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 Sawula, Senior Clerk nsawula@northampton-k12.us
A Message From Principal Choquette 6/8/18
Good afternoon, I'm sorry I didn't get this out on Friday, but with field day it was just too hard to find the time during the day to get it done.
I'd like to start by thanking our faculty and staff as well as our students for their cooperation and calmness during the stay in place on Thursday. As a leader we are tested every single day, and Thursday was certainly no exception. Keeping our students and faculty and staff safe is our priority, this is why we practice both lockdown and fire drills, so in the event of a real one, we are prepared. Once the stay in place was lifted, Mrs. Sperry and I visited every classroom to check in on our students and faculty and staff. They all were calm and and were able to move on with the remainder of the day. We realize that many of our students have siblings, friends, and family members who attend or work at JFK. If any of our students are feeling unsettled by the event on Thursday, please reach out to Laurie Sperry. Finally, I'd like to thank Dr. Provost for his leadership as well as the Northampton Police and Massachusetts State Police for their quick response to JFK and for keeping the safety of the NPS their priority.
I'd like to give a huge shout out to our PTO and thank you to Amy Toulson-Wimmer for the amazing field day on Friday. So much work goes into planning field day and we all appreciate the efforts that went into making it such a fun day for our students. The weather was perfect and the students had a fabulous day. I'd also like to thank our outgoing PTO president, Stephanie Pouliot for all that she has done over the past few year for our students, teachers, and school. Thank you so much Stephanie for your leadership and support of Bridge Street School!
Finally, this is for the students who performed in last week's talent show. YOU ARE ALL SIMPLY AMAZING!!!! I was so impressed and proud of all of you. It takes courage to get up on stage and perform and you all did it with such ease. A job well done to all of you, I am so proud to be your principal.
I hope you all have a wonderful week.
What is Dance?
The Lisa Leizman Dance company, resident company of the Northampton Center for the Arts, and special guests, Dancer Jayme Winell leading The Bridge Street School Second Graders!, will answer that question in an interactive presentation for pre-k, kindergarten and first graders and their families.
Wednesday, June 13 at 10AM at Bridge Street School cafeteria
This show is made possible with a grant from The Northampton Education Foundation.
Inclusion/Hiring Updates
You may have noticed that I have not put out names attached to the grade configurations for next year, because often times when positions open, people move. There are some new changes to our second grade for next year. As you know, Mrs. Strong will be moving to Georgia and will no longer be with us. Mrs. Nagle has requested a transfer from fifth grade to the second grade to replace Mrs. Strong. Mrs. Nagle will be co-teaching with Mrs. Demerath as one of the second grade teams next year. Many of you also know that Mrs. Nagle is expecting her first child in July and will be on maternity leave at the start of the year. We have offered the position of long-term teacher sub in the second grade to Kelly Junno. Ms. Junno will fill in as Mrs. Nagle's replacement until her maternity leave ends.
Our next hire will be for the third first grade classroom and for the BASE after school coordinator. We will be interviewing for ESP's as well. We will also be posting the fifth grade position that was held by Mrs. Nagle and based off of the number of applicants for the first grade position, I am sure we will have the same for the fifth grade position.
Thank you all for being patient through this long process.
Finally, I'd like to hold an end-of-the year first grade parent meeting to reflect upon the year. I will be holding this from 8:00-8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19th. I know it is hard for everyone to attend at any given time whether morning, afternoon, or evening. I hope as many of you can attend as possible.
Celebration-6/20/18
We will have a final celebration right before dismissal on the 20th at noon. Students will dismiss from the cafeteria.
Important Dates
Last Day of Base: June 15
June 13: School Council 3:30-5:30 p.m.; End of Year Picnic 5:00 p.m.
June 15: 5th Grade Breakfast 8:00 a.m.; 5th Grade Graduation 9:00 a.m.; Kindergarten Graduation 2:00 p.m.
June 19: 1st Grade Parent Meeting 8:00-8:45 a.m. Library
June 20: Move-Up Day 9:00 a.m.
June 20: Last Day of School-Half Day 12:20 p.m. Dismissal