April 1-3 - 7th Grade PARCC Field Tests
April 4 - Special Olympics at Medway Middle School
Red Sox Spirit Day at Blake
April 4-6 - MICCA Festival
April 1 - Application Deadline for Robert C. Maguire Global Perspectives in Education Award (see below)
April 7 - Blake Site Council Meeting (3:15 p.m. in Blake LMC)
iPad and Mobile Learning Highlights and Info Session (6:30 p.m.) - see details below
April 8 - 1/2 Day for Students; Professional Afternoon for Staff
Royal Pizza Night for Blake
April 9 - iPad and Mobile Learning Highlights and Info Session (9:20 a.m.) - see details below
April 11-13 - BMS Plays
April 15 - Subway Night for Blake
April 16 - CSA Mtg (7:00 p.m. in Blake LMC)
April 21-25 - April Vacation
May 2 - MCPE Spring Fling
May 5 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
May 6 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
May 7 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
May 8 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
May 9 - 1/2 Day for Students; Professional Afternoon for Staff
May 12 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
May 13 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
May 14 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
May 15 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
Topic/Question(s) for the Dinner Table
To encourage conversations about challenges, our Topic/Question for the Dinner Table this week is: Have you ever - on your own or with others, using what you know with the faith that you will figure out a way - turned a challenging situation into an interesting and productive day?
Acceptance Month Culmination
The culminating activities of Poetry and unity this past week were a wonderful way to wrap up our Acceptance month. The poems will hang throughout the school as a visual reminder of how we are all unique, but all one. Also, all students have contributed individual bricks to the mural in the cafeteria to spell out "We Are One." Though the month is over, it is our hope to continue to spirit of Acceptance and getting to know each other better at Blake throughout the rest of this year and in years to come. In a couple of weeks, we'll be mixing up lunches in an effort to remind students of the acceptance work we've done and to provide kids with a chance to get to know people outside of their circles even better!
'Dodge for Diabetes' Tournament
A HUGE thank you to the Blake community for a successful 1st annual "Dodge for Diabetes" Tournament. 35 teams from 6th, 7th, & 8th grade participated. We had a crowd of supportive spectators and special announcers who quizzed the crowd in between dodgeball rounds with facts and figures about diabetes. We are proud to have raised a whopping $266 for the Faustman Lab's Search to cure Type I Diabetes. The winning grade level teams competed for the championship and took on the teachers during Friday's advisory!
Special Olympics
The Medfield Public Schools is excited to have partnered with Special Olympics of Massachusetts to develop a 5 town chapter, that will host an event including students with disabilities from Medfield, Holliston, Ashland, Medway and Mills. The event will take place on Friday, April 4th at 9:30 a.m. at the Medway Middle School with an anticipated number of athletes between 60-75. This includes students ranging from the elementary level through the high school level. The event will focus on different soccer skill rotations, such as passing, kicking, teamwork and dribbling. The athletes will rotate to 8 different skill stations with a group of their age/grade level peers and compete in these individual skill sections. The goal is to break down the essential skills of soccer and make them accessible to students with disabilities. At the conclusion of the rotations, there will be a medal ceremony, which will include each athlete receiving a medal for their participation. This event promotes the mission of Special Olympics by providing all athletes with continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, prepare for entry into school and community programs, express courage, experience joy, and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics Athletes, and the surrounding community.
We are thrilled that some of our Blake students will be participating, along with students from Medfield High School, Dale, and Wheelock. This week in advisory, each cluster will be decorating a poster to cheer on our resident athletes taking part in the Special Olympics Competition on Friday! Please see the attached press release for more information about the event. If you and your child are interested in attending to support the athletes, transportation must be arranged ahead of time. The event is scheduled to begin with the parade of athletes between 9:30 and 10:00 and is expected to conclude around 12:30 p.m., with the athletes staying for lunch. Please join us in wishing our student-athletes the very best this Friday!
Spring Greening - Project 351
For Project 351, Mike Foley is running a clothing drive for Cradles to Crayons and we are looking for gently used clothing for children and teens. He will be collecting the clothes in front of Blake this Wednesday, and throughout the week from 7-7:30 each morning. Clothes can also be dropped off at my house (45 Elm street), until April 11.
iPad and Mobile Learning Highlights and Information Sessions
In an effort to continue our dialogue and share information with the Blake community about our iPad Initiative, we are inviting all incoming parents/guardians of 6th-8th grade students to attend one of our iPad Highlights and Information sessions. For your reference, please read the Mobile Learning Update from Blake 3-26-14 that was sent last week for an update on mobile learning, specifically the iPad Initiative, for all students at Blake for the 2014-2015 academic year. We will be holding an evening session on Monday, April 7 at 6:30 p.m. and a morning session on Wednesday April 9 at 9:20 a.m. Our hope for these sessions is for the entire Blake community of parents and guardians to hear and see highlights from teachers and students, answer questions, and to gain an understanding of the work that has taken place. These events are for parents and guardians only. Please RSVP via our Google Form link (iPad Highlights and Info Sessions 4-7-14 or 4-9-14) to let us know if you are planning on attending so that we can make sure we are prepared. Please fill out the form for each parent/guardian attending the presentation.
Term 2 Report Cards
All outstanding report card signature sheets must be turned into advisors asap.
Technology Tutorial Updates
The Community Service Club of Blake would like to thank the parents who participated in the technology survey. The results were very helpful in planning for a future of students, educators, and parents using iPads and Google in the district. Based on the results as well as the comments, we decided to create video tutorials that teach users how to navigate Google Apps for Education as well as using and managing the iPad. Although this endeavor is just in the beginning phases, we hope to have a library of tutorials ready before the end of the school year in preparation for the next school year.
Parent Information Nights
Thank you to all who came out for parent information nights. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out. For your reference and information, here are the links to the presentations for the other grades...
Incoming 6th PIN 2014
Incoming 7th PIN 2014
Incoming 8th PIN 2014
÷ and Conquer! - Save the Date
Susan Bycoff, math content specialist, and Nat Vaughn will be continuing the parent workshop series this spring in an effort to share information and specific strategies to help your student succeed in math. The two sessions will be Wednesday, April 30 at 9:30 a.m. and Thursday, May 1 at 7:00 p.m. More information and details are still to come.
Spring Intramurals
Spring intramurals will start the week after April vacation. Look for sign-up information in the week leading up to vacation.
8th Grade - Medical Forms for D.C.
DC Medical Forms went home for 8th graders and need to be returned by April 1st. Including a doctor's signature for any medications going on the trip.
Theater Update
We have to start the theater update by thanking the kids, the Woodards, Matt Frazier and Mrs. Deveno for coming in on Saturday and doing a lot of work. We will need stage crew as many as days as possible in the next two weeks. Ticket information for families of cast and crew members will be emailed this week. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, April 7. Any parent who is interested in helping out in any capacity, please contact me and I will direct you to Mrs. Compson and Mrs. Jones. On Thursday April 3, we will have a small send off for some of our performers who are participating in Friday's Special Olympics. If anyone would like to send in treats for this celebration, please let me know. The schedule for the next two weeks is up on the website. Please let Mrs. Caprio or Ms. Allen know if there are any questions.
Blake Site Council Survey
The Blake Site Council this year has been working on the development of a survey to be distributed to the Blake community. The survey was administered the last two years and we are committed to having parents and students take it annually as part of our continual efforts to examine our programming. Focus areas include the topics of school culture, academic workloads, stress, and habits. The results will help us to gather information and examine our current practices to better meet the needs of our students. Please complete the survey for each child you have at Blake, and base your responses on your student's experiences this year. The questionnaire is anonymous, and your identity can not and will not be discovered through the completion of this survey. We sincerely appreciate your honest responses and are hoping for 100% participation from the Blake community. If you have any questions or have difficulty accessing the survey, please do not hesitate to contact me directly ([email protected]).
Link to the survey: 2013-2014 Blake Middle School Survey
Curriculum Highlights - Music, Social Studies, and World Languages and Cultures
This week's curriculum updates come from the music (Doug Olsen, Content Specialist), social studies (Kathleen Emerson, Content Specialist), and world language (Ellen Toubman, Content Specialist) departments...
Music
The 7/8 Orchestra is performing at MICCA on Sunday, April 6th at Lexington High School. Parents are welcome to come to the performance at 12:00 p.m.. The students have been working very hard and they are prepared to represent our community well!
The 8th Grade Chorus is gearing up for our annual Step-Up Concert with the High School Concert Choir on Thursday, April 3rd at 7pm in the High School Auditorium. The evening will include these groups performing separately and together on one final combined piece. Hope to see you there!
Social Studies
6th grade – As part of their study of World Geography, 6th graders are currently immersed in one of their favorite units, Africa. They recently completed an African mask project in which students created their own masks after studying the history and use of tribal masks. Additionally, they are looking at the difficult subject of apartheid.
7th grade – Students in 7th grade Ancient Civilizations are preparing for Greek Week! This week of spirited competition between city-states will take place April 7-14. This week involves daily learning activities in-class, as well as fun (and optional) after school competitions. In preparing for this week, students have been studying ancient Greek government, religion, daily life, and military. For instance, students are examining why the government of ancient Athens is considered the beginning of democracy. They are also studying the major contributions Greeks have made to philosophy, science, mathematics, architecture, medicine and drama. Ask your child to tell you a little bit about their "polis," or city-state!
8th grade – World History I students are studying the European Renaissance including the Protestant Reformation. Highlights include the development of Humanism, the art and artists of the time and magnificent architecture including Filippo Brunelleschi’s Duomo in Florence, Italy.
World Languages and Cultures
In the past our blog information has centered around classroom highlights and projects. This week, we our going to focus on a different, yet very important part of teaching. It's the part that keep our teachers inspired, learning and a vital part of the educative process: teachers as students.
Many of you may know that Kristin Manning is currently on sabbatical and is living in Madrid. She has spent the past six weeks or so gathering authentic video and interviewing various professionals and friends in the Madrid area. Ms. Manning's plan is to bring back these videos and integrate them into our Spanish curriculum when she returns. Her work has left her feeling renewed and excited to share her new memories with her students.
This past week has been a very busy professional development week for other members of our staff as well. Ms. Ma, Ms. González, Ms. Boulos and Ms. Buckham attended the first ever DiLL symposium at Hopkinton High School. Medfield is planning to adopt the DiLL software in our language labs next year. The symposium was a large gathering of area schools who have already adopted the software (we have a small pilot of six stations this year), and they give the software rave reviews for flexibility, reliability, and ease of creativity. The creators of the software demonstrated some elements and there was a great idea sharing session.
Also of interest this past week was a superb Foreign Language Conference called NECTFL. It's the Northeast Conference for Teaching Foreign Languages. Presenters from New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware attended Through the generosity of a Coalition Grant ten Medfield teachers attended including Ms. Dimitiriou, Ms. LeVangie, Ms. González, and Ms. Liu from Blake. We learned about flipping the World Language classroom, designing proficiency based units and assessments, authentic sources, literacy circles in second language classrooms, using iPads, and more. The staff is excited and revived to bring new energy back to Blake.
The 19th Annual Student-Faculty Art Exhibit at Zullo
The Medfield Public Schools’ K-12 Visual Arts Faculty is once again pleased to announce The 19th Annual Student-Faculty Art Exhibit, presented at Medfield’s very own Zullo Gallery, 456 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052.
The Student-Faculty Art Exhibit is an exciting opportunity for a selected group of student artists from grades K-12 to display and view their work in a professional gallery setting, alongside the work of our Visual Arts faculty. Each year approximately eighty pieces of exemplary student art work are shown during this exhibit at the Zullo Gallery. This year’s Art Exhibit will be up from April 5th – 27th, and is available for viewing on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon until 5:00 PM. We will be hosting an Artists Reception on Thursday, April 10th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM.
This exhibit is an event designed to give special attention to the artistic accomplishments of our students from all grades, within the context of our K-12 Visual Arts Curriculum. In past years this event has received much positive attention, having been viewed by as many as six hundred (600) visitors and obtaining coverage in the local Medfield press and the Boston Globe. We look forward to another very successful exhibit this year. It should be noted that this exhibit does not take the place of our individual School Art Shows that happen in the spring, in which the work of all our students is displayed in their respective schools.
Spring Track Sign-Up
There is still time to sign up for Middle School Track. If anyone missed the informational meeting that was held, please stop by the library and see Mr. Haycock. He will provide you with the informational sheet which includes the sign up information. The track team will begin its season on Tuesday, April 1. Practices will run from Tuesday through Friday from 2:30-3:30. We will have 7 meets during the season.
Animal Shelter Fundraiser
Selling: White, purple, orange bracelets for $2
When: April 7-11 in the mornings
Where: Outside the Blake the gym
Who: Amber Schultz, 6th Grade
CSA News
NEW!!! Please join the Blake CSA for news, information. We look forward to seeing your comments! Facebook (Blake Middle School CSA) and Twitter (@Blakemiddlecsa). Like us on Facebook!
We have 2 new and exciting fundraisers!
School wide bulb/flower sale is set to begin Mon 3/17. All orders will be done by the purchaser on-line with shipments going straight to customer. Very easy, a great way to raise money for our school, and prices that will get your gardens looking beautiful and bountiful. Please choose the link to shop and purchase: Flower Power
SWOPBOARD is a town-wide CSA fundraising initiative. Please see the Thursday Packet for more information or choose the link: SwopBoard
The Blake CSA has an open position for Treasurer for the 2014-2105 school year. This is a 2-year board position. This is a great opportunity to work directly with Blake administrators and faculty managing the financials of CSA-sponsored events. Please contact Kristy Tarallo ([email protected]) or Kim Wietrecki ([email protected]) if interested.
MCPE News
MCPE Spelling Bee
The MCPE would like to thank those who were involved and helped make this year's Spelling Bee a huge success! We look forward to seeing you next year! The middle school winning team, “The Senators,” featured Steven Sabia, Anthony Tristani and Ryan MacLean. Seventh grader Michael Hawley won the raffle for the iPad Mini. Any feedback from this year's Spelling Bee would be greatly appreciated. Please contact [email protected] with your thoughts.
Spring Fling
Tickets are SOLD OUT for the Spring Fling, but don't worry! If you didn't get a ticket, you can still help support the Medfield Public Schools!
1) Buy a raffle ticket for the FABULOUS spa package raffle from jaie3 salon•spa•beautique. Enter for a chance to win a day of beauty, including an LED Anti-Aging Facial, a choice of any body therapy or massage, manicure, lavender pedicure, wash, cut and style, make-up application and lunch. The package is valued at over $500! Tickets are 1 for $10 or 3 for $20. You need not be present to win. https://www.formstack.com/forms/?1676642-lbMlVJXct4
2) Ask a Friend to be a Ghost Bidder - Simply check out our catalog of fabulous donations (available online on April 11), give a list of favorites to your "ghost bidder" as well as your maximum bidding level, and settle up with your friend the next day. You won't be disappointed...with more than 169 auction items, there is something for everyone!
3) Fund-a-Grant by donating to the Coalition to support future grants. http://www.medfieldcoalition.org/support-contribute/donate-now/
Needham Bank Challenge Grant
Needham Bank, a long-time supporter and sponsor of the MCPE, will donate $100 for every new checking account opened when the patron mentions MCPE. This is in addition to their initial $2,500 donation to MCPE earlier this year. With the Challenge Grant offer, Needham Bank is engaging the community while also supporting MCPE's efforts to fund academic enrichment in the Medfield public schools. The MCPE is thrilled by this partnership and so grateful to Needham Bank and its commitment to the Medfield public schools and to our community. The funds raised will truly and directly benefit the Medfield students at every level. For more information about participating in the Challenge Grant, please contact Needham Bank’s Medfield Branch Manager, Marjorie Cappucci, at 781-474-5521.