12/13 - 7th Grade to A Christmas Carol
Blake PTO Meeting - 9 a.m.
12/14 - Grades 6-8 Band Concert
12/15 - Grades 6-8 Orchestra Concert
12/16 - 8th Grade to XITC
12/23 - 1/2 Day for Students
12/24-1/2 - No School
1/1 - Happy New Year!
1/3 - School Resumes
1/9 - Blake Site Council Meeting (3:30 p.m.)
1/16 - No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Blake Day of Service
1/19 - Blake PTO Meeting
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations and dialogue about reflection, consideration, questioning, and curiosity, our topic/question for the dinner table is: What question is on your mind this week? Questioning (Week of 12/11/16) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Christmas in the City
Permission slips went home for the 8th grade's field trip to Christmas in the City. In the next few weeks 8th grade advisories will be busy shopping for gifts for children attending the Christmas in the City Event. Each 8th grade advisory is responsible for purchasing a gift for a child off of his or her wish list, worth up to $50, in order to help keep the magic and spirit of the holidays alive for these children. The 8th grade will be purchasing gifts for 14 children and will deliver these gifts when they attend the Christmas in the City community service field trip on December 16. Contributions towards the cost of the buses are greatly appreciated - checks should be made out to Blake Middle School with Xmas in the City Transportation in the memo line.
Professional Day Summary from 12/7/16
Last Wednesday, after a lovely luncheon provided by the Blake PTO (thank you!), our staff gathered to preview and participate in the Hour of Code activities that we implemented as a school community on Friday. Staff then broke off into departments and teams to further their growth on a variety of initiatives: standards-based reporting, Google Read & Write, establishing a vertical skills ladder for writing skills, and follow ups from professional development.
Term 1 Report Cards
Last Friday students brought home their report cards for the first term. Time was and will be spent in advisory with students reflecting upon the work they accomplished, as well as setting healthy goals for the second term. If you have any questions about your child's work or 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.
#MedfieldPS Twitter Chats
As a way to bring the five schools together (staff and administration), we have been holding monthly Twitter chats for #MedfieldPS. The focus of these chats are pertinent topics in education, initiatives, and ideas to collaborate around and share. Our December chat will take place next Tuesday, 12/20 at 8 p.m. We welcome you to join the chat!
Hour of Code at Blake
Our 'Hour of Code' last Friday, 12/9 was a great success. We hope that it sparked or continued an interest for our students in this field as we recognize that the skill of coding is increasingly important for our students as we work to increase their problem-solving and analytical skills in the fields of science, engineering, mathematics, and technology. I encourage everyone to check out the following links...
Hour of Code
Calling All Learners and Teachers for Hour of Code
What Most Schools Don't Teach
Coding in the Classroom: What is it and Why is it So Important?
Yearbook Orders
Yearbook Sales have begun. All yearbook orders are due by next Friday, December 16. The Yearbook costs $30. Checks should be made out to "Blake Middle School". Your child needs to submit the order to their Advisory teacher. Please order today because books ARE NOT available to order in June.
Blake Community Blood Drive
This month we are kicking of our annual Martin Luther King Jr. blood drive. Currently we are putting together a committee of students who will work to promote, organize and then run the blood drive. Please consider donating blood, or if you cannot, help find another who may be able to. It is important this blood drive receive high support from the community for us to continue to hold it on a holiday. Hosted by the American Red Cross this blood drive offers an incredible opportunity, so please come out, and donate blood. The drive will be held in the middle school gym Monday, January 16th, from 9am to 2pm.
School Connectedness at Blake
Last week all students completed our School Connectedness Survey. Once we have had a chance to look at results, a guidance counselor will be in contact with families of children who indicate that they do not have a connected adult at school. As always, please be sure to reach out to a guidance counselor, Kelly Campbell or any of your child's teachers if you have a question or concern.
Blake Winter Intramurals
The Winter Session Intramural offerings will be available this week.
2nd Annual Blake Science Fair - Friday, March 10
Save the Date! Have fun with friends while learning and doing science! More information will follow immediately after winter break!
Reminder for all Blake Students and Families
This is a reminder that as a school we will not be orchestrating 'Secret Santa' type activities for students in which gifts are being purchased and/or given. For a number of reasons, school is not the proper forum for the exchange of gifts, and we appreciate your understanding and support.
Community Service Club Information - Coat Drive
The Community Service Club of Blake is holding its annual coat drive at Blake beginning Monday, December 12. The drive will conclude on Friday January 6. Please donate new or gently used WINTER coats. The donation box can be found at the front of the school starting on the 12th. All coats that are donated will be delivered to Medfield's Anton Cleaners who sponsors the drive.
The sixth grade is hosting a movie matinee for all sixth grade students on Thursday, December 22 after school from 2:15-4:30. The cost of admission is $2. All proceeds are donated to World Connect, a world-wide organization focused on community driven projects. As part of the sixth grade curriculum on Poverty, sixth grade students will learn more about the organization and its mission come early spring when students will grow tomato plants as a way of experiencing the demands that international poverty has on communities across the globe. More information is to come during the new year.
26 Days of Kindness
Thank you to the entire Blake and Medfield community for joining us in the 26 Days of Kindness. We hope that we can carry forth this work beyond these 26 days as a community.
Reminder about Bus Notes
All students who would like to ride a different bus may do so for childcare purposes only and need permission from Central Offices. Students should bring a note from home that gives permission to ride another bus, along with the bus number. That note will be sent to Central Offices and approval is granted based on available space on the bus. It is best to have the notes dropped off before the school day starts so that we can get back to students promptly in case they need to make other arrangements. A back up plan is always good to have in case permission is not granted. If you have any questions, please contact Phyllis Montillo at Central Offices ([email protected]).
Lost and Found Items
The number of items in our Lost and Found has increased. Please remind students to come take a look, as there are a number of items that are unlabeled that have been collected. We will be clearing out the Lost and Found during the winter vacation.
Blake Theater Update
Things are cooking in Blake Theater land. Our largest group of students to date is working hard on our two winter shows - Yearbook and It's a Sign. Both will be performed January 27-29. Ticket information is coming soon. In the meantime, we are looking for a letterman jacket and 2 tricycles to borrow for these performances. Please let me know if you are willing to let us work with these items from now until the end of January. Theater families - if you are not receiving my weekly updates, please let Tracy Allen know.
Parent iPad Survey Fall 2016
As you know we are continually working on assessing our programs and are looking to gain insight from our students and parents to provide feedback. We have developed a survey that is being distributed electronically to all 6th-8th grade students and parents as part of a data collection assessment for the iPad Initiative. The questions will hopefully serve as a pre-assessment (beginning of year) tool and we will be administering similar surveys at the end of the year as well. The questions have to do with organizational skills, executive functioning, and comfort with technology. Questions are being sent to all three grades. The survey is not an evaluative tool of the teachers or the students; rather, it is a tool that we believe will help us gain insight about the initiative, our programming, and technology. The questionnaire is anonymous, and your identity can not and will not be discovered through the completion of this survey. Please take the time to complete a unique survey for each student you have at Blake Middle School. You will see that the survey is for both students and parents, and students will be given time in school to complete it. It is important we only get one response per student. We sincerely appreciate your honest responses and are hoping for 100% participation from the student body and parents. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes of your time. Your sincere responses are essential to our information-gathering vision and mission. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Link to the survey: Student/Parent iPad Survey Fall 2016
Book Discussion Group for Parents
The next Blake Site Council/Blake community book will be The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children by Alison Gopnik. Stay tuned for more information!
Message from Blake PTO
BLAKE TEACHER & STAFF THANK YOU FUND - Has a teacher or staff member at Blake done something special for your child? Something above and beyond what is expected? Or do you simply want to just say thank you for all you do each and every day? NOW IS YOUR CHANCE! Anyone may contribute a financial gift to a teacher or staff member at any time. The teacher/staff member can use these funds to purchase books, apps, games, supplies and other items for their classroom as needed. This is a great way to say thank you and give your child’s teacher a little extra something that will benefit both the teacher and the children in their class. This is all you have to do:
1. Write a check made payable to BLAKE PTO with a note in the memo line (or separate note) indicating which teacher’s or staff member’s fund you are contributing to (one check can be distributed to multiple funds).
2. Send the check (and note for the recipient if you would like) to school in an envelope with your child and include Erika Clarke, Blake PTO Treasurer on the envelope.
A note and certificate will be sent on your behalf to the teacher/staff member letting them know that you have contributed to their fund. Please contact Kim Price mailto:[email protected] with any questions.
DON’T MISS OUR POSTS SENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK - Like us on Facebook Medfield K-8 PTO, follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/MedfieldK8PTO
Message from MCPE
Give the gift of appreciation this holiday season by giving your child's teachers the tools they need to innovate! Make a tax deductible Blue Ribbon Donation in any amount to the MCPE, and your designated teacher or staff member receives a personalized note acknowledging your appreciation of their skill and dedication. Blue Ribbon donations may be made throughout the year, but the deadline for delivery by Winter Break is Wednesday, December 21. http://www.medfieldcoalition.org/events-programs/blue-ribbon-program/