May 9, 2024

Dear Baker Families,

Are you ready for the aMAYzing month of May that is Baker?? Here’s a list of what happens in May:

• 3rd grade Trout, that have been cared for and observed the entire school year, have been released into Lake Michigan!
• Incubators are in full swing with duckling eggs in Kindergarten, and baby chicks in the Middle School science classes
• 8th grade camping trip - Our 8th graders enjoyed their culminating trip to Farmers Rising an 80-acre sustainable educational farm where they learned how to take care of various animals, participated in farm chores, explored nature at night, enjoyed farm-to-table meals, bonded as a group, and learned about composting, organic farming, and the importance of knowing what is in the food you eat.
• BASH is tonight! What is BASH? Read a fuller description below, but make sure you come! I’ll only add that one of the most special parts of BASH is when your child takes you around and shows you, not only their artwork, but their classmate’s and friends’ work. The students here are so proud of each other’s accomplishments and will readily tout it to the moon. It is such a beautiful display of community and love for each other that it gives me goosebumps. Don’t miss it!

• Grandparents and Special Friends Day - We have over 140 visitors RSVP’d for tomorrow! We are so excited to welcome all of the Grandparents and Special Friends into our space. We have a great morning planned for everyone with breakfast treats, coffee and fun activities. We look forward to welcoming and connecting with this very important and special part of our community. The phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child” is so true, and we know that our visitors tomorrow play a big role in our students’ lives and connecting them to their kiddos’ lives at Baker strengthens those bonds.
• Student-led workshops - Led by the 4th and 5th graders, our student teachers will lead workshops on topics ranging from Hip-Hop Dance to Four-Square to Ceiling Sculptures. Progressive education at Baker is student-centered, and here we have students teaching other students with teachers to support and guide along the way. Giving students agency and voice in a school is how we roll at Baker and it will be awesome! Happening next week.
• 4th - 8th grade Track Meets - Our track team has been running all over town and competing against other schools in the area. Catch us if you can!
• Storytellers - We’ve had two great storytellers come in: Sara Shacter and Jane Kuo. Storytelling at Baker is rich tradition that goes back to a legendary Kindergarten teacher named Betty Weeks. Her spirit lives on in a grant that allows us to bring talented and diverse storytellers to all of our students.
• Middle School Arts Core Share - Like BASH but for our Middle Schoolers, this incredible display of our students’ talents is next week and highlights the amazing progress that continues for our students into Middle School.
• Physics Olympics and Boat Races - The 8th graders participate in this daylong competition that in the past has included: Tower of Power, Projectiles, Don’t Sink the Titanic, Paper Airplanes, and of course the pièce de résistance - the Boat Races! If you haven’t heard about our famous cardboard boat races then make sure you talk to your child about them next Friday. They include walk-out music and dances, artistic masterpieces, costumes, themes, and of course thrilling boat races in our pool. 
• Sneaker Week - Our Baker Wellness Team organizes this super fun week where they bring in community experts to teach physical workshops to our school. Students will be assigned a different workshop each day and will be exposed to a wide variety of activities and sports.
• Baker 5k & 1k - The culminating event of Sneaker week, this incredible all school event is where we celebrate our community and the importance of moving our bodies!
• 8th grade graduation - The capstone event of the Baker Demonstration School education. 8th graders have been working diligently on projects all of their own making for the past several months. Those projects and our students will be put on glorious display for the faculty and their parents, families and friends. Baker graduation is truly unique and guaranteed to provide goosebumps and tears.  
• Cicadas - Hoping they wait until after the 5k to come out!

All of these events are made possible by our amazing faculty and staff. This week is Teacher Appreciation Week so please take a moment to reach out and thank a teacher with a gratitude note below. They go above and beyond for our school and for our students time and time again. 

Thank you teachers! See you all soon.

Mason Rocca

Interim Head of School

Calendar Highlights

May 9

BASH (Baker Arts Showcase) 5:00 p.m. - See details below

May 10

Grandparents' & Special Friends' Day 9:00 a.m. - See details below

Early Dismissal Day: (PK & K - 11:15 a.m. | 1st - 8th Grade - 11:30 a.m. / BASE Available)

May 24

Annual 5K - See details below

Early Dismissal Day: (PK & K - 12:15 p.m. | 1st - 8th Grade - 12:30 p.m. / No BASE)

May 27

Memorial Day - No School / No BASE

May 30

Baker Class of 2024 Graduation!

Now Available: The 2024-2025 major dates calendar is here.

Baker's public calendar at bakerdemschool.org/calendar

Baker Summer Discovery Camp

Baker Summer Discovery returns for yet another exciting year of fostering friendships, embracing the great outdoors and engaging in immersive camper-driven activities! We have weekly sessions with spots remaining for Rising Kindergarten, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Graders. All available spots are open on the camp registration page linked below. 

REGISTER HERE

Questions? Reach out to Erin at summer@bakerdemschool.org. 

BASH (Baker Arts Showcase) - See You Tonight!

BASH is a celebration of the wonderful creativity of our students and our arts programs here at Baker. Our Art Gallery will include a student selected work of art from all the 1st-5th grade students. This year we will also spotlight the Music and Maker Space program, featuring the Arts Core classes Band, Choir and Maker+Music. There will be two performances from our Choir and a collaborative, improvised performance piece by Band and Maker+Music students. Everyone is invited to the performance.

Baker Arts Showcase (BASH)

Who: All Baker students, family members and friends are welcome to attend.

Where: Baker

When: Thursday, May 9 

Visual Art Gallery, 1st-5th Grade: Open from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

MS Band, Choir and Maker+Music Performance: 5:30-6:15 p.m. (gym)

Questions? Contact Julie Toole at jtoole@bakerdemschool.org.

Grandparents' & Special Friends' Day - May 10th

Grandparents' & Special Friends' Day

Friday, May 10 at 9:00 a.m.

Baker Demonstration School

201 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091

Details were sent out on Monday, May 6 in this email. See you tomorrow!

Parking Info

We are expecting a very large crowd. Please carpool if possible. Overflow parking is available at Baha'i House of Worship north of Baker on Sheridan Road in their east lot. The entrance will be marked with a Baker lawn sign.

Questions? Contact Kate Alpert at communications@bakerdemschool.org.

2024 Teachers & Staff Spring Gift Fund Drive is Underway!

It's that time of year to show our teachers and staff how much we appreciate all of their hard work!

This year we are collecting once for two appreciation activities. On May 15, we will be giving each teacher and staff member an herb plant from Ferraro Garden Spot. In June we will be giving them a monetary gift.

The money will be collected centrally through a Cheddar Up webpage. It will be used for the purchase of the plants and the monetary gift distributed equitably to teachers and staff.

Our goal is to collect $16,500. This goal is based on what we collected last year. The is no donation requirement nor an expected donation amount. Any amount that you would like to give is much appreciated. You can click the link below to donate. The last day to donate is June 2 at 11:59pm.

There is a higher fee to donate using a credit card. If you would prefer to pay a lower fee, please submit your donation before 11:59pm CT on May 30 and choose the echeck option.

You can find further details and stay up to day on our fund drive efforts in the BPO - Parents space in the online Baker Parent Community network here: https://baker-bpo-community.mn.co/.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Teacher and Staff Appreciation team lead, Mishra Keller. 

Thank you for your participation and support!

Baker BPO Teacher and Staff Appreciation Team

Community Service Spotlight - Evanston Community Fridges

How can we help?

Visit the Evanston Community Fridge website. Here you can find many opportunities to help.

How can Baker help?

There are 4 fridges in Evanston that need to be cleaned and restocked. We are asking for food donations and volunteers to visit each fridge, clean it out, and restock it with donated food. If you would like to help please go to this Sign Up Genius to help!

This event will take place on Saturday, May 18th from 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM

If you have any questions please reach out to Justin Travis at allowishes@gmail.com.

Baker 5K: May 24th - Volunteers Needed

The 2024 Annual Baker 5K event is coming up on Friday, May 24, 2024 at Gillson Park. We are so grateful to have volunteers every year to help make this wonderful all school event happen!

We are looking for volunteers for:

• Setup - 2 more needed!
• Chef/Food Prep
• Post Race Fuel Station
• Water Station
• Take Down

Please Signup Now for one of the available volunteer shifts.

Questions? Contact Erin Steiner at esteiner@bakerdemschool.org or Megan Baxa at mbaxa@bakerdemschool.org.

Baker End of Year Picnic June 4th - RSVP Now

Please save the date for Baker’s End of the Year Picnic Tuesday, June 4th from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Baker Field, and join us in celebration of another successful year at Baker.

Feel free to bring a nut-free picnic, blankets and/chairs, and whatever else you might like to have for fun in the sun. 

• Frisbees
• Bubbles
• Lawn games (cornhole, lawn darts, etc.)
• Footballs, soccer balls, etc.

There will also be a Kona Ice* truck (thanks 7th grade fams), music, and other student lead activities!

If you would like to help plan this event please reach out to Justin Travis at allowishes@gmail.com.

*Kona Ice is nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free. Some allergens are on premises. Allergen Information.

Baker Team for Race Against Hate: June 16th

This year is the 25th Annual Race Against Hate

Sunday, June 16, 2024

7:30 a.m. | Floyd Long Field | Evanston IL

Baker is sponsoring a booth! 

We are looking for 1 or 2 volunteers to work the tent for this event.

Please email communications@bakerdemschool.org to express interest.

Baker Earth Week Recap - Garden & Beach Cleanup

During Earth Week 2024, students at Baker School worked to improve the ecology of the school’s garden through a series of engaging activities. The focus was on removing weedy and invasive plants to create a healthier, more sustainable garden environment. Additionally, students planted perennials and sowed seeds that were selected to attract pollinators to support the local ecosystem and encourage biodiversity. These activities involved students from various grade levels, parent volunteers, and teachers promoting environmental stewardship and hands-on learning experiences. 

These activities are part of an ongoing initiative to beautify and enhance the ecological health of garden spaces, providing teachers and students opportunities for outdoor experiential learning.

For a detailed recap of the programs and activities click here.

Overall, the Earth Week 2024 garden activities at Baker School involved a variety of tasks such as weeding, planting, and clearing dead material. Students of different age groups participated in these tasks, gaining practical knowledge about plants and their growth, as well as contributing to the maintenance and beautification of the school’s garden spaces.

Beach Cleanup Recap

The clouds parted on Tuesday for a beautiful sunny beach cleanup at Lighthouse Beach with the 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th grades. We gathered debris and tallied it up for The Alliance for the Great Lakes data project. We found mostly plastics, which made for a great discussion about reducing single use plastics.

The Baker Green Team would like to give a huge shout of thanks to everyone who helped make our Earth Week Activities a success!

Special thanks to 4th Grade Teacher Mark McLennan for coordinating class involvement!

Featured FAN Event

The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder

May 15, 2024 

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

ON ZOOM

ROBERT I. SUTTON, PH.D.

Organizational psychologist, professor emeritus at Stanford, co-founder and former co-director of the Center for Work, Technology and Organization, co-founder of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, and co-founder of the Stanford "d.school"

LIZ GERBER, PH.D.

Professor at Northwestern University, co-director of Northwestern’s Center for Human Computer Interaction + Design, and faculty founder of Design for America

Every organization is plagued by destructive friction. Yet some forms of friction are incredibly useful, and leaders who attempt to improve workplace efficiency often make things even worse. In The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder, co-authors Robert I. Sutton, Ph.D. and Huggy Rao, Ph.D. draw from seven years of hands-on research to teach us how to become “friction fixers.”

The Friction Project unpacks how skilled friction fixers think and act like trustees of others’ time. The authors provide friction forensics to help readers identify where to avert and repair bad organizational friction and where to maintain and inject good friction. Then their “help pyramid” shows how friction fixers do their work, from reframing friction troubles they can’t fix right now, so they feel less threatening, to designing and repairing organizations. The heart of the book digs into the causes and solutions for five of the most common and damaging friction troubles: oblivious leaders, addition sickness, broken connections, jargon monoxide, and fast and frenzied people and teams.

Prof. Sutton is an organizational psychologist and Stanford professor (emeritus) who studies, writes, teaches, and speaks about the interplay between people and organizations. He has written more than 200 academic and practical articles and is a New York Times bestselling author of eight books. He is a co-founder of the Stanford d. School, Stanford Technology Ventures Program, and Center for Work, Technology and Organization.

Prof. Sutton will be in conversation with Liz Gerber, Ph.D. (FAN ’13, ’16), a professor of mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, co-director of Northwestern’s Center for Human Computer Interaction + Design, and faculty founder of Design for America.