Mrs. Dockery Perkins

Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up on Thursday, December 1st (3:15-8 p.m.) and Friday, December 2nd (8 a.m. to 12 p.m.). There is no school for Middle and Upper School students on Friday, December 2nd. This is a time when parents can schedule meetings with their children’s teachers to learn more about our program and our students’ experiences at BCD. While you may like to meet with your child’s advisor as well, a special Parent/Advisor conference occurs in February for that sole purpose. It is best to use this time to meet with the classroom teachers. If you desire, a separate conference with your child’s advisor can always be scheduled for a different time in the next few weeks.

This  link allows you to access a schedule sheet for each of your child’s teachers. Please type in your name (or your child’s if it is different from yours) in one of the available time slots. These meetings, while brief, can be very helpful in gaining a better perspective and understanding of your child’s progress and challenges. You will have received your student’s grades and comments by this time. Do use the conferences to engage in further conversation regarding any questions or concerns you may have about the reports. Please note that the signups will close at 9 pm November 29th.

Please do not overwrite a scheduled block. If you are having trouble coordinating meetings, do let me know. I will be available for Secondary School conferences as well as my Spanish class conferences. You may sign up for Secondary School conferences for 10 or 20 minutes as needed.

We look forward to meeting with you soon,

Carmen

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While our soccer season came to an abrupt halt due to the snowstorm last Saturday, we were able to carry on with BCD’s Halloween tradition of costumes, parades, and homeroom parties! Thank you for all of your contributions to making this such a fun day for our students.

The first trimester comes to an end on November 11th, with teachers closing their grade books next week. Now is the last push to get those re-writes in, quiz re-takes done,  etc. Please communicate directly with your child’s teacher this week if you have an questions or concerns about the end of the trimester.

A co-curricular letter regarding our winter offerings and Ski Friday program was mailed to your homes yesterday. Susan Benner (Athletic Director) and Amy Brentano (Theater and Film Director) have synthesized the winter offerings, practice schedules, and game schedules in an easy-to-navigate format for you. Please do refer to the co-curricular blogs for the most up-to-date information. Register for Ski Friday now,  for the season sneaks up on us quickly.

Our Holiday Gift-Giving Program will also begin shortly. Coordinator Laura Gratz writes:

“This year BCD families will be giving gifts to children involved in 3 organizations; Head Start in Lee, the Elizabeth Freeman Center, and the Department of Families and Children.  This is an OPTIONAL program.  BCD families are not required to participate.  Speakers from these three organizations will address morning meeting in the Middle and Upper School.  There will also be presentations to PS/LS homerooms by Ms. Gratz.  Middle and Upper school advisors and Lower and Preschool homeroom teachers are using some class time to connect their students to this project in a meaningful way.  We are hoping many of you will participate and will use this project as a stepping stone to conversations at home about the spirit of giving to others.  Thank you.”

We are entering a busy time of year with Thanksgiving Soup and Secondary School applications around the corner! As always, I am here to help and feel free to contact me.

Carmen

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Dear parents,

The midterm has come and gone and our students are in full swing while looking ahead to the end of a first trimester. Middle School students are preparing for their poetry assembly on Nov. 2nd,  our sports season is coming to an end with Intramurals Monday, Oct. 31 – Wednesday, Nov. 2nd, and a fun “Faculty versus the Upper School” soccer game takes place on Friday, November 4th. The theater program will culminate with its fall production  of Rhinoceros on Saturday, Nov. 5th and Sunday, Nov. 6th.

After this, winter co-curriculars will not resume until Monday, Nov. 28th–after Thanksgiving break. During this period in between sports seasons, Middle and Upper School students may take the 3pm bus home, or register for the After-School Study Hall through the front office.

Over the next couple of weeks, you will notice a slight increase in homework quantities as students work to complete end-of-term papers and projects, as well as make up any missed work. The trimester ends on Friday, Nov. 11th and most faculty will close their grade books then, or a couple of days earlier. If your child is having difficulty organizing himself or herself during this time, please do reach out to the advisors and let them know. Do not hesitate to be in touch with any concerns or plea for advice!

The following are some highlights of the end-of-trimester events. Please be sure to check the school calendar regularly:

Sat., Oct. 22  Varsity Girls’ Soccer tournament—all welcome!

Thur., Oct. 27 Discover the 9th Grade at 5:30pm. 8th and 9th graders will be served dinner and we encourage all to attend. Every family from Middle and Upper School is welcome to attend, as we present our capstone year’s program, faculty, current students, and alumni and discuss the benefits of a 9th grade at BCD.

Fri., Oct. 28th Upper School Halloween Dance. $2 with costume, $5 without! 7-9:30pm in Furey Music Room.

Sat., Oct. 29th Boys’ Varsity Soccer Tournament–all welcome!

Wed., Nov. 2nd Middle School Poetry Assembly. Parents invited! 11:25am in Furey Music Room.

Fri., Nov. 4th Faculty v. US soccer game, 3:15pm

Sat. Nov. 5th & Sun. Nov. 6th: Rhinoceros US Theater Ensemble’s fall production at the Winthrop theater. Sat. (2pm & 7pm) and Sun. (2pm)

Fri., Nov. 11th No School:Veterans’ Day and End of Trimester 1

Sincerely,

Carmen

 

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Dear Upper School Students and Parents,

We are entering the season of secondary school visits and applications. I have created a “Step by Step” guide for this process to use as a reference throughout. It can be found on MyBCD under the “Downloads” tab. I also welcome your appointments to speak with me about your thoughts on next steps for your Upper School student.

This coming Tuesday, October 4th from 5:30-7:30pm, BCD will host its annual Secondary School Admissions Night. This is an opportunity for you to hear first hand from secondary school Admission officers. Each year, I invite a group of schools to come speak to our students and families about their  curricula and unique programs. While I always invite our neighboring area schools, I also try to vary representation from public, private, day and boarding schools. This year, several schools will join us for the first time. The response to my invitation was very strong, for word has gotten out about BCD’s excellent students! Twenty-two schools will be represented:

1. Bard College at Simon’s Rock

2. BART Charter School

3. Berkshire School

4. Buxton School

5. Concord Academy

6. Cushing Academy

7. Darrow School

8. Emma Willard

9. Hotchkiss School

10. Lenox Memorial High School

11. Middlesex School

12. Millbrook School

13. Miss Hall’s School

14. Monument Mountain Regional High School

15. Northfield Mount Hermon

16. Pittsfield High School

17. Proctor Academy

18. Putney School

19. Salisbury School

20. Westminster School

21. Wilbraham and Monson Academy

22. The Williston Northampton School

Because of the wonderful response, I will shorten introductions and allow plenty of time for families to circulate to the specific schools’ tables which caught their interest.

I look forward to working with you all in the coming months as you navigate the admission process. Please do call or set an appointment to meet with me if you have not  done so already.

BCD’s Discover BCD’s 9th Grade evening will take place on Thursday, October 27th at 5:30pm. I hope to see you all at both events!

Regards,

Carmen

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You could feel the collective sigh of relief as faculty and students settled back into our school schedule today! After days of anticipation, it was a lovely sight to see the familiar, smiling faces of friends reunited and new students welcomed. The Middle and Upper School faculty fell right into pace with their introductory lessons and another year is off to a fantastic start.

In preparation for this year, a core group of advisors met over the summer to review our advising program. It was our collective goal to better articulate our important roles as advisors to our students, as well as to solidify a fledgling social curriculum. While every advisor clearly understood the importance of this social curriculum, as evidenced by experience and research, they also needed a more clearly defined framework from which to work. We wanted to move from individual projects to shared work.

During our planning, we realized that the answer to finding this common ground from which to build our program was staring right at us – Berkshire Country Day’s Core Values: Originality, Quality, Respect, Sustainability, Community, Wellness, and Citizenship. And from there we flew. We have created a framework to which all advisors will contribute and continue to build upon as a living document. Our colleagues in the Pre-School and Lower School also embarked on a review of their social curriculum this summer. Now all divisions are eager and ready to collaborate as we dovetail our work from grade to grade. Middle and Upper School classes are assigned “buddy classes,” the Peer Mentoring program continues across the Lower and Upper schools, and all are invested in nurturing character development from the foundation of BCD’s mission and core values. This is our shared work as educators and parents, and exciting work it is!

I close with BCD’s definition of the advisor’s role. As partners in our students’ social and academic welfare, it is important to share a common language as well. As always, we invite you to be in touch with your child’s advisor regularly. Your thoughts, concerns and commendations all help us to serve our families best.

The Advisor’s Role:

The role of faculty at BCD is to recognize and nurture the individual qualities and spirit of each student while providing a challenging educational framework that fosters community and the importance of service to others.  It is also our common goal to provide the best educational environment for shaping character, strengthening independence, and promoting originality as our students progress through the predictable stages of growth from preschool to their final year.  The role of the advisor further helps to promote these essential components of our students’ academic, social and emotional experience at BCD. A student’s advisor should be an important cornerstone to his/her academic and social curriculum here at BCD. The advisor serves as the primary point of contact for the student’s parents, and should be readily accessible to both student and parent.

Wishing you a lovely Labor Day weekend,

Carmen

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