11/8 - 1/2 Day for Students
Professional Afternoon for Staff
11/11 - Veterans Day - No School
11/12 - SOS Parent/Guardian Presentation - 6:30 p.m. (see info below)
11/14 - SOS Student Presentations
Student-Staff Basketball Game - 2:30 p.m. (see details below)
11/19 - SEPAC Mtg - 7 p.m.
11/20 - Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council - 9:30 a.m.
SEL Task Force Meeting - 3:30 p.m. at MHS
11/22-11/24 - Blake Fall Musical
11/27 - 1/2 Day for Students/Staff
11/28 - Thanksgiving - No School
11/29 - No School
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the importance of reflection and To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the ways we make decisions and support our claims/beliefs, our topic/question for the dinner table is: What process do you use to make decisions? Naming the Evidence (Week of 11/3/19) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Advisory Update for Blake
This week in Wednesday's Advisory students will be getting an introduction about stress. They will be reading an article that talks about what stress is and some positive ways to combat stress. Students will either be completing a quiz about ways to identify different types of stress and their current stress level, or students may be participating in a discussion about stressful situations.
Blake Wednesday Advisory Website
Veterans Day Recognition
Blake staff and students are invited to wear respectful Red, White, & Blue this Friday, 11/8 in honor of Veterans Day this weekend.
Veterans Day Weekend - No Homework Weekend for Blake
In a continued effort to provide down time for students, staff, and families, Veterans Day Weekend will be a 'No Homework Weekend' for all of Blake. No assignments will be given with a due date of 11/12 and tests, quizzes, and projects will not be due or given on November 12 or 13. Thank you to all of the staff for their support and help in making this happen. If you have any questions or concerns, let us know.
7th Grade Parents: Suicide Prevention Workshop - 11/12 at 6:30 p.m.
Please save the date! We hope you will join us on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 6:30pm in the Blake Library for a Suicide Prevention Workshop presented by Samaritans, Inc. No one wants to think about their child dealing with thoughts of suicide, however, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for youth ages 10-24 years old. This workshop on the 12th will give parents foundational knowledge and practical tools to talk with their children. Led by Samaritans, Inc., topics covered in this workshop will include:
- Suicide risk factors and warning signs
- Coping skills and resiliency building
- Facts, figures, and myth-busting
- Best practices for talking to and helping someone who may be suicidal
- School and community resources
- To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness, and help them assess whether or not they may have symptoms consistent with depression.
- To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that can occur as a result of untreated depression.
- To provide students training in how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in a friend.
- To impress upon our students that they can help themselves or a friend by taking a simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns.
We hope you can join us on November 12th. Please reach out to either Stephanie Worthley ([email protected]) or Tracy Allen ([email protected]) with any questions.
Blake’s ADL - Application Form
7th and 8th-grade students spent their advisory time on Wednesday, October 30th, listening to a presentation by the Regional Education Director from ADL New England. The presentation focused on ADL's World of Difference Institute and peer leadership opportunities available to 7th and 8th-grade students in Blake's own ADL Peer Leadership program. ADL focuses on what bias looks like and how to support students to promote acceptance and understanding at Blake. Ms. Thress and Mrs. Gelomini welcome all interested 7th and 8th-grade students to come on Tuesday, November 5th, to room 505. You can make a difference - join ADL!
We are now seeking students to become this year’s cohort of ADL Peer Leaders, and we invite any interested 7th or 8th grade student to complete this Blake ADL Peer Leader Interest Form by Friday, November 8th. The goals of the ADL Peer Training Program are to:
- Promote positive social change at Blake.
- Learn about bias-related issues.
- Encourage a greater sense of social responsibility for a more respectful and inclusive community.
- Explore how to become an ally for one’s peers.
- Develop student leadership.
Trainers from the Anti-Defamation League will facilitate the training of our school’s selected group of students. The training will take place during three school days that will be scheduled over a two- to three -week period and will focus on helping peer leaders develop their leadership potential and then guide them to facilitate workshops for other students later in the school year.
We are proud to bring ADL’s Peer Training Program to our school. This program will help us continue to promote a safe and supportive school community where people of diverse backgrounds can come together to contribute to our core values and fulfill their responsibilities as caring members of our society.
Please reach out to this year’s ADL Peer Leader advisors, Kara Gelormini ([email protected]) and Meghan Thress ([email protected]), with any questions.
Reminder for all Families
As the weather is turning a bit cooler, I am writing with a reminder about after school supervision at Blake. Students are welcome to stay after school with a teacher, in the library, in the fitness center, or to be part of an intramural activity. Supervision of students ends at 3:15 p.m. as that is when our front office staff leaves, library closes, and activities generally conclude. Exceptions may include the theatre program or sports. Students should plan for transportation home by 3:15 and are welcome to wait for rides outside in the area by the circle or in the lobby of the school but should not be wandering around the building, playing in the gym without adult supervision, or hanging out in unsupervised areas. Student safety is our priority so we ask that students be in a supervised activity or make plans to head home.
Term 1 Interim Reports
All outstanding signature sheets that accompanied the interim reports should be returned to advisory teachers. If you have any questions about your child's work on the reports, please start by having a conversation with your own child. If questions still exist, you should contact the teacher directly to gain more insight.
8th Grade Community Service Endeavors - Thanks for the Support!
It is time for the annual 8th Grade Community Service Student-Staff Basketball Game Proceeds from the game will go to benefit various 8th grade community service events including Christmas in the City and the Tilen Village Dinner. Christmas in the City is an annual event held in the city of Boston for homeless children and families, where all children in attendance receive a gift from their wish list. Here at Blake, we help out in several ways, including taking the 8th grade into the city to help set up this great event, and donating money to help purchase gifts for children. The Tilden Village dinner is an annual dinner put on by 8th grade students, involving dinner, dessert, and music! The game will take place during Thursday, November 14th from 2:30-3:30 in the middle school gym, and the price per ticket is $3. Additional donations are welcome.
Challenge Success Update
Since the spring of 2018, Medfield has partnered with Challenge Success, a program out of Stanford with this mission statement: Challenge Success partners with schools, families, and communities to embrace a broad definition of success and to implement research-based strategies that promote student well-being and engagement with learning. This program is designed to support and provide resources to our student and parent community. The Challenge Success team in Medfield has been working to identify and develop strategies to meet the social/emotional needs of our students. We have outlined highlights of this work:
- Jon Kleiman, the Challenge Success School Program Director, visited Medfield in the spring of 2019. Jon worked with the high school faculty, and shared data from the student survey, as well as strategies we can all use to help support our students.
- All students in grades 6-12 completed the Challenge Success student survey. The Executive Summaries from this data are here…
- At Medfield High School, programming updates include a change in the midyear exam format and incorporation of studies as an elective for students. The school is currently exploring aspects of a master schedule that support many of the Challenge Success principles.
- Over the past year, various activities for high school students have included an all-school assembly and Stress Tree advisory activity designed to provide an opportunity for students to provide feedback regarding the various challenges they have in maintaining balance in their lives.
- The advisory program in grades 6-12 has focused on Challenge Success initiatives identified from the survey. Staff and students spent professional development time this past summer to revise the programs at both schools.
- The Medfield Challenge Success Parent Group presented several events including the Well-Balanced Student K-8 and a district-wide book talk: Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students by Denise Pope.
- The Challenge Success working team has increased in size which now includes district and building administrators, four high school students, four parents (representing both elementary and secondary schools) and four teachers. This team has partnered with the district-wide SEL taskforce.
Finally, we want to thank our community members for supporting this work, especially the Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE), the Medfield High School PTO and the Blake Middle School PTO.
Sincerely,
Medfield Challenge Success Team
Tri-County/Norfolk Aggie Trip and Information
The 8th grade visited Tri County Regional Vocational Technical HIgh School in Franklin and a representative from Norfolk County Agricultural High School presented information to the students last Thursday. Tri-County’s mission is to provide an excellent comprehensive technical and academic education to regional high school students. State-of-the-art technical skills and knowledge are enriched and complemented by a solid foundation of academic skills. Norfolk Aggie provides for a hands-on education, with caring and involved teachers in an atmosphere of acceptance and understanding. Students are united in their interests and attend vocational and academic classes every day. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jen Dondero ([email protected]).
Advisory Pumpkin Contest Follow Up
Student council would like to thank eveyone for what might have been the most creative Pumpkin Decorating ever! Congratulations to Mrs. Heim’s Advisory Olaf the snowman pumpkin (3rd place), Mrs. Ruminski’s Advisory Gru & his Minions pumpkin (2nd place), and Ms. Thress’s Advisory Make Way for Ducklings pumpkin (1st place)!
Community Service Club
The Community Service Club is continuing to collect gently used coats- any size- to donate to area shelters through Anton’s Cleaners. We are 1/3 of the way through our goal. Please clean out your closets and donate to our collection.
Blake is Social - Any Submissions?
Blake is social is well underway and is now celebrating having reached 200 followers!!! We are always looking for material. Please send in any art, and or pictures our way!Work can be emailed to [email protected] or [email protected]
Blake Blood Drive Information
Blake is about to begin work on the 6th annual MLK day blood drive. Each year has been a larger success than the last, thanks to dedicated students and a supportive Medfield community. Right now, we are recruiting students to become part of the blood drive committee. These students are in charge of building a donor recruitment campaign, recruiting donors, and supporting the Red Cross in running the blood drive the day of. We will hold our very first committee meeting, Tuesday, November 12th in Mrs. McClelland’s room 212 right after school until 3 p.m. From there we will meet every Tuesday, including the Tuesday right after the event which will be Monday, January 20th. Please mark your calendars - the students will love to see you supporting their blood drive.
Blake Site Council Book Discussion Group - Middle School Matters
This year the Blake Site Council’s first book is Middle School Matters by Phyllis Fagell. Stay tuned for more information and we hope you can join in these discussions!
Nature's Classroom - Medication Pick Up
Medications from the Nature's Classroom trip is available for PARENT pick up in the nurse's office. Any medication not picked up by Friday, November 9 will be discarded.
Standards Based Reporting Information Sessions
Thank you to all Blake parents/guardians who were able to come to our Standards Based Reporting information sessions last week. As promised, here is the link to the presentation…
SBR Information Sessions October, 2019
Yearbook Pics - 8th Grade!
Yearbook is now in full swing and we are 100% digital. We are collecting 8th Grade baby/childhood pictures for a special layout planned for our “graduating” kids and need your help to complete the project!
Families, we need you to provide:
Your child’s most adorable baby/childhood picture
~Please e-mail a high resolution photo (at least 300dpi) to Kristin Buley at [email protected]
~Include your child’s full name in the subject line.
~Please have these in no later than November 16th
If you are unable to e-mail it, you can send an original photo in with your child.
This project will be a lot of fun for the kids; thank you for your help!
If you should have any questions, please contact Kristin Buley at [email protected]
Thank you!
Kristin Buley & Kristin Manning
Yearbook Advisors
Private School Applications
For those families looking to apply to private school for next year, please make sure all materials (all teacher recommendation forms, transcript request, an 8x11 envelope and 4 stamps per envelope) are to the guidance office at least 3 weeks prior to the application due date. We want to make sure the teachers have sufficient time to provide thoughtful letters for all students applying. If the forms will be sent electronically to the teachers, please e-mail Mrs. Avery and your student's guidance counselor to inform them. Mrs. Avery tracks all applications and makes sure they get out in time. Any questions, please contact or Mr. Marenghi (6th), Ms. Allen (7th), or Mrs. Dondero (8th).
Registration for Blake Middle School Winter 2019-2020 Athletics (Boys and Girls 8th grade basketball) is now open!
Please visit the following to register:
https://www.familyid.com/organizations/medfield-athletics
Theme of Courage for 2019-2020
Our theme for this academic year at Blake is one of Courage. We believe that this theme will extend the work we have done over the last seven years with our themes of Community, Perseverance, Creativity, Acceptance, Collaboration, Empathy, Diversity, and Happiness. As a staff we have begun brainstorming ideas and I encourage all families to join us in the brainstorming process as well. As ideas and thoughts come to mind, do not hesitate to e-mail me ([email protected]) or Kelly C. ([email protected]).
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 http://www.medfield.net/o/medfield-public-schools/page/employment-opportunites--7 and find applications under the tab "employment opportunities". Please contact Kelly Campbell at [email protected] with any questions.
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.
Medfield Food and Nutrition Services - Part Time Employment
Are you looking for a job with school hours and the school schedule? We have a job for you!! The Medfield Food and Nutrition Department is looking for friendly employees who like working with kids to work in the school lunch program.
Job Opening: Blake Middle School
Hours: 10:00-1:30
If you are Interested in applying, please contact Caitlin Fahy
(508) 242-8897
[email protected]
Medfield High School Theatre Society Presents:
The Curious Savage by John Patrick. The Curious Savage is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW - $12 Purchase Tickets Here
NOVEMBER 15th - 17th
Friday, November 15th @ 7:00 pm
Saturday, November 16th @ 1:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Sunday, November 17th @ 1:00 pm
Following her husband’s death, Ethel Savage inherited $10 million. Ethel’s goal is to use the family fortune to fulfill strangers’ ill-advised dreams. Her stepchildren’s goal is to reclaim theSavage legacy.
In their efforts to bring Ethel to her senses, the Savage children have her committed to a sanitorium: The Cloisters. Among the Cloisters’ residents, Mrs. Savage discovers a level of authenticity she found lacking in the outside world.
Commit yourself to The Curious Savage: a story of greed, loyalty, and those who challenge traditional conventions.
Please note that this show is double-cast meaning there are two sets of actors performing. One group will perform Friday evening & Saturday afternoon. The other group will perform Saturday evening & Sunday afternoon. If you are hoping to see a particular actor, please double check when they will perform.
The list can be found here.
Medfield Angel Run
Each year the Medfield Foundation Inc (MFi) donates over $35,000 yearly to Medfield families in need, plus supports a variety of other initiatives like the Camp Fund throughout the town. At the high school, MFi sponsors and supports the MFi Youth Leadership to help students develop as philanthropists. You can find more information at
https://www.medfieldfoundation.org/mfi-angel-run
Message from MCPE
The MCPE 2019 Fall Fest online auction is now OPEN! Bid on a wide array of items, including group experiences (wine tastings, cooking classes, etc.), Medfield branded swag, home interior services, sports memorabilia, photo packages, and much, much more. Don't miss your chance to secure some great holiday gifts and support our K-12 schools at the same time. You do not have to attend the Fall Fest event on November 15th to bid! Go to http://www.medfieldcoalition.org. Thank you to all of our donors and sponsors for their amazing generosity and support of the MCPE.
Message from MMA (Medfield Music Association)
Quantities are limited and deadline for orders is approaching! MMA's beautiful seasonal wreaths are available for sale through this week only! We have updated this year's wreath design to incorporate Noble Fir greens, mixed with Incense Cedar, Juniper, and Ponderosa Cone accents. To view the wreath and for order details, visit https://www. medfieldmusicassociation.com/ purchase-wreath
Blake PTO Update
Volunteers Needed for Blake! In particular, we are in need of a Hospitality Chair or Co-Chairs, which helps coordinates 3-4 teacher luncheons a year. It's a great way to get involved and appreciate the wonderful staff at our school! Please click on the link to the volunteer form below. Thank you!! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVH6fbiK1-cVI5r7yu42e6szW5bnuT2EUO9qk3CLc-l9A8UQ/viewform