Barrington Middle School BMS Connected Learning Newsletter 4.28.2019 The BMS Learning Community is Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Succeed! Upcoming Events: (Note: Please review the dates as dates are subject to change due to a number of factors from one newsletter to the next).
BMS Spotlight on Learning: This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mrs. Alison Pomeranz. Over the past two weeks, Mrs. Pomeranz has been working with a small group of students offering them an opportunity to paint various scenes and portraits after school. Painting provides students with an opportunity to explore and decrease stress and anxiety. Well done Mrs. Pomeranz. This week we would also like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mrs. Lori Dalessio and Mrs. Diana Ouellette. Last week, Mrs. Dalessio and Mrs. Ouellette volunteered to cover for a teacher who was absent and assist with the administration of RICAS. Thank you Lori and Diana! BMS New Information: Visit from Commissioner Infante-Green: Commissioner Infante-Green will be visiting Barrington Middle School on Monday, April 29, 2019. Monday, April 29, 2019 will be the Commissioner’s first day on the job and Barrington Middle School will be the first school that she visits. BMS is honored to have Commissioner Infante-Green and we are excited for her to see our learning community and see teaching and learning built on Deep Learning principles. Commissioner Infante-Green will be visiting Mr. Mark Davis, Mrs. Becky Henderson, Ms. Abbruzzi, and hear from Blue Cluster teachers and students. Simultaneously, a national reporter from the Hechinger Report will also be visiting to learn more about BMS’s approach on teaching and learning. This is a true honor to have the Commissioner visit as well as a national reporter to learn more about what we do on a daily basis. BMS Old Information: Chromebook Care:
Remind: Remind is a communication platform that helps schools and districts reach and engage with their communities. Because it is a texting system, important last minute notices such as late buses, early releases, etc can get out quickly. If you are interested in participating, please click on this link: https://www.remind.com/join/bmsfam BMS Standing Items: BMS Building Update: The new building construction is well underway. To help with communication, each week I have been releasing the BMS Building Project Blog. You can access the blog by visiting the BMS Building Project Homepage or the direct link to the BMS Building Project Blog. In addition, each Tuesday morning we will have a student volunteer give updates to our student body during morning announcements. BMS School Improvement Plan Working Draft: I encourage you to periodically review the below link of our BMS Working School Improvement Plan. (note: Student Success Goals have been finalized and presented to our School Committee). BMS SMART Template 2018 - 2019 (Working Draft) Community Information:
Letter Carriers Food Drive - Saturday, May 11: Food Drive Flyer - Click Here HMS Tough Tiger - Save the Date!: The HMS Tough Tiger event is coming up on May 5 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. Register online now! www.hampdenmeadowspto.org/tough-tiger.html Registration for Pop Warner: Registration is open for Cheer and Football. Link here for more information.
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Barrington Middle School BMS Connected Learning Newsletter 4.22.2019 The BMS Learning Community is Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Succeed! Upcoming Events: (Note: Please review the dates as dates are subject to change due to a number of factors from one newsletter to the next).
Note from Dr. Anderson: Dear Students, This week you will begin our State’s RICAS Assessment. I know that the very word, “assessment” can cause a bit of stress and anxiety for some, as well as, for others, may seem like an unimportant mundane task. These feelings are typical and normal. This testing season, I want you to approach each assessment with a mindset of “show what you know.” Think of these assessments as an opportunity to celebrate how much you have learned over this past year. Each of you have worked so incredibly hard this year and your teachers, your parents, Mrs. Bulk and I are very proud of you. Throughout the year you have demonstrated high levels of engagement, grit, problem solving skills, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity. You are ready! All that I ask is that you give your personal best! Prior to each assessment, take a deep breath and, if you feel compelled, repeat the following: “I am excited to show what I know.” Sincerely, Dr. Anderson BMS Spotlight on Learning: This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mrs. Jaime Poirier for her leadership and organization of this year’s 7th Grade college visit, and our 7th Grade Teachers for your support! The week prior to vacation, Mrs. Poirier and the 7th Grade clusters visited Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI to learn about educational options post high school. Students had an opportunity to tour the campus, learn about various educational/career opportunities, as well as interact with college students. Thank you Mrs. Poirier and 7th Grade teachers for making this trip possible! BMS New Information: Chromebook Care:
BMS Old Information: RICAS and New Science Assessment Testing Window: Cluster Preference and Student Information Forms: Due to an anticipated busier summer (moving into the new building), we will be beginning our scheduling process much earlier this year. One of the first important pieces of information is the cluster preference responses from families. Like last year, once cluster assignments have been made, we will not be able to make any adjustments. Due to varying needs, approximately 60% of preferences are fulfilled. Please see the linked forms for incoming 7th and 8th grade parent/guardian to complete by Friday, April 26, 2019. (note: incoming 6th grade forms will be emailed out after the parent orientation and due a few weeks after that). Incoming 7th Grade Information: Incoming 7th Grade families are able to identify their preference for cluster experience (looping or single year), and not their preference for a particular custer. 2019 - 2020 7th Grade BMS Cluster Experience/Program Preference Form and Student Information Incoming 8th Grade Information: Incoming 8th Grade families are able to identify their preferred allied art experiences. Students leaving Orange or Razz will be placed on a single year experience. Students in Red will remain in Red. (note: form has been adjusted) 2019 - 2020 8th Grade BMS Program Preference Form and Student Information FDA- E Cigarette Public Health Release: This past week, the FDA released a public health notice indicating some E Cigarette (ie. Juuls) users are having seizures. Please see a link to the complete notice below: https://mailchi.mp/851172dc9a7f/aj-1425049 News from the School Nurse: Newsletter from the School Nurse - Click here News from the BMS Library: Click here for the newsletter for all things BMS library New Enrichment Class Starting: Woodworking Enrichment- Mondays **8th class will be made up on a different day - STARTS 4/29 Enrichment Volleyball The Thursday session is full but a Monday Session has been added. Register on www.myschoolbucks.com. Classes start the week of 4/22- the day we get back from vacation. Questions? [email protected] BMS Remind: Remind is a communication platform that helps schools and districts reach and engage with their communities. Because it is a texting system, important last minute notices such as late buses, early releases, etc can get out quickly. If you are interested in participating, please click on this link: https://www.remind.com/join/bmsfam Vaping: Over the past few weeks, a few parents have reached out regarding information their children reported to them at home about middle school students vaping. It was important for Mrs. Bulk and I to provide parents with information regarding vaping. Please review the linked presentation, and I encourage you to review it with your child to open up discussion/conversation. Vaping 101 What Parents Need to Know Slide Presentation Vaping 101 What Parents Need to Know VLOG BMS Standing Items: BMS Building Update: The new building construction is well underway. To help with communication, each week I have been releasing the BMS Building Project Blog. You can access the blog by visiting the BMS Building Project Homepage or the direct link to the BMS Building Project Blog. In addition, each Tuesday morning we will have a student volunteer give updates to our student body during morning announcements. BMS School Improvement Plan Working Draft: I encourage you to periodically review the below link of our BMS Working School Improvement Plan. (note: Student Success Goals have been finalized and presented to our School Committee). BMS SMART Template 2018 - 2019 (Working Draft) Community Information:
Letter Carriers Food Drive - Saturday, May 11: Food Drive Flyer - Click Here HMS Tough Tiger - Save the Date!: The HMS Tough Tiger event is coming up on May 5 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. Register online now! www.hampdenmeadowspto.org/tough-tiger.html Registration for Pop Warner: Registration is open for Cheer and Football. Link here for more information. Barrington Middle School BMS Connected Learning Newsletter 4.8.2019 The BMS Learning Community is Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Succeed! Upcoming Events: (Note: Please review the dates as dates are subject to change due to a number of factors from one newsletter to the next).
Note from Dr. Anderson: This past Friday was one of my proudest moments at Barrington Middle School. On Friday, we hosted a visit for educators from all across the country to see Deeper Learning in action. Our guests had an opportunity to hear a brief presentation from me, to visit classrooms, to listen to a faculty panel discussion, and to culminate their visit, heard from a student panel of ten students. Our students, your children, did an amazing job describing to our guests the variety of Deeper Learning projects they have been involved in and what the experience was like for them as learners. They each did an amazing job speaking eloquently and passionately about learning and how Deeper Learning has only enriched their education by making real world connections and applications. If you have a few minutes, I encourage you to listen to the student panel below. They did an amazing job! https://youtu.be/3sAX8H9WNHk BMS Spotlight on Learning: This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mrs. Kristen Pedroso, Mrs. Abigail Williams, Mr. Peter McFarland, Mrs. Mary Roberts, Mrs. Kellie Polando, Mrs. Connie Oswald, Mrs. Julia Texeira, and Mrs. Meg Snyder for opening their classrooms for this past Friday’s Deeper Learning walk. Our guests were so impressed with the level of student engagement, student voice and choice, and the types of activities our students engage in on a daily basis! Well done! Also, we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mrs. Becky Henderson, Mr. Shawn Henderson, Mr. Jeff Blanchet, and Ms. Danielle Teoli for serving on a faculty panel to describe Deeper Learning in action at BMS. Our faculty panel did an amazing job explaining the planning process, implementation, and connections made with the various Project Based Learning opportunities our students engage in. Great work team! BMS New Information: Cluster Preference and Student Information Forms: Due to an anticipated busier summer (moving into the new building), we will be beginning our scheduling process much earlier this year. One of the first important pieces of information is the cluster preference responses from families. Like last year, once cluster assignments have been made, we will not be able to make any adjustments. Due to varying needs, approximately 60% of preferences are fulfilled. Please see the linked forms for incoming 7th and 8th grade parent/guardian to complete by Friday, April 26, 2019. (note: incoming 6th grade forms will be emailed out after the parent orientation and due a few weeks after that). Incoming 7th Grade Information: Incoming 7th Grade families are able to identify their preference for cluster experience (looping or single year), and not their preference for a particular custer. 2019 - 2020 7th Grade BMS Cluster Experience/Program Preference Form and Student Information Incoming 8th Grade Information: Incoming 8th Grade families are able to identify their preferred allied art experiences. Students leaving Orange or Razz will be placed on a single year experience. Students in Red will remain in Red. 2019 - 2020 8th Grade BMS Program Preference Form and Student Information FDA- E Cigarette Public Health Release: This past week, the FDA released a public health notice indicating some E Cigarette (ie. Juuls) users are having seizures. Please see a link to the complete notice below: https://mailchi.mp/851172dc9a7f/aj-1425049 News from the School Nurse: Newsletter from the School Nurse - Click here News from the BMS Library: Click here for the newsletter for all things BMS library BMS Old Information: New Enrichment Class Starting: The Thursday session is full but a Monday Session has been added. Register on www.myschoolbucks.com. Classes start the week of 4/22- the day we get back from vacation. Questions? [email protected] BMS Remind: Remind is a communication platform that helps schools and districts reach and engage with their communities. Because it is a texting system, important last minute notices such as late buses, early releases, etc can get out quickly. If you are interested in participating, please click on this link: https://www.remind.com/join/bmsfam Vaping: Over the past few weeks, a few parents have reached out regarding information their children reported to them at home about middle school students vaping. It was important for Mrs. Bulk and I to provide parents with information regarding vaping. Please review the linked presentation, and I encourage you to review it with your child to open up discussion/conversation. Vaping 101 What Parents Need to Know Slide Presentation Vaping 101 What Parents Need to Know VLOG BMS Standing Items: BMS Building Update: The new building construction is well underway. To help with communication, each week I have been releasing the BMS Building Project Blog. You can access the blog by visiting the BMS Building Project Homepage or the direct link to the BMS Building Project Blog. In addition, each Tuesday morning we will have a student volunteer give updates to our student body during morning announcements. BMS School Improvement Plan Working Draft: I encourage you to periodically review the below link of our BMS Working School Improvement Plan. (note: Student Success Goals have been finalized and presented to our School Committee). BMS SMART Template 2018 - 2019 (Working Draft) Community Information:
Letter Carriers Food Drive - Saturday, May 11: Food Drive Flyer - Click Here Barrington Town Council: Children’s Community Forum Meeting: April 16, 2019 at 1:00 pm in Town Hall Providing an opportunity for our community’s youngest citizens to observe how our local government works Click here for more information. BPS Volunteer Breakfast: Join us as we celebrate our BPS volunteers on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 from 9:00 - 11:00 am in the Barrington Town Council Chambers (upstairs of Town Hall). Breakfast, music, door prizes and more. Click here to RSVP. HMS Tough Tiger - Save the Date!: The HMS Tough Tiger event is coming up on May 5 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. Register online now! www.hampdenmeadowspto.org/tough-tiger.html Registration for Pop Warner: Registration is open for Cheer and Football. Link here for more information. Upcoming Barrington Library Programs for students in grades 6-12: Barrington Middle School BMS Connected Learning Newsletter 4.1.2019 The BMS Learning Community is Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Succeed! Upcoming Events: (Note: Please review the dates as dates are subjected to change due to a number of factors from one newsletter to the next).
Note from Dr. Anderson: Over the past few weeks or so I have heard that families were inquiring about our school’s approach with how teachers handle popular topics in our community (national, regional, local) that our students may or may not be discussing in school. What is most important to us is that students are able to have a voice and feel that their voice is heard without stifling or shutting them down. Our approach has been and will always be for teachers to take a neutral and supportive stance, create a safe space for students to share their thoughts and feelings, for teachers, who are professionals, not to impose their personal biases and opinions, provide further support to those students who may need it, and to ultimately get classroom discussion back on track. Finally, it is important for me to note that our teachers do their absolute best to navigate waters, all the while keeping their focus on developing the whole child. BMS Spotlight on Learning: This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Eli Terrell. This past Friday, Eli competed in our State’s Geography Bee. Eli won first place! This is Eli’s third year representing Barrington Middle School in this event. Way to go Eli! This week we would also like to shine our BMS Spotlight on our Mathcounts team coached by Mrs. Orrall and supported by Mrs. Oswald and Mr. Marley. BMS finished 3rd in the state just behind Gordon and Wheeler. In particular, Marie Choi-Schattle came in 3rd place in the State and Kamran Pahlavi came in 4th. Marie and Kamran will be going on to represent RI in the National competition in Orlando! Great job coaches and students! This week would also like to shine our BMS Spotlight on our Science Olympiad team coached by Mrs. Whitney and her son, Callan Whitney. The BMS Science Olympiad Team came in second, and missed a bid for the national competition by just nine points, which was heartbreaking. They medaled in fourteen of the 23 events! Below is the breakdown: GOLD Disease Detectives (Izzy Mysak and Priya Gottlieb) Experimental Design (Shaswat Singh, Aidan Hurlock and Cassin Edgar-Smith) Fossils (Izzy Mysak and Aidan Hurlock) Roller Coaster (Katarina Whitney and Caitlyn McConville) SILVER Anatomy and Physiology (Vikram Bansal and Simon Paricio) Herpetology (Izzy Mysak and Priya Gottlieb) Water Quality (Ellie Dunn and Priya Gottlieb) BRONZE Boomilever (Caitlyn McConville and Simon Paricio) Circuit Lab (Remi Charpentier and Troy Tian) Crime Busters (Shaswat Singh and Ellie Dunn) Game On (Remi Charpentier and Troy Tian) Mystery Architecture (Ellie Dunn and Caitlyn McConville) Potions and Poisons (Ellie Dunn and Harrison Wang) Thermodynamics (Simon Paricio and Harrison Wang) This week we would also like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Skadberg for organizing last week’s faculty school spirit week. Thank you for organizing the events and games. Our faculty had a blast participating. From an “anonymous” faculty member, this week would also like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mrs. Poirier. “Jaime Poirier is awesome! Jaime is incredibly efficient in getting things done to help students - changing schedules, helping them with social-emotional needs, contacting parents, and the list goes on. Her positive attitude and ability to solve problems has been an asset to our school. Her presence in the hallways, at lunch, and in the classrooms really help students make a connection with her. We are so lucky to have her here at BMS!” -appreciative faculty member! Finally, we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mr. McFarland, Mrs. Ouellette, Mrs. Henderson, Mr. Davis, Mr. Kearns, and Mrs. Carroll for opening their doors for our first ever BMS Parent Deeper Learning Walk. Parents who participated were super impressed with the level of student engagement and the connections students were making to the real world. Great job teachers! BMS New Information: BMS Family Deeper Learning Walk: This past Thursday, we hosted the first ever BMS Family Deeper Learning Walk. We had nearly 16 families participate in the walk which began first with an overview of Deeper Learning at BMS, classroom visits, and a debrief/discussion of what resonated with parents who walked. Families were so impressed with the level of student engagement, connections being made to the real world, and how technology was being used to enhance the educational experience. The students who they spoke with were eloquent in their explanations and passionate about their learning. It certainly was a moment of pride for what our teachers and students do on a daily basis. New Enrichment Class Starting: Volleyball Enrichment Thursdays, 4/25-6/13 2:35-3:35 Registration is open on www.myschoolbucks.com BMS Remind: Remind is a communication platform that helps schools and districts reach and engage with their communities. Because it is a texting system, important last minute notices such as late buses, early releases, etc can get out quickly. If you are interested in participating, please click on this link: https://www.remind.com/join/bmsfam BMS Old Information: BMS Community Service Club Clothing Drive: The Community Service Club will be collecting clean clothes for all ages until Friday, March 29. Donations will be given to a middle school in Providence. Collection boxes are in the BMS office. Vaping: Over the past few weeks, a few parents have reached out regarding information their children reported to them at home about middle school students vaping. It was important for Mrs. Bulk and I to provide parents with information regarding vaping. Please review the linked presentation, and I encourage you to review it with your child to open up discussion/conversation. Vaping 101 What Parents Need to Know Slide Presentation Vaping 101 What Parents Need to Know VLOG BMS Standing Items: BMS Building Update: The new building construction is well underway. To help with communication, each week I have been releasing the BMS Building Project Blog. You can access the blog by visiting the BMS Building Project Homepage or the direct link to the BMS Building Project Blog. In addition, each Tuesday morning we will have a student volunteer give updates to our student body during morning announcements. BMS School Improvement Plan Working Draft: I encourage you to periodically review the below link of our BMS Working School Improvement Plan. (note: Student Success Goals have been finalized and presented to our School Committee). BMS SMART Template 2018 - 2019 (Working Draft) Community Information:
BPS Volunteer Breakfast: Join us as we celebrate our BPS volunteers on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 from 9:00 - 11:00 am in the Barrington Town Council Chambers (upstairs of Town Hall). Breakfast, music, door prizes and more. Click here to RSVP. HMS Tough Tiger - Save the Date!: The HMS Tough Tiger event is coming up on May 5 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. Register online now! www.hampdenmeadowspto.org/tough-tiger.html Registration for Pop Warner: Registration is open for Cheer and Football. Link here for more information. Upcoming Barrington Library Programs for students in grades 6-12: |