Community Notes

Our North Star

“When children and teachers feel engaged, safe, and supported we have room to grow and learn through collaboration and risk-taking with our peers.”

Previous "Community Notes" can be found here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

"The Community Notes" is sent every other week. Thanks for reading!

Last Thursday night the Student Renaming Committee presented at Town Meeting and Town Meeting members voted overwhelmingly to approve our Warrant article, renaming our school to the Roland Hayes School!

We thank everyone who supported this process – the members of our school community, Town Meeting members, scholar Dr. Barbara Brown, and the many expert guides who helped along the way.

Here are links to two videos and a podcast that will help you to relive the moment:

• YouTube Micro-Documentary: https://youtu.be/xAPjcedVkFY?si=Th5e2XXVbwB41XMl
• Brookline Town Meeting presentation and vote (starting at 14 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/live/Po5rMjpIYFw?si=JHK8Ba0O57TepNfW
• A segment of the Boston Public Radio podcast all about Roland Hayes, in which we ghet a brief mention: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/boston-public-radio-podcast/id923045032?i=1000635218107
  

Here, also, is our slide deck presentation from Town Meeting:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10WpjqMk3pnaFh4UOW9StViepa6pAnMl-06CphrBuWWQ/edit?usp=sharing

And, a message from Roland Hayes's family:

I am so happy to hear this !! I know my girls will be equally happy.

Many thanks to you and the committee for making this possible.

May the students really understand how significant this is and how proud they should be of their participation in the process of changing the name of the school.

Sincerely,

Afrika Hayes Lambe

Zaida Christine Lambe

Erika Rolande Lambe

The "School Name: History & Resources" website page is also updated regularly:

https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/renameheath

We will soon celebrate the careers of two beloved staff members in our school: Rachel Hayashi and Scott Wilson.

Ms. Hayashi has been an educator here for 30 years, serving as our Middle School ELA teacher for the bulk of that time. During the past few years, Ms. Hayashi has served as our Literacy Coach, serving as a guide to staff as they refine and master their literacy practices. Ensuring our children grow up with a love of reading and the skills to understand deeply has been her life's work. I am thankful that work happened here.

Mr. Wilson has served as a Learning Center Paraprofessional for 20 years and is a trusted, depended-upon role model for so many of our students. Mr. Wilson is a mentor to many - students and adults, alike - and all-around good person. His expertise and presence will be very missed in our middle school and beyond.

Please reach out now with your warm wishes: rachel_hayashi@psbma.org & scott_wilson@psbma.org

24 middle schoolers from our school debated at Northeastern yesterday - the biggest crew we've brought in a while!

• 6th grade - Sebastian, Lola, Penelope, Kira, Evelyn, Elisa, Janice, Henry, Georgio, Albert
• 7th grade - Kris, Jude, Francesca, Hudson, Daryn, Lawrence, Tom, Grant C., Benjamin
• 8th grade - Jacob, Ryan, Doelle, Hailey, Neil

Special congrats goes to these award winners: Lawrence and Daryn (best public speakers), Francesca and Hudson (best position paper), and Grant and Benjamin (best position paper.)

And extra big congrats to Ryan and Jacob, who got the best delegate award they've been chasing for three years. You can see their delight (and their team's support) here.

Thank you to all of you who support this team!

Cheers,

~ Ms. Terry

-----

Ms. Elyse Terry (she/her/hers)

6th & 7th Social Studies Teacher

Heath-->Hayes School

Heath/Hayes families,

The Book Fair is coming to the library December 4-8, so look out for the flyer coming home very soon! We highly encourage you to set up an e-wallet so your child doesn't have to carry cash (the fair accepts cash, cards, and ewallets).

1. To set up an ewallet for your child, head to the BOOK FAIR WEBSITE.

2. Kindly consider making a donation to the Heath School ewallet. The funds are used to purchase items for students who otherwise would not be able to purchase anything. DONATE HERE.

3. Also, please consider making a donation to your child's teacher's ewallet so they may buy items for the classroom. Teachers will send you a link to their ewallet directly.

Students will attend Book Fair with their classes during the school day (homeroom teachers can communicate with you about what day that is). Families are welcome to shop after school 2:30-3:00 Monday-Thursday (the fair closes at lunch on Friday). There is also an option to purchase items online December 1-14 via the fair website.

Thank you and happy reading!

Funds raised at the Book Fair go towards purchasing items for the library, students, and school community.

Many thanks,

Lindsay Anderson, Librarian

A bit of good news released recently in some school ranking data:

• From US News: https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/massachusetts/heath-202783
• Niche.com also has school ratings, and we are rated A+ by their metrics.

What does this mean? It means that by some rankings and ratings our school does extremely well. Of this we should be very proud! I know I am! AND, we keep our focus on the pressing needs and developmental growing edges so that everyone can benefit from the excellence being produced in this educational space.

I thank each and everyone of you for contributing to our successes!

If you are planning to apply to private schools, please be aware of three things:

• The PSB uses our own forms for the recommendation process. Please send the requests to the appropriate staff via the independents school's portal (ie, Ravenna). That will alert us to your request. We will then use our forms to communicate with the private schools to which you are applying.
• Please provide addressed, stamped envelops to the front office for every school to which you are applying. We will send the completed forms directly to the schools.
• The firm deadline for staff to complete recommendation forms is is January 10th, 2024. After this date, staff will not be able to complete letters of recommendation.

The 5th annual Science Fair date will take place on Saturday, MARCH 2, 2024! And you don’t want to miss participating. Last year was amazing:

• 91 participants, K through 8th grade – our highest number to date
• 52 projects – exploring volcanoes, molecular gastronomy, musical dogs, thermochromic materials, Brookline birds, electric cars and so much more
• 14 volunteer judges – all parent-scientists from our school!
• Over 300 guests, despite a massive snowstorm

So get excited to join us as a participant or a supporter! Here’s some early info – stay tuned for more:

INSPIRATION & INFORMATION: Check out the Fair website early and often for with lots of helpful resources for young scientists and their assistants!

WORKSHOPS: 4 Zoom sessions to get direction, answers, and encouragement from Science Fair volunteers. Planned dates and broad themes:

• Workshop #1: Week of December 11, 2023 – “Observe: Choosing a Project”
• Workshop #2: Week of January 1, 2024 – “Plan: Research and Design”
• Workshop #3: Week of January 22, 2024 – “Explore: Experimentation and Investigation”
• Workshop #4: Week of February 5, 2024 – “Explain: Communication and Presentation”

CONTACTS: Reach out to Vice Principal Patel, Theodora Konetsovska (3rd & 6th) or Eli Silk (8th) with questions

Our PTO's Website is here: https://www.heathpto.org/ We hope you will check it out for upcoming events, ways to support out school, and much more!

____________________

Brookline Booksmith Night (Save the Date)

Save the date to support a beloved local business and our school PTO for holiday shopping and more at the Brookline Booksmith on the evening of Monday, November 27 from 5:30-7:30 pm. The night is an annual tradition and a really lovely family night out for all! If you can't make it in person, we expect there to be an option to shop online too.

https://heathpto.org/calendar/event/39439344

Specialist Teachers Wishlist

Each year, the Heath PTO shares a wishlist of supplies that the specialists need for their classrooms. Please visit the wishlist and contribute where you can. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

https://heathpto.org/wishlist

Thanksgiving Celebrations & Day of Mourning Observance

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving break. This year I am trying a new way of making my mashed potatoes (link) and am really excited about this potential cooking game changer. May your celebrations be fulfilling and connecting.

I am wondering if anyone will be observing and/or attending the National Day of Mourning (link)? "An annual tradition since 1970, National Day of Mourning is a solemn, spiritual and highly political day" that seeks to "continue to create a true awareness of Native peoples and history." I have been a few times in the past and can whole-heartedly recommend this event to anyone. It is also streaming live this year, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR4wLyUYFss

Be well and be happy,

~ Asa

Dr. Asa Sevelius, Ed.D. | Principal

Email: asa_sevelius@psbma.org

Pronouns: he/him

Mr. Kirtan Patel | Vice Principal

Email: kirtan_patel@psbma.org

Pronouns: he/him

Previous "Community Notes" can be found here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

The "School Name: History & Resources" website page is here:

https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/renameheath

Website: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/Page/17
Location: 100 Eliot Street, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467
Phone: 617-879-4570

Roland Hayes School

The Public Schools Of Brookline | A METCO Partnership School

Dr. Asa Sevelius, Principal & Mr. Kirtan Patel, Vice Principal