Welcome, please come and browse the newsletter.

Congratulations to the Belmont High School Seniors who had their graduation day on June 4. I wish you well on your next steps into the world. Also congratulations to our fourth grade class who move up to Chenery, and our eighth grade class who move up to the high school. This is an exciting time for so many of our students and their families.

Please remember the last day of school, June 21, is an early release for all grades. I hope you all have a wonderful summer, and we will see you on the first day of school, September 6 for grades 1-12, and September 7 and 8 for kindergarten (half of kindergarten students each day for a half day--notices will be sent home by each school).

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” 
― Malala Yousafzai

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Town Meeting June 7: The FY18 budget was presented and accepted at Town Meeting. Please see my email to Town Meeting members thanking them for supporting our schools.

Space Task Force-Elementary Modulars: As you know, the Space Task force has been looking at placing modulars at the elementary level for the 2018-2019 school year to address the growing enrollment within the Belmont Public Schools. Recently I communicated to the Burbank and Butler parents and guardians to thank them for their time and input regarding the placement of the elementary modulars, and that I appreciate everyone's patience and respectful participation during this process. I have communicated the issues raised from the community and provided their feedback to our architectural firm Symmes Maini & McKee Associates (SMMA). When the plan arrives, I will review it and use that information to make my final recommendation to the School Committee at the June 20 meeting. 

School Year Start: The School Committee is looking at revising a policy of the date/day school begins each year. This policy would have school start "Wednesday after Labor Day if Labor Day falls on or before September 3, and before Labor Day if Labor Day falls after September 3". This establishes a firm start date to the school year and allows for ample wiggle room regarding snow days and where the last day of school falls. This policy would not take effect until the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

• As you know, we are in year two of our district’s Strategic Plan work developing a comprehensive Social and Emotional framework in every school district-wide. We administered a school climate survey to parents, guardians, staff, and students some months ago to give us information about ways SEL skills and principles are or aren’t being demonstrated in the environment.  The results were shared at the School Committee meeting on May 23 which you can see on the BPS website. The School Steering Committee and District Steering Committee are using these results to continue to work on SEL. We are building the capacity of the Steering Committee through summer institutes.
• Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias gave a presentation to the School Committee at the April 25 meeting the Achievement Gap in Belmont Public Schools, looking at the needs of English Language Learners, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and students who identify as African-American/Black. Next year, 2017-2018, will be our third and final year of the SEL initiative building. The SEL work will continue next year led by the SEL Steering Committee in each school, and we will also add a focus on improving the SEL experience for our African-American/Black students. We will have outside experts coming in to lead professional learning to better understand these students' experience and what we can do to improve it.
• The Professional Learning Team (PLT) Conference was held on May 31 where teacher PLT projects conducted throughout the year are shared with their peers, and is organized by the Staff Development Council and Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias.  This professional development conference includes School Committee members, FBE members, and parents and students who participated in the first BHS Visioning Workshops held May 4 and 5. Feedback from observers was positive, commenting on the quality and nature of the professional learning inquiry they had been undergoing.  Please see the BPS Website for the breakdown of the day’s events. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

• Recently the FBE voted to award $113,205 to Belmont Public Schools.  The Special Initiative and Innovative Professional Development Grants fund teacher-inspired grants, SEL work, Achievement Gap and Studying Skillful Teaching requests, staff professional development as well as a donation to the POMS fundraiser, 88Keys, to help with the purchase of new pianos.  The Belmont Public Schools would not be the same educational environment without the work of the FBE, and we are very humbled and grateful by this show of support for our teachers and students. Please see the entire list of grants here.
• Thank you to all the organizations for all the support they provide throughout the school year. Please join me in recognizing the following groups that provide so much to our students and schools.
  BOOSTERS
  BAR
  Brendan Grant Foundation
  PTO/PTA
  PATRONS
  POMS

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

The 26th Annual Staff Recognition Day celebrated 61 BPS staff and faculty members for their years of service ranging from ten to 25. The ceremony was held on May 24 followed by presentations of certificates and gifts. Congratulations to all for their many years of service. Please see the BPS website for the list of awardees.

STUDENTS SERVING THE COMMUNITY

• Students who did record amounts of volunteering were given the President's Volunteer Service Awards, a national award to promote and recognize service among people of all ages. Twenty-four BHS seniors and 109 underclassmen received these awards (including CMS students). The seniors were recognized at a School Committee meeting held on May 23, and the BHS underclassmen were recognized at the May 25 underclassmen Awards ceremony.

• Community Service Coordinator Alice Melnikof reports the Belmontian Club organized a record-breaking set of activities, raising a total of $4500 and collecting 75 pairs of pajamas for Cradles to Crayons, who service the poor and homeless in Massachusetts. Burbank, Wellington, and Chenery joined them with their own “PJ’s for a Buck” days.  The other activities we organized were a fundraising day at Belmont’s Star Market, special promotions at Bertucci’s –Alewife and Chipotle, and, a partnership with Belmont Car Wash had club members dry cars there for a time in April in exchange for a donation of $1 per car and tips received, all going to Cradles to Crayons. A great show of support and community spirit from the school staff and students and their families. 

A HEARTFELT GOODBYE

• Three BPS staff members are retiring this year; CMS Special Education Teacher Rhonda Cherry, BHS Math Teacher Diane Lints, and Burbank Grade 1 Teacher Selina Moeller. The School Committee hosted a reception for them before the regularly scheduled meeting on June 6.  We thank them for their years of service, and wish them well in their retirement. Please see the Resolutions presented at the reception.
• Two administrators are leaving BPS this year. BHS Assistant Principal John Muldoon is leaving to be principal at the Shanghai American School in China starting in July 2017. Mr. Muldoon has been a valued administrator for the past four years at the high school. After two years of service, Assistant Principal Sarah Forrey-Pettit is leaving Wellington to relocate to Maine. They will both be missed, and we wish them well on their next endeavors.

SCHOOL NEWS

• We had three wonderful Memorial Day celebrations at Belmont High, Winn Brook and Burbank on May 26. The day began with breakfast and a program at BHS followed by programs at Burbank and Winn Brook, ending with a luncheon at VFW Post (sponsored by the Veterans’ Organization). Always a great day spending time with veterans who served our country.
• CMS Librarian Karen Duff organized 14 different writers and illustrators of children’s and young adult fiction to come to the Spring Author Festival and Book Fair on May 11 at CMS.  People could meet authors and ask questions, have authors sign books. All book sales benefited the CMS library,supplied by Porter Square Books.
• Congratulations to BHS junior Sofia Schlozman, who has been selected for a 2017 Achievement Award in Writing, given by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Achievement Awards in Writing is a school-based writing program established in 1957 to encourage high school students in their writing and to recognize some of the best student writers in the nation. NCTE recognizes students cited as excellent writers by their schools and the program’s judges. Sofia Schlozman is one of two national winners in Massachusetts and 106 across the nation.  Each student submitted two pieces of writing, which were read by two judges. Papers were judged on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
• Wellington third and fourth graders had a field day on June 2 organized by Physical Education Teacher Aimee Doherty, and third graders took a trip into history along the Freedom Trail and saw museums, charges, meeting houses, burying grounds and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and the history of Massachusetts.
• Belmont hosted the Junior Solar Sprint event at the BHS track held on May 20, organized by Technology teacher Leon Dyer for a school club. Five students from Chenery competed in the event.  More than 10 students from ten area middle schools competed in the four-hour long event. Two CMS cars finished first and second from the sixth grade team.

VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS

The BHS production of Chicago is nominated for at MET Musical Theater Award from the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild.  Forty-eight high schools across the state submitted productions for consideration this year.  Each production was seen by three adjudicators who scored the shows in a number of categories.  In each category, the five or six highest scoring productions/individuals were nominated for their work, and five shows were selected by a panel as nominees for “Best Overall Production.”

ATHLETICS

• The Girls Rugby team are the first state champion in this sport in the country, coming off the first ever MIAA Rugby State Championship game on June 10. A huge well done to our students, coaches, Athletic Director James Davis and our entire school community.
• The Boys Tennis team made it into the MIAA Division 2 as a Finalist.
• Boston Herald All-Scholastic: Cal Christofori, Anoush Krafian, Calvin Perkins
• Boston Globe All-Scholastic: Anoush Krafian, Calvin Perkins
• BHS senior Anoush Krafian was named the State Champion in the pentathlon; a five event completion which includes 100 meter hurdles, high jump, long, jump, shot put, and the 800 meters. The event is one of the events held as part of the Massachusetts All-State Track and Field Championships. In addition to winning the event, Anoush set the meet record in the overall competition with 3243 points (beating the previous mark by 215 points), and also set meet records in the 100 meter hurdles (15.04 seconds) and the high jump (5'3.25"). Congratulations to Anoush!

The Belmont Boosters May Athletes of the Month are:
Anoush Krafian - Girls Outdoor Track
Cal Christofori - Baseball

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2017 Spring Middlesex League All Stars:

Baseball

Congratulations to the recipients of the BHS Spring Athletic Awards:

Boys Varsity Outdoor Track
Sportsmanship Award: Neil Mhatre

LIBRARY JUNE NEWSLETTER

Please see the June Newsletter from Belmont Public Library.

CALENDAR

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

DATE/TIME - PLACE/EVENT

June 20 - 7:00 p.m. - CMS Community Room - School Committee Meeting (last one of the school year)

June 21 - Last Day of School (half day for students, full day for staff) - Happy Summer!