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Principal's Weekly
Dr. Beth N. Choquette
Bridge Street School
2 Parsons Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
413-587-1460 (phone) 413-587-1474 (fax)
Dr. Beth N. Choquette, Principal bchoquette@northamtpon-k12.us
Elizabeth Peterson, Administrative Assistant epeterson@northampton-k12.us
Jordan Celino, Secretary jcelino@northampton-k12.us
Nora DeJasu, Head Teacher ndejasu@northampton-k12.us
Translation of the Principal's Weekly
At the top of the weekly email, there's a link that reads "View it in your browser," click that and it takes you to the post on a webpage.
Scroll to the bottom where there's a black menu bar and pick the option that says "Translate."
Select the language you would like it translated in and it will then translate it on the webpage.
Traducción del semanario del director
Le gustarÃa traducir esta carta de noticias? Aquà están los pasos para traducirlo:
En la parte superior del correo electrónico semanal, hay un enlace que dice "Verlo en su navegador", haga clic en eso y lo llevará a la publicación en una página web.
Desplázate hacia la parte inferior donde hay una barra de menú negra y elige la opción que dice "Traducir".
Seleccione el idioma en el que desea traducirlo y luego lo traducirá en la página web.
A Message from Principal Choquette
For those families who did not get a chance to fill out the return to school survey, we will be getting in touch with you to see if you want your child to come to school in person 5 days a week or stay remote 5 days a week. Once we have our final numbers we will be able to get more details out to you. This week I will work on a new logistics document so you will know what to expect once April 5th comes around. Please note that if you request to come in person after April 5th, it could take up to 6 weeks before your child can begin. If you have a child in preschool, the early childhood department will be sending out more information regarding preschool and they will send out their own survey to preschool families.
Originally we had planned on two picture days because of our hybrid learning model, but now that hybrid learning will no longer be available after April 5th, we have scheduled picture day for one day only. Picture day for all students will be on May 21st this year. Currently our plan is to have pictures taken outside.
Also, originally the MCAS tests were scheduled for the months of April and May and now the state has rescheduled them to be May 10th-June 11th.
All 3rd-5th graders will take the MCAS however, rather than 2 sessions each of ELA, Math, and Science, the test has been shortened to only 1 session of each. More details will come as we get closer to the testing days.
Finally, I know that as we move ahead with welcoming many students back to BSS, I would like to recognize that I understand the anxiety that some of you may feel about the return. All I can say, as the leader of your children's school and as the leader of the most dedicated faculty and staff I know, we have been doing everything we possibly can to keep your children and our staff safe and will continue to do so over the last few months of school. We all want our students in school and for some that is happening now, for others it will happen come April 5th, and for others it may not happen this year. If you're not returning this year, then we will be so excited to welcome you back in the fall. We love all of our students and families and although we are not all together, it does not make us any less of a school community.
Please let me know if there is anything you need or anything I can do for you.
I hope you have a good rest of the night and a great week ahead!
Walking School Bus Information
Attention BSS Families!
The Walking School Bus is ready and waiting to take your students to school!
You can choose from either the Sheldon Field route that leaves the Route 9 commuter lot at 8:25 or the Lumber Yard route that leaves from the courtyard of the Lumber Yard Homes on Pleasant Street at 8:15.
Each route has multiple stops at which your student may join before ending at BSS. Visit the WSB site for more information about each route.
Please note that masks are required for the walk to school.
**With the ramp up to full in person learning, the WSB is in need of drivers in order to run at full capacity through the rest of the year. Please contact Stephanie Pouliot if you or someone you know can volunteer your time to walk students to school. We will gladly accept whatever time you can offer!**
Social Justice Corner
Stand Up Against Racism, Bigotry, Hate and Disrimination
I've attached resources for caregivers to look over and use to help guide you in your conversations around this. Some of the resources are for teachers, but I think the more resources and information we all have in helping guide our discussions, the better.
Thank you for standing up against racism, hate, bigotry, and discrimination. There is no place for it at BSS!
Family Engagement Workshops
Please see below for information on three caregiver events to which all district caregivers are welcome to register.
Growing Anti-Racist Children with Tiffany Jewell
Establishing Routines with BCBA Nina Shrayer
MERGE for Equality presents on the Socialization of Boys
New Family Engagement and English Learner Education (K-12) Pages on Website
Parenting While Black-Free Webinar
Please see the link below to sign up for this free webinar by the Brazelton Touchpoints Center.
REAL (Racial Equity and Learning)
NPS Community Conversation about Racial Microaggressions
REAL (Racial Equity and Learning- https://realnorthampton.com/) is happy to announce the re-launch of our hosted discussions about race. Our first zoom conversation will be on Sunday, March 14th from 5:00-6:30pm and will focus on racial microaggressions. Caregivers, educators, students in grades 6 and up, and anyone else connected with the Northampton Public Schools are warmly invited.
Please note that participation requires no advance reading/ preparation.
If you are interested, please email Jenny at jennybinhbender@gmail.com for the zoom link. You can also email Jenny with any questions or concerns you might have.
Important Information from Nurse Jessica
Fifth Grade
I'm happy to announce that Nature's Classroom will be coming to BSS to offer their "NOW" program or Nature on Wheels program. They are scheduled to join us on 4/26 for Ms. Daniels class and on 4/30 for Mr. Dion's class. Remote students may join us on those days if they would like to participate. I will send more information out when we get closer to the dates. The program will be outside.
Fifth Grade Caregiver Meeting: Monday, March 29th 6-7 p.m. Please use the zoom link below:
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/93620437895 Meeting ID: 936 2043 7895 Passcode: 191263