TBMS Weekly Newsletter - Issue 26-27.5

Dear Bromfield Middle School Families, 

We are now a couple of weeks into the school year, and the positive start continues! Students are settling into their routines, classrooms are busy with learning, and it has been wonderful to see the energy and activity throughout the building. I continue to be impressed by how quickly our students have found their rhythm, and I am grateful to our faculty and staff for all they have done to help make the start of the year such a successful one.

I hope you will join us tomorrow evening, Thursday, September 17, for our annual TBMS Curriculum Night. We will begin at 5:30 PM in Cronin Auditorium with a brief welcome from Assistant Principal Julie Horton and me before parents and caregivers head out to experience an abridged version of their child’s school day.

Students are completing personalized Curriculum Night schedules during Advisory to share with their parents and caregivers. Please bring your child’s schedule with you tomorrow night - it will be your guide as you make your way from class to class!

We are looking forward to welcoming you to TBMS and giving you an opportunity to meet teachers and experience a little bit of your child’s day.

You may notice a couple of additions and changes to our newsletter beginning this week.

First, today we are introducing Counselor’s Corner, a new section where our wonderful middle school counselor, Kim Faulconer, will introduce herself and share information and resources with families throughout the year.

We are also building the newsletter a little differently behind the scenes, which may result in some changes to how it looks and functions for you - hopefully for the better! Many thanks to our amazing new administrative assistant, Meghan Scarborough, for restructuring the format and managing the many moving parts that go into putting this publication together each week.

If you have an announcement that you would like us to consider for inclusion in the newsletter, please reach out to Meghan directly at mscarborough@psharvard.org.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Bromfield Middle School Principal

Upcoming Events:

Upcoming Celebrations & Observances:

If you have an announcement, event, reminder, or other information you would like included in the newsletter, please email your request to mscarborough@psharvard.org. We’d love to help share your news with The Bromfield Middle School community!

In 6th grade science, students have been learning how scientists investigate questions and solve problems using the scientific method. We have been practicing how to identify independent and dependent variables and understanding the role that controlled variables play in a fair test. Students have also been learning to distinguish between control and experimental groups and explain why each is important in an investigation. Through hands-on scenarios and classroom experiments, students are beginning to design and evaluate their own investigations. A major focus has been learning how to collect, organize, and analyze data to identify patterns, trends, and relationships. Most importantly, students are developing the habit of using evidence to support their conclusions rather than simply making a guess. These skills will serve as an important foundation for the scientific investigations and Earth and space science topics we will explore throughout the year.

Dear seventh grade families and caregivers,

My name is Mrs. Snow and I am happy to share an ELA update with you in this week’s newsletter. For the first seven-day cycle of the school year, students in ELA focused on self-expression and building a sense of belonging through autobiographical poetry. Together as a class, we read a poem titled “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon that explores how our experiences, family traditions, and environment all help to shape our individual identities and self-perceptions. We read the poem several times focusing on meaning, author’s craft, and use of poetic devices. Students then wrote their own poem, modeled after Lyon’s, to explore their own identities while incorporating repetition, alliteration, and imagery. Finally, each ELA class collaborated to develop a class poem. Each student shared a single line from their own work, then worked together to merge their individual contributions into one connected poem. The purpose was to illustrate how the many unique individuals within our classroom come together to create a community.

Speaking of community, both this week and next week in flex, students are focused on learning about The Bromfield Middle School. Each seventh grade flex teacher is running an activity related to our school culture. The students are visiting a different flex teacher each other day to experience the five different activities. Samples of activities include: a school tour to learn where various offices are located as well as the names and faces of those employees (IT, counseling, etc.), and a scavenger-hunt activity to learn the format of the school website and where to find important links. Be sure to read next week’s newsletter to learn about the remaining community connection lessons! 

In math class, students are learning about the number system. We have been identifying numbers based on their subsets of the real number system (rational, irrational, integers, whole, and natural numbers), discussing why a number or expression belongs in specific subsets of the real number system and order a list of real numbers containing fractions, decimals, and irrational numbers on a number line. Additionally, students are taking their first assessment this week. To best prepare your student for the assessment, I suggest asking your student to teach you the material!

This week during flex, students have had a mixture of academic support and SEL lessons. On Monday and Tuesday, students did academic support and/or completed their math and/or reading STAR assessment(s) from last week. Wednesday entailed student choice where they could either create a submission for the yearbook cover contest or study for their upcoming math assessment. On Thursday, students will engage in a reflective writing activity after engaging in a wellness walk. Finally, students will work on their ELA theme poster and/or engage in a color-by-numbers math worksheet for Friday’s flex.

TBMS Chorus & Theatre - Mrs. Rutkiewicz

The middle school choruses are already getting back into the groove of ensemble singing and music-making! We are refreshing our good posture and breathing habits, dusting off our major, minor, and chromatic scales, and singing familiar rounds to get the harmonies flowing! All ensembles are beginning new choral music which will serve as performance repertoire for the December 16th Choral Concert. Through these pieces, we will work on notation reading skills, intervals, intonation, vowels/blend, cultural connections, and general musicianship. All ensembles are sounding great!

Middle school theatre classes are practicing basics of stage directions, improvisation, character development, and how to set up a scene. We will be moving into monologues and study of ancient Greece and the origins of theatre itself soon. Students will be creating characters, scenes, and plays of their own as we move forward in the semester. It has been fun and exciting so far!

Welcome back to a new school year!

The beginning of a new school year brings excitement, new opportunities, and sometimes a few nerves. Whether your child is entering middle school for the first time or returning for another year, transitions can bring a mix of emotions—and that’s completely normal!

As the school counselor, my goal is to help every student feel safe, supported, connected, and ready to learn. I am here to support students with the many things that can come up during the middle school years, including friendships, emotions, organization, academic concerns, transitions, problem-solving, and simply navigating the ups and downs of growing up.

Please encourage your child to reach out when they need support. Sometimes a student needs someone to talk to, and sometimes they just need a safe place to take a breath and regroup. There is no concern too small to share.

I also welcome communication with families. If you have a concern about your child or something you are noticing at home, please don't hesitate to reach out. Working together helps us best support your child.

Here's to a wonderful school year!

Warmly,

Kim Faulconer

School Counselor

The Bromfield Middle School

Join us Sunday, September 20th 8:30 am to 3:00 pm at the Bromfield courts. Open to adults of all skill levels (open doubles), kids (10 -12) and teens (13+). Registration closes when all spots are filled. Grab a partner and sign up today for this fun and casual, round robin into elimination style tournament. In addition to supporting a great cause, bracket winners will take home prizes including swag from our sponsor the Marcus Lewis Racquet Club and eternal bragging rights. Register now at harvardpto.org. Questions to danakoliver@gmail.com. Rain date: October 18th.

The PTO is overseeing an election to fill 2 open Parent / Caregiver Representative positions on The Bromfield Middle School Council beginning this school year. The openings are for up to 3-year terms, provided you have a child at TBMS. The school council, which functions at the mandate of the state Department of Education, is a representative, school-building-based committee, composed of teachers, parents, and community members and is co-chaired by the school principal and a parent representative. The council meets monthly and its purpose is to assist the principal in carrying out specific responsibilities. Learn more HERE.

Eligible candidates will have a student at TBMS during the 2026-2027 school year. Please be advised that if your student leaves TBMS during your 3-year term then a new representative will be elected for the remainder of the term.

Below are the dates of the meetings. They will take place from 2:50-3:50pm in Mr. Hudder's office.

In order to be considered as a candidate please send a personal statement about yourself and your interest in the position to info@harvardpto.org by Friday, October 2nd with the subject "TBMS School Council". Statements should be no more than 225 words and will be used as ballot statements in the election which will be held (if needed) in October.

Please consider giving back to the school community by running for this important position!

The PTO is a membership-based volunteer organization for HES and TBS. Our primary goals are to raise money to support the student experience, and create programs in support of our teachers, staff, and community, such as Teacher and Staff Appreciation. With the help of critical annual membership donations, we fund over $25K of teacher and staff-requested grants each school year, for stuff like $1K towards field trips for each grade, library books, scholarships, and much more.  Please consider joining or renewing your membership today!

The PTO supports the whole Harvard Public School community. Even when your children transition to TBMS and TBS, the PTO is still hard at work supporting them! From academic enrichment and classroom resources to student programs and special events, PTO-funded grants make a real impact at every grade level. We invite all school community members to be part of this work. Curious how PTO funds are used? Check out recently funded grants here. Ready to make a difference today? Join the PTO and help continue these valuable programs by becoming a member here. Want to get involved, or have questions? Email info@harvardpto.org, 

Superstar Productions is excited to announce their Bromfield Middle School Winter Musical: Shrek the Musical Jr. 

This will be open for students in grades 6-8. 

Rehearsal process takes place November through the end of January, Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00-5:30 PM.

Auditions November 10. Performances January 29-31.

Monday September 14 7:30pm

The registration form will be posted on Superstar’s Website

Website: superstarproductions.org 

Registration fee: $350

Please email superstarproductionsma@gmail.com with any further questions.