April 10, 2026
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Fourth graders are collaborating on a museum display project!
Opening Message
Planting It Forward at Belmont Day!
By Stacy Langa, Director of Development
Post Date: April 10, 2026
Spring is a season of renewal and optimism—of longer days, new beginnings, and growing possibilities. At Belmont Day, it is also a meaningful time to reflect on the role philanthropy plays in nurturing the vibrant, joyful learning environment our students experience every day.
Philanthropy, at its heart, is about community. It is the collective commitment of parents, alumni, grandparents, faculty, and friends who believe in the power of an exceptional pre-k to grade 8 education. Tuition alone does not fully cover the cost of delivering the rich academic programs, inspiring arts, competitive athletics, and caring community that define our school. Our philanthropic support helps bridge that gap, ensuring that every student benefits from the very best we can offer. We are deeply grateful for the generosity that helps our school—and our students—grow.
Spring giving is especially impactful. As the school year winds down, it provides an opportunity to come together and finish strong—supporting current priorities while helping to lay the groundwork for the year ahead. Gifts of all sizes matter. They enhance classroom resources, support faculty development, expand opportunities in the arts and athletics, and strengthen financial assistance programs that make our community more inclusive and accessible.
Equally important, participation itself sends a powerful message. When families and friends give, they demonstrate a shared belief in the mission of our school and in the importance of investing in our children’s growth—academically, socially, and emotionally.
Spring giving also offers a chance to model one of the most important lessons we hope to instill in our students: the value of generosity and shared responsibility. When children see the adults in their lives giving back—whether through time, talent, or resources—they begin to understand that strong communities are built through collective care and commitment. These early lessons in philanthropy help shape thoughtful, engaged citizens who carry those values forward.
As we look ahead, every contribution made this spring is an investment not only in today’s classrooms but in the future of our school. It affirms our belief in what is possible here at BDS and ensures that we can continue to grow with intention and purpose. Together, through a spirit of generosity and partnership, we strengthen the foundation that supports every student’s journey.
Throughout May, we will be running a very special Planting it Forward month of giving!
Please stay tuned for information on how you can participate, remembering that what we “plant” and cultivate together today will continue to grow for years to come! Thank you!
Upcoming Events
Monthly Calendar
Capstone Week Starts On Monday
Capstone Week 2026 is almost here! All presentations are open to the entire community and will run Monday to Friday, April 13-17. Check out the full schedule in the linked button below, and join us in the Palandjian Arts Center.
- Early-morning sessions tend to fill the PAC, especially when students from various grades attend.
- Sessions starting at 11:30 a.m., 3:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. generally have more seats available.
Please join us in supporting our hard-working eighth graders as they reach this educational milestone.
– Jennifer Friborg, Capstone coordinator
After School Closes Early Friday, April 17
The After School program will close promptly at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 17, as we head into the April vacation week.
Please plan accordingly. Thank you!
Upcoming Assemblies
Enrichment Assembly
Friday, May 1 at 8:45 a.m.
Location TBD
Lower School Sharing Assembly
Friday, May 29 at 8:45 a.m.
Palandjian Arts Center
Parents, please join us for these community gatherings!
Save The Date: BDS Music Showcase
The 2026 BDS Music Showcase will take place on Friday, May 29, from 5 to 7 p.m., on Claflin Field (if there is rain, it will be held in the Barn). Make sure to bring your magical spirit to thoroughly enjoy the theme of this year’s showcase … Enchanted Forest!
All families are welcome to bring their lawn chairs, blankets, and a picnic dinner or snacks to enjoy during the event. Come and listen to middle school students sing and play music ranging from Gracie Abrams to Green Day, and from known hits to improv. Please be mindful that we are a nut-free school, so no nuts should be brought on campus.
Check the Scoop in the coming weeks for more important information about this event. Hope to see you at the show!
– The BDS Music Showcase Planning Team & Mrs. Bettinelli
Clothing Drive Ends This Weekend
The Cradles to Crayons clothing drive culminates with a sorting event on campus this Sunday, April 12, from 2 to 4 p.m. All families are invited to participate.
It’s not too late to donate new and gently used clothing appropriate for children up to 12 years old. Collection bins are located in front of the Schoolhouse and the Barn.
If you have questions, please contact event co-chairs Carolyn Atinizian and Adrienne Mugar. Thank you!
Lunch & Snack Menu
April 13 to April 17
Monday
Snack: craisins; Fritos
Lunch: chicken tikki masala; chana masala; basmati rice; naan; green beans; romaine lettuce with cucumbers, mint, and cilantro
Tuesday
Snack: bananas; Smartfood
Lunch: bowtie pasta with beef meatballs; bowtie pasta with marinara; gluten-free pasta with gluten-free meatballs; steamed broccoli; breadsticks; Asian broccoli salad with ginger soy dressing
Wednesday
Snack: clementines; Pita Chips
Lunch: Make Your Own Nachos: turkey chili, corn chips, cheese sauce, guacamole, sour cream, salsa; vegan sofrito; roasted corn; taco salad with tomato, avocado, and chipotle ranch dressing
Thursday
Snack: apples; animal cookies
Lunch: tomato soup; grilled cheese sandwiches; vegan grilled cheese sandwiches; gluten-free grilled cheese sandwiches; seasoned green beans; Caesar salad
Friday
Snack: fruit; chocolate chip muffins
Faculty Lunch
Please click the button below for a more detailed and updated weekly menu.
BDS News
STAFFING NEWS
Role Change
Kassie Bettinelli, music teacher and arts co-coordinator
We are pleased to share that Kassie will step into the role of arts co-coordinator for the 2026-27 academic year. In this role, Kassie will continue teaching music classes and will manage the ensembles program, providing guidance and support for all aspects of the ensemble experience. Kassie will also collaborate with Anne Armstrong, our current arts coordinator, to learn from Anne’s two decades of experience and to co-facilitate arts team meetings and the team’s ongoing development.
We appreciate all of Tyler Cotner’s contributions as the ensembles coordinator over the past few years, and we are grateful that Ty will support Kassie’s work in that dimension of the arts co-coordinator role.
Kassie embarks upon this new role after four years as a music teacher and modern band director at Belmont Day. In her years at the school, Kassie has founded and grown the modern band program, which now includes over 50 middle school students each year. She has also taught students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, co-led all-school concerts, and created elective classes for middle school, including songwriting, mallet ensemble, vocal lab, and the BDS Showcase. In addition, Kassie co-coordinates the weekly Middle School Meeting, which involves all middle school students.
We are thrilled to have Kassie in this new role and look forward to the vision she will bring to the work, as well as her collaboration with Anne and the arts and ensemble teams.
New Hire
Hannah Kleppner, assistant director of auxiliary programs
We are thrilled to welcome Hannah to the Belmont Day team as the assistant director of auxiliary programs. We have created this new role to provide more robust support for our school year auxiliary programs and summer camp. Hannah will start at the end of April. Hannah joins us with extensive experience in operations, customer service, and recreational education. With a degree in sociology from Oberlin College, Hannah has a background in children’s publishing as well as visitor experience and financial management for non-profits. Hannah arrives with a thorough understanding of the Belmont Day summer programs, having been a camper, future leader, intern, counselor, and administration team member. Her passion for camp, recreational education, community, and supporting teams and programs was evident throughout her candidacy, and we are so pleased to have her join our community in this new role.
Departure
Kyle Beatty, associate director of development
After four years during which Kyle has admirably served our community as our associate director of development and director of the annual fund and alumni relations, Kyle will be leaving Belmont Day on April 22 to join the Groton School as their director of alumni engagement. This new opportunity represents an important step forward in Kyle’s career and is conveniently just 20 minutes from his home.
We will greatly miss Kyle’s kindness, care, and energy in our community. His son, Anders, a pre-kindergartner, will also be departing with his dad, and we know he is excited to join his neighbors and friends in the Bolton community alongside his mom, Lindsay, and little brother James.
We are extremely grateful for Kyle’s steady presence and determination during a time of growth and change in the development department. Please join us in thanking Kyle for the impact he is leaving on philanthropy at BDS. We wish Kyle the very best in his future endeavors, and we know he will continue to carry his love for the Blue and Gold!
Departure
Maren Coniglione, school nurse
Maren will be leaving Belmont Day and heading to her next nursing position at Boston Medical Center. Maren’s last day will be Friday, April 24.
Maren has served an integral role in our health office this past year, providing a calm and competent presence for all and, most importantly, wonderful care for our students. We are incredibly grateful to Maren for the time she spent at BDS and wish her the best in her future endeavors.
While Nurse Lauren Connors has been back in the office on a part-time basis for a few months now, we are thrilled to be welcoming her back full-time after April break. Please direct communication with the health office to Lauren at lconnors@belmontday.org as of Monday, April 27.
2026 YEARBOOKS
Order Your Yearbook Before May 1
The yearbook club is excited to announce that ordering is now open for the all-school yearbook. Orders may be placed until Friday, May 1.
The yearbook cost is $15 for students in pre-k to grade 7. All eighth grade students will receive one complimentary copy. Additional copies may be ordered for $15 each using the order link.
Please use the link below to complete your yearbook purchase online using your Veracross Account or with a credit card.
If you have any questions, please reach out to yearbook faculty advisor Sandra Trentowsky. Thank you.
COMMUNITY EVENT
Help Needed for Faculty Appreciation Lunch
It’s time to show our amazing faculty how much we appreciate them with our long-standing tradition, the Faculty Appreciation Luncheon! On Friday, May 22, the PA will host a special buffet-style luncheon for faculty. This annual luncheon is hosted by our parents, who provide homemade or purchased food contributions.
The PA is seeking donations of main dishes, side dishes, salads, desserts, and beverages. Belmont Day is a nut-free campus, so please keep that in mind when planning your contributions. Please bring your donations labeled with your name and ingredients to the morning drop-off on Friday, May 22. There will be a table in front of the PAC. We are also seeking assistance with setup and cleanup. Please click here to sign up (note that the form contains two pages).
For questions, please reach out to the Faculty Appreciation Luncheon chair Danielle England. Thank you!
ADMISSIONS NEWS
Be a Buddy to a Newly Enrolled BDS Family
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- It’s easy: Admissions will email you with outreach reminders and talking points.
- It’s not too much work: You will only be asked to reach out to your assigned family a few times over the summer and throughout the early fall. Then you’re done with your official duties!.
- It’s meaningful and fun: You’ll help a new family feel welcome in the community, and you and/or your student might make a new BFF.
To make things easy, buddies will receive email reminders for the above tasks, and you will reach out just a few times between June and October. Please fill out this survey as soon as possible if you are interested. Pairings will be shared in late May.
– Judy Bright, admissions and outreach program manager
Learning Updates
Arts Update: Sixth Graders Launch Into Two-Dimensional Arts
Students in the sixth grade take six arts launch classes during the year (two a trimester). One offering is two-dimensional art. In this class, sixth graders explore drawing, painting, printmaking, and fiber art. Students have just finished two drawing challenges this trimester. They created a drawing of a word in one-point perspective and also created a drawing of an animal. With the perspective drawing, they rendered letters that appear three-dimensional by drawing each letter to a vanishing point and added shading with drawing pencils and colored pencils to show depth and dimension. For the animal drawing, students superimposed a one-inch grid on a 4×6-inch photo of an animal and created a two-inch grid on an 8×12-inch piece of drawing paper. Working square by square, they first outlined the animal, added interior details, and finished by adding color and final details to create their animal enlargement drawings.
– Kathy Jo Solomon, visual arts teacher
Fifth Graders Create Some Marvelous Wikis
One of the fifth graders’ final projects for the semester will be creating and developing their own wikis based on their reading of The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton. From now until the end of the term, students will use their wiki as a knowledge base to track the many characters, settings, and magical elements in the story.
Each student has been assigned specific categories to focus on. As they read, they will gather information and add organized entries to their wiki. As the project progresses, students will move beyond simple note-taking and begin engaging in more complex tasks, such as organizing, refining, and curating their content in thoughtful ways.
We are excited to see students strengthen their collaboration and organizational skills while bringing their creative ideas to life through this project.
– Vaniecia Skinner, fifth grade teacher
Athletics Update: Big Wins at Home and Away
After a strong start to the spring season, this week brought our first full stretch of competition and another exciting opportunity for our student-athletes to put their hard work into action. Across our athletics teams, students continued to compete with energy, support one another, and represent BDS with great effort and sportsmanship.
On Tuesday, our track & field team kicked off the season with an impressive first meet at Shady Hill, competing against both Shady Hill and the International School of Boston. The team finished second overall, an excellent way to open the spring season. A major highlight of the day was that six BDS athletes qualified for the State Meet in June: Violet Hancock in the long jump, Annika Cash in the turbo javelin, Zoe Bantham-Livermore and Reema Wulfsburg in the 1600 meter, Pippa Ellner in the 400 meter, and Alana Brown in the 800 meter.
On Wednesday, boys’ lacrosse traveled to Dedham Country Day and came away with a convincing 8–1 victory. James Shields paced the team with four goals, while Graham Chisholm added three and Evan Bae contributed one. It was a true team effort, with strong play on both ends of the field setting the tone for the Blue and Gold.
Also on Wednesday, varsity tennis opened its season in impressive fashion with a commanding win over visiting Charles River School. BDS earned victories up and down the lineup, with the only tie coming at fifth doubles, which had to be called early due to time. While there were some slow starts and clear areas for improvement, the home team settled in, made adjustments, and played with increasing confidence as the match progressed. Of particular note were standout performances from sixth grader Lara Ulukan, who earned a dominant 6–0 win at second singles, and the first doubles team of seventh graders Olivia Hu and Raphael Hsia, who secured a 6–2 victory. Both wins were fueled by consistent play and smart ball placement.
Continue Reading
Ultimate hosted Park this week and earned a wire-to-wire 9–2 victory in a terrific second game of the season. Although the start was delayed after Park’s bus got lost, BDS did not let the unusual circumstances affect its focus. Even with the abbreviated format, the team came out sharp, started fast, and never looked back. Lee Piechota scored three goals and was nearly impossible to cover downfield. Ewan Wheeler stepped into his first game as a primary handler and delivered the pass of the day, a high-arcing forehand that was hauled in by Eyan Morales for one of the home team’s final points.
On Thursday, girls’ varsity lacrosse hosted Dedham Country Day and earned an impressive 15–6 victory. Abigail Chang, Josie Goldstyn, Harper Treisman, Fatoumata Bah, Lucy Rodriguez, and Maren Whitman all found the back of the net in a balanced offensive performance. Sophie was outstanding defensively, helping keep the ball out of the goal and consistently stepping up to carry it up the field. In net, Anna Turco made several terrific saves, using both her stick and her feet to protect the cage.
Also on Thursday, the JV tennis team hosted Fenn and came away with a highly valuable experience. Across the board, our student-athletes displayed positive attitudes and a strong sense of camaraderie, continuing to build both their skills and their team culture in a meaningful early-season match. Captains Cyrus Liszt and Rosie Smith played their hearts out in singles and then stepped into doubles matches when the team was down a few players. Their effort, flexibility, and leadership set a great tone for the rest of the season.
It was a terrific week for our student-athletes and a reflection of the hard work, energy, and commitment they have brought to the season so far. We look forward to seeing our teams continue to build on this momentum in the weeks ahead.
Next week will be a somewhat quieter one in terms of athletic competitions, as our eighth graders present their Capstone projects. We wish them the very best as they showcase the culmination of their hard work and learning.
Go BDS!
– Stephen Marks, director of athletics
Parents’ Association News
Parent Book Group
Our next parent book group gathering will be on Tuesday, April 14, at 7:15 p.m. at Menotomy Grill and Tavern in Arlington. We will discuss The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. We hope you will join us! If you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list, please contact Karla Bays.
BDS Connections Walk
Our next BDS Connections Walk will take place on Thursday, April 16, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Join fellow parents and school administrators for a fun, casual walk through the woods surrounding campus after morning drop-off. We’ll meet at the exterior entrance to Coolidge Hall to start the walk. We’d love to see you there!
Next PA Meeting
Our next parents’ association meeting will be held on Friday, May 15, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., in Coolidge Hall. As explained in Brendan Largay’s email sent earlier this week, we will be conducting a “Family Think Tank” with Leadership & Design. This is a valuable opportunity for parents to participate in the school’s strategic planning process. Please mark your calendars, and we hope to see you there!
Parent Lunch Meet-Ups
We are excited for our next round of parent lunch meet-ups. If you are interested in meeting other BDS parents in a casual setting, consider joining one (or more) of the following lunches we have arranged. Please RSVP through this form.
- Tuesday, April 28 at 12 p.m. – Tatte in Arlington
- Friday, May 1 at 11:30 a.m. – Butternut Bakehouse in Belmont Center
- Monday, May 4 at 12 p.m. – 53 State Street in Boston’s Financial District
Parent Connections Network
If you have a specific question or topic that you are interested in learning more about, please consider utilizing our new Parent Connections Network. This program matches parents seeking guidance or perspective on topics with another parent who has relevant experience. To initiate a match request, please visit the Parent Connections page on the Parent Portal.
Volunteer Opportunities for 2026-27
The parents’ association is seeking volunteers to serve on a variety of exciting committees for the 2026-27 school year. Whether you’re interested in being a grade parent, helping with the Pumpkin Patch, organizing the Family Fun Event, or supporting other initiatives, there are plenty of opportunities with varying levels of commitment to fit your schedule.
A full list of committees and volunteer opportunities is available on the Parents’ Association page on the Parent Portal. If you’re interested in getting involved, please complete the volunteer sign-up form.
PA Contacts
At any time and for any reason, please feel free to email us at bdspa@belmontday.org:
- President – Shanying Zhang
- Vice President – Megan Akkina
- Treasurer – Manish Patel
- Clerk – Jeff Wang
Beyond BDS
FAMILY CONCERT
Cambridge Symphony Orchestra To Play This Sunday
The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra invites all families to enjoy a wonderful concert appropriate for children of all ages, this Sunday, April 12, at the Somerville Armory. There will be two shows at 2 and 4 p.m.
The musical selections are: a Sound of Music sing-along, a waltz from Sleeping Beauty, and Runaway Bunny with an amazing solo violinist and narration.
It’s a great, child-friendly space that is perfect for families to enjoy a symphony orchestra experience with fun, engaging pieces.
Click here for more information and to reserve tickets. Thank you!
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Annual Lone Tree Hill Clean-up to Be Held April 26
The Belmont Citizens Forum and Judy Record Conservation Fund will host the 11th Annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day on Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Help fellow community volunteers care for this beautifully preserved land in Belmont. Volunteers will plant trees, remove invasive plants, and clean up trash that has accumulated over the past winter.
There will be two service areas. For those interested in tree planting, please meet at the Belmont Citizens Forum tent at the Lone Tree Hill parking lot on Pleasant Street. And for those who would like to remove invasives and pick up litter, please meet at the BCF table on South Pleasant Street at the Coal Road kiosk (across from the Star Market parking lot).
For more information, please email bcfprogramdirector@gmail.com. Thank you!
Return to the Parent Portal
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