Blanchard School News 6/8/19
Hi Everyone,
We hope your children enjoyed yesterday’s field day experience. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, participation, and community spirit! It was awesome to see the entire school put academics aside for some fun competition and team building. The smiles, cheers and thank youswere in abundance in all corners of the campus. The event would not have been possible without the support of our teachers, parent volunteers, cafeteria manager, Mrs. Willard, and most of all, Blanchard Student Council and their advisors, Mrs. Rice and Mrs. Manning. Thank you for the fun middle school memories!
Señora Brumbaugh and eighth grade Spanish students would like to send a huge shout out to Gloria Loredo, Cristina Haraty's mom, for visit classes last week. She gave a 45-minute presentation in Spanish on Mexico and taught students about business, typical foods and soccer in Tijuana. She showed pictures of signs they might see when traveling, explained the border entry process and even had friends create videos in Spanish for our students. We appreciate the treats she brought in and the books and Bingo games she donated to our classroom. Thank you for sharing your language and cultural experiences with our Blanchard students!
Library Books Needed
Except for cases where students have requested an extension, all Blanchard library books due back. Please help us find missing Blanchard Library books. We are asking everyone to search backpacks, lockers and homes for books. Library books are easy to spot because they have a spine label and barcode.
Required Summer Reading for Middle School
Students are expected to read one book from the English department list below over the summer. Upon return to school in the fall, students will complete an assignment in Language Arts class related the summer reading book of their choice.
Important Information for Eighth Grade
Hard copies of student WA schedules for 2019-2020 will be distributed on June 11 at the end of the day. There will be important information on the back of the schedules including counselor assignments and contact information, dean assignments, summer reading requirements, and other tips/action items to prepare for ninth grade. The schedules are final, so only in the case of an error on your child's schedule, please contact the assigned WA counselor (by alphabet) with your concern.
Eighth Grade Completion and Achievement Ceremony
All eighth grade families are invited to join us in celebrating the completion of middle school at the Eighth Grade Completion and Achievement Ceremony. On Friday, June 14th at 9:00 am, 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, effort, and service.
Previous Newsletter Items
Sixth Grade Spirit Day
We have some fun in store for sixth grade students and staff! Thursday, June 13th has been declared Sixth Grade Spirit Day! 6 Blue and 6 White will come together for a full day of community bonding with games, art, a movie, and more! What better way to mark the end of the year than a chance to dunk your principal and guidance counselor followed by a visit from the Hayward's ice cream truck?! Please remembr to send in the permission slip to homeroom teachers.
Yearbooks
Yearbooks will be distributed to students on June 12th and 13th. We have less than 30 yearbooks remaining for purchase. Please bring in a check for $25.00 payable to Blanchard Middle School to Ms. Scalia.
Bus Passes for 2019/2020
Busing information and online registration can now be accessed via the Westford Public Schools website at https://www.westfordk12.us/district/transportation. In order to obtain the appropriate number of buses and avoid overcrowding buses at the start of the school year, all registrations must be received before July 15. As of July 15, a $30 per-student late registration charge will be applied. The bus pass fee for school year 2019-20 remains the same as for 2018-19.1 student: $2752 students: $5503 or more students: $750 (family cap)Bus passes will be mailed to home addresses prior to the start of school in August. Questions may be emailed to bus@westfordk12.us.
Upcoming Events
6/13 Grade 8 Class Trip to Canobie Lake Park & Grade 6 Spirit Day
6/14 Grade 8 Completion & Achievement Ceremony, 9am
6/17 Last Day of School (11am Dismissal)
Congratulations to Blanchard choral students and Mrs. Benschneider on a successful spring concert this week! We also congratulate the Westford Academy Class of 2019 and send best wishes from your friends at Blanchard!
Sincerely,
Tim
Register NOW for fall soccer programs!
Registration is open for Westford Youth Soccer Association’s (WYSA) Fall 2019 Soccer season.
REGISTRATION DEADLINES:
Travel (Grade 3/4, Grade 5/6, Grade 7/8) - Jun 23, 2019
In-Town (Grade K, Grade 1, Grade 2) - Aug 1, 2019
Grade 9-12 - Aug 15, 2019
** NEW OPTION ** FOR PLAYERS IN GRADES 3-6 - Players in Grades 3/4 and 5/6 now have the option of registering for the traditional TRAVEL program or the new REC program. Players in the REC program will play other Westford teams and possibly teams from neighboring towns such as Acton. Please go to the WYSA website for additional information.
The Westford Middle School PTO is in urgent need of volunteers for the upcoming Gr.8 Celebration on Friday, June 14. This is the PTO's biggest and most popular event which has a very large student participation and is not possible to run without an adequate number of volunteers.
The most urgent need is for -
Chaperones during the event (Gr.6 & 7 parents encouraged to help). Chaperoning is simply keeping an eye on the kids so everyone is safe. There will also be (as there always has been) a police detail throughout the evening.
Clean-up after the event
**ALL VOLUNTEERS WHO PLAN TO HELP OUT DURING THE EVENT (6:30 TO 9:30 PM) ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A VALID CORI ON FILE FOR 2018-19. IF YOU NEED ONE PLEASE GO TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE BEFORE 3:00 PM BETWEEN TODAY AND JUNE 10 TO HAVE YOUR CORI PROCESSED.**
To Sign-up to help click here:
https://tinyurl.com/HelpThePTO
To download the Permission Slip for Gr.8 Students click here:
https://tinyurl.com/Gr-8PermissionSlip
Please Note:This Permission Slip was sent home with Gr.8 students Monday, June 3.
For the purpose of planning the PTO needs to have the number of attendees a few days before the event. Hence this signed permission slip (along with $10 Entry Fee) MUST be sent back to the school on or before Monday, June 10, 2019