We have much going on from events at the schools to the beginning of spring sports, concerts, art shows, and the musical at the high school. Please take a look at the latest newsletter and calendar listings.
John Phelan, Superintendent of Schools, Belmont
“A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems. And not only so. It gives a relish, and facility, for successfully pursuing the [yet] unsolved ones.”
― Abraham Lincoln
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
- As you know there was a vote on the school calendar for next year. The following is the email recently sent to staff, parents and guardians:
The School Committee voted on the 2016/17 school calendar at the March 22 meeting. As you know, a survey went out, and we received more than 1800 responses from staff, parents and guardians on the issue, and we have had two School Committee Meetings which resulted in rich and varied discussions.
These decisions are not made lightly. As you know, we must comply with the state law that requires 180 days of school, and that school is not in session past June 30. We also respectfully listened to Belmont's highly diversified community needs and concerns.
It is with that in mind, the decision was to reflect a school calendar that doesn't recognize religious holidays for some if it could not be for all, which would be a daunting task for all 22 holidays mentioned in the survey. Next year, we will hold school on Yom Kippur and a full day on Good Friday. Although these decisions may take us away from some of the traditional ways we organize our school year, in the end, we believe it shows a higher regard for the entire Belmont community.
We will also continue to have the current policy of beginning school on the first Wednesday of September. Therefore, for the next school year, the first day for students will be September 7, 2016. We have decided for next year to close school on Election Day, November 8, due to safety concerns from the expected heavy voter turnout for the presidential election. We thank everyone for their comments, suggestions, and patience.
- Fifteen people were appointed on March 14 at the Board of Selectmen's meeting to be on the Belmont High School Building Committee. This is one of the steps in the 270 day Eligibility Period required by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for the high school building project. The Special Town Meeting on February 22 voted favorably for the moderator to appoint this committee, which is a mix of residents, elected officials and town/school staff.
The people on the BHS Building Committee are
Gerald Boyle, Facilities Director
Sami Baghdady, Selectman Chair
David Kale, Town Administrator
Thomas Caputo, School Committee
Patricia Brusch, Chair of the Permanent Building Committee
John Phelan, School Superintendent
Daniel Richards, Belmont High School Principal
Robert McLaughlin, Community Member
Joseph DeStefano, Devloper
William Lovallo, Engineer
Joel Mooney, Engineer
Phil Ruggiero, Zoning Board
Jamie Shea, Parent, Professional Educator
Diane Miller, Parent, Professional Educator
Christopher Messer, Parent, Financial Expertise
TEACHING AND LEARNING
- Kindergarten online registration is progressing well, and we hope to have our numbers mostly in by June 1. Half the elementary schools have held their general information and orientation program at their school for all parents of incoming kindergarten students. The remaining elementary schools sessions are at Wellington on Thursday, March 31 at 6:00 p.m., and at Winn Brook on Thursday, April 7 at 6:30 p.m. As always, in order to qualify for admission to kindergarten, a child must be five years old on or before September 1, 2016, and proof of residency is required.
- We want to assure Chenery and incoming fifth-grade parents and guardians that we are making progress in filling the Principal and Assistant Principal positions. We are in the process of looking at candidates for the Chenery Middle School Principal position, and have a Screening Committee in place consisting of several parents from PTA/PTO, a METCO parent, two teachers, one director, one principal, and our Human Resources Director Mary Pederson. They will screen and interview viable candidates and will send several candidates to myself and Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias to interview before their accompanied site visits to Chenery. The Assistant Principal position, held by Daniel Coplon-Newfield, is posted but will not be interviewed until after the Principal selection process is complete. Mr. Coplon-Newfield is leaving to become Head of School at the Vassal Lane Upper School In Cambridge, and we wish him well on his new venture.
ATHLETICS
Below is the Winter Sports Wrap and the Athletics Awards:
Middlesex League All Stars - Winter
Boys Ice Hockey
David Bailey
Girls Ice Hockey
Serena Nally
Girls Basketball
Carly Christofori
Boys Basketball
Matthew Kerans, League All Star and MVP
Cole Bartels
Boys Swimming
Samuel Thompson
Boys Indoor Track
Calvin Perkins
Girls Indoor Track
Eliza Filler
Girls Skiing
Julia Martin
Liza Hote
2016 Winter Awards
Boys Varsity Indoor Track
Sportsmanship Award: Calvin Perkins
Coaches Award: Gavin Li
Boys Junior Varsity Indoor Track
Sportsmanship Award: Mohammad Faizan Sayeed
Coaches Award: Siddhanta Shrestha
Girls Varsity Indoor Track
Sportsmanship Award: Rachel Berets
Coaches Award: Meggie MacAulay
Girls Junior Varsity Indoor Track
Sportsmanship Award: Lauren LaFauci
Coaches Award: Maddie Jozefiak
Boys Varsity Hockey
Sportsmanship Award: Ryan Keeth
Coaches Award: David Bailey
Boys Junior Varsity Hockey
Sportsmanship Award: Sepehr Sokhanvar
Coaches Award: Brian Miller
Girls Varsity Hockey
Sportsmanship Award: Victoria Zarkadas
Coaches Award: Serena Nally.
Boys Varsity Basketball
Sportsmanship Award: Luke Peterson
Coaches Award: Joe Shaughnessy
Boys Junior Varsity Basketball
Sportsmanship Award: Jason Lim
Coaches Award: Ryan Lim
Boys Freshman Basketball
Sportsmanship Award: John Herlihy
Coaches Award: David Pergamo
Girls Varsity Basketball
Sportsmanship Award: Riley Haight
Coaches Award: Irini Nikolaidis
Girls Junior Varsity Basketball
Sportsmanship Award: Jane Mahon
Coaches Award: Abby Andersen
Girls Freshman Basketball
Sportsmanship Award: Ciara Lally
Coaches Award: Audrey Christo
Boys Varsity Swim Team
Sportsmanship Award: Thomas Choy
Coaches Award: Luc Durand
Boys Varsity Wrestling
Sportsmanship Award: Boguslawjan Mika
Coaches Award: Kar hoe Chiu
Boys Junior Varsity Wrestling
Sportsmanship Award: Alex Chuprakov
Coaches Award: Mohamed Abdel-Salam
Boys Varsity Skiing
Sportsmanship Award: Ethan Lai
Coaches Award: Alex Libenson
Boys Junior Varsity Skiing
Sportsmanship Award: Devan O’Toole
Coaches Award: Dan Tolan
Girls Varsity Skiing
Sportsmanship Award: Colleen McVay
Coaches Award: Chloe Derba
Girls Junior Varsity Skiing
Sportsmanship Award: Lauren Paquette
Coaches Award: Jessica Chen
Winter Varsity Cheer
Sportsmanship Award: Nina Pellegrini
Coaches Award: Kristina Giordano
Boston Herald All-Scholastic Boys Basketball teams: Matt Kerans. Matt set the school’s all-time scoring record for boy’s basketball with 1322 points.
BHS Boys Basketball is the Middlesex League Liberty Division Champions
BHS Girls Basketball ended the season as a MIAA Division II North Finalist
Freshman Records this season:
- 200 Medley Relay: Damien Autissier, Rickey Ye, Luke Moore-Frederick, Sam Thompson; 1:57.19 '16
- 200 Freestyle: Sam Thompson; 1:54.99 '16
- 50 Freestyle: Sam Thompson; 23.24 '16
- 100 Freestyle: Sam Thompson; 52.65 '16
- 200 Freestyle Relay: Rickey Ye, Luke Moore-Frederick, Damien Autissier, Sam Thompson; 1:43.79 '16
- 400 Freestyle Relay: Sam Thompson, Damien Autissier, Luke Moore - Frederick, Rickey Ye 3:56.75 '16
Spring sport try outs began on Monday March 21st.
FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS
- Belmont once again has been named one of the "Best Communities for Music Education" for 2016 by the National Associates of Music Merchants (NAMM). Belmont is one of 476 school districts nationwide out of 13,515 to achieve this honor, with only 18 awarded in Massachusetts. The selection is based on the level of comprehensive music education offered to students at all grade levels, the instructional time and resources a school district gives to music education and the community's commitment. Congratulations to our faculty, students, and community for all their hard work.
- Relive those great moments from the Belmont High School Spring Band Concert held on March 2 with the Concert Band, Symphonic Band and the Wind Ensemble at belmontmedia.org. The Concert and Symphonic Bands are directed by Band Director/Music Teacher, Paul Ketchen, and the Wind Ensemble is directed by Fine and Performing Arts Director, Arto Asadoorian--great stuff!
- Belmont High School artists present their second annual Art Show on April 2, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Beth El Temple in Belmont. The show will feature work from advanced placement art, honors photography, sculpture and ceramics with musical perofrmances and slam poetry. Bring the family for fun activities, art, music, poetry and food.
GOOD NEWS
- Tune in on April 2 at 6:00 p.m. on WGBH 2 to see if Belmont advances to the next round in the WGBH High School Quiz Show. Good luck to all the students.
- The Belmont Summer Enrichment Program is back, with classes in Coding for incoming fifth graders, Engineering for incoming third and fourth graders, Graphic Design, Fitness, Nutrition classes--so much to choose from. Please look at the website for more information and how to register for the program.
- The National Honor Society and the National Junior Honor Society awarded Belmont High School and McLean Hospital for their community partnership in providing services to students. The National Honor Society State Committee established the Golden Torch Award to be presented to a "business, industry, or organization that has been a good neighbor by supporting school and other community projects." The award will be presented on at the State Leadership Conference on April 6 at Holy Cross College in Worcester. See the BHS website for more.
- Belmont Public Schools is pleased to announce Belmont Against Racism (BAR) recently contributed $14,000 to the METCO fund. This contribution means cabs for students who need rises home at night, allowing them to participate in extra-curricular activities and athletics and be able to get home safely after dark. We thank them for their donation. For more information about BAR, please go to their website.
- BHS club Working to Help the Homeless held a very successful coffeehouse fundraiser and food collection at Star market to stock the food pantry of the new Harvard student-run shelter for youths ages 18-24. Great work for a great cause. See the Boston Globe article on the shelter, and more on the Club's efforts here.
- Becca Pizzi, the Wellington parent and Belmont resident who won the World Marathon Challenge, came to Wellington to talk to the students about the hard work of committing to and participating in the seven marathons leading up to the win. She brought in photographs, her medals, and the winning trophy. Wellington Elementary School honored her with a Proclamation of Gratitude for her commitment and for being a role model to students and staff at Wellington.
SAVE THE DATE
- There's still time to bid on the hundreds of items during the FBE online auction, which ends on March 28 at 10:00 p.m. See the website for information on bidding and the items.
- Nominations for the FBE Outstanding Teacher of the Year are due March 25. See the FBE website for more information on the opportunity to recognize six (one from each school) of Belmont's many exceptional teachers.
- Belmont Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias is my guest in the latest edition of Belmont Schools Now. This show focuses on the great work Ms. Darias and our teachers are doing regarding Social Emotional Learning (SEL) implementation put into place in the district this year. Stay tuned to the end of the show for a look at the Chenery eighth grade mock trial Of Mice and Men. The show is available for viewing on Comcast Channel 8 and Verizon Channel 28, and online
- Two Belmont After School Enrichment Collaborative (BASEC) Parent Lecture Series at CMS: Transform Difficult Behavior/Ignite Your Child's Inherent Greatness on Tuesday, March 29, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., presented by Sam Healy, LICSW; and It's a Boy! on Monday April 11 at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00, presented by New York Times best-selling author and international speaker, Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. See the BASEC website for more information.
- Belmontian Community Service Club is sponsoring, along with Belmont Car Wash, its annual charity car wash on Saturday, March 26 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 pm. to benefit Cradles to Crayons. All tips and one dollar per car will be donated to the organization, which provides gently-used clothes and gear for Massachusetts children.
- Worth repeating in this section: Belmont High School artists present their second annual Art Show on April 2, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Beth El Temple in Belmont. The show will feature work from advanced placement art, honors photography, sculpture and ceramics with musical perofrmances and slam poetry. Bring the family for fun activities, art, music, poetry and food.
CALENDAR
Below are some of the numerous events going on into mid-April. Please check school websites and communications for more events and any additional information or changes in dates, times and venues.
DATE/TIME - PLACE/EVENT
3/25 - Early Release all Schools
3/26 - 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Belmont Car Wash - Belmontian Community Service Club annual fundraiser for Cradles to Crayons.
3/28 - 8:45 a.m. - Wellington Community Room - PTO meeting with guest Superintendent John Phelan (rescheduled from February due to snow)
3/29 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. - CMS - BASEC Parent Lecture Series: Transform Difficult Behavior/Ignite Your Child's Inherent Greatness
3/30 - 6:30 p.m. - BHS Little Theatre - Middlesex District Attorney, Marian T. Ryan, gives a presentation for parents on the Social Host Law and other related topics
4/1, 4/2, 4/3 - MICCA Festival BHS Ensembles
4/2 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Beth El Temple Center - BHS Student Art Show
4/6, 4/8, 4/9 - Lowell - MMEA Jr. District Festival; Band, Chorus, Orchestra
4/7, 4/8, 4/9 - BHS Auditorium - BHS Spring Musical
4/7 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. - Burbank Gym - Burbank Multicultural Fair
4/7 - 6:00 p.m. - Winn Brook Science Night
4/9 - BHS - ACT Testing
4/11 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - All Town Elementary Concert
4/11 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - CMS - BASEC Parent Lecture Series: It's a Boy!
4/12 - 7:00 p.m. - CMS Large Community Room - School Committee Meeting
4/13 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. - Butler PTA Meeting
4/14 - Wellington - Science Night
4/14 - Boston - CMS Students Art Show featuring students enrolled through the METCO program
4/14 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - CMS Auditorium - Parent/Teacher Band Concert