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Dear Baker families,
First of all, let me begin by saying a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the amazing Cardboard Challenge last weekend! What a turnout and what a great Baker event we had. An especially huge thank you to our fearless Cardboard Challenge founder, leader, and art teacher extraordinaire, Julie Toole, who made sure that all of the incredible ideas and creative energies bursting from our students’ and parents’ brains were equipped with tools and materials transforming the ideas into cardboard masterpieces. There was so much creativity, collaboration, and community arising in the hallways, the parking lot and other spaces last Saturday that many prospective families that were touring for the first time were amazed and enamored with their experience and the school.
We have another wonderful event planned for tomorrow, which is our Tailgate (by the way GET YOUR TICKETS!), and while the weather promises to be summeresque, we have definitely transitioned to Fall, and there is something special about the Fall season in our area. The changing of the leaves, the brisk winds from the North, and the general sense of transition seem familiar and reassuring. The changes are observed and felt by so many of our senses. We hear the rustling of the leaves on the ground, we feel the cooler air in our eyes, we smell the wet leaves, and we seek the emotional warmth of our friends and family as winter approaches. What has caused me to reflect so introspectively about these sensations? Well, duh, I was hanging out with the PreK this morning and it was awesome!
In the midst of hectic preparations for the Tailgate , our lockdown drill, and the myriad of millions of other details that go into our school, I snuck away to be the caboose in the Ms. Johns’ PreK class train as they headed up to the Library. Best Move Ever. I got to sit down in the Library with the class and our dynamic and multi-talented Librarian and Language Arts teacher, Mr. Jones. As the class settled down on the rug in our fantastic library, he asked them what came to their minds when they thought about Fall. Clouds, falling leaves, feeling cold, costumes, colors, and more were some of the responses. Then he gave them a choice of books to read about Fall. As he read, he asked the children what they observed in the pictures and words, and the children noticed some of their previous concepts and connected it to the story. I loved seeing the inquiry and curiosity happening.
My favorite part of the class though happened after the book was finished and it was time for a dance break! If you are feeling stagnant, bored, stressed, or even happy, there is nothing better than a dance break to shake loose your mind and body. Of course, not everyone needed the dance break, but that’s ok. I know I did (but I was trying to keep my phone steady). Mr. Jones’ masterful weaving of literacy, observations, music, inquiry, movement and fun was a joy to watch.
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As I walked out of the library, buzzing from the experience, I stumbled on the 4th graders preparing to meet our other PreK class for their first Baker Buddy experience. As you know from my previous bulletin, these moments are priceless. So I jumped on the 4th grade class train caboose and headed down. Mr. M had prepped his 4th graders with three questions to break the ice with their buddies. What is your name? What is your favorite color? What is your favorite animal? The 4th graders rehearsed the questions as they walked down the stairs.
Due to some absences in the PreK class, the 4th graders outnumbered their buddies, so some PreK students had multiple buddies, which was a bit overwhelming to some of them. But our 4th graders knew it, and showed so much empathy. They made gentle suggestions, and also waited patiently for the PreK students to warm up. Before long everyone was engaged in drawing, building, hammering (golf tees into a pumpkin!), reading and playing with lovies (stuffed animals). It was joyful and it was powerful. In those 30 minutes with the PreK, I felt centered and rejuvenated, and ready to tackle all the other tasks of the day.
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I hope to see you all tomorrow at the Tailgate to enjoy the warm weather, food, drink, music and most importantly our great community.
Have a great day,
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Mason Rocca
Interim Head of School
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October 21
Baker Spirit Friday - Wear your spirit wear!
Baker Dot Day w/Student Assembly, 10am
Baker Fall Tailgate/Baker Fund Kickoff
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Baker Parking Lot
October 27
Parent Teacher Conferences- Early Dismissal
- PK, K: 11:15 a.m. dismissal
- 1st-8th Grade: 11:30 dismis
October 28
Parent Teacher Conferences- No School
You can view Baker's public calendar at bakerdemschool.org/calendar
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Join us TOMORROW! Come out and join us for the Baker Fall Tailgate from 5:30-8:00 PM. We will be kicking off our Baker Annual Fund with all the excitement! Join for an evening of fun, food, and music! The Fat Shallot food truck will be coming out for delicious food! Join for drinks (beer, wine, non-alcoholic) and music, while catching up with Baker families, staff, and friends! Cost is $25 per person. Ticket sale deadline is TONIGHT at 10:00pm. Childcare will be available for $15 through B.A.S.E. (adults only event). Sign up for childcare can be found below. | |
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Tailgate Hosts
Want to be a grade tailgate host? Enjoy preferred parking and help your class build community! We still need spots for PK/B, 3rd Grade, and 6th Grade!
Sign up here!
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Sign up for BASE childcare during the tailgate event! | |
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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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The Lockdown Drill went smoothly today. The drill lasted under 15 minutes, as myself and our Community Resource Officer from the Wilmette Police Department walked around the school and tested every door to make sure they were locked and everyone was out of sight. Officer Davis commended us on our execution.
We also tested our emergency communications system with a text message sent to all families at 11:00 am saying that the drill was over. If you didn't receive this text message, then your cell phone number is not up to date in FACTS. Please email communications@bakerdemschool.org with your name and cell phone number to ensure that you receive any future emergency communications.
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October Monthly Coffee
Wednesday, October 26
8:30am - 9:30am
Cafeteria
All are welcome! Socialize and hear short updates from the BPO Teams and learn about the work they are doing.
Email: bpo@bakerdemschool.org for more info.
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Conference Sign Up & BASE Registration for October 27-28 | |
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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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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! | |
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Special Bonus Day Events
October 27, we will have afternoon Fun Swim for 1st-8th Graders, supervised by Mr. Wills!
October 28, we will immerse ourselves in the Print Shop with Ms. Beth!
Questions? Please email Erin Steiner
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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.
Community guidelines
We embrace the fun of Halloween, but ask that you be mindful of Baker's Halloween Guidelines as you plan your children's costumes. We are aware that not everyone celebrates Halloween and will be sensitive to students who are not participating by wearing a costume. If your child does choose to wear a costume, please keep these parameters for how they may need to adjust their attire at school:
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Please give thoughtful consideration to your child’s costume. This article offers tips and guidelines to be mindful of potential issues related to cultural appropriation, cultural stereotypes, or costumes that marginalize others. This article talked about the #IAmNotACostume campaign which draws awareness to the problematic nature of many Halloween costumes. Link to Teen Vogue video: My culture is not a costume (appropriate for middle school students).
- No masks (other than any mask needed for safety related to COVID-19) or weapons are allowed as they may present a safety concern for children. Young children, in particular, are often upset by violent, scary, or gory costumes.
- Students are still expected to be able to participate in the school day so please be mindful of costumes that make it challenging for students to move around the school safely. Students must wear appropriate footwear.
Teal Pumpkin Project
At Baker, we are aware that Halloween may be difficult for children who have allergies.
If your family will be participating in Trick-or-Treating we encourage you to learn more about the Teal Pumpkin Project, to make trick-or-treating inclusive and safe for children with food allergies.
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Evanston Symphony Orchestra | |
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Florence Price was the first African-American woman to compose a symphony which achieved a live performance. The Evanston Symphony is proud to include her orchestral masterpiece, the tuneful Third Symphony, on the opening concert of our series spotlighting women artists. An Evanston favorite, Ukrainian-American pianist Inna Faliks shares this spotlight in the virtuoso solo part of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The concert opens with the orchestral suite from Leonard Bernstein’s ground-breaking and ever popular West Side Story. Purchase tickets
Enhance your concert experience with a sneak preview - Composers come alive and their passions take center stage when ESO Maestro Lawrence Eckerling take you on an insider’s tour of the history and highlights behind the music.
Meet our soloist, Inna Faliks, at Musical Insights. She and our Maestro Lawrence Eckerling will explore the concert program in depth.
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October 20th
FAN Event, Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions- Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
7:00 p.m. - No registration required
In-person event: Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL 60201.
Visual thinkers see images in their mind’s eye - they include everyone from the photorealist-inclined “object visualizers” with a knack for design and problem solving, to the more mathematically inclined, who excel at abstraction, pattern recognition, and systemic thinking. Even though visual thinkers constitute a far greater proportion of the population than previously believed, we live in a language-dominated world that tends to sideline visual thinkers, screening them out at school and passing over them in the workplace. In the new landmark book "Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions," New York Times bestselling author, autism activist, and scientist Temple Grandin, Ph.D. (FAN ’14) explores cutting-edge research to take us inside the world of visual thinking, reframing the conversation on neurodiversity and showing how necessary different types of thinkers are essential for our collective well-being.
Whether by transforming how we think about autism or through her work on animal behavior, Dr. Grandin has never stopped following—and driving—the research on what makes minds tick. A professor of animal science at Colorado State University and the author of the New York Times bestsellers "Animals in Translation," "Animals Make Us Human," and "The Autistic Brain," her bestselling memoir "Thinking in Pictures" (later turned into an award-winning biopic staring Claire Danes) broke ground on neurodiversity, transforming scientific investigation and public understanding. In "Visual Thinking" she again leads the way, distilling the latest research, redirecting the conversation, and showing the path forward in her mission to celebrate the different ways our brains are wired, to advocate for the conditions that will let visual thinkers thrive, and to recognize the advantages that follow for us all.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded but not live streamed and will be available on our website and YouTube channel.
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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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