5 Things: Selectmen & AdCom Discuss Invensys TIF, FRCS China Exchange Program, Live Music & More

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Editor's note: Five Things You Need To Know Today is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. If you know of something happening in town that did not make our list, please add it in the comment section!

1. Expect a Partly Sunny Wednesday with a Chance of Showers in Foxborough

Today’s weather in Foxborough, according to the National Weather Service based in Taunton, calls for a chance of showers before 8 a.m., then a slight chance of showers after 3 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 65. Northeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Wednesday night: Showers, mainly after 10 p.m. Patchy fog after 11 p.m. Low around 43. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

2. Foxborough’s Board of Selectmen, Advisory Committee Meet to Discuss TIF

Foxborough’s Board of Selectmen will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Andrew Gala Meeting Room of Town Hall to discuss Invensys’ TIF program with the Advisory Committee. Selectmen are also expected to approve the request to hold the annual Opening Day Parade for Foxborough Youth Baseball/Softball scheduled for Saturday, April 13.

3. Foxboro Regional Charter School & The China Exchange Initiative Fostering Educational Exchange Across the Pacific

Ron Griffin, FRCS Director of Teaching and Learning began his travels to China on April 3rd as part of a national delegation of US School Administrators coordinated by a non-profit organization called The China Exchange Initiative (CEI).

CEI is entirely funded by a grant from the Freeman Foundation and its mission is to develop educational exchange programs between schools in the United States and in China. Mr. Griffin was selected through a national application process and has joined school administrators from Oregon, New York and Pennsylvania. To learn more about CEI, their website is: www.TheChinaExchangeInitiative.org.

During his time in China, Griffin will have the opportunity to learn about the Chinese educational system from state and national education leaders as well as participate in a weeklong school shadowing experience with a colleague at the No. 1 Middle School of Handan County. As part of this team, he has three goals:

• Short Team Goal: Learn about the Chinese educational model and come back to FRCS to share instructional practices, program and curriculum models and approaches to student assessment. Griffin will focus particularly on Mathematics, Science and Language Acquisition. China annually outperforms the United States in both Math and Science and they have developed a bi-lingual language program (Mandarin and English) that mirrors the FRCS English/Spanish curriculum model.
• Intermediate Goal: Set up an opportunity for one of Griffin’s colleagues, Wang Zhizhong, from the No. 1 Middle School, Handan County to shadow at FRCS for a week in October 2013. Mr. Wang’s given name is Zhizhong, (pronounced: “she-zong”) and his surname is pronounced “Wong.” In Chinese culture, the surname is written before the given.
• Long Term Goal: Establish a sister school relationship in which students and faculty from both schools can participate in international exchange, starting in 2014-2015 academic year.

Over the next two weeks, Griffin is meeting with Zeng Chaomin, the Director of Basic Education, as they will discuss Eastern/Western educational challenges, nationalized curriculum/standards and reforms.

He is also meeting with Cheng Qixue, Deputy Director of Personnel to discuss professional development and evaluation models in our countries. The delegation is visiting the Shijiazhuang Preschool Teachers College and Hebei Normal University (Teacher’s University). Finally, they will have the opportunity to visit some of the historical Chinese landmarks, including the Terra Cotta Warriors, The Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square.

The FRCS Tech Team has created a blog to which Griffin will post during his trip. Several grades and courses are learning about Chinese geography and culture this spring and will follow the blog. It can be accessed at: http://blog.foxboroughrcs.org.

4. Patriot Place Events:

Here’s what’s happening around Patriot Place today:

7 p.m. - Live Music at Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro: Join Tastings as the restaurant welcomes Mike Higgins to Tastings' Music Series.

5. Boyden Library’s “Beyond Books” is Open to All Contributions

The public phase of "Beyond Books," the capital campaign to support the expansion and renovation of the Boyden Library, is open to the public and all contributions-large and small- are welcome.

Tax-deductible donations will go directly toward the enhancement of the new space with the purchase of furnishings and upgraded technology features. "Beyond Books" offers naming opportunities for various spaces and areas at the new library. Donations of over $500 for individuals or $1,000 for businesses will be publicly acknowledged in a permanent display in the new library. Checks can be made payable to "Beyond Books Boyden Library Gift Fund" and can be dropped off at the temporary library at Chestnut Green or mailed to P.O. Box 667, Foxboro, Ma. 02035. For more information, please inquire via email to beyondbooksfoxboro@gmail.com.