Give to BLA!

In addition to the marathon fundraiser, there are other ways to support the school.

The Hapgood Library is also hosting its’ annual fundraiser. The website is www.funds4books.com. Please enter code 8613 and thank you!

In addition, starting Nov. 8, families can register their Stop & Shop card to give a percentage to BLA. Just go to www.stopandshop.com and register your card. Our Stop & Shop school code is 10333.

Finally, Boston Latin Academy is collecting Box Tops for Education. Coupons can be sent to the Main Office (attention: Marcia Canale).

The BLA Boys’ and Girls’ Track teams are City Champions!

Latin Academy boys and girls both finished first in the two-day city championship meet at the Reggie Lewis Center, defeating O’Bryant for the first time in years.

According to Latin Academy coach Brian Leussler, “It’s a big accomplishment, I really owe it to the team. A lot of dedicated kids who do indoor, outdoor, who have been running since seventh grade — they deserve it this year.”

Go Dragons!

Read more in the Boston Herald, or the Boston Globe.

Boston Latin Academy has been named a National Blue Ribbon School!

Last school year we worked hard to submit a strong application that highlighted all the professional development work we did in the last two years including:
•    An active Instructional Leadership Team that plans professional development
•    The use of Instructional Rounds to examine teaching and learning

•    The optional professional development that focused on 21st century learning skills/ active learning
•    The addition of a thematic curriculum map to our some of our major courses
•    The active planning of grade level teams (clusters) that work towards improving 21st century learning in the classroom

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools that are either high performing or have improved student achievement to high levels, especially among disadvantaged students. The program is part of a larger Department of Education effort to identify and disseminate knowledge about best school leadership and teaching practices. Each year since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education has sought out schools where students attain and maintain high academic goals, including those that beat the odds.

On Thursday, September 9, 2010, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the nation’s Blue Ribbon Schools for 2010 at School Without Walls Senior High School, a 2010 Blue Ribbon School, in Washington, D.C. The schools—254 public and 50 private—will be honored at an awards ceremony on November 15 and 16 in Washington, D.C. In the past 28 years, more than 6, 000 of America’s schools have received this coveted award.

Although the honor does not have a monetary award it is a prestigious recognition of the work we do. It further proves that we are not only the best school in the city but one of the best in the nation.

View the announcement on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoqwkg8ZU34

More about the Blue Ribbon Schools Program.

Boston Latin Academy band students received $25,000 worth of musical instruments, thanks to Fidelity’s FutureStage Program and the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. In a February 9 ceremony at Boston Symphony Hall, BLA students were one of only four schools in Boston to receive the grant.

Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops was the host in Boston, while actor and singer Jamie Foxx and other celebrities took part in the nationally simulcast event, which gave instruments to 1,500 students in four cities.

Read more in the Herald.

Learn more about the BLA Band.

Boston Latin Academy’s coed swimming team won the Boston City League championship yesterday, for the third consecutive year and the 19th time in the past 20 years. Sophomore Tim Connolly and senior Justina Langone each scored firsts, and Dragons earned top three finishes in all 11 events, as the Dragons earned 139 points to hold off O’Bryant (85), East Boston (44) and host Madison Park (22) to snare another crown.

Read coverage in the Globe and the Herald.

Boston Latin Academy ranked first in the 10th grade English section of the 2009 MCAS, and was tied for 2nd in math.

BLA was one of only six schools in Massachusetts with more than 95 percent of students scoring proficient or higher in ELA, Math, and Science, Technology/Engineering. (WCVB)

Full MCAS rankings are available here.

A Justin Miles 26-yard touchdown pass to Edbiko Elysee with less than two minutes remaining allowed Boston Latin Academy to defeat Case High School, 30-22, on Sunday.

Read more at the Fall River Herald News.

Congratulations to the BLA Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) team, who won their division in a physics competition at Harvard. The BLA JETS team defeated Newton North and Milton Academy in a series of multiple-choice and free-response physics questions. Their score qualifies them as National Finalists. Congratulations to Khoi Nguyen, Leticia Lopez-Benitez, Philip Simon, Rajendra Balram, Shawnna Thomas, Judy Wong, Ronesha Williams, and Mamadou Diallo. For more information, see Ms. Hansel (room 330) or http://jets.org/.

Congratulations to the following 17 student-athletes for being named League All-Stars by The Boston Globe:
Girls’ Track: Eva MacDonald and Emily Kilbourn-Shear

Boys’ Track: Mohamed Ali

Girls’ Swimming: Justina Langone and Rachel McGrath

Boys’ Swimming: Sean Devlin and Andres Payne

Girls’ Basketball: Robi Cardoso and Jalisa Smith

Boys’ Basketball: Aaron Bray and Armani Gill

Girls’ Hockey: Shauna Smith, Kaila Connolly, Cailin Pagel, and Jill Petruziello

Boys’ Hockey: Brendon Kerrigan and Mike Newhall