April 1-9 - MCPE Online Auction (see details below)
April 9 - Yoko Watkins Visit to 7th Grade
Royal Pizza Night for Blake
April 10 - 1/2 Day for Students (Professional Dev't Afternoon for Staff)
Career Day for 8th Grade
April 11 - Grade 6 Geology Field Trip
April 15-19 - April Vacation
April 22 - School Resumes
CSA Meeting - 7:30 p.m. at Blake LMC
April 23 - Grade 6 Geology Field Trip Rain Date
Subway Night for Blake
April 25 - Energy Conservation Assembly
April 26 - Medfield Jazz Night
May 1 - Superintendent Advisory Council Mtg (8:45 a.m. at MHS)
May 2 - Peabody Essex Museum Field Trip (Otters)
May 3 - Peabody Essex Museum Field Trip (Sea Turtles)
May 6-10 - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 6 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
Blake Site Council Mtg (3:15 p.m. in Blake LMC)
May 7 - 6th Grade Math MCAS
May 8 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
Peabody Essex Museum Field Trip (Koalas)
School Nurse Day
May 9 - 8th Grade Math MCAS
Junior District Jazz Festival
May 10 - 1/2 Day for Students (Professional Afternoon)
May 13 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
May 14 - 7th Grade Math MCAS
May 15 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
May 16 - 8th Grade Sci/Tech MCAS
May 17 - CSA Meeting (9:30 a.m.)
7th/8th Grade Dance (7-9 p.m.)
May 21-24 - 8th Grade Trip to Washington, D.C.
May 21 - SEPAC Mtg
May 23 - Grades 4-6 Orchestra Concert
May 27 - Memorial Day (No School)
May 28 - Blake Art Show and Reception
May 29 - 7th Grade Boston Field Trip
May 31 - Six Flags Music Field Trip
'Topic/Question for the Dinner Table'
To carry forth the spirit of the athlete's oath from the Special Olympics, our Topic/Question for the Dinner Table this week is: During your time on break, know that you are doing a fine job, and know when you return you have many more victories in store. Do you have more chances to win when you are brave enough to fail?
Sixth Grade Community Building Endeavors
On Monday, April 8th, our sixth graders had an opportunity to participate in some gender-specific community building activities at Blake. While the girls will be working on community building with a focus on girls and cyber choices during a town hall-style presentation by Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center, the boys will be participating in active community building activities facilitated by a team of sixth grade teachers. Please see the description of the MARC assembly for girls below and check out their website at http://webhost.bridgew.edu/marc/ for more information and parent resources.
This assembly focuses on the ways that girls use cyberspace to facilitate relational aggression and other cyber-problems. Many conflicts that girls are involved in stem from current or former friendships. The focus of this program is to help girls cope more effectively in future bullying or cyberbullying situations as well as general conflict. A female facilitator leads a girls-only audience in an interactive presentation and discussion about how cyberbehaviors are changing friendships. We discuss and offer healthy ways to handle conflict and disagreements between friends. The female facilitator involves the audience in discussing current issues regarding bullying and cyberbullying. Special attention is given in regards to how to handle friendship fights or friendship breakups, in particular not reacting when you are angry or upset. This program covers current issues that girls are dealing with as well as providing the audience with more effective ways to cope and deal with these types of situations. The assembly draws from the MARC research on girls and cyberbullying.
As always, if any questions or concerns arise, please be sure to contact Tracy Allen, Grade 6 Guidance Counselor, Kelly Campbell, Dean of Students, or one of your child's teachers.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
On April 4th, the sixth grade classes were treated to a live performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". 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.
Spring Greening - Update from Kathleen Lanzilla
Spring Greening - a drive to collect gently used clothes and shoes - ended on April 5th. About 20 bags that were 30 gallons apiece where filled. This is all thanks to the consideration of many people in our community. So many children's lives will be affected for the better, and thank you to everyone who spread the word, donated, or is thinking about volunteering later. The power we hold to help someone is truly great, and I hope this drive just highlighted this fact. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Kathleen Lanzilla.
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/
School Dress Guidelines
Kelly Campbell is meeting with female students by grade level this week to review expectations for appropriate school dress as we transition into Spring. These guidelines have been included below (in italics) and can also be found in the student handbook section of the Blake agenda book. Please consider keeping them handy as you are doing spring clothing shopping. It can be challenging to find the latest fashions in lengths that are school appropriate, but check out Old Navy, Land's End, Delia's, and Aeropostale where we have been told that good options have been spotted recently. Open dialogue and discretion are important when dealing with issues related to dress -- I encourage you to reach out to Kelly Campbell ([email protected]) with any questions or concerns at all. When in doubt, we encourage students to ask for clarification or bring a back up outfit to school just in case.
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 which will contribute to a respectful academic environment and educational atmosphere. At Blake Middle School, we endeavor to remove as many distractions from the day as possible so that students are able to focus on the most important of their day - learning. 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, 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. Some guidelines that have been shared with students follow:
- Clothing needs to cover your body so that you and others can participate in and focus on learning.
- A general guideline for appropriate length of skirts and shorts is for them to be as long as your fingertips when extended at your side, with shoulders relaxed. This applies to the front and back.
- Undergarments should not be showing. Cleavage should be covered.
- Off the shoulder shirts are not appropriate.
If a staff member believes that a student's attire may be inappropriate, the student will be referred to one of the guidance counselors or administration. If the clothing is deemed inappropriate for school, the parents/guardians will be contacted. The school administration reserves the right at all times to determine what is or is not appropriate school attire. We encourage you to consult your parents if you are concerned about an item of clothing that you may be considering wearing to school.
iPad Program Information for Incoming 8th Graders
As you know we are expanding upon the current 8th grade iPad pilot and implementing a 1:1 iPad program for the entire 8th grade for the 2013-2014 academic year, with students purchasing their own iPads or taking part in a 'Lease to Own' program through the school. For your reference, I have posted copies of the documents that have been distributed/posted about our initiative/program (General Information, FAQ's, and 'Lease to Own' Information). The details of the 'Lease to Own' are tentative and still being finalized, as we are looking to find the most cost-effective program for families. As part of our program, we will have a system in place for families with demonstrated financial need. To help us plan our efforts, we are asking all current 7th grade parents/guardians (incoming 8th grade parents/guardians for the 2013-2014 academic year) to let us know your plans for your student ('Providing iPad' or 'Participating in Lease to Own Program') for next year, by completing this brief survey by Friday, April 12: Incoming 8th Grade iPad Inventory Survey.
This decision is not binding and we recognize that your plans may change, but the initial feedback will help us with our planning. We currently anticipate asking for 'final decisions' mid- to late May, 2013. I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to complete this brief survey and am hoping for 100% participation. I have also copied the link to the iPad site (iPad Blog) and I encourage you to visit it to gain a greater understanding of the work that has taken place. We are excited about this initiative and look forward to our work together to enhance our students' education.
Blake Ledger
Our first edition is online www.blakeledger.weebly.com . If anyone wants to join, members are always welcome! We meet at 2:15 every Thursday. It's free to join and all grades are welcome.
18th Annual Student-Faculty Art Exhibit
The Medfield Public School's K-12 Visual Arts Faculty is once again pleased to announce The 18th 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 art work are shown during this exhibit at the Zullo Gallery. This year's Art Exhibit will be up from April 6th - 28th, 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 10th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM.
This exhibit is an event designed to give special attention to the artistic accomplishments of our students from all grades, within the context of our K-12 Visual Arts Curriculum. We look forward to another very successful exhibit this year. It should be noted that this exhibit does not take the place of our individual School Art Shows that happen in the spring, in which the work of all our students is displayed in their respective schools.
Course Selection Forms
Reminder to all 6th and 7th grade parents that course selection forms for the 2013-2014 academic year need to be turned in asap.
Spring Intramurals
Intramural sign-ups take place this week. Students can access sign-up information on the intramural page of the Blake website 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.
Spring Track at Blake
Attention Blake Track: It was a great first week for the Blake track team. We loosened up our legs and began practicing our field events. Athletes, please make sure you have turned in all of your paperwork including a copy of your updated physical and your check.
All medical forms for the Washington, D.C. trip need to be returned asap.
Blake Drama Production
Thank you to the volunteers who came in on Saturday to help work on the costumes and sets - a community effort for sure! We are less than a month away from our big shows. Please make every best effort to get your students to their rehearsals. An email will come this week with more information about the next couple of weeks, including ticket information. This week's rehearsals are extended to 5:15 to make up for missing rehearsal on Wednesday.
Friday - Cat in the Hat (until 3:15)
MCPE News
April 9th is the closing day for the MCPE "Fun and Favorite Things" on line auction. Bidders have until 10pm to secure their items. Make your's the winning bid before the auction closes until next year! Thank you to all who participated.
CSA News
Royal Pizza Fundraiser tonight - April 9th. Please enjoy and support Blake!!
Come join us after break for the April CSA meeting on Monday, April 22 at 7:30 in the Blake library. Hope to see you there!
Cookie Dough distribution day is TODAY. If your seventh grade student sold cookie dough, please come to the cafeteria between 2pm-6pm today to collect the order. The cookie dough is frozen and there is no ability to store the product for pick up another day. Please email Paula Bogar at [email protected] with any questions.