4/6 - Pride Alliance
4/7 - No School
4/11 - Grade 6 ELA MCAS
DEI Task Force Mtg
SEPAC Mtg (see info below)
4/12 - Grade 6 ELA MCAS
Student Council
4/13 - Pride Alliance
4/17-4/21 - April Vacation
Blake’s Question of the Week
To encourage dialogue and reflection about change, our question for this week is: What helps you embrace change and why is change important? Leaning Into Change (Week of 4/2/23) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Thanks to Kelly C. - Assistant Principal Week
This week is National Assistant Principal Week - please join me in thanking, recognizing, and appreciating Kelly for always looking out for, supporting, and recognizing the interests of all of our students, staff, and community - we are all very fortunate to receive her support and care.
All incoming 6th-8th grade parents/guardians must complete this course selection form…
2023-2024 Blake Middle School World Language Selection Google Form
Music Ensemble Selection Form - Incoming 6th-8th Grade
All incoming 6th-8th grade parents/guardians must complete this course selection form…
2023-2024 Blake Middle School Music Ensemble Selection Google Form
MCAS 2023
We are approaching that time of year again, when our statewide assessment for grades 6-8, MCAS will occur. For planning purposes, we are sharing the dates below for these assessments. It is important that students are present during the MCAS testing window.
4/11 - Grade 6 ELA
4/12 - Grade 6 ELA
4/25 - Grade 8 ELA
4/26 - Grade 8 ELA
4/27 - Grade 7 ELA
4/28 - Grade 7 ELA
5/1 - Grade 8 Math
5/2 - Grade 8 Math
5/3 - Grade 6 Math
5/4 - Grade 6 Math
5/8 - Grade 7 Math
5/9 - Grade 7 Math
5/15 - Grade 8 Science
5/16 - Grade 8 Science
Math Placement Process
Our seventh grade math teachers at Blake will soon start the process of course placement for the 2023-2024 school year. The goal of the process is to see that every student is placed in a class that allows them to learn math well while feeling good about their efforts. For current 7th grade students, decisions on student placement are made by considering current class performance, placement test scores, and teacher recommendations. For current 8th grade students, placement is determined by success in their current class level and teacher recommendation. We are very mindful during this time to consider the whole child while making these decisions. Additionally, it is important to us that parents/guardians feel they have a voice in this process. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your child's teacher. If your questions involve long-term planning for math, do not hesitate to email Jess Safer, Math Department Chair at [email protected]. Thank you!
Message from SEPAC
Please mark your calendars; our next meeting is April 11th at 7 pm in the Blake Middle School Library. This meeting is open to anyone in the community. You do not need to have a child who has an IEP or 504 in place to attend. The topic is Social Emotional Care & Animal Assisted Therapy, presented by The Lark Center’s Michelle Gaudet & therapy dog, Grizz, plus SEPAC’s own Sarah Giunta & therapy dog, Willow. Please RSVP to [email protected] so we know how many to plan for. Hope to see you there! SEPAC is starting to plan for next year and has many fun ideas. We seek members to join our Fundraising, Community & Events, and Communications committees. If interested, please reach out to [email protected].
All incoming 6th-8th grade parents/guardians must complete this course selection form…
2023-2024 Blake Middle School World Language Selection Google Form
Music Ensemble Selection Form - Incoming 6th-8th Grade
All incoming 6th-8th grade parents/guardians must complete this course selection form…
2023-2024 Blake Middle School Music Ensemble Selection Google Form
Math Placement Process
Our seventh grade math teachers at Blake will soon start the process of course placement for the 2023-2024 school year. The goal of the process is to see that every student is placed in a class that allows them to learn math well while feeling good about their efforts. For current 7th grade students, decisions on student placement are made by considering current class performance, placement test scores, and teacher recommendations. For current 8th grade students, placement is determined by success in their current class level and teacher recommendation. We are very mindful during this time to consider the whole child while making these decisions. Additionally, it is important to us that parents/guardians feel they have a voice in this process. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your child's teacher. If your questions involve long-term planning for math, do not hesitate to email Jess Safer, Math Department Chair at [email protected]. Thank you!
Message from SEPAC
Please mark your calendars; our next meeting is April 11th at 7 pm in the Blake Middle School Library. This meeting is open to anyone in the community. You do not need to have a child who has an IEP or 504 in place to attend. The topic is Social Emotional Care & Animal Assisted Therapy, presented by The Lark Center’s Michelle Gaudet & therapy dog, Grizz, plus SEPAC’s own Sarah Giunta & therapy dog, Willow. Please RSVP to [email protected] so we know how many to plan for. Hope to see you there! SEPAC is starting to plan for next year and has many fun ideas. We seek members to join our Fundraising, Community & Events, and Communications committees. If interested, please reach out to [email protected].
Incoming 6th Grade Info Night Slides for Families - March, 2023
(Slide deck)
Incoming 6th Grade Info Night for Blake Families (March, 2023) - Recording
(Recording of Presentation)
** If you have any specific questions or need clarification on any topics/concerns, do not hesitate to reach out. I am more than happy to talk things through, or put you in touch with the 'right person'.
Blake Parent/Guardian Resources 23-24
Here are direct links to the Music Ensemble Video/'talk' and 'Day in the Life of a 6th Grader' video...
Music Ensembles at Blake Overview
(4:08)
A Day in the Life of a 6th Grader Video
(5:55)
** This recording was made during the 21-22 school year.
Here are direct links to the videos/'talks' shared within the slides...
No Such Thing As An Average Student
(5:48)
Fitting in Cardboard
(1:54)
How Stress Impacts the Brain
(5:39)
We Have To Do Something Different
(1:30)
Does Your Face Light Up?
(2:27)
Follow Up from Incoming 7th-8th Grade Info Sessions
Incoming 7th/8th Grade Info Night Slides for Families - March, 2023
(Slide deck)
Incoming 7th/8th Grade Info Night for Blake Families (March, 2023) - Recording
(Recording of Presentation)
** If you have any specific questions or need clarification on any topics/concerns, do not hesitate to reach out. I am more than happy to talk things through, or put you in touch with the 'right person'.
Blake Parent/Guardian Resources 23-24
Here are direct links to the Music Ensemble Video/'talk' and 'Day in the Life of a 6th Grader' video...
Music Ensembles at Blake Overview
(4:08)
A Day in the Life of a 6th Grader Video
(5:55)
** Although this is 'Day in the Life of a 6th grader', all families may be interested in viewing the video.
Here are direct links to the videos/'talks' shared within the slides...
Todd Rose: Variability Matters
(0:00-4:20)
Fitting in Cardboard
(1:54)
We Have To Do Something Different
(1:30)
Does Your Face Light Up?
(2:27)
Blake Theater Update
Here's a clue to what Blake Theater participants have been up to: Our next show, Hound of the Baskervilles: A Comic Thriller Starring Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson, is April 28th-30th. Grab your spyglass, and find your calendar. You won't want to miss it!
Blake Intramurals Update
The Blake Winter Intramural Program wraps up at the end of this month. Look for the Spring Offerings in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, please contact Matt Marenghi ([email protected]).
Message from Blake PTO
The BLAKE PTO is searching for new board members to support the Blake Community beginning next year, with opportunities to shadow members this year if interested.
The following positions will need to be filled: Co-President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. If you are interested or want to know more, please reach out to Karen Peters, [email protected] or Brenna Ferrick at [email protected] if you would like to know more. Please consider offering your time in these important roles.
Message from MCPE
Have you been spotting all those blue mailbox ribbons around town and wondering how to get yours? There’s still time to make a gift to the MCPE 35th Anniversary Appeal! Through the 35th Anniversary Appeal, MCPE is raising community support to fund one ambitious project at each of the five Medfield schools that will make a real difference in our students' educational experience. Every Medfield residence that makes a charitable contribution to the 35th Anniversary Appeal will receive a blue ribbon placed on their mailbox, showcasing support for Medfield Public Schools and proudly helping us paint the town blue!
BLAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL is seeking funding for new auditorium seating to replace the original, now outdated and damaged seats. Unfortunately, the seats cannot be replaced individually because they are too old; the whole seating section needs to be revamped. This project will enhance the collaborative learning and experiences that take place in the auditorium.
Your donation today will support this project and the projects at the other four Medfield schools. Click here to learn more and donate today!
Yearbook Ordering
If you are interested in ordering a yearbook for your student this year please follow the instructions below. Grades 6-8 are showcased in the middle school yearbook. Please reach out to Kristin Buley([email protected]) or Kristin Manning([email protected]) with specific questions.
- Go to HerffJones.com
- Select that you are a parent or a student looking to buy a yearbook
- Click Shop Now
- Click Visit our Yearbook order center in red
- Search by school name: Thomas A Blake Middle School (note there is no period after the A)
CLICK HERE to order a yearbook the 2022-2023 school year
Blake’s Pride Alliance
We are pleased to announce that the club formerly known as Blake GSA is now called Pride Alliance! This more inclusive name better represents the values of our club, where we strive to create a safe space for people in the community, those who want to learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community, and also those who wish to learn how to become a better ally. Meetings are every Thursday until 2:45 in room 502. Everyone is welcome to join, regardless of identity.
Blake Student Council
Blake’s Student Council meets every Wednesday afternoon from 2:15-2:45 in Mrs. Shaw’s room (525). All are welcome to join - the more members we have, the more we can accomplish! Spread the word!
Substitute Applications
Blake is always looking for substitute teacher applicants. Applicants need not have teaching licensure but should be energetic, flexible and enjoy working with children. For more information or to apply, please visit Medfield Public Schools - Employment Opportunities and look under ‘Substitute Teaching’. Please contact Marcia Berkowtiz ([email protected]) with any questions.
Growing Up in Public: Navigating Reputation and Social Media in the Digital Age with Dr. Devorah Heitner
Thursday, 4/13 at 7 p.m.
Hosted by Spark Kindness
For parents, caregivers, educators, and community members of all ages
In this talk, author Devorah Heitner, PhD, will share pragmatic, research-based advice on how we can mentor our kids on cultivating a healthy online presence. She will address why character and learning how to navigate relationships are most important and how parents can stop stressing and focus instead on helping young people become responsible digital citizens.
ASL Interpretation will be provided at this event.
Free Book Giveaway
Please include your shipping address when prompted (during your registration) if you would like a chance to win a free copy of Devorah Heitner's next book! Everyone who shares their address will be entered into a raffle for one of 100 free books from SPARK as part of this event.
About Our Presenter
Dr. Devorah Heitner is the author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World and her book on navigating Privacy and Reputation with kids and teens, Growing Up in Public will be out in 2023 with Penguin Random House.Dr. Heitner’s work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN Opinion. She has a Ph.D. in Media/Technology & Society from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul and Northwestern. She is delighted to be raising her own teenager and she lives with her family in Chicagoland. You can follow her on Twitter @Devorahheitner and on Instagram @devorahheitnerphd.
Visit her website at www.devorahheitner.com
Mental Health on Purpose: Teaching Young People Skills As They Step into Their Future
Wednesday, 4/19 at 7 p.m.
The statistics regarding young people’s mental health continue to cause alarm. Anxiety is the most common and often the earliest issue to surface, and then becomes a risk factor for increasing problems throughout the teen years. The good news? We know what helps. Taking action to increase connection and actively focusing on certain cognitive and social skills make a big difference in preventing future struggles. Lynn Lyons will showcase an approach consisting of skills that move away from the all-too-common avoidant behaviors (and myths) that interfere with academic, social, and emotional growth.
This event is hosted by Challenge Success and REACH Student Life Management. The event will feature a presentation by licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, Lynn Lyons, as well as a conversation with Challenge Success Co-Founder, Denise Pope, Ph.D., and high school students.
This event is part of Challenge Success’s commitment to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action for Youth Mental Health.
A recording of the event will be sent to all registrants on April 20th.
Kelly Corrigan + Challenge Success Discuss: What’s the point of college in 2023?
Wednesday, 4/26 at 7 p.m.
“What’s the point of a college education in 2023?” Throughout the 2022-23 school year, Kelly Corrigan visited 15 college campuses across the country to sit in on classes, talk to students, and uncover answers to this provocative question.
Over the next few weeks we will share our favorite episodes from the series, and on April 26, we invite youto join us for this free presentation of Kelly’s takeaways and an engaging discussion and Q&A with Kelly and Challenge Success Co-Founder, Denise Pope.
Youth Mental Health: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities
Wednesday, 5/10 at 6 p.m.
Panel discussion featuring: John Della Volpe, Wendy Fischman, Robert Kinscherff, Nadja Lopez Reilly, and Gemima St. Louis.
Moderator
Julie L. Ryan, PhD is a licensed psychologist, Core Faculty member and Associate Professor in the Clinical Psychology Department at William James College. Dr. Ryan directs the Children and Families of Adversity and Resilience concentration within the department. She received her PhD from the Clinical Psychology Program at the State University of New York at Albany. She completed her predoctoral internship at Montefiore Medical Center, in Bronx, NY. She completed her postdoctoral Clinical Research Fellowship at New York University Medical Center, Child Study Center, the Anita Saltz Institute for Anxiety and Mood Disorders. She was an Assistant Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University (2011-2015) teaching and supervising doctoral students, as well as serving as FDU’s Associate Director of Clinical Training (2012-2014) in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program before joining the faculty at William James College.
Panelists
John Della Volpe is the director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, where he has led the institute’s polling initiatives on understanding American youth since 2000. John's best-selling book, FIGHT, How Gen Z is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America, has been called "the definitive account of America's next great generation," and "a great read with a tremendous amount of learning for anyone in the business of marketing, selling, or otherwise engaging with the most exciting generation in decades."
John is an NBC and MSNBC Contributor, appearing regularly on Morning Joe; his op-eds have been featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post. He is the founder and CEO of SocialSphere, Inc., a public opinion research company headquartered in Massachusetts—and is pollster and advisor to President Biden.
Wendy Fischman joined Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1995. Since then, she has managed various aspects of the Good Project, a collection of research initiatives focused on the meaning of work in the lives of young children, adolescents, and novice professionals. With Howard Gardner, she has completed a large-scale national study of higher education in the United States. Their book, The Real World of College: What Higher Education Is and What It Can Be is just published (MIT Press, 2022). Now, they are working with colleges and universities to help bring ethics “front and center” on the college campus. Over the years, Wendy has written about education and human development in several scholarly and popular articles. She is also the lead author of and Making Good: How Young People Cope with Moral Dilemmas at Work (Harvard University Press, 2004).
Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD is a clinical/forensic psychologist and attorney who currently serves as a Professor (Doctoral Clinical Psychology Program) at William James College (WJC) and Executive Director of the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB) at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School). His previous service has included Associate Vice President at WJC, Assistant Commissioner for Forensic Mental Health for the MA Department of Mental Health, Director of Juvenile Court Clinic Services for the MA Trial Court, and Director of Clinical Services for residential and community-based behavioral health services of Easter Seals of New Hampshire. For the American Psychological Association, his service has included: co-author of its US Supreme Court amicus brief filed in Roper v Simmons (2005) in which the Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional for crimes committed under age 18; Chair of the Ethics Committee, Committee on Legal Issues, Task Force on Gun Violence Policy, and Working Group on Juvenile Solitary Confinement; and, APA representative for Rand Corporation briefings, Congressional briefings, an Expert Panel on Mass Violence in America, and White House Summit on Community Violence. His career has been at the intersections of behavioral health, law and policy, and professional practice and ethics. He publishes widely and his authored and co-authored publications have subsequently been cited in hundreds of chapters and articles. Dr. Kinscherff teaches and consults nationally and internationally. He oversaw the drafting and dissemination in January 2022 of the CLBB White Paper on the Science of Late Adolescence: A Guide for Judges, Attorneys and Policy Makers, and in recent years has provided legislative and court expert testimony on clinical, legal and policy issues involving the neuroscience and developmental psychology of adolescent and young adult development.
Dr. Nadja Lopez Reilly is the Executive Director of the William James College Center for Behavioral Health, Equity, and Leadership in Schools. Throughout her career, Dr. Lopez Reilly has focused on translating research and clinical practice into accessible school and community-based approaches aimed at promoting youth mental health. She has worked directly with thousands of educators, parents, and community leaders; directed philanthropy-based initiatives focusing on prevention of adolescent depression and suicide; served as Co-Director of a Graduate Certificate in School Climate and Social Emotional Learning for educators; and served as the Training Director for an internship program at William James College. Her primary clinical and research interests focus on the treatment of anxiety and depression in youth, school climate and social emotional learning, culturally responsive treatment and teaching, and systems change. Dr. Lopez Reilly has presented at numerous national and international conferences on the topics of depression prevention in adolescents, social emotional learning, and community practices for prevention of mental illness and promotion of emotional health. She has written multiple publications to support student mental health, including her book Anxiety and Depression in the Classroom: A Guide to Promoting Self-Regulation in Young Students.
Dr. Gemima St. Louis is Vice President for Workforce Initiatives and Professor in the Clinical Psychology Department at William James College. She is the Program Director for three federal grants funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration—i.e., the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program for Professionals, the BHWET Program for Paraprofessionals, and the Specialized Training and Academic Retention (STAR) Fellowship. She also directs the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiative, a workforce development program supported by Boston Children’s Collaborative for Community Health that aims to diversify the behavioral health field by offering scholarships, academic training, and field education experiences to students from historically excluded and underserved communities.
Dr. St. Louis is the Founder of the Center for Multicultural and Global Mental Health and the African and Caribbean Mental Health Concentration at William James College. For more than seven years, she directed the PATHWAYS Program, which continues to provide culturally-responsive and trauma-informed mental health services to youths in local urban school districts. Her primary clinical focus is on the impacts of trauma on children, adolescents, and families. Dr. St. Louis has presented at local, national, and international conferences on trauma, disaster mental health, health disparities, and behavioral health workforce development. She is the recipient of several awards, including two Community Appreciation Awards, the Massachusetts Service Recognition Award, and the City of Boston Mayor’s Office’s Award for Leadership and Dedicated Services to the Haitian Community. She is an alumna of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, and a Member of APA’s Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race, and Clinical Child Psychology.
Teen Truth: Youth Mental Health, Managing Success and Achievement, and Understanding the Pressures of Adolescence
Tuesday, 5/23 at 7 p.m.
Join us for a discussion of balancing mental health, achievement, the pressures of adolescence, and what caring, supportive adults can do to help. Ex-NFL Linebacker, West Point Graduate, and former Army Officer, Caleb Campbell, will share his story of overcoming challenges, managing success, and finding his way to a life he loves. Teens are encouraged to join with their parents/caregivers.
Free, Virtual Event
Hosted by the NWH Resilience Project’s Building Resilience Series