By GAIL LOWE

Published in the July 2, 2015 edition

WAKEFIELD — The challenge is on!

In addition to a reading competition over the summer months, Wakefield students are invited to join a math challenge, a brand new initiative program developed by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stephen K. Zrike and his leadership team.

“In an effort to hone our students’ numeracy skills over the summer, we urge students to participate in the free TenMarks Summer Math Program,” Zrike wrote in a letter to parents of Wakefield students.

An introductory video from TenMarks can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNqNF1TphhY. To participate, parents and students should sign up at summer.tenmarks.com and create a log-in for each child. After signing up, parents can set individual goals and rewards for their children.

For every five hours of participation, students entering grades 1 through 12 will receive a raffle ticket that will be entered into a drawing that will be held at the high school in September.

TenMarks recommends a minimum of one hour a week, which equals about 10 hours for the summer.

For more information, contact math coordinator wendy.phillips@wpsk12.org.

The reading challenge is also underway, said Zrike.

“Under the leadership of English Language Arts Coordinator Mr. Paul Bavuso, we are pleased to be partnering with the Beebe Library and Wakefield Chamber of Commerce for this year’s challenge,” he said.

Bavuso has launched a student friendly and dynamic website titled wakefieldreads.org that highlights the important aspects of the initiative.

This year, all students across the district have been asked to read various versions of the story of Malala Yousafzai, an inspiring young woman whose experience growing up in Pakistan underscores the importance of resilience and self-respect.

“She is a strong voice for women and children’s rights and exemplifies the positive impact of peaceful advocacy,” said Zrike.

Though the youngest readers will read a different story about Malala, the theme is consistent with the message of her experience.

Discussions about the books will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 6 p.m. in Boston and Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. in Wakefield at various locations in Wakefield.

“We encourage students and families to sign up for these ‘buzzes’ at wakefieldreads.org (click Book Buzz sign-up.) The stories will again be discussed in September when school opens,” said Zrike.

Students in kindergarten through grade 12 are also being encouraged to read books from lists provided by the Beebe Library and posted on wakefieldreads.org.

Prizes, such as Chromebooks, will be given to the top reader in each school.

If Wakefield students read 10,000 books this summer (average of three books per student) a celebration will be held with a district wide “no homework day,” Zrike said.

Any questions should be forwarded to Bavuso at Paul.Bavuso@wpsk.12.org.

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New schools Facilities and Transportation Director Maria Serrao took over the helm yesterday and she now will oversee a list of summer projects to be done inside all of Wakefield’s schools.

Serrao, who replaces Peter Evangelista, will see that all classrooms, offices, corridors and bathrooms are cleaned at the Greenwood School on Main Street.

She will also oversee the refinishing of the gym floor and recharging and tagging of fire extinguishers.

New drop ceilings for some corridors and classrooms are also on the project list and she will supervise this work, too. Floor tiles in room 6 and conference room also will be replaced.

At the Walton School: The same projects are scheduled with the exception that two small toilets in the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms will be replaced with adult size toilets.

The safety surface on the playground (west side of the school) also will be replaced.

At the Dolbeare School: The kitchen will be degreased, including traps and hood vents, as required by the Board of Health. This work is scheduled for July.

Other scheduled work includes finishing the repair of a partition wall in the cafeteria and fixing a cracked door to classroom 128. The door hardware also will be replaced on door 16.

At the Woodville School: Classrooms 109, 112, 115, 212, 216, 306, 313 and 316 will be repainted. Also a bench purchased by the PTO will be installed. The remaining job at the Woodville is to fix the water fountain across from the main office.

At the high school: The locker room floors will be painted and any missing or stained ceiling tiles will be replaced. In addition, all wooden handrails throughout the school will be cleaned or refinished and a partition in room 230 will be taken down.

Other high school projects include painting the courtyard windows and upgrading the cafe lobby student bathrooms with new fixtures, ceilings and paint.

Exterior doors will be repaired and hardware replaced, as needed. The flag pole also will be painted.

At the Galvin: In spite of the Galvin Middle School being a brand new building, work also is scheduled there.

All rooms need to be cleaned, including offices and bathrooms and locker room floors will be painted. Any stained or missing ceiling tiles will be replaced and the kitchen will be degreased.

The Early Childhood Center: The Doyle School will be thoroughly cleaned and a public address system will be installed.

In room 102, the floor tiles will be replaced. Two kindergarten teachers at the Doyle also will be moved back to Woodville this week.

A new boiler and gas line also are due to be installed at the Doyle.