![page background](https://cdn.smore.com/_fr/vintageeducation18.470e8adf.jpg)
Roland Hayes School
The Community Notes ~ February 9, 2024
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!
Dear Roland Hayes School Community
Yesterday was our 100th Day of School, a huge celebration for us with balloons, a scavenger hunt, fancy dress, kooky hats, and more. Only 80 days until summer vacation! Our Math Specialist, Ms. Raskin, had a blast! I think 100 might be her favorite number!
-----
Family Game Night! was so, so, so fun! A HUGE shout out and thanks to parents Rasheedah Clayton and Akeisha Hayde, along with out METCO Advisor Debra Morales, for making this annual event come to life. The crew of young people who helped set the entire event up really showed up - we're proud of them!
-----
Lunar New Year is Here!
The high holiday of Lunar New Year begins tomorrow and is observed in China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam ... and Brookline! Come and celebrate at the Brookline Village Library – 1:30 pm on Sunday, February 11 2024; more information about the celebration is here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taiwanese-storytime-celebrate-the-lunar-new-year-tickets-820077362467
More information about the holiday is here:
https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/events/celebrations/lunar-new-year-celebration/
And a very happy one full cycle around the Lunar calendar to all of our Golden Dragons (born in 2012) here at the school!
-----
Thank you to all who attended the LGBTQ+ Task Force training this past Monday – it was a wonderful event!
Here are the slides from the presenter and slides from the Task Force for your review. There is a survey on the last slide that the Task Force appreciate any interested family to take (even if you didn't come to the training). Feedback from the survey so far suggests that the Task Force will be starting a parent affinity group; more information on that later.
-----
TOMORROW!!!! Brookline Cares Skate Night Fundraiser at Larz Anderson - Saturday, February 10th, 5:30-6:30pm at Larz Anderson Skating Rink
Brookline Cares, a volunteer organization led by Brookline High School students is conducting a Skate Night Fundraiser this Saturday – tomorrow!! Please join us at Larz Anderson Skating Rink. We hope to see as many people there as possible for an hour of skating.
We are asking for a donation of any amount to Brookline Cares. All proceeds will go directly into purchasing Empowerment Coats - coats that convert into sleeping bags. This amazing product provides a coat, sleeping bag and warmth for people experiencing homelessness. For more information please follow us on Instagram: #Brooklinecares
If you can't join on Saturday but would still like to donate, please visit our fundraising page: https://www.classy.org/team/544633
Art Work: All About Roland Hayes!
A Special Exhibit on Roland Hayes & Florida Ruffin Ridley is happening now at the Brookline Village Library. Featuring work by our very own Young Scholars, our Black and Latine Affinity Group, this showcase is co-sponsored by the Library, Hidden Brookline, & Brookline's Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Relations.
These art pieces (link to art work) will be on display at the Main Branch of the Brookline Public Library; we hope you'll go there to enjoy this important student work and research!
---------
This beautiful greyscale portrait of Roland Hayes was created by one of our parents, Jon Zurawski. Thank you, Jon, for such a thoughtful rendering.
---------
Change is happening and change is coming! Did you notice that our website is rebranded? And that the Parent Portal has our new school name, as does the district website? Paperwork to change our name at the State level has been submitted. Our digital footprint is indeed becoming more representative of who we are now.
We have also had contractors in and we are poised for complete the physical changes to the building, like our front of school name plates and a refurbishing/rebranding of the school gym. It is going to look amazing!
Win This Book! Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe
Listed as a must-read book on almost every notable non-fiction book list of 2023, Ordinary Notes is really great AND I am giving away a free copy!
Fill out this quick form to enter the book lottery! https://forms.gle/dAiVtDNpTTABJs6D6
From McMillan Publishers:
A singular achievement, Ordinary Notes explores profound questions about loss and the shapes of Black life that emerge in the wake. In a series of 248 notes that gather meaning as we read them, Christina Sharpe skillfully weaves artifacts from the past—public ones alongside others that are poignantly personal—with present realities and possible futures, intricately constructing an immersive portrait of everyday Black existence. The themes and tones that echo through these pages—sometimes about language, beauty, memory; sometimes about history, art, photography, and literature—always attend, with exquisite care, to the ordinary-extraordinary dimensions of Black life.
At the heart of Ordinary Notes is the indelible presence of the author’s mother, Ida Wright Sharpe. “I learned to see in my mother’s house,” writes Sharpe. “I learned how not to see in my mother’s house . . . My mother gifted me a love of beauty, a love of words.” Using these gifts and other ways of seeing, Sharpe steadily summons a chorus of voices and experiences to the page. She practices an aesthetic of "beauty as a method,” collects entries from a community of thinkers toward a “Dictionary of Untranslatable Blackness,” and rigorously examines sites of memory and memorial. And in the process, she forges a brilliant new literary form, as multivalent as the ways of Black being it traces.
Notes From Our PTO: Hawk Fund & Upcoming Events
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!
____________________
New Hayes PTO Logo
The PTO is working on transitioning to the new school name. Check out our new logo as part of the transition. It will take some time to change our website and email, but we are working on it. For right now, go to hayespto.org and you will be forwarded to our current website at heathpto.org. Our email is still contact@heathpto.org for now too.
PTO Community Meeting last Tue 2/6
Thank you to all that attended our PTO community meeting last Tuesday. We had a good discussion about educator hiring, class sizes, the school improvement plan, and all the upcoming events. Check out the presentation slides (https://heathpto.org/meetings) and mark your calendar for our next meeting in person on Fri 4/5 at 8:15am in the school cafeteria.
SRTS Yard Sign Design Contest due Fri 2/23 (over the break!)
Does your 2nd-8th grade student love to draw and create? Then put that creativity to good use by promoting safe routes to school in this year's Yard Sign Design Contest with the theme: BUS STOP SAFETY. For guidelines, a template, and how to submit, check out our website: https://heathpto.org/calendar/event/31552820
Family Skate Night on Sat 3/9 at 6pm
Mark your calendar to come skate with your Hayes community in the Warrior Ice Arena on Saturday, March 9, 6:00-7:50pm. Plan to join us with the whole family.
Mayfair Updates
(1) Volunteers Needed -- we need a few gracious people to help lead or be on a committee for Food, Games, Coordinating Volunteers, and Communications/Marketing. Email Tiff Rinne (tiffanyrinne@gmail.com) if you can help. (2) Seeking Silent Auction Items -- Be creative! All ideas are helpful and every gift helps. Email Jennifer Niloff (jenniferniloff@gmail.com) about any items you can donate.
Upcoming Events
Monday, February 12th: Rainbow Club!, 11:20-11:50am
Wednesday, February 14th: Grades 6-8 GSA, 10:50-11:20am
Wednesday, February 14th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm
Wednesday, February 14th: Roland Hayes Grades 6-8 Band Concert @ Driscoll School Auditorium , 6:30-8:00pm
Thursday, February 15th: 8th Grade Elective Visit to BHS, 8:30-10:30am
Thursday, February 15th: Young Scholars, 2:30-3:30pm
Friday, February 16th: Yearbook Club, 8:00-8:30am
Monday, February 19th - Friday, February 23rd: School Closed: February Vacation
Monday, February 26th: Rainbow Club!, 11:20-11:50am
Tuesday, February 27th: 2nd Grade Japanese Drumming Workshops, Cafeteria, 8:00-10:00am
Tuesday, February 27th: AAPI Affinity Group, 10:50-11:20am
Wednesday, February 28th: Grades 6-8 GSA, 10:50-11:20am
Wednesday, February 28th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm
Thursday, February 29th: Young Scholars, 2:30-3:30pm
Friday, March 1st: PEP - Advocacy Book, 8:05-8:30am
Saturday, March 2nd: Hayes Science Fair 2024
Field Trips:
Friday, February 9th: Ski and Snowboard Club, 1:50-10:00pm
The Science Fair Approaches!
!Science Fair 2024 is 23 days away. There's still time to be a part of it all!
- Let last year's participants tell you why you should join: https://youtu.be/s51lAe-uwAE
- Register your student and find more info here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/hayes/science-fair
- Join the 4th and final Science Fair Zoom workshop on Mon 2/12 at 6pm at this link: https://bit.ly/hayes-scifair-wksp-zoom
- Help us by volunteering on the day-of! Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084EADA72CA4FD0-47608150-science#/
With questions or for support, contact the SF Planning Team members: VP Patel, Theodora Konetsovska (3rd&6th), Eli Silk (8th), Jon Bass (2nd&6th), Saed Amal (3rd&7th), Yen-Lin Chen (3rd&7th), Lisa Kang (4th) and Daryl Donatelli (K)
Items Worth Repeating
Our School Report Card
Every year, each public school and school district in Massachusetts receives a report card. Just as your child’s report card shows how they are doing in different subjects, the school’s report card is designed to show families how our school is doing in different areas. A link our school’s report card can be found below:
The report card includes multiple measures of a school’s performance – more than just MCAS scores. It represents a new way of looking at school performance, by providing information on student achievement, teacher qualifications, student learning opportunities, and more.
Report cards are designed to be useful tools for everyone connected to our school. Families can use the information to have meaningful conversations with us about what the school is doing well and where there is room for improvement. Community and education leaders can use the information to better understand how to support students and our school.
You will notice on our report card that we are "perform[ing] better than 92% of elementary and middle schools statewide." To improve student performance in our school, we are closely monitoring and working with families on issues contributing to chronic absenteeism (which has escalated in our school, the district, and across the Commonwealth). We encourage you to become involved in helping us improve our school. We see parents as critical partners in the success of our students and school, and we are grateful for your continued support.
If you have questions about our school’s report card, would like to become involved in school improvement activities, or would like to request information about the qualifications of your child’s classroom teacher, please contact me at asa_sevelius@psbma.org. To see our district’s report card or to search for other schools’ report cards, visit reportcards.doe.mass.edu.
Set Apple Watches to School Time Mode
Perhaps your child received an Apple watch for the holidays? Maybe they already have one?
Help your child avoid distractions by turning on School Time mode. If your child has an Apple Watch, please turn off notifications and limit app access during school hours. Instructions are here.
It's really hard for kids to keep themselves from checking their watches or using apps during school. Students are not allowed to use their personal phones or other devices to communicate during school hours.
If we see them using their watches, we will hold them safely in the office until the end of the day.
If you need to communicate with your child, please call the Main Office and we can deliver any necessary message.
Dressing for Winter
We are still getting outside for recess across all grade levels. Our standard practice is: “Students should come prepared to participate in activities outside with varied weather. Layers, coats, hats, gloves etc.”
Please send your child to school dressed warmly, if possible. We recognize that some kids refuse to wear warmer clothes (see article below about teens wearing shorts all winter); some of us can use some help getting a warm winter coat.
Many middle school students arrive in school wearing shorts or without a coat. We tell our middle schoolers that recess is outside and that the expectation is that they are headed out – even in shorts.
If you need help getting some warm clothes, please let us know. Our Student Support team can and will help! link
This fascinating article from The Atlantic can shed some light on the age old question, "Why is my kid wearing shorts in winter?" Check it out here: link
PLEASE Label Your Child's Things - Especially Their Coats!
If you can do one thing this weekend, please make time to label your child's winter coat. Our Lost and Found is already full of coats with no names. If we find items with names on them, we return these items to their owners. No label? Then it sits in a pile of stuff in our Lost and Found.
Since you are getting that sharpie out, will you go ahead and write your child's name on their lunch box, water bottle, and backpack?
We thank you very sincerely.
In Closing
Perhaps you saw it? When Elmo asked the internet, "How is everybody doing?" And then the answers Elmo received were surprising – it seemed that no one was doing very well as folks shared about exhaustion, worry, and fear. This chorus speaks to a collective fatigue blanketing our society today.
The difficult blowback of this is that when the adults feel this overwhelmed, the children respond in kind by worrying about the adults in their lives and trying to make them better.
I see this community as a hyper-connected system, where adult health and student outcomes are deeply intertwined. My encouragements to take care of yourself and each other are real. The little ways we breathe in and breathe out - with a focus on compassion and care - really make a huge difference.
Thank you for all the ways you show up for this community, seen and unseen!
~ Asa
Contact
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