Barrington Middle School
BMS Connected Learning Newsletter 1.13.2020
The BMS Learning Community is Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Succeed!
Mission:
Barrington Middle School’s Mission is to empower all students to excel in character, citizenship, collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking, so that they may positively impact the future.
Upcoming Events:
(Note: Please review the dates as dates are subject to change due to a number of factors from one newsletter to the next).
Monday, January 13th-17th: BMS Book Fair (More information below)
Tuesday, January 14th: Screenagers, BMS Auditorium beginning at 7:00 pm.
Book Fair open from 6:15pm-7:00pm
Monday, January 20, 2020: No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. observance
Thursday, January 23, 2020: BMS Band Concert, BMS Auditorium beginning at 7:00 pm.
Monday, January 27, 2020: BMS PTO Meeting, BMS 1202 beginning at 7:00 pm.
Friday, February 7, 2020: Sports Night at 7:00 pm
Please visit our website to see all upcoming calendar events: https://www.barringtonschools.org/o/middle-school
Please see the link for our daily announcements:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jwaOwOZT5EgdBudGLs0_p0jomJmd6-ee1ifxFR2ySKo/edit?usp=sharing
BMS Spotlight on Learning:
This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mrs. Rebekah Salter! Recently, our art department received a larger order, and Mrs. Salter volunteered to unpack and organize the supplies in our art department. This small gesture was very much greatly appreciated by Mrs. Willett. Great work Mrs. Salter!
This week we would also like to shine our BMS Spotlight on our 8th Grade Students and Teachers. In December, the 8th grade at BMS had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by a representative of Crossroads Rhodes Island about the homelessness situation in Rhode Island. Following the presentation, an “In-Kind Needs” drive was held. The generosity of all who donated genuinely made this a huge success! Great work class of 2024!
Finally, this week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mr. Joey DiZio. Mr. DiZio serves our learning community in the capacity of a Teacher Assistant. Mr. D, as many students refer to him as, is an amazing educator and truly has a gift to connect with all students and is able to help students see their potential. Great work Mr. D for making a difference in so many students lives!
BMS New Information
Mrs. Melanie Roy’s Library Blog:
Please take a look at Mrs. Roy’s Library Blog. Mrs. Roy will be regularly updating her blog and making it available to faculty/staff, students, and families. Thank you for sharing Mrs. Roy! www.mrsmelanieroy.com
Family Satisfaction Survey:
Recently you received the Studder Family Satisfaction survey from Mr. Messore’s Office. This year our School Improvement goal is to increase our overall score on the Family Satisfaction Survey from 3.84 to 3.94. We really value your feedback and would greatly appreciate if everyone could spend a few moments in completing the survey. It is important to note that your feedback on the first set of questions is solely based on the BMS/BMS Administration. Below are a few items we put in place over the past year, based on last year’s results/feedback:
Weekly Connected Learning Newsletters highlighting news/information from Barrington Middle School.
Daily morning announcements posted online.
Daily events/calendar posted online.
Each trimester teachers sending home 10 positive notes from school.
Throughout the year, teachers systematically making student portfolios available to families.
Providing families with various opportunities to engage in the learning process by coming in and being guest panelists, guest speakers, and partners in learning.
Providing families opportunities to participate in learning walks focused on Deep Learning.
Frequent posts on social media (Facebook, Twitter, #bmsshines).
Thank you again for all that you do and for taking the time to complete the survey. Your feedback means a lot to us and we will always continue to work hard to make BMS the best place possible!
8th Grade Washington, DC Pledge Update:
We are pleased to inform you that we are well on our way with pledges for our 8th Grade Washington, DC Trip. Due to our recent vacation, we extended the pledge deadline to Tuesday, January 14, 2020, by 8:00 pm.This pledge date will inform the planning team of next steps. If you have not done so already, please consider making a pledge using the link below:
BMS Washington 2019 - 2020, DC Pledge Form
Volunteer Opportunity:
BMS Faculty/Staff Monthly Morning Meetup - Please consider supporting the BMS staff and faculty by contributing an item to a monthly morning meetup. Upcoming dates are 1/13 and 2/10. Click here for more information!
Screenagers NEXT Chapter: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience:
The BMS PTO is proud to present a screening of this new movie on January 14th in the BMS Auditorium at 7pm. Please join us!
From the director of SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in the Digital Age comes Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience and is about helping young people thrive in our screen and stress-filled world.
Filmmaker and physician Delaney Ruston uses a personal lens and professional eye to help us all flip the script on stress, anxiety, and depression. We follow Delaney as she finds herself at a loss on how to help her own teens as they struggle with their emotional wellbeing. Ruston sets out to understand these challenges in our current screen-filled society, and how we as parents and schools empower teens to overcome mental health challenges and build emotional agility, communication savvy, and stress resilience.
We witness Delaney as she finds her way from ineffective parenting to much-improved strategies. We follow other personal stories of families from an array of backgrounds with a spectrum of emotional challenges. We also observe approaches in schools that provide strategies relevant beyond the classroom setting. Interwoven into the stories are surprising insights from brain researchers, psychologists, and thought-leaders that reveal evidence-based ways to support mental wellness among our youth.
The impact of social media and other screen time is incorporated in all the topics raised Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER, how it may be impacting our teen’s mental health, and what we can do to help foster youth in the face of struggles.
Book Fair:
The BMS book fair will be held from Monday, January 13th to Friday, January 17th. Students will have the opportunity to visit the book fair with their classes on designated days. Please read this message from the BMS Book Fair Team who need help making this a success.
BMS Old Information
Traffic Patterns:
We are still waiting for a date for our new entrance to the parking lot to open up. When it does, members of our learning community (faculty/staff/families) will access our parking lot on the side of the building with our permanent driveway a few hundred feet away from the temporary driveway that has been in place since the start of school. Please note that during the morning and afternoon drop off hours, the exit out of the driveway will be a right hand turn only. Please stay tuned for the date when the new driveway will be open.
Volunteer Opportunities:
BMS Volunteers Needed to support and monitor students during BMS Peer Tutoring and ZAP
Starting in late January
Time Commitment: Flexible
BMS Peer Tutoring Volunteer- Volunteer will monitor students (walk around, make sure students are on task and answer questions).
Tuesdays, 2:25- 3:15: beginning January 21st
Library Media Center
BMS ZAP Volunteer- Volunteer will monitor students (walk around, make sure students are on task and answer questions).
Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2:25- 3:15: beginning January 22nd
Library Media Center
Click on the link to sign up:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084CADAD2AA2F94-bmszap
New After-School Club for Students:
All students are invited to join the Creative Writing Club! The BMS Creative Writing Club is being run by AP Language Students from Barrington High School. During meetings, students can work on writing projects, collaborate and write with prompts provided to them. If your student is interested in creative writing, we encourage them to try it out! Meetings are every other Thursday after school in the 8th grade breakout space with the first meeting this Thursday, January 9.
Enrichment Class Instructors Needed:
Do you have a special talent or hobby you can share with our students? Classes Monday or Thursday mornings 7:30am or Tuesday afternoons 3:15. For more information, please contact Julia Texeira texeiraj@barringtonschools.org
Eyeglasses Recycling Available at BMS:
The Barrington Lions Club is collecting eyeglasses that you no longer need in the BMS nurse’s office. The Lions Club is an international organization supporting humanitarian efforts all over the world. One of their global causes is vision; having a long history of serving to prevent avoidable blindness and improve the quality of life for those that are blind and visually impaired.
If you or your family members have any glasses that they would like to recycle, please have your student drop them off in the nurse’s office.
Robot Block Party:
Discover how robots and related technology are used in research, industry, and education during the Rhode Island Robot Block Party!
Saturday, April 4, 2020- 12pm-4pm at the Waterfire Arts Center
The Robot Block Party is presented by Rhode Island Students of the Future.
Get your tickets today!
Winter Workouts:
Cross-Country/Track & Field Coach, Lars Gunness, is offering his annual Winter Workouts again this year to all students who would like to improve their running, build core strength, get ready for a spring sport or are a beginner who wants to learn more about running and fitness. You do not have to be a member of the cross country or track and field teams to participate. Workouts are free, are on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school and start on January 14. Please click here for more information.
Tardy/Dismissal Policy Reminder:
In order to participate in sport practices, sport contests, extracurricular activities and school sponsored functions, students must be present in school during the whole day. Students missing school for reasons other than illness must request in writing to be excused in advance of the absence by a school administrator in order to participate in sport practices, sport contests, extracurricular activities and school sponsored functions.
Students are allowed six tardies to school per trimester. On the seventh and subsequent tardy to school the student will be assigned office detention.
Students absent or tardy to school on Friday or a day preceding a holiday and/or a weekend activity are ineligible to participate in the event unless the absence is excused in advance by an administrator.
Excessive tardiness may preclude students from participation in dances, Sports’ Nights, sports, and extracurricular activities. For more information, please see the BMS handbook.
BMS Yearbook:
Ordering your 2019-2020 BMS Yearbook is open! Order online now here. Code: 1540720
Fitness Professionals:
Are you a health and wellness role model in our East Bay community? Our PE/Health initiative for the 2019-2020 school year is looking for volunteers to share their passion for fitness during “Fitness Fridays” at BMS! For more information, click here for details.
BMS Seeking Crossing Guards:
If you are interested in serving as a paid BMS Crossing Guard during the morning and/or afternoon, please contact Doug Fiore at 245-5000 or fiored@barringtonschools.org. Position entails approx. 10 hours per week at $15.45/hr. We are hopeful that the additional crossing guards will aid in the safety of our students coming and leaving campus. Thank you for considering.
BMS Office Information:
The BMS Office is open daily from 8:00 am until 3:45 pm. As always, students need a note from home given to the office before homeroom on days when they will be dismissed early. We are very impressed by the number of students, especially 6th graders, that have followed our procedure and come to the office on their own to meet their parents for dismissal! Well done!
Volunteering in the Barrington District & BCI Information:
Please see the links below for information about volunteering in the Barrington School District. We love our volunteers! For more information, please see the volunteer website at https://www.barringtonschools.org/o/barrington-schools/page/volunteer-office
Club/Advisor Opportunities:
BMS is seeking to fill our Robotics Coach and Science Olympiad coaching position. Please see the schoolspring link below for more information. In addition, please feel free to pass this link to your friends and colleagues.
Robotics: www.schoolspring.com Job ID: 3121096
Science Olympiad: www.schoolspring.com Job ID: 3112939
Standing Items
Bus and Transportation:
This year, bus routes were included on your child’s aspen account. If you have any questions about your child’s designated bus our route, please access the following website: e new handbook and bus stop change request form can be found on our new website transportation page: https://www.barringtonschools.org/o/barrington-schools/page/transportation--429
Bus schedules are also available online at Barrington Bus Schedules
BMS Partners in Learning:
Join us and be a Barrington Public Schools Partner in Learning!
If you have a career or hobby that you would consider sharing, please let us know by clicking on the link below. https://forms.gle/2FPRfamJP7t7Ecu19
News from PTO
PTO BMS Directory:
Please sign up for the PTO BMS Directory- instructions and link below:-
https://tools.ptoffice.com/reg/RI_BMS53C
BMS PTO Membership:
Please consider joining the BMS PTO visit
BMS Community News
Volunteers Needed
Do you enjoy volunteering and working with students who are learning English? Do you speak a language other than English? Would you like to mentor an EL family? Please click here for more information!