The devastation and loss of life from the worst natural disaster in Haiti’s history is prompting a worldwide response of financial and humanitarian aid and a desire from within our own BCD community to be of service. This morning, BCD Middle and Upper School students came together for a special morning meeting with Laura Piasecki, our new Service Learning Committee Chair, Sarah Pitcher-Hoffman, leader of the Service Learning Club, and School Psychologist John Evans to brainstorm ways under our new service learning model to help support the relief efforts taking place in Haiti.

The students started the meeting by talking about what they have heard and know about what is happening in Haiti today. Then, John shared with them a conversation he had this morning with Nick Whalen, Maria Whalen’s son and a former BCD student, who has just arrived in Port Au Prince. They then discussed ways individuals and our school community could get involved. Over the weekend, students are being asked to research four organizations: Partners in Health, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, organizations known by John, Maria, and Nick as reputable and truly able to get things done.  In the coming days, we will hear back from them on what they have selected as the best way to raise money and how that money will be disbursed.

Berkshire Country Day School has had a unique relationship with Haiti since 2007, when John Evans, Maria Whalen, and Maria’s son Nick  started a soccer camp for youths in Port Au Prince, the nation’s capitol. Now, the organization they founded, Konbit Football Ayiti, a 501(c)3 non-profit based here in the Berkshires, has turned its attention to Earthquake Relief, and is directing efforts to provide food, water, and medicine to the organizations that are most intimately involved with the rescue and recovery efforts in Haiti. More information about their efforts can be found at www.Konbitfootballayiti.com.

Stay tuned to MyBCD for updates on what the students have decided.

In what ways does your child’s teacher make learning fun?

Please comment on this post and share your experiences with others.

When BCD Arts teacher Laura Piasecki was asked if she would teach Woodshop this year to students in grades 4-9, she applied to the Professional Development Fund to go back-to-school to hone her carpentry skills. Laura took a one-week “Carpentry for Women” class this summer at the Heartwood School in Washington, MA.  MyBCD sat down with her to learn more about this professional development opportunity and to find out what’s on her tool belt:

“The class was life-changing. There were women of all different ages and from all over the world in this class with me, and we were all there for different reasons. Growing up, no one took the time to teach [women] about woodworking so this was a very empowering experience.

The class focused on two areas – woodworking and construction – and included an introduction to power tools and the fundamentals of construction. We had an opportunity to use a wide range of power tools to see how they worked and what they could do, and as a team built a toolbox as a construction project. As an added bonus, the instructor came down to our wood shop in Clemons Hall and walked me through our equipment and showed me how everything worked. She also gave me great ideas for projects we could work on. Being a part of the Heartwood community allows us to use them as an ongoing resource.

I use the skills I learned at the class everyday, both here at BCD and at home, from how to know what nail to use for a project to how to measure something correctly and what power tool to use. Taking this class is something I would recommend to any woman. It’s good, practical knowledge.”

This month’s 1:1 topic is BCD’s teachers.

Our teachers know and care about your children. Like you, they take pride in watching them explore, discover, grow and achieve. They look for ways to make learning fun, interesting, meaningful and engaging.

In what way has a BCD teacher had a significant impact on your child?

Please share your responses by commenting on this post.

This past summer, Fourth Grade Teacher Sarah Pitcher-Hoffman traveled to Washington, D.C. for a two-day training program to become a certified facilitator of the “Owning Up” program, the new social curriculum for BCD Upper School students. Sarah sat down with MyBCD to talk more about the program and this professional development opportunity.

“There is no doubt that navigating the social waters of the ‘middle school’ years weighs heavily on teens. To work through these issues as a community, and to give our students the perspectives, tools, and strategies they’ll need to deal with conflict and affirm their own self image, we’ve adopted and implemented a new “comprehensive social justice program” for students in Grades 7-9 called ‘Owning Up.’

The Owning Up™ program, created and developed by Rosalind Wiseman, author “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” is based on the premise that social cruelty, degradation, and violence can be deconstructed and understood by examining how our culture teaches boys to be men and girls to be women. Further, it provides a structured program for teaching students to own up and take responsibility — as perpetrators, bystanders, and targets — for unethical behavior.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. for a two-day training program to become a certified facilitator of the “Owning Up” program. Working in conjunction with Ninth Grade Homeroom Teacher Jesse Howard, we were able to introduce the program this fall to the Upper School in a new block of time set aside in the school day for a social skills curriculum. Students meet every other week in single sex groups with me and Jesse to work on specific issues, and on the alternating weeks meet as a class with their homeroom teachers to discuss issues that complement the work being done in the groups. Other components of the program include media, books, videos, music, role playing, and journaling.

Throughout the school year, the students will be working to:
o     Identify and discuss behaviors and attitudes associated with groups, popularity, trust, exclusion and bullying
o     Understand anger and learn a strategy to enable students to communicate during conflict
o     Understand Cyberbullying and its impact
o     Examine how a boy or girls self-image effects behavior and attitudes towards others
o     Develop a plan of action when demeaned or someone else is being demeaned
o     Recognize pop culture’s influence on behavior and decision making

The idea of ‘owning up’ is for students to own up to their decisions and behavior and as a result become empowered to stand up for themselves and for others. Rosalind’s workshop gives us as teachers, solid, real life material and practical tools to work with, not just abstract ideas.”

For more information on the Owning Up program, click here.

A new Family Directory has been published to include all current BCD families and students as of January 4, 2010. If you would like the updated version, copies are available from Coree Reid in the Main Office of Albright Hall.

Thank you to the many parents who have donated items, services, gift certificates and experiences for our Bid for Education online auction to raise money for BCD’s financial aid program. The auction will be held online February 8-26, 2010, and will feature original artwork, gift certificates to area restaurants, passes to area Arts organizations and museums, trips, jewelry, spa services, books signed by the authors, and toys.

If you would like to support our auction by making a donation, we are accepting items through Friday, January 8, 2010. Download this form and return it with your item to the Development Office on the second floor of Albright Hall. Thank you for your support – your donation and participation in the auction will make a difference and help us to make a BCD education available to all qualified applicants.

BCD is pleased to offer five classes for the winter 2010 after-school enrichment session. The program will begin on Monday, January 11 and run through Monday, March 8. This program runs over an eight-week period and is open to all BCD students enrolled in grades 1 through 6. Please review the list of activities being offered, download and complete the registration form, and return it to the Main Office with a check for the classes you desire by January 6. If a class is cancelled due to low enrollment, BCD will reimburse you the fee for the class. Thank you and have a happy holiday!