10/25-10/26 - ½ Days for Students
Conference Afternoons
10/27 - Blake Picture Retakes Day (see info below)
10/30-11/3 - Spirit Week (see info below)
10/30 - Blake Site Council Mtg - 3:30 p.m.
10/31 - ½ Day for Students
Professional Afternoon for Staff
11/2 - School Committee Mtg
11/10 - No School (Veterans Day Observed)
Blake’s Question of the Week
To encourage dialogue and reflection about the ways we can be sure to look after our own well-being, our question(s) for the week is: How do you make time for yourself? Why is that important? Listening to Ourselves (Week of 10/15/23) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Spirit Week at Blake (10/30-11/3)
Student Council cordially invites all staff and students to participate in our first spirit week of the year! Our Fall Spirit Week will be 10/30 to 11/3! Let's kick off the year with some fabulous spirit!
Monday, 10/30- Pink Out- wear all pink for breast cancer awareness!
Tuesday, 10/31- Costume Day- no full face masks, no fake weapons, no blood!
Wednesday, 11/1- Tourist/Hawaiian Day- get decked out in your favorite tropical or tourist garb!
Thursday, 11/2- Team Day- wear your favorite jersey, shirt, hat, scarf etc to support your favorite team (can be local, college, professional, etc.)!
Friday, 11/3- Lights Out Day- wear all black !
Term 1 Family Outreach Period - 10/16-10/20
Below please find links to letters from each grade level team with mid-term messages along with the information about Term 1's Family Outreach Period. If you have any questions about your student's progress, please contact their teachers or guidance counselor directly.
Grade 6 - Term 1 Family Outreach Updates (October, 2023)
Grade 7 - Term 1 Family Outreach Updates (October, 2023)
Grade 8 - Term 1 Family Outreach Updates (October, 2023)
Info About School Picture Retakes, Yearbook Group Photos, and 8th Grade Class Photo - Friday, 10/27
School picture packages were distributed in advisory on Friday. If you have not seen them, please ask your student if they have them in their bookbag.
- If a student does not like their original photograph and they purchased a package, they must return the picture package to the photographer at time of retake. Retakes will take place the morning of 10/27. If a student forgets their picture package at home on re-take day, they will need to mail their package to G&B at:
3 Anngina Drive
Enfield, CT 06082
**A new package with their new photo will not be ordered until the original package is received by G&B.
- If your student was ABSENT and did not have their photo taken on picture day, they should just come down when their grade level is called and have their photo taken.
- If your student was photographed but did not purchase pictures, you received a "click it" card with a small proof of the photo on it. You may order online using the click it card information.
- The 8th grade class photo will be taken OUTSIDE right at 7:45 a.m. on Friday, October 27th. Students will be brought outside by their A period teacher and should dress for the weather as we will be outside for a bit.
- Yearbook group photos will be taken after the 8th grade photo on Friday 10/27. Students will be called down by groups on the PA (i.e. anyone who does jazz band, please report to the gym for photos).
Intramurals Info
Intramurals are up and running. There are spots left in Friendship Bracelets and Bucket Drumming - both on Wednesdays after school. Please reach out to Mr. Marenghi if you are interested.
Pride Alliance
At Pride Alliance, 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. Everyone is welcome to join, regardless of identity. Meetings for Pride Alliance will take place on Mondays from 2:15-2:45 in room #309. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jen Dondero ([email protected]) and Kristin Manning ([email protected]).
Blake’s Reading Challenge
CHECK IT OUT! All of Blake is participating in a reading challenge sponsored by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. October's theme is a book published in the year you were born. Students can fill out the Google form linked on the Blake library website to show their participation.
Inktober is Here!!!
Every October, artists all over the world take on the INkTOBER drawing challenge by doing one drawing a day the entire month. ANYONE CAN DO INKTOBER, JUST PICK UP A PEN AND START DRAWING!!!
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 Kelly Campbell ([email protected]) with any questions.
Youth Action Club
Message from SEPAC
Medfield Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SEPAC). SEPAC is run by a group of parent & caregiver volunteers who work for the understanding of, respect for, and support of all children with special needs in the community. SEPAC has a lot of exciting things planned for this school year. Mark your calendars to join us:
Tuesday, November 14th at 7pm at the Blake Middle School Library: Basic Rights Workshop
Our meetings are open to all who wish to attend. A high school student has volunteered to child-watch during the meetings. A zoom link can be provided upon request. Please RSVP https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSev0ywtTgQ5M5ZadWSb7RY8VxiV9ocbJszILYex2g7Lck4iUw/viewform?usp=sf_link or get in touch with us at [email protected] Also, check out our website, Facebook and Instagram social media pages.
Message from Blake PTO
Reminder that the PTO serves to support Blake teachers through financial grants, hands-on support, and ongoing teacher appreciation efforts on behalf of all parents. If you have not already, please consider donating $50 for the year (or whatever amount feels appropriate) through Venmo @MedfieldTownwide-PTO or a check made out to Blake PTO. If you are interested in volunteering once or twice a month during the school day to help teachers with photocopying or bulletin boards, please email [email protected]
Message from Medfield Music Association
Join us on Tuesday evening, Dec. 5, 2023 for the Medfield Music Association’s biggest community fundraiser of the year as we joyfully bring back a favorite winter tradition, now named "Spaghetti and Snowballs!" Guests will enjoy a spaghetti dinner and ice cream dessert, music performed by Medfield students, and photos with Olaf. There will also be a bake sale, gift basket raffles, and many more fun surprises.
Two dinner seatings are available: one at 5:15 p.m., and another at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 each (plus a small processing fee) and only 250 tickets are available for each seating.This event sells out quickly every year, and families are encouraged to buy their tickets early. Ticket sales open on November 1st!
This event is brought to you by the Medfield Music Association (MMA) and proceeds benefit the music program in all Medfield Public Schools.
Workshops/Webinars of Interest
Talking Money With Kids and Teens
Wednesday, 11/1 at 3 p.m.
Hosted by HGSE Education Now Series
How can families and educators help students develop healthy money habits early in life? While there is growing momentum for personal finance education, more than half of the country doesn't guarantee lessons at the public high school level let alone in the younger grades. Join as we explore why, when, and how to talk with kids and teens about money.
Guests:
• Ron Lieber, "Your Money" columnist, The New York Times; author of "The Price You Pay for College" and "The Opposite of Spoiled."
• Michelle Singletary, "The Color of Money," personal finance columnist, The Washington Post; author of "What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits" and "The 21 Day Financial Fast: Your Path to Financial Peace and Freedom."
Host: Uche Amaechi, Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Webinar: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Dream Session
Tuesday, 11/7 at 11 a.m.
Join Dr. Douglas Reeves and expert panelists, Dr. Joseph Yun, Dr. Peter Ondish, and Brian Pasquini as they discuss how AI can support every level from the state department to the classroom.
In this interactive webinar, participants will learn what AI really is and how educators can maximize its use. Additionally, panelists will address specific AI pain points that are submitted by participants.
“'We’re Doing This to Them': How to Reverse the Mental Health Crisis in YOUR School"
Wednesday, 11/8 at 7 p.m.
Hosted by BQI Community - Free Webinar
We are in the midst of an international youth mental health crisis. Adolescent anxiety and depression are rampant, ESPECIALLY in high-achieving schools in middle and upper-middle-class communities. If you think it’s not happening in your school, you might be in denial.
In this powerful session, veteran educator and host of the Experience Matters podcast Steve Shapiro will bring together a student, a neuropsychologist, and a visionary school leader to address:
- The student experience of struggling with chronic comparison and toxic competition
- The neuropsychological impact on the developing brain and possible long-term impacts
- Concrete steps schools can take to reverse the problem