Roland Hayes School

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!

Learn more about Roland Hayes here, from our own Young Scholars!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MyhdW04fd4

I start this week's missive with a very serious demand: when dropping off students in the morning, you must drive slowly and carefully. Children are everywhere – walking, running, biking, crossing streets, and coming out of cars. DO NOT drop off your child and then speed off through the front parking – that behavior is dangerous, reckless, and scary. When driving on Eliot, be equally slow and mindful. Reckless driving behaviors will be confronted vigorously.

I try to start each message with good news and important updates. No other message is as important as a humble, yet urgent request to keep our children physically safe and out of harm's way.

I also try and be in the front parking lot each morning to support the arrival process, but it is impossible for me to be there each morning. I am depending on all of us to collectively make this the safest place it can be.

Thank you.

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We are 23.5 school days until summer break! There is still so much to do, including:

• Wrapping up and announcing PTO grants
• Art Show! on May 30
• Grade 8 Graduation
• Tonight's final performance of our middle school play
• Mayfair!
• Finishing up MCAS
• Open Music classes
• Many field trips
• ... and so much more!

The calendar section below (Upcoming Events & Field Trips) can be your guide during one of the busiest times for the school year!

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A heart-felt thanks to all of the families who helped our annual Teacher & Staff Appreciation luncheon go so beautifully. To Robin and Anabelle - thanks to you both for managing this labor of love for our team! And to the many who cooked, brought in, baked, or catered food for the event ... it was delicious and then it was gone. Our staff was full and happy!

10,000 thanks!

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In upcoming Community Notes, I will be communicating with you all about:

• Class placement announcements ("...when will I hear about my student's class assignment next year?")
• Staffing shifts (retirements, internal shifts, departures, new hires, etc)
• The school schedule and any shifts that impact students
• Any facilities updates
• Updates on our RISE programming
• ... and more!

Stay tuned!

Curtains up! Light the lights!

This year's Drama Department production of Guys and Dolls is a smash success! 5 Stars!!! The cast is truly a cavalcade of stars; come see them now so that when they win their Tonys and Oscars you can say, "I saw them when they were in middle school!"

Check out this highlight reel:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f4bkEAW0zzdTPCICw2UBHqhexFcltYhZ/view?usp=sharing

Featuring our middle school students (both backstage and onstage) and the work of our co-directors – Elyse Terry, Sara O’Shea, Kyssandra Perkowski, Hannah Weiss and Alexandra Delgado – we guarantee a good time. Plus, it is such a great feeling to support the arts, especially when it is our scrappy crew. We hope to see many, many of you tonight for the final showing – 6pm start time!

It's MAYFAIR TIME!!!

Mayfair this year will include a 28-foot rock wall, 4 bungee trampolines, a riding bull ride, carnival games, crafts, food and much more!

The big day is May 31st from 1-5pm.

Volunteer Link to Volunteer Sign Up

Please plan to spend the day enjoying fun and games, and volunteer for a shift to make the event a success. You can sign up with a friend, take turns with a partner following kids and volunteering for a shift, or hire your nanny to do a shift for you. People that have volunteered in the past have had a great time interacting with all the Hayes students. It is going to be so fun! Thanks for helping!

Donate a cake Link to Cake Walk Sign Up

Competing to win a cake at the Mayfair Cake Walk has been one of the most popular family activities at Mayfair, and we're excited to be continuing this tradition. Volunteer to bring a cake to Mayfair! We have found that smaller cakes or large cupcakes are best. Students and adults are encouraged to make items, but store-bought is welcome too.

To donate, please plan to drop off your cake at Hayes on Friday, May 30 (the day before Mayfair). We appreciate your support!

Bid on the Auction Link to Bid on Auction May 24-31

Our annual online auction will have amazing items once again - a weekend on Cape Cod, Celtic tickets, Red Sox Green Monster seats with a tour, Principal-in-Training Day, and more! Bid on these items from May 24 to May 31!

To donate to the silent auction, email Courtney Hanna at courtneyhrenkes@gmail.com

Purchase your Armband Link to PTO Venmo

You can buy tickets for each activity on event day, but for your convenience we offer a $40 armband which includes unlimited activities for your child and this year the wristband will also get each child a bag of popcorn and a cotton candy. Other food will be available to purchase. Armbands are available on event day or in advance.

We want to let you know about an exciting study that is taking place in our school. Our school is partnering with a national research team to learn more about school meals and the impact of an upcoming new federal policy to update the school meal standards. The study will look at the amount of food eaten by students who eat school meals.

No identifying information will be collected from students.

More details about this study can be found at this secure link:

https://redcap.link/schoolmealinfo

Now that Spring is here, we have an uptick in kids cycling and riding scooters.

We are BEGGING you to make sure your kids wear a properly sized helmet. So often we see kids flying around campus without a helmet and it makes the blood in our veins run cold.

So, please, make sure that your kids are wearing a helmet when riding bikes and scooters.

This year, we have tightened up our practices regarding personal electronic device (PED) use in schools (as is noted in our Family Handbook).

The School Committee just affirmed our practices and solidified personal electronic device (PED) use in the new and approved policy, here:

https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=6573&dataid=11410&FileName=Personal%20Electronic%20Device%20Policy_Voted_4.10.25.pdf

When students are in the care of the school (from arrival until dismissal) all PED devices are off and away. This includes the period between 7:30 and 8:00am when many students are in the cafeteria.

We have messages the policy to all students, with a particular emphasis on communicating clearly and often with our middle school crew.

We thank you for reiterating this message at home, as well.

How do Roland Hayes School 575 students arrive and depart school? To improve safety for all, the Hayes School would like to better understand our student transportation choices. Please complete this two-minute MA Safe Routes to School Family Travel Survey and if half of our families participate, we will be awarded a safety incentive package from the state!

Survey Date: Friday, May 2 to Saturday, May 17

Access the portal with the QR code or via the link - MA Safe Routes to School Survey

Choose your language and school then complete the short survey.

For more PTO news and events, please visit: https://www.hayespto.org/newsletters/22351

At Roland Hayes, our students do amazing things each and every day. Here you will find a showcase of student work in various forms, as a way to share a piece of our Hayes community with all of you.

Check out our "projects" page, here:

https://sites.google.com/psbma.org/projects/home

Our website keeps a catalog of these great products, which you can find here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/807

• May is Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage month
• May is Jewish American Heritage month

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MCAS testing for students in Grades 3-8 begins March 31 and goes until June 3. The testing schedule is here: link

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• Monday, May 19th: 3F Open Music Class, Music room, 9:30-10:15am

• Monday, May 19th: 1R Open Music Class, Music room, 10:20-11:05am

• Monday, May 19th: Grades 6-8 Student Council, 11:20am-12:00pm

• Monday, May 19th: Rainbow Club, Grade 5, 11:20-11:50am

• Tuesday, May 20th: MCAS: 6th-8th Math Part 2

• Tuesday, May 20th: Student Council (4th-5th), 8:00-8:45am

• Tuesday, May 20th: KC Open Music Class, Music room, 10:05-10:50am

• Tuesday, May 20th: GSA, 10:50-11:20am

• Tuesday, May 20th: 3A Open Music Class, Music room, 1:00-1:45pm

• Wednesday, May 21st: MCAS: Math Makeups

• Wednesday, May 21st: Term 4: Grades 6-8 Progress Reports Published

• Wednesday, May 21st: 4O Open Music Class, Music room, 8:45-9:30am

• Wednesday, May 21st: 1H Open Music Class, Music room, 10:20-11:05am

• Wednesday, May 21st: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm

• Wednesday, May 21st: 2T Open Music Class, Music room, 12:35-1:20pm

• Thursday, May 22nd: MCAS: Math Makeups

• Thursday, May 22nd: AAPI Group, 10:50-11:20am

• Thursday, May 22nd: 2S Open Music Class, Music room, 1:45-2:30pm

• Friday, May 23rd: 4B Open Music Class, Music Room, 8:45-9:30am

• Friday, May 23rd: KBK Open Music Class, Music Room, 9:30-10:15am

• Monday, May 26th: School Closed, Memorial Day Holiday

• Tuesday, May 27th: Student Council (4th-5th), 8:00-8:45am

• Tuesday, May 27th: GSA, 10:50-11:20am

• Wednesday, May 28th: MCAS: 8th Civics Part 1, 8:00-9:15am

• Wednesday, May 28th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm

• Thursday, May 29th: 4KO Open Music Class, Music room, 8:45-9:30am

• Thursday, May 29th: Peek and Practice for Incoming K Students, 1:15-2:30 pm

• Friday, May 30th: Art Show, 7:30-8:30am

• Friday, May 30th: MCAS: 8th Civics Part 2, 11:00am-1:00pm

• Saturday, May 31st: Mayfair, 1:00-5:00pm

• Monday, June 2nd: Student Council (6th-8th), 11:20am-12:00pm

• Monday, June 2nd: Rainbow Club, Grade 4, 11:20-11:50am

• Monday, June 2nd: Grade 7 and 8 Track and Field, 3:00-5:30pm

• Tuesday, June 3rd: Roland Hayes’ Birthday

• Tuesday, June 3rd: Student Council (4th-5th), 8:00-8:45am

• Tuesday, June 3rd: GSA, 10:50-11:20am

• Wednesday, June 4th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm

• Thursday, June 5th: School Council Meeting, 8:15-9:45am

• Thursday, June 5th: AAPI Group (Library), 10:50-11:20am

• Thursday, June 5th: Grade 5 and 6 Track and Field, 3:00-5:30pm

• Friday, June 6th: PEP, 8:05-8:30am

• Friday, June 6th: 8th Grade Astronomy Museum, Science Lab & Lobby, 12:05-1:40pm

• Saturday, June 7th: Eid al-Adha (Category II Holiday)

Field Trips:

• Tuesday, May 20th: 3rd Grade DPW Day, 8:30-11:15am

• Thursday, May 22nd: 4th Grade to Kennedy Institute, 8:45am-12:45pm

• Thursday, May 22nd: Young Scholars Field Trip to John Wilson Exhibit at MFA, 1:00-4:00pm

• Thursday, May 29th: Young Scholars Field Trip to learn about AALSP, 1:00-3:00pm

• Wednesday, June 4th: 6th Grade Trip to the New England Aquarium, 8:30am-2:00pm

• Thursday, June 5th: Young Scholars Field Trip to Roland Hayes’ home & Muddy River Park for EOY Celebration, 2:30-5:00pm

The annual Brookline Pride Parade is coming up!

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A free Youth Mental Health First Aid course is being offered on Wednesday, June 25. This is a one-day, evidence-based course that helps participants learn how to support children and adolescents who are experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge. The course is aimed at adults who regularly interact with young people. Service providers, school or camp staff, and others working or volunteering with youth in Brookline are welcome to attend.

Youth Mental Health First Aid

Wednesday, June 25

9am-4pm

Brookline Town Hall

330 Washington St, Brookline MA

If you are interested in attending, please email alane@brooklinema.gov to register.

My morning commute this time each year takes me through some very beautiful, wide-open farm lands. These open spaces are not quite yet in bloom with a many summer crops, making it a perfect nursery for baby Canada geese goslings. These babies are such a delight to watch grow, and then - soon - they will be gone into the great wide world.

Wild Geese | Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Is there something or someone bringing you joy these days? Something or someone you look forward to seeing each day? With spring finally here, I truly hope your world is opening up to you!

~ Asa

This parcel of land that our school sits upon is a special and sacred place.

Before this place was a Town, before our school was here, before this neighborhood was called “The Settlement” or “Chestnut Hill,” and before this land was a farm, this land was held by the Massachusett, the people Indigenous to this place. The Massachusett were the caretakers of this site, living full lives, raising families, and burying their dead right here. We recognize and honor this history, and seek to create thoughtful land stewards and citizens for generations to come.

As a public school, our primary objective is to ensure access, membership, and participation of all community members in our care; with this land acknowledgment we state our willingness to work towards that vision where all feel a true and abiding sense of belonging.

Roland Hayes School

The Public Schools Of Brookline | A METCO Partnership School

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

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