News
Clubs, clubs and more clubs!
Many new clubs have made their way from ideas to reality this year at Bay Farm Middle School. Below is a list of all the lunchtime activities and where to join them!… Read more
In memoriam: Two beloved guinea pigs
Two of Bay Farm’s beloved guinea pigs, Mulligan and Chewbacca, recently passed away. They had a long, joyful life making all of Bay Farm’s students happy… Read more
Halloween marked with parade and pumpkins
On October 31st, Bay Farm School held a pumpkin carving contest as well as a Halloween Parade. This was Bay Farm School’s second year hosting a Halloween Parade. It began last year due to Sienna Arroyo’s petition to the Alameda Unified School District… Read more
6th grade camping trip full of adventure
On Oct. 16, the 6th graders went on an annual overnight trip to Mother Lode in Coloma, Calif., along with their teachers and chaperones. Our principal, Mrs. Crawford… Read more
2018-2019 articles
Math Club builds problem solving
The new school year has brought a new club into existence: Mr. Valois’ Math Club. Here, students can receive homework help or may challenge themselves with harder problems… Read more
Halloween parade caps student activism
This year, schools around Alameda got to do something different for Halloween, thanks to a group of students led by Sienna Arroyo, a 3rd grader at Bay Farm. On October 9, Sienna went to the Alameda United School District board… Read more
‘Hour of Play’ takes over Bay Farm
On December 7, Bay Farm School had their first Hour of Play for the school year. Teachers hosted activities in their classrooms, such as “Bring Your Own Slime” in Mrs. Reynolds’s room, speed cup stacking in Mrs. Oducayen’s room…. Read more
Students unite for Tobacco Free Alameda
On November 17th, a group of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders volunteered to walk for the local action group, Tobacco Free Alameda, to get the word out about the dangers of children being targeted… Read more
New clubs crop up
This year at Bay Farm School, clubs are back on almost every day of the week and are open to any newcomers! Just go to a meeting during lunch or after school and sign up… Read more
2017-2018 articles
Mayor marks Mr. Frank’s retirement
Mr. Frank, our wonderful custodian, is retiring at the end of the school year after 14 years of service. On April 30, the mayor of Alameda, Trish Spencer, visited Bay Farm School to declare the day “Mr. Frank Day” in honor of his retirement. Frank Munoz has been a spectacular custodian in several different schools… Read more
Lime Bike vandalism sparks concern
Lime Bikes are taking Alameda by storm, and it’s easy to see why. The dockless bikes are available to rent for an unlimited amount of time, and when you’re done you can just leave them and not have to worry about them getting stolen… Read more
Imagining a Constitution without amendments
Recently, the 8th grade students created comic strips about what would happen if one of the amendments to the Constitution was repealed. Ms. Linderme, who gave the assignment, said… Read more
Girl Scouts embrace new tech for cookie sales
That time of year has come and gone again because, yes folks, it was Girl Scout cookie season. The first date that Girl Scouts were allowed to sell was January 3 and the last was March 4. Bay Farm student Benjamin Wilson as “delicious but unhealthy” and for the most part, people… Read more
Students rally for women’s equality
On January 20, thousands of women’s rights supporters gathered around the world to support human rights and female equality. Marches in Oakland and San Francisco drew large crowds and were attended… Read more
Bay Farm hosts first ‘Day of Play’
On February 9, Bay Farm’s Student Council hosted a school-wide event as part of the Global Day of Play. The main focus of the event was to provide kids with an opportunity for unstructured play and fun… Read more
Bay Farm rallies donations for wildfire victims
Early in October, vicious wildfires raged throughout Sonoma County, destroying countless homes, and leaving lots of people without shelter. Mrs. Otieku’s class decided to join relief efforts by advertising and gathering donations for fire victims. The relief efforts were organized… Read more
Student Leadership gears up for the year
On September 20, the 2017-18 Bay Farm School Student Leadership team was selected based on their leadership skills, creativity, honesty, and many other things by faculty advisors. The team includes students from 4th grade through 7th grade. The representatives are: Tomas Lombardo, Daniela Petersen,… Read more
2016-2017 articles
Newly sprouted club flourishes
Every Thursday, 6th graders gather around the greenhouse at Bay Farm School, eager to find out what fun Ms. Garner will bring them. This is GACC, Garden and Cooking Club. In GACC, middle school students have fun growing and cooking organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs. So far, only 6th graders are participating. However, this club is open… Read more
7th graders hike Yosemite
At the end of April and beginning of May, Bay Farm 7th graders stayed in Yosemite National Park for three days. Students went on hikes and learned about the landscape around them from the nonprofit organization Naturebridge… Read more
Trump travel 
order prompts debate
On January 28, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to instate a travel ban against people entering the U.S. from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Iran. In spite of coming on the heels of his campaign promise… Read more
Student Leadership kicks off
On March 3, the 2016-2017 Bay Farm School Student Leadership team was sworn in during Morning Ceremony. The team includes 4th through 8th graders: Jade Ah-Hing, Brenden Dalipe, Anika Hofmeyer, Ethan Ha, Ella Yu, Nicholas… Read more
New BFMS building on hold
The Alameda Unified School District’s plan to build a new building on the Bay Farm campus for the middle school has been postponed, according to school district officials. AUSD Chief Business Officer Shariq Khan said… Read more
PTSA Reflections contest encourages student art
Every year Bay Farm School’s PTSA holds an art competition called Reflections, where students compete in categories such as dance, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual… Read more
Bay Farm School contributes to Food Bank
On Friday, November 18, children from grades K-8 gathered on the green in the center of Bay Farm School. This is where grades K-5 meet everyday for morning assemblies when it is not raining, and where grades K-8 meet every Friday for morning assemblies… Read more
Students embrace new BFMS schedule
The middle school schedule at Bay Farm School has had some changes over the last few months. Here’s how the new schedule works: There are new Exploration classes in 6th and 7th grades… Read more
Middle schoolers “glow” dancing
Bay Farm’s middle school held its first dance of the year on the afternoon of Nov. 9 in the Multipurpose Room — a glow dance, where lots of people wore glow items and clothes. Chaperoned by the… Read more
Girl Scout carnival: “Everyone belongs”
“Everyone Belongs.” That is a saying used all around the Bay Area, to show we accept everyone no matter who they may love, their gender, or their race. Four 8th-grade girls in Girl Scout troop 32999 — Mia Bazo, Skye Krainer, Maikhanh Hoang and Khai-Ly Tran… Read more
2015-2016 articles
8th Graders Return from NY, DC
On April 28th, 18 of Ms. Katie Linderme’s class of 8th graders hopped on the 11:30 p.m. flight to Chicago, and then, after a short layover, continued on our way to Washington, D.C. By the time we reached D.C, it was early the next morning… Read more
Are You Smarter Than a Bay Farmer?
Adults, teachers and students recently broke out their trivia knowledge just to see… “Who’s Smarter Than a Bay Farmer?” This fun trivia competition, which happened Thursday, May 26th, included categories for Individual, Class Team… Read more
Bay Farm getting a new middle school building
Alameda Unified School District will build Bay Farm School a new building on campus for the middle school soon, according to district plans. The building will have four to six classrooms, and may have two floors. Planning is beginning… Read more
Bay Farm wins prestigious Ribbon Award
Friday, April 22nd was Earth Day; Earth Day, 2016 is also the day Bay Farm School was named a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School and a 2016 California Green Ribbon School. Bay Farm School was the only public… Read more
Middle schoolers visit AHS for “Footloose”
On March 3rd, 2016, high schoolers from Alameda High School presented a musical, Footloose, to a couple of middle schools and elementary schools, including Bay Farm Middle School. The play was about a boy from Chicago who loves to… Read more
Flipped classrooms: Right for BFMS?
A school in Illinois is using a method of teaching called the Flipped Classroom! Science teacher Collin Black, who uses the flipped classroom method, helps his students do work in class, and sends his lectures home for students to listen… Read more
Exploration Wheel creates options
This year, BFMS began its exploration wheel: a system of four electives that rotates every trimester. The four electives are Coding, Archeology, Art, and Health & Wellness. Each student is assigned three explorations every year… Read more
Students embrace Reflections art contest
The Bay Farm PTA Reflections winners were announced in December. Many students from all grades submitted entries, and the competition was fierce. Reflections is a program started by the National PTA to work art into students’ educations… Read more
Middle schoolers tackle NHD again
Bay Farm Middle schoolers are participating in National History Day, or NHD, again this year. National History Day was first introduced to this school last year, when 7th grade teachers Nancy Ely and Jeannette Frechou came to Bay Farm. Bay Farm is the only… Read more
First trimester honor roll announced
BFMS students had a blast throughout the first trimester of the 2015-2016 school year. Many students who earned a 3.5-3.99 grade point average (GPA) made the Honor Roll, and a few students went beyond that and made the Principal’s Honor Roll by achieving… Read more
2016 Presidential election draws interest
It’s just a few more months until Election Day, and a batch of new and old presidential candidates are here to attempt to become presidents of the United States! Election Day is the on the first day of November. Unfortunately, middle schoolers… Read more
BFMS’s first movie night of the year a success
The first BFMS Movie Night of the year was held in January. The Student Government hosted the event, which showed The Maze Runner. During the movie, snacks — including popcorn, candy, chips and soda — were sold for $1 each. According to… Read more
BFMS student government representatives announced
Middle School Student Government representatives have been announced for this school year! Representatives for grades 6, 7, and 8 are 8th grader Chloé Amaden, 6th grader Veronica Baum, 7th grader Mia Bazo, 7th grader Serena Bhalla, 8th grader Jay Bond, 6th grader Ryan Chang… Read more
How are last year’s 8th graders doing in high school?
Last year’s graduating 8th graders have gone on to attend several different high schools this year. We decided to check up on them and see how they are doing. Two current Alameda High School freshmen who graduated from Bay Farm’s 8th grade, Rowan Esquer and… Read more
6th graders bond at MotherLode
For future 6th graders who want to know, this “always looking forward” place — MotherLode — is an extraordinary wilderness with trees and a river. Just two miles away from Coloma, where Bay Farm fourth graders do their first overnight trip, MotherLode and its ways… Read more
8th graders write their own novels
Bay Farm’s 8th grade class participated in the Youth Writer’s Program (YWP) for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November. Students’ goals were to write a novel in a month. “It gives you the opportunity to show your inner imagination,” said 8th… Read more
8th graders hold colonial booth day
On October 30th, Teacher Katie Linderme’s 8th grade class held an event called Colonial Booth Day, where students did presentation on eight of the original American 13 colonies. Colonial Booth Day was for the 8th grade class and the 5th grade classes; each colony group tried to… Read more
7th graders head to Yosemite overnight
Bay Farm 7th graders went to Yosemite National Park on October 28-30th. We learned about nature and bonding with our classmates. Most 7th graders said they liked being together, and some said that had been their very first time to Yosemite… See the slideshow!
Bay Farm students channel creativity to pumpkins
Bay Farm’s student leadership puts on the Annual Pumpkin Carving/Decorating Contest every year at Halloween. Winners received a small bag of goodies and a picture of their winning pumpkin was placed in the office for all to see… See the slideshow!
Bay Farm celebrates biggest Coast Guard Day ever
On Tuesday, Oct. 27, Bay Farm School hosted the Coast Guard in what has become an annual event. It was the largest and most exciting so far. In past years, Coast Guard officers and personnel came out for an hour or two in the morning to escort… Read more
2014-2015 articles
8th graders finishing up time at Bay Farm
Eighth graders have had a fantastic year at BFMS. They went to Washington, D.C. and New York, helped out at the Crab Feed, showed their groovy styles during spirit week (especially on Throwback Thursday, where they could dress up in 80’s style), pioneered U.S. History in NHD, and wrote novels… Read more
BFMS students look forward to elective classes
Electives have been one of the things separating Bay Farm from other middle school programs around Alameda. But not anymore. Elective classes are coming to BFMS in the fall. In a short interview recently, Principal Babs Freitas said that “All I know is that there are definitely going to be electives.” No further information has been made available yet… Read more
7th graders present to Society for American Archaeology
A group of 7th graders, along with 7th grade teacher Nancy Ely, presented at the Society for American Archaeology in San Francisco about the Bay Farm Shellmound Project in April. More than 100 people were present for the BFMS presentation… Read more
Second trimester honor roll announced
BFMS students did exceptionally well in the second trimester of the 2014-2015 school year, with more students making Honor Roll or Principal’s Honor Roll. Students who earned a 3.5-3.99 grade point average (GPA) made the Honor Roll, and a few students went beyond that and made the Principal’s Honor Roll… Read more
Science Fair encourages scientific method
On April 17, students at all grade levels participated in the first-ever Bay Farm School Science Fair. More than 120 students registered for participation, and 111 projects boards were taken out. In the end, 87 students submitted projects… Read more
National History Day projects go to county competition
For more than four months, Bay Farm middle schoolers worked extremely hard on a project called National History Day. In March, about 20 of them, representing 12 projects, competed against middle schoolers around Alameda County at the Oakland Museum of California… Read more
Slideshow: BFMS celebrates Spirit Week
Middle schoolers celebrated spirit week last week (March 16-20) with five days of fun. Enjoy the slideshow, then take our Spirit Week poll! See the slideshow
Crab Feed benefits middle schoolers
On February 27th, Bay Farm School held its very first Crab Feed fundraiser at the Elk’s Lodge. Many Bay Farm parents and teachers attended this event on a Friday night for an evening of dancing, games, and, of course, crab. Several BFMS eighth graders also attended… Read more
Vandalism at Bay Farm School targets kindergarten
Bay Farm School was a target of vandals recently. On February 13, several people broke into Moira Hester’s kindergarten classroom. The vandals broke in through a window and proceeded to turn tables over, spray paint graffiti on a wall, destroy a fire extinguisher… Read more
National History Day projects completed
Middle school students turned in their National History Day projects Wednesday, Feb. 25, and that night welcomed throngs of parents, family members, teachers and others eager to see the results of their months of research and creativity. Exhibits included websites, documentaries… Read more
International Pellet Watch presents to 7th grade
In December, the seventh grade heard a presentation on ocean pollution that spurred them to action on environmentalism. Maybelline Yeo is a Ph.D. candidate in organic geochemistry at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. She was representing the International Pellet Watch... Read more
Students disappointed in Movie Night postponement
The first-ever Middle School Movie Night at Bay Farm School was postponed by the school a day before it happened, apparently due to concerns about insufficient supervision, liability issues and unplanned contingencies. A new Movie Night date was announced this week… Read more
Teacher in the Spotlight: Moira Hester
Moira Hester is a kindergarten teacher at Bay Farm School. She has been teaching kindergarten for 11 years. She was hired to be a kindergarten teacher at Bay Farm in the 2003-2004 school year. Ms. Hester also coaches the BFMS Girls Basketball team… Read more
Bay Farm children bring the Lunar New Year parade to BFMS
Bay Farm kindergartners and first graders visited middle school classrooms on Thursday, Feb. 19 to celebrate Lunar New Year. Check out the slideshow! See more
Middle school student government elected
In December, six middle schooler students were elected into the newly created BFMS student government. Eighth-grader Ethan Muon ran a tight race against several of his classmates, but in the end was elected president. Sixth-grader Khai-ly Tran was voted vice president… Read more
Middle School puts on first “Fun-Raiser”
BFMS hosted its first “Fun-Raiser” at AMF Southshore Lanes in December: A part fundraiser for the middle school, and part fun time for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. The event was originally scheduled to be an ice skating extravaganza with an alternative for bowling… Read more
First trimester honor roll announced
BFMS students had a blast throughout the first trimester of the 2014-2015 school year. Many students who earned a 3.5-3.99 grade point average (GPA) made the Honor Roll, and a few students went beyond that and made the Principal’s Honor… Read more
Ukulele Club turns in finely tuned performances
The Ukulele Club at BFMS has nine members, three mentors, and an amazing sound. Eighth-grader Emily Rutherford, and sixth-graders Zelinda Strell, Waverley Achacoso, Mia Trancoso, Addy Chaney, Olivia Liuson, Anna Leong, Ella Hildalgo, and Grace Wasson… Read more
8th graders participate in national writing competition
In November 2014, Bay Farm’s eighth grade was the only registered public school class to participate in a nation-wide event called NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Every November, authors all across America choose to participate in this event that… Read more
BFMS students test B.Y.O.D. program for district
BFMS students are the testers for the new B.Y.O.D. (Bring Your Own Device) program, and if it all goes well it will be implemented at all schools in the Alameda Unified School District. B.Y.O.D. was implanted this year, allowing students to bring the device they… Read more
Bay Farm PTA to host first annual Crab Feed at the Elks Lodge Feb. 27
25% of net proceeds will go directly back to our Middle School program — middle school students will be working the event. Parents can belly up to a delicious dinner of crab, pasta and salad, followed by games, a cake auction and dancing. Tickets go on sale the first week of February. Space is limited to 200 guests, so parents, don’t wait to buy your tickets. For more information, contact Rak Bhalla at rakjody@gmail.com
8th graders preparing for a trip to the nation’s capitol
Bay Farm eighth-graders are heading somewhere pretty special this Spring Break. If you’re thinking “White House,” you guessed it: Washington, D.C.! During this five-day trip, students will take a red-eye flight to Washington, D.C., where they’ll visit the Smithsonian, tour memorials and Arlington National Cemetery, and… Read more
Who are The Steves, and what do they do? The Minecraft Club gets creative
Since the start of the year, students and teachers have started many clubs, one of which is The Steves — otherwise known as the Minecraft Club. The club was started by eighth-grader Gabe Manibusan, who is now the president. Other officers include… Read more
Bay Farm families flock to Fall Fest
On October 18, Bay Farm School held its first-ever Fall Festival and raised about $6,000 for the PTA. Students who attended were able to buy tickets they could cash in for prizes at student- and parent-run games. Some of these games include a whipped-cream pie face… Read more
Leadership holds first-ever elections this week
Student government elections are happening this week in the Bay Farm middle school program, and many students are running to be a part of the new leadership experience. “I like politics and want to try a new experience,” said seventh-grader Jay Bond, who is running… Read more
Bay Farm’s annual pumpkin-carving contest draws crowds
Bay Farm students of all ages celebrated Halloween in the annual pumpkin decorating contest, put on by the K-5 Student Council. Take a look at the slideshow below to revisit the winners and entries!
Walk ‘n’ Roll to School Day
Eighth-grader Elia Ayala and sixth-grader Samantha Gable hand out Walk ‘n’ Roll goodies to first-grader Brody Esquer in October.
B.E.A.T helps take out the trash
By staff writer Heather Yeung
The B.E.A.T (Bay Farm Environmental Action Team) is doing regalia posters at the middle school sorting center to help people if they forget where the trash goes. B.E.A.T finds trash out on the 6-8 grade yard and puts it on the poster. Then they hang it up on top of the of the proper bin. The B.E.A.T is gong to make three different poster to hang off the three bins. They already put up one of the signs. It was for the landfill bin. They collected the trash last week and hot glued them on too. They are collecting materials for the blue bin sign.
The Dolphin Tail, Voice of Bay Farm Middle School 