Blanchard School News 5/22/20

Dear Blanchard Families, 

Although your children couldn’t see under our masks, their brief visits to Blanchard over the course of the week brought smiles to our faces. Our goal was to provide all interested students with a time to gather their own personal belongings from their lockers. Per Superintendent Olsen, the process needed to be safe, controlled and in compliance with Department of Public Health guidelines. Thanks to the help of 21 teacher volunteers and support from families, we were able to accommodate 312 students in four days. We know it was difficult for them to return to their school with these restrictions in place, and we are grateful for their understanding and cooperation. We hope that changes to the regulations over the coming weeks will present an opportunity for students to say goodbye to their school and teachers for the summer in a fun and personal way.  

Looking ahead to the end of the year, the last day of school is Tuesday, June 16. The last round of new remote learning assignments from individual teachers for the 2019/2020 school year will be provided on Monday, June 1. Monday, June 8 – Monday, June 15 will be devoted to team-based lessons focused on social-emotional wellbeing, transition and community.

If your children are like any of my three, they might be losing some steam with regard to remote learning. Please encourage them to recharge this weekend, keep the effort strong for a few more weeks, and reach out to teachers and counselors. We have exciting plans in the works to celebrate the end of the school year at each grade level! More details will be shared in the coming weeks. On a related note, our counselors would like to share a hello and some timely reminders with all of our families: 

Hello From Blanchard Counseling Department:

We hope this message finds all families well and safe.  We just wanted to reach out to say hello and to remind you all about the importance of self care during these stressful times.  With so much uncertainty going on, it is natural that our stress levels and anxiety rates will be higher.  We need to be able to recognize this in ourselves and take the time to care for our own needs in order to keep hopeful, motivated and healthy for our sakes and the sakes of our families that we care for.

The Spring weather is here along with more sunshine which is a necessary welcome for all of us.  Take time to enjoy it.  Yard work, walks with the family and pets, picnics outside can help us relax and remember to breathe in the fresh air.

If you find you need more information on self care, helping your children with anxiety or mental health information in general, please be sure to go to Blanchard’s Guidance website for a plethora of information that may be relevant to your specific needs or questions.  Also, the district’s school psychologists have posted an array of helpful tips and information on the district’s website.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to any one of us by email if you have questions as this school year is wrapping up and your student is transitioning into the summer months.  We will do our best to answer your questions, provide support and point you in the right direction if we can’t answer some of your questions.

It has been wonderful to stay connected with your children through our grade level SEAL google classrooms, phone calls, emails, google meet check-ins, and lunch groups! We hope the students will continue to utilize these ways to stay connected through the end of the school year. We are so proud of your ability to be flexible and persevere through these difficult times. Remember we are all in this together! We are all ROCK STARS! 

Be well and stay safe.

Blanchard School Counseling Department

Please see the additional updates below. As we honor those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom, we wish all of our students and families a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.

Sincerely,

Tim and Patti 

Blanchard Grade 8 Families – Save the Date!

Coming Soon! Virtual Tour of Westford Academy

Westford Academy will be providing incoming ninth grade students an online tour in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more information. 

Student Artwork

Ms. Scalia has stored sixth and seventh grade student artwork for distribution in the fall. Stay tuned for more information pertaining to eighth grade, as we are hoping to distribute artwork with yearbooks and completion certificates. 

Curbside Book Return

Any remaining Blanchard textbooks and library books can be returned to the school on one of our drive-through drop-off dates between 9am and 1 pm on one of the dates below. Tables will be labeled by grade level. 

Wednesday, June 10 

Thursday, June 11

Friday, June 12 (Rain Date)

Blanchard Book Club

Join Blanchard librarian, Mrs. Brandt, and JV Fletcher librarian, Kate Rose for their weekly lunchtime get-together Thursdays from 12 to 1 pm. Next week’s theme: Realistic Fiction. New members (students and staff) are always welcome! The Google meeting link will be posted in the Blanchard Book Club Google Classroom (join code: z6vr6yt ). Contact Mrs. Brandt with any questions. 

Blanchard Yearbook Update

We received an update from our publisher indicating government-mandated shut-downs may delay delivery of our yearbooks. To that end, we are unable to share plans for distribution at this time, but we have been assured anyone who has ordered a yearbook will receive one. I will share any tracking updates we receive. 

Online sales have closed, but it's not too late to place an order by mail. Send a $25 check payable to Blanchard Middle School right to our office. Please make sure your child’s name is included.