Hello, Middle School Students and Families! Here’s what happened at the last MS meeting before winter break!
Andrew Isacson ’28 and Harrison Mrazek ’28 ran today’s meeting. You can check out the slides from this week’s meeting here.
THE WEEKLY FEATURES
THE BVR STUDENT
Scarlette Kimball ’28 and Mia Peselman ’28 presented Takes care of space, materials, and our community.
To me, this means that other people will be able to enjoy and have the same experience as me, for instance on the D-Level when using the laser cutter or 3d printer. Sometimes I see people use too much glue, and it leaves a mess. I encourage people to only use the amount of material they need. This is important because if other materials are wrecked then other people won’t be able to have the same opportunities as me.
FEED YOUR BRAIN PICK
Worst-Case Collin by Rebecca Caprara
Recommended by Toren Andersen ’28
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK …
I like this book because it’s written in poems. It’s a good story, and the main character perseveres through many hardships. I don’t want to give too many details so I don’t spoil it for you.
WHY I THINK YOU WOULD LIKE IT …
I recommend this book to people who like poetry or realistic fiction.
WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT
Nalu Appleton ’27 and Niko Reuning ’27 recapped yesterday’s BVR Leadership Institute, Social Justice and Changemaking.
I learned there are a lot of different social justice issues in the world. Each group made a poster about a social justice issue—I did mine on gun violence.
-Nalu Appleton
I did a poster about poverty and houselessness. The institutes are cool because you can learn a lot about the world around you. And the activities are fun and engaging.
-Niko Reuning
Theo Greene ’27 and Louise Stedman ’27 announced the upcoming Hiatt Center Social Justice Retreat happening at Beaver on Friday, January 27 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The Social Justice Retreat is a one-day conference where we learn and reflect about issues of justice that impact people locally and globally. Last year’s theme was Climate Justice. We did a cool workshop where we took used clothes and altered them in different ways to create new outfits. It was fun and creative. We also made posters and murals about climate change and the ocean. This year the theme will be Stronger Together—how we can work across differences to build a more inclusive, just, and safe world for everyone. The sign-up will be sent out once we come back from break. If you attend, you miss your classes for the day. It was really educational and I learned a lot of stuff I wouldn’t learn in class. It was fun and a good change from the regular school day.
This retreat will be an opportunity for middle school students to engage in conversations about identity in relation to social justice topics in a safe and welcoming space.
Andrew Adamic ’27, Ezra Devonshire ’27, and Kiernan Collins ’27 announced a new part of MS Meeting, Teacher Appreciation.
Ezra suggested this idea to Student Council as a way to show thanks to all our teachers. Every few weeks a form will be sent out to students with a list of different teachers and they respond with favorable thoughts about them. The responses will not be anonymous, but when shared, Student Council will not mention anyone’s names. Two teachers will be presented at each meeting. Today, Ezra presented Mr. O’Brien and Kiernan presented Ms. FitzGerald.
Student Council members: Andrew Adamic ’27, El Strom ’27, Ruby Nielsen ’27, Reid Bugbee ’28, Toby Marsh ’28, Maddy SaCouto ’29, and Rishaan Chowdhury ’29 announced special desserts happening this week as we gear up for winter break.
- Tuesday we had s’mores
- Wednesday is hot chocolate
- Thursday is sugar cookies
- Friday is brownies
Rishaan also announced the winners of the marshmallow guessing contest: Zeyno Birnbaum ’29, Peter Wilkinson ’29, Jasper Ingenthron ’29, and Misti Birnbaum ’28.
Ms. Smith announced more feedback using the BVR speedway metaphor. All teachers are completing feedback for each student based on skills in their classes. Families will receive this feedback during the first week of winter break. Then students will use advisory the week after winter break to reflect on their teacher’s feedback.
Ethan Okafor ’27 and Ruby Nielsen ’27 announced the winter season of debate.
The details:
- Debate runs on Wednesdays from January 11 through March 18 from 5 to 7 p.m.
- Only six BVR students can participate.
- Students who are interested should reach out to Coach Kuntz by this Friday.
- Students can do debate again if they did it in the fall as long as we have space. We will prioritize students who haven’t done it before.
Bee Ashburn ’27 and Rushi Murrow ’27 announced this week’s advisory activity: marshmallow towers. Each grade will meet together to have advisories compete to see who can build the tallest tower of marshmallows and toothpicks.
This Thursday during R-TIME, all Middle School students are going to participate in BVRFit. BVRFit is when the whole Middle School engages in some sort of physical activity. Students completed a form to sign up for their first, second, and third choice.
Winter break begins at 2:25 p.m. this Friday; we will not have afternoon activities that day. All buses will depart by 2:40 p.m. Classes resume on Wednesday, January 4.
THIS WEEK’S LUNCH & RECESS PROGRAMMING, CLUBS & AFFINITY GROUPS
Today’s RISE activity was pinecone gnomes. Through fun activities, students learn how to deal with stress and worry.
This week’s home games
Tuesday:
Girls A Basketball vs Carroll at 3:30 p.m. in Gym A.
Wednesday:
Girls B Basketball vs Milton on Wednesday at 3:00 in Gym A.
Fencing vs Belmont Day at 3:30 p.m. in Green Gym.
Wellness classes: Science 7.3 Today at 12:35 p.m. and English 8.3 Tomorrow at 12:35 p.m.