BHS SUMMER UPDATE

I hope you are having a wonderful summer and are enjoying time with family and friends! My apologies for the tardiness of this newsletter; I am now set up with an account on Smore. We have been busy preparing for the 2024-25 school year here at BHS and are excited to welcome our new and returning students on Tuesday, August 27, for the first day of school! Each week during the school year you will receive an email link to our weekly newsletter which provides important up-to-date information so you can maximize the BHS educational experience. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

- Mr. Chase

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The Booth Hill PTA, Father’s Club, and I are hosting a Meet & Greet on Monday, August 12, beginning at 3:30 PM. It will be held on the Booth Hill playground. This is an informal event that will be very much like that of an open house where you can come and go as you please. There will be some light snacks. The rain date will be August 15. I will communicate via Infinite Campus messenger if there is a need to move to that date.

- Mr. Chase

Please mark your calendars for this year's Back to School Night on Thursday, September 5, 2024. The evening offers an excellent opportunity to learn about the grade level curriculum and how your child's classroom functions on a daily basis. We hope to see you there!

The district continues to monitor enrollment across all six elementary schools in order to make any necessary adjustments. In general, the BOE uses the following class sizes along with other variables when making final decisions:

Kindergarten, Grade 1 & Grade 2: Twenty-two students per class

Grade 3, Grade 4 & Grade 5: Twenty-five students per class

If we were to begin school today, our class allotment would be as follows:

Kindergarten: Four classes of 18 students (72 total)

Grade 1: Four classes of 18, 18, 18 and 19 students (73 total)

Grade 2: Four classes of 22, 23, 23 and 23 students (91 total)

Grade 3: Four classes of 22, 23, 23 and 23 students (91 total)

Grade 4: Four classes of 22, 23, 23 and 24 students (92 total)

Grade 5: Four classes of 22, 23, 23 and 24 students (92 total)

As you can see, we currently exceed the recommended guideline for grade 2. However, the addition of another grade 2 homeroom would come at the compromise of either music or art. This would mean that Booth Hill children would not receive the same unified arts programming that other TPS elementary students would receive, forcing one of them to teach from a cart. We will keep a close watch on these numbers, but as they stand now it does not seem prudent or in the best interest of children to increase to another section.

Keep Summer Reading Alive!

Did you know that students can lose as much as two months of reading progress during the summer? That’s akin to working a full year but only receiving pay for ten months—who would want that? To combat this, make reading a daily ritual in your home! Set aside a specific time each day when everyone immerses themselves in a good book. When children observe their parents engaged in reading, they understand that it’s both an important and enjoyable activity.

It’s not too late to make a positive change this summer—start tonight!

Important Reminder

Please fill out the summer reading form just once; we suggest doing this toward the end of August. Only those students who read and complete the form will be eligible to join in on a fun fall celebration at BHS. Thank you!

All Trumbull elementary schools electronically distribute summer packet information sometime in mid-August. Bus routes also become available on the district website at this time. Everything you need for a great start to the school year is provided, and we are available if you have any questions after thoroughly reading all materials.

Summer is a great time to reinforce our BHS ROARS mantra! It's amazing how following a few simple-to-do mindsets can make a world of difference in yourself and the people around you. Be a positive force!