5/13 - School Committee Meeting
5/14 - 1/2 Day for Students
5/18 - SEPAC Meeting
5/19 - Blake PTO Meeting
5/20 - 8th Grade Career Day
5/24, 5/27, 5/28 - Blake Remote MCAS
5/31 - Memorial Day (No School)
6/3 - 8th Grade ELA MCAS
School Committee Meeting
6/4 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
6/5 - Celebration for Class of 2021 (see below)
6/7 - 7th Grade ELA MCAS
6/8 - 6th Grade ELA MCAS
6/9 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
6/10 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
6/11 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
Question of the Week
To help encourage dialogue and reflection about what matters most in our lives, our question of the week is: What matters most to you in your life? Why? What Matters Most (Week of 5/9/21) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Teacher Appreciation Week - Thank you!
Thank you to all Blake students, families, and Blake PTO for the lovely notes and messages of support and care for the Blake staff during Teacher Appreciation Week - thank you!
Student Council is excited to announce our T-shirt & Sweatshirt Sale!
Memory Booklets at Blake
The literary club, Blake is Social, would like to offer you a 2020-2021 Memory Booklet opportunity! This is to make up for the fact that due to Covid we were unable to create a yearbook. This booklet will contain every grade's advisories, and a little something to highlight 8th grade. If you are interested please fill out the attached Google Doc (organized by grade). The cost of this booklet will be $8.00. Just have your child bring in the payment to his/her advisory teacher. Checks can be made out to "Town of Medfield". If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to the head of Blake is Social, Cynthia McClelland at [email protected].
6th Grade End of Year Memory Booklet
7th Grade End of Year Memory Booklet
8th Grade End of Year Memory Booklet
Half-Day on Friday, 5/14
Friday, May 14 will be a half-day for all students in Medfield. The buses will be running on their normal weekday morning schedule, and the hours for students are 7:50a.m.-11:30 a.m. The specific period/bell times during the day will be shared with students once they are finalized. If there are any changes to the Cohort D schedule, we will let students and families know. Reminders will be shared with families and staff as well.
Message from the Blake LMC
We are looking for many overdue books (from over the past year)... if you could return any overdue books to the Blake LMC, that would be great! If a student has a book from another school, we can take those here too! Thank you!!
Student Water Bottles
For health and safety reasons we have our water fountains turned off with the exception of the “auto refill” component. Please be sure with weather getting warmer to have your child bring either a refillable water bottle or a few bottles of water for the school day.
Blake MERJ Update
This month in advisory, students will be reviewing the discussions we've had around social justice, and developing some action steps. These action steps will be visually displayed as "footprints" on a path through the front of the school building.
Project 351 Clothing Drive at Blake
There is going to be a clothing drive at Blake Middle School and Memorial School to support the nonprofit Cradles to Crayons. Cradles to Crayons provides essential items to children in homeless or high risk economic situations. Please donate new, like new or gently used clothing. Any socks or pajamas have to be new. Bins will be taken inside after 2:10, so please donate within the time slot. On the weekend of May 15 and 16 there will be volunteers outside of the schools for a direct drop-off. 5/15 (Saturday) from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM and 1:00-2:00 PM volunteers will be at the front entrance to Blake Middle School to take donations. On 5/16 (Sunday) volunteers will be at the front entrance to Memorial School from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM and 3:00-4:00 PM to take donations. Please consider donating! Thank you so much!!
Blake Battles Bias (BBB) meets every Monday after-school in-person from 2:15-3pm. BBB Peer Leaders are currently working on a "What is BBB?" introductory video and BBB activity to be shared with 6th grade advisories. Have any questions around BBB? Feel free to reach out to [email protected].
Blake GSA Update
Reminder that the GSA will meet in person in room 212 at 2:15 p.m. on Thursdays. If you have any questions about the Blake GSA, please reach out to Matt Marenghi ([email protected]),Cynthia McClelland ([email protected]), or Jen Dondero ([email protected]).
Info for all Medfield Families
Help us keep the decades-long Medfield tradition of safely celebrating MHS Senior’s Achievements!
Line the streets on June 5th 1pm & wave the Seniors on.
If you, with your friends/community groups would like to help decorate part of the route, please sign up to the allocated areas HERE
After the Rally, the Class of 2021 will attend a ‘Party in the Park.’
This will be a fun & safe space for the seniors to Celebrate together.
We really can’t do this without your kind support.
Medfield Outreach
Medfield Outreach is offering WEEKLY MENTAL HEALTH DROP IN HOURS. Are you a Medfield parent or student who is feeling extra stressed, down or anxious? Want to talk to someone but you're not sure who or if what you're going through warrants ongoing therapy? We are availble to listen and help! Medfield Outreach is now offering Weekly Drop-In Mental Health Open Hours for STUDENTS on: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 - 3:30pm and ADULTS on: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-11:30am. Email [email protected] to sign up for a free confidential specific time slot via telehealth.
Webinars of Interest
COVID-19 Challenge: We Must Improve Assessment and Grading Practices
Tuesday, 5/11 at 4:00 p.m.
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged schools to question their assessment practices and grading policies. Are students retaining and applying the concepts and skills of the standards? What can be evidence of their learning? How do we motivate students to invest and monitor their own learning? What grading practices make the learning meaningful? Is what we are doing fair and equitable? This edWebinar examines how schools can answer these questions and more.
Attendees will connect standards-based principles with effective PLC strategies to enhance and improve assessment and grading practices. This work comes from Making Grades Matter: Standards-Based Grading in a Secondary PLC at Work and features authors Matt Townsley, Ed.D. and Nathan Wear. Attendees will have access to resources that support steps for immediate implementation in their classrooms, schools, or districts.
This edWebinar will be of interest to teachers, instructional coaches, curriculum leaders, and school and district leaders of all middle school, high school, and higher education levels. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
About the Presenters
Matt Townsley, Ed.D. is an assistant professor of educational leadership at the University of Northern Iowa. He is a former district administrator and teacher in Solon Community School District where he led curricula, assessment, and school-improvement initiatives, all under the umbrella of a professional learning community philosophy. Solon Community School District was named a district of distinction in 2015 by District Administration magazine, and multiple schools in the district were recognized by Solution Tree as model professional learning communities during his tenure.
In 2017, Dr. Townsley was named Iowa’s Central Office Administrator of the Year, and in 2014, he was recognized as an ASCD Emerging Leader. Dr. Townsley received a bachelor’s degree from Wartburg College, a master’s degree from Iowa State University, an advanced studies certificate in educational leadership from the University of Northern Iowa, and a doctorate in school improvement from the University of West Georgia.
Nathan L. Wear is the associate superintendent and chief academic officer of Linn-Mar Community School District in Marion, Iowa. An educator since 2002, he has also served as an elementary teacher, elementary principal, and high school principal.
As principal of Solon High School in Solon, Iowa, he and his staff championed grading reform efforts and implemented standards-based grading within a professional learning community. During that time, his staff was recognized as a national model professional learning community. In 2014, Newsweek recognized Solon High School on its annual list of America’s Best High Schools. Nathan’s strong belief that leading a positive organizational culture through high accountability has resulted in marked improvement in the schools where he has worked.
Nathan received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Wartburg College and a master’s degree in educational administration from Texas State University. He received his superintendent endorsement from the University of Northern Iowa.
Take CONTROL of Your Life with Mariana Atencio
Hosted by SPARK Kindness
Tuesday, 5/11 at 7:00 p.m.
Award-winning bilingual journalist and author of Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real, Mariana Atencio will tell you how to achieve what you want in your life through inner strength, innovation, self-control, and a proven formula to increase productivity, well-being, and success on your own terms. This program will be presented in Spanish with simultaneous ASL and English translation.
This program will be offered in Spanish with simultaneous ASL and English translation.
Mariana Atencio is an award–winning journalist, author and speaker, as well as the co-founder of “GoLike”, a premium multimedia production company specialized in motivational content.
Mariana’s TEDx Talk on authenticity, “What Makes You Special?”, has been seen over 15M times and translated into 13 languages. Her first book, Perfectly You, was an Amazon Best Seller and selected as an Audible Editor’s Pick and AppleBooks “Must Listen.”
Game Changer Series: A Conversation with Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine, authors of In Search of Deeper Learning and Ted Dintersmith
Part of What School Could Be’s Game Changer Series with Ted DintersmithThursday, 5/13 at 7:00 p.m.
About this Event
Bringing both research and practitioner expertise, Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine will share with us their perspectives on deeper learning, innovation, and the future of American education. During our conversation, we’ll learn about their exploration of 30 innovative high schools that are the focus of their book In Search of Deeper Learning.
Featuring:
Jal Mehta is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research explores the role of different forms of knowledge in tackling major social and political problems, particularly problems of human improvement. Jal is the author of The Allure of Order: High Hopes, Dashed Expectations and the Troubled Quest to Remake American Schooling (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013) and the co-editor of The Futures of School Reform (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2012). He is currently working on two projects: In Search of Deeper Learning, a contemporary study of schools, systems, and nations that are seeking to produce ambitious instruction; and The Chastened Dream, a history of the effort to link social science with social policy to achieve social progress. He is co-editor of the Learning Deeply blog at Education Week, and in 2014 was the top-ranked junior faculty scholar in the Rick Hess Education Week rankings. He is also the winner of the Morningstar Teaching Award at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He was recently awarded a Radcliffe Fellowship and will be on sabbatical for the 2016-17 academic year.
Sarah Fine is an educator and scholar working at the intersection of practice and research. She currently directs the San Diego Teacher Residency, hosted at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, and also teaches courses in educational leadership at the University of California San Diego. Sarah has written for a wide range of publications, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Chalkbeat, Education Week, Edutopia, and Educational Leadership, as well as scholarly journals such as The Journal of Educational Change and The Harvard Educational Review. Her recent book, coauthored with Jal Mehta, is In Search of Deeper learning: The Quest to Transform the American High School. In 2019, the book won the Grawemeyer award in Education. Her recent book, coauthored with Jal Mehta,In Search of Deeper learning: The Quest to transform the American High School, won the Grawemeyer award in Education.
and Ted Dintersmith (author, film producer, innovation expert, 2018 recipient of NEA’s Friend of Education Award)
Game Changer Series: A Conversation with Pasi Salberg, author of Finnish Lessons 3.0, and Ted Dintersmith
Part of What School Could Be’s Game Changer Series with Ted Dintersmith
Wednesday, 5/19 at 7:00 p.m.
About this Event
When looking for inspiring examples of national education transformation, all eyes are on Finland, and who better to give us a phenomenal perspective on the keys to success than Pasi Sahlberg. In this conversation, we’ll learn so much about policy, practice, transformation at scale, and the teaching profession.
Featuring:
Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator and author. He is former Director General at the Finnish Ministry of Education and was a visiting professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education in 2014-2016. Pasi is experienced classroom teacher, trainer of teachers and school leaders and advisor to education policy-makers. He is an international speaker and writer on school improvement and educational change. Pasi's many awards include the 2011 Upton Sinclair Award in the US, the 2012 Education Award in Finland, the 2013 Grawemeyer Award in the US and the Rockefeller Foundation's Resident at the Bellagio Center in 2017. His latest books are FinnishED Leadership (2018), Let the Children Play (2019), Finnish Lessons 3.0 (2021) and In Teachers We Trust (2021). He is professor of education policy at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where he lives with his wife and two sons.
and Ted Dintersmith (author, film producer, innovation expert, 2018 recipient of NEA’s Friend of Education Award)
Navigating a More Equitable and Inclusive Future
Examining our schools through a lens of social justice
Friday, 5/21 10-11:30 a.m.
Last March, school leaders were forced to transform teaching and learning into an online platform in a matter of days. Events since then have made us all look forward to a sense of normalcy in the near future. However, we do not want to return to all the ways schools used to be, particularly when we look through the lens of social justice. Join Kris Taylor, Craig Murphy, and John D’Auria on a webinar on May 21st as they discuss an approach to the deep learning that needs to occur to take on the challenging work of developing more equitable and inclusive schools.
The presenters will combine the insights that authors Craig Murphy and John D’Auria developed in their new book, The Influential School Leader, with the knowledge and skills that Kris Taylor, Senior Program Developer and Manager of DEI Initiatives for Teachers21, has gained in her equity work throughout Massachusetts. Additionally, 20 free copies of the book, The Influential School Leader, will be raffled during the webinar. This book illuminates a pragmatic framework aimed at developing collaborative and creative approaches to the complex issues facing leaders who will shape the future of schooling.
How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed the World
Tuesday, 5/25 at 7:00 p.m.
For elementary and middle school students and their caregivers
Celebrated disability rights activist and author Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins will share her award winning book, “All the Way to the Top,” which addresses the struggle for inclusion and the fight for equality in our country. Ms. Keelan-Chaffins will also encourage young people to use their voices to make a positive difference.
Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins is a passionate advocate and activist for disability rights. She joined the disability rights movement at age six and at age eight she participated in the famous "Capitol Crawl" protest to support the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act. In 1990, she received the Americans With Disabilities Act Award from The Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities. Jennifer received her GED in 2002 and an Associate of Arts Degree in 2008 both from Arapahoe Community College before earning a B.S. in Family and Human Development from Arizona State University in 2017.
Today she’s an educator and a motivational speaker; and together with her new illustrated biography “All the Way to the Top, How one girl’s fight for Americans with disabilities changed everything”, she does educational speaking presentations to teach children the importance of the ADA, the Capitol Crawl, and the disability rights movement in American history with a emphasis on education, advocacy, and empowerment. Jennifer is the subject of an art sculpture commemorating the 30th anniversary of the ADA, “All the Way to Freedom” by local artist Gina Klawitter that is currently on display at the Colorado History Center. Jennifer is the brand ambassador for Mobility of Denver and Vantage Mobility International. She is also owner of Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins LLC.
Game Changer Series: A conversation with Carlos Moreno, Executive Director of Big Picture Learning, and Ted Dintersmith
Part of What School Could Be’s Game Changer Series with Ted Dintersmith
Thursday, 5/27 at 7:00 p.m.
About this Event
Our conversation with the inspiring education leader Carlos Moreno will bring us remarkable insights from a career fighting so effectively for better futures for America’s youth. We’ll learn about the many successful innovations of Big Picture Learning schools, and gain insights from his perspective on education, equity, and opportunity.
Featuring:
Carlos Moreno has been a teacher, a principal, a director, and now a Chief Executive Officer. But through it all he has been and continues to be an observer and a learner. A proud native New Yorker, Carlos is a passionate educational trailblazer committed to supporting school and district leaders to create high-quality, non-traditional schools designed to tackle systemic issues related to equity in education. He currently serves as Executive Director for Big Picture Learning, a nonprofit organization that, since 1995, has developed over 150 such schools in the United States and throughout the world. He also co-founded and leads the Deeper Learning Equity Fellowship in partnership with the Internationals Network for Public Schools. Carlos holds undergraduate degrees in marketing and business from Johnson & Wales University along with a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. Most recently Carlos was named a Pahara-Aspen Institute Fellow – a fellowship designed to sustain diverse, senior leaders who are reimagining public education.
and Ted Dintersmith (author, film producer, innovation expert, 2018 recipient of NEA’s Friend of Education Award)
Game Changer Series: A Conversation between Ted Dintersmith and six dynamic classroom teachers, principals, and superintendents
Part of What School Could Be’s Game Changer Series with Ted Dintersmith
Wednesday, 6/2 at 7:00 p.m.
About this Event
Perspectives on leadership strategies from six dynamic classroom teachers, principals, and superintendents. We’ll gain perspective on how to turn the challenges of the past year into a springboard for effecting confidence-building transformation. And we’ll delve into effective strategies of leaders in different organization roles.
Featuring:
Six Classroom Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents TBA
and Ted Dintersmith (author, film producer, innovation expert, 2018 recipient of NEA’s Friend of Education Award)
Change Maker Series: A conversation with Tony Wagner, author of Learning By Heart (and many other remarkable books!) and Ted Dintersmith
Part of What School Could Be’s Game Changer Series with Ted Dintersmith
Tuesday, 6/8 at 10:00 p.m.
About this Event
While our conversation will touch on the vast body of work of Tony Wagner, one of our nation’s most important and influential thought leaders, we’ll spend most of our time exploring his stunning memoir Learning By Heart. He has so much to say about the role of passion and purpose in education -- including how we lost it, and what we can do to restore it.
Featuring:
Tony Wagner is a globally recognized expert in education and serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute, founded by Linda Darling-Hammond in 2015. Tony is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and a widely published author. His work includes numerous articles and seven books, including three best-sellers: Most Likely To Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for The Innovation Era, co-authored by Ted Dintersmith, was published by Scribner in 2015. Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change The World, was published in 2012 to rave reviews and has been translated into 17 languages. His 2008 book, The Global Achievement Gap continues to be an international best seller, with more than 140,000 copies in print. Tony's memoir, Learning By Heart: An Unconventional Education, was published by Penguin/Random House in 2020. Tony served as the Strategic Education Advisor for a major new education documentary, "Most Likely to Succeed," which had its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and has since been shown in more than 8000 communities. He also collaborated with noted filmmaker Robert Compton to create a 60 minute documentary, "The Finland Phenomenon: Inside The World's Most Surprising School System.
and Ted Dintersmith (author, film producer, innovation expert, 2018 recipient of NEA’s Friend of Education Award)
How to "Ungrade" Imagining Assessments That Encourage Discovery - with Jesse Stommel
Thursday, 6/11 at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Why Do We Grade? It seems like such a basic question, but in reality, it's profoundly complex. Without much critical examination, teachers accept they have to grade, students accept they have to be graded, students are made to feel like they should care a great deal about grades, and teachers are told they shouldn't spend much time thinking about the why, when, and whether of grades.
Especially now, when the well-being of every student is paramount, asking hard questions about the whys and hows of grading are crucial.Much of our work in education resists being formulated as neat and tidy outcomes, and yet most assessment takes the complexity of human interaction within a learning environment and makes it “machine readable.” When learning is the goal, space should be left for wonder and experimentation.
We're wondering, why do we grade? Who are grades for? How does it feel to be graded? What do we want grading to do (or not do) in our classes (whether as students or teachers)? What do letter grades mean? Do they have any intrinsic meaning, or is the value purely extrinsic? Does assessment mean differently when it is formative rather than summative?
"If you're a teacher and you hate grading, stop doing it."
Join internationally recognized author and educator Jesse Stommel for this free 45-minute webinar that will unpack some of the bigger questions around grading and offer some provocative ideas for doing without. You'll leave inspired to look closely at your own practice around grading, and you'll have a sense of how to change that practice to more effectively serve your students.
Game Changer Series: A Conversation with Dr. Darryl Adams, Education Leader & Social Justice and Equity Advocate and Ted Dintersmith
Part of What School Could Be’s Game Changer Series with Ted Dintersmith
Wednesday, 6/16 at 7:00 p.m.
About this Event
Darryl Adams has been a transformational education leader throughout his career, recognized by the Obama White House for his outstanding contributions. During this conversation, we’ll explore issues of equity, social justice, the appropriate role of technology, and how to energize and mobilize your community and your school board to support bold innovations. Fasten your seatbelt for this fascinating discussion.
Featuring:
Darryl Adams is a sought after keynoter speaker and thought leader and is widely known as the Rock & Roll Superintendent advocating that "Every Child Be Connected" and provided with a 21st Century College, Career and Citizenship education. Dr. Adams, known as an innovator, provides motivational "keynote concerts", a new concept in educating and "edutaining!" Dr. Adams also provides consulting, business and educational leadership training services to corporate firms, government entities and school districts. Dr. Adams has been recognized by the Obama Administration as one of the Top 100 Innovative Superintendents in the nation.
and Ted Dintersmith (author, film producer, innovation expert, 2018 recipient of NEA’s Friend of Education Award)
Game Changer Series: A Conversation with Ken Kay & Suzie Boss and Ted Dintersmith
Part of What School Could Be’s Game Changer Series with Ted Dintersmith
Wednesday, 8/4 at 10:00 p.m.
About this Event
Experts in the power of community’s embracing a Portrait of a Graduate as their education North Star, Ken and Suzie will share with us the many lessons they’ve learned over through their distinguished careers, and highlight what we will find in their eagerly-anticipated new book Redefining Student Success: Building a New Vision to Transform Leading, Teaching and Learning
Featuring:
Ken Kay is the Chief Executive Officer of EdLeader21, a professional learning community for education leaders committed to 21st century education. Ken co-founded the Partnership for 21st Century Skills in 2002 and served as its President for eight years. Prior to his work on 21st century education, Ken served as executive director of the CEO Forum on Education and Technology. Ken spent 28 years in Washington, DC, where he gained a national reputation as a coalition builder on competitiveness. He founded a landmark coalition of US universities and high-tech companies focused on research and development issues, and was the founding Executive Director of the premier CEO advocacy group in the US computer industry.
Suzie Boss is a journalist who writes about the power of teaching and learning to improve lives and transform communities. Author of Bringing Innovation to School: Empowering Students to Thrive in a Changing World and co-author of Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age, She's inspired by educators who push the boundaries of the traditional classroom. Suzie is on the National Faculty of the Buck Institute for Education, and has also helped nonprofit organizations design programs that teach both youth and adults how to improve their communities with innovative, sustainable solutions.
and Ted Dintersmith (author, film producer, innovation expert, 2018 recipient of NEA’s Friend of Education Award)
Medfield Together
To participate, find portal locations, enter for a chance to win a gift card to Park Street Books, and get additional information, please visit www.medfieldtogether.com.
We hope you have fun celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with us!
Blake PTO Update
Want to get involved? We're looking for a Treasurer,Secretary, Co-President and VP for our Board next year! Contact Mary Kelly ([email protected] for more information!
Our Annual Appeal is here! We are again requesting a contribution of $50/child this year; an amount that has remained the same over the past 5 years. This is a suggested amount, but we will gratefully accept any amount you can contribute. Please make checks out to Blake Middle School PTO and send it in with your child. We are hoping for 100% participation of Blake families by April 30th, 2021. This will allow our students and teachers to benefit over the next year, as the students and teachers did before them. We thank you in advance for your financial support of the Blake PTO.
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 - Blue Ribbon Day 2021
Celebrate Blue Ribbon Day 2021 and recognize a special teacher or staff member for making a difference in a student's life! This year, each student participating in our Blue Ribbon Recognition Program will receive a limited edition 2020/2021 “I did it with the help of my Blue Ribbon Teacher” t-shirt along with two blue ribbon note cards for students to write a note of thanks to teachers, bus drivers, specialists, or other staff members who have made a difference in their year. On May 28, students are encouraged to wear their shirts to school to celebrate Blue Ribbon Day and deliver their handwritten notes. Price for participation is $10 per student. This event is sponsored by Warren & Fontana Attorneys at Law.
Medfield Youth Lacrosse Clinic - 5/22/21
Please click on the link below for the flyer about the Medfield Youth Lacrosse Clinic…
Medfield Boys Youth Lacrosse Clinic Flyer