BW Update - February 14, 2024

The Bristol Warren Regional School District is pleased to partner with Cartwheel. Cartwheel is a trusted mental health partner that works with schools to provide mental health services to students in grades 4-12 through a telehealth model. As we know, access to mental health services for children is often challenging given the increasing demand for care. Waitlists are long and providers have limited capacity, resulting in students who do not have access to care.

Cartwheel is an insurance based service that works like out-patient mental health services that your child may access in the community. Cartwheel ensures that students have rapid access to care once a referral is made by a BWRSD school based mental health staff member. Cartwheel is NOT a replacement for the school based mental health providers and services in our schools.

A few highlights of Cartwheel

• Within 7 days, students see a licensed therapist – no waitlists
• Students can see their therapist weekly for 2-4 months on average
• Additional services may include referral for medication, evaluation, and/or parent guidance support
• For longer-term needs, Cartwheel can support your family with referrals for ongoing care
• Affordable for families regardless of insurance

While telehealth may not be for every student, it is becoming an increasingly utilized platform for accessing mental health services. Cartwheel will work with you and your school based mental health staff to determine if your child is a good match for telehealth services through Cartwheel.

If you wish to talk about working with Cartwheel on behalf of your child, please contact your child’s school based mental health staff. You can also view this family flyer for additional information.

BWRSD hopes that you will find our partnership with Cartwheel Care helpful in assisting your child with mental health services, should your child have the need.

The 2024-25 school year calendar has been approved!

You can view the approved calendar on the left side of this section or on our website here.

Congratulations to Mt. Hope senior James Thibaudeau and junior Andrew McCarthy on reaching 100 wins in their high school wrestling careers!

Only 14 other wrestlers have previously accomplished this feat since MHHS opened in 1993. If that wasn't already impressive enough, McCarthy has a chance to become the winningest wrestler in school history before he graduates next year!

Both Thibaudeau and McCarthy are currently some of the top wrestlers in the state for their respective weight classes. Wish them luck on their quest for a state championship!

Mt. Hope High School hosted another year of their annual science and engineering fair!

Students in science and engineering classes selected experiments to carry out. They presented their processes and outcomes to the judges and members of the community.

The first place recipients will have the opportunity to advance and put their projects up against high school students from across the state!

Science and Engineering Fair Accolades

Best In Fair (Trophy & Ribbon)

• Lucy O’Brien - Mathematically Modeling the Thermal Decomposition of PFAS by Acoustic Cavitation

Principal’s Award (Trophy)

• Alona Leonard and Taylor Rodrigues - How Does Temperature Affect the Bioluminescence of Dinoflagellates?

First Place Recipients (Ribbon)

• Lucy O’Brien - Mathematically Modeling the Thermal Decomposition of PFAS by Acoustic Cavitation
• Chenxiang Ma - Do Herbal Products Affect One’s Heart Rate?
• Nathan Vicente and Colin Maloney - Windmill Efficiency
• Taylor Rodrigues and Alona Leonard - How Does Temperature Affect the Bioluminescence of Dinoflagellates?
• Emma Coelho and Elena Oliveira - The Effects of Spirodela Polyrhiza and Lemna Minor Duckweed on Anthropogenic Copper Pollution in Aquatic Ecosystems
• Abby Rodrigues and Mekayla Neves - How Does Ocean Acidification Affect Mollusk Shells in Rhode Island?
• Nathan Calouro - The Effects of Essential Oil on Superworms: Green Pest Management
• Cohen Ferreira and Brennan Perry - Honey Heals: Antibacterial Effects of Honey
• Aiden Gagner and Luke Daniel - Using Bioplastics to Make an Eco-Friendly Version of Paper
• Maream Francis - Building the Future: The Effects of Hemcrete on the Environment

Second Place Recipients (Ribbon)

• Millie Piper - The Effects of Increased Water Salinity on Daphnia magna
• Samantha Campbell - Bottled Water Experiment: Is School Water Safe?
• Jonah Koebel - Glue Shear Strength Test
• Connor Raposo - How Does Aerodynamics Affect the Environment?
• Phoenix Koebel - How Does Water Pollution Affect Daphnia magna?
• Charlotte Arsenault and Ellie Donovan - How Do Different Temperatures of Water Affect the Heart Rate of Daphnia magna?
• Jacob Betres - Effectiveness of Natural Water Filtration Methods Compared with Artificial Filtration
• Lila Maloney and Nicole Silva - What is the Best Method to Clean Bacteria Off of Brushes?
• Marissa Cabral and Avery Walsch - How Different Types of Hand Soaps Affect Bacteria
• Eliza White - The Effects of Salt Marshes on Harmful Agricultural Runoff Resulting in Algae Blooms?

Congratulations to all who earned accolades!

Out of the hundreds of submissions, Mia was one of only six poets in the state who was selected and won a $100 prize for her poem, "Wise."

From KIDS COUNT RI: "Your poem was a beautiful and creative expression of the many topics topics and issues we advocate for at Rhode Island KIDS COUNT."

Read Mia's poem below!

Diesel Amershek, a 6th grader at KMS, has had the honor of joining former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi's charity team. For the last seven months, Diesel has been raising awareness for stroke and heart disease while supporting stroke survivors on their journey, giving them a means for a comeback! Diesel has spent countless hours raising $5,778 to directly help with Tedy's Comeback Assistance Program.

In return for the many hours of volunteer work and raising money for survivors, Diesel was given the opportunity to travel to California and run the Disney 5k with twenty other members of Tedy's Team, including (and keeping up with) several Boston Marathon runners!

Being part of Tedy Bruschi's charity team has been a life changing experience for Diesel. Watching and learning about the financial burden outside what most health insurance covers is overwhelming. The numerous hours of volunteer work and the funds that Diesel raised will go directly to the costs of extended physical therapy, medical equipment and other bills that can add up quickly. Diesel is thankful to everyone who has supported him and Tedy's Team on this journey and is looking forward to continuing to spread awareness.

We at BWRSD are so proud of Diesel and his accomplishments by helping others in the community!

Out of the hundreds of submissions, Max was one of only six poets in the state who was selected and won a $100 prize for his poem, "Chyrel of the Light," from Rhode Island KIDS COUNT.

Read Max's poem below!

Congratulations to our Guiteras Elementary School on being recognized by Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE)!

Guiteras had the greatest average week-over-week attendance improvement out of all elementary schools in the state for the week of January 16th!

The NED Show recently visited Colt Andrews Elementary School to share NED's Mindset Mission with some of our students!

The NED (Never give up, Encourage others, Do your best) show uses yo-yo and magic tricks, puppetry, and story-telling to help students discover how to activate their growth mindset to overcome social, emotional, and academic challenges.

It was a great show with a positive message for our students!

A message from the Rhode Island Department of Health

During fall and winter, we often see increases in rates of respiratory viruses. Respiratory viruses

include flu, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the common cold. Fortunately, many

of the same prevention measures help reduce the spread of all these viruses and keep students in

school. The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) encourages school leadership to review the key prevention recommendations below and share them with staff and families as appropriate.

• Get your flu shot. Everyone older than six months of age should be vaccinated against the flu every year. For information on where to get a flu shot, see health.ri.gov/flu.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow.
• Wash your hands regularly throughout the day using soap for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol to clean your hands.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work, and school.
• Stay home if you are sick.
• Keep children home from daycare or school who have a fever, especially with a cough, congestion, runny nose, or sore throat, until they are fever-free for 24 hours without medications that reduce fever.
• If you have COVID-19, isolate for five days and wear a mask through day 10. Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19 | CDC.
• Be up to date on your COVID-19 vaccinations. For information on how to get vaccinated against COVID-19, see C19vaccineRI.org.

This Memo, similar to the August 24th Memo from RIDOH to school leadership, provides

nonmandatory guidance for schools to follow during the 2023-2024 school year. There is no State-

level masking requirement related to COVID-19 and schools. Schools and districts create their own

COVID-19 prevention policies.

Please feel free to contact us for any questions or support at RIDOH.COVID19Info@health.ri.gov.

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

Website: www.bwrsd.org
Location: 235 High Street, Bristol, RI, USA
Phone: 401-253-4000