1/22 - Blake Ski Club
1/28 - Twitter Workshop for Parents (see details below)
1/29 - Blake Ski Club
1/30 - Term 2 Interim Reports go home
BMS Play
1/31 - BMS Play
2/2 - Blake Site Council (3:15 p.m. in Blake LMC)
2/3 - Nadine Briggs Parent Presentation (see details below)
2/5 - Blake Ski Club
2/12 - Blake Ski Club
2/16-2/20 - February Vacation
2/25 - Incoming 6th Grade PIN (6:30 p.m.)
3/5 - Incoming 8th Grade PIN (6:30 p.m.)
3/11 - Incoming 7th Grade PIN (6:30 p.m.) ** Changed from original date of 3/12
3/12 - Band-o-Rama
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations and dialogue about school, learning, and one's 'fear of change', our topic/question(s) of the week are: The learning approach encourages guessing and divergent thinking as part of the creative process. In the learning approach, the teacher is a learner too, learning from students. How will it make you feel if you know that when you get to your job, that first and foremost, you will be looking for ways to learn from and about others? If we are faced with the thought that it is time to do things differently, what holds us back more, fear of change, or the feeling that we are not afforded the time to make quality, deep-memory changes?
Geography Bee
Thank you to our social studies teachers for facilitating the Geography Bee over the last couple of weeks. I commend all of the students for their participation. The finalists in each grade were as follows...
Grade 6: Andrew Barrette, Sarah Churchill, Tommy Ferris, Abby Frankel, Lucas Hissong, Jake Kraemer, Tristan Marble, Ryan Murray, Ben Previte, Aidan Redding, and Harris Stevens
Grade 7: Connor Adams, Drew Baacke, Mary Grace Colabella, Anna DeBettencourt, Tyler Hatch, Luca Leger, Anna Pelosi, Ben Rothstein, Luke Slavik, Derek Stevens, and Will Stolzenbach
Grade 8: Francis Brooke, Zach Conroy, Molly Drumm, Katie Farrell, Michael Hawley, Dylan Hogan, Frannie McCarthy, Michael O'Leary, Nathan Parry, Liam Redding, Tatum Samson, Cody Smith
Grade 6 Winner: Tristan Marble
Grade 7 Winner: Ben Rothstein
Grade 8 Winner: Nathan Parry
Congratulations to our all-school winner, Nathan Parry!
Twitter??? Tweets are for kids!! (And adults…)
1/28 at 8:30 a.m.
We are thrilled to offer this workshop again for all parents!
Come explore the Twitterverse with Jason Heim (@jasonj1507), Diane Horvath (@techmonstah) and Nat Vaughn (@nat_vaughn)! This workshop is for all parents (both social media fans and those with 'socialmediaphobia' - learn about tweets, hashtags, following, and being followed. We hope to share lessons about Twitter and highlight how the educators at Blake are building professional learning networks and using the tool to enhance the learning environment at Blake. Feel free to bring your own device, an established Twitter account (we can help with that), and a willingness to learn! Please RSVP via our Google Form: Twitter Workshop for Parents 1-28-15.
School Survey
The Blake Site Council has taken time to review the data collected from last year's survey and an Executive Summary will be distributed to families in the coming weeks. Focus areas on the survey centered on the topics of school culture, academic workloads, stress, and habits. Our intent is to distribute the 2014-2015 survey in early February in the hopes of gathering the data by February vacation. Stay tuned!
Term 2 Interim Reports
Next Friday students will be bringing home their interim reports for the second term. They will be spending time in their advisories reflecting upon the work they have accomplished thus far, and setting healthy/measured goals for the second half of the term. Our hope is that this communication tool will give you an update on the progress your child is making in school. If you have any questions about your child's work or the reports, please start by having a conversation with your own child. If questions still exist, you should contact the teacher directly to gain more insight.
Photos for Yearbook - 8th Grade!
8th Graders!!! We are collecting childhood or baby pictures for a special section in the Blake yearbook. Write your name on the back of the photo and hand it in to your Advisor by Friday, January 30. Remember that we DO NOT return the pictures.
General Reminders for Parents/Guardians
If your child will be absent or arriving after 8:00 am, please call the absence/tardy line at 508-242-8501 to report this. Calls to the absence line rather than the main office help keep the main phone line free to handle other calls.
To dismiss your child early from school, they are required to have a note from home, which should be dropped off in the main office first thing in the morning. Students are asked to report to the main office at their dismissal time. We suggest setting your child's dismissal time a few minutes early to allow time for them to arrive in the main office, as it is not possible for us to have them waiting for you in advance.
Parent Information Nights - Mark Your Calendars!
2/25 - Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night at 6:30 p.m.
This night is for all parents/guardians of incoming sixth grade (current fifth grade) students. We will be presenting information about the 6th grade program of studies and curriculum, previewing the students' experience that they will have next year along with an overview of the middle school. A more detailed presentation about the logistics of the 2015-2016 academic year's iPad Initiative will take place during this evening as well.
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3/5 - Incoming 8th Grade Parent Night at 6:30 p.m.
This night is for all parents/guardians of incoming eighth grade (current seventh grade) students. We will be presenting information about the 8th grade program of studies and curriculum, previewing the students' experience that they will have next year. A more detailed presentation about the logistics of the 2015-2016 academic year's iPad Initiative will take place during this evening as well.
3/11 - Incoming 7th Grade Parent Night at 6:30 p.m. (This was changed from the original date of 3/12)
This night is for all parents/guardians of incoming seventh grade (current sixth grade) students. We will be sharing information about the 7th grade program of studies and curriculum, previewing the students' experience that they will have next year. We will also be presenting information about the 7th grade's field trip to Nature's Classroom. A more detailed presentation about the logistics of the 2015-2016 academic year's iPad Initiative will take place during this evening as well.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend - No Homework Weekend for Blake
Thank you to all of the Blake staff for their support and help in making our 'No Homework Weekend' this past weekend a reality. This effort was part of our continued work to provide down time for students, staff, and families.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
Thank you to Cynthia McClelland for spearheading and organizing the 'Day of Service' and Blood Drive at Blake. It was a wonderful scene on Monday, as student and staff volunteers worked together, and we are thrilled that this has become a tradition for our community.
Mark Your Calendars - MCAS Dates for Sessions 1 and 2
Session 1
3/23/15 - Grade 6 ELA
3/24/15 - Grade 7 Long Composition
3/26 - Grade 7 ELA
3/27 - Grade 6 ELA
3/30- Grade 8 ELA
3/31 - Grade 8 ELA
4/1 - Grade 7 ELA
4/2 - Grade 7 Long Composition Make-Up
Session 2
5/4 and 5/5 - Grade 6 Mathematics
5/6 and 5/7 - Grade 8 Mathematics
5/11 and 5/12 - Grade 8 Science and Tech
5/13 and 5/14 - Grade 7 Mathematics
Blake Lip Sync
The lip sync permission slips, checks and song lyrics are due Wednesday january 21st. Please contact Mrs. Dondero ([email protected]) with any questions.
Career Day Planning
The 2015 Career Day for the 8th grade will take place on our half day, March 17th. For this program, we enlist community members and parent volunteers who are interested in sharing about their occupation with our students. We have 3 sessions and each one is about 35 minutes long. Each participant would have the option to speak at one, two or three of the sessions, depending on the individual's schedule. To make this a success, we will need 20 volunteers. If you are interested and available to participate, please contact Debbie Avery ([email protected]) for more information. We welcome past presenters and new volunteers alike.
Theater Update
Rehearsals for Darcy will take place Tuesday- Friday from 2:15-3:45. Please make sure your students have their scripts and their rides are there on time for pick up. Tickets are onsale to the public now for the 7pm shows on Friday, 1/30 andSaturday, 1/31 and can be purchased online http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1165475.
Blake Ski Club
Week 1 of Blake's Ski Club went well and the students and chaperones had a great time. All lost and found items have been posted on Mrs. Heim's website. Please remind all students to return ski badges and medication each week.
Staycation
Looking for a way to break up your student's vacation week? Blake is offering a 3-day February Staycation ProgramFebruary 18-20. Kids will join friends and Blake staff in activities in and out of the school building. The cost is $25 day and space is limited. Please see the flier for more info and sign up - https://www.smore.com/2zx05. Contact Tracy Allen ([email protected]) with any questions.
Medfield SEPAC Parent Presentation
Winning Over Worries: Parenting the Anxious Child
Tuesday, February 3rd from 7-9 p.m.
Blake Middle School Auditorium
RSVP by January 27 to Una Smith [email protected]
This seminar will discuss what kids worry about, how to teach kids what worrying is and how to manage those strong feelings. Parents can play a huge role in helping kids manage anxiety. Learn many strategies on how you can help in as little as 5 minutes a day. Roundtable discussion included to discuss your personal situation. Nadine Briggs, Director of Simply Social Kids, is an accomplished social educator. Nadine has expertise and certifications in bullying and cyberbullying prevention and sibling relationships (Sibshops). She is trained in social thinking methods, uses collaborative problem solving to teach children conflict resolution and has been trained by
the Child Anxiety Network at Boston University. She has dual graduate certifications in Coaching Children & Teens and Coaching Children & Teens with ADHD.
Medfield Food Cupboard Drive
Medfield Food Cupboard needs your support!! Please bring in any non-perishable, unopened, unexpired food items from January 20th-23rd. Bins will be placed outside the Blake library. This food drive is sponsored by the iTeam (impacting tomorrow especially around Medfield) an eighth grade service group. For more information about the Medfield Food Cupboard click here.
CSA News
Please take a look at the Blake CSA volunteer form and sign up to co-chair or volunteer for any open activities.
http://docs.google.com/forms/d/13mcnCavHDlVAOhiiCi5pDKcrQtKvdE-VXHqv5VPNK80/viewform5
It is Subway night tonight!! Subway, a generous supporter of Blake, will donate 20% of all proceeds tonight from 2-9pm tonight. Don't miss an opportunity to thank Subway and fundraise.
MCPE News
Entertaining for Education (E4E) is a Fun Way to Support the Medfield Public Schools
Thank you to everyone who has hosted or attended an E4E party in the fall. Twenty-five parties were held with just over $12,000 raised. However, with over $35,000 funded in grants so far this school year, we still need additional funds to help us continue this level of giving. With the start of the new year, we are kicking off the E4E fundraiser for 2015! Pick a date, have a party, invite your friends, asking them to make a donation to MCPE as their "ticket" to the event. All hosts will receive an MCPE "party pack" to help with the party planning. Register your party at www.MedfieldCoalition.org. For questions, contact Megan Infantino (508-359-9928), Kim Price (508-246-8335), or email [email protected]. Thank you for supporting MCPE and making the success of our schools a community effort!