Donations Continue to Grow for Village Health Works

Thank you to everyone who has given time or donations for our drive for Village Health Works, the hospital chronicled in our 2010 summer reading book, Strength in What Remains. We are half-way to our donations goal for when Deo visits BLA on February 2nd!

Want to help? Here’s how:

  • Silent Auction: This runs every day in room 216 the week of December 13th; contact Ms. Wagner (mstracywagner@gmail.com) to make an appointment or come after school, 1:45-2:15 PM. Come bid on a variety of items, from gift baskets to holiday items to dinner with Ms. Pastor! This is a perfect way to give a donation and also get a great item for yourself or to give as a gift.The auction ends at 2 PM on Friday, December 17th.
  • Holiday Cards: For a $20 donation, you will receive five beautiful holiday cards that say a donation has been made in the name of the card’s recipient.
  • Burundi Bracelet: For a $4 donation, you will receive a charming bracelet made by our 7th graders. The bracelets are the design of a 7th grade contest winner and come in Burundian colors and feature a word such as “PEACE” or “HOPE” spelled out in beads.

All items — include those in the silent auction — will also be available during the Winter Concert on Thursday, December 16th.

You are also welcome to make donation through your student’s homeroom. Checks should be made to Boston Latin Academy. Thank you!

BLA Named National Blue Ribbon School

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.

Band receives $25,000 in new instruments

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.

BLA Swimming City Champions Again!

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.

BLA Scores 1st in State on English MCAS

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.

BLA football defeats Case High School 30-22

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.

2009 Summer Reading and Assignments

English Summer Reading

Click on the grade you will be entering to download your summer reading assignment.

Latin Summer Assignments

  • Latin I Grade 8 summer assignment (Word) (PDF)
  • Latin II Grade 9A summer assignment (Word) (PDF)
  • Latin III Grade 10A (11B) summer assignment (Word) (PDF)
  • Latin III Grade 10A (11B) reference charts (Word) (PDF)
  • Latin AP Vergil syllabus & summer packet (Word) (PDF)

BLA JETS Team National Finalists in Physics Competition 

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/.

Boston Globe Names 17 BLA Students League All-Stars

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

Hapgood Library Awarded Prestigious Grant

Institute of Museum and Library Services funds support Hapgood Library’s work in U.S. History education
The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services has presented a prestigious $5,000 grant to the Hapgood Library at Boston Latin Academy.

The “History Revised @your library” grant, awarded through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, supports teacher planning and student learning in the area of United States History.

History teachers at the school will assist librarians Marta Estrada and Mary Moniz in the selection of new U.S. History books to expand the library’s collection. More than 500 Boston Latin Academy students take U.S. History courses each year, including many juniors and seniors enrolled in Advanced Placement U.S. History and “Facing History and Ourselves.” The grant also will support a project to develop research and writing skills for more than 300 ninth grade students taking American History courses.