May 17, 2019
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It was all smiles for eighth graders and our youngest learners at the pre-k and kindergarten field day.
Message from Head of School
Inspire and Challenge
Brendan Largay, Head of School
Post Date: May 17, 2019
Last night, at our annual corporation meeting, the board of trustees rolled out the school’s first mission statement in its history. The mission is the product of a robust and iterative process with community engagement at every turn. It is my honor and privilege to share it with you here. Have a great weekend everyone.
Inspire and challenge.
At Belmont Day School, we foster intellectual curiosity, honor differences, and empower meaningful contribution with excellence, respect, honesty, responsibility, caring, and joy.
Thank you to all the grandparents and special friends who visited us last Friday!
This Coming Week at BDS
May 20 through May 24
All School
Monday, May 20
ERB Make-Up Day Grades 5 & 6
8:15–9:15 a.m., Grade 5 Parent Coffee, Coolidge Hall
3:45–4:45 p.m., Enrichment Share: Fractured Fairy Tales, Grade 6 Math Classroom
Wednesday, May 22
Grade 4 Plant Sale, Before and After School, Barn Walkway
8–10:00 a.m., Audit Committee, Barn Conference Room
3:30 p.m., Boys’ Lacrosse vs Pike; Girls’ Lacrosse vs Pike; Varsity Ultimate vs SSDS; Varsity Tennis vs Pike
3:45–4:30 p.m., Enrichment Share: Yoga Class, Palandjian Arts Center
6:15–8:30 p.m., Braiding Different Strands Potluck, Coolidge Hall
Thursday, May 23
Grade 4 Plant Sale, Before and After School, Barn Walkway
9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., Grade 5 Field Lab, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
3:30 p.m., JV Ultimate vs Shady Hill; JV Tennis vs Beaver Country Day; Track & Field vs Shore
4–4:30 p.m., Enrichment Share: Clown Class, Grade 2 Classroom
Friday, May 24
8:50–9:35 a.m., Athletics Sharing Assembly, The Barn
9:35–10:00 a.m.Dedication of the Barbara Osborne ’56 Tennis Courts
10–11:00 a.m., Drop-In Camp Tour
8:00 p.m., Auction Overnight Begins
SURVEY DEADLINE EXTENDED!
Annual Parent Survey Will Remain Open Until Monday, May 20
There is still time to complete the annual parent survey and we need your input! Participants are reporting that this year’s survey should only take about 30 minutes to complete, so we hope you will find some time before the end of the day on Monday to participate. Thank you!
BRAIDING DIFFERENT STRANDS
Annual Potluck
Wednesday, May 22, 6:15 to 8:30 p.m., Coolidge Hall
Come enjoy a festive evening of food, drink, and conversation as we toast another successful year with participants of our equity and inclusion groups—parent SEED, faculty SEED, and race-based discussion groups—and all interested parents. Incoming Director of Equity and Inclusion Carlos Hoyt will be our special guest. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!
Please RSVP and let us know if you are able to bring something and what it will be. Don’t forget that BDS is a nut-free school. Complimentary childcare will be provided for school-aged children. Thank you! RSVP here.
-painting by Nico Rimer ’19 answering the question “What’s My Story?”
Plant Sale
Wednesday and Thursday, May 22 & 23
Don’t miss the fourth grade annual plant sale! Students are growing a variety of wonderful plants, from artichokes to sunflowers and lavender, which will all be available for purchase. The sale is in its seventh year and will take place before and after school outside of the Barn near the traffic circle. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Lunch & Snack Menu
May 20 to May 24
Monday
Snack: NutriGrain Bars; fruit cups
Lunch: cheese lasagna; crusty rolls; Caesar salad
Tuesday
Snack: saltines; bananas
Lunch: chicken fingers with sweet and sour sauce; chef’s choice vegetables; pretzels; garden salad with tomato and honey mustard
Wednesday
Snack: snack mix; raisins
Lunch: beef hot dogs; veggie hot dogs; chef’s choice vegetables; BBQ chips; greens with balsamic
Thursday
Snack: Smartfood; apples
Lunch: soup of the day; bagel muensters; chef’s choice vegetables; chef’s choice salad
Friday
Snack: clementines
No Lunch
Looking Ahead
THEATER NEWS
Reserve Your Tickets for Grades 7 & 8 Play
Don’t miss out on Babka Without Borders! This production is sure to not only serve up the laughs but also make you think about relationships and the borders that try to divide us. Tickets are free but limited and can be reserved by visiting our ticket website. Please note that tickets will be provided on a first-come, first served basis only. Production dates are Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m.
GAY STRAIGHT ALLIANCE NEWS
Boston Pride Parade
Saturday, June 8
Members of the middle school Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) invite the BDS community to join them to march in Boston’s Pride Parade as a school. Boston Pride is a fun, affirming event—hundreds of community groups, faith groups, non-profits, schools, and businesses gather to celebrate LGBTQIA+ communities. Participating in Pride is another way to celebrate our diversity, encourage diversity in the wider community, and enjoy each other’s company—all are welcome!
Pride Parade Details
- Our BDS Parade Marshals are two of our GSA advisors, Koreen McQuilton and Liz LaRocque. We are officially registered to march as a group.
- This is a family-friendly, multi-generational event. All are welcome—current families, alumni families, friends, neighbors—invite whomever you wish!
- Wear your BDS gear and join us!
- Scooters, wagons, and strollers are encouraged—it is a long walk for little feet.
- The parade happens, rain or shine! Bring water, dress for the weather, wear sunscreen—and be aware that police and security staff may search bags and backpacks.
- We will meet along Boylston St., likely between 11 and 11:30; we will be assigned our exact time and location on June 5. We will let you know this information in an all-school communication as soon as we know!
- There is a staggered start to the parade this year; we will be marching toward the beginning with other school groups.
- The parade begins at noon. The route winds through downtown Boston, ending at City Hall plaza. The route is 2.27 miles long and takes about an hour. Folks are welcome to join in and opt out at any point along the route. You can see the route and get other important information here: http://www.bostonpride. org/parade/
- We will gather at the end of the parade route at City Hall plaza and take a group picture, then disperse as a group. There are food and organization booths on the plaza or you can circle back out and watch more of the parade.
- The Boston Pride Parade draws about half a million participants and spectators annually—using public transportation is strongly encouraged.
- PLEASE NOTE: Students grades five and under must be accompanied by an adult; middle school students must have their parents’ permission to participate unsupervised. BDS faculty and staff will not assume responsibility for students at this event.
BDS News
ATHLETICS
JV Ultimate Improves to 2-1
After opening their interscholastic season with a loss, the JV ultimate team has now rattled off two straight wins. This week, the team traveled to Cambridge Friends and emerged with a solid 9-5 win behind Ashley Luo’s 3 scores and great defensive play. Sixth grader Brooks Largay added his first score of the season, and classmates Ben Rowe and Kendree Chen chipped in on both sides of the field.
More Athletics News
- The JV tennis team evened its record at 2-2 following a hard-fought 4-3 win at Nashoba this week. Audrey Wu and Noah Kokinos highlighted the match with a 6-3 win at #2 doubles.
- With her best 400m time of the season, sixth grader Bree Legrand qualified for States during track & field’s away meet this week. Lena Cantor also ran a PR in the 200m at Fessenden.
- Underclassmen Emi Biotti, Lynn Lewis, and Elizabeth Amaratunga led girls’ lacrosse to an 8-6 win over Carroll and a 6-6 tie against Park this week in front of the home crowds on Claflin.
- Classmates Alexander Colangelo and Henry Buckley-Jones had their best games of the season for boys’ lacrosse this week and made plays on both ends of the field.
- Coach Rentschler has been relying on the consistent play of Kelyn Kiecza, Ronan Mullan, and Brennan Thomson all season. This week the trio led varsity ultimate to a 5-0 win over Arlington.
- Since returning from injury, team captain Isabella Kim has demonstrated strong leadership on and off the court for the varsity tennis squad who just dropped a disappointing 6-2 loss to Beaver
ARTS NEWS
Building Sets for Babka Without Borders
The middle school student set crew is hard at work creating the stage set for Babka Without Borders, this year’s grades 7 and 8 play. The crew is making 10 wall flats with windows and doors, along with a counter and podium. Through this process, the set crew helps with all aspects of bringing these scenes to life, from the initial designs to building and painting each piece to final installation on the stage.
ANNUAL GIVING NEWS
Let’s “Make it in May” for 100% Participation
With only four weeks left in the school year, 181 families have already made their commitment to the 2019 Annual Fund! That means that we need 25 additional families to make a gift to reach 100% participation. In the coming days, we will be reaching out to you by phone and mail to personally ask for your support.
The annual fund supports our school’s operating expenses and makes it possible for us to include many things as a part of our tuition, such as lunches in Coolidge Hall, class trips, and athletics programs. Gifts of any size are greatly appreciated. So, make your gift today and bring us one step closer to making it to 100% family participation.
Thank you!
– Beth Sousa, Associate Director of Development and Annual Giving
CLUBS NEWS
Pay It Forward Bakes Up a Big Success
The members of the Pay It Forward Club would like to thank everyone who supported our recent bake sale. We raised a total of $385! This money will go to Horizons For Homeless Children, an organization that makes a better environment for homeless children by putting play spaces in homeless shelters.
Again, thank you to all of our patrons and supporters, and thanks to Ms. Juster for all of her hard work to make this bake sale happen.
– Pay it Forward Club
Parents’ Association News
Faculty Luncheon Sign-up
Show your gratitude to the hard-working faculty and staff by contributing a purchased or homemade dish to the faculty appreciation luncheon on May 31. Beverages, food, tablecloths, and more are all needed and appreciated to make this event a success. We still have lots of items on the list, so please consider helping. Instructions for where and when to drop-off are available here.
Upcoming Events
Cradles to Crayons Sorting Event
Saturday, May 18, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Barn Gym
Parent Book Club
Wednesday, May 29, 8:15 to 9:30 a.m., Erskine Library
Book Selection: Naamah by Sarah Blake
Beyond BDS
Solidarity Gathering for Center for Jewish Life of Arlington/Belmont
Monday, May 20, 6 p.m. Arlingt0n Town Hall
In response to the recent arson at the Center for Jewish Life in Arlington and the Chabad Jewish Center in Needham, the Arlington Human Rights Commission is calling on residents of Arlington and Belmont to gather in support and solidarity for the Jewish community. The gathering aims to empower action steps against all acts of hate, bias, and discrimination that so often lead to violence.
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