9/22 - Stripes Canoe/Russian Icon Field Trip
9/23 - Yom Kippur (No School)
9/24 - Eagles Canoe/Russian Icon Field Trip
9/24-10/16 - Meadow Farms Fall Fundraiser
9/25 - Eagles Canoe/Russian Icon Field Trip
9/30 - Stars Canoe/Russian Icon Field Trip
10/1 - Stars Canoe/Russian Icon Field Trip
10/5 - Theater Parent Meeting (see details below)
10/5-10/8 - Nature's Classroom for 7th Grade
10/6 - MCPE Subway Night (see details below)
10/9 - Teacher Professional Day (No School for Students)
10/12 - Columbus Day (No School)
10/13 - Blake Site Council Mtg (3:15 p.m.)
10/19 - Magazine Drive Kick-Off
10/21 - Grade 6 Parent Coffee (8:30 a.m.) - see details below
Picture Retake Day
10/28 - Grade 8 Parent Coffee (9:00 a.m.) - see details below
11/4 - Grade 7 Parent Coffee (10 a.m.) - see details below
10/29 - 8th Grade Salem Field Trip
10/31 - Happy Halloween!
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations about feedback and relationships in the context of learning, the topic/question for the dinner table is:
Assuming Teacher to Student feedback is the most valuable, and your next choices may change at any given moment, if you had to choose, which two of these forms of feedback would be second and third in value? (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Parent Coffees
Are you feeling like you had just mastered your child's last grade's norms and now you have a new set of expectations to adjust to? Maybe your student is in a whole new building with even greater expectations. The Blake guidance counselors would like to help put your mind at ease by talking about what each grade level looks like and answering your questions. The coffees will take place October 21 at 8:30 a.m. (Grade 6), October 28 at 9 a.m. (Grade 8), and November 4 at 10 a.m. (Grade 7). To RSVP, please go to this link - Parent Coffee Signup Form.
Parent Information Nights
Thanks to all of the Blake teachers for wonderful parent information nights. For your reference and information, here are links to the respective presentations...
Grade 6 Fall 2015 PIN Presentation
Grade 7 Fall 2015 PIN Presentation
Grade 8 Fall 2015 PIN Presentation
Bus Reminder
Students are not permitted to take bus rides home with friends on other buses without prior approval from Central Offices. If you have any questions, please contact Phyllis Montillo ([email protected] or (508) 359-4798).
Heather Abbott Visit
Summer Reading speaker and Boston Marathon bombing survivor Heather Abbott delivered a powerful presentation to Blake students and teachers Friday morning. She told of us her normal, corporate life before losing her leg, her initial disbelief and anger after the bombing and how she finally accepted her loss and was able to begin her road to recovery. She offered some great connections between her story and our all-school book, The Running Dream. She demonstrated how she changes her high heel prosthetic, her causal prosthetic and even donned her “running blade” prosthetic and took a victory lap around the gym! Dozens of students were so moved by her talk that they’ll be writing her thank you notes. Blakers are now brainstorming ideas on how we can raise money for the Heather Abbott Foundation (http://heatherabbottfoundation.org/), which provides prosthetics for amputees in need. Look for the full story in the next edition of The Blake Ledger.
Summer Reading Recognition
The Blake Summer Reading Recognition program will take place in late October. Students who’ve read 20 books from our summer reading lists will take part in a pizza lunch in the LMC with all of the trimmings. Students who’ve read 20 books will attend the lunch and then walk to Park Street Books, where they will be able to choose a free book! English teachers will compile the lists and permission slips will be sent home for the 20 book readers’ parents/guardians to sign.
Student Council Update
This week students at Blake will vote on Friday in homerooms for this year's Student Council representatives. Any student with interest in developing leadership skills, showing spirit, and being a role model should consider running to represent his.her homeroom! Results of the voting for each homeroom will be posted next Monday 9/28!
8th Grade Trip Information
8th Grade Trip packets went home with Grade 8 students on Friday, Sept. 11. Trip deposit and signed permission slip are due to your child's Advisory teacher by October 2nd. On-line registration with our tour company, Worldstrides, is to be completed by October 30. Please see trip packet for details and instructions. For your reference and for more information, here is a link to the 8th grade trip presentation...
Memorials, Monuments, and Museums Fall 2015 Presentation
Nature's Classroom Information
Get ready for the early morning drop off on October 5th! A packing list and final details can be found here Nature's Classroom Final Details. On Monday, September 28th, students will come home with a form that will have their bus and room number. The sheet will also list the type of beds in the room. If you are sending your child with sheets, please check for the form. Some rooms have full and queen sized beds. Roommates can arrange which beds they will be sleeping in. Each student will have their own bed. Please be sure to drop off any medications with Mrs. Williams by Thursday, September 24th. Contact Judy Silva with any questions.
Book Discussion Group for Parents - Stay Tuned!
As shared at the end of the 14-15 year and in the summer blog update, I am hoping to initiate a book discussion group for parents for this year. The book will be HOW TO RAISE AN ADULT: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims. Reading it has been centering and thought-provoking - as I have said before, I am not sure I agree with everything, but it certainly has sparked reflection and introspection. Stay tuned!
Attention Theater Parents
Blake is so lucky to have parents who like to help out. This year, the theater program will take more advantage of the time and talents of interested helpers. I would love to have a meeting for all parents interested and available to help with theater needs on Monday, October 5th at 4:45pm. I will be sending notes out after the meeting so if you're interested, but know you won't be able to attend, please e-mail me at [email protected].
Recess Donations
This year we are continuing with recess as part of our Advisory structure. A great deal of research evidence shows that students are more productive and intellectually engaged when a physical and or mental 'break' is provided in the middle of the day. We are looking for donations from families to provide options for students during this time: frisbees, wiffle balls/bats, kickballs, tennis balls, single and double jump ropes, volleyballs, foam footballs, soccer balls, and hula hoops. If you have done some 'fall cleaning' and have extra items that could be donated, have students drop them off in the main office. Thank you in advance for your help.
Substitute Nurses
As with our teaching positions, from time to time our nurse, Tricia Williams, will be out of the building and we need a substitute nurse for these days. We are fortunate that we have several substitute nurses in the district who are able to work on those days. If you are a registered nurse and have an interest in potentially serving as a substitute throughout the year, please let us know. You can contact me ([email protected]) or Tricia Williams ([email protected]). By the same token, if you have friends in the area who would have an interest in serving as a substitute, please let them know that they can contact us as well. The safety and well-being of our students is always our top priority, and we would appreciate your interest in one of these roles.
Blake Intramurals
Fall intramurals at Blake will begin in early October. Look for signup information on the intramural page of the website. Parents/guardians are welcome to run intramurals as well. If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, please contact Matt Marenghi ([email protected]).
Blake Poetry Club
Welcome all creative souls. Whether you write in a journal, write an occasional haiku, or are just interested in poetry or creative writing this poetry club could be the place for you. Join Grace Sowyrda, a Medfield Girl Scout and honors student. Learn about different types of poetry, play games and experiment with words in a low stress playful atmosphere. Learn to share work with others or even publish and publicize your own poetry. If you have any questions or are interested, please e-mail Grace - [email protected].
Cross Country
The Cross Country team had it's first meet of the season last Thursday. All student athletes finished the course and did very well with such a challenging course on a very hot day! This week we will practice Tuesday. There is no practice Wed. because there is no school. On Thursday we have a home meet at McCarthy Park/Hospital Hill.
Angel Run
The 2015 MFi Angel Run is open for registration. Sign up for this year’s eventatwww.medfieldfoundation.org. It’s the 10th Anniversary so stay tuned for special surprises. Register by 10/31 for early bird pricing at $25 and the commemorative t-shirt. New this year -- chip timing! Mark your calendars for December 6, 2015, 2:00 pm. The Medfield Foundation, Inc. is Medfield’s community foundation created in 2001 to raise private monies for public purposes in the Town of Medfield.
K-8 PTO News
Grants Funded
- A $900 grant for Journey North Garden Construction which ties into the 6th Grade Science/Math MARS program was approved at the September 16, 2015 Blake PTO meeting.
- An $8,000 grant that will completely cover the cost of the 8th Grade Canoe Trip. This grant was approved in Spring and will be taking place this September.
9/24 – 10/16 Blake Fall Fundraiser
We are excited for our Fall Fundraiser this year with Meadow Farms! Lots of new items have been added to the catalogs. Students will be seeing an introductory video presentation in school and then packets will be handed out. Please be sure to check with your child/ren to make sure they have a packet. Extra packets will be available in the school office. More information to follow. If you have any questions regarding the fundraiser, please contact Kim Lipsy at [email protected] or508.423.9765.
Open Volunteer Position
This Fall we are looking for a Local Business Coordinator. This is the liaison that works with Subway, Go Fresh and La Groceria for Blake dinner nights. Please contact Maura Gerardi at[email protected] if you are interested in this position.
PTO Dues
Thanks to all who have sent in their PTO dues! If you haven’t yet sent in your dues, please do so. You can send them to any school and Blake will get our share through the Townwide PTO.
Bay State Textiles
The Baystate Textile Fundraiser for Town Wide PTO continues to be a great success! Just a reminder as you clean out your closets for fall that the bins accept clothing, shoes, pocketbooks, linens, accessories, and stuffed animals are as long as they are in clean and dry condition. This helps the PTO fundraise, helps the town save on disposal fees and helps the environment! Last year we raised $3,000 for our schools! Please keep those donations coming!
PTO Meeting
The next Blake PTO meeting will be October 22nd at 9:00 AM.
MCPE News
Registration is open and filling for MCPE’s November Community Trivia Night and the Student Trivia Challenge events. 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 13th, and the Student Trivia Challenge is set for Tuesday, November 10th. Don’t delay as Trivia Night sold out the last two years! Click here to register for both: MedfieldCoalition.org.
Subway and MCPE: MCPE has partnered with Subway of Medfield. The first Tuesday of every month will be "MCPE Subway Day" at Subway from 2:00-8 PM.
TWENTY PERCENT of all proceeds will be donated to MCPE, over a 9-month period. Please make a note that the first "MCPE Subway Day" will be, Tuesday, October 6th.