Community Notes

Heath School ~ May 12, 2023

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

Dear Heath Community

We continue the celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with our AAPI Books & Storywalk showcase in front of the school. Maybe you have read the stories on display?

The Brookline Asian American Family Network (BAAFN) was awarded a grant of $6,000 from the Brookline Community Foundation to purchase over 400 books representing Asian American Pacific Islander authors, illustrators, and stories for our eight K-8 school libraries. The school librarians worked with BAAFN to look at our collections, research the newest and best AAPI books, and develop wish lists. The books were purchased from the Brookline Booksmith, cataloged and covered, and distributed to the schools.

These beautiful new books will be displayed, read, and reviewed by librarians, teachers, and students throughout the month of May in honor of AAPI Heritage Month and in preparation for the Town of Brookline’s First Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Day on Saturday, May 20, 2023. These rich AAPI stories will live on in our eight school libraries for all students to enjoy.

Please enjoy the storywalk outside our school of one of our AAPI books, "Playing with Lanterns". Thank you to BAAFN and all of the donors for supporting our wonderful schools!

Administrative Assistants Day & Nurse's day

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Regretfully, I failed to mark this years' Administrative Assistant Day; the day was in late April. So I will recognize the Front Office team now, instead.

Ms. Millet, our school secretary, is our financial manager, chief trouble-shooter, welcoming committee, master organizer, and dear colleague. Each day I find new reasons to be in awe of her talent and capacity to get stuff done. She is truly a professional par excellence.
Ms. Maria Kalaitzidis provides the just-right support for Ms. Millet, myself, and the students. Whether at lunch duty, while working with families, or placing orders for the things we need to get the work done - I always trust Ms. Maria will give it 100%.

Yesterday was Nurse's Day! How did our school get so lucky to have the amazing Nurse Gail Corcoran on our team? She has our trust and admiration!

I know that we are a much better place because of their service to our school.

Elyse Terry Awarded BEF's Charlie Baker Award

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From the Brookline Education Foundation: "The Charlie Baker Legacy Award is a specially named teacher grant award to encourage professional development activities in the areas of US History and World Geography.

Recipients of the award are selected from among teacher grant proposals in the areas of US History and/or World Geography. The purposes of the award are twofold: to encourage the study of the United States’ economic, environmental, ethnic, racial, or cultural past with a view toward improving one’s knowledge of the history of the United States, and to encourage the study of World Geography with a view toward promoting and increasing geographic literacy in the classroom."

Our 6/7 Social Studies Teacher, Ms. Elyse Terry, was the recipient of this year's Charlie Baker Award and will use the funds received from the grant and this award to fund her travels through Rome. She seeks to deepen her understanding of Rome's ancient history and how that history is documented and use what she learns in her work with students.

Congratulations!

School Renaming Efforts: Getting to Know Our Finalists

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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

Ellen & William Craft

Roland Hayes

John Wilson

✨✨✨ 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!

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

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Exhibit Opening Showcasing the Work of School Name Candidate John Wilson

John Woodrow Wilson, American sculptor and painter, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1922. After years extensive studying, teaching, and travels, Wilson settled in Brookline with his wife, Judith Kowitch, in the 1970s. This community is where they raised their children and made their home.

Wilson’s art celebrated social movements and civil rights leaders (like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Shirley Chisholm), shined a harsh light on the horrors of lynching, exposed the impact of poverty on Black communities, and uplifted the inherent dignity of Black lives. Because of these themes and the period in which Wilson was making his art, he was often considered a political artist.

We hope you'll visit this exhibit and learn about the incredible Jon Wilson.

https://martharichardsonfineart.com/john-wilson-father-and-child-reading/

Click here to learn about this opportune exhibition: https://martharichardsonfineart.com/exhibition/

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Spring Art Show!

Heath PTO 2023 Spring Grant Cycle Closing Soon!

The Heath PTO is now accepting grant proposals for the 2023 Spring Grant Cycle. We invite members of the community to submit proposals that benefit our school community. The proposal submission link is available at:

https://heathpto.org/grants

Proposal submissions are due by Wednesday, May 17, 2023 - that is next week!

Any questions about the process? Feedback? Or would you like to volunteer to be a part of the grants committee? Please email the Heath PTO (contact@heathpto.org) to let us know.

Mayfair: One Week Away!

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

The excitement is building and Mayfair officially kicked off today when our online silent auction went live! Join the fun HERE! Win summer camp, private yoga, Red Sox tickets, a ride in a police car, HASAP classes, a stay in Stowe, VT and MORE. All money is for Heath School. And remember - Mayfair is Saturday, May 20 (rain or shine) from 11am-3pm. See you there!

Used Book Fair!

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#/

Climate Action Group: Sustainability Corner!

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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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Everyday we are composting during lunch! Kids line up to help with the composting, putting on the blue gloves and directing traffic when lunch comes to a close. We love to see it!

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7th Grade and Older? Consider Joining Crew!

Upcoming Events

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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:

Monday, May 15th: MCAS - Grade 3 Math Part 2
Monday, May 15th: MCAS - Grade 4 Math Part 2
Tuesday, May 16th: MCAS - Grade 5 Math Part 2
Tuesday, May 16th: Grades 6-8 GSA, 10:35-11:15am
Wednesday, May 17th: MCAS - Grades 6-8 Math Part 1
Wednesday, May 17th: Grades 6-8 Student Climate Action Group, 10:35-11:05am
Thursday, May 18th: MCAS: Makeups
Thursday, May 18th: Young Scholars, Room 209, 2:30-3:30pm
Friday, May 19th: MCAS: Makeups
Friday, May 19th: Model UN Conference at NorthEastern University, 8:00am-4:00pm
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, 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

In Closing

This is the time of year when the events begin to come fast and furious, so be sure to check this space for all of the many events across the school.

One event that happened Wednesday night was Family Game Night. Thank you all for the energy, joy, and excellent times. The night was beautiful and it felt like family recess! We are especially thankful for Ms. Rasheedah Clayton (parent), Ms. Morales (our METCO Advisor), and the entire METCO team for showing up so joyfully in service of our community. This was the perfect way to welcome to warmer evenings and just play together.

Enjoy the weekend ahead!

~ Asa