March 20 - 6th Grade ELA MCAS
MS Track Mtg
MCPE Spelling Bee
March 21 - 8th Grade ELA MCAS
MS Baseball Mtg
March 22 - 7th Grade ELA MCAS
Term 2 Report Cards go home
March 25 - 7th Grade ELA Long Composition MCAS
March 26 - iPad Highlights Morning Information Session (see details below)
Subway Night for Blake
March 28 - 8th Grade ELA MCAS
7th Grade ELA Long Composition Make-Up MCAS
March 29 - No School
April 1 - Site Council Mtg (3:15 p.m.)
Grades 5-12 Band-O-Rama
April 2 - iPad Highlights Information Night (see details below)
April 3 - 7th Grade ELA MCAS
April 5 - Special Olympics Event at Blake
April 5-7 - MICCA Festival
April 8 - MARC Assembly for Grade 6
April 9 - Royal Pizza Night for Blake
April 10 - 1/2 Day for Students (Professional Dev't Afternoon for Staff)
Career Day for 8th Grade
April 11 - Grade 6 Geology Field Trip
April 15-19 - April Vacation
April 22 - School Resumes
CSA Meeting - 7:30 p.m. at Blake LMC
April 23 - Grade 6 Geology Field Trip Rain Date
Subway Night for Blake
April 25 - Energy Conservation Assembly
'Topic/Question for the Dinner Table'
To keep in line with the idea of one's impact on others, our Topic/Question for the Dinner Table this week is: How does it make you feel when you know you did the right thing?
Term 2 Report Cards
This Friday students will be bringing home their report cards for the second term. They will be spending time in their advisories reflecting upon the work they have accomplished thus far, and setting healthy goals for the third 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.
MCAS Information
While we do not want to foster undue anxiety or pressure for students, a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast will ensure that they come to school prepared to do their best. Please be sure that students arrive at school on time. If your student is sick on the day of a scheduled test date, it is best for your child to get some rest and take it on a make-up day. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Kelly Campbell ([email protected]) or your child's guidance counselor.
Parent Information Night Presentations
Thank you to all of the parents/guardians who were able to attend our information nights for 2013-2014. I have posted the PowerPoint presentations on the Forms and Documents tab of this blog for your reference. If you have any questions or concerns about next year, please contact your child's guidance counselor.
iPad Pilot and Initiative Update for 2013-2014
It was wonderful to see many of you last night at the Incoming 8th grade parent night to hear about the 8th grade program and iPad Initiative for next year. As you know we are expanding upon the current 8th grade iPad pilot and implementing a 1:1 iPad program for the entire 8th grade for the 2013-2014 academic year, with students purchasing their own iPads or taking part in a 'Lease to Own' program through the school. As part of our program, we will have a system in place for families with demonstrated financial need. To follow up I have posted copies of the documents on the Forms and Documents tab that were distributed about the initiative/program (General Information, FAQ's, and 'Lease to Own' Information). The details of the 'Lease to Own' are tentative and still being finalized, as we are working to find the most cost-effective program for families. We anticipated sending out a Google Form 'Lease to Own Interest Inventory' by April vacation.
I have also copied the link to the iPad site (iPad Blog) and I encourage you to visit it to gain a greater understanding of the work that has taken place. We are also planning another iPad Highlights Information session for Tuesday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m. This session is a 'repeat performance' of the sessions held on March 6 and February 6, and parents/guardians should not feel obliged to attend if they attended the previous meetings. We are also offering a morning session on Tuesday, March 26 at 9:15 a.m. Please RSVP via our Google Form link (iPad Highlights Evening Session on 4-2-13 or iPad Highlights Morning Session on 3-26-13) to let us know if you are planning on attending either session so that we can make sure we are prepared. Please fill out the form for each parent/guardian attending the presentation.
Divide and Conquer - Follow Up
On Wednesday March 13, 2013 Blake parents joined Susan Bycoff and Nat Vaughn in a discussion of supporting your middle school student in mathematics. Visit our slides (Divide and Conquer) to explore the theory behind fundamental pre-Algebra skills. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Bycoff at [email protected].
March is 'Acceptance' Month
This coming week will be Acceptance week #3! The focus this week will be on examining "Barriers to Acceptance." Students will be introduced to an activity that will help them to understand one of the biggest barriers to acceptance - NOT knowing someone. They say you can't really know someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes, so this week's activity will take place at lunch and seeks to inspire students to step outside of their comfort zones. The goal is that everyone shares a common experience and has an opportunity to interact with and get to know better those who they may not already know! Teachers will be previewing the activity and debriefing/reflecting with students in advisories.
Blake Site Council Survey
The Blake Site Council this year has been working on the development of a survey to be distributed to the Blake community. Focus areas include the topics of school culture, academic workloads, stress, and habits. The results will help us to gather information and examine our current practices to better meet the needs of our students. Please complete the survey for each child you have at Blake, and base your responses on your student's experiences this year. The questionnaire is anonymous, and your identity can not and will not be discovered through the completion of this survey. We sincerely appreciate your honest responses and are hoping for 100% participation from the Blake community. If you have any questions or have difficulty accessing the survey, please do not hesitate to contact me directly ([email protected]).
Link to the survey: Blake School Survey 2012-2013
Career Day Planning
Planning for the 8th grade Career Day is underway. Career Day will be held on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, which is also a half day for students. On this day we will have a morning of presentations given by a variety of professionals from many different occupations. Year after year people return to share their careers with our students but we need additional volunteers to help make this event successful. We invite you to volunteer to participate in this exciting program to enlighten our students about your occupation and career opportunities. Please consider sharing your experiences regarding your present occupation, stories of interest and personal insights with eighth graders in three informal sessions of approximately 35 minutes each. The sessions run between 8:45 am and 10:45 am. If you are interested in participating please contact Debbie Avery in the Blake Middle School Guidance Office at 508-359-2445 or e-mail [email protected]. Thank you in advance for helping make our Career Day a continued success. We count on the community to make our program a rewarding and enriching experience for our students.
Junior Districts
Thanks to successful auditions, seven Medfield music students were chosen to perform with their district peers at the Junior District Concert Festival on March 8 at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. Blake students involved were: Melanie Baime, Christian Newton, Dana Cruickshank, Ryan MacLean, Gavin Connolly, and Dan Whelan. Medfield High School student Joe Aversa was also chosen to participate. The festival is organized by the Eastern District of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association which is affiliated with the National Association for Music Education. Here's a link and text from the article that was in the patch: http://medfield.patch.com/articles/seven-medfield-students-chosen-for-district-concert
Nature's Classroom Information
Please send in the Nature's Classroom forms and deposit by March 25th. You can find all the forms to fill out at http://www.medfield.net/blake/school-information/natures-classroom.html If you are unable to print the forms, please contact your child's cluster leader or Judy Silva at [email protected] to arrange to have a packet sent home.
Spring Intramurals
Spring Intramurals will start the week after April vacation (4/22). Look for sign-up information the week prior to vacation (4/8).
Spring Track at Blake
The Blake Spring Track season will begin the first week of April and run until late May/early June. Our program serves as an introduction to track and field. We practice one hour per day, which enables student athletes to continue with their other spring sports teams as well. There are multiple events to choose from including running, long jump, high jump, hurdles and shot put. This year we will compete in 8 meets with other local teams. If interested please attend the sign up meeting on Wednesday, March 20.
Springing Forward
We have noticed an increase in the amount of tardy students this week with the time change. This is a reminder that all students should arrive at Blake by 7:30 a.m. so that they have enough time to settle in, get their materials ready for the day, and arrive to their first period class by 7:40 a.m.
Washington, D.C. Medical Forms
All medical forms for the Washington, D.C. trip need to be returned asap.
8th Grade Food Pantry Drive
The 8th grade food pantry drive has begun and it will continue throughout the month of March. The grade will be involved in a friendly competition to determine the advisory that is the most generous. Although the Medfield Food Pantry will graciously accept all contributions, the items that are especially needed are bottles of juice or juice box packs, hot and cold cereal, applesauce cups, four packs of toilet paper, Kleenex, and snacks. We hope it will be a successful drive.
Blake Drama Production
Below is this week's schedule. Please consult the website as there are guidelines for certain characters' costumes. Do not feel like you have to buy what's being asked for. We are checking closets first.
March 18-22 - Rehearsals will run from 2:45- 4:15pm all this week!!
Monday - Oh,The Thinks You Can Think, Horton Hears a Who, Biggest Blame Fool, Biggest Blame Playoff/Gertrude McFuzz
Tuesday - It's Possible (Dance Rehearsal), Here on Who, Meet Jojo The Who, How to Raise a Child, Oh the Thinks Reprise
Wednesday- Oh the Thinks You Can Think (dance rehearsal), Alone in the Universe, The 1 Feather Tail.../Amayzine Mazie, Amazying Gertrude
Thursday - Monkey Around/Chasing the who's (Dance Rehearsal), Notice Me, Horton, How Lucky You Are, Mazie's Exit, Egg, Nest and Tree
Friday - CAT IN THE HAT REHEARSAL
MCPE News
Get ready for MCPE’S ONLINE AUCTION OF FUN AND FAVORITE THINGS from April 1-9, 2013! Back by popular demand, MCPE is offering its most popular educational experiences from auctions and raffles past. Kids and parents alike love these one-of-a-kind items, and teachers and administrators love to give back! Here are some of the items that will be up for auction: Dodgeball Party with Mr. Taliaferro, Dumpling Making with Miss Liu, Spanish Fiesta Time with Srta. LeBlanc, Basketball Clinic with Big Blue Co-Captains, MHS Girls Varsity Lacrosse; Captain for the Day, Shopping with the Teachers!, Matinee for 4 with Ms. Allen and Mrs. Gumas, Canoe and Bird Watching with Mr. Gow and many more!! Visit www.medfieldcoalition.org
CSA News
The Cookie Dough Fundraiser to help current 7th graders earn credit toward their trip to Washington, D.C next year was a success. Congratulations to top sellers who earned prize extra credit towards their trip, Dylan McNally ($75), Patrick O'Connor ( $50), Samira Hajj ($25) and Steven Sabia ($25). The two lucky $25 credit winners from the drawing from students who sold five or more boxes were Jasmin Chan and Genna Katsikaris.
Cookie Dough distribution day will be April 9th in the Blake Middle School cafeteria from 2:00pm-6:00pm. Please make arrangements to pick up your orders that day. We have no room to store frozen products.
3/11-3/28 Nature's Classroom Scrip Promotion. Please see Blake website for details.