March 25 - 8th Grade ELA MCAS
MCPE Spelling Bee
March 26 - 8th Grade ELA MCAS
March 27 - 7th Grade ELA Long Composition Make-Up MCAS
Dodgeball Tournament
March 31 - Band-O-Rama
April 4 - Special Olympics at Medway Middle School
April 4-6 - MICCA Festival
April 1 - Application Deadline for Robert C. Maguire Global Perspectives in Education Award (see below)
April 7 - Blake Site Council Meeting (3:15 p.m. in Blake LMC)
April 8 - 1/2 Day for Students; Professional Afternoon for Staff
Royal Pizza Night for Blake
April 11-13 - BMS Plays
April 15 - Subway Night for Blake
April 16 - CSA Mtg (7:00 p.m. in Blake LMC)
April 21-25 - April Vacation
May 2 - MCPE Spring Fling
May 5 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
May 6 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
May 7 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
May 8 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
May 9 - 1/2 Day for Students; Professional Afternoon for Staff
May 12 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
May 13 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
May 14 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
May 15 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
Topic/Question(s) for the Dinner Table
To encourage conversations about relationships, our Topic/Question for the Dinner Table this week is: Can putting a priority on competition supersede a sincere commitment to cooperation?
Term 2 Report Cards
This past Friday students brought home their report cards for the second term. Time has been spent in advisory with students reflecting upon the work they accomplished, as well as setting healthy goals for the third 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.
Parental Input for 2014-2015
The due date for parental input for the 2014-2015 school year was this last Monday, March 17. This was one of the first steps in the process of placement and scheduling for next year. There is no need to be concerned if you did not put thoughts in writing, as equal consideration is given to the needs of every student, whether or not we have received input from parents. The input is only necessary if you have information to share that you do not believe the school already knows. As stated in the letter sent in early March, parents are asked not to make specific requests for teachers, as they will not be considered part of the placement process. The information that has been gathered will help guide us, and we do not guarantee placement with particular peers or teachers. We are confident our teachers and clusters are well balanced and that they each will provide a productive and positive educational experience for our students. Please trust our professional judgment as we strive to ensure a high quality and positive education for each of our students.
MA Geography Bee Competition
Nathan Parry, a seventh grade student on the Blue Cluster, is a semifinalist for the 2014 Massachusetts State Geographic Bee. Nathan won the school Geography Bee earlier in the year and then passed a geography test given by the National Geography Society. His score was amongst the top 100 students in the state. Nathan will compete against other state winners on April 5th at the Worcester Academy in Worcester. The winner of this competition wins $100, a DVD collection of the "Complete National Geographic on DVD" and a trip to compete in the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C. May 19-21, 2014.
Technology Tutorial Updates
The Community Service Club of Blake would like to thank the parents who participated in the technology survey. The results were very helpful in planning for a future of students, educators, and parents using iPads and Google in the district. Based on the results as well as the comments, we decided to create video tutorials that teach users how to navigate Google Apps for Education as well as using and managing the iPad. Although this endeavor is just in the beginning phases, we hope to have a library of tutorials ready before the end of the school year in preparation for the next school year.
MCAS Information
As we continue with MCAS season, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires that we review our expectations with students prior to testing. I have posted the Student Responsibilities during Testing sheet that will be reviewed with students during the week in their classes. I would like to call your attention to the updated guidelines with regard to electronics (iPods, iPhones, iPads, phones, all types of Kindles, Nooks, and e-readers). The DESE states: "Results will be invalidated for students who use cell phones or other electronic devices at any time during a session, including after a student turns in his or her test materials, during a break, or during the transition to a test completion area." Please review this aspect of digital responsibility with your child.
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 Nights
Thank you to all who came out for parent information nights. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out. For your reference and information, here are the links to the presentations for the other grades...Incoming 6th PIN 2014
Incoming 7th PIN 2014
Incoming 8th PIN 2014
Career Day Planning
Planning for the 8th grade Career Day is underway. Career Day will be held on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, 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 email [ mailto:[email protected] ][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.
Dodgeball Tournament
• Teams are assembled to play Dodgeball in Student Council's "Dodge for Diabetes" - 100% of the proceeds go to The Faustman Lab's search to cure Type I Diabetes!
• $2 for students to watch
• Teachers play winners Friday advisory 3/28
7th Grade Food Drive
The 7th grade will be doing a food drive from March 24 - March 28 to benefit the Medfield Food Cupboard. Seventh grade students should bring non perishable food items to their advisories that week for the collection. The following items are in short supply and in high demand at the Food Cupboard this month:
Juice (both boxes and bottles)
Crackers
Cereal
Pasta sauce
4 packs of toilet paper
Condiments
Baking mixes
Thanks for your help!
÷ and Conquer! - Save the Date
Susan Bycoff, math content specialist, and Nat Vaughn will be continuing the parent workshop series this spring in an effort to share information and specific strategies to help your student succeed in math. The two sessions will be Wednesday, April 23 at 9:30 a.m. and Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. More information and details are still to come.
Incoming 7th Grade - Nature's Classroom
The Nature's Classroom deposit and forms are due on March 28th. All the forms can be found at Nature's Classroom Information. Please have your child give all forms to their advisory teacher.
8th Grade - Medical Forms for D.C.
DC Medical Forms went home for 8th graders and need to be returned by April 1st. Including a doctor's signature for any medications going on the trip.
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. The survey was administered the last two years and we are committed to having parents and students take it annually as part of our continual efforts to examine our programming. 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: 2013-2014 Blake Middle School Survey
Acceptance Month at Blake - Week 4
Students are engaging in their culminating week of Acceptance month. The theme for this week is: "We Are One Human Race." In advisory this week, they will engage in a poetry activity where groups of students create unique poems, using the same sets of words across the school. The meaning inherent in the poem activity is that, although we may be unique in our talents, appearances, and abilities, we all have the common ground that we are all people, we are all human, we are all one! In an expression of all being one, we'll be hanging individually designed bricks from last week's advisory (which expressed what makes us unique/special as individuals) onto a large "We are one" display in the cafeteria as a visual reminder that though different, we are one.
Curriculum Highlights - English and Music
This week's curriculum updates come from the English (Gail Duffy, Content Specialist) and music (Doug Olsen, Content Specialist) departments...
English
Grade 6: All of the sixth grade ELA classes finished up MCAS this week! We started our poetry unit and will finish the year with our favorite mischief-maker, Tom Sawyer. We would like to welcome Jessica Waite to the sixth grade English team. She will end the year with the Otters since Mrs. Pratt is due to become a mom again any day now.
Grade 7: Students have been working hard on five-paragraph essays and open response writing leading up the the MCAS. With testing wrapping up this week, we will be moving into a Coming of Age themed short story unit. Students will be exploring seven different short stories and working in groups to discuss ideas about change and growing up.
Grade 8: Grade 8 students are using their close reading of Fahrenheit 451 to write an analytical essay focusing on one of the important themes showcased in the novel. In addition, Grade 8 students have begun reading a collection of short stories, learning more about the genre before they culminate the unit with students' own theatrical versions before April vacations. In Writing Lab, students have begun the Holocaust unit.
The 19th Annual Student-Faculty Art Exhibit at Zullo
The Medfield Public Schools’ K-12 Visual Arts Faculty is once again pleased to announce The 19th Annual Student-Faculty Art Exhibit, presented at Medfield’s very own Zullo Gallery, 456 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052.
The Student-Faculty Art Exhibit is an exciting opportunity for a selected group of student artists from grades K-12 to display and view their work in a professional gallery setting, alongside the work of our Visual Arts faculty. Each year approximately eighty pieces of exemplary student art work are shown during this exhibit at the Zullo Gallery. This year’s Art Exhibit will be up from April 5th – 27th, and is available for viewing on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon until 5:00 PM. We will be hosting an Artists Reception on Thursday, April 10th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM.
This exhibit is an event designed to give special attention to the artistic accomplishments of our students from all grades, within the context of our K-12 Visual Arts Curriculum. In past years this event has received much positive attention, having been viewed by as many as six hundred (600) visitors and obtaining coverage in the local Medfield press and the Boston Globe. We look forward to another very successful exhibit this year. It should be noted that this exhibit does not take the place of our individual School Art Shows that happen in the spring, in which the work of all our students is displayed in their respective schools.
Spring Track Sign-Up
There is still time to sign up for Middle School Track. If anyone missed the informational meeting that was held, please stop by the library and see Mr. Haycock. He will provide you with the informational sheet which includes the sign up information. The track team will begin its season on Tuesday, April 1. Practices will run from Tuesday through Friday from 2:30-3:30. We will have 7 meets during the season.
CSA News
We have 2 new and exciting fundraisers!
School wide bulb/flower sale has begun . All orders will be done by the purchaser on-line with shipments going straight to the customer making it so easy to reach out to others to support this fundraiser. Very easy, a great way to raise money for our school, and prices that will get your gardens looking beautiful and bountiful.
Please choose the link to shop and purchase: Flower Power
SWOPBOARD is a town-wide CSA fundraising initiative. Please see the Thursday Packet for more information or choose the link: SwopBoard
MCPE News
The Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) has received a Challenge Grant from Needham Bank.
Needham Bank, a long-time supporter and sponsor of the MCPE, will donate $100 for every new checking account opened when the patron mentions MCPE. This is in addition to their initial $2,500 donation to MCPE earlier this year. With the Challenge Grant offer, Needham Bank is engaging the community while also supporting MCPE's efforts to fund academic enrichment in the Medfield public schools. The MCPE is thrilled by this partnership and so grateful to Needham Bank and its commitment to the Medfield public schools and to our community. The funds raised will truly and directly benefit the Medfield students at every level. For more information about participating in the Challenge Grant, please contact Needham Bank’s Medfield Branch Manager, Marjorie Cappucci, at 781-474-5521.
Nominations DUE by April 1st: The Robert C. Maguire Global Perspectives in Education Award
Bob Maguire dedicated 22 years of his educational career to the Medfield public schools. He served as principal of Medfield High School for eight years and then as Superintendent for 14 years. In recognition of Bob's commitment to our students, the MCPE has created this award to honor an educator in the Medfield school community who embodies Bob's legacy of exposing our students to the world beyond Medfield.
This award will be given to a staff member whose effort embodies Bob's vision for further developing students' global understanding and readiness to engage in the expanding global economy. Similar to Bob, the award recipient will be someone who inspires students to look beyond the town of Medfield and learn more about the global community through innovative programs and technologies. Parents, administrators, school staff and community members are encouraged to nominate a recipient for this award.
Award application and criteria information can be found on the MCPE website: http://www.medfieldcoalition.org/news-photos/bob-maguire-award/.
The application is due by April 1st.
Spring Fling Update:
Tickets are SOLD OUT for the Spring Fling, but don't worry! If you didn't get a ticket, you can still help support the Medfield Public Schools!
1) Buy a raffle ticket for the FABULOUS spa package raffle from jaie3 salon•spa•beautique. Enter for a chance to win a day of beauty, including an LED Anti-Aging Facial, a choice of any body therapy or massage, manicure, lavender pedicure, wash, cut and style, make-up application and lunch. The package is valued at over $500! Tickets are 1 for $10 or 3 for $20. You need not be present to win. https://www.formstack.com/forms/?1676642-lbMlVJXct4
2) Ask a Friend to be a Ghost Bidder - Simply check out our catalog of fabulous donations (available online on April 11), give a list of favorites to your "ghost bidder" as well as your maximum bidding level, and settle up with your friend the next day. You won't be disappointed...with more than 169 auction items, there is something for everyone!
3) Fund-a-Grant by donating to the Coalition to support future grants. http://www.medfieldcoalition.org/support-contribute/donate-now/