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 1/19/18
Over the past 6 years that I've been at Bridge Street School, one of the many things I've enjoyed is the feeling of community and family. I love how we've worked together to make the best school for our kids. We have now hit a rough patch and I want to fix it, but I can't do it by myself, we need to work together. To work together we all have to be willing to listen to each other, we have to be willing to hear the facts, we have to be flexible, we have to look at a situation from all sides, but most of all, we have to do it together without passing judgement on each other. We MUST assume the best intentions.
In the meeting I heard frustration about the lack of communication. I am sorry for that and I pledge to do my best to keep you updated on the inclusion model as well as the budget. I will also keep you informed as to any changes that are to come. It is heartbreaking to only hear the negative and to read only about the negative in the paper when there are are so many positives to share about our students and our school.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of watching the best high school musicians in Western Massachusetts perform at UMass. I was struck by something the choir director said to the audience, which I shared with my faculty and staff. He said, "We are all part of an ensemble, and an ensemble is another word for community. An ensemble works together to build people up so that they can make beautiful music together." That quote made me think of our school community because we too are an ensemble and if we work together we will build each other up to make our wonderful school even more wonderful.
Thank you for your continuous support of BSS!
Thank you Historic Northampton
VINS
VINS (Volunteers in Northampton Schools, Inc.) is an organization that places valuable volunteers in our classrooms to enhance the offerings of the teaching staff. If you would like to volunteer your time, please contact the coordinator at 587-1332.
Parking
Winter Benchmark Assessments
IXL
K-2 Celebration
Monday, Jan 22, 2018, 09:00 AM
Bridge Street School Cafeteria
Nurse Jessica has a new website!
Inclusion Model Updates
As I stated in my Principal's Chat this week, I will be providing an update to families and staff regarding the implementation of the inclusion model on a weekly basis. To start off this week, I wanted to encourage all families to review the communication that was sent home yesterday, if you have not already. There is an electronic version of the letter to families available on the Bridge Street School website.
In addition to the information shared within the letter, I wanted to share with you that our School Council has asked to chair a school-wide meeting for families on January 25th at 6:00 p.m. in the library. Our School Council consists of teachers, parents, as well as myself. We have also asked district administrators to attend to answer questions. This meeting is designed to help you better understand the data that was sent home.
Additionally, on Wednesday, January 24th, our Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), as well as our Outreach Social Worker will be hosting two workshops for our faculty and staff. The topics of these workshops include De-escalation and Behavioral Support Strategies, as well as Communicating Effectively with Children. These topics are being offered to all of our teachers, as well as our staff. These topics were chosen from feedback provided by our educational support professionals (ESPs) in an online survey, as well as from conversations with our faculty who have asked for the opportunity to have more training on de-escalation strategies.
Also, as discussed in the parent meeting held last Friday, we have extended an invitation to our faculty and staff to join district administrators, as well as myself in a collaborative discussion about the needs of our students, as well as the deployment of current resources on the upcoming Teacher Workday. The feedback I received from our families and teachers during that meeting is that a joint brainstorming session would allow everyone's ideas and voices to be heard as we determine how best to allocate our current resources and to identify the specific additional resources that would be helpful to our school community.
Finally, I want to assure you of my commitment to meeting the needs of our students. While we have had some real struggles, many of our students experience success everyday. We are a community who cares so deeply for our children and I'm grateful that our School Council has offered to help us come together more collaboratively as we plan for our students this year and next.
Budget Updates
Next year I am hoping to add more behavioral support/tiered support as well as more support at lunch/recess. The budget process for next year is just beginning so we will see if we can make the funding work.
The school council and I turned in our hopes for the expenditures and supplemental accounts next year. Again, we are just beginning the budget process, so where we will end up, I don't know yet. The biggest change we are hoping for is being able to pay teachers to have more time to plan/collaborate together. We also added a bit more to the supply budget in order for teachers to have more money for supplies they need in their classrooms.
4th Grade Update
Mr. Zyskowski and Mr. Merritt, as well as other faculty members, have also been helping to support the students and the substitute.
Although there may be questions in regards to Ms. Paixao and her health, I ask that you please honor the district policy around employee privacy and confidentiality.
I will keep you posted as new information becomes available.
Thank you for your cooperation.
4th and 1st Grade Reading Buddies
Our Preschool Parent Talent
A Preschool Thank You
Movie Night
The PTO is is need of volunteers to help set up and clean up Movie Night. We also need volunteers willing to sell popcorn and drinks. Please contact Stephanie Pouliot at spouliot2009@gmail.com if you are able to help with this event.
Science Fair
Important Dates
Jan. 24-No school, teacher work day
Jan. 25-Special School Council meeting for the public 6:00-7:00 p.m. Library
Jan. 26-Movie Night. Doors open at 6:00. School Cafeteria
Upcoming Principal's Chats
Feb. 7th 3:30-4:30 p.m. Library
Mar. 6th 6:00-7:00 p.m. Library
Apr. 11th 8:35-9:30 a.m. Library
May 8th 3:30-4:30 p.m. Library
June 5th- 6:00-7:00 p.m. Library
Principal Choquette's Spring Semester Doctoral Dates:
Jan. 19
Feb. 9
Mar. 16
Apr. 6
Apr. 27
Snow Date: May 4