October 1 - Social Media Trends #medfieldkidsonline Part 2 (see details below)
October 1, 3 - Charles River/Russian Icon Museum Field Trip for Eagles Cluster
October 3 - Student Council Mtg
October 7 - Site Council Mtg (3:15 p.m. in Blake LMC)
October 8 - Royal Pizza Night for Blake
October 8-9 - Charles River/Russian Icon Museum Field Trip for Stripes Cluster
October 8-11 - 7th Grade to Nature's Classroom
October 10, 11, 15 - Charles River/Russian Icon Museum Field Trip Rain Dates
October 14 - Columbus Day (No School)
October 15 - Subway Night for Blake
'Thinking Outside the Classroom' (see details below)
October 18 - Magazine Drive Kick-Off Assembly (Info coming soon)
October 25 - 7th/8th Grade Dance (7-9 p.m.)
October 29 - Picture Retake Day
October 30 - 8th Grade Field Trip to Salem
October 31 - Happy Halloween!
Topic/Question(s) for the Dinner Table
To help bring the theme of connecting and learning from and with one another this week, our Topic/Question for the Dinner Table this week is: What is the best situation for an individual - both teaching and learning (sometimes simultaneously), or doing one without the other?
Cybersafety Series for parents of students in grades 4 - 8: Social Media Trends #medfieldkidsonline
Thanks to all who were able to come out for an evening with Dr. Elizabeth Englander. She talked about the importance of keeping the lines of communication open with your children, having a lot of discussion about cyber topics, monitoring your children's online activities with the idea that you will not be able to control everything but it will remind them that you are watching and that there is nothing private about social media. Dr. Englander urged parents to focus less on understanding every new App and instead focus on the digital issues that can be challenging for young people this age: photo sharing, photo tagging, posts to and about others, jokes that don't come off as funny, gossip and rumors, and taking on someone else's identity. Keeping these topics as a focus of discussion with your children as well as establishing house rules while modeling following school rules will provide them with some skills that will serve them well in most cyber domains. For more information, useful suggestions and resources, please check out Dr. Englander's website (www.elizabethenglander.com, www.marccenter.org) and watch for a replay of her presentation on Medfield TV.
We hope you will be able to join us for Part 2 of this important series on Tuesday, October 1st at 7:00 p.m. at Blake. Part 2 will be presented by Eoin O'Corcora, Director of Technology for Medfield, and Diane Horvath, Technology Integration Specialist with input from a few Medfield High School students. Come and learn more about the devices your children are using, what they can do, and how to navigate some of the most popular sites. There will be opportunity for Q and A as well. We hope to see you there! For questions or feedback on Dr. Englander's presentation, please contact Kelly Campbell at [email protected]
Music at Blake - Guess the Blake Pandora Jockey!
In an effort to continue finding ways to foster a positive school culture and make connections between students and adults, Mr. Taliaferro shared an idea with me that we molded/adjusted a bit and will be starting this week. Each week I will ask a different staff member to be the DJ, or PJ (Pandora Jockey) for Blake Tuesday-Thursday. The teacher will select different music 'stations' to be played and students will be able to vote who the Blake PJ of the week is. Diane Horvath, our Technology Integration Specialist, has set up an online system for voting, Blake Pandora Jockey, and all entries must be registered by Thursday evening at 8 p.m. An 'electronic selector' will highlight a winner each week, and the winning student will be the Blake PJ for the following Monday. Each student may register only one vote. Encourage your students to participate!
Nature's Classroom
Seventh Grade Parents- On Tuesday or Wednesday, your child will bring home a sheet of paper with their bus and room assignment for Nature's Classroom. If your child will be bringing sheets, please pay special attention to the information on the back of the paper which lists the kind of beds in the room. Some rooms may have a double bed in the room along with the number of twin beds needed to accommodate all the students in the room. Roommates can decide who will use the double bed. Students will always have their own bed to sleep in.
Curriculum Highlights - English and Music
In our continued efforts to keep families informed and updated about the curriculum at Blake, each week we will be 'highlighting' curriculum updates from two different departments. This week's updates come from the English (Gail Duffy, Content Specialist) and Music (Doug Olsen, Content Specialist) departments...
English
After spending quality analytical time reviewing the new ELA Common Core standards, Blake English teachers spent last Friday's professional development day collaborating on a "vertical team" approach to the grammar skills instruction required. Teachers in all grades will devote teaching time to workshopping key grammar skills with a goal of using instruction in all grades to build a solid grammar repertoire that will increase critical thinking and sophisticate students' writing. Grade 6 recently completed its first grammar unit and have begun to read Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen. Grade 7 teachers are working with two short stories, "Thank You, M'am: by Langston Hughes and "Geraldine Moore the Poet" by Toni Cade Bambara. Students are studying characterization and also are exploring the themes of overcoming adversity and making the most of a second chance. Grade 8 students have been working on summer reading, focusing discussion on the free choice book. Next week teachers will launch background on and begin analytical reading of The Crucible with the goal of completing the play by the Salem field trip on October 30th.
Music
Music is going strong at Blake this fall! The 6-8 Choruses have started to learn new repertoire including some warm-ups and rounds, and I am also emphasizing sight-singing in all grades this year. General Music students in grades 6-8 are playing guitar, drums, writing rhythmic compositions, and researching popular music in the 20th century. In addition, the Blake Jazz Choir is looking for new members this year and we are currently practicing on Mondays after school in the High School Chorus room. Miss Hayden would like to thank the Medfield community for their warm welcome! Blake Middle Orchestras have gotten off to a great start and the chamber ensemble will begin meeting soon. Please check out her website - www.medfieldstrings.weebly.com. Playing examples, assignment reminders and practice resources will be updated regularly! The BMS Jazz Ensemble had its first rehearsal last Monday. With 30 middle school students in the group, the Medfield jazz scene is the place to be!
Creativity at Blake - A Message from Mr. Cousens
I am happy to inform our Blake Community that we have created a new web page for Blake students (and their families) to upload images of their CREATIVITY! This web page is part of our K-12 Fine Arts website, and can be accessed by this link: Blake Creativity Gallery
Once we begin receiving uploaded images we will be creating a Gallery on our site to showcase these images as well (all images are verified for content prior to posting). We are looking for images of creativity from all areas of our students' Blake experience, so please share! Also, if you are not following us on Twitter yet... @Medfieldk12Arts please do so for updates and information about this set of pages as well as our Blake Art Program and the rest of our K-12 Fine Arts Program. Feel free to pass this along as well. Thanks, and I can't wait to see what shows up!
Thinking Outside the Classroom
On Tuesday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. the Medfield SEPAC will host 'Thinking Outside the Classroom', a presentation about executive functioning skills offered by Jackie Stachel.
Recess Donations
As you know, this year we are continuing with recess as part of our Advisory structure. There has been a great deal of research and evidence that shows students are more productive and intellectually engaged when a physical and or mental 'break' is provided in the middle of the day. We are looking for donations from families to provide options for students during this time: frisbees, wiffle balls/bats, kickballs, tennis balls, single and double jump ropes, volleyballs, foam footballs, soccer balls, and hula hoops. If you have done some 'fall cleaning' and have extra items that could be donated, have students drop them off in the main office. Thank you in advance for your help.
Blake Intramurals
Intramurals start this week unless the program your child signed up for has a later start date. Unless your child hears from Mr. Gavaghan that the program filled up, he or she is in the selected intramural. If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, please contact Brian Gavaghan ([email protected]).
MCPE News
Mark your calendars, gather together a team, and support our fantastic Medfield Schools! The first annual “MCPE Community Trivia Night” is scheduled for Friday, November 15th at 7 pm.Teams from across our community will compete for prizes at The Center at Medfield on Ice House Road. This event will be led by a “trivia jockey” provided by Stump Trivia, a leading trivia event company. Come test your knowledge across an assortment of topics. Teams of up to four adult players (21 and over, please) can register now at www.MedfieldCoalition.org. The cost is $100 per team. Proceeds from this event will be used by the MCPE to support public education in Medfield.
CSA News
Attention parents of 8th graders. Please note that fundraising through SCRIP to reduce your Washington D.C. trip tuition is underway. New this year is online ordering. It is a very simple process, but you must buy SCRIP to realize the savings. Visit the Washington Trip link under the "Student/Parent Information" tab on the Blake website for specific instructions on using www.ShopwithScrip.com. The promotion will run for the rest of October.
Any questions contact: Diane Smith at: [email protected]
Box Tops:"Turn your trash into cash! Please clip your box tops and drop them off to the Blake office. Thank you.
BLAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL FALL FUNDRAISER - Deadline Extended
New Deadline: Friday, October 11, 2013
A BIG THANK YOU to Blake students and parents who have been working hard and selling lots of items! We understand families are busy this time of year, so we've decided to extend our deadline. PLEASE REMEMBER, this Fall Fundraiser is Blake's largest fundraiser of the year and all proceeds benefit Blake and our children's educational experience. Your help is greatly appreciated. Set up your account and start entering your orders as you receive them - watch the total GROW! Place your order online at www.innisbrook.com (Blake School Number: 107126) or send the link to family and friends so they can order and you receive the credit. KIDS! For every 6 items sold, your name gets entered into a raffle to win a Gift Card! (multiple winners) If you don't see anything to purchase, but still want to participate ... Make a monetary donation to Blake Middle School CSA - student will still be entered into raffle! THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING BLAKE! Any questions: Contact Kim Lipsy at [email protected] or 508 423 9765.