2/1 - MCAP Meeting
2/4 - Term 2 Interim Reports go home
Blake Site Council Meeting - 3:30 p.m. (Blake LMC)
2/5 - Blake Affinity Group Meeting - 2:15 p.m.
2/6 - 1/2 Day for Students
Tri-County Interviews (see info below)
Jessica Minahan Presentation for Parents (see info below)
Professional Afternoon for Staff
2/12 - SEPAC Meeting - 7 p.m.
2/13 - Stripes to Worcester Art Museum
2/14 - Happy Valentine’s Day!
Eagles to Worcester Art Museum
2/15 - Blake Volleyball Tourney
2/18-2/22 - February Vacation
2/27 - Stars to Worcester Art Museum
Incoming 6th Parent Info Night - 6:30 p.m.
2/28 - MHS Program of Studies Night
3/6 - Blake STEAMERS Showcase (see details below)
3/7 - Incoming 7th/8th Parent Night - 6:30 p.m.
3/11 - Blake Site Council Meeting - 3:30 p.m. (Blake LMC)
3/12 - Harlem Wizards at MHS
3/13 - 1/2 day for Students
Professional Afternoon for Staff
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the traits that help us learn and what has influenced us, our topic/question of the week is: What qualities and characteristics in your teachers help you learn? Articulating Influences (Week of 1/27/19) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Term 2 Interim Reports
Next Monday students will be bringing home their interim reports for the second term. They will be spending time in their advisories reflecting upon the work they have accomplished thus far, and setting healthy/measured goals for the second half of the term. Our hope is that this communication tool will give you an update on the progress your child is making in school. 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.
Black History Month
As Black History Month begins at the end of this week, students in 7th grade civics classes are sharing information in the morning announcements each day about African Americans throughout history and their accomplishments. Posters will be displayed around the school with QR codes that take interested readers to more in-depth information about these figures. Students will also notice a wellness display outside the gym, as well as other connections throughout the month. Stay tuned for more info!
Worcester Art Museum Visit - 8th Grade
As part of the 8th grade Social Studies curriculum the 8th graders will be visiting the Worcester Art Museum in February. The Stripes will visit the Worcester Art Museum on February 13th, the Eagles will visit on February 14th and the Stars will visit on February 27th. As part of the visit the students will enjoy a guided tour of the Museum's Medieval galleries, students will also create their own "illuminated letter" as part of a workshop activity and, in addition, students will enjoy a demonstration of Medieval Armor conducted by Medieval Historian Neal Bourbeau. Students and teachers are excited about the experiential learning opportunities provided by this field trip and look forward to a great visit!
Bowl Creation Dates (@Medfield High School):
-Tuesday 2/12 5:30-7pm
-Wednesday 2/13 2:10-3:45pm
-Glaze Date: 2/27 5:30-7pm
Dinner Date (@Blake Middle School Cafeteria):
-Thursday 3/21 6-8pm
Sign up here to reserve a ticket or email [email protected] with any questions.
School Connectedness at Blake
Last Thursday during advisory, students were asked to take a short survey on school connectedness via email. It is our hope that each Blake student can identify one trusted adult at school with whom they feel comfortable if they are in need of help with a small or large problem. Although we acknowledge how important friends and family members are, we ask students to share only names of people who work at Blake in order to get a sense of students' comfort and connectedness at school. This year, we added one additional question to get a sense of whether students have at least one trusted friend at Blake but we did not ask for any specific names. Guidance counselors will be reviewing the data over the weeks ahead. As always, please reach out to your child's grade level guidance counselor with any concerns or questions about how they are feeling at school.
Parent Ed Workshop Follow Up
Metaphors, Multiplication, and Microscopes - Exploring Student Learning
This past month Nat Vaughn, Orla Berry (Science Department Chair, 6-12), Susan Bycoff (Mathematics Department Chair, 6-12), and Gail Duffy (English Department Chair, 6-12) held parent education workshops about English, Mathematics, and Science, healthy student learning, meaningful feedback, and classroom and state assessments. If you were unable to make the presentation, please check out the slides…
Metaphors, Multiplication & Microscopes - Winter 2019
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Parent Presentation with Jessica Minahan
Save the Date!
February 6th 9:00-11:00 am
Wheelock School Cafeteria
On February 6th, Jessica Minahan will visit Medfield Public Schools. In the morning, Jessica will present to parents on student anxiety and stress. She will present to elementary teachers later in the day. To RSVP, please click on this link...
goo.gl/forms/fIpmwbt67vZ5NJXc2
Jessica Minahan is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA), author, special educator, and consultant to schools internationally. Since 2000 she has worked with students who struggle with mental health issues and challenging behavior in public school systems. She specializes in training staff and creating behavior intervention plans for students who demonstrate explosive and unsafe behavior. She also works with students who have emotional and behavioral disabilities, anxiety disorders, or high-functioning Autism. Her particular interest is to serve these students by combining behavioral interventions with a comprehensive knowledge of best practices for those with complex mental health profiles and learning needs.
Jessica Minahan is brought to Medfield through an MCPE grant and a donation from Medfield Talks. Thank you! We look forward to working with Jessica Minahan and hope you are able to attend. Jessica’s book, The Behavior Code will be available for purchase at Park Street Books.
Parent Information Nights - Mark Your Calendars!
2/27 - Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night at 6:30 p.m.
This night is for all parents/guardians of incoming sixth grade (current fifth grade) students. We will be presenting information about the 6th grade program of studies and curriculum, previewing the students' experience that they will have next year along with an overview of the middle school. A more detailed presentation about the logistics of the 2019-2020 academic year's iPad Initiative will take place during this evening as well.
3/7 - Incoming 7th/8th Grade Parent Night at 6:30 p.m.
This night is for all parents/guardians of incoming seventh grade (current sixth grade) students. We will be sharing information about the 7th and 8th grade program of studies and curriculum, previewing the students' experience that they will have next year.
Blake Middle School Site Council Survey
The Blake Site Council has taken time to review the data collected from last year's survey and an Executive Summary will be distributed to families in the coming weeks. Focus areas on the survey centered on the topics of school culture, academic workloads, stress, and habits. Our intent is to distribute the 2018-2019 survey in early February in the hopes of gathering the data by February vacation. Stay tuned!
Tri-County Interview Information for 8th Grade Families
On February 6, Tri-County will be hosting their interviews for applicants. The interviews are approximately 15-20 minutes. Sample questions can be found here http://www.tri-county.us/node/271. The purpose of the interview is to clarify the student’s reason for attending Tri-County, choice of program areas, career goals, interests and motivation. In the case of student absence on the interview day, or in the case of a late applicant, the interview schedule will be mutually agreed upon between the Director of Guidance and the student’s counselor and/or parent(s)/guardian.
Save the Date - Miss Amazing!
Save the date! Massachusetts Miss Amazing is coming to Medfield High School for its sixth annual event! Miss Amazing’s mission statement declares that “Miss Amazing provides opportunities for girls and women with disabilities to build confidence and self-esteem in a supportive environment.” Join us in supporting this goal and give these girls and young women an opportunity to shine. The event is March 30th, 2019 and will be held in the Medfield High School Auditorium at 6 PM. Ticket sales are open to the public beginning on March 16th at ma.missamazing.org. If you want to donate, visit https://missamazing.org/donate/. If you want to volunteer with the event, you can sign up to be a buddy, half day volunteer (helping hand), or a right hand man online at https://missamazing.org/volunteer/. If you know a girl or young woman who might want to participate in this event, refer them to the Miss Amazing website so they can learn more! Sign up a participant at https://missamazing.org/participate/. See you there!
Blake STEAMers Showcase - 3/6/19
Our fourth annual celebration of our students and STEM - The Blake STEAMers Showcase - will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday March 6, 2019. All BMS students are invited to participate as individuals or in groups (single or multi grade) and show their passion for or interest in answering some question or learning more about a particular topic - including but not limited to - recent genius hour projects, maker space projects or personal interest projects or investigations. A brief student information session will be held this Thursday, Jan 31st, at 2:15 p.m. in Mrs. Buley’s classroom (#213).
Please see this link for information regarding our Blake STEAMers showcase on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. All Blake students are encouraged to attend and to participate in this event!!
Should you have any questions please contact your child’s science teacher or email me at - [email protected]
#MedfieldProjectHappiness Update
This week in Project Happiness students are going to relate their character strengths to positive experiences in their lives. They are going to record their top 3 character strengths and brainstorm a few positive experiences that are connected to that strength. Hopefully this list will continue to grow! Be sure to ask your child about it! A few notes for your reference...
- The daily inspiration from Project Happiness is included in the morning announcements to staff and students.
- To subscribe: https://www.projecthappiness.org
- To follow on Twitter: @happyblakers #MedfieldProjectHappiness
Project 351
Molly Donovan, one of our eighth grade students, has been selected as Medfield's ambassador for Project 351. Project 351 is a statewide community service project that brings an eighth grader from all 351 cities and towns in the commonwealth together on one single day to perform a service project. Ambassadors should embody the ethic of service and associated values -- humility, integrity, compassion, commitment, and generosity of spirit. In essence, Project 351 celebrates and encourages students' leadership and commitment to others. We are proud and honored that Molly is representing Blake and the community of Medfield.
Recess Reminder for All Parents/Guardians
This is a gentle reminder to families that students are going outside for recess and should bring weather-appropriate clothing like winter jackets and gloves so that they will be warm outdoors.
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]).
Reminder about Locks
All Blake students are required to be using a combination lock to lock their hallway lockers. As this is the time of year when students can begin to be lax about using their locks and keeping them locked during the day, we appreciate your reminders at home as well. A photo of locks that fit on Blake lockers can be found on the school supply list page (School Supply Lists).
Challenge Success
I encourage everyone to check out Medfield’s Challenge Success website and introductory video. We look forward to broadening our work and using this ‘platform’ as a way to continue our efforts at Blake to best support and meet the needs of all of our students.
Standards Based Reporting Information Sessions
Thank you to all Blake parents/guardians who were able to come to our Standards Based Reporting information sessions this past fall. If you were unable to make the presentation, please check out the slides...
SBR Information Sessions October, 2018
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Blake Site Council Book Discussion Group
Blake’s Site Council book is What School Could Be by Ted Dintersmith. We hope you can join in by reading this book - stay tuned for discussion times!
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 medfield.net and find applications under the tab "employment opportunities". Please contact Kelly Campbell at [email protected] with any questions.
Blake PTO Update
Want to get involved? There are many positions available for the next school year, including co-President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary! Contact Keven Gallagher ([email protected]) for more information! Don’t forget to like us on Facebook (Medfield K-8 PTO) and follow us on Twitter (@MedfieldK8PTO). And for more information and calendar of events, please check out our website medfieldk8pto.com
MCPE Update
Treasured Experiences Auction opened January 24th! Numerous experiences for your Blake student, including outings with teachers and VIP seating to 8th grade graduation. Start bidding on Thursday at www.medfieldcoalition.org
SEPAC Update
Our next business meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 12th at 7pm in the Blake Library. The focus of this meeting will be to discuss board roles, learn to navigate our Google Suite, and hear subcommittee updates. Please consider attending if you have any interest in pursuing a leadership position next year. And mark your calendars! March 4th from 7-9pm we will be hosting an Assistive Technology evening for parents and guardians. To learn about SEPAC, please visit our website: https://sites.google.com/mail.medfield.k12.ma.us/sepac/