The December break has come upon us quickly—especially with Thanksgiving occurring later this year. Whatever holiday you celebrate, I wish you a happy holiday season, and a Happy New Year.
“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias presented Belmont 2015 PARCC results comparison to state results by grade and subject and Belmont PARCC results compared to 2014 MCAS results, as well as the next steps and decisions for 2016 at the December 1 SC meeting. See the presentation here with the results from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. At the December 15 SC meeting the State Accountability Status of Belmont Public Schools was provided. The presentation will be available in the BPS website.
Director of ELA-ELL Lindsay Rinder presented an update on state and federal requirements as well as a general overview of how Belmont is educating the growing ELL student population at the December 1 SC meeting.
Also presented at that meeting are the growing numbers of families who seek the excellent education Belmont Public Schools is known to provide. Our total enrollment in the BPS buildings as of December 1, 2015 is 4,442. This is an increase from last year at this time of 71 students. We are always growing, and we are mindful of the strain on our buildings and resources in continuing to bring a high quality education to Belmont students.
GOOD NEWS
- The Foundation for Belmont Education (FBE) has given 12 Learning Excellence grants in Cycle 1 totaling $57,134. There are two grant cycles, one in the fall and one in the spring. We thank the FBE for this funding. In addition to this cycle of grants, the FBE since 1993 has awarded 650 grants totaling more than $3 million.
- Grade 8 students are having a special speaker - Holocaust survivor Dr. Anna Ornstein. This connects to their current unit in English. Dr. Ornstein is well-renowned in the field of psychiatry, psychoanalysis and child psychiatry. She wrote a book about her experience at age 17 being deported to Auschwitz from Hungary with her mother entitled, My Mother's Eyes. The eighth grade students have been reading the Holocaust memoir Night and learning historical background relating to this time period. We are fortunate to have Dr. Ornstein speak to our students.
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The Chenery School Community Service Club donated thousands of canned food items and toiletries to the Belmont Food Pantry on December 15. This food drive, with help from grades 5-8 at the Chenery, has been going on for more than 20 years, and has been run for the third year by CMS History Teacher Adam Weldai. It’s a great cause with great volunteerism and community spirit. Congratulations to all the students and staff, town and family volunteers who make this happen.
- Butler School has a group of students from Belmont Hill School visit them every Thursday to assist in their Grade 1-4 classrooms. They help with recess and work with students in small groups with reading or math, assisted by their adviser from Belmont Hill. One of the Belmont Hill students suggested a pilot curriculum program with a small group of Butler students involving building robots, programming robots and test-driving robots aimed at helping students better understand programming, robotics, and computers. A great partnership for all students, and a great idea suggested by Belmont Hill student, Brian Tanabe.
- Burbank reports a very successful Book Fair on December 4, which added more than 400 new books to the school and raised funds for the school library. Burbank classroom and specialist teachers gained a total of 324 new books, and the school library received 94 more books and all the PTA proceeds from the Book Fair. Burbank thanks the families for their generous response.
- BHS student Noah Riley, Co-Captain of the BHS Model UN Club, joined the All American Model UN Team in Budapest, Hungary. He represented Poland in the council of Labor and Social Affairs at Yale Model Government Europe 2015 and was awarded Honorable Mention and his American Model UN Delegation won Best Delegation YMGE 2015. Congratulations to Noah and his adviser, BHS Teacher Joshua Streit.
- Eighty Belmont High school students were inducted into the National Honors Society at a ceremony held at BHS on December 2. Please see the BPS website for more information and the students inducted. Congratulations to all.
- Three athletes were named to the Boston Herald All Scholastic Teams. They are Ann Marie Habelow, Field Hockey; Jessie Black-West, Girls Swim-50 yard free style; and Nicoletta Kalvanatis, Girlst Swim-200 yard free style. Congratulations to all.
- A new season of WGBH High School Quiz show has Belmont students Rahul Ramakrishnan, Sam Sorensen, Kevin Zhang, Lynnea Young along with alternates Anna Makar-Limarnov and Eva Hill. Come to the first taping on Sunday, January 24 at 3:00 p.m. to cheer for the team. You will see a link in the BPS website to reserve a spot in the audience once closer to the date.
- Belmont High School honored the first group who received the Model Marauder Awards for Excellence and Creativity. The students and staff are nominated on a quarterly basis. BHS students are eligible to be nominated for the Award in the areas of scholarship, art and citizenship (three finalists for each category). Staff is eligible to be nominated in the areas of teaching, learning and meeting the needs of students and their families (three finalists). Student and Staff nominations are reviewed by a committee of staff members who forward finalists to the school administration for evaluation. Here is the first group:
Art - Adam Alper (Senior): Adam is being recognized for his commitment to excellence and creativity in the area of Art. He has displayed his creativity and artistic skills through his participation in the Marching Band, AP Art Class and as the Student Head of the Theatre Set Crew. He does more than excel in his different roles; He also teaches other students skills both basic and advanced, as he goes. He is currently working as the professional designer in creating the set design for the spring musical - this is the first time a student has led the design process.
Scholarship - Sophia Guzikowski (Senior)Sophia is being recognized for her commitment to excellence and creativity in the area of mathematics. In addition to extremely high levels of performance in her math classes, Sophia also makes considerable effort to help other students with math, both inside and outside of class. She brings a stellar attitude to class every day and always participates in a constructive manner.
Citizenship - Lucia Guzman (Junior): Lucy is being recognized for her commitment to excellence and creativity in the area of student citizenship. Specifically Lucy stands out as a leader in the areas of LGBTQ issues on campus and as a champion of equality and equity. She has invested considerable time in promoting awareness of these issues with staff and students alike. She is a persuasive and vocal advocate in the discussion of these and other issues that are important to the BHS community.
Staff - Vanessa French (Registrar): Mrs. French has quickly become a go to person, over the past two years, for virtually everyone in the BHS community, students, parents and staff members alike. Her positive and sunny demeanor can be observed in all of her interactions with others, making them smile in the process. Mrs. French is always looking to step up our game, taking on new projects and helping revitalize old ones. She can be seen through her involvement with the student leaders, lip dub, prom, promenade and college application process, to name a few. Not satisfied to simply help, or repeat past performances, she is always looking for ways that we can improve, helping bring BHS to new heights. For that, Mrs. French, we are thankful to have you as our Fall 2015 Model Marauder.
SAVE THE DATE
- The Belmont High School bands, orchestras and choruses will present their annual Winter Concert on December 16 in the BHS auditorium, This is an opportunity to see and hear all of the BHS curricular ensembles in one evening. Program begins promptly at 7:00 p.m. All ages invited and encouraged, as this is a chance to expose younger children to a formal concert experience.
- Belmont Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is holding a Basic Rights workshop on December 16 at the Winn Brook Elementary School cafeteria beginning at 6:30 p.m. This is to provide information for parents on their rights and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Massachusetts Special Education Law, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Please RSVP for this event and email for any other information needed on future and past events at belmontsepac@gmail.com.
- "Embrace and Let Go - Understanding Digital Dependency" with Joni Siani, media and communication scholar and author/filmmaker. This lecture, held on January 11 in the CMS auditorium at 6:30 p.m., will stop to ask how the changes of digital use over the past decade is changing our interaction with one another. A workshop and conversation on digital socialization presented by Belmont After School Enrichment Collaborative (BASEC) and sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank. This is the first of five free lectures offered by BASEC and Belmont Savings Bank.
- Belmont Public Schools in partnership with the Foundation for Belmont Education are holding three Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) sessions, led by SEL-expert and educational consultant Rachel A. Poliner. All presentations are from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the CMS auditorium. While each presentation will focus on specific age/grade groups, please feel free to attend the presentation that best fits your schedule. The sessions will be on 1/6 (Elementary Forum), 2/1 (Middle School Forum), and 2/3 (High School Forum).
- The FBE Annual Spring Dinner is on March 19, 2016, at Belmont Hill School. It's a great event, more information to come.
CALENDAR
Below are some of the numerous events through the beginning of January. Please check the schools websites and communications for more events and any changes in dates, times, and venues:
DATES/TIMES - PLACE/EVENT
12/16 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS - Auditorium - BHS Winter Concert
12/16 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. - Butler School - PTO Meeting
12/16 - 6:30 p.m. - Winn Brook Cafeteria - SEPAC Basic Rights Workshop
12/24 Through 1/3 - Winter Recess - All Schools Closed (school resumes January 4)
1/5 - 7:00 p.m. - CMS Large Community Room - School Committee Meeting
1/6 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - CMS Auditorium - SEL Session Elementary Forum
1/6 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - Eight grade parents of the class of 2020 are invited to learn about the 9th grade curriculum at BHS as well as speak to a representative from Minuteman Technical High School in attendance to answer any questions about their program
1/6, 8 & 9 - BHS Senior Districts in Lowell
1/11 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - CMS Auditorium - Parent Lecture Series "Embrace and Let Go - Understanding Digital Dependency"
1/11 - 7:00 p.m. - Burbank PTA Meeting