Principal's Weekly
Principal Beth N. Choquette, Bridge Street School
Bridge Street School
2 Parsons Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
413-587-1460 (phone) 413-587-1484 (fax)
Beth N. Choquette, Principal bchoquette@northamtpon-k12.us
Elizabeth Peterson, Administrative Assistant epeterson@northampton-k12.us
Nicole Soutra, Senior Clerk nsoutra@northampton-k12.us
Nora DeJasu, Head Teacher ndejasu@northampton-k12.us
Translation of the Principal's Weekly
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A Message From Principal Choquette 12/14/18
Every year Florence Savings Bank gives out $100,000 to local non-profit organizations. Their Customers' Choice Community Grants program has been a wonderful opportunity for many places, including Bridge Street School, to receive money to help our school. In order to receive money, Florence Savings Bank customers can either go to the bank or go online and vote for Bridge Street School. The more votes, the more money. Everyone who has an account can vote, including kids who have accounts. So, if you are a Florence Savings Bank customer, please vote for Bridge Street School! Here is the link: https://www.florencebank.com/vote . Please spread the word to your family and friends who are customers of Florence Savings Bank. Thank you for voting for BSS and thank you for supporting our school!
Tonight is Craft Night at BSS! We hope you all can join other friends and families for an evening of making crafts together. The fun begins at 6:00 p.m. and it is also a nice way to support our fifth graders who will be selling pizza and treats to help pay for their recent trip to Nature's Classroom.
We had an amazing performance by the Northampton High School Choir yesterday morning for all of our students. This is a treat we look forward to every year and we are thankful for the opportunity to hear former BSS students sing to us. Our students loved the concert. Thank you NHS for bringing your music and talent to BSS.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Library Update
Tate Behavioral/New Hires/Congratulations
We are in the process of hiring another part-time esp for the preschool as well as for a long-term sub for Mrs. Hurd. We are hoping both of these positions will be in place after the holiday break.
Congratulations to Kate Cousins and her husband. They are expecting their first baby and we are all so excited for them! When you see Mrs. Cousins with Ms. Mangones class, please congratulate her.
Santa's Trains at Look Park
Please see Spanish flyer attached below.
Reminder
All kindergarten aged students must be picked up by a parent/guardian or someone on the student’s pick up list. No kindergarten aged student will be let off the bus without an approved adult/guardian. This is a district policy and for the children’s safety.
K-5 Celebration
Inclusive Schools Week
Kindergarten: we need to work together, importance of including everyone, the use of self-talk when we feel bad, how to recognize when someone feels bad.
1st Grade: a good reminder to be nice to everyone, sometimes we are not always kind and the film reminded us that we need to treat everyone with kindness.
2nd Grade: conversation about the difference between saying "his legs didn't work" to "his legs work differently," students made a connection to the book 'Wonder' and brought up a quote from the book: "I can't change the way I look, but maybe other people can change the way that they see."
3rd Grade: how art can be a visual way to show emotions and the amazing power of art, talked about the fence being a metaphor for feeling left out, shared that when the other kids were pulled through the fence to the other side, that they could see what it felt like from the perspective of the boy and in the end that was what brought the fence down.
4th Grade: discussed the difference between literal and figurative, that the fence was figurative because it made the playground not accessible, discussion about accessible park/playground features they've seen.
5th Grade: what it's like to be in someone else's shoes and "imagine you had to sit in and watch everyone else play." That the fence was a barrier that separated the disabled. The wind represented hatred and reminded us to be kinder to people, acknowledge our differences, and that we can be friends with people who are different than us.
Finally, our students were able to see barriers being removed in action yesterday. When we notified the high school choir director that our stage was inaccessible because of the old library furniture having to be stored there, she asked if there was any way to make a little room for the risers so the choir could at least be up on the stage. In doing so, it made the ramp unaccessible. When the choir arrived, there was a student in a wheelchair and in order for him to be able to be on stage with the entire choir, our custodian quickly created a ramp for him to have access to the stage. Afterwards, the high school choir director found me to let me know how wonderful our custodian was in removing a barrier and making the stage accessible for their student. What a beautiful example for our students to have witnessed. Thank you Brian!
Important Dates
12/14/18 Family Craft Night
12/24/18-1/1/19 No School, Holiday break
1/2/19-First day of school of the New Year.