The School Site Council is hosting two meetings during the month of January. The first meeting took place on Thursday, January 7, and offered an opportunity for an overview of the FY’22 budget. In her presentation, Ms. Skerritt noted that BPS has made an investment district-wide to support students’ social-emotional health. For BLS, this commitment will result in the addition of three positions: two social workers and a family liaison. Changes to the weighted student funding formula that informs schools’ overall budget allocations, combined with contractual salary obligations, has resulted in a deficit of $30,000. This deficit will not impact personnel, and BLS is working with BPS to secure supplemental funds to close the gap.

In addition to a preliminary overview of the FY’22 budget, SSC representatives took a first look at a draft of the 2020-2021 Home-School Compact. This document serves as an agreement among faculty, students, and families that outlines the responsibilities of each group as we work in partnership to support students’ academic and personal growth and social-emotional well-being.

Future meetings

The upcoming SSC meeting on Tuesday, January 12, at 6:00 pm will allow for additional discussion related to the FY’22 budget and the 2020-2021 Home-School Compact before SSC representatives take a final vote on these items. In addition, time will be reserved at the meeting for a preliminary review of the 2020-2021 Title I Family and Student Engagement Plan. You can access the meeting through this link.

SSC meetings continue to be held virtually this year, and all families are welcome to attend.

Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, January 12, at 6:00 pm. Minutes from previous meetings can be found on the BLS website under the Families > Organizations tab, or more directly through this link. Please contact Kelly Chase (P’25) with any questions or suggestions for future SSC meetings.

Virtual Praefects

Even though the physical doors of the Keefe Library aren’t open, Keefe librarians Ms. Ellis and Ms. Harari have managed to find enough work to provide volunteer hours for 37 virtual library praefects! Freed from their usual tasks of study hall attendance, book checkout, and shelving, these BLS students have been finding creative ways to meet teen patrons where they’re at: in the digital world. Our social media group has developed a multi-faceted campaign, employing student favorite Instagram (link here or search for keefe_library) but also branching out to Twitter (link here or search for Keefe Library, BLS) and Facebook (link here or search for Harry V. Keefe). Whichever platform you prefer, please follow us today for news about upcoming events, digital tips, and ideas on what to read next.

More ways to reach out to students and staff

Meanwhile, our library support team has been busy creating written handouts to go with our many instructional videos. These can help teachers and students with various learning styles. Our trivia group held its first tournament for Sixies and Bsies on BLS history and is planning a second event soon (check our social media or the Daily Bulletin for dates). Our movie group held a remote social gathering to swap film talk and recommend holiday favorites. Looking for something good to read? Check out the praefects’ review blog, Wolfpack Reads, along with Ms. Harari’s blog, Outside of a Dog. Sign up to follow both and you’ll get reviews delivered right to your inbox! If you have a seventh grader who loves graphic novels, have them email Ms. Harari to join the Keefe Library book group, which will meet every other week after school and be led by a BLS senior. If you have a library praefect in your family, find out what they’re working on and pass along a hearty thanks from the entire BLS community!

P2P met on Thursday, December 17, and discussed the challenges of motivating students during remote learning. At our meeting we talked about student engagement. We’ve heard from many families that they are concerned about their students.

Here is an excerpt of a message sent to P2P:

My daughter is struggling big time. She’s always been a very conscientious student. With this remote model it’s like she is just slipping away. She did really well the first term. But this current term has just been a mess. I am trying hard to control my hovering. I just don’t want her to fall so far behind that she can’t catch up.

Meet Mr. Joseph Liani

one of our 2021 Arts Department Student Teachers

Originally from Beverly MA, Mr. Joe Liani is a graduate student at UMass Lowell pursuing Music Education. He is primarily a guitarist but also proficient on bass. A few fun facts about Mr. Liani: he toured the northeast United States in a band, he worked at the Beverly YMCA summer camp as both as a music specialist and outside of music, and he's the head baker at his father’s business, Coffee Time Bake Shop in Salem, MA. At BLS he will be working mainly with Ms. McKenna but also with Ms. George, Mr. Grammer, Mr. Snyder, and Mr. Blackett. “Before my student teaching experience even began,” he says “I felt very welcomed from everyone at BLS. I am very grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to learn from all the staff and students.”

We’ll introduce you to more of our student teachers in future issues!

Virtual Winter Arts Showcase Part II - Friday, January 22 at 6:30 pm

The concert will feature all of our string groups, the Wolfettes, Wolftones, visual art, and more. Please be aware that If you already registered for Part I of the Showcase, you will automatically receive a link to Part II - but if you did not register, you will need to click on the link below to RSVP and receive the link. Admission to the Showcase is free but we respectfully request that guests consider making a donation to Friends of the Arts in support of our brilliant student artists and musicians, and to help cover the production costs. Please click here to RSVP.

Did you miss the Virtual Winter Arts Showcase on December 23 2020 (Part I)?

No worries, here is the link! What a tremendous show it was! The BLS Nation was watching and from all over. Here’s a breakdown of the question "Where in the World (are you watching from)?" asked on the registration:

United States: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, & Puerto Rico

Abroad: Canada, England, Germany, & Vietnam

Truly a silver lining of remote school!

Ronak Saluja will participate in the All-National Honor Ensembles

Tenor Ronak Saluja (II) was chosen as one of 552 students from 50 States and territories to participate in the first-ever virtual ANHE workshops and rehearsals. The event results in a final, recorded performance to be premiered online for Music In Our Schools Month in March 2021. For more information about Ronak's wonderful accomplishment, click here. Don’t want to wait till March to see Ronak perform? See him right now, by clicking on the link in the next section.

Bolling Building Holiday Showcase

Check out all the Boston Public School groups, and especially BLS groups here.

(35:45) BLS Vocal Quartet performing “Te Scholam” the traditional BLS anthem. Katie Emery (soprano), Zoe Nagasawa (alto), Ronak Saluja (tenor), and Sharmir Remy (bass), under the direction of Mr. Ryan Snyder.

(52:58) BLS Gospel Choir performing “Emmanuel", with soloist Okeoghene Ogege-Abedi, accompanied by Matt Pitts (bass), Fergus Sullivan (drums), and Ms. Kristen George, (keyboard/organ), and under the direction of Ms. Kristen George.

Big Thanks to:

Angela Branca Dwyer (’87, P’17, P’20), Jane Connolly, Kim Deely Emery, Vali Tamm, Lucas Feininger (P‘19), and Cathy Bosch for their enthusiastic work on the December 23 Virtual Winter Arts Showcase and program book. Also to Anne Freeman and Lena Parvex for delivering art supplies.