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Dear Baker families,
The weather is starting to turn, the days are shorter, and leaves are starting to drop. Fall means many different things for different people, but I've got a few fall-themed updates, in addition to some more welcome notes to new people in our community.
Part of a having a robust community includes our after school programming, which includes BASE, but also sports and clubs. In Fall, we have two sports programs that we offer. We have a 5th - 8th grade soccer program that is overseen by Danny Zamudio, our Athletic Director and Dean of Student Engagement. We also have 4th and 5th grade flag football teams that are coached by parent volunteers. Our soccer team had a great win against Chicago Lab Schools on Tuesday as you can see above!
One of the great aspects of Baker is how we encourage all kids to try their hand at all activities including sports, irregardless of talent or experience. I have coached many different basketball teams at various levels, including Baker's 4th and 5th grade teams, and there is something unique about the sports experience at Baker. The emphasis of inclusivity in our community shines through with our sports teams. I have seen students, who are new to basketball, start the season afraid to enter the games due to their inexperience. These students were supported and encouraged by their teammates throughout the whole season, so much so that they became active participants and contributors to the team by the end. Baker teams have been able to strike the important balance of competitiveness and good sportsmanship that make for positive experiences win or lose.
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As you can see above, our students love to build and love to collaborate together. Working together and learning from each other they develop so many important skills - communication, collaboration, compromise, and the joy of learning.
Next week we ask you all to take some time out of your busy schedules to engage with the first two Head of School finalist candidates. Choosing the next Head of School is an extremely important decision for the school, and your input and feedback is an essential piece of information for the Search Committee. The more our community engages in these visits, the better the likelihood that the best candidate will be chosen. While there are both Zoom and in-person visits being offered, I will put a gentle plug for the in-person visits as I think that in-person is the best way to get to know the candidates, and for the candidates to get to know us. See the blurb below for details on how to register.
Have a great evening,
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Mason Rocca
Interim Head of School
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Head of School Search Upcoming Candidate Visits
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It has been an exciting and busy time for the Baker Head of School Search Committee and we’re happy to announce that finalists for the permanent Head of School position have been selected and will be visiting our campus Sept 26-Oct 5.
The first two candidates will be joining us next week and we hope you will have an opportunity to engage with them and provide a warm Baker welcome! Faculty, staff, and our students will have opportunities to meet the candidates during the school day. We will be hosting open community meetings for parents and guardians in person and via Zoom. There’s also a good chance you may have a chance to see our finalists during the afternoon carpool line.
Schedule for Community Meetings:
Seth Hanford
September 26 5-6PM, Library
September 27 9:30-10:15 AM via Zoom
Randy Needlman
September 28 5-6PM, Library
September 29 9:30-10:15 AM via Zoom
The scheduled times for community meetings the following week will be released soon and are expected to be held at the same times.
If interested in attending one of the open community meetings for the first two finalists, please help us by registering - here.
In the coming days there will be more information released about the candidates and plans for additional upcoming visits. In the meantime if you have questions feel free to contact the Search Committee at hos_search@bakerdemschool.org
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Board of Trustees Community Meet ups | |
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Please join members of the Board of Trustees for a series of informal community meet ups. Feel free to drop in for conversation, to learn more about us and what Trustees do, and share thoughts about Baker. We hope to see you at one or more of the following days and places! Questions? email Shana Bernstein
Sunday October 22 - 5:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Temperance Beer Co., 2000 Dempster St, Evanston
Friday November 3 - 8:45 a.m - 10:00 a.m.
Central Station Coffee and Tea, 1150 Central Ave, Wilmette
*The September 28 event at Temperance is cancelled due to the HOS finalist visit that evening.
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September 21
FAN Event - See details below
September 25
Yom Kippur - NO SCHOOL
September 26
HOS Finalist #1 PM meeting - See details above
September 27
HOS Finalist #1 AM ZOOM meeting - See details above
September 28
HOS Finalist #2 PM meeting - See details above
September 29
HOS Finalist #2 AM ZOOM meeting - See details above
September 30
Green Team Garden Day - See details below
October 1
Bike the Ridge 9:00 a.m. See details below
October 6th
Baker Bonfire 5:00 p.m. - See details below
You can view Baker's public calendar at bakerdemschool.org/calendar
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As we build community, relationships and connect with each other, showing gratitude is one of our most powerful tools. It fosters a sense of belonging and shares not only valuable feedback, but also appreciation. We all live busy lives, but taking a moment to thank someone at the school will go a long way. This form will be up all year, and we hope you visit frequently! The notes will all be passed onto the recipients.
Gratitude Notes
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BASE (Baker After School Enrichment) Registration | |
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NEW CLASS STARTING SOON!
It’s a Small World - Miniature Building
(Grades 3rd - 7th)
Mondays, 3:30-4:30pm from Nov 6 to Dec 11 - 6 classes
In this class we will be using natural and recycled materials and our imagination to create a miniature world. Ms. Toole will be there to guide you and teach you tips and tricks for creating your tiny sculptures.
Register Here - Found under Private/Semi-Private Lessons Tab
Running late? Unexpected meeting? BASE is here to help!
Whether it’s a last minute change of plans or pre-planned, Drop-In Care will also be available for all Baker families. Drop-In Care is prorated based on the amount of care needed. Please email and/or call Erin with as much advance notice of your child’s participation in a drop-in day as possible. Previous BASE registrants may alter their day of care once a month to accommodate an unexpected need for care.
Register Here - Select your desired pickup time under the Drop-In Option Tab
For all BASE related questions, please reach out to Erin Fentanes Steiner at esteiner@bakerdemschool.org
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Baker at Bike the Ridge Evanston | |
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Sunday, October 1 - 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Ridge Ave. between Howard & Church St. - Evanston
Baker is a sponsor for Evanston's Bike the Ridge. Put on your Baker spirit wear, grab your helmets and non-motorized wheels, and head to Ridge Avenue between Howard Street and Church Street. There will be vendors, bike repairs, live music, activities, and food trucks at Ridgeville Park located at 908 Seward St, Evanston. Sign up to be a Baker ambassador at our booth! Staff, students, and families are all welcome to sign-up. We will have swag, face paint, and tattoos.
This is a fun-filled way to get involved with the Baker community. Sign up here.
Email Stacie Erck if you have any questions - stacerck@hotmail.com.
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BPO - Baker Bonfire & Volunteers Needed | |
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Friday, October 6, 2023 - 5:00p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Evanston Lighthouse Beach (Sheridan & Central)
The BPO invites all Baker families to attend the Baker Bonfire. Gather with Baker families to enjoy s'mores at the fire circle, play at the playground, and be in good company listening to the waves. Drop in after dinner, before dinner, or bring your dinner (nut free please). S'mores fixings will be provided.
Parking is limited, so you may need to use street parking and walk over. We look forward to seeing you and your family.
Please sign-up to help volunteer at the event. This event is parent run: Bonfire Sign-up Sheet
Email bpo@bakerdemschool.org with questions.
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Thank you to all the families who turned out to help with last weekend’s garden work day! We had a great time cleaning and harvesting.
Lots of lemon balm
We harvested lemon balm from the garden and it needs a drying space for future use. Parents have proposed that Baker Business School participants can utilize the herbs from the garden to create fragrant items like potpourri, soaps, candles, lotions, or more for a project. We could use some help with this effort. Please let us know if you can assist.
Would you like to help in the garden?
Our next garden workday is Saturday, September 30th from 10 to noon. We need help clearing parts of the garden, transplanting perennials, and harvesting more herbs. If you can’t make this date but would like to participate in future workdays, please click here to let us know your availability. We are working on garden workday calendar for October and would love to know your interest and availability to get involved.
Have you tried chard from the garden?
We welcome all Baker families to visit the Intermediate Exploration Garden and take home 2 or 3 chard leaves. Recipes are posted on Mighty Network. See what other families shared and share yours!
Email bakergreenteam100@gmail.com with questions.
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The Baker Parent Organization (BPO) would love your help!
All parents are welcome and encouraged to get involved. These are great ways to build connections, serve our community, and support the good work the teachers are doing. There are 10 parent-led Teams that support the work of the school, with varied opportunities for engagement. Opportunities include options for all schedules and talents. All of us coming together is what makes Baker so vibrant!
The Teams include:
- Baker Book Fair
- Class Parents
- Communications and Outreach
- Education
- Equity Action Team (EqAT)
- Green Team-Teaching Garden
- Green Team-Sustainability
- Baker Community Service Committee (BCSC)
- Social Events
- Teacher and Staff Appreciation & Gift Drive
Which team would you like to join or learn more about? Let us know.
Email bpo@bakerdemschool.org with questions.
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Baker Spirit Wear is back and available for purchase online! Place your order today!
Our first Baker Spirit Wear Friday kicks off on Friday, September 8th. Purchase your Baker Spirit Wear today to be ready for Baker Spirit Fridays (and everyday of the week).
How does it work?
1. Click on the link below and look through the items.
2. Please note that this spirit wear is for both kids and adults!
3. Place your order online.
4. Orders will be shipped directly to the buyer's home address listed on the order in 3-4 weeks.
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Tuesday, October 3, 2023, 7:00 p.m.
The Book of (More) Delights: A Conversation with Ross Gay
Evanston Township High School Auditorium 1600 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL 60201
ROSS GAY - Award-winning New York Times bestselling author interviewed by ADRIAN MATEJKA - Award-winning poet and Editor of Poetry magazine
Until recently, Ross Gay was predominantly known as a highly decorated and accomplished poet whose accolades included a National Book Critics Circle Award and National Book Award finalist distinction. With his first prose title, the bestselling The Book of Delights, he struck a collective chord in short essays that celebrated the often unexamined but profound pleasures of daily life, even amid the enormous challenges of our contemporary world.
Adept at making a bounty out of the everyday, Gay again gives voice to the human desire for joy with The Book of (More) Delights, a timely reminder that delight exists all around us, if we take the time to look for it. And even as he acknowledges racism, consumerism, climate change, and individual pain—the forces that endanger joy—he shows us that our shared sorrow can bring us together. These new essays, also written over the course of a year, are resonant and linguistically exquisite―required reading for anyone who has ever had a bad day. Which is to say, all of us.
Yet as much as these joyous essays proclaim yes; they at times declare no—because for Gay, practicing delight can also be an act of defiance in a broken world. “We’ve been mandated, over the past several years, to be suspicious of one another,” Gay writes. “To regard each other as potential vectors of doom. These essays refuse that, and refuse those who would convince us to do so, by wondering instead, and sometimes militantly, what if we regarded each other as potential vectors of delight?”
Mr. Gay will be in conversation with Adrian Matejka, an award-winning poet and editor of Poetry magazine. His poetry collections include The Devil’s Garden, Mixology, The Big Smoke, Map to the Stars, and Somebody Else Sold the World. Matejka’s other honors are the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award, the Julia Peterkin Award, and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, and a Simon Fellowship from United States Artists. He served as Poet Laureate of the state of Indiana in 2018-19.
This event is suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded but not livestreamed and will be available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.
For more information about this event click here
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