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Dear Baker families,
It is conference time! I hope that you all have a chance to connect with at least one of your child’s teachers today or tomorrow. Some parents go all out and schedule conferences with all their students’ teachers, while other family’s schedules can’t pull that off and focus on the homeroom/advisor teacher (my family falls into that category). Parent teacher conferences aren’t unique to Baker, but as a parent (and former teacher) that has gone through conferences at different schools, I do think there are aspects to Baker parent teacher conferences that are unique. First of all, our teachers pride themselves on knowing their students, our children, very well. Many schools will focus on solely the academic performance or classroom behavior of a student, but our teachers look at the whole child. A large part of how the student is doing will be academics and possibly behavior too, but there are also social emotional aspects that are often equally, if not more, important to how a student is doing in school. As a parent of alumni and current Baker students, I really have enjoyed hearing how my kids fit in with their classmates, and how they engage with the material. What are the subjects they are excited about, when do they seem most engaged, and are they ever disengaged? Are there other students that they work well with or like to hang out with during the day? These are all the types of questions that Baker teachers delve into and I have found so interesting and rewarding to hear about. This experience contrasts sharply with my 5 minute, speed-dating esque parent teacher conferences with my children at ETHS.
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Conferences clearly also help build the relationships between parents and teachers, which we believe to be important to a successful year. Speaking of relationship building and community, we had a wonderful Tailgate celebration last Friday. Personally, I really enjoyed the truffle BLT sandwiches from the Fat Shallot, as well as the many conversations I had with current and former Baker families. BASE was filled with kids enjoying movies, a bouncy house, glow sticks, and the occasional dance party. We all enjoyed a wonderful warm evening and if you missed out, no worries, we will get you the next time.
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The Tailgate was also our official kick off of the Baker Fund, which is our annual fundraiser. Some of you may recall from my State of the School videos (which everyone watched, right?), the importance of fundraising to our school. Tuition covers only about 70% of our operating expenses. Fundraising covers the bulk of the remaining expenses. To put it frankly, without donations, we would not be able to keep our school going. Fortunately, we have a generous and large group of supporters of current and former Baker families, employees and board members, that believe passionately about the importance of what we do here at Baker. However, we need everyone to pitch in. No amount is too small, but if you have the financial capacity to donate larger amounts, then your gifts will go a long way to helping our school thrive.
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We are a non-profit school, which means that all the money that we raise via tuition and donations goes directly back into running the school. Baker is not owned by anyone, and we don’t have investors that profit off the school. There are private for-profit schools that do have this model, but not Baker. Our Board of Trustees are all volunteers and receive no compensation. We have the ambitious goal of raising $300,000 with our annual fund this year. We currently have over $150,000 pledged, so we’re already more than halfway there. Our Board is leading the way with 100% participation, and our Staff and Faculty are also stepping up in a big way, having donated close to $20,000 and nearly 80% participation. Now, we’re looking to our parent community to pick up the baton. We provide lots of different ways to make donations to the Baker Fund. We’ve added a Baker Fund tab to our website and you’ll see similar info below in the bulletin. Help us keep Baker thriving!
Okay, now let’s get back to the fun stuff! How about a recap of our first all-school assembly? Dot day was AMAZING. If you haven’t read this wonderful book or heard about the dot day phenomenon, then ask your child. I’m going to share our Principal Collins’ wonderful recap, as well as photos from the day. See below.
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Dot Day All School Assembly
The best all school community gatherings start when one member in a community shares a great idea with another, and another, and so on. Such was the case with our first all school gathering last Friday, Dot Day. Inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’ book of the same name, faculty team leaders created an opportunity for Baker to come together. On October 21, students gathered in our gym for this wonderful assembly as the official kickoff for our Buddies program. Students listened to Mr. McLennan read the story while Ms. Michalski turned the pages of the book under the light of a projector. Buddy classes, sitting together, experienced the lovely illustrations and empowering story of Vashti, a young student who learns that anyone can be an artist, and ANYONE can be an inspiration and support to others when they’re feeling less than certain about their abilities. Our student leaders, taking on the motif of the dot, transformed the gym space with colorful paper dots and circles, hula hoops, and soccer cones. Once the story was over, Mr. McLennan dismissed students to classrooms, where Buddies engaged in activities from “Where a Cold Wind Blows,” to creating Rangoli art using the technique of pointillism; in each of the pre-K- 5 Spanish classes, students used dot to dot paint pens to make inspiring signs that read “Si Se Puede!”. On Dot Day, we learned that yes we can connect, have fun, and find ways to be here for each other!
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Enjoy conferences and have a great day,
Mason Rocca
Head of School
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The Baker Fund provides the essential unrestricted dollars needed to enhance the educational experience of Baker students and goes directly to our operational budget. Our operational budget is balanced each year through revenue from tuition, after school enrichments, summer camp, and public support (fundraising). This means your support goes directly to all of the expenses that make up a Baker education – teacher salaries, program expenses, tuition assistance, supplies and materials, and building maintenance. | |
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1. Give through PayPal . You may set up a monthly gift if you would like.
2. Donate via Venmo to @BakerDemSchool
3. Give with a credit card through GiveSmart.
4. Give by sending a direct payment by check or Donor Advised Fund to Baker Demonstration School (Attn: Advancement Office, 201 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091)
Baker Demonstration School is a 501c3 organization. All contributions are tax deductible.
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Parent-Teacher Fall Conferences Sign Up
Information about Fall Conferences was sent out on Sunday in this email. Sign up here.
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October 28
No School/BASE Available - PT Conferences 8:00-2:00pm by Appointment
October 31
Halloween Parade for PK & K, 9:00am - Baker Field
Halloween Parade for 1st-8th, 3:00pm - Baker Field
November 1
Principal’s Coffee Chat
8:30am, Baker Cafeteria
November 5
Sunrise Event w/ 4th & 5th Grade families
7:00-8:30am at Lighthouse Beach
You can view Baker's public calendar at bakerdemschool.org/calendar
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The outdoor gardening season is coming fast to a close! Fingers crossed for additional mild temps as we put the gardens to bed. The next Green Team workday is scheduled for Saturday October 29. If you’re free to join us, we will be gardening for a couple hours each of the remaining workdays.
Dates:*
Saturday, October 29th, 10:00 am
Saturday, November 4th, 11:00 am
Saturday, November 19th, 12:00 pm
*Weather dependent
Our needs for the garden go beyond getting your hands in the soil. There are many ways to contribute and all manner of talents and skills are welcome to help make Baker’s teaching garden initiative a success. To learn more about how to get involved, contact Natasha @Moss Family.
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BASE Bonus Days
- October 28th
- November 10th
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This Fall, Baker will be offering BASE Bonus Days on campus in place of a typical school day for the Half/Full Day Conferences in October and Institute Day in November. These days will be scheduled with activities to keep your child engaged in physical activity, creative outlets and play based learning. Our Early Childhood participants will follow a daily schedule similar to their normal school day, complete with afternoon rest time. Please send your child/ren to school with a morning snack and lunch, as lunch will not be provided. Morning Care will be provided on these days as an option for all participants, as well as after care for enrolled BASE participants. After care will only be available until 4:30pm on these days and enrichments will not be offered. Please click the link below to register! | |
Baker Halloween Parade Food Drive | |
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On Monday, October 31st the Baker Community will gather for our Halloween Parade. As trick or treating is a beloved Halloween tradition, we want to honor what is at its core: the act of selfless giving.
As we gather for our Halloween Parade, Baker invites parents/families/friends to donate canned and/or non-perishable food for Connections for the Homeless.
Please bring any donations to the front entrance (Pre-K and Kindergarten parade) or the field (1st through 8th grade). Boxes will be clearly labeled for all donations Every little donation helps!
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Important Halloween Information | |
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Halloween Parade Details
The Halloween Parade for PK and Kindergarten will begin at 9am, Baker Field. Students will attend school at the regular time and then with their class and teachers walk to the Field for their parade at 9am. After the parade, they will return to their classrooms with their class and teachers.
The Halloween Parade for Grades 1-8 will begin at 3:05pm on the Baker Field and will end just in time for carpool on Monday, October 31. Parents are welcome to attend and watch the parades on the Baker Field.
We acknowledge that not all people celebrate Halloween. If you do not want your child(ren) to participate in the Halloween Parade, please fill out this opt out form.
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October 27th
FAN Event, Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship - Terry Real, MSW, LCSW and Alexandra H. Solomon, Ph.D.
7:00 p.m. - Zoom Register here
Not much is harder than figuring out how to love your partner in all their messy humanness—and there’s also not much that’s more important. At a time when toxic individualism is rending our society at every level, bestselling author and renowned marriage counselor Terry Real, MSW, LCSW sees how it poisons intimate relationships in his therapy practice, where he works with couples on the brink of disaster. The good news: Warmer, closer, more passionate relationships are possible if you have the right tools.
In his transformative new book, Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship, Real brilliantly observes how our winner-takes-all culture infiltrates families with devastating results: repetitive fights that go nowhere, or a distant relationship in which partners end up living “alone together.” With deft insight, humor, and charm, Real guides you to transform your relationship into one that’s based on compassion, collaboration, and closeness. Us is a groundbreaking guide to a new science-backed skillset—one that will allow you to get past your knee-jerk reactions and tap into your wiser, more collaborative self.
Real will be in conversation with Alexandra H. Solomon, Ph.D. (FAN ’20), a licensed clinical psychologist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University who is also on faculty at the School of Education and Social Policy at NU.
This event will be recorded and available later on the FAN website and our YouTube channel.
AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of "Us" from FAN's partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Real and Solomon that will start immediately after the webinar. Copy and paste this link to purchase the book: https://bit.ly/RealBookPurchase
NOTE: FAN collects registration data to inform event planning.
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November 1st
FAN Event, The Study of Human Life -- Joshua Bennett, Ph.D. and Jesse McCarthy, Ph.D.
7:00 p.m. - Zoom Register Here
In The Study of Human Life, poet, performer, and scholar Joshua Bennett, Ph.D. takes another step forward in his career, extending his range into the realm of speculative fiction for the first time to address issues including abolition, Black ecological consciousness, and the boundless promise of parenthood. This powerful, urgent, and formally innovative new work is divided into three sequences, which Dr. Bennett sees as a meditation on the cycle of human life, taking readers through the phases of death, reincarnation, and new life.
The first sequence, “Trash,” is a set of somber autobiographical poems that deal with themes of family life, the natural world, and the joys and dreams of youth. The second section, “The Book of Mycah,” is a mythic alternate history where Malcolm X is resurrected from the dead in 1965. Warner Bros. will produce “The Book of Mycah” as a scripted television series, with Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions adapting the work, Waithe serving as executive producer, and Dr. Bennett writing the pilot. The third section, “Dad Poem,” focuses on fatherhood and Dr. Bennett’s experience raising his son, born in 2020.
Dr. Bennett, the author of three previous works, received his Ph.D. in English from Princeton University and is currently Professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College.
Dr. Bennett will be in conversation with Jesse McCarthy, Ph.D., assistant professor in the departments of English and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.
This event will be recorded and available later on the FAN website and our YouTube channel.
AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of The Study of Human Life from FAN's partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Bennett that will start immediately after the webinar. Copy and paste this link to purchase the book: https://bit.ly/BennettBookPurchase
NOTE: FAN collects registration data to inform event planning.
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