October 2021 Newsletter Dear Bancroft Families,
This Fall our students have had many opportunities to come together and practice engaged learning — and not just in the classroom. With thanks to our faculty for thoughtfully crafting lessons and activities, we are experiencing a robust community at work and play. I'm certain that your children have shared their work with you and that you learned more during your conferences today. Creating experiences that demonstrate our commitment to excellence is at the heart of what we do every day at Bancroft.
Last week, our entire community came together to celebrate Halloween. It was hard to find someone not decked out in full costume as everyone joined in a parade through campus. The parade was led by our longest tenured faculty member, Charlie Aleksiewicz, who was followed close behind by Spike and our 12th grade student leaders. This was the first time in 18 months we have been able to come together to celebrate as a whole school community — and that included parents who lined the front driveway enjoying the parade.
There was a moment at the end of the parade that really struck me. The parade had ended and the intent was for students to return to their classrooms — but our students were so excited by the happiness of the moment that they suggested one more go-around. These students made the experience better for all of us by encouraging us to spend more time together. It's a testament to the strength of our community and our commitment to caring for and supporting each other.
As we kick off the month of November, I hope you will join me in saying thank you to our teachers and school leaders who continue to work tirelessly in support of our students so they can learn and grow into their best selves.
Before you read other stories below, I have a few notes and reminders.
COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination As of Wednesday this week, children ages 5-11 are now eligible for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. I continue to urge our families to have their children vaccinated against both COVID-19 and the flu. The more of our students that become vaccinated, the more we can continue to peel back restrictions around campus. If you need help finding an appointment, visit this website. Please remember to update our School Nurse Liza Marzilli of your/your child's vaccination status.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work Since his week-long visit in early October, Dr. Keith Hinderlie has been visiting other schools around the country. As his visits conclude, he will return to his office and work on our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Climate Report. He gathered an immense amount of information during his visit, and it will take him some time to send us his Report. We will share those results when we receive them. In the meantime, our Faculty/Staff Anti-Racism group has been meeting regularly on campus. In addition, teams of faculty, staff, students, and trustees have attended or are planning to attend both national and regional conferences on diversity, equity, and inclusion work. They are capturing lessons from others, implementing positive practices in their own spaces, and sharing information with students and colleagues across campus.
I hope you enjoy these Shorelines stories and photos of our students engaged in active learning. Have a great weekend!
Trey Trey Cassidy
ALPHABET SAFARI Kindergarten students set out on a safari at the beginning of the school year — with a twist. Instead of just looking for animals, they were searching for the alphabet!
"We created the safari for the first month of the year and it has a few different parts," says Kindergarten Teacher Maureen Cabral. "We spend a day on each letter, and we look for the letters like we're going on a safari. The central subject at that time is about the zoo and safari animals — so we learn all about characteristics of animals, especially with names. At the very end, when we finally finish the alphabet, we make safari vests to commemorate the achievement."
Cabral then asked the class if they enjoyed doing alphabet safari this year. The answer? A resounding "Yes!"
FIRST CHAPTER FRIDAYS If you poked your head into 6th Grade English Teacher Abby Church's classroom one Friday, you would have seen a special visitor at the head of the class — campus Security Guard Barry Homan! To introduce their students to new books, Church and 6th Grade Hope Graham Program Teacher Kim Rogers traditionally read the first chapter of a book to their classes each Friday. This year, they upped the stakes by having familiar faces around campus read the chapters instead.
"The idea is to get kids excited about books and introduce them to new things to read," says Church. "We often will choose books that are super high interest and will have a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter. We wanted to bring people in from the community to our classroom who students see around campus and maybe don't know who they are or what they do. We've always done First Chapter Fridays, but we did some professional development this summer and had the idea of bringing in other people to read and thought it was brilliant."
MOUNTAIN DAY After two years away from Mount Wachusett, Upper School students had the chance to head back to the mountain for the 2021 edition of Mountain Day! Enjoy some snapshots from the beautiful fall day.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Shore Drive was filled with ghouls, princesses, beloved characters, and so much more for our annual Halloween Parade!
ART CORNER The Shorelines Art Corner highlights student-produced artwork completed on campus. Enjoy!
Second Grade Welcome Home Signs
"This year, second graders are learning about where they live, their address and the many different types of homes that people live in," says Cory Shepherd, Lower School Art Teacher. "In Art class students made these wonderful "Welcome Home" collages that feature images of their home and family, and are brimming with colorful details." Shorelines is produced by the Marketing and Communications Office at Bancroft. If you have questions or story ideas please contact jcarlton@bancroftschool.org. Bancroft School 110 Shore Drive • Worcester, MA 01605 • (508) 853-2640 |