4/14 - Royal Pizza Night for Blake
4/15 - Project Voice at Blake
Girl Talk Meeting (see details below)
Student-Faculty Artists' Reception at Zullo Gallery (see details below)
Townwide CSA Meeting (7 p.m. at Blake)
4/17 - Day of Silence (see details below)
Blake CSA Mtg
ADL Youth Congress Field Trip
4/21 - Subway Night for Blake
4/20-4/24 - April Vacation
5/1 - CSA Meeting (9 a.m.)
5/4 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
5/5 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
5/6 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
Grade 6 Geology Field Trip
5/7 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
MEFA Early College Planning Seminar (6:30 p.m.) - see details below
Go Fresh Night for Blake
5/8 - 1/2 Day for Students
Term 3 Interim Reports go home
5/11 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
5/12 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
Royal Pizza Night for Blake
5/13 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
5/14 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
5/15 - 7th/8th Grade Dance (7-9 p.m.)
5/19-5/22 - 8th Grade Memorials, Monuments, and Museums Trip
5/19 - Royal Pizza Night for Blake
Topic/Question(s) for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations about positive, nurturing, and growth-oriented elements for a classroom, our topic/question of the week is: (1) An environment of camaraderie, (2) frequented by focused, self-motivated people, (3) working with and for one another, (4) learning how to recognize and ask the right questions, (5) plus how to find and recognize the best answers. If you had to decide what 3 components top the list from this description of "an ideal classroom", could you?
ADL Update
This week, 26 ADL peer leaders facilitated activities in the sixth grade advisories in hopes of strengthening our community. The teams of seventh and eighth graders led discussions about the diversity iceberg; only five percent of who we really are is visible on the surface, so we should not be quick to jump to assumptions about others based on only what we can see. They led pair conversations for better understanding among the participants, and a paper folding activity to illustrate how all of us interpret the world differently.
The peer leaders have worked all year in preparation for these sessions, and their excitement and passion was contagious! In May, we will be opening up the application process for next year's peer leaders.
20th Annual Student-Faculty Art Exhibit at The Zullo Gallery
The Medfield Public Schools’ K-12 Visual Arts Faculty is once again pleased to announce this year’s 20th Annual Student-Faculty Art Exhibit, presented at Medfield’s very own Zullo Gallery, 456 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052. The Student-Faculty Art Exhibit is an exciting opportunity for a selected group of student artists from grades K-12 to display and view their work in a professional gallery setting, alongside the work of our Visual Arts faculty. Each year approximately eighty pieces of exemplary student artwork are shown during this exhibit. This year’s exhibit will be up from April 11th – May 3rd, and is available for viewing on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon until 5:00 PM. We will be hosting an Artists Reception on Wednesday, April 15th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM.
Girl Talk
Middle School Girls: Join MHS junior Paiton Marshall on April 15th at 2:15 in room 206 to learn more about Blake Middle School’s new Girl Talk chapter. Girl Talk is a national mentor organization for middle school girls to receive advice from and bond with high school girls. We will be meeting every other Wednesday to discuss a variety of topics relevant to teen life such as friendships, self esteem, health, community service and much more! Email [email protected] with any questions.
Day of Silence
Friday, April 17 is the Day of Silence, ( www.dayofsilence.org), a national day of protest regarding anti-gay language and bullying. Students take a vow of silence for the duration of the school day to raise awareness of the voices we do not hear during the day: those students who "remain silent" about their identity for fear of bullying or harassment. Some students and staff at Medfield High School will be participating, and we may have students and staff here at Blake who are participating as well. Students and staff may also be wearing Supporter badges and signing a pledge...
By signing this pledge you are committing to doing your part to stop anti-LGBT language and teasing in our school. When it is safe to do so, you will intervene by saying to the offender that you do not accept that kind of language or humor, and politely request that it not be used around you. If you are unsure of what to say/do, or feel it would be unsafe for you to intervene, please inform a teacher.
Helpful and Useful Resources...
'What Do You Say to 'That's So Gay'?
GLSEN's website: www.glsen.org.
Greek Week
The fun an festivities of Greek Week have kept the 7th graders busy since last Wednesday. They have been competing together in groups by city state both inside the classroom and during after school activities. The competition has been fierce as we focus on different themes each day in the classroom. Themes vary from Religion & Mythology, Government, and Arts & Literature. There has been a great deal of city state pride shown as students build shrines and temples to honor their City. They have written songs to be sung whenever they win a completion, they dress in their cities colors, and they pass a totem from class to class that connects to their city state in some way. The final after school activities are a 5 way dodgeball game in the gym on Tuesday afternoon and a Relay Marathon run on Wednesday afternoon. We will crown our victors on Thursday!
Baseball Spirit Day
This past Monday, student council invited Blake staff and students to join in a baseball spirit day for the Red Sox opening day!!
School Attire Guidelines
As we transition into spring at last, it is a good time to review guidelines for school dress. These guidelines can be found in the Blake student handbook. Students have an electronic copy and one is available on the Blake website for your reference. Open dialogue, balance, and discretion are important when dealing with issues related to dress. The responsibility for student dress and attire rests with both the student and the parent/guardian. We are confident that good judgment on the part of students and parents will result in the wearing of clothing that creates an environment that is conducive to learning for all. Each student will abide by the guidelines of decency, cleanliness and safety at all times. In accordance with our expectations for school dress, students are required to wear clothing that does not show the 4 B's: boxers, breasts, buttocks, and belly buttons. We do ask students not to wear hats, short shorts, midriff shirts, off the shoulder shirts, or clothing that displays obscene language, violence, lewd or vulgar pictures, alcohol or drug references, sexual innuendoes, racial/ethnic/religiously offensive materials, or any graphic that may interfere with the educational process. If clothing is deemed inappropriate for school, the parents/guardians will be contacted. We encourage students to consult their parents if they are concerned about an item of clothing that they may be considering wearing to school.
Quote a Peep Results
The results of Blake LMC's "Quote-a-Peep, Win-A-Poster" contest are in! For the past couple of weeks, students have been submitting quotes featuring Peeps, those fluffy Easter marshmallow treats. Students had to substitute the word "peep" for a key word in a famous quote. The winners' cute and clever quotes won them a chance to pick the poster of their choice from the Library's Scholastic Book poster collection, as well as a box of Peeps. The competition was stiff! So tough in fact, that we had a tie among our 7th and 8th grade contestants.
Hats off to our winners:
- 6th grade, Meghan Bannister: "If you can peep it, you can do it."
- 7th grade, Colby Powers: "Give me liberty, or give me peep."
- 7th grade, Nicolina Farmer: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single peep."
- 8th grade, Kayla Victor: "I love mankind, it's the peeps I can't stand."
- 8th grade, Molly Saris: "Don't worry, peep happy."
April is Autism Awareness Month
In order to highlight the growing need for concern and awareness about autism, the Autism Society has been celebrating National Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s. The United States recognizes April as a special opportunity for everyone to educate the public about autism and issues within the autism community. For more information from the 'Autism Society', please click on the following link: http://www.autism-society.org/about-us/national-autism-awareness-month/
Spring Intramurals
Intramural sign-ups take place this week. Students can access sign-up information on the intramural page of the Blake website ( Blake Intramurals) or pick up an application in the main office. All programs will start the week after the April vacation. Please contact Brian Gavaghan ([email protected]) with any questions.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
On April 9, the sixth grade classes were treated to a live performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" followed by a question and answer session with the actors. The performance wrapped up our MARS reading unit on Shakespeare, which consisted of comparing the written play and the stage performance. It was a joy to see the students engage with and respond to the actors on stage. Thank you to CSA for fully funding the "Shakespeare Now Company's" field trip to Blake.
Course Selection Forms
Reminder to all 6th and 7th grade parents that course selection forms for the 2015-2016 academic year need to be turned in asap.
Saying Goodbye to the Trout!
Meet Mr. Bowles, Mrs. Musto and Mrs. Silva at the river 3:00 pm on Thursday, April 16th to let our babies go and celebrate the survivors. Adults are welcome to transport students to the river and stay with us as we release the trout. It will be quick, 15 min at the most. Students should wear boots or old shoes and pants they can roll up to keep them dry. To get to the release location, take a left out of the high school parking lot onto South Street. Then take a left down Philip Street and continue for a little less than a mile. Continue down Philip Street as it branches off to the right. (If you’ve gone down Foundry Street, you’ve gone too far) We will meet at 86 Philip Street on the left. Please pull your car into the driveway by the barn.
Seventh Grade Food Drive
The seventh grade is collecting food for the Medfield Food Cupboard from April 6 - 17. The most needed items are: juice, juice boxes, peanut butter, jelly, canned tuna, canned chicken, kid friendly cereal, cookies, crackers and canned fruit. Send items in with your child! Thank you!
Blake Site Council 14-15 Survey
The Blake Site Council has been working on the development of our annual survey to students and parents. A similar survey has been administered the last three years and we are committed to having parents and students take it each year as part of our continual efforts to examine our programming. Focus areas include the topics of school culture, academic workloads, stress, and habits. The results will help us to gather information and examine our current practices to better meet the needs of our students and assess progress towards our mission. Please complete the survey for each child you have at Blake, and base your responses on your student's experiences this year. The questionnaire is anonymous, and your identity can not and will not be discovered through the completion of this survey. We sincerely appreciate your honest responses and are hoping for 100% participation from the Blake community. If you have any questions or have difficulty accessing the survey, please do not hesitate to contact me directly ([email protected]). Link to the survey: 2014-2015 Blake Middle School Parent Survey
Parent Information Nights for 2015-2016
For your reference and information, here are links to the presentations and handouts from the parent information nights...
Blake Incoming 6th PIN 2015 Presentation
Blake Incoming 7th PIN 2015 Presentation
Nature's Classroom Trip Slideshow
Nature's Classroom Trip Documents and Forms
Blake Incoming 8th PIN 2015 Presentation
Blake Parent Resources Handout 2015
Blake Program of Studies 2015-2016
iPad Program Update and Planning for 2015-2016
The Blake iPad Program Update for 15-16 was sent to all current 5th-7th grade families on February 5, 2015. This link outlines information for all Blake families outlining information about the iPad program for all Blake students for 2015-2016. To help us effectively prepare and plan our efforts, we are asking all current 5th-7th grade parents/guardians (incoming 6th-8th grade parents/guardians for the 2015-2016 academic year) to answer the questions on this Google Form survey: Incoming 15-16 iPad Program Planning Survey. Please fill out the survey for each child that will be attending Blake next year. Your responses are not binding and we recognize that your plans may change, but the initial feedback will assist us with our planning. I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to complete this brief survey and am hoping for 100% participation. For your reference I have posted links below to documents about our initiative/program…
Mobile Learning in Medfield (our blog, highlights, etc.)
Blake Mobile Learning General Information (has articles, background information, and philosophy)
Blake Mobile Learning Participation Options 15-16
Blake Mobile Learning FAQs 15-16As always, please do not hesitate to contact me directly ([email protected]) with any questions, concerns, or thoughts that you may have.
Ted Talk Club
The remaining dates for Blake's Ted Talk Club are below. We may try to squeeze a make up date in there too but we will let you know if advance.
Meeting 13 - April 27
Meeting 14 - June 5
Please let Mr. Hellerstein or Ms. Allen know if you have any questions.
Third Annual Boxtops for education drive! Tuesday, March 24th until Friday April 17th
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.
Blake Track Update
The Blake track season is underway and the official schedule has been released. Please make sure your son's/daughter's current physical (within last 13 months) and payment (aid is available) have been turned into the coaches. Contact Jon Haycock ([email protected]) or Patty Graham ([email protected]) with questions.
2015 Schedule:
Thursday, April 30: Blake @ Holliston (Holliston High School Track)
Monday, May 4: Blake @ Medway (Medway Middle School Track)
Thursday, May 7: Blake @ Westwood (Westwood High School Track)
Monday, May 11: Home vs. Ashland (Medfield High School Track)
Thursday, May 14: Home vs. Hopkinton and King Philip (Medfield High School Track)
Tuesday, June 2: Blake @ North Attleboro (North Attleboro High School Track)
Early College Planning Information Night
Mark your calendars! Blake Middle School will be hosting MEFA's Early College Planning Seminar for Parents on Thursday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Seminar topics include:
- How can I best support my student to make good choices in middle school
and high school.
- What is important to understand about admissions and financial aid now?
- How much should we save for college and when is a good time to start
saving?
- Will savings affect financial aid?
- If we can't save enough, should we bother saving at all?
Please feel free to contact Matt Marenghi ([email protected]) with any questions.
CSA News
1. Check out our new Spiritwear vendor - www.mylocker.net. They have a huge range of customizable products that ship right to your door! Input Medfield K-8 store to benefit our CSA.
2. SCRIP - easier than ever through the shopwithscrip.com website. Or, stop by Park Street Books to purchase gift cards directly from their supply box.
3. Don't forget the textile recycling - not limited to wearable clothes. They will accept any fabrics in any conditions, shoes, bags, belts etc. Collection bins are at all schools.
4. BoxTops - one of the easiest way to support the CSA. Contact Laura Zaher [email protected] if you have any questions.
5. Have you tried Swopboard -an online community marketplace that lets you buy and sell with the people you trust, and a minimum of 10% of each sale will go directly back to our school! Get started today atwww.swopboard.com.
Next Blake CSA meeting April 17 @ 9:00AM
MCPE News
Nominations Wanted: The Robert C. Maguire Global Perspectives in Education Award
Bob Maguire dedicated 22 years of his educational career to the Medfield Public Schools. He served as principal of Medfield High School for eight years and then as Superintendent for fourteen years. In recognition of Bob's commitment to our students, MCPE has created this award to honor an educator in the Medfield school community who embodies Bob's legacy of exposing our students to the world beyond Medfield. Award application, award criteria and deadline information can be found at www.medfieldcoalition.org/grants/bob-maguire-award. The application deadline is: April 30, 2015.
Entertaining for Education (E4E) is a Terrific Way to Support the Medfield Public Schools
The snow is melting, and we're finally coming out of hibernation! Are you thinking about celebrating with a party? Please make your party an E4E party! For more information, visit the MCPE website: www.medfieldcoalition.org. For questions, contact Megan Infantino (508)359-9928, Kim Price (508)246-8335, or email [email protected].
MCPE Annual Meeting Scheduled
The MCPE Annual Meeting is scheduled for May 27th at 7:00 PM at the Zullo Gallery. The public is welcome to attend. At this meeting the annual report will be shared, the new MCPE Board Members and Officers will be announced, the recipients of the Robert C. Maguire Global Perspectives in Education Award, the Elizabeth G. Busconi Memorial Education Fund Grant and the Thomas A. Reis Award will also be recognized.