9/23-9/24 - Canoe/RIM Field Trip (Stars Cluster)
9/25 - Rosh Hashanah (No School)
9/26 - Twitter Workshop for Parents (see details below)
9/29-10/2 - Nature's Classroom for 7th Grade
10/6 - Blake Site Council Mtg (3:15 p.m. in Blake LMC)
10/7 - Canoe/RIM Field Trip (Eagles Cluster)
10/10 - Teacher Professional Day (No School for Students)
10/13 - Columbus Day (No School)
10/24 - Term 1 Interim Reports go home
10/28 - Blake Picture Retake Day
10/30 - 8th grade to Salem
10/31 - Happy Halloween!
11/3 - Navigating Social Media with Your Tweens/Teens (see details below)
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help bring the idea of 'messy learning' into the conversations this week, our Topic/Question(s) for the Dinner Table this week is: It is good to dream about and hope for the straight and clear path to success, as long as we prepare for and look forward to the messy path to success; preferably in a good way.
Twitter??? Tweets are for kids!! (And adults…)
9/26 at 10:00 a.m.
Come explore the Twitterverse with Jason Heim (@jasonj1507) and Nat Vaughn (@nat_vaughn)! This workshop is for all Blake parents (both social media fans and those with 'socialmediaphobia' - learn about tweets, hashtags, following, and being followed. We hope to share lessons about Twitter and highlight how the educators at Blake are building professional learning networks and using the tool to enhance the learning environment at Blake. Feel free to bring your own device, an established Twitter account (we can help with that), and a willingness to learn! Please RSVP via our Google Form: Twitter Workshop for Blake Parents (9/26/14)
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 on October 1 from 9:15am-10:15am (8th grade), October 7 from 9:15am-10:15am (6th grade) and October 16 from 10:15am-11:30am (7th grade). To RSVP, please go to this link - Parent Coffee Signup Form.
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 LMC Update
Any decent middle school social studies teacher (especially at Blake) will tell you that geography affects culture. The “geography” of the Blake Library Media Center is undergoing a big change, which we feel will greatly enhance our school’s culture of learning. The bookshelves have been rearranged, leaving us with a more open and flowing room. The open spaces have been filled with newly purchased chairs, tables and desks that are easily arranged for various educational purposes. Desks on wheels will allow classes to move into small groups for the first part of a period then into an open circle for a full class discussion. Upholstered comfortable chairs, clustered nook-like around small tables, will also encourage creative collaboration. Most of the new furniture also features USB ports for iPad charging as well. Thanks to Nat Vaughn for the project’s vision and follow through on organizing the funding. Thanks also to the MCPE and CSA for their strong support. We’ve had some LMC staffing changes. Medfield residents Katie Adams and Michelle Stephenson, who shared the Assistant Librarian position, have both resigned. Katie is still with us at Blake working as a secretary in the main office and Michelle has started her own organizing company for homes and offices called Pare Down (paredown.net). Thanks to both for their wonderful years of service. Katie and Michelle have been replaced by another Medfield resident, Donna Knott, who’s been the part-time Library Assistant at Memorial for the past 5 ½ years. Welcome aboard Donna.
8th Grade Trip Information
The 8th grade trip (Memorials, Monuments, and Museums) information packets were sent home last Friday, 9/12 and the deposit and permission slip are due by October 10. For your reference and for more information, here is a link to the 8th grade trip presentation...
Memorials, Monuments, and Museums
Parent Information Night (Grade 6)
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 PIN Presentation
Grade 7 Fall PIN Presentation
Grade 8 Fall PIN Presentation
Seventh Grade Trip to Nature's Classroom
The trip to Nature's Classroom is right around the corner. The excitement in the seventh grade is building! The packing list and final details for the trip can be found here: Nature's Classroom Packing List and Final Details. A copy of the Parent PowerPoint shown at PIN can be found here: Nature's Classroom PowerPoint. The PowerPoint shown to the students is on Judy Silva's website. Happy packing!
Professional Development
From time to time throughout the year, staff members will be involved in workshops or conferences to enhance their professional learning and stay current with our practices. We do our best to spread out these workshops/trainings and, as with all of our absences, will work to keep students engaged in productive learning activities. This week Blake teachers are engaged in technology integration workshops with EdTech Teacher and a cohort of teachers are attending a workshop with Rick Wormeli. There are many factors that go into our planning and professional development, and the decisions we make have the ultimate purpose of providing the best education for our students (both for short-term, day-to-day and long-term, vision).
Blake Intramurals
Sign-ups for fall intramurals will run from Monday, 9/15 through Friday, 9/19. Sign-up information will be posted on the Blake Intramural page by Monday, 9/15. Students will be able to register for an intramural from this site, although they still need to bring in a physical copy of the indemnity form and a check covering the fee for the intramural. Please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Gavaghan in you have any questions. If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, please contact Brian Gavaghan ([email protected]).
Blake Cross Country
The Cross Country team did a great job at their first meet of the season. Although we did not win the meet, all runners did a tremendous job of finishing the 2 mile course. Breanna Morgan crossed the finish line first for the girls. Dylan Hogan crossed the finish line second for the boys, with Andrew Barrette finishing fourth and Matt Morgan finishing fifth.
This week we have a home meet on Tuesday at Hospital Hill (originally scheduled for Mon., but rescheduled). Practice will be held Mon., Wed., and Fri. (no practice on Thursday because there is no school).
Blake Field Hockey
The 8th grade field hockey team tied Wellesley 1-1 for our first game. Eileen Morrill scored our first goal assisted by Izzy Melia. The team is playing Ashalnd away today and Hopkinton away this Wednesday. The field Hockey girls will be hosting their first home game this Tuesday against Medway. All are welcome to come to the Dale St. field at 3:30 to support the team.
Blake Football
The Blake football team played Wellesley at Wellesley last Thursday and lost 20 to 14 on a close game. The Offensive Line gave our QB enough protection to throw a deep pass to a wide open TE who ran it for a 30 yards touchdown. For the second touchdown, the Offensive Line and Fullback sprung some great blocks for our Runningback who used his speed to scamper 50 yards for the score. The Defense struggled at times to stop a tremendous running Wellesley team. However, this marks the first game where the Defense put some pressure on Wellesley's QB on passing plays, some resulting in sacks. The entire team played hard all game and will look to get better next week. The team plays this Tuesday at home against Sharon at 5pm. Come support the team at the HS turf.
Blake Volleyball
All four girls volleyball Medfield Blue team squads - Crew, Clues, Bandits and Nike, returned from Ashland as victors! As usual, there were so many outstanding individual and team performances, it is hard to single out one player or squad. However, recognition should go to Blue Bandit Olivia Hagan, for winning 9 serves in a row in the final game of the day, bringing her squad back for a final winning score of 26 to 24. Whoo Hoo!! Next match is tomorrow, Wednesday, here in the Blake gymnasium.
Angel Run
The Angel Run is coming Sunday, December 7, 2014 and registration opens this weekend. Visit the Angel Run table at Medfield Day this Saturday, September 20th from 9am - 3pm to pick up your 5k training plan and a candy cane. Register online at Medfield Foundation and follow us on Twitter @MedfieldFndn and on Facebook for weekly training tips. Register by November 3rd to receive an Angel Run tee shirt.
'Connecting Kids Who Have With Kids Who Need'
My name is Julia Steeger and I am an 11th grader working on my Girl Scout Gold Award Project “Connecting Kids Who Have With Kids Who Need.” For my Gold Award Project, I would like to raise awareness on the issue of how poverty affects kids and to address issues that affect kids who live in poverty. For instance, kids in poverty usually do not have access to enough food to eat; or the clothes they need to go to school like warm jackets or boots during the winter months; or books that would help them be able to read at home; or toys to play with that would be fun and also increase their ability to learn. My idea is to connect kids in Medfield with organizations who are helping kids in poverty so that hopefully, together, we can make a difference. Please see the two links below for more information...
Cradles to Crayons Collection Project
Cradles to Crayons Collection Unit Flyer
CSA News
Blake Middle School has three fantastic business partners!! Go Fresh, Royal Pizza and Subway are hosting monthly nights to support our Blake Students. Please visit the Thursday Packet for dates and details. Let's support Blake and local business!!
Don't forget to send it your box Tops!
BLAKE FALL FUNDRAISER IS UNDERWAY!
September 12 – 30, 2014
We kicked off our 2014 Blake Fall Fundraiser on Friday September 12th – packets were sent home with your child so PLEASE check backpacks!! Remember … proceeds from this fundraiser support Blake, school activities, presentations, speakers, field trips and more for our students. Your support is greatly appreciated!
- 8th Graders – SELL! SELL! SELL! You can receive credit towards your DC trip! The credit is based on total profit. If a child sells a total of $500 and the profit to the school is $250, the child will receive 25% of the $250 [$62.50] towards their DC trip.
- 7th graders – if you are attending Nature’s Classroom, feel free to return your packets AFTER you return from your trip.
Our fundraiser will run from Friday September 12 through Tuesday September 30th. Please note that the date of 9/22/14 listed on the outside of the packet is incorrect.
Volunteer Openings!
The Blake library in the midst of an exciting renovation. Right now, we are taking a lot of books off the shelves and deleting them from the system. And, we have a lot of books to get rid of! We have a great organization, More than Words, who will be taking the leftover books once we are finished. More Than Words is a nonprofit organization that works with at-risk youth -- those in foster care, or who are court involved, homeless or out of school. They use the books to help the kids take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business -- a used bookstore. Long story short, we would love help at the library. Volunteers could basically give whatever time they want to helping us get rid of these books. It could even be as little as half an hour every now and then. The responsibilities involve deleting old books from the circulation system (very simple!), stamping books, organizing book shelves, maybe boxing some books. Please email Joellyn Ripp at [email protected] if you can help in this great endeavor for our school and More Than Words.
MCPE News
E4E - Host a Party! Support our Schools! It’s that simple!
Entertaining for Education (E4E) is MCPE’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Help raise money for academic enrichment programs for our children and have fun at the same time. It’s easy! Pick a date. Have a party – any party! Invite your friends, asking them to make a donation to MCPE as their “ticket” to the event. Plan an E4E party today! All hosts will receive an MCPE “party pack” to help with the party planning. Register your party at www.MedfieldCoalition.org. For questions, contact Megan Infantino (508-359-9928), Kim Price (508-246-8335), or email [email protected].
Trivia Events - Registration is filling up! MCPE is pleased to say that registration for MCPE Community Trivia Night, which set for Friday, November 14, 2014, is OVER 50% filled! For those who cannot attend, you can still purchase raffle tickets for our fabulous Legacy Place gift basket (a $450 value).
Student Trivia Challenge for Blake and MHS students, which will take place the afternoon of Monday, November 10th, is filling up fast too! These events promise to be fast-paced and humor-filled, and test your knowledge in geography, sports, music, science, history and pop culture. For more information, to register for our events and to purchase raffle tickets, please visit our web site: www.MedfieldCoalition.org.
Show the Community That You Support the Medfield Public Schools and MCPE!
Make a tax-deductible donation of $25 or more to MCPE, and you will receive an MCPE Proud Supporter magnet for your car. To make a donation go to the MedfieldCoalition.org and click on "Donate".