Welcome, please come and browse the newsletter.

As you know, September 7 was the first day of school. By all reports, each of our six schools had a great first day despite the rain slowing arrival times. I hope your child has had an enjoyable first week.

On September 6 the administration welcomed back teachers and staff to the 2016-2017 school year. There was a tremendous amount of good energy in the auditorium where teachers came to gather and then go to their buildings to prepare for the first day of school. Chenery teachers were treated to a special greeting by families and students who applauded and cheered and held "Welcome Back!" banners and signs. The welcome was organized by teachers serving on the Social Emotional Learning Committee and Chenery Guidance Counselor Carla Hawkins. A great and thoughtful way to start the new year and welcome back the teachers.

For those who are new to the district, and are receiving this newsletter for the first time, welcome. The Superintendent's newsletter shares news from the Belmont Schools on a monthly basis, and although school has been open just a few days, we are already busy with events. Our next newsletter will come mid-September with more news and calendar listings to share.

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” 
― Socrates

DISTRICT UPDATES

School Calendar Update: As the school year begins, I wanted to take this time to apprise new and returning families and students of the updated 2016-2017 school calendar. The issues at play last year in making the calendar decision were whether or not to close school on certain holidays.  A survey was conducted that solicited over 1,300 responses from staff, parents and guardians. The Calendar Working Group of teachers and administrators came up with three scenarios for our School Committee to consider. The School Committee voted and approved an option resulting in a school calendar that did not close school for any holiday. The goal was to send the message that all religious holidays have value and leaving any one group or holiday out of our calendar would not be respectful. I am reminded of a quote from Mohandas K. Gandhi, "No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive." 

The impact of this calendar decision was to revisit our expectations for homework and school work when a student is absent to observe his/her holiday.  As you can see from the back of the 2016-2017 district calendar, there is a comprehensive list of all holidays so staff and community know when a holiday falls.  Students and families should let teachers know in advance their child will miss school on a certain day, and they can request accommodations for work missed. This process will be in place so our teachers can continue to teach each day and to ensure that we are respectful of all religious holidays and customs in a consistent manner. The 2016/17 Belmont Public School calendar is available in print at the schools, and may have been taken home by your child. I encourage you to read through the “back of the calendar” to see the listing of holidays. It will also be available online next week with the listing as well. I would like to thank the members of the Calendar Working Group, the School Committee, and the many community members who provided feedback on the forming of this calendar.

Chenery Modular Classrooms Update: Previously I shared the information that we added additional classroom space to each level of our district in order to address the space and enrollment challenges. For example, at the elementary level, we added an additional Grade 2 class at Burbank to reduce class size. At the high school we added three more modular classrooms for a total of six. We also procured six modular classrooms for the Chenery, which are being delivered ahead of schedule on Saturday, September 17. They will be utilized later in the fall.

Election Day Closing: All schools will be closed on Election Day, November 8. Given that three of our schools host Town voting, and we predict heavy voter turnout for this election, we have closed school for safety reasons.

VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS Students in Grades 3 or 4 are invited to join Arto Asadoorian, Director of Visual and Performing Arts, at one of the Instrumental Music Information Nights where the instrumental music program will be explained and parent questions answered. Here are the the following dates:

• Monday, 9/12, Burbank School Cafeteria, 6:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, 9/13, Wellington School Cafeteria, 7:00 p.m
• Wednesday, 9/14, Winn Brook School Cafeteria, 7:00 p.m
• Thursday, 9/15, Butler School Cafeteria, 7:00 p.m.

ATHLETICS

The games have begun; here are the events for this week and weekend--come see a game!

4:30 PM Boys Junior Varsity Soccer Stoneham High School Home

CALENDAR

Below are some of the numerous events going on into mid-September.  Please check school websites and communications for more events and any additional information or changes in dates, times and venues.

DATE/TIME - PLACE/EVENT

September 11 - 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Belmont Car Wash – Trapelo Rd, Belmont - BHS Cheerleading Car Wash

September 12 (Sophomores), 13 (Freshman), 14 (Juniors), 15 (Seniors) - Picture day for BHS students; see the BHS website for times and venues.

September 12 - 8:45 a.m. - Blue Playground - Wellington PTO Kindergarten Parent Coffee

September 13 - 7:00 p.m. - CMS Community Room - School Committee Meeting

September 14 - 6:30 p.m. - BHS Back to School Night

September 21 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Library - BHS PTO Meeting

September 21 - 8:00 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - BHS 9th Grade Parent Conversation with Guidance

September 21 - 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - BHS Room 113 - Belmont Booster Speaker Series presents how college athletic recruiting works

September 16 - 8:40 a.m to 9:40 a.m. - Library - Burbank PTA Welcome Coffee

September 19 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. - Burbank Curriculum Night

September 19 - 6:30 p.m. - Music Rooms - Chenery "Petting Zoo" musical instrument

September 22 - 7:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m. - Chenery Back to School Night for Lower School (Grades 5 and 6)

September 26 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. - Cafeteria - Burbank PTA Meeting

September 26 - 2016 Belmont Boosters Golf Tournament - Registration/lunch is at 11:30 a.m., Tee off is at 12:30 p.m., Dinner is at 5:30 p.m. Prizes to the top three groups and other awards, See the Boosters website for more information on the event and fees.

September 28 - All Schools Early Release

September 28 - 6:30 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - BHS College Financial Aid Night

September 29 - 7:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m. - Chenery Back to School Night for Upper School (Grades 7 and 8)

September 29 - 1:30 p.m. - BHS Field House - BHS Activity Fair for students