King Philip School Committee Doesn't Expect Towns to Increase Budget

The King Philip School Committee approved a budget increase, citing increased costs and a rise in enrollment, but they don't expect towns to absorb the increases.

  The King Philip School Committee approved superintendent Elizabeth Zielinski’s recommended budget for the fiscal year 2014 Monday. The recommendations are a 2.5 percent over a level services budget, which would itself be 8.1 percent higher than 2013’s budget. The entire recommended budget is $28.1 million, which would include the level services budget, be 10.6 percent higher than last year’s budget. A level services budget would be $27.5 million. School committee chair Patrick Francomano said that the committee has no illusions about the probability of the recommendations. “I think there is certainly the understanding that approval of this budget as presented by the superintendent is for all practical purposes a placeholder,” he said. “…

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5 Things: School Safety Discussion, Blood Drive at King Philip MS, and More

In today's edtion of Five Things you Need to Know, the Wrentham School Committee will hold a meeting on school safety tonight, King Philip Middle School is hosting a blood drive and more.

1. Weather from the National Weather Service   2. King Philip Sports Today   3. Meeting on School Safety The Wrentham School Committee will meet on January 3 at to hold a discussion on school safety at 7:30 PM in the Vogel Auditorium. Parents are invited to attend and give their input on school safety procedures.   4. Open House at the Little Red Schoolhouse The Little Red Schoolhouse in Wrentham will be hosting an Open House for new families on Saturday, January 12 from 10:00 a.m. - noon.  Their Address is 944 West Street, Wrentham, MA. Phone number for any questions is 508-384-2060.   5. King Philip Middle School to Host Blood Drive King Philip Middle School will hold the Gary Mirliss Blood Drive on Janurary 5 from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

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King Philip School District Sees Enrollment Increase at HS, Decrease at MS

A new report shows that King Philip High School will see a steady increase in it's enrollment numbers though 2015. KP Middle School and the surrounding elementary school districts are expected to see a decrease over the same period.

With high enrollment numbers being an issue at King Philip Regional High School, a new report shows no signs of a significant decrease for at least the next 3-5 years. While projections showed that there would be fewer than 1,300 students at KP High School, preliminary figures as of October 1 found there were 40 more students than actually projected, bringing the total students to 1,315. Currently, the high school has 1,254 students, a difference of 61 students from October 1, 2011. Now experience the same enrollment bubble that went though King Philip Middle School recently, the high school is expected to be above 1,300 students for the foreseeable future. Projections have the school losing seven students over the next two years before …

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New Test Data Shows High Marks for King Philip Students.

With the new data from the 2012 MCAS scores, the students of the King Philip School District are meeting and beating state standards.

When the Massachusetts Department of Education released the results of the 2012 MCAS in September, the King Philip School District was noted for their good performance at both the middle school and high school. In her recent report to the King Philip School Committee, Assistant Superintendent and King Philip Middle School Principal Susan Gilson announced just how well the district’s students performed. “Everyone’s been working very hard and we’re just excited to see the growth and excited to see that it was recognized within the new accountability system,” Gilson said. According to Gilson, the King Philip School District is the only district in the Hockomock League to earn a level one accountability determination in both the middle school …

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King Philip Middle School Taking Proactive Steps to Prevent Hazing Sensation

After being informed of an incident off of school grounds, King Philip Middle School is taking the steps to make sure it does not happen in school.

As King Philip Middle School recently learned, just because there was an incident outside of school does not mean it has an effect inside of school. After being informed by parents of an incident outside of school, KP Middle School Principal Susan Gilson wasted little time making sure the particular act in question had little chance being reenacted in the halls of the regional middle school. The incident in question involved is called rhinoing. To rhino someone means to run up to someone from behind and drive your knee into their lower back. The performing of the act in the KP community is so recent that it was unknown by staff of KPMS.  “We didn’t even know rhino-ing existed so we were actually happy that one of our parents sent us an …

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Patriot Players Congratulate King Philip Middle School on Achieving Summer Reading Goals

New England Patriots players Zoltan Mesko and Jeff Tarpinian stopped by KP Middle School to congratulate students for reading over 3,200 books over the summer.

Before the summer began, the New England Patriots and KP Middle School had a special assembly to challenge their students to read over 3,000 books before the end of the summer. With school back in session, the teachers and students of KPMS were back in the gymnasium where that challenge was made to hear that not only did they reach their goal, but the students of KPMS went beyond their goal, reading 3,289 book. "We and the New England Patriots gave you the challenge. You seized the moment, you met the challenge. I speak on behalf on all your teachers and your parents, we are so proud of you,” language arts teacher Nancy Fischer told the students. The challenge is part of the team’s “Read Between the Lines" program to encourage kids to read…

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King Philip Principals Give Budget Presentation

Principals spoke to KP School Committee about next year's budget.

The King Philip High School and Middle School Principals gave budget presentations at Monday night's King Philip School Committee meeting. The presentations outlined the budget priorities for each school. Middle school Principal Susan Gilson spoke about keeping what the school has. "Our goal was to look at preserving programs — how can we maintain level services?" she said. "Next year, we're looking at preserving staffing, even though enrollment will be down." Gilson said the school's average class size was rather large, at about 28 students per class. Other priorities, Gilson said, include adding technology (like SMART boards, graphing calculators and digital cameras) and replacing textbooks and equipment. High school Principal Robert …

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Patch Facts

Week in Review: Hurricane, Power Outages and Foreclosures

Looking back at Aug. 28 - Sept. 2.

1. Hurricane (or Tropical Storm) Irene hit Wrentham this week, downing tree limbs and causing long-lasting power outages. We had pictures of the damage and news of the recovery efforts. 2. The King Philip Middle School opened its doors this week to those affected by the storm, offering food, power and showers. 3. The King Philip School District delayed its opening until Sept. 6 as a result of power outages. 4. Town foreclosure numbers for July were released this week. Completed foreclosures fell in Wrentham year-over-year. 5. Columnist Heather Kempskie wrote about getting into the back to school groove, columnist Sara-Lynn Reynolds wrote about senior evacuation plans, columnist Debbie Tremblay wrote about streamlining the morning routine …

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King Philip Opening Day Delayed as Irene Effects Continue

The first day for King Philip students will now be Tuesday, Sept. 6.

The King Philip School District announced today that the opening of school has been delayed until next week because of the continuing effects of Tropical Storm Irene. According to the district's website, the first day of school for KP middle and high school students will be Tuesday, Sept. 6. District Superintendent Elizabeth Zielinski said yesterday that the school openings would be delayed if the high school still lacked power at noon on Wednesday. The King Philip Middle School opened yesterday from 5pm to 8pm to offer food, power and showers to those residents affected by the outage. They will do so again, at the same times, this evening.

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