March 25, 2022
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Third grade zoologists presented their animal adaptations this week.
Opening Message
Being Seen
Brendan Largay, Head of School
Post Date: March 25, 2022
How’s this for a sign of the times?
A faculty member approached me last week with a thoughtful request. “Can we start wearing name tags again as a faculty?” she asked. “Now that we can see one another’s faces, I don’t recognize a lot of people.” What a world.
As we have comfortably transitioned to a mask-optional protocol at school, it is heartening to see and feel the change in the community. As expected, respect for those students and faculty who are continuing to mask has been sincere and rooted in caring. Among those who have opted to remove their masks, seeing broad smiles or mouths agape with surprise or joy provides an emotional reminder of how powerful it is to be seen.
It is hard not to see a symbolic relationship between literally being seen as masks drop to Dr. Keith Hinderlie’s visit last week to conduct an equity and inclusion climate assessment. So much of Dr. Hinderlie’s work—indeed, of any work in the space of equity, inclusion, and belonging—is rooted in ensuring that each community member feels seen. Belmont Day has long aspired to be a diverse, vibrant, and inclusive community that prides itself on the ways we care for one another. Dr. Hinderlie’s visit was the opportunity to collectively pressure test this aspiration and consider our blind spots and areas for greater effort and growth.
Dr. Hinderlie’s many meetings with faculty, students, trustees, and parents will result in an extensive report he will give to me to share with the community. As he shared some early takeaways with faculty last week, a few things stand out to me:
- He has never visited a school with such a high level of community engagement.
- As a school that strives to fulfill our mission of honoring differences, he observed areas of great success and areas in need of improvement.
- Together, we must keep our promise of fostering belonging for every one of our students, particularly those whose identities are marginalized.
We must keep our promise that every student, indeed every community member, feels seen.
I look forward to Dr. Hinderlie’s assessment, the lessons we will learn from it, and how it will inform our decisions and actions for an increasingly diverse, welcoming, and empowering future at Belmont Day.
Upcoming Events
Coming Up This Week
Monthly Calendar
Meet the Candidates:
Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Finalists will each lead a workshop session on issues of diversity, equity, identity, and belonging for the community.
Participants who wish to offer feedback to the hiring team are asked to attend all sessions. We encourage you to attend!
- Monday, March 28 – Candidate 1
- Wednesday, March 30 – Candidate 2
- Thursday, March 31 – Candidate 3
All sessions will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Palandjian Arts Center.
Friendraiser Walks
Tuesdays at 8:15 a.m.
Next Walks: March 29, April 5, 12 & 26
Our Friendraiser Walks will resume Tuesday, March 29. The weather is warming and the ice has melted, but you may still want boots as the trails during are pretty muddy. Meet at the front circle of the Schoolhouse at 8:15 a.m. and then journey through the woodland trails. Duration: about 40 minutes.
Ko Family and Wellesley Toyota Speaker Series
Chef Elle Simone Scott: DEI–Finding Your Voice and Using It
Tuesday, March 29, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Barn Gym, Belmont Day School and via Zoom
The Ko Family and Wellesley Toyota Speaker Series presents chef, food stylist, and host of “The Walk-In” podcast Elle Simone Scott. She is the first African American woman to be the resident food stylist and test cook on America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) on PBS. Elle has also contributed her unique styling abilities to the Food Network, Food Network Magazine, The Cooking Channel, The Katie Couric Show, CBS Corporation, ABC’s The Chew, and Bravo’s Chef Roble and Co. In 2013 she founded SheChef, Inc. with Chimere Ward to mentor women chefs of color.
If you are not able to attend in person in the Barn, the event will be available to watch via Zoom. Link and passcode are available on the Parent Portal.
Lunch & Snack Menu
March 28 to April 1
Monday
Snack: applesauce; Cheez-Its
Lunch: pasta with marinara on the side; steamed cauliflower; Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches; crusty rolls; butter; Romano cheese; diced peaches; milk and water
Tuesday
Snack: bananas; Nutri-Grain bars
Lunch: crispy cheesy chicken; herb-roasted tofu; roasted red potatoes; green beans; Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches; ketchup; fresh fruit cup; milk and water
Wednesday
Snack: apples; tortilla scoops
Lunch: beef burger; Beyond Meat veggie burger; Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches; pickles; tomato; ketchup; kettle chips; apple slices; milk and water
Thursday
Snack: clementines; potato chips
Lunch: chicken and cheese quesadilla; cheese quesadilla; fiesta veggie blend; salsa; guacamole; sour cream; Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches; applesauce; milk, chocolate milk, and water
Friday
Snack: craisins; granola bars
Faculty Lunch
BDS News
COVID UPDATES
Weekly COVID Testing Results
Our weekly PCR testing, on Wednesday, March 23, returned negative results for all pools. In addition, one faculty member reported a positive test result to the school that was received from an at-home rapid test.
GREENING NEWS
Spring Garden Workday
Saturday, April 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
BDS parents, students, and staff are invited to wake up the school garden for the new growing season. Students with a parent will be clearing, raking, adding nutrients, mulching the pollinator garden, planting, and having fun. Middle school students are invited to come on their own. Bring a pair of gloves and a shovel if you have one (we have them too!) and enjoy being outdoors and working together to maintain our outdoor classroom and community gardens.
Questions and RSVP to Kathy Jo Solomon, visual arts teacher and sustainability coordinator.
FACULTY NEWS
New Hires
Khang Phan, grade 6 social studies teacher
Khang will join the Belmont Day School faculty this fall as a sixth grade social studies teacher. He received his masters degree in curriculum design and urban education from Texas A&M University and has since spent ten years as an educator. Khang has taught social studies for a variety of grade levels in Dallas, Texas, and, more recently, with Brooke Charter Schools in Boston. He has served as both a campus- and district-level content team leader. His passion in education is rooted in building strong, supportive relationships with students, fostering informational literacy, and creating engaging curricula.
BDS LOVE CAMPAIGN
Save The Dates for These Events!
BDS Spring Fest 2022
Mark your calendar for the BDS Spring Fest on Saturday, May 21. Join us to celebrate the diversity of our community through storytelling, music, dance, art, food, and more. Share and experience the flavors, sounds, and stories of Belmont Day. More information to come. Contact Pati Fernández with questions.
Classroom Sharing and Shadow Events
We can’t wait to host parents on campus in April for classroom sharing and shadow experiences with your children. Click here for the schedule for the visits and to RSVP. Thank you!
COMMUNITY NEWS
Virtual performance by Claremont Trio featuring Emily Bruskin Yarbrough ’92 and Julia Bruskin Wunsch ’92
Wednesday, March 30 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom
All are invited to the finale of the March Madness Alumni Giving Challenge–a performance by the talented Claremont Trio featuring alumna Emily Bruskin Yarbrough ’92, alumna Julia Bruskin Wunsch ’92, and Andrea Lam.
The Claremont Trio is lauded as one of America’s finest young chamber groups and is sought after for its thrillingly virtuosic and richly communicative performances. First winners of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award and the only piano trio ever to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the Claremonts tour extensively, including concerts at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Museum, and Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Bridge Records released the Claremont Trio’s recording of the Beethoven “Triple” Concerto with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and Beethoven’s Trio Op. 1 No. 1 to rave reviews. Their most recent album, Queen of Hearts, was released in February and includes 6 piano trios that were all specially commissioned for the Claremonts.
Zoom link and passcode for this event are available on the Parent Portal. For more on the Claremont Trio, visit their website.
PARENT EDUCATION
McLean Parent Workshops in April and May
Dr. Julia Martin Burch, staff psychologist with McLean Hospital, will present two 90-minute, interactive workshops this spring for Belmont Day parents.
Building and Maintaining a Strong Relationship with Your Child
- Thursday, April 28, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
- The workshop will focus on skills that help parents and kids develop and maintain a strong relationship, have open conversations, and communicate concerns in a caring manner.
Building a Resilient Child
- Thursday, May 19, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
- The workshop will cover the many reasons it can feel so hard for parents to step back and grant their child more independence and a concrete, step-by-step approach for doing so.
Mark your calendars! Both meetings will be held via Zoom. Links will be available on the Parent Portal.
Learning Updates
Fifth Grade Studies, Researches the Immigrant Experience
Over the past couple of weeks in fifth grade humanities, students have been learning about immigration, specifically the immigration station, Angel Island. During the fifth graders’ most recent project, each student created their own questions and interviewed someone about their immigration experience. The fifth graders then created a piece of work that illustrated what they learned from their interviews. The goal of this project was for students to understand that everyday people have their own unique experiences that add to our knowledge of American history. Furthermore, the sharing of stories adds to our understanding of the people in our lives and our communities.
– Vaniecia Skinner, grade 5 teacher
Athletics Update: Record Numbers for Track & Field
The track & field team rostered a program-record 30 athletes this spring, including 18 sixth grade students. Led by coaches Elinor Hannum, Charlie Baird, and Dani Kelly, the team will compete in eight interscholastic meets this spring. With such a large team, however, athletes will not be able to rely exclusively on external motivation from their coaches. Instead, athletes will need to find the internal drive to bring their best effort to practice each and every day. August Wilmot, Jovana Zivanovic, Rhys Kaplan, Roudi Youseff, and Gabriel Burd have already figured this out and have set a strong example during the first two weeks of practice. The team will have one more week to sort things out before opening up their season at home against Shady Hill on Tuesday, April 5.
– John O’Neill, director of athletics
Athletics News
- Despite no prior experience, Nikos Axiotis is stepping between the pipes for boys’ lacrosse this spring. Likewise, newcomers Sebastian Colberg and Nebiyou Elias will be counted on for significant minutes this season.
- Eighth graders Ella Blecher, Anisah Jordan, Bella Lightbody, and Colby Morris are hoping to factor into the action for the girls’ lacrosse team during their first-ever interscholastic spring season. Each is off to a solid start.
- The tennis program has gotten plenty of time on the courts so far. Players from each team are already improving their skills, including Ana McEleney and Sophie Tong (varsity), and Clem Craddick and Sophie Jean (junior varsity).
- Theo Kelman and Elise Goodman have been stepping up for the junior varsity ultimate team early on while Joshua Flanagan and Owen Huang are off to fast starts for the varsity squad. Both teams have high expectations for the upcoming season.
- Sixth graders Anna Bibler, Simone Pattisall, and Clive Sutton have been shredding campus with their mountain biking teammates for the past two weeks. The team hopes to get on the trails in earnest next week with dryer weather.
Sixth Graders Author Their Own Stories on Growing Up
Throughout the year, sixth graders explore the coming-of-age genre. They ask themselves and each other what it means to “grow up,” and explore how stories help us express universal themes of growth and change. This winter, they wrote their own! Inspired by the authors in Flying Lessons and Other Stories, sixth graders drafted and revised their own coming-of-age short stories. Last Friday’s middle school sharing assembly featured excerpts from a few of the young authors. All sixth graders will submit their stories to the class anthology, which is currently in publication. Stay tuned for your copy!
– Julia Juster, grade 6 English teacher
Parents’ Association News
Nominations Sought for PA Executive Committee
The parents’ association is seeking enthusiastic individuals who would like to serve a two-year term, June 2022 to June 2024, as clerk and vice president on the PA executive committee. Both positions offer wonderful opportunities for involvement and influence in our school community. We encourage you to nominate individuals who you believe will represent the voices of our parent body. Self-nominations are strongly welcomed and encouraged!
Nominations may be sent to bdspa@belmontday.org by Friday, April 1. The nominating committee will review all nominations, and the final slate will be announced by May 9. Elections will be held at the annual corporation meeting on May 19.
Friendraiser & BDS Love Event
Cooking Class – Tapas
Wednesday, April 13, 6 to 9:30 p.m.
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Come release your inner chef and learn to make delicious tapas. Tapas, the Spanish custom of sharing lots of little plates, has dishes for everyone. The food is robust and flavorful, with options for carnivores and vegetarians alike. Recipes for the class will include patatas bravas, stuffed dates, spinach croquettes, albondigas, and churros with spiced chocolate. These innovative and delicious small plates are sure to satisfy everyone!
This in-person event and space is limited. Click here to RSVP.
All ingredients are provided and there is no cost to participate. This fun activity is a collaboration by the parents’ association, the friendraiser committee, and the development department. The class will be led by Elise Franklin Bayard (mom of Brynn, grade 6, and Alexis, grade 2).
PA Meeting
The next PA meeting will be held Friday, April 1 at 8:30 a.m. in Coolidge Hall. This will be our first opportunity to gather in person! The meeting will be recorded as well for families who are unable to attend in person.
Cradles to Crayons
Clean out those closets! Belmont Day is partnering with Cradles to Crayons to collect new and gently-used clothing for local children in need. Bring your bagged donations to school between April 25 to April 29 to drop off in the bins by the Barn and the Schoolhouse entrance.
Spring Parent Socials
Many thanks to our grade parents for organizing fun spring socials for parents to mingle with other families in their grade. Mark your calendar and please RSVP to your grade parents.
Schedule of Grade-level Parent Socials (Location)
- Pre-kindergarten – Wednesday, April 13, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Barn)
- Kindergarten – Thursday, April 28, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Schoolhouse Gallery)
- Grade 1 – Wednesday, April 13, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Schoolhouse Gallery)
- Grade 2 – Wednesday, April 27, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Coolidge Hall)
- Grade 3 – Wednesday, April 27, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (TBA)
- Grade 4 – Thursday, April 28, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Barn)
- Grade 5 – Thursday, April 14, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Schoolhouse Gallery)
- Grade 6 – Friday, March 25, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (parent home, contact grade parent for address)
- Grade 7 – Friday, March 25, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Trinktisch in Belmont)
- Grade 8 – Friday, March 25, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Mighty Squirrel in Waltham)
Beyond BDS
COMMUNITY EVENT
Panel Discussion: Trans Day of Visibility
Thursday, March 31, 7 to 8 p.m.
Join the Belmont Public Library for an online panel discussion with:
- Krysta Petrie (she/her) is an engineer, singer, maker, crafter, tinkerer, woodworker, and all-around nerd. She lives in Greater Boston with her wife Katie, their pet dog and cat, and two sugar gliders. She holds several identities: transgender, queer, sapphic, and feminist, among others.
- Noah Stang-Osborne (they/he), a speaker, activist, member of LexPride’s board of directors, and art therapy student at Lesley University. Noah holds several identities: Black, Crow, disabled, trans, nonbinary, and queer.
- Parker Morii-Sciolla (they/them), a speaker, cosplay aficionado, and architecture student at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Parker holds several identities: Japanese-American, Italian-American, and trans (nonbinary, agender).
The panelists will share their stories and answer questions about their favorite depictions of trans people in books and film, what else the community should know about trans people, and what allyship looks like.
In addition to the library, this event is sponsored by Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance, Belmont Human Rights Commission, LexPride, and Network for Social Justice.
Registration is required for this event. Click here for more information and registration.
BOOK CLUB
Museum of Science: Science Fiction Book Club
Third Tuesday of the Month
Do you love reading science fiction? Want to share that interest with others? Join the Museum of Science’s science fiction reading group. The group meets virtually on the third Tuesday of every month. This book club is recommended for ages 18+.
For more information, such as what books are coming up next, and to register, click here.
Return to the Parent Portal
