9/24-10/16 - Meadow Farms Fall Fundraiser (see details below)
10/13 - Blake Site Council Mtg (3:30 p.m.)
10/15 - Girl Talk Meeting (see details below)
10/16 - Twitter Workshop for Parents (see details below)
10/19 - Magazine Drive Kick-Off
10/21 - Grade 8 Parent Coffee (9:30 a.m.) - see details below
Picture Retake Day
#MedfieldPS Twitter Chat (see details below)
10/23 - Term 1 Interim Reports go home
7th/8th Grade Dance (7-9 p.m.)
10/28 - Grade 6 Parent Coffee (9:00 a.m.) - see details below
10/29 - 8th Grade Salem Field Trip
10/31 - Happy Halloween!
11/3-11/6 - Theater Auditions (see details below)
11/4 - Grade 7 Parent Coffee (10 a.m.) - see details below
11/5 - Grade 8 Student vs Staff Basketball Game
11/11 - Veterans Day (No School)
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
The Full You
If you have to choose, what will you do first?
Put yourself in the role of a classroom teacher, trying a new way, even though the consensus opinion says what is done now 'works just fine'...
- I will assess on process, not product
- I will stop in the middle of an activity, and ask everyone what we do now, and what can we do with that information
- I will let the students take over, record what happens, and provide observation and feedback later
- I will change the physical environment at least two times each week
- I will use a standards based approach for academics
- I will use a standards based approach that reflect each Interim Report comment individually
Topic/Questions from September
Thanks to Seth Hellerstein for helping with the topic/questions each week and for compiling the results of the weekly surveys. You will see the responses to the September responses here: Blake Topic/Question Results for September
Professional Day Wrap-Up
We had a productive professional day at Blake this past Friday, taking time as a staff to examine our practices in an effort to make progress towards our overarching goals for the year - Experimentation/Innovation; Professional Growth- Supervision/Evaluation; and Progress Reporting and Feedback. The structure of the day allowed for reflection, planning of goals, group discussions, and time to work on departmental initiatives. Our focus in the morning was on our homework practices - discussing and sharing methods for creating purposeful learning opportunities. We also took time to review our evaluation process, namely S.M.A.R.T. Goals and Educator Plan Development. I have encouraged our staff to pilot various methods and alternatives for homework and progress reporting as we look towards a standards-based system of feedback and assessment. We are looking forward to this work.
#blakeatnc
We are very excited to embark on our trip to Nature's Classroom in Silver Bay, NY with 7th graders on Monday, October 5th. Please follow us on Twitter with the hashtag #blake@nc. You can also follow Kelly Campbell at @kmcsoup. She will be sharing photos and updates on Twitter in addition to a daily email to all parents with a general update.
Nature's Classroom - #blakeatnc
We are thrilled that the students and Blake staff had a wonderful time at Nature's Classroom. If you have not had a chance I encourage you to take a look at the hashtag #blakeatnc to see a 'journal/log' of the trip! Medications from the Nature's Classroom trip will be available for PARENT pick up in the main office starting tomorrow through the end of the month. Any medication not picked up by October 31st will be discarded.
#MedfieldPS Twitter Chat - 10/21 at 8:30 p.m.
As a way to bring the five schools together (staff and administration), we have been trying out Twitter chats for #MedfieldPS on a monthly basis. The focus of these chats are pertinent topics in education, initiatives, and ideas to collaborate around and share. Our October chat is Wednesday, 10/21 at 8:30 p.m. with a focus on homework. We hope you can join us or follow along!
Grade 6 Standards Based Reporting Pilot and Focus Group
Thank you to all sixth grade parents/guardians who were able to come to one of our Standards Based Reporting information sessions. As promised, here is the link to the presentation...
Standards Based Reporting Presentation Fall 2015
We are also looking for parents/guardians to be part of our parent focus group. This group will be comprised of the 6th grade science teachers, administration, and parents and will meet throughout the year (Fridays at 8:30 a.m.) to discuss the work that is taking place and provide feedback. The dates that have been set for these meetings are: 10/16, 11/13, 1/8, 2/26, 4/1, and 6/3. If you are interested, please complete the form below...
Standards Based Reporting Focus Group Sign-Up
Columbus Day Weekend - No Homework Weekend for Blake
Thank you to all of the staff for their support and help in making our 'No Homework Weekend' for Blake this past weekend a reality. This effort was part of our continued work to provide down time for students, staff, and families.
Parent Coffees
Are you feeling like you had just mastered your child's last grade's norms and now you have a new set of expectations to adjust to? Maybe your student is in a whole new building with even greater expectations. The Blake guidance counselors would like to help put your mind at ease by talking about what each grade level looks like and answering your questions. The coffees will take place October 21 at 9:30 a.m. (Grade 8), October 28 at 9 a.m. (Grade 6), and November 4 at 10 a.m. (Grade 7). To RSVP, please go to this link - Parent Coffee Signup Form.
Twitter??? Tweets are for kids!! (And adults…)
10/16/15 at 10:00 a.m.
We are thrilled to offer this workshop for all parents/guardians! 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 (10/16/15)
Connected Educator Month - Twitter Account (@nat_vaughn and @BlakeOffice)
As noted in the weekly blog update, October is Connected Educator Month and I am encouraging both staff and students to explore the world of Twitter. For the past year I have used this technology as a communication and resource tool for both the Blake community and my own learning network. If you are interested in exploring with me, my account is @nat_vaughn and Blake's office account is @BlakeOffice. In addition to the weekly blog to our community, I plan on continuing tweeting up-to-date information, Blake happenings, links to sites, and articles of interest on a daily or more frequent basis. We have established the hashtag (#bmsed) for education-related tweets of interest and Blake events and (#bmstech) for technology tweets of interest at Blake, so be sure to check them out! This is by no means an expectation for anyone, but I thought you may find it of interest - I have found the 'dialogue and network' via Twitter to be relevant, engaging, tangible, and simply put - useful.
7th/8th Grade Dances
7th and 8th grade dances this year will be held:
- Friday, October 23, 2015
- Friday, December 4, 2015
- and Friday, May 13, 2016
Theater Update
Auditions for both Trumpet of the Swan and Beauty and the Beast will take place Nov 3-6. To sign up to audition and/or do tech or stage crew, please fill out this form no later than October 26 -
https://docs.google.com/a/email.medfield.net/forms/d/18NiqwgKJr5yZQDg2E1mP3TXa8dwsO0ur_k3ffvFYIZQ/viewform?usp=send_form
The mandatory info session is October 29th at 2:15. If you can not make it, please make sure you fill out the form and email Ms. Allen.
Book Discussion Group for Parents - Stay Tuned!
As shared at the end of the 14-15 year and in the summer blog update, I am hoping to initiate a book discussion group for parents for this year. The book will be HOW TO RAISE AN ADULT: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims. Reading it has been centering and thought-provoking - as I have said before, I am not sure I agree with everything, but it certainly has sparked reflection and introspection. Stay tuned!
Recess Donations
This year we are continuing with recess as part of our Advisory structure. A great deal of research evidence shows that 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.
Substitute Nurses
As with our teaching positions, from time to time our nurse, Tricia Williams, will be out of the building and we need a substitute nurse for these days. We are fortunate that we have several substitute nurses in the district who are able to work on those days. If you are a registered nurse and have an interest in potentially serving as a substitute throughout the year, please let us know. You can contact me ([email protected]) or Tricia Williams ([email protected]). By the same token, if you have friends in the area who would have an interest in serving as a substitute, please let them know that they can contact us as well. The safety and well-being of our students is always our top priority, and we would appreciate your interest in one of these roles.
Girl Talk
Middle School Girls: Join MHS Senior Paiton Marshall on Thursday, October 15 at 2:15 in room 104 ( the health room) to learn more about Blake Middle School’s Girl Talk chapter. Girl Talk is a national mentor organization for middle school girls to receive advice from and bond with high school girls. We will be meeting every other Thursday to discuss a variety of topics relevant to teen life such as friendships, self esteem, health, community service and much more! Email [email protected] with any questions.
Blake Poetry Club
Grace Sowyrda, a High School Senior and Honors English student is in the process of completing her Girl Scout Gold Award on Poetry. She's running a poetry after school program at the the Middle School which will begin on Tuesday October 13th from 2:15 to 3:15. It will be a four week program held on Tuesdays from October 13th to November 3rd. This is a fun intramural for anyone interested in exploring creative writing. During the program, students will learn about different types of poetry, play games, experiment with words and connect with others. They will even learn to share or publish their work if they desire. It will be a stress free atmosphere filled with food, laughter, creativity and of course poetry. The google signup is below. Grace is looking for about 10 to 15 students. Of course it would be great for students to attend all four weeks, but students may also drop in for a session or two.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uCCHaLJZc8wu1a8N7l2cF-hexdq_rKB5oUwIq-wdHQE/edit
If you have any questions just contact Grace Sowyrda at [email protected]
Does Your Student Enjoy Volunteer Service?
Hello! My name is Zoë Smith and I am a Medfield High School Senior and Girl Scout. For the past year, as part of my Gold Award, I have been working with a group of Blake Middle School students to help them contribute volunteer hours in the community. Each school year brings new students and new volunteer opportunities. If your student is interested in joining this initiative and/or you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I will be holding an information session Wednesday October 14th at 2:15 in the health room. Even if your student participated last year he/she is still welcome to come. Many positive changes have been made to my project, which includes new opportunities that they may want to learn about.
Cross Country
Blake Cross Country is into its last two weeks of the season. We will have a home meet at McCarthy Park/Hospital Hill on Thursday 10/15 and our last meet of the season will be the following Thursday again at home on 10/22. Practice this week on Tues. and Wed. And next week Mon., Tues., and Wed.
Angel Run
Have you registered yet? 10/31 is the early bird price and t-shirt deadline. Trainees here is Week #3 of the Training Plan. Five cycles of 3 minutes of running followed by 3 minutes of walking (30 minutes total). Do 3 times this week.
Don't forget to check out the 10th Anniversary Angel Run keepsake. You can order one when you register.
K-8 PTO News
Meadow Farms Fall Fundraiser-
September 24 through October 16
Our Fall Fundraiser for grades 6th - 8th with Meadow Farms is well underway. Please remember the profits from this Fundraiser benefit Blake students by funding activities, events, outside speakers and more … your efforts will go a long way! Along with the prizes provided by Meadow Farms, the overall top 3 sellers in the school will receive a gift card as a thank you for all their effort.
ATTN Parents/Guardians of 8th Graders: Meadow Farms Fundraiser can help fund your DC Trip! The more you sell, the more you save!
25% of the profit of your Meadow Farms sales will be applied to the cost of your DC Trip. So, the more you sell, the more you save on your trip.
Here is an example of what you could earn towards your trip (please note this is an example and only estimates the profit amount):
Total Sales: $500 Profit of Sales: $200. 25% of Profit Applied to DC trip: $50
8th Grade Students – this is a great way to take part in helping your parents with the cost of the DC trip!
If you have any questions, please contact Kim Lipsy at [email protected] or 508 423 9765.
Open Volunteer Positions-
Local Business Coordinator This is the liaison that works with Subway, Go Fresh and La Groceria for Blake dinner nights. Please contact Maura Gerardi at [email protected] if you are interested in this position.
Halloween Trasher Dash: This fundraiser honors the memory and spirit of the beloved former Memorial School teacher and principal, Andrea Trasher who passed away last October. The fun-filled family event will take place in the athletic fields between Memorial and Dale St. School from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. on Halloween Day. We are currently looking for volunteers to help make this event a success! We need help with planning concessions, decorations, and are hoping to find people or groups willing to "captain" the activities along the way. It is a great opportunity for Dale St. School, Blake Middle School students and service groups to help out and earn community service! Money raised will be split between the K-8 PTO and the Andrea Trasher Scholarship Fund. If you are interested in helping out with the event - either in the planning or volunteering on that day - please contact Jill Herrick at [email protected].
Bay State Textiles-
The Bay State Textile Fundraiser for Town Wide PTO continues to be a great success! Just a reminder as you clean out your closets for fall that the bins accept clothing, shoes, pocketbooks, linens, accessories, and stuffed animals are as long as they are in clean and dry condition. This helps the PTO fundraise, helps the town save on disposal fees and helps the environment! Last year we raised $3,000 for our schools! Please keep those donations coming! If the bin at your school is full, please feel free to drop off at any school or at the bin at the Transfer Station.
PTO Meeting-
The next Blake PTO meeting will be October 22nd at 9:00 AM.
MCPE News
Registrations Continue for the Student Trivia Challenge. This great event, open to students in grades 6-12, is back and will take place on Tuesday, November 10th. Teams of teachers will increase the challenge and add to the fun! Held in the high school cafeteria, teams will compete for prizes in either the Blake or MHS division. The cost is $40 per team of four players. Spectators are welcome. Concessions will be available for purchase. Don’t delay, seating is limited. Click here to register: MedfieldCoalition.org.
Don’t Miss Our Community Trivia Night Raffle! (valued at over $500) Enter for your chance to win a fabulous Gourmet Wine and Dine Gift Basket, which includes: 3 bottles of exceptional wine handpicked by Matt at Medfield Wine Shoppe, $100 gift card to Zebra's Bistro, plus a cheeseboard and stemless wine glasses. Buy your tickets at www.medfieldcoalition.org. $5 each or 5 tickets for $20.
* Winner need not be present to win *
Please click here for Blake Updates.