TBMS Weekly Newsletter - Issue 26-27.07

Dear Bromfield Middle School Families, 

It’s official: the TBMS Newsletter is now a Thursday publication. It took me far too long to recognize how natural this timing is, with HES posting on Wednesdays and TBHS on Fridays. You can expect these updates to arrive in your inbox every Thursday going forward - hopefully long before TNF kickoff.

We currently have two openings for parent/caregiver representatives on the TBMS School Council, and I would love to see some of you throw your hats in the ring! Our School Council meets monthly and provides an important opportunity for parents, educators, and community members to work together on issues that matter to our school. I genuinely value the perspectives and input of our parent/caregiver representatives, and I encourage anyone interested in getting more involved at TBMS to consider applying. Personal statements are due tomorrow - Friday, October 2. You can find all of the details, including meeting dates and how to submit your name for consideration, later in today’s newsletter.

As we settle into the school year, I want to take a moment to emphasize the importance of regular attendance. Quite simply, being in school matters. So much of what students gain from their time at TBMS comes from being present for the learning, conversations, activities, and relationships that make up each school day. We certainly understand that students will miss school at times, but whenever possible, we ask families to plan vacations and other non-emergency activities around the school calendar.

Along those lines, we are simplifying the way families communicate with us about trips and other planned absences. As my colleague Kim Murphy shared in the HS newsletter on Friday, we are no longer using the Family Trip Form. Instead, please report a planned absence the same way you would any other absence:

If your child will be out for an extended period of time, I also ask that you reach out to me directly in advance. That gives us an opportunity to talk through the absence and any considerations related to your child’s time away from school.

You can find more information about attendance expectations in the HPS 2026-27 Student and Family Handbook. As always, thank you for your partnership in helping our students get the most out of their time at TBMS.

Thank you, I look forward to seeing everyone gussied up for School Picture Day tomorrow, October 2!

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!

It's been a busy Sept. in Math 6! Students wrapped up our Rational Number Concepts module with a quiz earlier this week. They have been working hard to build confidence with comparing positive and negative numbers, integers, fractions, and decimals on a number line.

Students also practiced identifying when and how to use the least common multiple and greatest common factor to solve problems. These skills will continue to be important as we move forward.

Next, we’ll begin reviewing how and when to divide fractions and mixed numbers. Students will have opportunities to practice these skills and strengthen their understanding through a variety of problems and real-world applications.

Your student(s) is/are doing a great job learning and using the FLEX sign-up process and are becoming increasingly independent in making choices about how they use their time. They are also enjoying the variety of activities available, from reading and creating to building, moving, and taking technology-free breaks. We are excited to see students using FLEX time to get support, complete work, recharge, and make positive choices that support their overall well-being.

In science, we have started our study of cells, so students are learning a variety of new knowledge and skills including types of cells, diagrams of cells, as well as names and functions for the parts of a cell.  Get ready to hear about the nucleus, ribosomes, chloroplasts, and mitochondria to name a few!  This week we will start working with microscopes in class, so be sure to ask your student about the interesting microscopic specimens they observe.

In Flex we are starting our first round of mastery and enrichment, during which time some students will receive focused instruction to master skills in math or language arts while others participate in subject-matter enrichment lessons.  In science I will revisit observation inference thinking using an additional mystery box example to supplement the ones we have already investigated.  

On Monday of this week the seventh grade gathered in the auditorium to listen to student council election speeches.  Everyone who spoke did an amazing job - congratulations!  Voting will happen this week with results announced soon after to tell who the six representatives will be for our grade this year.

This Friday is not only school picture day, but also progress report day.  Please be sure to check your student’s grades in PowerSchool to see if there are areas that could use improvement as we cross the half-way point of the first quarter.

As we finish the first eighth of the school year, students are preparing for upcoming summative assessments in both Civics and Science. Students continue to read the book The Pearl in ELA and learn about the Real Number System & Connections to Algebra in their math class. During our flex blocks this week, we had various opportunities for student involvement and academic support. On Monday, Students showed tremendous active listening skills during the Middle School Student Council speeches! Tuesday and Wednesday were both academic support days, while Thursday was ½ academic support and ½ attending the club fair in the library. On Friday during flex, students will DEAR to read The Pearl. 

We’ve had a great beginning of the year in 6th Grade Digital & Information Literacy. Ms. Trainor and Mrs. Segaloff are the teachers this year and we have started the year strong with work on getting to know the library and its resources, as well as delving into our online encyclopedia Britannica; students in Mr. Wright’s Ancient Civilizations classes are currently using the Britannica resource for their Everything Has a History research activity! Part of our time in Digital Literacy is spent focused on Digital Citizenship. Ms. Trainor has gone over email etiquette with her classes and Mrs. Segaloff is in the middle of a Digital Footprint & Identity unit, which focuses on understanding the differences between your active and passive footprints and how you are responsible for how you present yourself and others online. We have much to cover in our classes and we are excited for a great year!

In 7th grade Digital Literacy, students are halfway through their Artificial Intelligence unit. In addition to lessons on the history of AI, societal impact of AI, and environmental cost, students are completing an inquiry project that asks them to ponder “How can we use AI to solve problems without letting AI do the thinking for us?”. Students choose a problem they see in their world, such as food waste in the cafeteria or climate change, and research it and possible solutions themselves. Then, they ask AI to come up with potential solutions as well for them to evaluate. Our next unit is “Technology and You”.

In 8th Grade Digital Literacy, students have jumped right into learning how to make smart, safe, and responsible choices in their digital lives. So far, we have explored digital identity, the difference between public and private information, how digital media can affect our brains and habits, and the importance of thinking carefully about what we share online. Students have also learned about AI citation, social engineering and online deception, handling digital pressure, and protecting their personal information. We have put these ideas into practice through discussions, scenarios, scam analysis, and in class scenario work. In a few more weeks, students will begin our Quarter One Digital Safety Campaign, a creative project designed to help them spread the word to others about online safety, protecting their digital footprint, and making responsible choices online.

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.

Thursday, October 22nd

Wednesday, November 18th

Thursday, December 10th

Thursday, January 14th

Thursday, February 4th

Thursday, March 18th

Thursday, April 29th

Thursday, May 27th

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. Contact us at info@harvardpto.org with any questions or to ask about other ways to get involved!

Congratulations to the youth bracket who played some great pickleball between raindrops on our original tournament date, September 18th! We look forward to the young adult and adult brackets NOW PLAYING SUNDAY OCTOBER 18th. 8:30 am to 3:00 pm at the Bromfield courts. Very limited spots are still open so 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. 

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

Harvard Youth Basketball Registration is NOW OPEN!

Registration is now open for the upcoming Harvard Youth Basketball season!

Our programs include opportunities for players of all ages and abilities — from our youngest players just getting started to competitive league play and adaptive basketball.

Register today a harvardbasketball.org