Four National Guard members accompanied by CIC staff and our Director of Nursing Beth Rumley began Routine COVID-19 Safety Checks (pooled testing) in all our elementary schools last week to those students who submitted a consent form. We are excited this testing began at our elementary schools, and we will be sharing pooled testing data on the nursing website at a future date. We received news from DESE that we are now able to offer a take home nasal swab test to students versus the original take-home saliva test. This is good news because nasal swabs are easier to collect at home for all ages, especially the younger population. When we first signed on to the DESE/CIC test program, the nasal swab take-home was not an option. Supplies have arrived, and we are working on the logistics of this take home testing. We will pilot this take home test beginning with the fifth graders who have consent forms on file.
Have a safe and fun Halloween, and a reminder that Daylight Savings Time ends at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 7 during which we "fall back" and turn our clocks back one hour.
In this October issue:
School Committee
School News
Visual and Performing Arts
Athletics
SEPAC News
FBE News
Useful Information
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
(October 19, 2021 Meeting)
METCO Update: This School Committee meeting is normally held in Boston to be able to meet and greet our Boston families. Sadly, we had to have this meeting remotely and miss seeing our families in person. METCO Director Rosa Inniss gave a presentation outlining the METCO program and the new increase and expansion of offerings in the program.
BAR Donation: Belmont Against Racism (BAR) gave the METCO support fund $22,000. This fund was established more than 20 years ago which at that time it was used for after school transportation to get a ride home from afterschool activities at Belmont. Fund use has expanded over time to include programming, scholarships for trips and graduating students, teacher trainings, books, and in -school speakers and programs to name a few. We are grateful for the continued support from BAR and for this generous donation.
Enrollment Report: Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias presented a look at the district-wide enrollment for this year. Belmont, like several metro-Boston districts, has seen a decrease in enrollment. There are many factors that contribute to a decrease such as families leaving the district due to moving out of Belmont or choosing other schooling. There also may have been a shift in our international population because of COVID. Belmont is a district that enrolls students all year, and we expect our numbers will go up this year. You will see in the slide entitled, Meeting Elementary Class Size Guidelines (slide #8), that this is the first time we have met our elementary class size guidelines at 100 percent, which is good news for class capacity and teaching and learning. You will also notice the middle and high school class sizes averages are in the normal range. However, there are several classes and courses that have higher class sizes due to scheduling logistics, program section availability, and lack of staffing. We will continue to have discussions on enrollment, patterns, and looking at the future particularly regarding budgeting for the next few years.
School Budget 101: As discussed at the last School Committee meeting, we wanted to show the public an overview of the budgetary process in a series of presentations. This first presentation gives historical context, our current status, and next steps. As you know, our federal funds will not last, and we hope the public will tune into School Committee and town budgetary meetings to look at the funding challenges and get involved in the budgeting process moving forward.
Staffing Update: Director of Human Capital Mike McAllister presented a look at our hiring challenges for this school year. We have all seen news reports of staff shortages and hiring challenges in the nation and Belmont is also facing a dearth of candidates for positions. Mr. McAllister discussed our challenges and approaches taken, including reaching out to our own Belmont community. If any Belmont community members are interested in applying for open positions, please look at the Human Resources page on the BPS website and/or email Mike McAllister.
Visual and Performing Arts Update: Director of Visual and Performing Arts Arto Asadoorian gave a presentation on reviving and rebuilding performing arts this year, which has been greatly impacted by COVID-19. Mr. Asadoorian says it was wonderful to hear music in the building and to see music programs return to something that very closely resembles what we knew and loved before the pandemic began. Visual arts students will soon be able to create ceramic art when the kiln is installed. This is exciting news for students who have not been able to do ceramics in a very long time.
Andrea Prestwich Departure from the School Committee: Andrea Prestwich resigned from the School Committee effective October 20. We appreciate her service since 2016 as a member and last year as chair. The procedure for finding a new member to finish out Ms. Prestwich's term ending April 2022 will be communicated to the Belmont community.
You can view this meeting on the Belmont Media Center website. The next School Committee meeting is on November 9 at 6:30 p.m.
SCHOOL NEWS
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BHS held the first public tours on October 20 and October 23. If you haven't already seen the new 9-12 wing, there is one more chance to do so on Wednesday, October 27 between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
- BHS has 18 seniors named semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. According to the Program, these students are among a nationwide pool of about 16,000 semifinalists who represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. These students now have the opportunity to continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships offered in spring of 2022. BHS also has 44 commended students, recognized for their exceptional academic promise. According to the Program, commended students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2022 competition by taking the 2020 PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
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BHS held their Activities Fair on October 5. BHS is offering more than 100 clubs this year ranging from academics and performing arts to sports and social issues.
- Each week, members of the BHS staff nominate two seniors for the Marauder of the Week spotlight for outstanding accomplishments ranging from citizenship to extracurricular activities to scholastic. BHS Marauder of the Week for October 22 is Maya Rodriguez-Clark and Roger Hauck. Please go to the BHS website to read more about these Marauders.
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CMS students chose their favorite activity and incorporated it into a book end in Technology Teacher David Beebe's engineering class. Students learned how to choose and safely use appropriate measuring tools, hand tools, fasteners, and common hand-held power tools and illustrate how a product can be used from inception to completion.
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CMS students and staff wore orange to celebrate National Unity Day on October 20. National Unity Day is to show unity for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.
- Burbank classes are out at the vegetable and flower gardens, learning about fall planting and winter preparation. The garden connects with the K-4 curriculum, using the gardens for teaching and learning.
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Butler held its annual Fun Run on October 20. The run helps promote healthy bodies and minds and builds community spirit. The run also raises PTA funds for school enrichment opportunities for Butler students. The run raised almost $27,000 as of October 21. Wellington has their Fun Run on October 29 (rain date November 1).
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Winn Brook School Spirit Week began on October 25. Every day students and staff who participate wear themed clothing such as favorite color day, pajama day, and sports team/fitness day.
- Wellington held a fall social/movie night on October 15. Families got to gather and watch an outdoor movie.
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
- CMS is holding a Musical Theater Workshop, open to 5th and 6th grade students. Students will spend eight weeks workshopping The Lion King KIDS beginning on October 20. Students will learn what it takes to put on a musical theatre production. They will learn the music, choreography and lines culminating in a workshop performance.
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The BHS Performing Arts Company performed Broadway Night: Musical Theater Cabaret for sold-out live audiences on October 22 and 23. This production inaugurated the new BHS Black Box. The production featured 36 performers and more than 20 tech crew in an evening of musical theater songs. Theater Director Ezra Flam says students on tech crew learned how to use all of our new Black Box technology in under a week and the performers demonstrated remarkable talent and dedication. Next up for the PAC is The Servant of Two Masters: a slapstick comedy for all ages November 18-20 in the Black Box. More info at bhs-pac.org.
- The performing arts department is excited to welcome audiences back to live performances. Please see the Audience Protocols for Performing Arts guidelines for events in any BPS schools this year.
ATHLETICS
BHS Boys and Girls Varsity soccer teams headlined the sixth annual Soccer Night on October 2, both playing Winchester teams. Belmont youth soccer players with Belmont Soccer Association acted as ball-boys and ball-girls and played soccer during halftime of both BHS Varsity games. This is always a well-attended event by the Belmont community.
SEPAC NEWS
Belmont Special Education Parent Adivsory Council (SEPAC) is having a remote parent information session, Introduction to your Student Services Team, on October 28 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Please go to the BPS website for more information.
FBE NEWS
The Foundation for Belmont Education (FBE) had close to 800 participants in this year's FBE Apple Run. Now in its ninth year (six known as the Dan Scharfman Memorial Run), the run has raised more than $170,000 for the FBE, a non-profit organization that awards grants to the Belmont Public Schools to enrich the education provided to Belmont students. Please see more information and pictures on the BPS website.
USEFUL INFORMATION
For your convenience, below are links to useful information.
Belmont Public Schools:
Town and State: