9/4 - Grade 8 PIN at 7 p.m.
Washington, D.C. Trip Info Mtg at 6:30 p.m.
9/9 - Blake School Picture Day
9/10 - Wizard of Oz Parent Presentation (see details below)
9/11 - Grade 7 PIN at 7 p.m.
Nature's Classroom Info Mtg at 6:30 p.m.
9/12-9/30 - Meadows Farms Fundraiser
9/16-9/17 - Canoe/RIM Field Trip (Eagles Cluster)
9/17 - Grade 6 PIN at 7 p.m.
Grade 6 Band/Chorus/Orchestra Mtgs at 6:30 p.m.
9/18-9/19 - Canoe/RIM Field Trip (Stripes Cluster)
9/23-9/24 - Canoe/RIM Field Trip (Stars Cluster)
9/25 - Rosh Hashanah (No School)
9/29-10/2 - Nature's Classroom for 7th Grade
10/10 - Teacher Professional Day (No School for Students)
10/13 - Columbus Day (No School)
11/3 - Navigating Social Media with Your Tweens/Teens with Dr. Englander (see details below)
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help bring the ideas of 'broad thinking and vision' into the conversations this week, our Topic/Question for the Dinner Table this week is: Labor Day is a good day to thank the routines that lend to our successes during each day. Might it also be a good day to value our broad purposes and plans for learning that carry us into all the days?
Parent Information Nights
Our Parent Information Nights (PINs) will take place on Thursday, September 4 for grade 8, Thursday, September 11 for grade seven, and Wednesday, September 17 for grade six. These nights will provide you with an opportunity to visit your student's classrooms and hear about the curriculum and exciting programs that will take place throughout the year. There will be an optional meeting on Thursday, September 4 at 6:30 p.m. for eighth grade parents interested in learning about the trip to Washington, D.C. There will be an optional meeting on Thursday, September 11 at 6:30 p.m. for seventh grade parents interested in hearing final details about the trip to Nature's Classroom. Sixth grade chorus, band, and orchestra parents are invited to informational meetings at 6:30 p.m. on September 17, prior to PIN.
iPad Initiative Update
In our continued effort to support families with the integration of technology, I am sharing a link to a 'customizable device contract' from Common Sense Media...
Tablet Family Contract
As noted at the top of the front page of this link, it is important to talk with your children about how the device will be used at home. The suggested guidelines will help assure open and consistent communication so that you are 'on the same page'. The form is customizable to allow for variances in approaches from family to family. We are strongly encouraging all Blake families to take the time to fill out this contract, post it in a 'public' location in your house (i.e. refrigerator), and keep a copy in a secure location. Starting off the year with clear guidelines and 'house rules' will be the first step to a productive and successful experience. Should issues arise throughout the year, it will serve as a solid reference point for resolutions.
We will be taking time next this week to formally review the Student User Agreement that must be turned in by all students...
iPad Initiative Student User Agreement 14-15
Eighth Grade
Eighth grade students should be sure to turn in their Swim Test Forms for our Charles River Community Awareness field trip this September. Completed forms should be dropped off at the main office at Blake.
Seventh Grade Trip to Nature's Classroom
The seventh grade will be leaving at 6:30 am on Monday, September 29 for the annual trip to Nature's Classroom on Lake George. Students should arrive between 6:10 and 6:20 am and report directly to their bus.You will be contacted if you have any outstanding paper work or money due. On Thursday, 8/28, we reviewed the roommate process with the students and gave them a sheet outlining final details for the trip. The sheet can be found at this link Nature's Classroom Final Details. If you have any questions, please contact Judy Silva, [email protected]. In addition, please be sure to contact Trisha Williams regarding any medical needs, allergies, or health concerns ([email protected] or 508-242-8554). We are looking forward to the trip!
Wizard of Oz Parent Night
Michael Patrick Hearn, the world's leading Oz scholar, will be appearing at Blake to speak with parents in the auditorium on Wednesday night, September 10 at 7:00 P.M. He’ll be presenting to students the following morning. Michael has spoken to audiences around the world about Frank Baum and The Wizard of Oz and been featured on numerous television documentaries as well. Come on by to find the inside story on the book and movie. Relive those scary nights watching the movie with your families and more importantly, find out once and for all if the songs on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon really do match up with the movie. Come on by for an emerald of an evening!
Twitter Account (@nat_vaughn) and Blake Hashtags (#bmsed and #bmstech)
We have established the hashtag (#bmsed) for education-related tweets of interest and Blake events and (#bmstech) for technology tweets of interest at Blake, so be sure to check them out! My account is @nat_vaughn, and I will continue to tweet up-to-date information, Blake happenings, links to sites, and articles of interest on a daily or more frequent basis.
There are two ways to get my tweets...
1. To get the 'real feel' for Twitter- you should sign up for your own twitter account and follow me (@nat_vaughn). This works well when you use the twitter app to get the live feed.
2. Go to this link: https://twitter.com/nat_vaughn where you will be able to see all my tweets without a twitter account.
From the Math Department
Welcome back, we missed you! The Blake Middle School Math Department is excited to begin the 2014-2015 school year. We spent a good portion of the summer enhancing our curriculum with new materials, strategies and technology, including the iPad. Students will additionally need a calculator as described in the Blake Middle School Supply List. Whether 4-function or scientific, our inexpensive choice is more than sufficient for the job. We encourage students to use the same calculator at home and at school in an effort to maximize success in math-learning. Please reach out to your child's teacher with questions.
This year we are excited to use Twitter to highlight the work of our Blake-Mathematicians. Please follow us: @Medfield_Math for all the goings-on as well as links current events in the field of math education.
Phones
In order to minimize distraction during the school day, all cell phones will need to be off and locked in lockers next year during school hours. Students will not be permitted to carry phones during the day. If a student needs to make a phone call, phones are available in the guidance office and the main office. In addition, if a parent needs to contact a student during the school day, please call the main office and we are happy to get messages to students throughout the day. As always, students are discouraged from bringing valuable and distracting items to school.
General Reminders
In an effort to keep all valuables safe, all Blake students are required to have locks on their lockers and the lockers should remain locked at all times. Combinations will be given to advisory teachers for safekeeping in the event that they are forgotten. In addition, students are not permitted to bring in baked goods (cookies, cakes, etc.) to celebrate birthdays or personal events. There are many students who have food allergies and other dietary needs, and it is important that we continue to provide all of our students with a safe and healthy environment. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Today we took some time with each grade level to impress upon the students the importance of safety at all times. As noted in the opening letter to families, we reminded the students of the Blake Middle School Guidelines for appropriate attire. We are confident that good judgment on the part of students and parents will result in the wearing of clothing that will contribute to a respectful academic environment and educational atmosphere. We emphasized and reminded students that 'summer/beach attire' is not the same as 'school ready attire'. At Blake, we endeavor to remove as many distractions from the day as possible so that students are able to focus on the most important aspect of their day - learning.
Health Information
All emergency medications such as EpiPens for severe allergies and inhalers for asthma must be submitted to our school nurse, Tricia Williams, by Friday, September 12, 2014 along with completed medication orders. Please contact Mrs. Williams at (508) 242-8554 or [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
Online Homework Posting System
This year we will be continuing our system for posting the homework on our website. The setup is still being finalized, but the information will be posted through 'googledocs', and it can be found via the website. Once it is fully functional, directions will be conveyed to all students and families. The primary mode for students' understanding and recording of the homework for the given night is from the teacher and the posted homework in the classroom. The information that will be on the website is intended to serve as a 'back-up' resource. Due to the inherent challenges of technology that arise from time to time (servers, e-mail, etc.), we can not always guarantee that the website will be 100% accurate and reliable. However, we hope that it will help students and parents as an additional source of information.
Guidance Twitter Account
This year, Blake Guidance has joined the Twitterverse. Follow Tracy Allen, Matt Marenghi and Jen Dondero at @BlakeMsGuidance for updates from their office.
Blake Intramurals
Fall intramurals at Blake will begin in early October. Look for signup information on the intramural page of the website the week of September 15. Parents/guardians are welcome to run intramurals as well. If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, please contact Brian Gavaghan ([email protected]).
Blake Theater
It's never too early to be thinking about the Blake theatrical events. This year, once again, we will be doing two shows - a play and a musical. We will not, however, be doing them at the same time. Our play will be performed at the end of January and the musical will be performed before April break. More details about exact dates, commitment requirements, and auditions will be shared in September. Hope your summer is full of more song and dance than drama!
MHS Science Olympiad Message
The MHS Science Olympiad will be hosting bake sales during the three middle school PIN nights (Thursday 9/4,Thursday 9/11, and Wednesday 9/17). The funds raised will go to support activities and meets during the school year. Not only will there be classic baked goods such as brownies and cookies, but international treats from China and India will also be available, along with a gluten-free option and water bottles! We will be located at the main entrance.
Science Olympiad is a student-run organization dedicated to inspire a lifelong passion for the sciences in MHS students. Through challenging, competitive meets against other schools across the state, students will be introduced to geology, astronomy, chemistry, entomology, and dozens more. They'll build levitating vehicles in engineering events, solve health crises in Disease Detectives, and, of course, set things on fire in Forensics. By the end of the year, they'll walk away with a newfound appreciation of the sciences upon which their world is built.
CSA News
The new Baystate Textile Fundraiser for Town Wide CSA is up and running! You'll notice the white bins at each school. There is an article in the patch and a flyer will be posted to theThursday packet this Thursday. The town wide CSA will get $100 for every ton of textiles. Neighboring communities have raised upwards of $4000/year. This is a great way to help our schools.
Don't forget to bring in your box tops!
Please join us for our first Blake CSA meeting September 15 @ 7:00 PM!
MCPE News
The Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) is a non-profit organization funded to provide academic enrichment for all Medfield Public Schools. MCPE awards grants submitted by staff, teachers, administrators and counselors to support the development of innovative programs, curriculum and enrichment. Thank you for supporting MCPE and its initiatives.
Medfield Day Update. Please look for the MCPE booth on Medfield Day, September 20th. Stop by to take a spin on our Wheel of Wow, enter our children's book raffle, and try your luck in our prize raffle to win an amazing Medfield basket.
Trivia Events – Mark Your Calendar! MCPE is pleased to announce not one, but TWO trivia events this fall featuring an all-new trivia company: Putterboy Productions. These events promise to be fast-paced and humor-filled, testing your knowledge in geography, sports, music, science and history. The Community Adult Trivia Night is set for Friday, November 14, 2014, and the Student Trivia Challenge is set for Monday, November 10th. Registration opens September 10th.
E4E (Entertaining for Education) is back! MCPE is bringing E4E back this year as our big fundraiser of the year. The idea is simple: pick a date, have a party (big or small, for adults or kids, with a theme or without), invite your friends, with a donation as their "ticket" to the event, and raise money for the Medfield public schools.
For more information about our events, please visit our web site: www.MedfieldCoalition.org.