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Benicia High School Panther Post
December 2021
BHS Vision Statement
Benicia High School will inspire learning with integrity in order to find personal success in an ever-changing world.
Expected Student Learning Results:
- Communicator and Collaborator
- Critical Thinker and Problem Solver
- Creator and Innovator
Monthly Letter from Principal - Fall Survey Results
Hello Panther Families,
In October, we sent out a schoolwide survey to students, parents, and staff on behalf of our School Site Council. This is part of our ongoing work to communicate with our school community, understand your experiences, and measure our work to meet our school improvement goals. As a reminder, our for schoolwide goals are:
- Culture & Communication: Continue internal and external communication regarding school systems/policies, values, and events to support students connectedness as evidenced in survey results and communication analytics.
- Data-Driven Cycle of Improvement: BHS Staff will incorporate practices and systems to ensure that all students have equitable access to achieve College and Career Readiness based on California State indicators, with a focus on closing achievement gaps.
- Multi-Tiered Systems of Support & Intervention: Continue to implement Multi-Tiered Systems of Support to meet the academic and social-emotional needs of all students through the implementation of student-driven instructional methods, rigorous and diverse curriculum, interventions, remediation, and other supports.
- Professional Development of Staff Focused on Improving Student Learning: The district, school administration, and Leadership Team will develop a long-term, comprehensive professional development plan to improve student learning and academic performance.
Link to our complete 2021 Schoolwide Action Plan
We want to thank everyone who contributed to our surveys - our School Site Council, parents who responded with suggested survey questions/prompts, and everyone who took time to complete the surveys. We plan to survey again in the Spring to measure our growth at that time.
This information is very important to Benicia High School as it is used not only to measure our work on our school goals, but also to set future goals and to submit as metrics in our school's accreditation process (with a mid-cycle report due January 2022).
Our next step at this time is to share back the survey results with you so that we provide transparency and share with you our progress. We have MANY areas to celebrate as we see growth over the past few years. Of course, we also see areas that need our focus and work to make needed improvements. We want to share these areas as well so that we can work together as a school community and all be responsible for making Benicia High School the very best school it can be for our current and future students.
Please take time to review the survey results, linked below, and then complete the Feedback Form linked below to share your feedback - What stood out to you? Any surprises? Any areas you feel need action? Any suggestions? Please keep your responses specific to the survey data and note which question/prompt you are addressing so that the feedback is useful to our teams.
LINK TO FEEDBACK FORM - Please provide your thoughts and responses to the data using this form so that it can be shared with our School Site Council and our School Leadership Team (administration and department chairs).
THANK YOU to everyone who takes the time to read through the survey results and to fill out the feedback form. This is our first time using this process, and we hope this will bring us a better representation of the many voices and experiences of our community.
Go Panthers!
Brianna Kleinschmidt, Principal
Finals Schedule
Finals Week Schedule for first semester is a bit different this year because it is a 3-day week. Students have received this information in their email and were encouraged to check in with their teachers to get specific information about each of their classes.
Monday December 20th - Period 1 Final, Access, Brunch, Period 2 Final - 1:50pm dismissal
Tuesday December 21st - Period 3 Final, Access, Brunch, Period 4 Final - 1:50pm dismissal
Wednesday December 22nd - Period 5 Final, Brunch, Period 6 Final - 12:50 dismissal
Thursday December 23rd through Wednesday January 5th - Winter Break / No School
Students with an Early Bird class: Early Bird will meet as usual on Monday December 20th and Tuesday December 21st. There will not be an Early Bird period on Wednesday, December 22nd.
Finals periods are 2 hours long each. Here is the link to the bell schedules posted on our website: https://bhs.beniciaunified.org/our-school/bell-schedule/
We include Access in the schedule on Monday and Tuesday to provide time in the day for students to have a break between finals, additional time to study and prepare, all with the intention of helping you be successful.
December 22nd is also the last day of the first semester. Semester 1 grades will be finalized after we return from Winter Break, on January 10th.
Upcoming Events at Benicia High School
- Thursday, December 9th: Career Speaker Series - Careers in Engineering, Access Period
- Friday, December 10th: Fall Play, 7:00pm (ticket info below)
- Saturday, December 11th: Fall Play, 7:00pm (ticket info below)
- Sunday, December 12th: Fall Play, 2:00pm (ticket info below)
- December 13-17th: Wellness Week at BHS, activities during lunch each day
- Tuesday, December14th: Site Council Meeting at 3:50pm, room A-107
- Wednesday, December 15th: Deadline to sign up for Variety Show auditions
- Wednesday, December 15th: PTSA Meeting at 6:00pm via Zoom
- Friday, December 17th: CPT Schedule with 2:30pm dismissal
- Friday, December 17th: Fall Play, 7:00pm (ticket info below)
- Saturday, December 18th: Fall Play, 7:00pm (ticket info below)
- Sunday, December 19th: Fall Play, 2:00pm (ticket info below)
- Monday, December 20th: Finals Schedule Day #1, 1:50pm dismissal
- Tuesday, December 21st: Finals Schedule Day #2, 1:50pm dismissal
- Wednesday, December 22nd: Finals Schedule Day #3, 12:50pm dismissal
- Wednesday, December 22nd: End of Semester 1
- Winter Break: December 23rd through January 5th
- Thursday, January 6th: School Resumes - Beginning of Semester 2
- Monday, January 10th: Semester 1 grades finalized
Wellness Week at BHS
Next week our Student Leadership is hosting Wellness Week as we prepared for finals. There will be activities each day during lunch:
Monday - PJ & Movie Monday, wear your pajama's to school & watch Home Alone in room L-116/117
Tuesday - Teatime Tuesday, serving tea and scones in the quad
Wednesday - Workout Wednesday, dodgeball in the gym for anyone interested
Thursday - Therapeutic Thursday, coloring & hot cocoa in the quad
Friday - Festive Friday, wear your ugly sweater and join holiday karaoke in the quad
Volunteers Needed for Benicia Grad Night
Grad Night is a spectacular, all-night, safe, sober, and substance-free celebration for Benicia graduates, held on the evening of their graduation. The admission cost includes entertainment, games, food, and prizes.
Grad Night is held by an outside organization of parent and community members who volunteer their time to fundraise, plan, and hold this amazing event every year. They are in need of more people to fill important positions as they prepare for the 2022 Grad Night. Normally, the majority of volunteers are parents of underclassmen - paying it forward to help create Grad Night in the years before their own students graduate. We hope to keep this tradition going! Please contact beniciagradnight@gmail.com if you can help or come learn more at their next meeting.
Benicia Grad Night Website: https://www.beniciagradnight.net/
Seniors can register to attend - the earlier the better!
Save the date for their upcoming fundraisers:
Grad Night Speakeasy Party - 2/19/22
Grad Night Luau - 4/16/22
Announcing the PTSA's New School Improvement Project!!
Your annual membership and your support of our fundraisers is actively helping us to improve the BHS campus for your students and future students. We are excited to announce a new project as we are committed to fundraising $10,000 or more to purchase and install additional water bottle filling stations. BHS currently has 4 bottle filling stations, which together have saved more than half a million water bottles, and we plan to add more in much needed areas of campus.
Join us! Become a member today - every parent, guardian, student, and staff member can join PTSA for just $10 each. Support our fundraisers! Add us as your charity of choice on AmazonSmile, purchase a Memory Brick (see info above), purchase Krispy Kreme donuts, or make a direct donation! Every dollar makes a difference or our students!!
Last year was tough on everyone - yet in spite of not being able to fundraise, Benicia High's PTSA continued to fund important items for our students and school such as scholarships for the Class of 2021, teacher appreciation events, and Grad Night. With many more things to fund this year as school is fully up and running, we are relying on membership and doubling our fundraising efforts! In order to do this, we need your help! Please consider a PTSA membership for yourself and your student for the 2021-22 school year. The membership price is still just $10 per person and membership is crucial to our success.
Amazon Smile - An Easy Way to Donate to Your PTSA!
Amazon Smile is now available on the Amazon app also!
The BHS Variety Show Needs You!
Hey BHS Panthers! Do you have any unique or hidden talents that you would like to show off? Then we want YOU to sign-up for the Benicia High 2022 Variety Show. We are looking for students and staff who have special skills that they would like to showcase. Variety show sign-ups will open from November 8th through December 15th. There will be a form on the school website to sign-up to audition. Or, please email mwheat@beniciaunified.org with any questions. Auditions and practices will take place during the month of January, and the Variety Show will be on Friday, January 28th, in the Performing Arts Building auditorium at 7 pm.
Below are some important dates to keep in mind:
Sign-ups: Monday, November 8th - Wednesday, December 15th
Auditions: Monday, January 10th - Tuesday, January 11th
Audition Results: Wednesday, January 12th
Mandatory Variety Show Meeting: Friday, January 14th
Variety Show Practices:
Act 1: 1/18, 1/20, 1/25
Act 2: 1/19, 1/24, 1/26
Dress Rehearsal: Thursday, January 27th
Variety Show: Friday, January 28th at 7 pm in the PAB auditorium
Stay tuned for information to purchase tickets to attend the variety show. There will be limited ticket sales to allow for spacing between groups and face masks will be required to be worn by all audience members.
PBIS Message of the month:
Students can sign up to attend Access events in their Counselor's Google Classroom. These events are open to ALL students in ALL grades.
- Thursday, Dec. 2nd during Access: US Army presentation in room N-2
- Wednesday, Dec. 8th during Access: US Air Force presentation in room N-2.
- Thursday, Dec. 9th during Access: Career Speaker Series in room N-2. The event will feature Careers in Engineering with a Civil Engineer from FlatIron Corp, a Control Systems Engineer from Valero, and more.
Practice SAT & ACT Opportunities
Coming soon! We are partnering with Revolution Prep to offer a practice SAT or ACT as a fundraiser for the PTSA. Both tests will be offered January 22nd and February 26th from 9am-1pm and be fully online. The cost is $20 per test.
Yearbooks are currently on sale for $75 until Sunday, December 19th. The price will go up to $90 on December 20th.
Marquee Birthday Wishes!
Make your favorite student's birthday extra special with a Marquee Birthday Wish! For $20 you can put their name in lights on the BHS marquee and send a birthday wish they'll never forget.
1. Submit the information using this Google Form (linked here) - must be submitted at least 5 days prior to the requested posting date.
2. Purchase the Marquee Wish on the BHS Webstore (linked here)
This is a fundraiser for the BHS Associated Student Body and benefits students through school activities.
Counseling Department
Counselors are available to provide a full range of services to students virtually. This includes academic, college, career, personal, social, and emotional support. If your child could benefit from additional support, please contact your counselor by email.
Counselors:
9th grade - Ms. Wallace at kwallace@beniciaunified.org
10th grade - Ms. Smith at jsmithalford@beniciaunified.org
11th grade - Ms. Rainey at erainey@beniciaunified.org
12th grade - Mr. Keppel at jkeppel@beniciaunified.org
College & Career Center - Ms. Marwick at gmarwick@beniciaunified.org
Counselors and Ms. Marwick will be meeting with students and giving class presentations starting in September.
Youth Resiliency Summit hosted by Solano County Office of Education
"IT'S A MOOD"
The Youth Resiliency Summit is part of the Art is Power Series, and is sponsored by the Solano County Office of Education, Solano County Public Health, Fighting Back Partnership, Safe Quest Solano, Nature of Sound, and the Solano Youth Coalition.
Open to all middle and high school students, grades 6-12, residing and/or attending school in Solano County. The FREE virtual summit will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. will cover a wide range of workshops on topics affecting youth and their community as well as develop skills that strengthen resilience and create positive change. The summit will host fun activities, raffles, prizes and more!
The first 100 students to register will receive a box filled with fun conference supplies.
Registration deadline May 14, 2021 at 3:00 PM.
Summit Registration Form (English)
Summit Registration Form (Spanish)
WORKSHOPS
Workshops will be hosted by adults and youth and will cover a wide range of topics including:
- Social Justice and Equity
- Human Trafficking
- Mental Health and Wellness
- Suicide Prevention
- Healthy Relationships and Teen Dating Violence
- and more!
For more information, visit: https://www.solanocoe.net/youthsummit
Paid Youth Environmental Leadership Fellowship Program
The nonprofit organization Sustainable Solano will be hosting a 10-week extracurricular program for high school students in Benicia during January 2022-March 2022. High school students interested in learning and leading in environmental justice efforts are invited to join this program.
- Research environmental and health challenges that affect your community and others
- Explore what can be done on an individual, community and policy level to create change
- Discuss your findings with city leaders & learn what is being done on a city level
- Participate in hands-on projects that help study and improve the environment
- Create community presentations that inspire others to take action
- Participants who complete the full program are eligible for a $500 stipend!
https://sustainablesolano.org/environmental-leadership-fellowship/
Questions? Contact Allison Nagel at allison@sustainablesolano.org
BHS Library Hours & Info
We also offer a BHS Library Website with events and information at: https://sites.google.com/beniciaunified.org/bhslibraryonlineresources
Questions? Please contact Ms. Segle at msegle@beniciaunified.org
Student Parking Passes
Student Parking Passes are FREE this year, but students must register using the link below. Once a student has submitted the registration information needed, the information will be reviewed and a parking pass will be issued to the student (delivered to them in class). If information is missing or needed, the student will receive an email in their student email account with further instructions.
FREE School Meals for ALL Students
Free meals will be provided for all students for the 2021-22 school year. The United States Department of Agriculture has extended pandemic flexibilities providing free school meals to all students at all schools throughout the 2021-2022 school year.
Families still need to complete the Free/Reduced Meal Application on the BUSD web site for the following other benefits:
Student eligibility for P-EBT benefits (more information below)
Student eligibility for discounted services such as advanced placement testing and internet service provider discounts
School eligibility for significant additional State Funding
How to access the Free/Reduced Meal Application:
- Apply on line at: http://www.myschoolapps.com/
- You will be notified with the results
Coming soon, “Summer 2021 P-EBT”, additional family funds to purchase food!
P-EBT provides families of eligible children additional funds to purchase food during the summer while school is no longer in session. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 amends the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to extend the Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program through the summer of 2021. P-EBT is administered by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), in collaboration with the California Department of Education (CDE).BHS Communication Guide
Communication is a key component to a successful school community. Our team of administrators, counselors, teachers, case managers, and staff members work to provide the best communication possible throughout the year and ask that you partner with us in this effort.
An area of concern regarding communication are the online forums and apps such as the “Benicia Happenings” group on Facebook, Next Door app, and similar pages/social media sites. On several occasions, incorrect information has been posted and negative or bullying remarks have been directed towards the school, staff, parents, and other individuals. Spreading false information is extremely disruptive and may compromise the work of the school and school safety. Posting negative and disparaging comments damages the positive school culture we work to create every day.
In grades 9-12, we encourage students to grow to be self-advocates and to communicate for themselves. Most concerns can be addressed and solved when the student proactively and positively communicates directly with their teacher or their counselor. For further assistance, we provide a communication guide on our website with information on who to contact and the timeline to expect a response.
In an effort to provide high quality communication, we ask that questions be directed to school staff via email or phone so that correct information can be provided. When in doubt, contact the school. Our Main Office number is (707) 747-8325 and if you are not sure who to email you can send your question to BHSInfo@beniciaunified.org and we will direct it to the correct person to assist you. We also recommend use of our website, school-operated social media accounts, and monthly newsletter to access accurate and timely information. We thank you in advance for your support in this effort.
BENICIA HIGH SCHOOL
Email: BHSinfo@beniciaunified.org
Website: bhs.beniciaunified.org/
Location: 1101 Military West, Benicia, CA, USA
Phone: (707) 747-8325
Facebook: facebook.com/BeniciaHighPanthers
Twitter: @BeniciaHighBHS
District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, including discrimination against an individual or group based on race, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, pregnancy, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or related recovery, parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information; a perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.