PARENT EVENTS

Cooking Class – Learn How to Make Pâte à Choux

Wednesday, November 10, 6 to 9:30 p.m.
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

ONLY FIVE SPOTS LEFT!

Come release your inner pastry chef and learn the art of pâte à choux. This versatile dough is a superhero in the pastry lineup! We will pull the dough together using simple ingredients and create both savory gougeres and sweet cream puffs. There will be plenty to sample and take home to your family. This in-person event and space is limited. Click here to RSVP.

All ingredients are included and there is no cost to participate. This fun activity is a collaboration by the parents’ association, the friendraising committee, and the development department. The class will be led by Elise Franklin Bayard (mom of Brynn, grade 6, and Alexis, grade 2).

HEALTH & WELLNESS NEWS

Weekly COVID Testing Update

Being Prepared for Cold, Wet Weather Ahead

GARDEN NEWS

Lessons in the Garden Across the Grades

The BDS garden is not only a place where vegetables and plants that attract pollinators thrive, but it also serves as an outdoor classroom—a learning garden. Upcoming activities include garlic planting by second graders, using the seed garlic planted by last year’s second grade, and an all-class painted mural coming soon. The mural second graders are working is on based on their summer reading book, Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt, all about the garden and the different contributors to a working garden such as ours. Pre-kindergarten will return next week to harvest the remaining multi-colored marigolds, which not only deter some pests but the petals are also edible and can be used to make dyes and pressed flowers.

Our middle school students in the Garden Club are also making weekly visits to the garden, to observe, help, and learn about the seasonal changes of a New England garden. Much of the basil used for the pesto pasta at lunch, and the winter squash added to the butternut squash soup that the kitchen team has prepared was collected by these industrious gardeners. Students have also made visits to the beehives and last week they were joined by master beekeeper Mel Gadd for an in-depth presentation about honeybees, how bee colonies thrive, the recent challenges faced by beekeepers, and for a honey tasting of local honey from Cambridge.

– Kathy Jo Solomon, visual arts teacher and sustainability coordinator

COMMUNITY NEWS

Reminder: School Day Start Times

As we enter our third month of school, please remember to have your student at school on time. Students in pre-kindergarten to grade 4 are marked tardy if they arrive after 8:30 a.m. Many students benefit from coming in earlier at 8:15 a.m. and having 15 minutes to transition and start morning work. Grade 5 students are marked late if they arrive after 8:15 a.m. Middle school students in grades 6 to 8 are allowed inside the building starting at 7:45 a.m. to get settled and are marked tardy if they arrive after 8 a.m.

Early dismissals are highly discouraged as they can be disruptive. Families need permission from a division head for a student to be dismissed early on a regular basis. Please take into account time for dismissal when scheduling after school activities so students do not need to be pulled from class early.

Thank you for your partnership.

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Technology Distractions and Strategies

Let’s face it, adults and children alike can get distracted by our devices between the pings, ringtones, and crafty headlines meant to lure you in. As students become more independent with technology, they often find themselves so distracted that it can impact their learning, their sleep, their friendships, and their school work. As part of the learning process, we support our students by teaching them to self-regulate and find strategies to help them stay on task. Part of the strategy from a teaching standpoint is through the use of management tools the teachers have access to. For example, when on the school network teachers can view student screens, close tabs unrelated to class time, and are able to have a conversation with the student as it’s happening about responsibility, trust, and expectations. It could also come in the form of a fidget spinner that can be picked up and played with when the urge to open a new tab or click on that random link starts to become tempting.

LIBRARY NEWS

Families Can Find and Reserve That Next Great Book!

Families are welcome to browse our library catalog from home in order to request any books for delivery to your child’s cubby in addition to the choices they make when they visit the Erskine Library. Click here to browse the catalog. We piloted this program last year to great success, and we’re happy to continue offering it to anyone interested throughout the year. Requests are typically processed and delivered twice a week.

For students in pre-kindergarten to grade 3, your child’s username for the catalog is their first initial, last name, and year of graduation (e.g., asprung28). Their password is the year the school was founded. Here is a brief tutorial from last year that shows how to search for and place a hold on books (the catalog looks a little different now but it works the same way). For students in grades 4-8, they may log in to the catalog with their BDS Google account to request books.

Please reach out to Librarian Amy Sprung with any questions, and thank you for being patrons of our library.