TBMS Weekly Newsletter - Issue 26-27.09

Dear Bromfield Middle School Families, 

Our first middle school dance of the year is coming up! On Friday, October 23, from 7:00–9:00 PM, we will welcome our 7th and 8th graders to the Bromfield cafeteria for our annual Halloween Dance. Costumes are encouraged, and I hope students are looking forward to a fun evening with friends! Our 6th graders will have their own opportunity to join in the fun at the Glow Dance in the spring.

As we prepare for our first dance of the year, I want to share a few expectations to help ensure a safe and enjoyable evening for everyone:

Students who do not follow these expectations will need to be picked up immediately by a parent or caregiver. I appreciate families reviewing these expectations with their children before the dance so that everyone can enjoy the evening.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly.

I also want to remind everyone about tomorrow night's Senior-Staff Volleyball Game, Friday, October 16, at 6:30 PM in the Bromfield gym. The event is a wonderful Harvard tradition that brings students, staff, and families together while raising money for scholarships for graduating seniors. I'll be out there representing the staff, and I hope we'll have a great crowd cheering us on!

Also, please note that the Star Party, originally scheduled for Friday evening, has been moved to Wednesday, October 21, due to the weather forecast. It's a great opportunity for families to come together and enjoy an evening exploring the night sky.

I hope many of you will take advantage of these opportunities to enjoy time with our school community!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

The 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 science, students have been exploring matter, atomic structure, and physical properties. We have been focusing on two important measurable properties of matter: mass and volume. Students have practiced calculating volume using three different methods: measuring rectangular prisms, using water displacement for irregular objects, and calculating volume using mass and density. These skills are building toward one of our most important concepts of the year: density! Students will soon investigate how mass and volume are related and how density can help us identify and compare different materials.

During our FLEX block, students have been doing a great job during TSM (Teacher Support, Missing Work) days. Students are selecting activities efficiently, participating appropriately, and making positive use of their time. When needed, they are also using this block to complete missing assignments, work on homework, and get additional support from teachers. We are proud to see students building independence while making responsible choices about how they use their time.

Recently, we held a sixth-grade community meeting to review our shared middle school norms and expectations. We discussed the importance of appropriate cafeteria behavior, arriving on time and being prepared for class, completing classwork and homework, and matching our volume to the environment we are in. These conversations help us build a positive, respectful, and productive sixth-grade community where everyone can learn and feel belonging

In 6th Grade Social Studies, students took on the role of archaeologists in order to dig up artifacts from a fictional family.  The dig activity is designed to teach how artifacts can tell us so much about the G.R.A.P.E.S. (geography, religion, achievements, politics, economics, and social structure) about the people we study.

Seventh grade math students have been exploring percents and how to solve them using both proportions and equations. This week and next week, our focus shifts to Percent Change, Percent Error, and Percent Markups and Markdowns—including tax, tip, and discounts. We will then dive into Simple Interest and then apply all our percent skills in a fun, hands-on Percent Food Truck project, where students will take and calculate orders from their classmates.

During Flex this week, students started their second rotation of Mastery and Enrichment activities.  In addition to these lessons, students had academic support days to prepare for upcoming assessments, retake quizzes, and meet with teachers to discuss assignments.

Cold and flu season is also upon us.  We are writing to ask a favor of you for the common good.  If possible, could you please send to school one box of good quality tissues? (School does provide tissues but they are usually the rough and scratchy kind.) Homeroom teachers will each bring in a package of quality tissues, and we hope to supplement our supply with family-provided boxes.  Boxes will be collected by homeroom teachers and put out as needed throughout the rest of the year. Thank you in advance!

In science, we have finished Unit #1 which was about science and measurement.  We will correct the tests together, and retakes may be done if necessary.  Meanwhile we have started Unit #2, Matter and Energy.  This serves as an introduction to this year’s science topic, Physical Science. In this unit, we will first explore classification of types of matter and energy.  We will discuss this invisible microscopic modeling of matter.  We will attempt to make pyrite and smelt some rust into iron simultaneously.  This is a chemistry teaser. Then, we will explore classification of energy.  The highlight here will be the energy research project.  Each student will research and present a topic in energy. Some examples are, coal, nuclear, wind, fusion, etc.  This introduction to matter and energy will serve us well for all of the rest of the topics for the year. 

In Flex and advisory we continue with lessons to promote social emotional health, executive functioning, academic support, and tiered intervention. Some highlights this week are a lesson on how to raise the state of inclusivity in our grade 8 community and a lesson on how to stay organized given all the academic demands.

In health classes across grade levels, we have begun our first lessons in the content area of social-emotional health. Within this content area, students are building important skills such as active listening, turning negative self-talk into positive self-talk, and perspective-taking. Students have completed self-assessments, reflections, and spent time practicing these skills through independent and group work. As we continue learning about social-emotional health this month, students should anticipate discussions about coping with strong emotions, managing stress, and fostering healthy relationships. While these topics can feel heavy for students, the work we will do together will be impactful and I look forward to filling our “tool boxes with tools” to navigate these areas of health. 

The Harvard Schools PTO is overseeing an election to fill two 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.

Thank you for your participation!

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

Join us for a fun-filled Halloween evening at the rink!

Come trunk or treat in the back parking lot! We’ll have lots of fun treats waiting for you.

• $15 per skater

• $50 family rate for 4 or more

• At the door: $20 per skater / $60 family rate

• Skate rentals are available

Family-friendly costumes are welcome. Please make sure your costume allows you to skate safely. For everyone's safety, no face masks or costumes/accessories that can drag on the ice.

Please check out our Silent Auction! https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/skating-spooktacular-silent-auction