Hello, Middle School Students and Families!
Today students heard about the various ways they can be involved and lead in the BVR Middle School! Before we jump in we want to highlight a few upcoming deadlines:
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- Admission Ambassador applications are due Friday, September 16.
- 8th Grade applications for President are due Friday, September 16.
- The first Hiatt Workshop is Monday, September 19 at 8 a.m. Students who are interested in attending can email the Hiatt Center or sign up by a form that was sent via email.
Sammie Clark ’27 and Gisele Figueroa ’27 ran today’s meeting. You can check out the slides from this week’s meeting here.
Our meeting started with Head of School Kim Samson talking about the importance of connection. She shared some highlights from her summer and also encouraged Middle School students to be involved at Beaver.
THE WEEKLY FEATURES
Leadership Opportunities
Dany Sidman ’26, last year’s Student Council President, spoke about reasons to run for Student Council:
“It is very fun to have not only responsibility as a middle schooler but also a voice in the decision-making.”
Marwa Murphy ’27, Ruby Nielsen ’27, and Verveine Oringer ’27, this year’s head Admission Ambassadors, encouraged all students who want to welcome prospective families when they visit Beaver to apply to be Admission Ambassadors.
Ms. Garayua, Associate Director of the Hiatt Center announced this year’s Middle School BVR Leadership Institute. These one-hour-long sessions on Monday mornings cover a range of topics from leadership and identity to building professional skills. You can see the schedule of this year’s workshops here. The first one is Monday!
The Hiatt Center is also launching a new initiative called ChangeMakers. They will host a series of events to help students leverage their skills to make a difference at BVR and beyond.
Ms. Smith announced the Student Body Advisory Council (SBAC). Students can apply to be a part of this group that meets monthly with Middle School administrators and other school leaders. More details on how to apply, coming soon.
Lunchtime & Recess Programming
Katie Born ’28 introduced Graham Dam, small group lunches with our Middle School Counselor, Ms. Graham. They have pizza, a special dessert, and play games. All students participate in Graham Dam about three times a year, and students will be invited to attend.
Leila and Shirin Sakoulis ’27 spoke about RISE, a Tuesday recess option led by Middle School counselor Ms. Graham. Through fun activities, students learn how to deal with stress and worry. Today’s activity was cactus pet rocks.
Joza Wang ’28 and Kyle Chiu ’28 announced Mathletes, a place where you can play with math! Come do math puzzles, and games, and if you’d like, participate in math competitions! Mathletes meet Wednesdays during recess. The first meeting is on September 21.
Bee Ashburn ’27, Mabel Forkner ’27, and Zarra Burke ’27 announced Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). D&D is a club where students get to create a character that they incorporate into an interactive story told by the group. They meet Mondays in the Courtyard during lunch/recess.
Nate Guevin, Design Level instructor, announced the CREATE introduction activities happening this week. Students can go to the D-Level during recess to make paper circuits. Next week they will announce another activity.
Affinity Groups
El Strom ’27 spoke about the Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA). This group is open to students that identify as part of the LGBTQIA community as well as allies (people that want to be supportive). Some of the activities we have organized in the past include the Pride parade and the Day of Silence. The first meeting is Wednesday, September 21.
9th graders Leili Singer ’26 and Aliya Joshi ‘26 announced the Asian Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) meetings. The AAPI Affinity Group aims to create space for open dialogue to recognize the unique challenges Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are facing; to provide a forum for the diverse voice, narratives, and experiences of AAPI communities; to empower each other; and to celebrate each other’s personal journeys.
Adyana Greshman ’28, Devin White ’27, and Xavier Sanchez ’27 announced Students of Color Meetings. The Students of Color Affinity Group is open to all students who identify as a person of color. The purpose of the Students of Color group is so students of color can get together, talk about their experiences, help make changes, and create lasting friendships with other students of color.
Leila and Shirin Sakoulis ’27, Grace Batychi ’27, and Rushi Murrow ’27 announced the Multiracial Affinity Group. In meetings, they discuss the joys and challenges of being multiracial, play games, do art, eat pizza, and build connections/friendships.
Calendar view of all 22-23 Fall Lunchtime & Recess Programming, Clubs, & Affinity Groups. Mathletes, SAGA, and AAPI start next week!
WHAT ELSE WE TALKED ABOUT
Allie Kahn ’28 and Abigail Zimman ’28 announced the beginning of Wellness Classes. In wellness class, students talk about friendships, social pressure, mental health, drug and alcohol education, and human sexuality. All Middle School students will be guided through a 9-session wellness series that will include classes with Tammy Graham, Middle School Counselor, Whitney Koch ISEE Educator & RYT 200, Upper School Science Teacher, and Will Slotnick from Wellness Collaborative.
Quinn Burke ’28 and Verveine Oringer ’27 announced the year’s theater season. The Fall Play is The Bookstore, and the Winter Musical is Matilda.
Andrew Adamic ’27 announced that during R-TIME today, all students are taking a demographic questionnaire to share important aspects of their identity with the school such as ethnicity, race, gender, pronouns, religion, etc. All questions are optional. Students will also take the ImPact test (immediate post-concussion assessment and cognitive testing). The school uses it to assess concussions.
On Thursday R-TIME students will be able to sign out to the D-Level to use specific resources as well as sign out to music R-TIME, a space where students can practice their instruments and get help from a music teacher.
STUDENT REMINDERS
Fire Alarm Procedures. Students should listen to their teacher’s directions for exiting the building and gather by grade in alphabetical order by last name on the Bloomberg Plaza.
Lunch. Students can eat lunch outside, in the Dining Room, in the Green Gym, or in advisory. Students should not eat in the hallways and only in classes with the teacher’s permission.
And finally, as a reminder, students should let me know if they want to run a MS meeting!