January 6, 2023
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A seventh grade English class enjoyed a recent Harkness discussion in the Erskine Library.
Opening Message
Happy New Year!
Brendan Largay, Head of School
Post Date: January 6, 2023
Now that we are back from what I hope was a relaxing and joyful break, I offer you a window into my New Year’s reflections and resolutions. For many, 2022 was, in a phrase, a lot. Despite the hardships of such a year, there is much to celebrate if we only give ourselves permission to remember and reflect. I hope you hold close to the moments of love, peace, and joy you and your family experienced.
I invite you to join me and set a resolution or two for yourself for this new year. I traditionally set two types of goals: one for myself and the other for our community. So, in the spirit of holding myself accountable, I share them with you so we may achieve these goals together.
For myself: It feels cliched, but with each passing year, things move a bit faster. So this year, I plan to be more intentional about staying in the moment. I think about Alex Tzelnic’s Mindfulness Toolkit and the good guidance it offers to achieve this. Hopefully, whether it is an important meeting with a family, my teaching—which began in earnest this week!—or a conversation with a colleague, I will stay in and enjoy every moment. To do that, I will need to slow down and treat my body and mind well with exercise, reading, writing, and abundant patience for myself and others. Those who know me well will be aware that practicing patience may be the most significant challenge I will have.
For Belmont Day: I am reminded of the work to develop our school mission statement in 2018. As we deliberated over every word, the pairing of “caring and joy” to conclude the statement was an early and foundational decision. Caring and joy are at the center of my thinking as I consider our work together as a community in the new year.
COVID and the nature of the pandemic response both here and beyond reshaped our thinking and required maintaining distance from others. The unfortunate result is a habit—considering ourselves before others—that must be broken. Though the pandemic continues and COVID cases fluctuate with the season, I invite us all to take on the resolution of looking beyond ourselves towards a greater good and purpose.
As it happens, on Friday, January 20, during our MLK assembly with our friends from Pine Street Inn, there will be an early opportunity to consider others. Finding joy in caring for one another will be a worthy resolution for us all.
Happy 2023, Belmont Day!
Upcoming Events
Coming Up This Week
Monthly Calendar
Vacation Camp Registration
Registration is now open for the February and April vacation camps. You can find program and pricing details on the Parent Portal and school website. We will hold spots for BDS families through Monday, January 16. Interest in the camps will likely be high this year, so if your family needs coverage during those weeks, please plan to register by that deadline. If you have any questions, please reach out to Blair Fross.
ICYMI: Winter Concert Recording
Before we headed off to Winter Break, we gathered as a community to enjoy songs and musical performances from all grades and student ensembles. If you were unable to join us or would like to enjoy the music again, click here or on the photo above.
Reminder: Winter Collection Drive in Support of Pine Street Inn
All month you’ll find collection bins in the front circle and Barn circle for items we are gathering to donate to those facing the winter without secure shelter. As identified by our partners at the Pine Street Inn, the most needed items include:
- warm socks and gloves
- hand and foot warmers
- underwear and T-shirts
- individually packed snacks (sweet and salty)
- travel-size deodorant
- $5 gift cards for McDonald’s or Dunkin’
As Dr. Martin Luther King observed, “All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” We hope that while you enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends, you’ll remember Dr. King’s work and words, and find time to collect and contribute what you can.
Donations will be accepted through the end of January, with deliveries to Pine Street about each week. Matt Ferrer from Pine Street will join us at our Martin Luther King Jr. assembly on Friday, January 20. We will keep everyone informed if particular items are more urgently needed.
Thank you!
Lunch & Snack Menu
January 9 to January 13
Monday
Snack: mixed fruit cups; Popcorners
Lunch: pasta with meat sauce or marinara (vegan); gluten-free pasta with meat sauce; broccoli; greens with balsamic; crusty rolls; Romano cheese
Tuesday
Snack: bananas; Cheez-Its
Lunch: crispy coconut-crusted fish; vegan nuggets; citrus roasted haddock (GF); green beans; greens with goat cheese, cranberries, and maple sherry vinaigrette
Wednesday
Snack: clementines; Kettle Chips
Lunch: turkey tacos; vegan tacos; hard and soft taco shells; cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream; taco salad with salsa ranch dressing
Thursday
Snack: apples; tortilla chips
Lunch: cheese pizza; pepperoni pizza; gluten-free pizza; roasted root vegetables; Caesar salad
Friday
Snack: apple slices; chocolate chip muffins
Faculty Lunch
For a more detailed and updated weekly menu, please click the button below.
BDS News
COMMUNITY NEWS
Non-binary Bathroom/Locker Room Open In Barn
Thanks to the commitment of the Class of 2022 to help make the Belmont Day campus more welcoming to all, we are pleased to announce that a non-binary bathroom/locker room is now available on the Barn’s second floor. Use of the room is open to all students, visiting athletes, faculty, parents, and visitors.
“I’m really glad that our class gift is a non-binary bathroom/locker room because it is really important to a lot of genderqueer kids, ” said Lila Abruzzi ’22.
Thank you to the Class of 2022 for its advocacy and to the buildings and grounds team for its work to make this important addition to our campus possible.
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Save-the-date for the BDS Auction
Saturday, May 6, 2023, in the Barn
Save the date, hire a babysitter, and imagine swapping your winter hat for something springy for what will be a memorable night of great fun, food, and friends BDS-style! The BDS Auction is the most significant fundraising event our school will host and includes a silent and live auction, plus raffle prizes—all in support of our school. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the BDS community to gather and connect with one another, and we are thrilled to be able to do this event in person for the first time since 2019. Get ready to celebrate, and keep an eye out for additional details soon.
FACULTY NEWS
Associate Teachers Start 2023 in New Placements
The 2022-23 associate teacher cohort has excelled during the first classroom placements of the school year. Each associate has now moved to a second placement for the winter and spring.
Associates will stay in these placements with new mentor teachers through the end of the school year:
- Denise Williams is in second grade with Katie O’Brien
- Sophie Williamson is in kindergarten with Missy Hartvigsen
- Cate Ruland is in first grade with Geoffrey Fox
- Amanda Crain is in third grade with Larissa Rochford ’93
Thank you to all of the mentor teachers from the associates’ first placements. And thank you to each of our associate teachers and Heather Woodcock, director of the associate teacher program, for all you add to our community and the teaching profession.
KITCHEN NEWS
New Staff Members Join the Team
Please help us extend a very warm welcome to two new members of our kitchen team, Sheena Boisrond and Isabelle Dore.
From Sheena (left in photo): “I am 24 years old, I have a 3-year-old daughter, her name is Yazmyn. I’m new to Belmont and I’m already loving it. I love working at Belmont Day School and I can’t wait to learn more here at BDS. Happy New Year!”
From Isabelle (right in photo): “I am originally from France. I was born in the Loire region and worked in Paris for 25 years. I arrived in the U.S. about seven years ago. As a member of the Belmont Day kitchen team, I am proud to give all the children the opportunity to taste different recipes every day.”
Welcome to BDS, Sheena and Isabelle!
COMMUNITY NEWS
Nominations Sought for Board of Trustees
As we do every year at this time, the BDS Committee on Trustees asks members of the community to suggest names of BDS parents (including yourself), BDS alumni, and past BDS parents to be considered for ad hoc committee service and/or nomination to the BDS Board of Trustees.
As the governing body of Belmont Day School, the board of trustees is entrusted with the overall stewardship of the school. The board is responsible for establishing the school’s strategic direction, ensuring necessary resources are in place, and providing oversight of the school’s management. The board is currently focused on the implementation of the strategic plan that was shared with the community last year.
To help guide school policy and to inform board decisions, the BDS board president staffs several board committees made up of trustees and other community members. These board committees delve deeply into mission-critical topics and provide the full board with both informed perspectives and recommendations. Current board committees include finance, investments, audit, development, diversity, strategic planning, and buildings and grounds.
Continue Reading
Members of these committees serve at the discretion of the board president. Typically, trustees begin their service in school governance as ad hoc members of one of these board committees. After service as an ad hoc, a committee member may be nominated to join the board as a trustee. Trustees generally serve at least one three-year term. The board of trustees meets formally five to six times during the academic year, and each trustee serves on at least one board committee.
Just as Belmont Day School seeks strength in the diversity of each class of its students, we seek it on the board of trustees and its committees. Community nominations are particularly helpful in this regard, as they help to ensure that we consider the broadest possible pool of nominees. Of course, the most important qualities for every trustee to possess are a deep affection for the school and a commitment to devote the time and effort necessary to further the school’s mission. Trustees play a critical role in ensuring that Belmont Day School continues to provide the best education possible for our children and for generations of children to come.
If you know someone, including yourself, who you believe would be an asset to the BDS Board of Trustees and is interested in serving as an ad hoc member of a board committee or as a trustee, please:
- Obtain permission from the person you wish to nominate
- Send a letter of nomination to Angel Williams at angelnwilliams@gmail.com
- Ensure your letter arrives no later than February 1, 2023, at which time the committee on trustees will review the entire pool of potential candidates
A slate of nominees approved by the board will be shared with the Belmont Day community for its consideration by April 21, 2023. Trustees are elected by the members of the corporation at the annual corporation meeting to be held this year on Thursday, May 18, 2023.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact any of the members of the BDS Committee on Trustees: Brit Dewey, Jessica Turco, Catalina Guillermety, Brendan Largay, Elliot Targum, Kim Truong, Alex Min, and Angel Williams.
Thank you for your help with this important process.
– Angel Williams, Chair, Committee on Trustees
COMMUNITY NEWS
No Idling Magnet Design Contest Winners Announced
Many of our students enthusiastically embraced the initiative to help end car idling on campus and beyond. They produced a myriad of imaginative and carefully rendered designs. There were so many creative ideas, well-crafted imagery, and powerful statements that the judges, Mr. Largay and Ms. McQuilton, chose one winner from lower school and one from middle school.
We are happy to announce that the designs created by third grader Frances Meredith (top image) and eighth grader Kamila Ruiz (bottom image) were chosen as the winners. Every student and faculty member will receive a magnet soon. Thank you to all the wonderful artists and environmentalists out there; well done!
– Kathy Jo Solomon, visual arts teacher and sustainability coordinator
Learning Updates
PE Update: 2023 Is All About Cooperation
The return from a break provides a nice opportunity to return to our roots in PE, establishing teamwork and building community with cooperative challenges. After defining the word “cooperation” (it doesn’t mean “when something is hard,” but it can be hard!), we were off to the races at partner stations. Students attempted the partner stand-up, the bubble ring toss, the tennis ball stack, navigated the minefield, and even built indoor cairns. The challenges were indeed hard but also filled with laughter and joy.
– Alex Tzelnic, physical education teacher and mindfulness director
Parents’ Association News
The next PA meeting will be an evening meeting, on Monday, January 9, from 6 to 7 p.m., in Coolidge Hall.
Gratitude Board
The submission form for the PA gratitude board is still open so help us fill the board with words of gratitude for teachers, staff members, or even the whole community. We will print them and add them to the board for all to read and appreciate. You can also submit artwork from your children if that is how they would like to express their gratitude and spread kindness.
Book Group
The next parent book group meeting will be held Tuesday, January 17, at 7:30 p.m. at Menotomy Grill and Tavern. We are reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. We have had some lovely gatherings this fall, and we hope you will join us! Please contact Karla Bays for more information or to join our mailing list.
PA Winter Hats
For all those who did not get to buy a coveted stripey pom-pom hat yet, don’t worry; we will have them available for sale again soon.
If you have any suggestions or questions about parents’ association-related activities, please contact us anytime at bdspa@belmontday.org.
Beyond BDS
FILM FESTIVAL
Belmont World Film’s 20th Annual Family Festival
Belmont World Film’s Family Festival is a great event for families with children ages 3-12, offering some of the world’s top films for children and enriching filmmaking workshops. This year’s festival features sixteen exciting film programs and four workshops.
All films will be shown in person on January 14, 15, 16, and 21; all but three films will also be available online from January 20-22. The “Become a Junior Film Critics” workshop will take place in person; the “Learn to Model Shaun the Sheep” and “Learn to Model Gromit” workshops will take place on Zoom. For more information on the films and workshops, and tickets, please click here.
Want to be an usher at the festival? Ushering is a fun and easy way to volunteer to help this beloved community-run festival. It’s also a great way to earn your way to see a few of the great movies and represent Belmont Day! Any BDS middle school students interested in becoming an usher can reach out to Maria Carvalho, director of volunteers, to learn more.
MAKE ART!
Craft A Coyote At the Belmont Gallery of Art
Sunday, January 8 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Belmont Gallery of Art, 19 Moore St., 3rd Floor
Join artists from the i3C Artists Group for this fun, free, and informative hands-on workshop. The workshop will include the theme of celebrating nature and the human connection to it, informing on a local fauna representative, the adaptable–and at times feared and even despised–coyote, and the adaptation they have to go through in the current evolving ecosystem due to climate change. In addition, the workshop will provide a learning opportunity to creatively reuse an everyday object, cardboard – a seemingly limiting material that offers endless possibilities – as repurposed material, while meditating on society’s consumerism and waste. For more information and registration, click here.
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