The Bulldog's Woof

This morning, we discovered a litter of six fox kits in front of the school building. We contacted Braintree's Animal Control officer, who reassured us that their behavior is perfectly normal for this time of year. I am alerting families because it is important to speak with your kids about leaving wildlife alone.  Do not feed the kits or they may not leave the den as they are naturally supposed to do. Do not try to pick up or touch a wild animal! Stay aware of your surroundings, especially if waiting before or after school. If an animal approaches, it is probably just curious, and a loud noise should be enough to scare it off. Stay on the marked walkways and sidewalks. These kits are  incredibly  cute, but we need all members of the community to cut them a wide berth. About 8 weeks old now, they are starting to emerge from the den and explore on their own. Within days, they will leave the den and establish their own territories, probably in the many wooded areas around t...

TERM 3 END Term 3 ends on April 9. Teachers may close grades before or after that date, so pay attention to classroom announcements or ask the teacher directly if there are questions about which term an assignment or test will fall under. Check Aspen to ensure your grades are where you expect them to be and ask your teacher about any missing work or makeup work needed.  If you think you're all set,  double check   to be sure! ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL - PAJAMA DAY Student Council would like to thank everyone who donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. South raised over $2,000 in this year's fundraiser!  Donations will still be accepted online , or students can bring in cash or checks on Monday. Shout out to Allie R., Reese W., Quinn L., and Aurora R. who organized their own neighborhood bake sale yesterday and raised $305 for St. Jude's! Congratulations to the 5th grade who raised the most of all grades: $794.          C...

(1.) END OF TERM 1 Term 1 ends tomorrow (Thursday, 11/6) and the 2nd term begins on Friday. For the most part, there will be no changes in students' schedules with the change of term, but they only have a few days to make up missing work before grades in Aspen become final term averages on their report card, so make sure everything is where you expect it to be! Teachers offer after school help one day each week , so make sure to make an appointment with any teachers if you need to make up a missing assignment! (2.) SOUTH PTO MEETING THIS THURSDAY NIGHT @ 7PM -  see agenda November's Dine Out will be Thursday November 20th, the early dismissal day, at the Chateau in Braintree. Dine in or order take-away and make sure to mark your order for the South fundraiser! (3.) BRAINTREE POLICE DODGEBALL - FRIDAY 11/7 3-5PM @ EAST MS Don't forget the  Curry College Cheer and Dance event this ​Saturday  and the  BHS Basketball 3v3 Tournament on 11/11 . Lots to ​do ​with that extra...

  We've got a busy week ahead of us at South! TUESDAY  - Wear RED & WHITE to show support for the Girls and Boys Soccer Teams in Wednesday's Jamboree Games at East! WEDNESDAY - Wear ORANGE for Unity Day to stand up against bullying!  PTO t-shirts will be delivered Tuesday for those who've ordered them You don't need the No Bullies Just Bulldogs t-shirt to participate. Wear all the orange accessories you can find! FRIDAY  - Wear PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Braintree Schools'  Think Pink  Day! JAMBOREE - WEDNESDAY, 10/22 @ 3:30 We'll see you at East on Wednesday for the annual Soccer Jamboree games against East. The Bulldogs take the pitch at 3:30 PM in "the only game that matters" against their crosstown rival Cougars! OFM - FRIDAY, 10/24 Friday is OFM, the only schoolwide fundraiser of the year. Don't forget to contribute to keep our extracurricular enrichment programs up & running! DC RAFFLE Throughout the rest of this month....

  Next week, the community reading group at South will meet to begin discussing Jonathan Haidt's book,  The Anxious Generation .  I hope you'll join us!   All are invited to meet in the  South Media Center on TUESDAY, 2/4 at 7:00 PM  to discuss the first 2 parts of Haidt's book.  The Introduction & "A Tidal Wave: The Surge of Suffering" lay out the landscape of adolescents' plummeting mental wellness over the past 15-20 years.  In Part 2, "The Backstory: The Decline of the Play-Based Childhood," Haidt explores parenting & societal changes and the impacts on kids' social skills and development. In all, it's about 110 pages of reading, but it's not hard reading. Also, a bunch of the South teachers are listening to the audiobook and said it's good, if that's easier for you!  After February break, we'll meet on 2/25 to discuss the next section, where Haidt lays out the current setting for adolescents in a smartphone-enable...

Five quick items from South to wrap up your week! SOUTH PTO The PTO meets next Tuesday, 1/14, at 7pm in the South Library/Media Center. Agenda will be sent next week. Join the PTO Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/southmiddleptogroup Follow PTO on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/southmiddlepto SOUTH BASKETBALL Monday's basketball games will be held at East Middle School; the boys tip off at 3: 15 and the girls' game plans to begin at 4:30, immediately following the boys' game.   We encourage students & families to attend the games and give our players a true fan experience. It is essential to ensure a safe & enjoyable gameday experience for all players and spectators in attendance, so fans are expected to demonstrate good sportsmanship at all times.  All spectators must adhere to our  Fan Code of Conduct , and the  MIAA Taunting Policy . Students in attendance are reminded that the school's  Code of Conduct  applies to...

  Students will all be receiving a pair of solar eclipse glasses at the end of the day, thanks to your South PTO. We will share information about the solar eclipse with students, as well as safety information. See more information below, and  feel free to watch this introductory video  to better understand what's going on! From the K-12 Director of Science: A solar eclipse will occur today, Monday, April 8th, and Massachusetts is in the path of the eclipse. Although Braintree will not view 100% coverage to see totality, it will have about 92% coverage at peak.  The eclipse will begin to be visible around 2:15pm, peak around 3:30pm, and end around 4:40pm.  This is exciting but it is also important to make sure everyone is  safely  viewing the eclipse if they choose to do so. Specific solar eclipse glasses must be worn to protect one’s vision throughout the duration of the eclipse.  Thanks to additional funding from several school PTOs, the science ...