Blake Updates
September 1, 2019
Welcome Back
We have spent a great deal of time this summer working on how we can best meet the needs of our almost 1805+ students, the largest number of students we have had in a while!! We know that each student has their own story and their own needs. Our goal is to work to learn and meet those needs. Not an easy task, but one that we will be working very hard to accomplish and maintain throughout the year!
As we begin the year, I would like to provide a couple of key tips for the upcoming school year:
- You will receive this email and phone call each Sunday evening. This is a great place for you to get important information about the school year.
- Period 1 starts at 7:45 a.m. This is the time that we expect students to be in class, ready to work. Please help us in making sure that your child is at Blake with enough time to get in and settled in class. Please make sure to double check the bus routes and have students at the bus stop 10-15 minutes prior to the scheduled pick up time. Attendance is a major focus of ours this year and being to school and in class on time is a part of that work.
- On the first day students should come to class with pens, pencils, and paper organized in a way that works for them! They will get specifics on what is needed for each class the first day.
- Parents who drive students to school. Please drive carefully and model patience and appropriate driving skills for our students who are new and learning to drive. Please remember that parents dropping off students should enter through the main school entrance off of Norwood Road and only go through the drop off lane on the student parking lot side. Only students who are parking should pull into the student parking lot area.
This is only a small portion of the important information we are sharing with you this week. Please check out the rest of the information provided in this email and look for the information sent home with students on Tuesday.
Back to School Resources
Opening Week Schedules
Tuesday, September 3
Wednesday, September 4
Thursday & Friday, September 5 & 6
Building our #BESTBlake
- B- the Bonds we are building between our staff and students, our staff and parents, the bonds our staff have with each other and how we support the development of positive bonds between our students
- E- the ways in which we can ensure Equity for all of our students by getting to know what each of our students need and working to meet those individual needs
- S- looking at how we can stretch and empower our students as learners and our staff as educators
- T- working to make connections and tie in to student interests and passions to make learning meaningful for all of our students.
We are starting our work by purposefully and meaningfully working to get to know and build relationships with our students. Through those relationships we will be better able to connect with each student, make them feel valued and welcomed, and meet their needs to support their achievement at higher levels.
Underclassman Picture Day
- 9th Grade: Wednesday, 9/4
- 10th Grade: Thursday, 9/5
- 11th Grade: Friday, 9/6
Updating Student Information
As we start the school year we are asking that you review and update your student's emergency contact information. While you will have the opportunity to do this by hand (as we have done in the past) you can do it quickly and accurately online using the myMCPS Parent Portal. Once you log in to the portal you can find the option to update your student's information along the left side menu (see below). This is the information that is used to send information home via phone calls, email, and US mail.
If you have difficulty logging into the portal, or have forgotten your password you can call Blake and any of our secretaries can help you with this!
Attendance
In welcoming our students back we will be reminding them of the expectations to be at school and in class on time each and every day. The State of Maryland considers students who miss more than 10% of the school year for absences (excused or unexcused) as chronically absent. During the 2018 - 2019 school year approximately 24% of our students were considered chronically absent from school. We know that each of these students have different reasons for their absences and as a school we will be working with students and their families to decrease the number of students who are considered chronically absent.
As we start the school year I will be sharing additional information with you regarding attendance and attendance practices at Blake High School. I wanted to start the conversation by sharing some of the big picture work. We are looking forward to working with our students and parents to make sure that our students are in class, where they will be able to learn and thrive.
Sept. 11- NAACP Parent Council Student Session
The James Hubert Blake High School NAACP Parent Council is hosting our first student seminar on September 11, 2019 during lunch in the Amphitheater. All students are invited to learn more about the mission of our NAACP Parent Council, learn about the activities that will be run throughout the year, and students will hear about the ACT-SO competition. Students are invited to stop in, grab some lunch and learn about the work of our parent council.
Key Dates
- September 3- First Day of School
- September 9- Back to School Spirit Week
- September 11- NAACP Parent Council Lunch Session for Students
- September 12- College Information Night- College Application Process- 5:30 in the Auditorium
- September 12- Back to School Night- 7:00 pm
- September 17- First PTSA Meeting- 7:00 pm in the Media Center
- September 30- No School
James Hubert Blake High School
James Hubert Blake High School is a Signature School for the Fine Arts and Humanities
#BESTBlake
Email: Robert_Sinclair@mcpsmd.org
Website: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/blakehs/
Location: 300 Norwood Road, Silver Spring, MD, United States
Phone: (240)740-1400
Facebook: facebook.com/BlakeHSPrincipal/
Twitter: @Blake_Principal