The PTO is hosting Halloween fun for the middle schoolers on Thursday, October 31st and we need hands to greet the kids in the morning (7:00-8:00am) and pass out treats at dismissal
(2:00-3:00pm). Come join the fun! Costumes optional, but Halloween spirit is highly encouraged.

Sign up to volunteer

Outdoor recess (during the last 15 minutes of lunch block) is very popular with our middle school students. In order to provide sufficient playground equipment, BMS gratefully requests donations of frisbees, footballs, soccer balls, basketballs, gaga balls, jump ropes etc. for use during recess. Donations of both new and used items are greatly appreciated.

Discount at Champions

Champions Sporting Goods on Leonard Street has generously offered to provide a 20% discount to anyone buying recess items for donation to Belmont Middle School. To claim your discount, simply tell the person working at the register that you are purchasing a donation for BMS. We are grateful to Champions for supporting our students!

Ways to Give

1. Donations of new and used items can be dropped off in person at the BMS main office. 

2. Purchase new items from Champions Sporting Goods on Leonard Street and receive a 20% discount.

3. Order from this Amazon Wish List created by the parent-led Belmont Recess Coalition and have your items delivered directly to BMS: Amazon Wishlist

We are excited to continue our partnership with families through a parent-teacher conference. For any families who were unable to find a date and time for a conference, please reach out to a teacher on your child’s team to be added to a waitlist. Once we have identified times available for overflow conferences (those that do not fit within the sequence of early release days on the calendar) we will work with our waitlists to make arrangements.

See the notification to register that was sent to parents/guardians on October 15 and October 24:

Parent-Teacher Conferences start on October 30, and families can choose 1 of 6 dates to sign up and continue a dialogue with school staff in partnership to support our students. Registration opened on Thursday, October 17. The links below outline how we structure our team conferences and additional staff availability as well as how to use our new conference registration platform.

Click the links below!

Letter to Parents/Guardians: Team Conference Structure, Dates, Times, and additional conference scheduling information

Instructions for Conference Registration Process

Conference Dates:

October 30 (VIRTUAL)

November 6 (VIRTUAL)

November 20 (IN PERSON)

December 4 (IN PERSON)

January 15 (VIRTUAL)

January 29 (VIRTUAL)

On Wednesday, November 6, all 7th and 8th grade students will participate in an assembly on Bullying and Cyberbullying led by the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC). The topics will support students making good choices, advocating for one another, and every community members’ responsibility for maintaining a safe and healthy school environment. 

Following the assemblies, we encourage you to talk with your children at home about what they learned, their experiences, and how they might put some of the information into action. Here are some discussion questions designed to spark a discourse as a family - https://drive.google.com/file/d/18w6Kqq4MuR78nZ3b4Lpt_XfxbNZlZxji/view?usp=sharing 

Parents and guardians should note that we will be sending letters to 7th and 8th grade families for students with 5 or more absences and 10 or more absences to date. Attendance at school is compulsory and a major factor that directly impacts student learning.

Come learn about Belmont Girl Scout event on Monday, October 28th from 6:30-7:30 at the First Church 404 Concord Ave. This event is for girls K-12! You and your daughter will learn about the chance to become a Girl Scout and have fun while doing it. Girl Scouts includes so many amazing opportunities including

• Grades (6-8): Trips skiing, Earning the second highest award in girl scouting, Learning First Aid and Babysitting 

• Grades (9-10): Camping in tents, mentoring younger girls, taking bigger trips

• Grades (11-12): Earning the highest award in girl scouting that is great for scholarships and college applications. Trips of a life time - Europe!

• And of course - cookies!

Belmont Girl Scouts Info Night Details:

• Date: Monday, October 28, 2024

• Time: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

• Location: First Unitarian Church, 404 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA 02478

• RSVP: www.gsema.org/eventrsvp2

• Questions:  stephaniegbuckler@gmail.com

Join the Belmont High School Orchestra for an Evening of Contemporary Celtic Fiddling, Featuring Special Guests Hanneke Cassel & Keith Murphy - Tuesday, October 22, 7 p.m.

The BHS Orchestra is joined by well-known Celtic fiddler Hanneke Cassel and guitarist Keith Murphy in a concert featuring music influenced by the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton. This special concert is the finale to Hanneke’s two-day artist’s residency in the Belmont public schools. During this residency, she will be working with 300 Belmont string students from grades 4 through 12, introducing them to Scottish traditional fiddle music and showcasing different paths in contemporary music for string players.

If you have a string student, this concert is a great opportunity for your student to see a live performance of the captivating Celtic music they learned about in their in-school clinic—and to be inspired by the skills of their orchestra peers at BHS. The concert and artist clinics are sponsored by David French Music and POMS (Parents of Music Students). The October 22 concert takes place in the BHS auditorium. A donation of $10 for adults and $5 for students is suggested.

Space Available for Session 2 and Session 3
BMS PTO Clubs Website

Support student travel to Costa Rica, China, France and Italy in April!  The organizers of the four high school World Language trips and student volunteers will be holding a yard sale on Saturday, October 26, 2024 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM at the Middle School entrance,, 225 Concord Ave. "CASH ONLY".  The goal is to raise money to support students who need financial assistance.
Email vdannunzio@belmontschools.net or ggarschina@belmontschools.net  with any questions.

The Belmont Middle School 2024-2025 Yearbook is available for sale! The yearbook is a 120 page hardcover record of the 2024-25 school year and meant for students in grades 7-8. It will document student life, activities, student portraits, staff photos, events, grade eight farewell ads, and much more. Order a yearbook for $40. The yearbooks will be given out to students the week of June 16th. Deadline to order is April 1, 2025.

<< Click this link for the Belmont Yearbooks Website

 FOR ALL STUDENTS, FAMILIES, and STAFF

The yearbook staff needs your help! We need photos to make your yearbook a memorable one to look back on. Our student photographers can’t be everywhere. Please consider submitting any and all photos (Athletics, Concerts, Student Life, Spirit Days, Hanging with Friends, Picture Day Replacement Photo, Preferred Name for Yearbook, Clubs, etc.) for consideration to be used in the yearbook. Navigate to the yearbook website and select the Upload Photos menu at the top of the page to see the Upload BMS Photos. All photos submitted must be school appropriate for use in the yearbook.

 FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS OF GRADE 8 STUDENTS

Make the yearbook even more special for your student. A yearbook ad is a loving tribute to your student, personalized with your own sentimental message and a cherished photo, or photo collage. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’ll last forever. Check out the Belmont Yearbooks Website to learn more about placing a Grade 8 Farewell Ad. Deadline to order an Farewell Ad is February 3, 2025. 

 Don't delay, order a yearbook today!

Belmont Wellness Coalition Parenting Group:

7:00 – 8:00 Wed., Oct. 30 

Themes of Respect. How to guide our kids to respect the needs/viewpoints of others, especially those less privileged than they (without becoming defensive or overly apologetic). Also - how to encourage respectful discourse on controversial topics (e.g., the current wars in Ukraine and in Israel/Gaza, the upcoming election).

Please join us; all are welcome!

Zoom link

At Belmont Middle School we take issues of bias and racism very seriously. Every student has the right to feel welcome, to learn, and feel free to be who they are. We support every student to feel safe, have a sense of belonging, and to call out acts of bias and racism and utilize consequences and restoration to ensure our community is a supportive one. If you are witness to or have experienced a bias or racist incident, you can report through the following link: https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/page/bias-incident-reporting 

The Belmont Public Schools Bias Incident Report Form can be accessed from the BPS DEI website. Some important notes: 

• Submitted forms are routed to the Director of DEIW (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Wellness) and the school's principal, who will assess the report and undertake an immediate investigation. 

• While the form may be completed anonymously, we encourage you to provide your contact information. This will enable the district to conduct a more thorough investigation and resolution. Anonymous reports may be essentially impossible to investigate. 

• More information, including definitions of "what a bias-motivated incident is" and what happens after a report is submitted, may be found on the Bias Incident Reporting page. 

We encourage all members of the Belmont Public Schools community - including students, staff, parents/caregivers, volunteers, and town residents - to use this form to report any incidents of racism, bias, discrimination, harassment, or retaliation that you have experienced or witnessed, which involves a member of the Belmont Public Schools or takes place on or near school property. 

Learning For Justice, an educational resource for schools defines a bias incident as conduct, speech, or expression motivated in whole or in part by bias or prejudice. To learn more or read examples of bias incidents, please see "Tips for Identifying Bias Incidents." 

The district's investigation processes, including restorative and disciplinary consequences, will be tailored to each incident. While student privacy concerns will always prevent public disclosure of specific investigation details, we will publish periodic reports to keep the community informed of the number of reports made, noticeable patterns regarding the nature of the bias incidents, and conclusions of investigations when applicable. 

Each year, the Belmont Public Schools updates its student records. This form allows parents to fill out their child's information and submit it electronically, saving both you and the school time, while ensuring accurate information is being provided. We will be requesting this information every September.

New forms have been posted to PlusPortals under "Forms"

www.plusportals.com/belmontmiddleschool

Please review and submit:

Student Update Form or Contact Update form 

Authorization for Emergency Dismissal

New Families:

Web Authorization form - required submittal

MassHealth Benefits Permission - submit if student is receiving MassHealth

ABSENCE:  To excuse a student’s absence, parents/guardians must call the Attendance Line 617-993-2001 or fill out the Attendance Line Form by 8:30 AM on the day of the student’s absence.  The Attendance Line is available 24 hours, please call and leave a message as soon as you know your child will be out of school.  Give your child’s name, grade, date of absence, and a brief reason. It is important to stress that it is the responsibility of the parent to contact the school.   

If you have additional questions or concerns, please reach out to the BMS administration team. We’re here to support you.

In partnership,


Russ Kupperstein
Principal
Belmont Middle School