Blanchard School News 5/24/19

Due to problems with the website, last Friday's news did not post or send. Hopefully, third time's a charm. :)

Hi Everyone,

This morning during Advisory, we paused as a school community to remember the lives lost for the freedom of our nation. Students representing each team shared readings that included a history of Memorial Day, poetry, interesting facts, quotes and reflections from United States presidents. Thank you to Cora McWade, Marie Morris, Rish Rajput, and Diya Jayaraman, for leading the school in an educational and meaningful Memorial Day recognition.

I'm sure many of our eighth grade students and staff are thankful for the long weekend to recover from an action packed Washington, D.C. experience. We have been pleased to hear reports of a smooth trip, great behavior, and enthusiastic students and staff. Here at Blanchard, our “home team” also enjoyed a variety activities including rock climbing, hiking, cooking, gardening, and a trip to Kimball’s. The eighth grade students are leaving their mark on Blanchard with a beautiful mural painted in their hallway.

Earlier this week, we enjoyed visits from our incoming class of sixth grade students and parents. We hope everyone found the introduction to Blanchard welcoming and informative. We look forward to seeing the soon-to-be sixth graders again when they travel to Blanchard to see BTA’s Charlotte’s Web on June 3rd and 4th.

It's hard to believe that we are just a few days away from June! This is a busy time of year for parents, children, and teachers, and emotions are high as we look toward the end of year activities and transition to summer. The release of third trimester progress reports is a reminder keep the effort strong for this home stretch of the school year. The progress report is now available in the My Documents section in iParent.

Yearbooks

Yearbooks will be distributed to students on June 12th and 13th. We have about 30 yearbooks remaining for purchase. Please bring in a check for $25.00 payable to Blanchard Middle School to Ms. Scalia.

Eighth Grade Completion and Achievement Ceremony

All eighth grade parents are invited to join us in celebrating the completion of middle school at the Eighth Grade Completion and Achievement Ceremony. On Friday, June 14th we will gather in the Blanchard gymnasium to recognize our students for achieving this milestone in their educational journey and also honor individual students for outstanding academic performance and effort.

Field Day Volunteers Needed

Student Council is looking for adults to help run and supervise games in the afternoon of June 7th from 11 to 2pm. Lunch will be provided. The activities will be simple but fun, and instructions will be provided. The more volunteers we have, the more enjoyable field day will be for the entire Blanchard community. If you would like to participate, please fill out the Google form here: BMS Field Day Volunteer Sign Up Thank you for your consideration!

Updated 2019-2020 WPS Calendar

The 2019/2020 WPS Calendar has been updated due to the change in professional development day. (March 12th changed to May 19th). The latest version is can be accessed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ns_uwl9N0shCM6r8gedmF2KWFfN9b3W7/view?u...

Important Dates

5/27 Memorial Day  – No School

5/29 Grade 7 Field Trip to Boda Borg

5/31 Blanchard Theatre Arts Presents Charlotte's Web, 7pm

6/1 Blanchard Theatre Arts Presents Charlotte's Web, 7pm

6/6 Chorus Concert, 6:30pm

6/7 Field Day

6/13 Grade 8 Class Trip to Canobie Lake Park

6/14 Grade 8 Completion & Achievement Ceremony, 9am

6/17 Last Day of School (11am Dismissal)

Additional updates and summer opportunities for students are included below.

Sincerely,

Tim

MSPTO UPDATE

THE 8TH GRADE CELEBRATION IS AROUND THE CORNER

Help support your graduating teen by volunteering time or goods to this wonderful tradition. On June 14th eight graders from both schools will celebrate their move up with a night to themselves. We can’t do it without you! Please look out for the permission slip in your teen’s folders. You may also indicate interest by emailing westfordmiddleschoolpto@gmail.com

TEACHER APPRECIATION

Seven PTO members and TWENTY-NINE parents stepped forward to help make last week special for the teachers and staff. It was challenging with two schools, but you made it happen.

A few things about the event:

-Extra food, like sandwich bread and uncut fruit, qualified to be donated to the Westford Food pantry.

-We only purchased biodegradable cutlery, non-disposable serving cutlery and utensils.

-We recycled all plastic packaging.

-Much of the plastic bag packaging (ie for chips and popcorn) was recycled through the Westford library / High School program.

-All serving bowls and dishes were cleaned, stored and donated to the schools for future use.

-Whole Foods, our caterer for the lunch, gave us a non-profit discount of 20% from the total bill.

We hope you'll join in future endeavors!

WA VOLLEYBALL CLINIC for girls in grades 6-8 is running June 19-21 at Blanchard Middle School. Download volleyball registration form: https://brandoneang.wixsite.com/wavolleyballclinic

VOLEYBALL CLINIC Westford Academy Boys' Volleyball Head Coach Alexi Bukuras, and members of the Westford Academy Boys' Volleyball program are excited to announce they will be hosting a three day clinic on June 18-20 from 12:00-3:00 at Millworks. The cost of the clinic will be $125.00 per player, and please email Coach Bukuras for a discounted rate if your son is participating in the Westford Academy Boys’ Basketball Shooting Clinic. Email Coach Alexi Bukuras for further information and the registration form at abukuras@westfordk12.us. Here is the registration form for the middle school volleyball clinic. Please feel free to share! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z3xGLj945Cj8bRtv4Qf0whEvUeHP693FOgY7...

GREY GHOST BASKETBALL Any girls interested in playing basketball this summer should come to the Grey Ghost Basketball Clinic from June 18 through June 21st.  This clinic is run by the WA Girls' Basketball program and is appropriate for all levels of players from recreational to AAU/travel basketball players. Counselors include current members of the WA Varsity Girls' Basketball team plus current NCAA college basketball players Emily Bramanti (Stonehill - NCAA D2) and Cammy Desrochers (Framingham State - NCAA D3).  Please see the flyer that was sent home with your student or email Coach Russ Coward at rcoward@westfordk12.us. Thank you very much for your support!

WESTFORD ACADEMY BOYS’ BASKETBALL SHOOTING CLINIC is now Open to All Boys Entering 2-9 Grade (Entering Fall of 2019). Westford Academy Boys' Basketball Head Coach Chris Bramanti, and members of the Westford Academy Boys' Basketball program will host a four day, three hour per day shooting clinic from Tuesday, June 18th through Friday, June 21st from 8:30am to 11:30am.  Registration can be found on www.basketballwa.com or you can email Coach Bramanti at cbramanti@westfordk12.us.

WESTFORD SUMMER MUSIC -  The Westford Summer Music program is now accepting registrations for band and orchestra students entering grades 5 through 9 in September 2019. Band and orchestra ensembles will rehearse daily from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at the Stony Brook School on July 8th through July 12th .  During the week, the students will prepare new music and give a free performance on Friday, July 12th at 11 a.m. For more information and registration please visit: www.westfordk12.us/summermusic For questions, please contact Julie Ottesen at jottesen@westfordk12.us