February 11 - Royal Pizza Night for Blake
February 12 - 8th Grade Softball Meeting (Room 211 at 2:15 p.m.)
February 14 - Happy Valentine's Day!
School Spirit Day
February 17-21 - Winter Vacation
February 24 - School Resumes
February 25 - Subway Night for Blake
February 26 - Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night (7 p.m.)
March 6 - Incoming 8th Grade Parent Night (7 p.m.)
March 13 - Incoming 7th Grade Parent Night (7 p.m.)
March 17 - 6th Grade ELA MCAS
March 18 - 7th Grade ELA Long Composition MCAS
March 19 - 6th Grade ELA MCAS
Power of Music Event (see details below)
March 21 - 7th Grade ELA MCAS
March 24 - 7th Grade ELA MCAS
March 25 - 8th Grade ELA MCAS
MCPE Spelling Bee (see details below)
March 26 - 8th Grade ELA MCAS
March 27 - 7th Grade ELA Long Composition Make-Up MCAS
Topic/Question(s) for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations about the integration of technology, our Topic/Question for the Dinner Table this week is: Once you get over the initial qualms about trying a new technology, you begin to imagine its potential. How important is it to get past that hesitation, make that technology useful to you, and take on the next challenge?
All outstanding interim report 'sign-off' sheets need to be handed into their advisors asap.
Postural Screening for 7th Grade
Postural screening is scheduled for the week following February vacation for all students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade. BMI screenings (height/weight) will be done simultaneously for 7th graders only. If you would like your child excused from these state mandated screenings, then we must have a written request from you accompanied by a medical note or recent physical from your child's health care provider documenting the date(s) these screenings were done. Please contact our school nurse, Tricia Williams, if you have any questions or concerns ([email protected]).
Lost and Found Items
The number of items in our Lost and Found has increased. Please remind students to come take a look, as there are a number of items that are unlabeled that have been collected. We will be clearing out the Lost and Found during February vacation.
Blake middle school will be holding its annual volleyball tournament for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders on Friday, February 14. Students have been working hard on their volleyball skills over the past few weeks and have been competing against their fellow classmates. On Friday, we will determine a champion for each grade and that team will then take on the teachers. It promises to be an exciting day and a great lead into February vacation.
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 Student Council
1) SIPS is promoting a Box Tops Competition for the month of February - pitting homeroom vs. homeroom in a race to the top!
2) Blake Gear Logo Design Contest - turn in designs by Thursday, February 13th to your homeroom Student Council Rep!
3) Share your Heart - purchase wooden hearts the week of February 10-13 to give to friends or have them delivered! (Proceeds go to Dana Farber Cancer Research)
4) Valentine's Spirit Day - Friday, February 14th - Student Council invites Blake staff & students to wear red, white, and pink!
Blake Ledger Information
Our online newspaper, The Blake Ledger, is back and ready for action! We are looking for members and publicity! The Blake Ledger has had a total transformation. We now have a news show that will be posted every week (hopefully) on our website, all about Blake. We will still have articles, comic strips, and pictures from the students but we are most excited about the news programming.
We meet Thursday after school. If kids are in student council or ski club, they can still join! We still need people interested in taking pictures and videos for school wide events. We also would love to have any artists or writers and they can submit their work ANYTIME to [email protected] If you hear kids are interested please have them check in with Ms. Kirby ([email protected]).
Last week I sent out an e-mail to both incoming 7th and 8th grade families with preliminary information about our mobile learning plans for the 2014-2015 academic year. As shared in the correspondence, the feedback we have gained from our initiatives and pilots has been a critical factor for both the school and district's future implementation and direction we will take with technology. Through classroom observations, professional development, informal and formal feedback from parents and students, and staff input, we have been pleased with the efficacy of the iPad initiative and have determined that it is worth continuing and expanding our collective work with iPads for the 2014-2015 academic year for our incoming 7th and 8th grade students. While our work with the Nexus tablets has been positive, at this point in the educational landscape for schools, it is our belief is that the iPad is the preferred device to maximize the benefits of learning, creativity, and curricular integration for our students and staff.
2/26 - Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night at 7 p.m.
3/6 - Incoming 8th Grade Parent Night at 7 p.m.
7th graders at Blake are immersed in learning the distributive property. A true algebraic “right of passage.” Although used in early mathematics, the formal discussion of this property likely began in the 1800s in Europe. Students have already started asking for a field trip
8th graders are completing a long unit on linear equations. They are soon putting their knowledge to a higher test by examining linear inequalities. Application problems include language such as at least, at most, more than and less than. They will study graphs that overlap and intersect, creating beautiful shadings.
Wellness
Friday, February 14th is not just Valentine's Day, it is also the annual Blake Volleyball Tournament. Students from 6th, 7th and 8th grade will be competing for the right to play the teachers during their related arts period. For the past three weeks, students have been working very hard to perfect their volleyball skills in hopes that they can defeat the teachers this year. When we come back from February vacation, physical education classes will be turning toward the art of dance. 6th graders will be learning the Fox Trot, 7th grades will be learning the Salsa and 8th graders will be Swing dancing. We will wrap up those units with Blake Middle School's own version of Dancing with the Stars.
Consumer science students are learning how to safely operate the oven (6th,7th and 8th) and how to safely chop vegetables using a chef's knife (7th and 8th.) In addition, all 7th and 8th graders are practicing expanding their nutritional potential by preparing pizza loaded with vegetables. "Nutritious and Delicious!"
Seats can now be reserved for the MMA's “Power of Music” event from 7 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, March 19 in the MHS auditorium featuring jazz pianist Matt Savage, who overcame challenges associated with autism and launched a musical career at the age of 8. He will share his story and perform. Savage will be joined by music education/autism expert Rhoda Bernard, Ed.D, from The Boston Conservatory who will talk about the power of music on children and adults with autism and other special needs. The event will also feature performances by musicians from The Conservatory's Program for Students on the Autism Spectrum, and our own Medfield Marimba and MHS Jazz Combo. Superintendent Jeff Marsden will also speak. The event is sponsored by MEMO, and partners are SEPAC, Medfield HS PTO, Medfield CSA, and the Medfield Coalition for Public Education. The event is free, but a suggested $5 donation at the door is welcome to help fund a new MMA music scholarship for children with special needs. Seats for the event should be reserved in advance to ensure adequate space. To reserve seats, go to www.medfieldmusicassociation.com.
Pajama Collection - 7th Grade
While this is the last week of rehearsals before the break, students should practice their lines and songs over the break. We are going to be book-free starting the Monday we return. Our goal is to put the dance routines online so students can practice those as well. There may be some rehearsal or other updates so please keep checking the theater page. This week, rehearsals on Wednesday, 2/12, will end at 3pm. Stage crew will take place Tuesday and Friday of this week. Also, we are looking for empty gallon milk jugs and costume pieces that could work for either show.
Second Annual Boxtops for education drive! Tuesday, January 21- Wednesday, February 26th
Please have your child hand in boxtops to his/her advisor or label with advisor's name and put in the collection box located in the main office. The top advisory will be eligible for a special advisory activity such as open gym or extra outdoor recess!
Sign up on the Boxtops 4 Education Link and you can get printable coupons on certain box top products.
You can earn box tops at over 400 online stores by choosing a store, clicking on its logo and ordering as you usually would but box tops will be credited to the school account with every qualified purchase. Please see Forms and Documents tab for participating providers.
Music at Blake - Guess the Blake Pandora Jockey!
We have a new Blake DJ this week. The direct link to the form is: Blake Pandora Jockey Form Encourage your students to participate!
Basketball Update
This past week our boys went undefeated with 2 wins. On Monday they defeated Ashland 48-39. Andrew Cook lead the way with 18 points, while Jake Dubbs add 9. On Thursday the boys defeated Hopkinton 41-33. John Lowell lead the pack with 10 points. Andrew Cook was the second leading scorer with 9 points. Will Graziano also add 6 points to the total going 2 for 2 from 3 point land. The team is now 4-5 with 3 remaining games. They will play at Melican on Monday, at Bellingham on Tuesday, and wrap up the season at home vs Bellingham.
CSA News
Two delicious fundraising opportunities for you! Dine at Royal Pizza on Tuesday February 11th and at Subway on February 25th to support Blake Middle School. Both of these generous and supportive local restaurants give back 20% of all proceeds on these days during selected hours. Please reference the Thursday Packet flyers for details. Please Note The Date Change for this Months Subway Night. Thank you to Royal Pizza and Subway!!
Clip and send in your box tops. Collection box is in the main office.
MCPE News
MCPE Spelling Bee Registration Opens Soon!
The MCPE Annual Spelling Bee will be held on Tuesday, March 25th at the High School Auditorium. Grades 6-8 will participate from 2:45 - 4:00 PM, and grades 3-5 will participate from 4:00 - 6:00 PM. Form your teams now and register them starting February 27th at www.MedfieldCoalition.org. The cost is $30 per team of three. Check the website or the Thursday packet for more information.
Your Spring Fling Invitation Will Be Coming Soon!
The MCPE Spring Fling fundraising gala will be held on Friday, May 2nd from 7:00 - 11:30 PM at Spring Valley Country Club, Sharon. Event and raffle tickets go on sale February 25th and are limited. Check the website or the Thursday packet for more information. Don't miss out - be sure to buy your tickets early at www.MedfieldCoalition.org.