Black Pine Circle School

BPC speaks about the importance of electing Kamala Harris as vice president https://vimeo.com/502359874

So happy to have many of our 3rd-5th grade students on campus this week for hybrid learning and making music together outside!

BPC families joined together for our virtual Winterfest this week--enjoying a holiday sing-along, gingerbread house decorating, snowflake making, a Holiday Game Show, and other festive activities. Wishing all our families and happy and healthy holiday season!

This fall, prospective families are experiencing BPC in new and different ways. This video: https://vimeo.com/475286317 is one way that we’re showing potential community members all that makes BPC such a wonderful, welcoming school.

Using their identity writing from English class as a jumping off point, upper school students began with blind/modified drawings for their self-portraits. Check out their creations!

BPC's Virtual Pumpkin Carving & Decorating Party was such a fun way to get into the Halloween spirit! Kids told Halloween jokes and riddles, as well as spooky stories, while they created their Jack-O'-Lanterns together. Thanks to Parent Circle co-chair Myriah Rose and her sons Santi and Mateo for hosting and working the Halloween tunes!

Today we kicked off "Fall Fun for Families" month at BPC! BPC parent & VP of Berkeley Bowl, Gen Yasuda, very kindly donated a pumpkin for every child to pick up (safely) to carve or decorate! Thank you, Gen! Our Parent Circle leaders will be hosting a virtual Pumpkin Carving and Decorating Party later this month for our families! Seasonal fun for everyone!

The BPC community is supporting National Hunger Day today. If you donate to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, your gift will be matched up to $15,000. https://donate.accfb.org/HAM-2020 Thank you for helping to nourish families in Alameda County!

First Day of School at BPC! Wishing all our BPC families a great start to the year. We look forward to being together again on campus sometime soon!

Check out this amazing Marble Maze created by one of our students at BPC summer camp. "It's been nonstop Rube Goldberg machines at home since last Friday!" report his parents.

Have you been wondering what the BPC chickens have been doing during shelter-in-place? In the short run, BPC essential workers made sure the birds were cleaned and fed, but recently the chickens have moved into their "summer home" in Ms. Mytko's backyard. You can follow their adventures by following them on Instagram @bpcchickens!

Thank you to all our families and friends who voted for BPC in the Parents' Press 2020 Reader's Choice Awards! We're excited to announce that BPC is a winner in the following categories: Best Independent Elementary School Best Progressive Elementary School... Best Independent Middle School Best Progressive Middle School Best Math Programs

Following a truly meaningful virtual graduation ceremony for our 8th grade students last night, today families drove their student by BPC throughout the day to receive their diploma and be sent off in style by our upper school faculty, observing social distancing and wearing their face masks. What a great way to celebrate our wonderful Class of 2020! Congratulations to these remarkable young people as they embark on their high school journeys this fall.

Congratulations to our 5th grade graduates! In social-distance mode, Ms. Raffel, Ms. Colker, and Ms. Ronquillo were thrilled to host a drive-up mini-graduation, outside the lower school, for each fifth grade student in turn, honoring their accomplishments and all-around wonderfulness! We wish them all the best for their middle school journey.

40,000 Meals and Counting! Since the shelter-in-place meant that Joan Gallagher, owner of the Nourish You school lunch program, could no longer provide meals to our kids at BPC, she has devoted all her time and energy to giving back by feeding those most in need at this time. Thank you, Joan, for working tirelessly to provide nutritious meals for those in the community who would otherwise go hungry. We salute you! You can read more about Joan's important work here: https://www.berkeleyside.com//before-the-pandemic-this-che