Beachmont News
November 2023
Principal's Message
Beachmont Families,
The month of November flew by at The Hive!
As many of you are aware, we received some great news from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Beachmont was one of two schools in the state nominated to be a National ESEA Distinguished School. This a great honor and a team of educators from the Beachmont will be going to Portland, OR to be recognized and take part in the National ESEA Conference in February. Here is an article with more information about the award: https://www.reverek12.org/apps/news/article/1845821 .
On November 28th, we hosted a Family Literacy Night that was geared towards our Kindergarten through third grade students and families. This was a night to promote literacy strategies that can be utilized at school and at home. We also presented information about a recent Massachusetts law that requires all K-3 students to be given an early literacy assessment multiple times per year(https://www.doe.mass.edu/instruction/screening-assessments.html) and to make sure families are aware of student progress. If students are not meeting certain expectations, it is our responsibility to provide additional supports. Our goal is to ensure that all students have the foundational literacy skills by third grade. We are constantly progress monitoring students and providing tiered supports that build these critical skills. I can't say this enough, please spend time reading to and/or with your student, on a daily basis.
On December 1st, families will receive Trimester 1 Report Cards. We will be hosting Parent-Teacher conferences on Wednesday, December 6th. This is a great opportunity to get a full understanding of how your child is doing at this point in the year. Teachers will be reaching out with how to sign up for a timeslot on December 6th. We are looking for 100% participation.
We know that attendance is a critical part of success in school, but if your child is not feeling well, please use your best judgment when deciding to send them to school. It is going to be a group effort over the next several months. I also want to make sure attendance expectations are clear. The state law for student attendance stipulates that students should not miss more than 7 full school days or 14 half days in any 6-month period. While we know that there are extreme circumstances related to illness that must be considered on a case-by-case basis, this is the guide all schools in the state must follow. Students who exceed this number of absences risk being referred to the district's school attendance supervisor for follow-up. Additionally, the state classifies any student who misses 10% or more of the school year (18 school days) as being chronically absent. Let's do our best to keep an eye on attendance!
Finally, as the weather continues to get colder and colder, please make sure that your child comes to school with a coat, hat, gloves, etc. If it is over 30 degrees, we will try to get students outside for recess. If you are in need of a coat, gloves, hat, etc. please either reach out to your child's teacher or to me directly cfreisen@reverek12.org. There are several coat drives occurring throughout the city and it is our goal for all students to have a coat.
It's a great day to be a bee!
Mr. Freisen
