TBMS Weekly Newsletter - Issue 26-27.10

Dear Bromfield Middle School Families, 

I want to take a moment to recognize our middle school students for how well they have responded to our bell-to-bell cell phone policy. Nearly two months into the school year, we have had a grand total of THREE violations of the policy across the entire middle school! I think that is pretty remarkable, and I am proud of our students for their commitment to meeting our expectations.

By and large, students are keeping their phones off and away throughout the school day, allowing them to be more present with their peers, teachers, and learning. While the policy itself is not new to TBMS, the consistency with which our students are following it is worth celebrating. Well done, TBMS!

A reminder that our annual Halloween Dance for Grade 7 and 8 students is tomorrow, Friday, October 23, from 6:30–8:30 PM in the Bromfield cafeteria. Costumes are encouraged, provided they are school-appropriate and do not cover students' faces. Students are expected to follow the dance expectations shared in last week's newsletter, including remaining in designated areas, respecting others, and staying until 8:55 PM unless picked up earlier by a parent or caregiver. I'm looking forward to a fun evening with our students!

I also want to draw your attention to the School Nutrition Survey featured below in our Community News and Events section. Our Food Services team is looking for feedback from families about our school breakfast and lunch programs, and I encourage you to take a few minutes to participate. Importantly, feedback from last year's survey led to changes in our cafeterias, so your input really does make a difference! The survey is open through November 6, and you'll find the information and link below.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Bromfield Middle School Principal

Upcoming Events:

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!

We have just wrapped up our study of Ötzi the Iceman, and what a fascinating unit it was! Students dug into the evidence surrounding this 5,000-year-old mummy and then debated the possible causes of his death. I was so impressed with how well they supported their thoughts, citing clues from the evidence and responding thoughtfully to their classmates’ ideas. They thought like true historians and archaeologists.

Our attention now turns to Mesopotamia, often called the “cradle of civilization.” To kick off the unit, students will take part in a hands-on cuneiform activity, practicing the world’s first form of writing using clay and a reed stylus, just as ancient scribes once did. Later in the unit, we will explore Hammurabi’s law code and discover how it shaped ideas about justice and fairness. Students will also bring the past to life by acting out a play version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest stories ever recorded.

Looking ahead, a short quiz is planned for early November covering Mesopotamian vocabulary and map locations. Students will have time to review in class, but practicing at home with flashcards or blank maps is a great way to prepare. Thank you, as always, for your support. Please reach out with any questions, and I look forward to sharing more of our learning with you soon!

Recently, with the end of the quarter fast approaching, students were given multiple Academic FLEX blocks. During Academic FLEX, students have the entire block to complete homework and missing assignments, catch up on classwork, or study for upcoming quizzes. With the end of the quarter being only two and a half weeks away, now is a great time to check in! We encourage you to sit down with your favorite student(s) and take a quick peek at PowerSchool to see if any missing assignments or grades need attention. A little extra time and effort now can make a big difference before the quarter closes. 

In science class we are past the half-way point through our study of cells.  Students have completed a series of microscope labs to learn about plant, animal, and bacteria cells.  Still to come: learning about life’s levels of organization and examples of human body systems that include specialized cells.  

Next week in science class will be our first cumulative test of the year.  It will assess student learning on all of the biology topics we have learned so far.  Good resources to use for studying include: everything in Google Classroom - Science Class, the agenda slides which can be found in Google Classroom, and papers kept in the science folder.  We will spend some time in class preparing between now and the test, but students should also study and review on their own.  I recommend active study methods rather than passively reading over information.

The other seventh grade teachers and I have noticed that a fair number of students don’t have headphones or earbuds of their own.  Please check with your child to see if they have a functioning set of earbuds/headphones and if they don’t, please buy some.  They are considered a school supply along with pencils and paper, and are needed intermittently during class to listen to audio on the iPad.

Flex has included tier-2 mastery lessons for some students in ELA and math alongside enrichment lessons for math, ELA, social studies, science, and art & culture.  In the most recent science enrichment I have challenged each student to a competition of “pencil survivor,” the winners being those who can keep their daily use pencil for as long as possible without losing it.  We also read about and shared examples of how various organisms respond to the changing seasons in New England.  Happy autumn everyone!

This week marks the end of our first major unit in 8th grade Civics.  Throughout the unit, students traced the origins of the U.S. political system back to Ancient Athens.  They explored foundational principles like rule of law and the consent of the governed.  As we called them in class, these are the essential “ingredients” the Founders used to build the U.S. government. For an end-of-unit writing project, students analyzed these classical influences while also emphasizing the often-overlooked contributions of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (and yes, ask your student - they all know how to pronounce it!). In particular, students explored how the Haudenosaunee system of government inspired the American structure of federalism.  Now that we know the “ingredients,” it’s time to “bake the cake” by examining the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to the creation of the Constitution.  This upcoming unit offers plenty of room for student research, creativity and debate.

The 8th Grade Flex blocks continue to balance academic support, targeted skill-building in the core classes, social-emotional wellness and executive functioning strategies.  Recently students started a great activity on managing daily stress through positive, screen-free activities. Looking ahead to the end of this week, the 8th grade is preparing for the upcoming school-wide mock election on Tuesday, October 27. During Flex this week, students will break down some of the major (and often tricky) Massachusetts ballot questions. Our goal is to help them experience what it means to be a well-informed, critical-thinking voter for when they head to the polls for real in a few years.

Exciting things are happening in TBMS Band! Our 7th and 8th grade musicians have officially made it through all of the music for our winter concert, and I am incredibly proud of the work happening both inside and outside the classroom. It is clear that students are coming prepared, building confidence, and excited to learn and grow as musicians. Thanks to their hard work and progress, we have been able to shift our focus toward deeper musicianship skills, including tempo, musical terminology, and connections to other core subject areas. We are moving beyond simply playing the notes and beginning to explore how we can bring the music to life!

In 6th grade, we have solidified our first few notes and are now putting them into music! Students are building a strong foundation as they learn to read, listen, and play together. Across all three grade levels, we are focusing on following a conductor’s baton cues, including when to bring instruments up and down, as well as developing our listening, blend, and balance within the ensemble. These skills help us move beyond the notes on the page and focus on the feeling, expression, and teamwork that make music meaningful.

A reminder that our Winter Concert is Wednesday, December 9th, at 6:30 PM! I look forward to sharing all of our students’ hard work with our families and community. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement as we prepare for this exciting evening!

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 Public Schools are seeking feedback on our School Nutrition Program. Your feedback is appreciated and helps us to improve the breakfast and lunch programs in our schools!  Feedback from last year's survey was taken and implemented in our cafeterias.  We are collecting responses from October 19th to November 6th.  Please tell us what you like and how we can improve!