There is good news this past week, from the Massachusetts School Building Authority vote to students excelling in competitions in Fine and Performing Arts. A great way to end the first month of the new year and begin the next. Due to the February break there is one newsletter.
“Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.”
― Abraham Lincoln
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
- The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on January 27 voted unanimously to approve the Belmont High School building project. This vote is the first step in the long process of the building program. Belmont will enter a 270 day eligibility period where town officials will meet to go over the project and satisfy the preliminary steps required by the MSBA. The Special Town Meeting on February 8 will include a vote to create a high school building committee. We look forward to providing you the details of this first phase and will continue to keep you posted as we move on.
- A survey will be sent February 8 to all parents, guardians, faculty and staff for their input regarding the 2016/17 School Calendar. Last year, we said we would conduct a survey this year as we voted on the 2015/16 calendar as a "pilot". When we get the survey results, we will analyze the data and bring options for the School Committee to consider for the 2016/17 school year and beyond.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
- We are providing an "online registration" process for Kindergarten for the 2016-17 school year as a pilot. Families in Belmont with incoming Kindergarten students will receive postcards during the week of February 8 to direct them to the online registration. There will be more information about this online registration on the website.
- I will be going to a number of PTA/PTO meetings to talk about class sizes, enrollment and budget, and have done so in past months. As the last newsletter stated, the increase in enrollment has been extraordinary over the last five years (426) and is projected to increase by approximately 90 students per year for the next four years--a net gain of approximately 800 students over a ten-year period. With this growing number of students comes the need to house them all, and the space needs are great at all levels. See the link to the Space Task Force space presentation here. I look forward to seeing you at the meetings, here are some coming up:
February 8 - 8:45 a.m.- Wellington
February 10 - 7:00 p.m. - Butler
February 11 7:00 p.m. - Winn Brook
RECENT THREATS TO REGIONAL SCHOOLS
There have been threats to many regional schools, which have resulted in schools enacting shelter in place, temporarily evacuating or dismissing students for the day. There have been many discussions among superintendents and the Massachusetts police on handling these threats in an appropriate manner. We are fortunate to have great working relationships with both the Fire and Police Departments who are at a threatened school within minutes once called. We continue to review our procedures on this matter, and make sure everyone who is in a Belmont School building continues to be safe.
ATHLETICS
- Belmont High Girls Varsity Basketball won the game against Chelmsford HS on January 24 at the TD Garden in Boston with a score of 50 to 36. The game was held to benefit Good Sports, a Boston based organization. See pictures and more on the BHS website.
- BHS Boys and Girls Basketball teams participated in the Coaches vs Cancer fundraising program. By all accounts, it was a successful event. See more information on the American Cancer program here.
- Long Time BHS Varsity Hockey Coach, Dante Muzzioli, was recognized on January 30 during a pre-game ceremony honoring him for his years as a coach.
- The following teams have all qualified for the State Tournament:
Boys/Girls Indoor Track
Boys Swim
Boys Basketball
Boys Wrestling
Congratulations to all the teams.
- BHS spring sports organizational meeting and sign ups are on Monday, February 8, at 2:40 p.m. (Girls' Lacrosse is at 3:00 p.m.). See sport and BHS room location for sign ups here.
FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS
From BPS Director of Fine and Performing Arts Arto Asadoorian:
Honors for Visual Arts Students:
Earlier this month we learned that five BHS students had artwork selected by the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for their Emerging Young Artists 2016 Invitational Exhibition. The exhibition will be held between January 25 and February 6, 2016, in CVPA’s Campus Gallery at UMass Dartmouth, and is designed to showcase the work of the region’s emerging young artists. The following students will have their work included in the exhibit:
Olga Brevnova 12th grade
Della Copes Finke 12th grade
Kabita Das 12th grade
Chun Lok Lo 12th grade
Shreya Patel 12th grade
In addition, thirty-three artists from BHS and CMS had their artwork selected for honors by the Boston Globe "Scholastic Art Competition". Many of them will have their artwork on display at the annual Scholastic Art Exhibit, March 5-20 at Education First in Cambridge (near the Museum of Science).
Please join us in congratulating the following artists for their work:
Chenery Middle School Scholastic Art
Gold Keys
David Jen Printmaking
Maya Manela Drawing and Illustration
Emily McCarthy Printmaking
Victoria Shaw Drawing and Illustration
Silver Keys
Ilias Arredouani Comic Art
Maya Manela Drawing and Illustration
Honorable Mention
Christina Cahaly Drawing and Illustration/Comic Art
Maya Chen-Jones Drawing and Illustration
Leon Fan Drawing and Illustration
Sadie Kabrhel Printmaking
Aditi Khare Drawing and Illustration
Hallie Liu Drawing and Illustration
Jessica Peng Drawing and Illustration
Audrey Propp Comic Art
Christian Rudder Drawing and Illustration
Natalie Tolls Drawing and Illustration
Katarina Westermark Drawing and Illustration
Clark Zhang Printmaking
Belmont High School Scholastic Art
Gold Keys
Clark Addis Painting
Alena Jaeger Painting
Suyeon Ji Painting
Clara Miller Painting
Lauren Paquette Painting
Eileen You Painting
Melina Young Painting
Jia Jia Zhang Drawing
Silver Keys
Megan Alper Sculpture
Olga Brevnova Painting
Annie Li Painting
Honorable Mention
Olga Bevnova Painting
Phoebe Derba Painting
Alice Luo Painting
Sophie Pollock Painting
Ellie Somers Painting
Sierra Tseng Painting
Jia Jia Zhang Painting
Honors for Music Students:
This fall, ten BHS singers were selected to perform in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Division choirs, earning them a place among the most outstanding young vocalists on the east coast. Congratulations to the following students, who will sing at the ACDA Eastern Division Festival in Boston on Feb. 11-12:
Sam Bastille, Grade 10
Grace Christensen, Grade 9
Mary Galstian, Grade 10
Sammy Haines, Grade 9
David Korn, Grade 11
Oliver Leeb, Grade 11
Kevin Martin, Grade 11
Olivia Pierce, Grade 10
Connor Quinn, Grade 10
Edward Stafford, Grade 11
The Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) held auditions on Saturday, January 23, for the All-State Band, Chorus, Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble. Thirty-six Belmont High School were invited to audition for the highest musical honor in the state, and we are proud to announce that fourteen BHS students were selected to perform in the All-State Festival this spring:
Anupama Dinesh, Grade 12 (bassoon)
Mary Galstian, Grade 10 (chorus)
Tenny Gregorian, Grade 12 (chorus)
Hisako Gutterman, Grade 11 (trombone)
Helena Kim, Grade 12 (euphonium)
David Korn, Grade 11 (chorus)
Hannah Messenger, Grade 12 (French horn)
Alex Park, Grade 9 (jazz trumpet)
Georgia Parsons, Grade 11 (chorus)
Calvin Perkins, Grade 10 (trumpet)
Connor Quinn, Grade 10 (chorus)
Hannah Read, Grade 12 (flute)
Ned Searls, Grade 11 (trumpet)
Anya Zhang, Grade 12 (flute)
On January 30, 118 BPS music students in grades 7-9 auditioned for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Junior District band, chorus, orchestra and jazz ensemble. Yesterday we learned sixty-eight have been accepted to perform in those honors ensembles this spring.
Please join us in congratulating the following musicians for their work:
Chenery Middle School MMEA Junior Districts
Idris Abercrombie Trombone
Rebecca Anderson Tuba
Elijah Barnes Chorus
Shea Brams Alto Saxophone
Aristotelis Chaniotakis Chorus
Alyssa Chen Violin
Jason Chen Clarinet
Caleb Christensen Chorus
Jonah Covell Cello
Ziyong Cui Violin
Sylvian Davidson Tenor Saxophone
Garrett Eagar Jazz Trombone
Leon Fan Alto Saxophone
Mariko Findell Chorus
James Fitzpatrick Trumpet
Natalia Freeze Violin
Cameron Gurwell Euphonium
Anthony Haddad Jazz String Bass
Rowan Hart Chorus
Honor Hickman Flute
Ethan Jin Jazz Trumpet
Nate Jones Jazz Trombone
Katie Kaiser Chorus
Daniel Klingbeil Cello
David Lai Flute
Miranda Leeb Viola
Mattea Legere Chorus
Yatin Mankan Chorus
Jackson Mann Chorus
Colin Martin Bassoon
Kole Murawski Chorus
Charlotte Nilsen String Bass
Chloe Park Trombone
Jessica Peng Flute
Ellen Pickette Oboe
Hanna Racz-Kozuma Chorus
Dwight Reed Chorus
Finbar Rhodes Tenor Saxophone
Erik Rosenmeier Chorus
Nathan Sheffield Viola
Aarya Tavshikar Bassoon
Soleil Tseng Violin
Giulio Valfre Zaydenman Chorus
Yanzhe Xu Clarinet
Alex Yang Cello
Abigail Yu Chorus
Jennifer Yu Flute
Clark Zhang Oboe
Karen Zhang Violin
Henry Zuccarello Trombone
Belmont High School MMEA Junior Districts
Sophie Butte Oboe
Lauren Carpenter Flute
Zhengrong Chen Clarinet
Jackie Jiang Flute
Philip Lynch Trumpet
Quinn Manion Tuba
Clare Martin Alto Saxophone
Libby Mason Chorus
Matthew Miller Clarinet
Viola Monovich Jazz Guitar
Cassandra Reed Viola
Eliana Roberts Mallet Percussion
Kate Sandage Clarinet
Joshua Wan Trumpet
Naina Woker Chorus
Izzy Zheng Cello
Tiancheng Zheng Clarinet
Congratulations to all of these artists and musicians for this recognition of their work. These are well-deserved honors that reflect the hours upon hours the students have devoted to developing their level of technique and artistry, and we are incredibly proud of the way that they represent our department, our school and our entire community. They do this with the guidance of dedicated teachers and with the support of their parents, caregivers and families.
GOOD NEWS
- One taping under their belt, tune in February 6 at 6:00 p.m. on WGBH 2 to see if Belmont advances in the WGBH High School Quiz Show. See more on the BPS website.
- Faculty and staff had the opportunity to attend the BPS Wellness Fair on January 20 at the BHS, organized by the Human Resources Department. This was the first Wellness Fair, and by all accounts was a hit. Thank you to Human Resources Director Mary Pederson and Human Resources Assistant Artemis Tingos for organizing the event. Please see pictures and more information about the fair here.
- Burbank Principal Tricia Clifford reports a very successful STEM night, the first one held by the Burbank PTA. Parents, guardians and students created exhibits and presentations, and special guests from World Wide Telescope, iRobot, and others attended. Congratulations to all who took the time to make the night possible.
- Lifelong Belmont resident, former Belmont student, and current Wellington mom, Becca Pizzi, is the first American woman to complete the World Marathon Challenge. She also placed first among the female runners. The marathon challenge has competitors running seven marathons in seven different continents for seven consecutive days. A parade on February 4 sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank was held to celebrate her win, beginning at Belmont High School and ending at the Belmont Savings Bank. Congratulations to Becca Pizzi on her accomplishment.
SAVE THE DATE
- Belmont After School Enrichment Collaborative presents the second free Parent Lecture Series sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank entitled, "Social Success for Tweens and Teens; Understanding and Supporting Social Development in the Middle School Years". Peter Rosenmeier, LICSW, Clinical Director of the Gifford School will present this lecture in the Chenery auditorium on February 8 at 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Please look at the BASEC website for more information.
- The Foundation for Belmont Education (FBE) is holding the annual spring dinner on March 19, 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the Belmont Hill School. The event, called "FBE Fever", has a disco theme this year. Tickets are being sold now with a reply date of March 1. They tell us tickets for the event have sold out before the reply date for the last six years.
CALENDAR
Below are some of the numerous events for the month of February into the beginning of March. Please check school websites and communications for more events and any additional information or changes in dates, times and venues.
DATE/TIME - PLACE/EVENT
2/6 - BHS - ACT Testing
2/8 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - CMS Auditorium - Belmont After School Enrichment Collaborative presents the second free Parent Lecture Series sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank entitled, "Social Success for Tweens and Teens; Understanding and Supporting Social Development in the Middle School Years"
2/8 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - A Cappella
2/8 - 7:00 p.m. - Wellington PTO Meeting, guest speaker Superintendent John Phelan
2/10 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - BHS Solo and Ensemble Concert
2/10 - Boston - The American Choral Directors Association
2/10 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. - Butler PTA Meeting, guest speaker Superintendent John Phelan
2/11 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. - WB Cafeteria - Winn Brook PTA Meeting, guest speaker Superintendent John Phelan
2/11 - 7:00 p.m. - CMS Auditorium - CMS Symphonies Concert
2/13 through 2/21 - Schools not in Session for February Recess
2/23 - 7:00 p.m. - CMS Large Community Room - School Committee Meeting
2/24 - 7:30 p.m. - BHS Library - BHS PTO Meeting
2/24 - Early Release Elementary Schools
2/25 - 7:00 p.m. - Chenery Sixth Grade Concert
2/26 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Wellington Multicultural Night
3/2 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Auditorium - BHS Band Concert
3/2 - Early Release - Elementary and High School
3/3 - 7:00 p.m. - CMS Auditorium - CMS Grade 7 and 8 Chorus Orchestra Concert
3/4 - BHS All School Dance
3/5 - BHS - SAT Testing
3/7 - 7:00 p.m. - BHS Chorus and Orchestra Concert
3/10 - 6:00 p.m. - Arlington Center for the Arts - CMS Art Show "Teen Identity"