Barrington Middle School
BMS Connected Learning Newsletter: Summer Update, August 12, 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.
Greetings from Dr. Anderson:
We hope this summer update finds you enjoying your summer! Included in this Special Connected Learning will be a few updates, as well as information regarding some upcoming events/dates to look forward to.
BMS New Hires:
Over the summer, the various BMS interview teams have been hard at work screening and interviewing candidates for a few vacancies. We would like to welcome the following to our BMS Learning Community:
Mr. Sam Schachtner: 6th Grade Math (Yellow Cluster)
Mr. Chris Keller: 7th/8th Grade SS/Humanities (Red Cluster)
TBD: 8th Grade SS/Humanities (Purple Cluster)
TBD: 6th Grade Special Education (Lime Cluster)
We hope to have all of our positions filled in the coming weeks.
2020 - 2021 Academic School Year General Overview:
Governor Raimondo announced the start of school for all students/schools in Rhode Island will be Monday, September 14, 2020 and end date of June 25, 2020.
2020 - 2021 Academic School Year for 6th Graders:
As referenced in the district’s full re-entry plan, this year, in addition to students being assigned to a cluster (Aqua, Lime, or Yellow), students will be assigned to a stable group, or pod, in each cluster where the same students will be with each other throughout the day. Cluster teachers and allied art teachers will rotate to all of the pods in the cluster. Please reference the district’s plans for additional information on the various plans.
The partial plan for 6th grade will call for approximately 50% of 6th grade students to be in at one time, while the other 50% will be home engaging in distance learning. More specifically, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays students A - K will engage in in-person learning, while students L - Z will be engaging in distance learning, and Thursdays and Fridays, students L - Z will engage in in-person learning, and students A - K will be engaging in distance learning. We will be alternating every Monday between the students A - K with the students L - Z. Please reference the district’s plan for additional information on the various plans.
2020 - 2021 Academic School Year for 7th/8th Graders:
As referenced in the district’s re-entry full and partial plans, this year, approximately 50% of our 7th/8th graders will be in school at one time, while the other 50% will be home engaging in distance learning. More specifically, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, students A - K will engage in in-person learning, while students L - Z will be engaging in distance learning, and Thursdays and Fridays, students L - Z will engage in in-person learning, and students A - K will be engaging in distance learning. We will be alternating every Monday between the students A - K with the students L - Z. Please reference the district’s plan for additional information on the various plans.
Parent/Guardian Forums:
Barrington Public School will be hosting re-entry Q and A forums:
K - 6: Wednesday, August 12, 2020 from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
7 - 12: Thursday, August 13, 2020 from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Please see an invite from a recent email from the district.
Upcoming Events/Information:
Below you will find information regarding upcoming important communications from BMS. We wanted to put these items on your radar so you can be on the lookout!
Cluster Letters: We hope to be emailing cluster assignments to families by August 21, 2020. Please note, once a student is placed in a cluster and pod (6th grade only), we are unable to make any changes. No exceptions.
Supply Lists: Along with the cluster letters, we will be providing families with a recommended supply list for each core class. This year, students will not be able to share materials. The school will be ordering extra supplies for students if needed.
Day in a Life Video: The district will be producing a day in a life video for students in elementary, middle, and high school to show what their day will look like and feel like. We hope to have this video completed by the end of next week, and made available the following.
Math Skipper Communication: In the next week, we will be sending a communication home to families regarding the program/plan for students who meet the criteria for skipping a grade level in math.