Weekly Newsletter | January 14, 2025
Dear Bromfield Middle School Families,
January has already been a very busy month at TBMS! Grade 6 students welcomed back Ms. Vasel from maternity leave, while offering a fond and grateful farewell to Ms. Svarczkopf, who did a great job in Ms Vasel’s absence. Grade 7 students were a wonderful and attentive audience for their mid-year assembly, as we talked about committing to be a positive contributor to the school community and being mindful of the potential gap between the intent of our words and actions and their impact on others. And we had a very successful Snowflake Dance on Friday, with Grade 7 and 8 students behaving well and having fun with dancing in the cafeteria and games in the hallway.
In the next couple weeks, students in all three grades will be taking part in middle-of-the-year Star Assessments, which will give teachers helpful data on student progress in reading and math. Using this data, teachers will be able to provide Tier-1 (whole-class) and Tier-2 (targeted, small-group) interventions to support student learning and growth. Star Assessments occur during Flex block, so there is no impact on class time.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Mr. Daniel Hudder Bromfield Middle School Principal |
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WEEKLY UPDATES
SIXTH GRADE
I'm very excited to be back with your students following my maternity leave! I am extremely grateful for the hard work Mrs. Svarczkopf did while I was gone. We are about to start fresh with our next unit, Seedfolks. We will be focusing heavily on textual evidence and writing throughout this unit based on the data from our most recent benchmark, which students took earlier this week. I am working on putting the scores from that benchmark up on PowerSchool for you to reference and am happy to answer any questions about your student's strengths and areas for growth. Benchmark scores do not impact grades but instead are meant to inform my lesson planning and provide feedback to families about ELA skills.
In FLEX, along with academic support, students completed two mindfulness activities. The first asked students to develop a goal around one of our five values: Inclusivity, Integrity, Empathy, Authenticity, or Engagement. Next, students created an image that showed how they plan on accomplishing this goal. These images are now displayed in the sixth-grade hallway. With the second semester beginning soon, the second mindfulness activity required students to provide school “hacks” for their classmates. These hacks could be strategies for HW completion, effective organizational tools and methods, test-taking tips, or differing approaches to managing schoolwork.
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SEVENTH GRADE
As the school year nears the half-way point, the challenge level of science class has moved up a notch. Students recently completed their unit on metabolism, culminating in a quiz just before winter vacation. The quiz has been handed back and students who earned below 80% on the quiz have the option to do a retake, before which a one-on-one conversation with Mr. Holt is required. The retake is scheduled for Thursday, January 16 during Flex. We have moved on to the next life science topic of the year: DNA and genetics. This past week students were assigned to independently complete notes on the structure, function, and history of DNA using a note-taking template and a set of on-line resources that included articles, diagrams, and videos. A quiz will assess how well students did on this independent learning challenge. In the coming weeks, students will work on solving genetics problems using models such as Punnett squares and pedigrees. All of these are attainable challenges provided students work hard, mentally engage during class lessons, and complete practice activities both in class and at home.
In Flex, besides academic support time, students have done several engaging lessons and activities including a game where students answered a set of questions about themselves and then the teacher read the descriptions aloud to the class for everyone to try to guess who it was about. Students really had a fun time with this, and it was clear they know each other very well. The whole seventh grade had a class meeting with principal Hudder to talk about themes of acceptance and belonging in the way students interact with and treat each other. Students were very receptive to the message and they demonstrated truly excellent audience behavior during the meeting!
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EIGHTH GRADE
In civics, we are wrapping up our unit on the rights and responsibilities of United States citizens. As their final assessment, students wrote a persuasive paragraph answering the prompt “Which amendment do you think is the most important for protecting the rights of citizens today?” Students wrote about a variety of amendments, explaining evidence that helped support their chosen amendment as the most important for protecting the rights of citizens today. In class on Wednesday and Thursday, we began to analyze the weaknesses of the national government under the Articles of Confederation. We will continue to discuss crucial events that led to the necessity of the Constitutional Convention. In the coming weeks, we will identify various leaders of the Constitutional Convention and analyze major issues discussed during the Convention. Coming up we have a Constitutional Convention simulation and rap battles between Anti-Federalists and Federalists before moving on to the three branches of government.
In Flex this week, students have been focused on writing letters to an educator that they are thankful for. Students have written excellent letters, which will be delivered to their educator in the coming days. Writing a letter is an essential life skill for students to have, and students excelled in their first formal introduction to the skill. On Wednesday and Friday, students played kickball in the gym to celebrate winning the grade-level competition for the recent food drive. Students were given academic time on Thursday, as we continue to follow our rotation schedule of days 1,3,5 and 7 being academic days while 2,4 and 6 remain team building and SEL focused.
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UNIFIED ARTS
Hello Band Families! This month we're diving into music appreciation to help students connect the music they’re learning in class to the world around them. Through this exploration, we’re highlighting how band fosters creativity, teamwork, and discipline—valuable skills that extend beyond the classroom. We’re also reviewing our class expectations to ensure a positive and productive environment for everyone. We’ll also be discussing the importance of audience and performance behavior. Band students will learn what it means to be a respectful audience member and how their own behavior impacts the performance experience for both musicians and spectators. I am excited for the journey ahead and can’t wait to see them keep growing!
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COMMUNITY NEWS AND EVENTS
Harvard Schools Trust
Each month the Board of Directors for the Harvard Schools Trust (HST) grants funds to the Harvard Public School Community. At our December and January meetings, we voted to grant funds for the following projects in the Harvard Public Schools:
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6th Field Trip to the Museum of Science, requested by Andrew Wright on behalf of the 6th grade team
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9th Grade Washington DC Scholarships, requested by Kate Keane
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Hand Sewing in Art at HES, requested by Claudia Owens
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EL Education Professional Learning, requested by Linda Dwight and Dana Labb
Our funding comes directly from members and donors. We invite each family in the Harvard Public Schools to become a member and help support enrichment for the young people of Harvard. To become a member, please click here. You can find more information about HST here.
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Auditions for the musical started this week. There was a great turnout for lead roles but we are still looking for ensemble members! Ensemble roles do NOT need to do an individual audition…they should learn the song “When You’re an Addams”. Next audition day will be Thursday 1/16 from 2:50-4:30pm. Ensemble students will rehearse their song and some choreography in the aud. lobby. When leading role auditions are finished, we will all come together on stage for a group run of the song and some brief choreography. Songs and scripts will be posted on the google classroom under Classwork: Audition Materials. You can use YouTube to find songs, scenes, and tracks as well.
Google Classroom code: ki3tiaz
Character descriptions, scene sides, and music excerpts will be posted on GC on Thursday.
For more reminders (via Remind app) and updates, text @tbsdr to 81010.
Paper copies of music and scripts will be posted on our bulletin board at the top of the stairs by the cafeteria on Friday.
See or email your directors: Miss Price, Mrs. Rutkiewicz, or Miss Trainor with questions.
mprice@psharvard.org, srutkiewicz@psharvard.org, etrainor@psharvard.org
Thank you, and break a leg!
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The Bromfield Middle School's 2025 yearbook is on sale now!
Order by January 24, 2025 to secure a yearbook at its lowest price of $30. Take advantage of the early bird special and add personalization to the cover of your student's yearbook. Please see the graphic below for a QR code to purchase.
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Team Challenge Supplies needed!
Please check out the attached flyer regarding donations of supplies for upcoming Team Building Challenges.
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Job Opening:
Whitsons Culinary Group is looking to hire a Production Lead for the Bromfield cafeteria. Please go to https://myjobs.adp.com/whitsonsculinarygroup/cx/job-listing and type Harvard, MA in the location search bar for more information about the position. They are looking to hire immediately.
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THE BROMFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL
Daniel Hudder, Principal
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14 Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard MA, 01451 | (978) 456 - 4145 |
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