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MESSAGE FROM LEESA MERCEDES, Ph.D.

Athletics News

Varsity Hoops Teams Upend Waldorf

Arts News

Beginning the Journey into Artificial INtelligence


December 16, 2016

“Our story, post PoCC, involves a recommitment to encouraging authentic and mutually respectful dialogue and a call to action to support all members of the Belmont Day School community.”

So concludes the following reflection from Dr. Leesa Mercedes on the heels of the three-day People of Color Conference last week. Seven faculty and one board member attended this conference and for each of them, the experience was equally revitalizing, motivating, and inspiring. We are grateful to have them back sharing what they have learned. Sincerest thanks to Leesa for sharing her reflections on the impact of the conference with us all. -Brendan Largay


Last week, the National Association of Independent Schools hosted the People of Color Conference (PoCC) in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual conference aims to unite educational leaders within independent school communities to think critically about how to acknowledge and confront issues of equity, diversity, and social justice. The theme this year, "Advancing Human and Civil Rights – Fulfilling the Dream Together," invited attendees to engage in dialogue about implicit/explicit bias and systemic racism in order to collaborate across real and perceived differences to effect positive change for all faculty, students, and families in our school communities. Belmont Day faculty members Tina Fox, Carl Geneus, Sarah Hughes, Dale McGhee, Leesa Mercedes, Betty Pryor, and William Yepes along with parent/board member Jackie Robinson joined over 5,000 students, teachers, and administrators at PoCC. The conference features speakers, workshops, and affinity groups that bring to life and put into practice many of the values that we work to uphold at BDS every day including respect, excellence, and responsibility.

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Boy playing violin.

NEED TO READ

Upcoming Events
Sunday, December 18 to Saturday, January 7

B Week
Monday, December 19: No Interscholastic Athletics, Athletes Dismissed at 3:30 p.m.; Winter Concert, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Gym

Tuesday, December 20: No After School, Extended Day, or Enrichment Classes; Pajama Day; Barn Design/Utile, 8:15 to 10:30 a.m., Erskine Library; Send-Off Assembly & Share the Warmth, 11:15 to 12:15 a.m., PAC; School Closes at 12:30 p.m. for Winter Break

Wednesday, December 21 to Tuesday, January 3: School Closed: Winter Break

A Week
Wednesday, January 4:
School Closed for Students: Professional Development Day for Faculty

Thursday, January 5: School Reopens for Students; Grade 8 Parent Coffee, 8 to 9 a.m., Coolidge Hall; Raise Y[our] Voice Belmont Gathering, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, January 6: Enrichment Assembly, 8:50 to 10:30 a.m., PAC; Grades 7 & 8 Dance, 6 to 8 p.m., Coolidge Hall

Saturday, January 7: Belmont SaturDay Concert with Jeff Jam, 10 to 10:45 a.m., Coolidge Hall 

Lunch & Snack Menu

Monday
Snack: Tostitos; fruit cup
Lunch: chicken fingers; Lays potato chips; hot veg special; garden salad

Tuesday
Snack: special snack; fruit

Week of January 2-6

Thursday 
Snack: RF potato chips; fruit cup
Lunch: cheese tortellini with marinara; warm french rolls; hot veg special; greens with balsamic

Friday
Snack: Go-Gurt; apple

Kids Swimming.

WINTER CONCERT NEWS

Reminder: Details and Directions

The winter concert is almost here! Click here for information on arrival times, concert dress, seating, parking, and more.

Kids Swimming.

ENRICHMENT NEWS

After School & Enrichment Next Week

The last day of after school for 2016 will be Monday, December 19. Please note that there are no enrichment classes running on that day. Questions? Contact Blair Fross at bfross@belmontday.org.

Kids Swimming.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION NEWS

Fitness Fun

Third and fourth grade students have been learning about the importance of fitness. Students started off by learning about five key areas of fitness: endurance, strength, flexibility, balance, and agility, and different activities/exercises focusing on the key areas. Students then created and completed their own customized fitness workout.

PA NEWS

Lost and Found

Come by the lost and found table and coat rack to reclaim your lost jackets, clothing and accessories, and even platters and dishes. They will be located outside the gym doors for the winter concert and outside the PAC for the Share the Warmth Assembly. Thanks again to Patty Harlow and Sirri Spiesel for organizing!

Kids Swimming.

ENSEMBLE NEWS

String Ensemble Performs at Belmont Hill

Members of the string ensemble participated in Belmont Hill School's winter concert last Friday. It was a memorable night for all of the ensemble members and their families. A big thank you to Meghan Carye '91 for organizing this wonderful experience for our students!

CAMPAIGN NEWS

Only One Town Gathering To Go!

When we return from winter break, don't miss out on the sixth and final town gathering for the Raise Y[our] Voice campaign in Belmont on January 5, 2017. Brendan Largay and the faculty are excited to share new developments—both building and programmatic—for The Barn. In addition, these gatherings are a great opportunity to connect with other Belmont Day families who live in your town/neighborhood. Let us know you're coming here.

FACULTY NEWS

Faculty Present at AISNE Conference


Last week, the team that participated in the 2015-16 Pioneer Program—a program that enables faculty to experiment with new technology—had the opportunity to present their project at the Association of Independent Schools New England (AISNE) Connected Teacher Conference. The team consisted of second grade teachers Tina Fox and Nancy Fell, visual arts teacher Kathy Jo Solomon, middle school technology teacher Kurt Robinson, and librarian Amy Sprung. The theme of the conference was Partnering for Progress, and sessions focused on collaboration and technology in education. These themes were on display in the team's presentation entitled "It's Alive! Collaboration, Creativity and Community: An Interactive Student Mural Using Bare Conductive Sound Boards," that addressed the work leading up to the creation of last year's multidisciplinary second grade interactive mural. Our teachers were excited to engage conference participants in art, programming, research, and problem-solving, and to learn from other independent school educators to build on their own practice. A highlight of the day was when one of the workshop participants who worked diligently on a paper circuit during the hands-on part of the session emailed the group that evening with his success story: a glowing ant!

NEWS FROM THE TECH OFFICE

Hour of Tech Introduces Ava and Swift

Belmont Day welcomed alumna Christine Francis ‘08 and nuclear engineer Blandine Antoine of iRobot, and former faculty member Matt Brooks, K-12 Education Development Executive at Apple, to our Hour of Tech event. iRobot kicked off the afternoon with a short film clip of iRobot creations that introduced the ways that robots help solve both everyday and complex problems. Blandine asked students to identify some robots—R2D2 and Wall-E were crowd favorites! She emphasized the importance of teamwork, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication for the development of robots. Participants got to see robots like the Roomba vacuum, Braava mopper, and the STEM Create2 iRobot, a programmable and customizable robot for educators, in action. 

Next up, Christine gave a remote tour of iRobots’ museum in Bedford with the help of Ava, a telepresence (or virtual reality) robot that Christine connected to using an iPhone. Ava took students through the museum, traveling through doorways, down hallways, and into a makerspace that showed the history of the company. Highlights included an underwater robot used to clean up an oil spill, an industrial floor waxer that many students equated to a Zamboni, and a wide variety of robots that are used to help keep our military and first responders safe. At one point, Ava was in front of a mirror so students could see themselves displayed in the “face” of Ava. Of course, there were a lot of giggles and waves back to themselves! After a short break and fun round of Simon Says, it was on to Matt Brooks and Apple Education.  

Swift is a programming language created by Apple that is used by developers to build apps. Swift Playgrounds is a new app for the iPad for students, teachers, and those just starting out with coding. Swift Playgrounds differs from other block coding programs like Scratch as it exposes students in an intentional way to both the concept and language of code. 

Following the presentations, participants moved on to hands-on coding: our youngest coders worked with KIBO guided by BDS enrichment teacher Megan Recupero; Matt helped students and parents learn Swift; alumna Katie Francis ’11 showed students how to control the Create2 with Scratch and tethered driving; Christine had students take a Roomba apart to see what is inside and they watched the Braava clean the lunch tables without falling off the edge. Others chose to dive into their favorite coding apps on the iPads or watch the full iRobot museum tour. Special thanks to Catherine Francis ’75 and the entire tech team for organizing the afternoon. Check out our Hour of Tech page on BDSG to learn about Swift, experience the museum tour, and learn about iPad apps and online coding activities for the whole family.

BEYOND BELMONT DAY

Hands Around the Pond
Saturday, December 17, 1 to 2 p.m.

Clay Pit Pond, Belmont, MA

Hands Around the Pond is an outdoor event to demonstrate Belmont's commitment to a safe and civil community. For more information visit the Belmont Against Racism website here.

Belmont Day Sponsors Family Film Festival
January 13-16, 2017
 


This year’s Belmont World Film's 14th Annual Family Festival Where Books Come Alive offers some of the world’s best films for children ages 3-12 and their families at the Regent Theater, Studio Cinema, and Brattle Theater. Many are being screened in the US or on the East Coast for the first time. 

Films are based mostly on children’s books: from Robert McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, to Johanna Spyri’s Heidi. There are films about new siblings, friendship in Korea, Vietnamese immigrants in Germany, Little League Baseball in Uganda, 12 year-old boys with a $1.8 million record deal, and more! Wallace & Gromit Creative Director Merlin Crossingham will also talk and sign autographs after a screening of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit on opening night and lead two workshops on model making on Saturday, January 14

We have five 2-ticket sets to give away! If you are interested, please enter your name in the drawing that will take place at the Send-off Assembly on Tuesday, December 20.

Click here for tickets. For more info email info@belmontworldfilm.org or call 617-484-3980.
Teaching.

PRINT EDITION

The Scoop, Print Edition - December 16

Click here to find all of the articles from this week’s Scoop, formatted together for easy printing.

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55 DAY SCHOOL LANE  •  BELMONT, MA 02478  •  (617) 484-3078  •  INFO@BELMONTDAY.ORG Facebook.LinkedIn.
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