November 18, 2022
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First graders hop into a lesson on addition in the Downing gym.
Opening Message
Giving Thanks
Betty Chu Pryor, Interim Lower School Head
Post Date: November 18, 2022
On Tuesday, we will gather for our annual Thanksgiving assembly—an opportunity to express gratitude as a community. As we approach the end of the first trimester, it is a gift to pause and reflect on the joys we’ve experienced this school year and thank all those who have contributed to a seamless start.
First, we are grateful to the almost two dozen new teaching and non-teaching faculty members who call BDS their home. These colleagues offer fresh perspectives and bring great purpose and zeal for collaboration to all that they do. We are equally thankful for the returning faculty members who continue to embody the mission and values of our school. As a BDS veteran of 15 years, I can attest to the caliber and passion of my colleagues. Belmont Day School is a special and inspirational place to work.
This year feels like a “typical” school year, and as such, it has been heartwarming to welcome more families into our school buildings regularly, whether they are new, returning, or prospective. Their absence in our hallways and classrooms was palpable through the most challenging phases of the pandemic. I am so thankful that family members are once again serving as mystery guest readers, attending school-wide events, and even dropping off forgotten lunchboxes or Chromebooks at the front desk. We are so thankful to the parent volunteers who selflessly give their time behind the scenes—serving as admissions ambassadors, donating centerpieces for Coolidge Hall, reshelving books in the Erskine Library, organizing our lost and found collection, and much, much more.
A few weeks ago, members of our programmatic leadership team had the opportunity to present some overarching themes of our current work to the board of trustees. Their thoughtful questions were indicative of the intentionality and care our board members continually demonstrate. We know how busy these trustees are in their professional lives, and we are grateful that they pledge their energy and expertise to ensure our school’s strength and stability and guide its direction.
So many aspects of my job bring me great delight, but interacting with our students will always take top billing—336 wonderful students fill our campus with boundless curiosity and energy. Visitors to my office stop by to show me loose or missing teeth, former students update me about special events in their lives, and one kindergartner asked to nap on the loveseat in my office. I love the unstructured moments while eating lunch with the children, greeting them in the mornings, or watching them play at recess. Where else can one hear incessant giggles when introducing the word “panini” at a meal or be invited to “buy” a gem made out of wood chips?
My family speaks Cantonese, and I was taught at an early age that there were two ways to say “thank you”: 唔該 m-goi and 多謝 doh-je. The former is typically used to recognize someone who has helped, performed a service, or to get someone’s attention, similar to “pardon me.” The latter tends to be used to acknowledge a physical gift or to express a greater magnitude of gratitude. As a child, I remember always having to think carefully about which type of “thank you” phrase to use. I still often find myself oscillating between the “thank you” variations in my head when I want to show appreciation, such as this one. No matter how I choose to say thank you, the sentiment is the same for each and every one of you. Thank you for being a vital part of our close-knit community—it truly does take a village.
We wish you and your loved ones a safe, restful, and joyous Thanksgiving holiday!
Upcoming Events
Coming Up This Week
Monthly Calendar
Thanksgiving Assembly & Early Dismissal
Tuesday, November 22
Assembly from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
School Closes at 12:30 p.m.
Join us in the Barn gym for the annual Thanksgiving Assembly.
The assembly will include a Thanksgiving memory from a faculty member, presentations from various grades, and an acknowledgment of the Native land we are on as a school community.
School will dismiss for the Thanksgiving Break at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday—no after school program.
Lost & Found Items to Be Donated November 28
Believe it or not, our lost and found collection has multiplied over the last few weeks! Now is the perfect opportunity to check the stash of items in the entranceway to Coolidge Hall. If you plan to attend the Thanksgiving Assembly on Tuesday, November 22, please take a moment to look for any items your child may be missing. In addition, there is also a Google photos album posted on the Parent Portal so that you can see the items there.
Three times a year, we will donate to a non-profit organization that supports children in need of clothing and other resources. On Monday, November 28, we will donate any remaining lost and found items to The Foster Box. The Foster Box helps ease the transition for foster families that are welcoming a child or children into their homes by providing and delivering clothing and other necessities. We are happy to partner with an organization driven by such a wonderful mission.
If you have any questions about lost and found, please contact Caroline Gray. Thank you!
Garden Workday
TOMORROW! Saturday, November 19
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
We finished the season in the school garden this week with the middle school garden club harvesting over 20 pounds of orange, purple, and yellow carrots. Beans and carrots have been one of our most robust and bountiful harvests this season.
Now we need to put the BDS garden to sleep for the winter. All parents, students, and faculty are invited. We still have harvesting to do, weeding, mulching, and more. It’s been a great season, let’s get ready for the next.
If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Jo Solomon.
Lunch & Snack Menu
November 21 to November 25
Monday
Snack: applesauce; Simply Cheesy Corn Puffs
Lunch: Breakfast for Lunch: pancakes; gluten-free pancakes; scrambled eggs; bacon; balsamic roasted broccoli; chef’s choice salad; fresh fruit; canned fruit; yogurt; milk and water
Tuesday
Snack: assorted dry snacks
No Lunch: School closes at 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday
School closed for Thanksgiving Break
Thursday
School closed for Thanksgiving Break
Friday
School closed for Thanksgiving Break
For a more detailed and updated weekly menu, please click the button below.
BDS News
STAFFING NEWS
Departures
Fred Colson
It is with great fondness and enduring respect that we let you know that Fred Colson will be retiring from Belmont Day in June 2023. Fred arrived in 2017 to usher the school through the financial and legal aspects of the Barn’s construction and would ultimately oversee the paydown of $5.5 million of that debt to ensure a healthy financial future for Belmont Day. During Fred’s tenure, he served as a key member of the strategic leadership team and was a pivotal steward of Belmont Day through the pandemic, overseeing the administration of resources, serving on the COVID advisory council, and helping apply for the PPP loan that buoyed us through the heart of the pandemic. He led, always, with the students at the center of his decision-making process.
Beyond Belmont Day, Fred founded a weekly AISNE business officer’s meeting that proved essential to all AISNE member schools through the pandemic, and Fred’s contributions to AISNE’s Pulse Points design have helped countless schools make better sense of their key financial levers. With the support of Sarah Barrow, Dale McGhee, and Bea Rooney, Fred has kept a steady hand and a conservative eye on the school’s financial health, even through the complicated transition of databases. Working closely with our board treasurers Matt Kadnar and Matt Kishlansky, Fred has improved the overall financial health of the school, helped to preserve and grow our endowment, and worked carefully to help manage risk for Belmont Day.
When Fred informed the faculty of his decision to retire, he said, “My only regret is that I wish I had discovered Belmont Day twenty years earlier.” So do we, Fred. Congratulations on a great run at Belmont Day and a phenomenal career.
– Brendan Largay, head of school
CAPSTONE
Help Eighth Graders with Your Subject Expertise
Would you like to be involved in the Capstone Program? Take a moment to check out the research topics (in the dropdown window below) of our eighth graders. You’ll be amazed by the variety! Do you or someone you know have expertise or experience in one of these areas? If so, we’d love to hear from you.
Eighth grade students are hard at work on their Capstone research. The research and resulting papers represent the first part of the “triathlon” which is the Capstone experience. Right now, they are evaluating sources and doing research about topics that are of personal interest to them. They show determination and pride as they refine their research into thoughtful papers.
Starting just after winter break, students will embark on the second leg of the triathlon. They will design a project that grows out of the knowledge they have gained during the research and writing phase, as well as what they still want to learn. In this phase, students take charge of their own active learning. One aspect of the project phase is an interview, and this is where YOU come in. If you have contacts who could prove useful to students during the project phase, please contact Jennifer Friborg, Capstone coordinator. The eighth grade students thank you in advance for your interest and support. We hope to see you at the students’ presentations—April 10-14—so save the dates!
Capstone Research Topics
- What is the electricity grid, how did it come to be, and what powers it?
- What do successful entrepreneurs have in common?
- How has organ transplantation evolved, and how could it change in the future?
- How is climate change affecting Cape Cod?
- What is cryptocurrency, and how will its future impact the world?
- What are the negative impacts of the fashion industry, and how can consumers counteract them?
- What is the history of Riot Grrrl, and how does it impact feminism today?
- What makes the perfect taco, and how has Mexican cuisine conquered the United States?
- How are harmful stereotypes of women seen in surf culture and advertising?
- How can animal-assisted therapy benefit people with disabilities and mental illness?
- How has the history of freestyle skiing affected modern-day freestyle skiing?
- What is biomimicry, and how can it help fight climate change?
- What is education like in Ethiopia, and where is it going?
- How do summer camps affect children developmentally?
- Can people cultivate happiness, and if so, how?
- How do modern Formula 1 cars work, and how is the sport trying to become more sustainable and safe?
- How have fossil dating and matching evolved over time, and why is this important?
- What are the neuropsychological effects of divorce, and how are they treated?
- How does having a communist government impact the citizens of communist countries?
- Why does nature have a positive impact on mental health and behavior?
- What does ADHD feel like, and how do stereotypes impact the way we understand it today?
- What was the Space Race, how was it rooted in WWII, and how did it affect our lives?
- What is the importance of the hijab?
- Who controls what books should be banned, and why do institutions and groups of people feel the need to ban them?
- How does playing organized sports impact an athlete’s mental health?
- What are black holes and neutron stars, and what secrets do they hold?
- What was “Boston busing,” and why did it begin?
- How does the International Space Station affect us?
- What are the best alternatives to gas cars and planes, and how can we put them in place?
- What is schizophrenia, and how does it affect daily life?
- How do machine learning programs make decisions compared to humans in the stock market, and how do they exploit each other’s flaws?
- What are baseball analytics, and how do they affect players, fans, and teams?
- How can music beneficially affect humans, and why does it matter?
- How has streaming influenced hip-hop music since 2010?
- How has salt impacted societal evolution?
- What is the metaverse, what do we need to do to make it secure, and how will it impact our daily lives?
- How does nicotine impact mental and physical health?
- How did Japanese Americans suffer during internment camps and after internment camps?
- How do historical musical milestones and people’s relationship to music shape our listening experiences?
- How has fashion evolved through the ages, and what role does diversity play today?
- How does nature affect child development?
- How does viewership affect the revenues and wages of the NBA and WNBA?
- What is the science behind animals’ relationship with music and sound, and how is it connected to emotion?
- How does poaching affect African elephants, and what can be done to stop it?
- What causes the confidence gap between men and women, and why are there fewer female leaders in positions of power?
BUSINESS OFFICE
Trimester 1 Invoices Issued for After School Program and Enrichment Classes
The business office has issued invoices to parents of students who participated in the After School program and enrichment classes during the first trimester. Invoices can be accessed, and payments can be initiated through the Parent Portal. Please login to the Parent Portal and click on the blue “Invoices & Payments” button to review your account and initiate payment. Payments may also be submitted by mailing a check to the attention business office.
For those who pay via AutoPay, payments will be processed on December 15, 2022. Please plan accordingly.
Payments are due by Friday, December 16, 2022, for those not enrolled in AutoPay. Please contact the business office with any questions.
ALUMNI NEWS
Three Very Fast Alums Race to the Finish Line
Three of Coach Annie Armstrong’s cross country team’s past standouts are continuing to blaze ahead of the pack for their high school teams. At the recent NEPSTA Div. III Cross Country Championships at The Canterbury School, Henry Buckley-Jones ’21, took third place for Rivers School, and coming in right after him was Alexander Colangelo ’21 in fourth place for Lawrence Academy. Both Henry and Alexander were the top finishers for their schools competing against a field of 139 varsity runners from 18 schools! Both were also invited to compete in the NEPSTA All-Stars Race.
Competing in the Division 1 NEPSTA Cross Country Championships at St. Paul’s School, Miles Sandoski ’20, grabbed 17th place for Belmont Hill School. Miles was also the top finisher for his school out of a total of 90 varsity runners from 13 schools. He was also invited to the NEPSTA All-Stars Race.
AUXILIARY PROGRAMS
Veterans Receive Letters from After School Students
The messages of thanks that our After School students created and sent earlier this month to veterans have been received with great joy. United States Navy veteran Chuck Belmont is one of the three veterans we selected to write letters to. As you can see in the photo, he now has them proudly displayed at his home in California. Mr. Belmont is very active in the veteran community and is a docent at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Museum. He just completed a trip on an honor flight for a fellow veteran. Mr. Belmont’s wife let us know that he was deeply moved by the gesture from our students. Thank you, Chuck, and to all veterans for your service and sacrifice!
Enrollment Closes Soon for Trimester 2
If you have not enrolled your child yet for the After School program for the second trimester of the school year, please do so soon. The enrollment period will close next Wednesday, November 23. Visit the auxiliary program page on the Parent zportal for more information and enrollment.
If you have any questions, contact Blair Fross or Denali Kikuchi.
EIB NEWS
Cross-Community Gathering for Parents/Guardians of Color
The Belmont Day is pleased to partner with Atrium School, Chestnut Hill School, and Shady Hill School to provide a space for parents/guardians who self-identify as people of color to come together and build community.
Our evenings will include food, good conversation, and meeting other parents/guardians of color from our peer schools. The first gathering will be held on Wednesday, December 14. If you are interested in attending, please click here to RSVP. More details, including location and time, will be emailed.
Please contact Connie Yepez, Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, at cyepez@belmontday.org with any questions.
EIB BOOK GROUP
Next Meeting: December 1
Join us each month for an informal, parent-led equity, inclusion, and belonging book group focusing on books written from the perspectives of marginalized communities. All parents/caregivers and faculty are welcome, and we choose our books democratically.
We’re reading Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran by Shirin Ebadi for our next meeting on Thursday, December 1, at 7 p.m. Book group meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month via Zoom. The link is available on the Parent Portal.
Please contact Danielle England or Christina Cosman if you have any questions.
Learning Updates
Fourth Grade Launches the “Bob Project”
The fourth grade team of Emily Crawford and Lana Holman worked with librarian Amy Sprung, and director of innovation and technology Annie Fuerst to create the “Bob Project,” based on the novel, Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead. We used the novel to teach the skills needed for design thinking and novel engineering. We wrapped up this new, fun, and challenging learning experience last month. We invite you to watch this short video (click here or on the accompanying image) highlighting our process and the results.
– Lana Holman, fourth grade teacher
Seventh Graders Look into the Structure of an Eye
Science this week was a sight for sore eyes. After spending a few days taking notes and learning about the anatomical structure of an eyeball, students LOOKED forward to our first dissection of the year. During the dissection, students got to SEE many of the anatomical structures up close, including the retina, lens, and cornea of the cow eyeball. A few students even compared a cow eyeball to a sheep’s eyeball, noting that the lens in the sheep’s eye was much smaller. Upon reflection, students expressed how being able to dissect an actual eye helped them to understand all of the different parts and where they were located within the eye itself.
– Maggie Small, seventh grade science teacher
Sixth Graders Take Their Seats to Learn New Literary Terms
For two months, sixth graders have entered class, been presented with an index card showing a (perhaps unfamiliar) term, and found (as their seat for the day) the desk with the matching term. At first, the terms seemed only to give students different seatmates and places in the room each day. To the discerning eye, the terms also appeared to have some vague connection to English: “metaphor,” reads a label on a desk close to the bookshelf; and affixed to a desk ten feet away, “denouement.” Last Thursday, as Mr. Muskat greeted students in each section as they walked through the door, he added that “you can sit anywhere you’d like today.” Students rushed to sit by their closest friends. As they settled in, Mr. Muskat gave, at long last, the big “reveal”: they would teach the class about the literary term affixed to the desk at which they chose to sit that day. Presentations had to include a concise definition, an example (from The Giver, their current read), and the reason they selected said example. For bonus points (ears perked up): explain the term’s etymology. Students created stellar exposés of their terms in the form of group slideshows, demonstrating their growth as collaborators and supporters of one another’s learning. The “why?” behind it all? Students will dive into writing analytical paragraphs based on a close reading of a passage in The Giver after Thanksgiving break; a sense of literary techniques and elements of style will allow them to use specific language to unpack the meaning laced throughout Lois Lowry’s powerful coming-of-age tale.
– Galen Muskat, sixth grade English teacher
Parents’ Association News
Parent Book Group
The parent book group will meet on Thursday, December 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Menotomy Grill & Tavern in Arlington to discuss Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro. We love to welcome new faces and hope to see you there! Is your December almost too busy to contemplate? You can get a head-start on our January book, which will be Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Please reach out to Karla Bays for more information, or to join our mailing list.
Mabel’s Labels
Help out lost and found! Labeled clothes get returned to cubbies. Mabel’s Labels provides customized clothing stampers and labels that you can put onto clothing, water bottles, lunch bags, ski gear, gloves, hats, etc. For each order you place, the PA earns 20% of the sale total. Click here to visit Mabel’s Labels’ website, go to “Support a Fundraiser” and enter “Belmont Day School” before ordering. If you have any questions, contact Lia Meisinger.
Weekly Friendraiser Walks
Thursdays at 8:15 a.m. The parents’ association friendraiser committee hosts a walk every Thursday morning after drop-off. Come discover the trails around BDS, reconnect with friends, and meet new faces. Gather by the circle at the front of the Schoolhouse and then journey through the woodland trails. The duration is about 40 minutes. Dogs are welcome but must be on a leash at all times.
If you have any suggestions or questions about parents’ association-related activities, please contact us anytime at bdspa@belmontday.org.
Beyond BDS
COMMUNITY DISCUSSION
Settler-Colonist Ties to Thanksgiving & Columbus: Taking Back the Narrative
Monday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Join the Watertown Library and Belmont Against Racism as they host Claudia A. Fox Tree from the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness to discuss the dominant narratives and counter-narratives surrounding the myths and misinformation of the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving holidays. This presentation will explore the colonial system through primary sources and examine how language perpetuates invisibility and how we can dismantle oppression to bring accurate counter-narratives to life. Registration is required. Please fill out the form here to sign up. Zoom access details will be sent in a reminder email before the program. For more information on the program, click here.
ARTS EVENT
Gallery Show: The Making of Art and Artists
Belmont Gallery of Art, third floor of the Homer Building, 19 Moore Street, Belmont Center
Closing this Sunday, November 20! The Belmont Gallery of Art invites you to visit and see “The Making of Art and Artist – A Journey of Self-Discovery Through Art and Friendship.” This group show highlights the work of Museum of Fine Arts instructor and artist Paula Pitman Brown and her students. For the run of the show, the gallery is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Visit belmontgallery.org for more information on the gallery and current show.
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