainella, address the
senior class. His delivery and message, which is
always riveting, was greatly received by our
seniors. The annual Thanksgiving game saw a Pilgrim
victory this year. The 22-0 victory over cross-city
rival, Warwick Veterans, ended a season that
exhibited perseverance and pride. Many thanks to
Coach Paliotte and his staff in “saving” the season.
Thanks also to Mrs. Jane Bernier and her
cheerleading squad for their efforts throughout the
season.
The fall athletic season had our Boys Soccer and Girls Field
Hockey teams make the playoffs, and our J.V. Girls
Soccer squad winning the states! Congratulations to
all students and their coaches for their tremendous
efforts.
The month of December may be short on school days, but it is
still full of activity. The English Department
sponsored a “Poetry Slam” at Little Falls in
Pawtuxet Village on the 4th. Our Music
program sponsored a “Feeder School Assembly” for
over 1100 K-8 students on December 9. The 9th
also saw the second quarter distribution of interim
reports. Mrs. Phillips’ chorale students were also
involved in their annual “Community Service”
concerts, which visit local nursing homes in our
area. The annual Christmas Concert was held on
December 17th in the Pilgrim auditorium.
Faculty members and students continue to work hard to fulfill
all of the graduation requirements for the Warwick
School Department. In particular, students need to
be reminded that two of the demonstration pieces for
graduation—Senior Project and Digital Portfolio—have
deadlines that must be met. In particular, faculty
members are currently advising both our juniors and
seniors about what they have and what they are
missing for their digital portfolios. It is now the
students’ responsibility to upload the required
elements (the artifact, the reflection and the
teacher assessment). For a small number of our
students, it almost seems that the adults in the
Pilgrim community (teachers, administrators and
parents) want graduation for them more than the
students do themselves! Please remind your child
that Department Nights are available Monday-Thursday
with their teachers and the “Homework Club” is also
available in the Pilgrim Library every
Monday-Thursday after school. We also have two
incentive programs—“Student of the Week” and
“Pilgrim Pride Bucks” which reward students who have
exhibited substantial effort, submitted all homework
and/or behaved as a model school citizen. There is a
new incentive program at Pilgrim--“Word Part of the
Week” which will help to increase our NECAP efforts.
“SAT Question of the Day” continues to focus on our
ELA, math and PSAT/SAT efforts. We also continue
“Positive Call from the Principal” program. With
this, parents/guardians receive a phone call from me
during the course of the week if a teacher feels
that a student has exhibited exceptional effort,
behavior or has made improvements during a given
week. As always, I encourage you to call our
Guidance Office to set up an appointment with your
child’s teacher(s) if you have found the first
quarter report card (distributed on November 20)
and/or the first and second quarter interim reports
(second quarter interims were distributed on
December 9) to be unacceptable or “surprising.” A
reminder that our monthly PTSA meetings are held on
the second Thursday of the month. The calendar for
the rest of the year for PTSA meetings are as
follows: December 10, 2009, January 14, 2010,
February 11, 2010, March 11, 2010, April 8, 2010 and
May 13, 2010.
In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all
members of our Pilgrim family—our students, parents,
faculty and staff—the happiest of holiday seasons
and a healthy new year.
