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

Indigenous Peoples Day in Monday, a day off from school but a day on for learning. Consider checking out one or some of these hyper-local events:

• https://www.brooklinema.gov/1555/Indigenous-People-Celebration-Committee
• http://www.indigenouspeoplesdayma.org/
• https://www.ipdnewton.org/celebration
  

Field Day was this past Tuesday - a total blast of games, eating outside, popsicles, connection, and more. Our field day doesn't look like the filed days of yore (when I was little). Instead of races and ribbons, we play cooperative, fun, accessible games and design multi-age/multi-grade/multi-ability teams to foster a spirit of care and collaboration rather than competition

We send many thanks to our PE teachers Lauren Stewart and Kelly Stanton for making this happen for us year after year. And a thank you to parent and PTO member Eli Silk who facilitated the PTO's support of donuts and coffee, and popsicles at the end of the event.

PTO Community Meeting Slides

Thank you to those that made it to our PTO meeting this past Tuesday evening. We had an important discussion about the school's continuous efforts to collect, analyze, and respond to a range of measures that help identify the individualized supports each student needs to be successful. And we are grateful that two PTO grantees shared how the support of the PTO (which is really just your generous support) has helped them to bring engaging and impactful activities to our students. Thank you Jeannine Schroder (Mindfulness Workshops) and Vanessa Ouellette (4th Grade Book Awards) for sharing with us.

For those that couldn't make it, the presentation slides are available on our website's Meetings page (https://www.heathpto.org/meetings). Please add to your calendar the date of our next meeting, which will be in person in the school cafeteria just after drop off on the morning of Friday, December 1. We hope you can join us then.

PTO 2023 Fall Grant Cycle is Now Open + New Larger Project Request for Proposals

We invite all members of the Heath School community to submit proposals that promote the best possible educational environment for Heath students. The deadline for submission is Monday, November 6, 2023.

New this cycle: in addition to asking for more typical submissions (which we definitely still encourage to be submitted), we are also asking the community to submit proposal ideas for one larger project (up to a max of $8,000). This is possible because of both the generosity of our donors last year and the tireless efforts of our volunteers who led multiple fundraising campaigns (including the Ultimate Hawk Challenge, the Hawk Fund Annual Appeal, Mayfair, and more).

What concrete thing would you like to see improved in the school that could benefit from this one-time opportunity?

Find additional information and the proposal submission link at:

https://heathpto.org/grants

Questions? Email the Heath PTO at contact@heathpto.org

This past week, we presented at the Town's Select Board Meeting. You can watch the presentation and conversation here: https://youtu.be/XPlqFumPRVc?si=q3anMrrbVATE2GhV&t=10355

Our Student Renaming Committee also began to meet again in our efforts to prepare for Town Meeting, coming up in November. The crew of student ambassadors have been on a break since the big vote in June; it was great to be together and begin planning again. Stay tuned for the exact date where our warrant Article will be presented and be ready to come and support the efforts!

• The copy of our Warrant Article is here: link

_____

Each week, we report updates on the renaming process here. Past "Community Notes" newsletters can be found here:

https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

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

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

The Brookline School Committee is seeking applicants to temporarily fill the seat on the School Committee vacated by the resignation of Nancy Rhei Gorer. The interim appointment will begin in October 2023 and will continue until the May 2024 Town Election.

Candidates must be registered Brookline voters. Interested candidates are asked to submit a letter of interest and resume by 12:00 Noon on Friday, October 20 to:

Betsy Fitzpatrick, Executive Assistant

School Committee Office

betsy_fitzpatrick@psbma.org

Town Hall, 5th Floor

333 Washington Street

Brookline, MA 02445

Candidates will be interviewed in a public meeting by a joint session of the School Committee and Select Board. That joint session will be held in the evening, remote via Zoom, at a date in late October to be determined.

Interested in joining a Hidden Brookline tour, then enroll here:

https://www.campusce.net/brookline/Course/Course.aspx?c=2250

Other items of interest and suggested by the Hidden Brookline team are:

• Emerging Thomas Perkins research - Preliminary research adds a new level of iniquity to his businesses, including as a slave trader & opium smuggler. He also bought & sold Indigenous people on the Pacific Northwest.
• Faneuil Hall’s new exhibit on Peter Faneuil’s slave trading and the enslaved people who persevered: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/06/16/slavery-boston-exhibit-faneiul-hall

Of Particular Note:

• You will regularly see the meeting announcements for our Affinity Groups listed in this section. These sessions take place during the school day and are just for kids, but we share them so you can remind your children that they are coming up and/or ask, "How was ______ today? Tell me all about it!"

• Monday, October 9th: School Closed: Indigenous Peoples' Day
• Tuesday, October 10th: AAPI Affinity Group, 10:50-11:20am
• Wednesday, October 11th: METCO Connections Breakfast, 7:30-8:00am
• Wednesday, October 11th: Grades 6-8 GSA, 10:50-11:20am
• Wednesday, October 11th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm
• Thursday, October 12th: RISE Parent Coffee, 8:15-9:30am
• Thursday, October 12th: Young Scholars, 2:30-3:30pm
• Friday, October 13th: PEP!, 8:05-8:30am
• Monday, October 16th: Term 1 Progress Reports Published for Grades 6-8
• Monday, October 16th: Rainbow Club! Grade 3, 11:20-11:50am
• Wednesday, October 18th: Grades 6-8 GSA, 10:50-11:20am
• Wednesday, October 18th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm
• Thursday, October 19th: Young Scholars, 2:30-3:30pm
• Friday, October 20th: Art Barn Performance for Grades 1-3, Auditorium, 8:30-9:15am
• Friday, October 20th: Art Barn Performance for Grades 4-6, Auditorium, 9:45-10:30am

Today I leave you with these words from one of my favorite thinkers and poets: Wendell Berry (b. 1934). He says, "Whether we know it or not, whether we want to be or not, we are members of one another." That, to me, feels about right when I think about our work here. It is impossible to walk alone and the more we recognize that ways we are interconnected, the truer we can act in service of our mission.

I hope the 3-day weekend ahead is full of rest, joy, and connection.

~ 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

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

Heath School

The Public Schools Of Brookline | A METCO Partnership School

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