Grade 7

Dear Parents,

I write to share information about the end of the year and some of the special events that your children will be participating in.  Please review the following information carefully and be in touch with me if you have any questions.

Spring Fling is coming up on the week of May 18 – 22. The Student Council is hosting a Spirit Week! Please see your child’s schedule depending on his or her division.

Preschool – Grade 3:
Monday:         Superhero Day – Dress up as your favorite superhero
Tuesday:         Hat day – Wear a favorite or crazy hat
Wednesday:    Animal Day – Wear a tee-shirt with an animal on it
Thursday:       Blue and White Day – Show your BCD spirit and dress in our colors
Friday:            Spring Fling – Break the dress code (within reason)

Grade 4 – Grade 9:
Monday:         Superhero Day – Dress up as your favorite superhero
Tuesday:         Pajama Day – Wear your favorite PJs
Wednesday:    Twin/Multiples Day – Coordinate with friends
Thursday:       Blackout Day – Wear only black
Friday:            Spring Fling – Break the dress code (within reason)
The Middle and Upper School have a pancake lunch today- no need to pack lunches

Field & Fun Day is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27 with a rain date of Thursday, May 28.  All BCD students are expected to attend this annual event.  Preschool and lower school students will participate in outdoor activities throughout the day, so please make sure to apply sunscreen in the morning and send more in with your child. Middle and upper school students wear blue/white sports clothes for Field Day. They will be given Blue team or White team shirts and will compete in individual and team track and field events. Sunscreen is a must for these events.  Following a barbeque lunch (no need to pack one for the day), students will have fun on our Slip and Slide. Students should bring a bathing suit and towel for this activity! Throughout the day, snow cones, fruit, and other treats will be served.

 Upper School Exams will be given Monday, June 1 – Friday, June 5. Students will take one exam per day, from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. The rest of the day, they will go to classes as usual and there is an afternoon activity planned most days to help relieve stress and have some fun. If your child is eligible for extended time, those students will begin their exams with their classmates and continue working on their exams if they need more time at the end of the exam.
Closing Assembly and All-School Picnic at 11:30 on Friday, June 5

• 11:30 am     End-of-the-Year Assembly

Parents are invited to join students and faculty in Fitzpatrick Hall to bring closure to the year by saying a multitude of “thank yous” to class parents and special friends who have helped make the year so grand. It is also a time to say goodbye to faculty who are leaving BCD, as well as an opportunity to recognize the tremendous leadership of the graduating class.

• 12:00 pm    All-School Picnic 

Immediately following the assembly, everyone is invited to stay for an informal picnic celebration in the courtyard.

• 1:00 pm     Summer officially begins!

Buses leave at 1:00 and there are no after-school programs, including no PM or Study Hall.

Later that evening…
It is the tradition of the Seventh Grade to host an End-of-the-Year Dance in honor of the eighth and ninth graders.  Sixth graders are invited to attend as their first event as upper school students.  This year’s dance is semi-formal. It will take place in Fitzpatrick Hall from 7:30 – 10:00 p.m.
 
The Awards and Graduation Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, June 10 from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. in Fitzpatrick Hall.  All seventh, eighth, and ninth graders are required to attend this special event. All upper school students should arrive at 3:30 p.m. and report to their homeroom for photos.  Boys should wear a jacket and tie, nice long pants, and shoes.  Girls should wear a nice dress or skirt.

Girls in the graduating ninth grade class should wear a white or pastel dress.

Please be in touch if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best,

Carmen

MS and US Spring Music Concert

Friday, May 15th, 1:30-3:00 PM, Fitzpatrick Hall

Middle School Chorus, Middle School Band, Upper School Band, US Vocal Ensemble

Lower School Music Concert

Friday, May 29th, 1:30 PM, Furey Hall

Lower School Chorus

Kindergarten Children

Join us on Thursday, May 14, between 5:00 and 7:00 pm, for the spring trimester’s Open Studios event! Arts faculty and students will be present to lead families and friends through the Furey Hall Art Studios to view and talk about finished artworks and works-in-progress. See demonstrations by Upper School students, take the potter’s wheel for a spin, and add your mark to the “Scrawl Wall”! Refreshments will be served.

The Drawing & Painting Studio was abuzz this morning as Second grade students stood collectively around a large table with large sheets of white paper before them. Cups of tempera paint and non-traditional painting tools were placed next to each student but their task at hand was about to be explained by Mr. Spitzer, stop-watch in hand. “As you know we have been doing some very careful drawings from observation over the past few weeks. Now we’re going to mix things up by making some big paintings!” Response: excitement and a lot of bodies wiggling about in anticipation. “Use the tool and the paint in front of you to make marks on your paper in whatever way you want. BUT after three minutes, you will pass your paint to the left, your tools to the right, then continue working.”

“READY-SET-GO!”

Students dove right into the process, experimenting by dipping objects such as seashells, wooden spoons, and wire into paint then applying to the paper, spontaneously inventing various methods of doing this along the way. As paint cups and tools rotated, colors mixed into new hues, objects took on unanticipated functions, and artworks emerged. Students had multiple layers of paper, allowing them to peel away a painting that was deemed ‘finished’ in order to begin again.

This playful, collaborative, and active project certainly succeeded in its intention to depart from technical drawing and last week’s lesson on the rendering of  light and shadow. In addition, Mr. Spitzer imparted an important lesson about the value of process and how, like sports and language and mathematics, it is important to exercise skills often and in different ways. Oh, and to have FUN doing it!