November 3, 2023
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Look out! We shot some pumpkins across Far Field again this fall to celebrate Spirit Day!
Opening Message
Ensuring the Foundation of Learning: Student Safety
Brendan Largay, Head of School
Post Date: November 3, 2023
The upcoming State of the School is a favorite event of mine because it allows me to discuss features of Belmont Day’s curricular philosophy now, and look forward to the future our students will inhabit. As I prepare for that event, the humanitarian crisis in Israel and Gaza dominates my thoughts and my heart. Indeed, I know I am not alone, as some of you and some of your children have reached out to me to share your heartache.
At Belmont Day, we center our students, their experiences, and, most foundationally, their physical and emotional safety and well-being. Educational theory, from Bloom’s Taxonomy to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, tells us that a sense of safety and belonging is the foundation of learning. Without it, learning becomes inaccessible, as the brain responds to the instinct of survival and closes off inputs to learning.
So, when students are aware of tragic events unfolding across the world that center their identities, when they hear about, witness, or experience antisemitism or Islamophobia in their local communities, some students may wonder how safe they are at school. Our students are vulnerable to the destabilization in the world beyond Belmont Day’s walls, which can certainly impact their experience within them.
Our goal at school always is to ensure that students feel a sense of well-being and belonging. Our mental health team, led by Dr. Arlene Silva and Josh Sussman, is well-prepared to meet our students with care and respect. Our DEIB team, led by Connie Yepez and Mike Marroquin-Castillo, offers space for students to receive support and share their concerns. Affinity spaces create a student community where participants support one another. Next week, middle school teachers will meet with their students to remind them of the resources that are available to them.
The Mindfulness Toolkit provides strategies for families and teachers to help students self-regulate. Josh, Arlene, and Alex Tzelnic will discuss the Toolkit and their roles in supporting students at the parents’ association meeting on Thursday, November 16. Yet, for all we are doing now, we know there remains work to be done. We arrive each day ready, eager, and willing to keep working.
The cornerstone of safety, well-being, and belonging in our community are the six core values. Living these values requires us to take a stand, even when doing so is complicated or fraught.
- Belmont Day stands against antisemitism and the ignorance and hatred that fuels it.
- Belmont Day stands against Islamophobia and the ignorance and hatred that fuels it.
- Belmont Day stands to counter and provide shelter from any and all forms of discrimination.
The unrest in the world is persistent and pervasive. The pain it causes for students, teachers, and families is real. In challenging times, I turn to the hope and optimism that our students embody. This world will be theirs to lead, and we are committed to preparing them for that responsibility with safety and care at the center.
Upcoming Events
Coming Up This Week
Monthly Calendar
Trimester 2: After School & Enrichment Registration Opens Monday!
Enrollment for the winter trimester open on Monday, November 6. Enrichment class details and the trimester dates and pricing for the After School Program are available on the Parent Portal. For any questions, please reach out to Blair Fross or Denali Kikuchi.
Fall Garden Workday
TOMORROW! Saturday, November 4, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
As we wind down our harvesting for the season, please join us for the fall garden workday. Parents with their children are invited, and middle school students can come with a parent or on their own. We’ll work together to put the school garden to rest for the winter. Help rake, clear, mulch, and more! Please contact Kathy Jo Solomon with questions or if you plan to attend.
STATE OF THE SCHOOL
Wednesday, November 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Palandjian Arts Center
How are we doing? Where are we headed? Join us for the 2023 State of the School! Far from a stuffy, lecture-like affair, the State of the School is an annual community learning opportunity, a celebration of the work we share in to bring our mission to life for our students and community.
Join us for a comprehensive evaluation and explanation of the Belmont Day education of today and the plans and aspirations for tomorrow. Brendan Largay, head of school, and the programmatic leadership team (Liz Gray, Betty Chu Pryor, Anthea Lavergne, Annie Fuerst, Connie Yepez, and Blair Fross) will present on programmatic excellence in 2023 and the philosophies and pedagogy that inform our curriculum.
We encourage all to attend.
Lunch & Snack Menu
November 6 to November 10
Monday
Snack: applesauce; Smartfood
Lunch: penne pasta with marinara; pasta with marinara; gluten-free pasta with marinara; crusty French rolls; roasted Mediterranean vegetable blend (red pepper, red onion, eggplant, summer squash, and zucchini); mixed greens with balsamic
Tuesday
Snack: bananas; granola bars
Lunch: ginger soy chicken thighs; ginger soy tofu; Basmati rice; steamed broccoli; boky choy with red peppers, scallions, pumpkin seeds, and soy dressing;
Wednesday
Snack: clementines; Fritos
Lunch: BDS beef stew with potatoes from the garden; vegan vegetable stew; buttermilk biscuits; green beans; spinach salad with sherry vinaigrette, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds
Thursday
Snack: apple slices; graham crackers
Lunch: warm ham and cheese croissants; warm vegan cheese subs; gluten-free ham and cheese paninis; crudite with ranch dressing; roasted cauliflower; Caesar salad
Friday
School closed for Veterans Day
For a more detailed and updated weekly menu, please click the button below.
BDS News
COMMUNITY NEWS
Be Prepared for Colder Weather
You may have noticed this week that the temperatures outside are dropping fast. The first frosts are on their way, and cold and wet weather will soon be here. We want students to be prepared to enjoy the outdoor classroom of the BDS campus every day.
Please start sending students to school with more layers. To be safe and comfortable, your child should always have:
- A warm coat (a sweatshirt, fleece, or vest is not enough below 40 degrees)
- A hat or hood
- Gloves or mittens
- Extra socks
- Boots and snow pants—students without this gear will be unable to join their friends playing in the snow
Read More
It is a good idea to keep a set of outdoor gear in your child’s cubby/locker so that they are always prepared. It is also a great idea to keep a set of spare clothes at school (no matter your child’s age) in case clothes become wet or muddy while playing outside.
Middle school athletes go outside throughout the school year and should have long pants/sweatpants available each day and appropriate gear for the weather.
Students in After School enjoy the outdoors daily as well, especially on Fridays—along with lunch, please ensure your child is outfitted for healthy and happy play outside.
Please let the school nurse know if you have any questions or concerns.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Lost and Found Is Filling Up!
Lost and found is reaching capacity with items galore that we’d love to reunite with their owners. Please check the lost and found soon! It is located in the hallway between Liz Parfit’s office at the front of the Schoolhouse and the sixth grade classrooms. Check in at the front desk, and you will be directed right to it.
Please consider using either of these two great options for labeling items. Twenty percent of each order (before shipping and tax) goes back to the school.
Mabel’s Labels: On the home page, select “Support a Fundraiser” and choose BDS.
Sticky Monkey: During checkout, enter coupon code “BelmontDay.” Your order will be discounted by $.01 to confirm that the code works.
DEIB COMMUNITY EVENT
Braiding Different Strands
Due to scheduling conflicts, we must cancel the November 7 session of Braiding Different Strands.
The next meeting will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, December 5, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. We will announce the topic for that session in the Scoop in the coming weeks.
We welcome and encourage all community members to join us in these conversations. If you have any questions, please contact Connie Yepez, director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, or Mike Marroquin-Castillo, assistant director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
BUSINESS OFFICE
Field Trip Invoices Available: Payment Due November 15
The business office has issued invoices to parents whose students attended the following field trips:
- Grade 5 – The Farm School
- Grade 6 – Thompson Island Outward Bound
- Grade 7 – Appalachian Mountain Club Cardigan Lodge
- Grade 8 – Project Adventure
Invoices can be accessed, and payments can be initiated through the Parent Portal. Please log in and click on the blue “Invoices & Payments” button to review your account.
Payments are due by November 15, 2023. For those who participate in AutoPay, payments will be processed on November 15, 2023. Please contact the business office with any questions.
– David Gordon, chief finance and operations officer
CAPSTONE 2023-24
Share Your Expertise With an Eighth Grader
Would you like to be involved in the Capstone Program? Take a moment to check out the research topics of our eighth graders—you’ll be amazed by the variety! Do you or someone you know have expertise or experience in one of these areas? If so, we’d love to hear from you.
Eighth grade students are hard at work on their Capstone research and writing. The research and resulting papers represent the first part of the Capstone “triathlon.” Eighth graders are outlining their papers after concluding the research they began last spring. They are showing determination and pride as they refine their research into thoughtful papers.
Starting just after Thanksgiving break, students will embark on the second leg of the triathlon. They will design a project that grows out of the knowledge they have gained during the research and writing phase, as well as what they still want to learn. In this phase, students take charge of their own active learning. One aspect of the project phase is an interview; this is where YOU come in! If you have contacts who could prove useful to students during the project phase, please get in touch with me. Our students thank you for your interest and support. Hope to see you at our presentations April 8-12.
– Jennifer Friborg, Capstone Coordinator
Capstone Research Questions
- What are the origins of the Ancient Olympics, and how did they evolve to be the most important sporting event in Greece?
- What are the potential positives and problems with AI?
- What is the science of de-extinction and is it ethically permissible?
- What is quantum physics and how is it being used in technology today?
- What is sustainable architecture and how will it continue to shape the world?
- What is the current state of the salmon industry and how will it change in the future?
- What are the economics of the coffee industry?
- How did airline deregulation affect the aviation industry and how does it affect our broader understanding of economic deregulation?
- How can fashion be used to present power, and how does that affect how people view themselves?
- Why aren’t students with dyslexia thriving in most schools and what is being done to change that?
- What are cybernetics and how will cybernetic enhancements continue to affect human health?
- What is doping and how does it affect the MLB and its players?
- How do submarines contribute to underwater research?
- How is blood used in the field of forensic science and is it reliable?
- How do police dogs impact peoples’ lives and what advantages do they have compared to humans?
- What is sports nutrition and how does it affect athletes?
- What are the most effective methods for muscle recovery?
- What has discrimination against Asians looked like in the United States’ past and present and what is being done to solve it?
- What are synesthesia and other multi-sensory experiences and why are they important?
- What are keystone species and how do they affect our world?
- How are viruses important to medicine and the environment?
- How has activism in sports been used in the past and present and how does it affect player’s careers?
- How do we measure the relative success of economic systems?
- What is the connection between flow and happiness?
- How does dopamine impact humans?
- What do successful authors and their bestselling books have in common?
- What is carbon regulation and how would it impact daily life?
- What are some events that have contributed to the development of the computer?
- Where do fairy tales come from and what impact do they have on today’s children?
- How does ballet affect physical and mental health?
- How is the sports agent profession changing?
- What was the relationship between the Ancient Olympic Games and the arts?
- What impact did the state of the country have on Ethiopia’s ancient structures?
- What does sexism look like in the music industry and what are women doing about it?
- What is mirroring behavior and how does it present itself in our daily lives?
- What is color psychology, and how does it affect human emotions and behavior?
- What is dementia and what does the future hold?
- How do organized athletics affect a child’s development?
- What is the phenomenon of Taylor Swift and why does it matter?
- Why do some regions of the world want to become independent countries, and what is the connection with culture?
- How is technology evolving in the field of meteorology?
- How did scientists and political figures navigate the moral and strategic implications of developing the atomic bomb?
- How do our brains impact our behavior and emotions and why does it matter?
- What was the development of the 20th century musical and how is an individual musical created?
ARTS EVENT
Middle School Music Showcase
Monday, November 13, at 7 p.m.
Palandjian Arts Center
Please join us in supporting our incredible students who have organized, will run sound, and will be performing at the BDS Music Showcase! Middle school families, please check your email inbox for additional information and an RSVP form sent from Mrs. Bettinelli. We look forward to seeing you there!
Learning Updates
Spanish Students Learn, Share About El Días de los Muertos
Spanish students learned about and celebrated the traditional Mexican holiday, Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Through different audio activities, students engaged in hands-on projects. Sixth grade students are making educational posters to teach the Belmont Day community the differences between Halloween and the Day of the Dead; they learned the traditional celebration icons from the eighth grade students’ projects displayed on a touchscreen in the Barn.
Seventh grade students followed this presentation to create altars to honor a friend, family member, or an artist who inspired them. The eighth grade students created an interactive display with the traditional icons, adding their voices to the presentation. The audio is in Spanish, and they also wrote the Spanish and English versions to enrich the display experience.
There are many events in the Boston area to join the celebration, immerse in the Hispanic culture, and have a fun and rich experience.
– Ana Maria Restrepo, middle school Spanish teacher
Kindergartners Trek to the Garden
After a unit on pumpkins, kindergartners took the first of what will be many trips to the school garden with Ms. Solomon. Not only did they get to pick flowers, but they harvested and later tried purple carrots and celery! As an added bonus, kindergarteners left two pumpkins near the garden as a science experiment. What will we see when we return to check on the pumpkins? If you see a kindergarten scientist, ask them about their hypothesis.
– Missy Hartvigsen and Elizabeth Ho, kindergarten teachers
Fourth Grade Ventures to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
The fourth graders had a wonderful visit to the MFA last Thursday. Students enjoyed locating artifacts from our “Mapping the Ancient World” project at the museum. Once they found their artifact, they shared facts about the civilization it came from with their group of classmates and chaperones. Students also visited the Greek art gallery, which is the favorite gallery of a character in a novel we are reading in class. Students were able to see the character’s favorite statue and look for clues to solve a mystery in the book. The final stop was with Madame Pellenq in the French Impressionists Gallery. They enjoyed having time to sketch some paintings they were learning about in class.
– The Fourth Grade Team
Athletics Update: JV Volleyball Finds Success on the Court
This fall, BDS piloted an intramural volleyball team that spent the season learning the game, practicing skills, and holding weekly scrimmages. Over the course of the season, players improved tremendously and are prepared to step into a more competitive environment next year. Highlights from the season include amazing overhand serves by captain Clem Cradick, strong passes from fellow captain Ariel Duan and key contributions from newcomers Eyan Morales, Mackenzie Ekechukwu and Eileen Luo. Under the tutelage of head coach Jen James, this group has worked hard and is ready to carry the baton passed by this year’s varsity volleyball team. Speaking of varsity volleyball, the team wrapped up their interscholastic season with a hard-fought, three-set loss to Shady Hill this week. Despite the loss, the team finished with a 6-2 record and cemented their place in the BDS record books as the first-ever interscholastic volleyball team. Congratulations to all of our volleyball athletes on an incredible season.
– John O’Neill, director of athletics
Athletics News
- Murilo Santos followed up his Friday Night Lights goal with an equalizer as time expired during boys’ varsity soccer’s 2-2 tie against DCD this week. Adam Ahmed didn’t allow a goal in net.
- Aman Singleton scored twice during boys’ JV soccer’s 2-2 tie vs Waldorf. Clark Rutherford was strong in net while Zeke Fine commanded the defensive unit with poise.
- With a commanding 31-0 win over Fay, the JV football team finally got a W. Christian Atem had a pair of TDs and Suryavir Nallari-Jhala played stout defense.
- The field hockey team lost to DCD this week. Laurice Bandar played hard in the midfield and distributed the ball well. Ella Kamenski provided the scoring chances for BDS.
- The cross country team will take their undefeated record to the MA State Championships tomorrow in Devens, MA. Sam Leviton is primed for a big day on the 1.86 mile course.
Sixth Grade Looks at Effects of Earth’s Tilt, Rotation
In science classes his week, sixth grade students manipulated physical models to demonstrate their understanding of the “reasons for the seasons.” From demonstrating how characteristics such as axial tilt work to explaining why they matter, students also played with different “What If?” scenarios to identify how Earth would be different should the characteristics cease to occur. Plenty of illuminating moments were shared between students, and they weren’t all from the flashlights they were using!
– Bill Hamilton, sixth grade science teacher
Parents’ Association News
Online Book Fair Starts Next Friday
On November 10, the parents’ association’s annual Book Fair will launch online. For one week, November 10 to 17, a portion of all purchases made at www.belmontbooks.com with coupon code BELMONTDAY23 will go to support the PA’s Faculty Appreciation Fund. Please keep an eye out for an email next week with this year’s Book Fair website containing suggested books by grade level from librarian Amy Sprung and a wish list for contributions to the Erskine Library.
On Friday, November 17, from 1 to 6 p.m., we hope you will join us in person at Belmont Books for a special in-store shopping event! A portion of sales store-wide will support us, so please spread the word to family and friends.
Parent Book Group
The parent book group will meet on Tuesday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Menotomy Grill & Tavern to discuss Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu. The paperback is a quick 208 pages, and the audiobook is only 5 hours and 28 minutes. We hope you will join us. Please contact Karla Bays if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list.
PA Meeting
Our final PA meeting of 2023 will be held on Thursday, November 16, at 8:30 a.m. in Coolidge Hall. Please note this occurs on a Thursday, not the usual Friday for PA meetings.
In addition to committee updates and a run-down of upcoming events, we will hear from new school psychologist Arlene Silva and school counselor Josh Sussman about their roles, how they support our children, and when a parent might reach out to them. Alex Tzelnic, physical education teacher and mindfulness director, will join Josh for a primer on their Mindfulness Toolkit that helps students and parents alike. A more lengthy Mindfulness Toolkit session will be offered at a future date. Coffee and Light refreshments will be provided. We hope to see you there.
PA Contacts
At any time and for any reason, please feel free to email the parents’ association executive team at bdspa@belmontday.org.
Beyond BDS
CANDY DONATION
Local Organizations, Businesses Accepting Extra Halloween Treats
Maybe you and the kiddos have had your fill from Halloween already? Or maybe you saw a few less trick-or-treaters at your door this year? If you’re looking for a place to donate extra candy, there are a number of local spots to drop it off.
Arlington Food Pantry, 117 Broadway, Arlington, has drop-off hours from 1:00 to 6:00 on Tuesdays. If that timeframe doesn’t work, there is also a 24-hour accessible donation box at Covenant Church, 9 Westminster Avenue in Arlington.
Arlington Orthodontics, 800 Mass Ave., Arlington, has a candy buyback where they will donate money to the school PTO of your choice and send the candy to troops overseas. They are collecting candy this afternoon, Friday, November 3, and Saturday morning, November 4.
Belmont Orthodontics, 11 Alexander Ave., Belmont, is accepting Halloween candy that the kids got trick or treating.
MUSICAL THEATER
BDS Students to Perform in Beauty And The Beast
Belmont Day eighth graders Grace Sullivan and Brynn Franklin and fourth graders Anahita Stuti-Bala and Jack Hargrove will take the stage next month in Menotomy Musical Theater’s production of “Beauty And The Beast.” Tickets are now on sale for the three performances, Friday, December 8, at 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, December 9 and 10, at 4 p.m. All performances will be at the Belmont Town Hall Auditorium, 455 Concord Ave. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
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