Chenery Talent Show Set for Thursday at 7PM

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Photo: The poster for the show.
The 5th annual Chenery Middle School Talent Show will take place Thursday, Jan. 25 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the school’s auditorium.
The talent show is a wonderful opportunity for CMS students and staff to share their many talents and be a part of a community-building event. Students get to showcase their passions and develop their confidence and grit as they perform in front of their peers.
Tickets are $10 and directly support the Grade 8 Washington DC Trip Scholarship Fund. Tickets can be purchased at Moozy’s (at the corner of Belmont and Trapelo), Champions (in Belmont Center), and the night of the show. Students may also purchase tickets directly from Student Council Advisor Leon Dyer at the school in room 117.

Grand Gesture Allows High School To Purchase a Special Piano

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Photo: What $35,000 will get you on the market.

If you have attended a concert or the spring musical in the Belmont High School auditorium, you’ll have heard the school’s grand piano accompanying choral and singing groups and soloists for nearly 80 years, moving from the former high school (the site of the old Wellington Elementary School on School Street.)

It was also used to begin annual Town Meetings with Sandy Kendall’s rendition of “God Bless America.”

But eight decades of nearly daily use had affected the instrument’s sound quality and tuning mechanism to the point now where the piano needed to be retired

The cost of replacing the existing instrument will not come from a capital budget request but the generosity of a Belmont resident. Last week, Belmont Superintendent John Phelan accepted an anonymous gift of $35,000 allowing the High School’s Visual and Performing Arts Department to purchase a new grand piano for the school.

Phelan – who hopes one day to thank publically the person who made the gift – said groups like the Foundation for Belmont Education, the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation and people who time to time want to help the schools in ways big and small “makes this such as great community.”

Schools To Start After Labor Day This Year. After That, We’ll See

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Photo: The calendar.

After a spirited give and take over three meetings, the Belmont School Committee agreed the 2017-18 school year will begin, as it has traditionally over the years, usually after the Labor Day holiday.

But after that? Well, we’ll see.

At last week’s meeting, the committee – by a five to one vote – decided far too many Belmont families have already started or completed their vacation or summer camp plans to upset the apple cart of tradition, voting to begin the 2017-18 school year on Wednesday, Sept. 6. Kindergarteners would not start full-day schooling until Monday, Sept. 11.

Under this schedule, the last day of school – with five snow days already added – will be Wednesday, June 20.

The vote continues the School Committee policy of beginning school on the first Wednesday of September.

“I would lean towards sticking to the policy we have now,” said Committee member Elyse Shuster who in earlier meetings was willing to take a new look at the policy.

Under the alternative start day, the 2017-18 year for students would have commenced on Wednesday, Aug. 30. Students would return on Thursday, Aug. 31 before taking a four-day holiday recess before coming back on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

Championing a pre-Labor Day start date is Belmont Superintendent John Phelan who said students and staff would benefit from entering school before the holiday to decrease start-of-the-year anxieties and begin the school year “ready to go” on the Tuesday after Labor Day.

Member Susan Burgess-Cox, the lone “no” vote, said while she understands the reasoning behind the later start date as “not shortening summer,” she noted if the school year ends earlier “so will your summer in June.”

While the committee stuck with current convention, it will discuss possible policy changes for future school years and will update the public in coming meetings.

Shuster said she’d like for the policy subcommittee to draft a note which would allow for flexibility in starting the school year much like what occurs in the Weston schools. Its policy, adopted in 2011, starts school on the Tuesday after Labor Day if the holiday occurs before Sept. 5; if Labor Day is on the 5th or later, the year begins on the Wednesday before the holiday.

“This would be a good compromise to have a consistent policy” that would allow for a flexible start date concerning Labor Day, said member Murat Bicer.

In addition to keeping the status quo on starting the school year, the committee approved an

  • One additional early release day for Chenery Middle School student; to allow more time for parent/guardian/teacher conferences.
  • The first districtwide early release day will be in the first week of October, moving from the traditional last week in September.
  • And since Veterans’ Day in 2017 falls on a Saturday, which under state law is celebrated on the day and not on the following Monday, the holiday does not appear to impact a school day in the coming school year.

Youthbuild’s Stoneman Headlines 23rd MLK Community Breakfast

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Photo: The poster for the 23rd MLK Breakfast.

Dorothy Stoneman, founder of the nationally-recognized YouthBuild program, a Belmont High School graduate and Marsh Street resident will be the featured speaker at Belmont’s 23rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Breakfast that takes place at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan 16, in the Belmont High School cafeteria.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the METCO program, and its 49th year in Belmont. Donations will be accepted at the Breakfast for the Belmont Schools’ and Belmont Against Racism’s METCO Support Fund.

Noted civil rights activist Stoneman grew up in Belmont and was educated in its public schools before earning a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and master’s and doctoral degrees from Bank Street College of Education in New York City. She joined the Civil Rights movement in 1964, and worked in East Harlem for decades in education and community development, where she started the first YouthBuild program in 1978 in partnership with local teenagers.  

YouthBuild, a fulltime program for low-income unemployed youth between 16-24 who lack high school diploma, offers an opportunity to work toward their GED or diploma while building affordable housing for homeless and low-income people. Youth enroll in the program for 6-24 months, and are supported by staff who emphasize personal responsibility, mutual support, and leadership development. Graduates go on to jobs or college or both.  

From its grassroots beginning in Harlem, YouthBuild has now expanded to more than 273 programs in the U.S. Stoneman is founder and former CEO of its national support center YouthBuild USA, Inc., its national, and the sponsor of YouthBuild International, which has generated 102 YouthBuild programs in 14 other countries including Mexico, South Africa, Haiti, and Israel.

Stoneman is a recipient of a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship (1996), the Harvard Call to Service Award (2011), the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship (2007) and the John Gardner Leadership Award (2000).

She has been married to John Bell for 40 years and they have two children who also attended Belmont schools and 13 godchildren.

Registration at the door will take place from 8:45 a.m. to 9 a.m.  at the cafeteria located at 221 Concord Ave. Tickets are $5 per person/$10 per family at the door. 

Preregistration is appreciated, (but not required) by emailing the Belmont Human Rights Commission at Belmont.hrc@gmail.com or by calling 617-993-2795. Please clearly state or spell your name and any title if desired. Those who preregister will have name tags waiting for them.

Join with old friends and meet new friends.

Pastries, fruit and beverages will be served. Student musical entertainment will be provided. Ample parking. Accessible to persons with disabilities. Children of all ages are welcome and childcare and gym activities will be provided for children 2-12 during the program.

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Schools Move to Remediate Faucets With Elevated Lead Levels

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Photo: 14 taps and faucets have been shut off at Belmont schools for action level of lead in the water.

With a total of 14 school-based water faucets identified with elevated lead levels under specific conditions, the Belmont Public Schools has begun working with town and state resources to remediate the problem.

“We will continue to work together as a [t]own to provide healthy school environments for all students in Belmont,” Belmont Superintendent John Phelan in a letter sent to parents and guardians on Dec. 19.

The school district is joining with the Belmont Board of Health, Water Department, Facilities Department and the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to review the tests and come up with steps to resolve the worrisome spigots located in five of six public school buildings.

In a Friday, Dec. 16 email sent to parents; Phelan revealed that the second round of testing of all faucets used by staff or students showed nine taps exceeding “action limits” for lead exposure.

They included:

Butler Elementary School, 6
Wellington Elementary, 1
Chenery Middle, 1
Belmont High, 1.
On Monday, Dec. 19, an additional five faucets were placed on the list of troublesome outlets:

Belmont High, 3
Burbank Elementary, 2
Only Winn Brook Elementary was free of suspect faucets.

The 14 taps were shut down, and the town departments led by the Facilities Department are determining if each valve can be brought within state safety standards or if any needs to be replaced or decommissioned permanently.

The School District compiled a spreadsheet with specific health data from the 14 effected faucets in addition to information from each of Belmont’s six schools. 

Phelan noted that of the 14 problem taps, water from 10 faucets fell below the “action level” once they are “flushed” by allowing the water to run through the pipes for “some time.”

“This tells us that those ten faucets … are producing ‘clean’ water” after the flushing process, said Phelan, who said the town’s Board of Health has determined that the town’s water source “has a good and clean sources.”

Belmont is one of 164 public school buildings in the state reported at least one sample with lead levels above regulatory limits, the DEP said.

With water quality regarding lead contamination – the most prominent being the crisis in Flint, Michigan – making headlines across the country, the Belmont school department in the Spring 2016 requested the town’s Facilities Department test the water at Belmont’s school buildings.

Fifty faucets were randomly tested throughout the school buildings, with all coming back to safe levels.

Around the same time, the DEP sponsored $2 million in grants for municipalities to have their water levels tested. Belmont applied for and received this award, said Phelan.

The second sampling was conducted this fall testing all 180 drinking water and food preparation faucets in Belmont schools using more detailed DEP guidelines. On Wednesday, Dec. 14, nine were found to have results exceeding “action levels” for lead.

“I appreciate that support of all the [t]own departments that work together every day, year-round, to support our school children and staff,” said Phelan.

For questions or concerns, please contact the Belmont Health Department at 671-993-2720 or email the district at jphelanblog@belmont.k12.ma.us

School District Shuts Off Nine Faucets Due to Elevated Lead Levels

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Photo: Faucets at issue.

Nine faucets used for drinking by students and staff were shut off last week after tests showed the taps exceeding “action limits” for lead exposure, according to the Belmont School District.

District Superintendent John Phelan said in a Friday, Dec. 16 email sent to parents, six of the faucets were located at the Butler Elementary School with one each at the Wellington Elementary, Chenery Middle, and Belmont High schools.

Additionally, the State Department of Environmental Protection informed Phelan that as of Friday, Dec. 16, several samples from Belmont schools still are awaiting results.

When that information is provided to the school department, a full set of data will be placed on the department’s website. “I plan on sending out all the testing data on Monday [Dec. 19] as some late samples have to be added,” he said.

The next step is for the School Department to meet with the town’s Board of Health, Facilities and the Water Department to identify whether the same issues exist in the faucets themselves or the pipes, Phelan said.

Belmont joins a long list of school districts facing the same issue. Last month, 164 of 300 public school buildings in the state reported at least one sample with lead levels above regulatory limits, according to the DEP.

With water quality regarding lead contamination – the most prominent being the crisis in Flint, Michigan – making headlines across the country, the Belmont school department in the Spring 2016 requested the town’s Facilities Department test the water at Belmont’s six school buildings.

Fifty faucets were randomly tested throughout the school buildings, with all coming back below “action levels.”

Around the same time, the DEP sponsored $2 million in grants for municipalities to have their water levels tested. Belmont applied for and received this grant, said Phelan.

The second sampling was conducted this fall testing all 180 drinking water and food preparation faucets in Belmont schools using more detailed DEP guidelines. On Wednesday, Dec. 14, nine were found to have results exceeding “action levels” for lead.

“In an abundance of caution, these results were communicated to the BPS community as soon as they were received by the district,” said Phelan.

Despite the shut down and concerned calls from parents, Phelan referred to a Belmont Board of Health advisory that “the water in all of our schools has a good and clean source.”

For families concerned about the water in Belmont, Director of the Belmont Health Department Angela Braun has provided information listed below.

Director of BPS Nurses Mary Conant-Cantor remind parents they are encouraged to speak with their pediatrician regarding questions and concerns.

“Providing a safe environment in our school buildings each day for students and staff is our primary concern,” said Phelan.

“Moving forward we will continue to meet with the respective town departments to secure an action plan,” he said.

For additional information on lead and drinking water, please see the following links:

Letter from Angela Braun, director of Health Department

Center for Disease Control (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/tips/water.htm

Massachusetts Department of Public Health:http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/environmental/lead/lead-drinking-water-faq.pdf

How Much? Early Hints on Cost, Reimbursement for New High School

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Photo: A new school will be behind this sign within the next decade

So Belmont, are you ready to pay $140 million for a new 9-12 grade High School?

How about $175 million for a structure housing 8-12 grades?

And a whopping $211 million for 7-12 grades?

Now before residents begin forming pitchfork and torch brigades to march on the School Administration building, the proposed price tags are very rough and early estimates which were created by the 16-person Belmont High School Building Committee as part of the committee’s next step in a protracted journey to a new building, according to town and committee officials.

After successfully completing the initial eligability period in November – known as Module 1 – the Building Committee proceeds to Module 2 where they begin forming the school’s project team including a owner’s project manager and a designer.

“Now we’re off and running,” said Building Committee Chair William Lovallo as the project will begin to take shape with the first significant hirings.

But as the committee discovered during the initial module, working in partnership with the MSBA – which will – can be laborious. Hiring a project manager isn’t as simple as placing an ad and waiting for firms to respond. Rather, the MSBA requires a 25 step, five-month long process (Step 16: School Committee evaluates responses and prepares a short list of 3 to 5 firms) to select the person who’ll shepherd the project for what could be close to a decade until completion.

Not that Belmont will find it difficult to secure a big time manager Lovallo said since the district’s project is considered a plum assignment for most firms.

And part of the process is for the committee to come up with a very early idea of the possible cost of the structure when advertising for the manager post.

“The reality is the only reason [for the estimates for the three building types] is we had to put something [in the advertisement],” said Lovallo who put together a chart using the project costs from 13 new and one addition/renovation building projects financed by the MSBA.

Inputting number of students, square-footage of new schools, project budget with additional data, Lovallo came up with $95,053 for each student in the school in 2020. With an estimated enrollment of 1,470 (9-12) to 2,215 (7-12), the cost of the schools being designed will be impressive.

But Lovallo reiterated that “while these numbers are significant [in price], they are just numbers.”

“Until we know the programs, we have no real hard data just estimates,” he said.

While the Building Committee were estimating costs, the MSBA has preliminary results of its own – again early and rough – on the percentage the state would reimburse the town on construction costs.

Under a rate that will apply throughout the feasibility study process, Belmont will see a nearly 37 percent (actually 36.89 percent) of construction costs compensated. The rate was determined using a chart that included factors – such as income and property wealth – and incentives including energy efficiency and maintenance.

Only after the study is complete will the state determine Belmont’s final allowance.

In a rough estimate, the price tag of $140 million for a 9-12 school would be reduced by $52 million with the town paying $88 million.

While the meeting was dominated by charts and numbers, the committee began discussing the need for community outreach in promoting its work and keeping residents informed where in the process the project currently stands. A professional webpage and video presentations were two items that topped the list of public relations needs.

School Committee to Ponder Pre-Labor Day District Opening in ’17

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Photo: The Belmont School Committee

Long standing end-of-summer activities of Belmont families could be put on hold next year as a majority of the Belmont School Committee spoke favorably of opening the town’s six public schools the week before Labor Day next September.

The committee’s unofficial consensus came as the school administration presented a draft of next school year’s calendar to the group at its scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Under the proposed timetable, the 2017-18 school year would begin on Wednesday, Sept. 6, one of the latest opening in many years as Labor Day will be celebrated on Monday, Sept. 4. The late start will also mean kindergarteners would not have a full day until Monday, Sept. 11.

“That’s a long way before classes start,” said Belmont Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias.

The final day of school without snow days included will be Wednesday, June 13. With the traditional five snow days added, the school year ends on Wednesday, June 20, the day before summer.

High School graduation would be on Sunday, June 3, 2018.

While praising the preliminary Almanac, the late start allowed Superintendent John P. Phelan to reiterate a long-standing personal preference that students and teachers benefit from a pre-Labor Day start to the school year.

Phelan said holding two full days of classes on the Wednesday and Thursday before Labor Day allows students “to get all the hot air” out of their systems before the long holiday weekend.

Psychologically, the “first-day worries” experienced by students and teachers are out of the way, and the students are “in school” during the first full week in September, said Phelan.

While traditionally the case against a pre-Labor Day start was predicated on families being on long vacations and in camp up until the holiday, many students, especially in the high school, are active with school events before the holiday. All the fall sports programs have begun training with many scheduling scrimmages and attending pre-season tournaments while the 100-plus member marching band is perfecting their routine during the same period.

And due to the lateness of Labor Day, many local and out-of-state camps will have shut down weeks before and sent the children home.

An earlier start “helps working parents” who have two to three weeks to fill before traditional school starts.

Phelan also noted teachers and staff “liked starting before Labor Day” as it allows them to finish perfunctory classroom matters during the short week and start original studies on the Tuesday after the holiday.

For the majority of school committee members, the change – which would go against district policy to start the school year after Labor Day – is well worth considering.

“I’m more than willing to explore” changing the start of the school year, said Committee member Tom Caputo. Susan Burgess-Cox noted in her family her daughter, entering first grade in September, “had a stomach ache” over the Labor Day weekend due to the anxiety attending a new school while her niece in Acton benefited from two days before the long holiday to explore her new school.

Darias said she would present at least one alternative calendar with students in classes on Wednesday, Aug. 30, (teachers and staff would begin Monday, Aug. 28) at the next school committee meeting on Dec. 13.

Belmont High Musicians, Singers Selected To High Level Ensembles

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Photo: Musicians from Belmont.

After recent outstanding performances, Belmont High School music students were selected to appear in senior district festivals, recommended for state-wide ensembles and accepted to a national regional chorus, according to Arto Asadoorian, director of visual & performing arts for the Belmont Public Schools.

“Congratulations to all of the students listed above for the hours of practice that led to this honor, to the teachers whose dedication and expertise helped to guide them, and to their families for their continual support and encouragement over the years,” said Asadoorian.

“It is rare for a school district to have so many music students achieve at such a high level,” said Asadoorian.

  • Belmont High School vocalists Mary Galstian, Georgia Parsons and Connor Quinn were accepted to perform in the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) All-Eastern Festival, in April in Atlantic City. This festival selects the most accomplished musicians from high school programs in the east coast to perform together during this four day event. 
  • On Saturday, Nov. 19, 128 students from Belmont High School auditioned for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Northeast Senior District Festival, which takes place in January at UMass Lowell. Students who are selected to perform in these ensembles are recognized as the most outstanding vocalists and instrumentalists in the region. This year, 51 students from Belmont High School were accepted, and that 20 of those students received All-State Recommendations. This allows them the opportunity to audition for the MMEA All-State Festival later this winter. The following students were accepted to perform in the Senior District Festival. (*denotes All-State Recommendation).
  • Idris Abercrombie            Trombone
  • Charlotte Alexin                Bassoon
  • Merrill, Barnes                  Chorus
  • James Boyle                       Chorus
  • Samantha Casey               Trombone
  • Jessica Chen                      Viola
  • Ben Crocker                       Chorus
  • Ziyoung Cui                        Violin
  • Eleanor Dash*                   Trumpet
  • Justin Dong*                      Clarinet
  • Joia Findeis                        Viola
  • Mary Galstian*                  Chorus
  • Chris Giron                         Bassoon
  • Hisako Gutterman*          Trombone
  • Anthony Haddad*             Jazz Bass
  • Sammy Haines*                 Chorus
  • Eva Hill                                Chorus
  • Wonyoung Jang*               Euphonium
  • Eliza Jones*                        French Horn
  • Nate Jones*                        Jazz Trombone
  • Daniel Klingbeil                 Cello
  • Elizabeth Knight*              String Bass
  • Daniel Lay                           Violin
  • Oliver Leeb*                        Chorus
  • Raffi Manjikian                  Chorus
  • Kevin Martin                      Chorus
  • Andrew Mazzone               String Bass
  • Linnea Metelmann*          French Horn
  • Matthew Miller                  Clarinet
  • Tina Noonan*                     Chorus
  • Alex Park*                           Jazz Trumpet
  • Georgia Parsons                 Chorus
  • Calvin Perkins*                  Trumpet
  • Olivia Pierce                       Chorus
  • Audrey Quinn                     Violin
  • Connor Quinn                    Chorus
  • Paul Rhee                            Violin
  • Josh Ryan                           Chorus
  • Becca Schwartz                  Chorus
  • Lila Searls                           Alto Saxophone
  • Ned Searls                           Trumpet
  • Edward Stafford*              Chorus
  • Ian Svetkey                         Chorus
  • Gillian Tahajian                 Flute
  • Walker Thomas*               Trumpet
  • Evan Wagner                     Trumpet
  • Amanda Wan                     Violin
  • Alan Wang                          Bass Clarinet
  • Alex Wilk*                          Viola
  • Amy Wu*                            Oboe
  • Yanzhe Xu*                        Bass Clarinet

“This level of student recognition is a testament to the commitment our school district and community have made to music education over several decades, and should serve as a source of pride for the entire town,” he said.

 

Burbank Students Had A Great Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

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Photo: Ms. Wollner (right) class with Principal Tricia Clifford.

Last month, more than 150 students of the Mary Lee Burbank Elementary School embraced the “Kids Helping Kids” spirit and collected approximately $1,580 for the annual Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF drive, enough money to provide 1,100 malnourished children with lifesaving nutrition for one day or measles protection to nearly 4,100 children.

A friendly competition for the highest percentage of participation was narrowly won by Jodi Wollner’s class, who are pictured with school Principal Dr. Tricia Clifford (see above).