Community Notes

Our North Star

“When children and teachers feel engaged, safe, and supported we have room to grow and learn through collaboration and risk-taking with our peers.”

Previous "Community Notes" can be found here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

I want to begin by sharing important updates on staffing, class sections, and class consolidations for next year.

To begin, I want to thank everyone for participating in the recent Town Election and for supporting our schools. We are grateful. We do still have budgetary circumstances (planned staffing and program cuts regardless of the outcome of the Override vote) that impact staffing here. That, and the number of class sections we anticipate having next year, will impact the school in a few ways, like:

• Next year we will have two sections of Kindergarten; we also had two sections of Kindergarten this year, so next year's Grade 1 will remain two sections.
• Our Rising Grade 3 cohort (this year's Grade 2) will collapse into two sections due to anticipated enrollment
• Our Rising Grade 7 (this year's Grade 6) will collapse into two sections due to continued small enrollment numbers

Thus, four grade levels out of nine will be in two sections. Because the Override passed, I was able to collapse sections mindfully. In future years it may be that other sections condense based on enrollment. That is a bridge we will cross next school year.

Because of these shifts, we need to adjust staffing - saying good-bye to some staff and moving other staff into new positions. I will make staffing announcements in June, along with news of retirements and resignations; right now we are in the decision making stage of the work.

Ms. Shashoua, one of our Grade 2 teachers, has been recognized by the Brookline METCO Staff to receive a Dr. Jean McGuire Award for Excellence for her outstanding work in the Public Schools of Brookline and with Brookline METCO Program.

Ms. Shashoua has led our Young Scholars Program and co-facilitated our METCO Connections Program for many, many years.

From Malcolm Cawthorne, Brookline METCO Director: "Your efforts are something I am personally grateful for and I know that METCO and PSB are appreciative of your hard work and dedication. Our educators that work with our children represent the pillar of PSB and METCO’s storied success in Brookline."

From the Brookline Education Foundation:

Mayfair - May 20 11am-3pm rain or shine!

It's time! Mayfair is tomorrow (Saturday) from 11-3pm - rain or shine. Come hungry and ready for a good time! UPDATE - we are nearing our goal of raising $10k for the school via the silent auction. Please help us get across the finish line at https://www.32auctions.com/heath

See you at Mayfair!

Author Ilyon Woo Visits Our School

Watch the recorded conversation, here:

https://youtu.be/wbXwvq2xg7Q

Her book Master Slave Husband Wife shares "the remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as 'his' slave." The Crafts are finalists for our school name!

Ms. Woo graciously facilitated a fantastic conversation today with members of our student body. They learned so much during this organic, dynamic discussion.

And, did you Catch this NBC News Story about Ms. Woo, the Crafts, and us? https://www.nbcboston.com/on-air/as-seen-on/the-journey-from-slavery-to-freedom-in-boston/3045887/

The Student Naming Committee met with Dr. Barbara Brown from the Hidden Brookline Committee to discuss two of our school name candidates: Ellen & Willian Craft and Roland Hayes. Watch the conversation here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ANA9kQ5PvTqNh7IRTPEtAg11RYYjikH_/view?usp=sharing

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VOTING!

In June we will hold TWO votes using ranked choice voting:

• the first will be a PRACTICE vote, to make sure our voting system is working. We will be voting on our favorite type of ice cream flavor. The practice vote will happen June 1 and 2.
• The second vote will be to decide our new school name! The school name vote will take place June 8 and 9.

Who can vote? Students, staff, and families. Students will vote at school during the school day. We sincerely hope that you will have these conversations at home and talk about the merits of each candidate before casting your votes!

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Repeating this BIG Announcement! Our Four Finalists!

After careful deliberation, significant time doing research, and lots of introspection, the Student School Naming Committee is excited to announce our four finalists for our new school name! The finalists are (in alphabetical order):

• Ruth Batson
• Ellen & William Craft
• Roland Hayes
• John Woodrow Wilson

✨✨✨ Resources on each candidate are here✨✨✨

Ruth Batson

• Black History Boston: Ruth Batson

• Black History Month Profile: Ruth Batson | Boston.gov

• Ruth M. Batson: Mother - Educator - Civil Worker · Stark & Subtle Divisions: A Collaborative History of Segregation in Boston

• Her Story: Influences · Ruth M. Batson: Mother - Educator - Civil Worker · Stark & Subtle Divisions: A Collaborative History of Segregation in Boston

Ellen & William Craft

• The Great Escape From Slavery of Ellen and William Craft | History| Smithsonian Magazine

• "A Desperate Leap for Liberty": The Escape of William and Ellen Craft

• The Daring Disguise that Helped One Enslaved Couple Escape to Freedom - HISTORY

• "Master Slave Husband Wife": A startling tale of disguise to escape slavery - CBS News

Roland Hayes

• Roland Hayes - Wikipedia

• Roland Hayes Biography – Afrocentric Voices in "Classical" Music

• Roland Hayes - New Georgia Encyclopedia

• Trailblazing Singer Roland Hayes Turned Struggles into Triumphs | WQXR Editorial

• https://radiolab.org/podcast/vanishing-harry-pace-episode-5

• https://www.pbs.org/video/wpt-archives-1990s-musical-legacy-roland-hayes/

John Wilson

• Sculpting a Legacy: The Art and Impact of John Wilson | Tufts Now

• WETA Arts 202 | Season 2 | Episode 1 | PBS

• Acquisition: John Wilson’s "Young Americans" Suite and Five Additional Works on Paper

• John Wilson, at 92; artist spurred by social realities - The Boston Globe

• John Woodrow Wilson - Wikipedia

• Oral history interview with John Wilson, 1993 March 11-1994 August 16

✨✨✨ All of these links live on this document

(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1437-iyXEnXpflu66e2Kj_NA_5lnrLdNcF_P8Cw0q8yw/edit?usp=sharing) and on our website (https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/renameheath) ✨✨✨

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This May we will have our big push as we move towards making our final choice for new school name. In mid-June we hope to cast the community-wide vote and will be using ranked choice voting to decide. I hope you'''ll take time to watch these videos so you will understand ranked choice voting when the time comes to activate!

• https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/rCNrC82BEAuLw1mjfnLGHu?domain=fairvote.org/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq7N2hmX9FI&t=7s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P10PFuBFVL8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z2fRPRkWvY
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZoFjaTSvQY

Each week, we report updates on the renaming process here. Past "Community Notes" newsletters can be found here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

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The "School Name: History & Resources" website page is also updated regularly:

https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/renameheath

PowerPoint from Feb 9 School Committee Meeting

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18xY-JTcM5vrkOM0lZWPBqJDBfvIRUcXpCD6_Rci_56o/edit?usp=sharing

Next week (week of 5/22) is the final week for library check outs. Students will check out as normal as long as they don't have any overdue/lost books on their account. Students with overdue/missing books will not be able to check out. All student library books should be turned in to the library the following week by Friday June 2. Please make every effort to remind your children to turn in their books by June 2. Thank you so much to our wonderful Heath families for being supporters and active users of our library this year!

P.S. Watch out for the exciting summer reading lists coming home in a few weeks!

Support 8th-grade end-of-the-year activities and get your car washed. 8th graders and parents will be washing cars at the front of Heath School. Stop by anytime.

The Heath School Used Book Fair is 2 weeks away!

Please bring books to donate. There will be donation boxes in front of the the school until May 18th.

We are also looking for volunteers:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a4fabaa2cabfc1-used#/

We are proud to launch our Sustainability Corner, an initiative of our 6-8 Student Climate Action Group.

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We'd like to gauge interest in a school-wide Sustainability Food Fest. Will you take this quick google poll?

https://forms.gle/SW1gypGzcQ4nRmAb9

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Importance of Biking
Biking in New England can sometimes bring extreme measures on cold and rainy days, but even just biking to work or school for 10 minutes can create a huge impact on the environment.

To give you a sense of how much change such a small action can create, 9 grams
(≈0.3 ounces) of Carbon Dioxide and if you were to multiply that by however many gallons of gasoline are consumed per day that would become an incredibly large number. Which leads us back to the beginning, where you will be saying “But, with the weather in New England how would we be able to bike?” Well we aren’t saying that you should always bike but when you do have the chance to bike instead of drive, we - the Climate Action group - sincerely ask you to take it.

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Last day of school is June 21 – NOON DISMISSAL!

Find the MCAS testing calendar, here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19K4vDorJ6oKkEwgR0Z9uCvEcB021k_9u7n7kuR0N11I/edit?usp=sharing

Upcoming Events:

• Saturday, May 20th: Heath May Fair, 11:00am-3:00pm

• Monday, May 22nd: MCAS - Grades 6-8 Math Part 2

• Monday, May 22nd: 4B Open Music Class, Music room, 8:45-9:30am

• Monday, May 22nd: 1R Open Music Class, Music room, 10:15-11:00am

• Monday, May 22nd: Grade 3 Rainbow Club, Courtyard for Rock Painting, 11:20-11:50am

• Monday, May 22nd: 4O Open Music Class, Music room, 1:45-2:30pm

• Tuesday, May 23rd - Thursday, May 25th: MCAS - Math/STE Makeups

• Tuesday, May 23rd: 2T Open Music Class, Music room, 8:30-9:15am

• Tuesday, May 23rd: Grades 6-8 GSA, 10:35-11:15am

• Tuesday, May 23rd: 1Z Open Music Class, Music room, 12:35-1:20pm

• Tuesday, May 23rd: Virtual Incoming Kindergarten Open House/Info Session, 1:00-2:00pm

• Tuesday, May 23rd: 3H Open Music Class, Music room, 1:45-2:30pm

• Wednesday, May 24th - Friday, May 26th: Used Book Fair

• Wednesday, May 24th: Grades 6-8 Student Climate Action Group, 10:35-11:05am

• Wednesday, May 24th: 1S Open Music Class, Music room, 11:15am-12:00pm

• Wednesday, May 24th: 3F Open Music Class, Music room, 1:45-2:30pm

• Thursday, May 25th: Third Grade DPW Day

• Thursday, May 25th: 4BW Open Music Class, Music room, 9:20-10:05am

• Thursday, May 25th: AAPI Student Affinity Group, 10:35-11:15am

• Thursday, May 25th: 2S Open Music Class, Music room, 1:45-2:30pm

• Thursday, May 25th: Young Scholars, Room 209, 2:30-3:30pm

• Thursday, May 25th: Term 4: Grades 6-8 Interim Progress Reports Published

• Friday, May 26th: PEP, 8:05-8:30am

• Friday, May 26th: School Site Council Meeting, 8:30-9:45am

• Friday, May 26th: 2A Open Music Class, Music room, 9:30-10:15am

• Friday, May 26th: 3L Open Music Class, Music room, 12:55-1:40pm

• Friday, May 26th: MCAS - Math/STE Window Closes

• Friday, May 26th: METCO End of Year Celebration @ BHS Quad, 4:30-6:00pm

• Monday, May 29th: School Closed: Memorial Day Holiday

• Tuesday, May 30th: Grades 6-8 GSA, 10:35-11:15am

• Wednesday, May 31st: School Play Presentation: Grades 3-5, Auditorium, 9:00-10:00am

• Wednesday, May 31st: Grades 6-8 Student Climate Action Group, 10:35-11:05am

• Wednesday, May 31st: School Play Presentation: Grades K-2, Auditorium, 10:50am-12:00pm

• Wednesday, May 31st: Heath School Play: Seussical! Auditorium, 6:00-7:00pm

• Friday, June 2nd: Art Show, 7:30-9:00am

• Friday, June 2nd: PTO Meeting (in person @ school), 8:15-9:00am

• Friday, June 2nd: 6-8 School Play Presentation (times TBD)

• Friday, June 2nd: Model UN Hold: Phineas and Ferb Student led conference, 11:30am-2:30pm

• Friday, June 2nd: Heath School Play: Seussical!, 3:30-4:30pm

Field Trips:

• Wednesday, May 31st: Young Scholars Field Trip, 1:00pm

• Thursday, June 1st: Grade 6 Field Trip to the New England Aquarium, 8:30am-2:30pm

See you all tomorrow at Mayfair!

~ Asa

Dr. Asa Sevelius, Ed.D. | Heath School Principal

Pronouns: he/him

Previous "Community Notes" can be found here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

Email: asa_sevelius@psbma.org

Website: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/Page/17
Location: 100 Eliot Street, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467
Phone: 617-879-4570

Heath School

The Public Schools Of Brookline | A METCO Partnership School

Dr. Asa Sevelius, Principal & Mr. Kirtan Patel, Vice Principal