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Barre City Elementary and
Middle School
50 Parkside Terrace
Barre, VT 05641
802-476-6541
Dec 2014/Jan 2015
BCEMS Dec/Jan Newsletter
We hope all of you are able to find time to enjoy this special season of the year with your family and friends. Here
are some of the highlights of things happening here at
school:
SCHOOL BOARD DECISION MADE TO
DELAY STARTING TIME OF SCHOOL IN
THE 2015-16 YEAR
In response to the growing body of research that indicates that middle school students are more alert and
perform at a higher level if they begin school later in
the morning, our school board supported a proposal
to change the starting time of school in the fall of
2015. At that time, students in grades 5-8 will begin
school 25 minutes later than they currently do, arriving at school at 7:45 in the morning, rather than at
7:20. Our K - 4 children will be arriving at school at
8:35 rather than the current 8:20, delaying their start
time by 15 minutes. The school day will end according to the following times: grades 5-8 at 2:30 and
grades K-4 at 3:15. To summarize:
2015-16 Starting Time 2015-16 Ending Time
5-8
7:45
2:30
K-4
8:35
3:15
We wanted to share this information with you now so
you can have time to make any necessary changes
Paige Dickinson (3rd Grade) was a winner in the regarding child care. Please do feel free to contact us
State of Vermont Fire Safety Calendar Contest. Her if you have any questions about this change.
artwork was chosen for the month of January! On
Friday, November 7th, she received her award.
Poster Art Winner
Page 2
8TH GRADE
CELEBRATION
CEREMONY
REMINDER....
NO NECAP
TESTS THIS
YEAR,
REPLACED BY
SBAC
BCEMS Dec 2014/Jan 2015
Calendar of Events
The Board Corner
By Lucas Herring, School Board Chair
To help keep families informed of items that happen at the School Board, we
are including a new section in the newsletter about recent items at the School Board
and items that will be coming up for discussion.
After reviewing studies on student performance, the board discussed changing
the school start time last year. The Board received several comments back from parents
which prompted a more thorough review of the proposal, which was brought back to
the Board in November. Administrators and Board Members took information gathered from surveys of parents and teachers to make sure that concerns were addressed
and also compared the start time to other school districts in Vermont. The outcome
was that the Board approve a later start time for next school year that was in-line with
other districts, was supported by studies and took into consideration parent concerns.
The School Board also discussed expenditures to run the school next year. The
Legislature passed Act 166 which entitles all 3 to 5-year-old children not in kindergarten
to 10 hours of publicly funded Pre-K education in a pre-qualified program starting next
year and the associated cost proposed is about $400,000. Including all other expenses
for the school, the overall increase was proposed to be about $800,000. At the next
meeting on December 8th, the Board will be reviewing these expenses again, but along
with revenue information from the Agency of Education. The budget will be finalized
in January, so we encourage parents and community members to come to the Board
meeting or to contact Board members with any questions or concerns. You can find a
list of Board Minutes and Agendas or Board Member contact information on the
BCEMS web page.
ANNUAL COMMUNITY HOLIDAY DINNER...DECEMBER 25, 2014
The annual community holiday dinner will be held at the Hedding Methodist Church at
40 Washington St. in Barre. Dinner will be served on December 25, 2014, from noon
until 2:00 p.m. The dinner is free and open to all who wish to attend. Volunteers and
donations are needed. Please contact one of our student’s parents, Sonya Spaulding, at
(802 476-5569) or email her at [email protected] if you need more information
or would like to help.
DECEMBER LITERACY ASSESSMENTS FOR STUDENTS IN K-2
During the month of December children in grades K-2 will be given individually administered reading, writing, and spelling assessments to determine the amount of progress they have made since the beginning of this school year. We will be sharing those
results with you once they have been compiled after the first of the year.
MUSIC PERFORMANCES
We hope you enjoyed our grade 3 concert, led by Mr. Frey, on Wednesday, December 17. Our
grade 5-8 winter band and chorus concert was held on Thursday, December 18. On December
16, Mr. Frey took our middle chorus to perform for the residents at local nursing homes. On Saturday, December 20, Mr. Frey is bringing the chorus to the Canadian Club to perform for a group
of senior citizens at the invitation of Senator Sanders. This is certainly a busy month for our
young musicians!
SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL SPELLING TEAMS
We want to recognize and congratulate our outstanding 5th and 6th grade spellers and our 7th and
8th grade spellers who came in first place in the regional competition, and went to the state. Over
200 schools in Vermont were eligible to compete in this fall's state-wide spelling competition. Our
5th and 6th grade team placed third in the state. The 7th and 8th grade team placed 4th in the
state! We are very, very proud of the following great spellers and congratulations go to all of
them: At the 5th/6th grade level: Katrina Favreau, Noah Partridge, Mallory Kiniry, Raven Premont, Savannah LaFlower, and Noah Rubel. At the 7th/8th grade level: Makayla Chouinard,
Carmellitta Le, Calista Hanna, Lia Rubel, and Izzy Usle-Wolfel. Our gratitude goes to the spelling
coach, one of our teachers, Mrs. Cathy Blake, as well. Congratulations, all!
RECYCLE TO SUPPORT MENTORING
BCEMS continues to collect Inkjet and Toner cartridges to support our mentoring programs.
This year additional items may be collected which include: iIPods, MP3 Players. digital cameras,
GPS devices, cell phones, and laptops. Items may be brought to the front office or the collection
bin in front of the library. Thanks to Mr. Gene Ziske, Technical Education teacher, for his years
of support for this program.
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BCEMS Dec 2014/Jan 2015
Calendar of Events
Barre Writing Contest
Thanks to all who participated in this year's Barre Writing Contest. There were
hundreds of submissions. The winners received their prizes and reading their
pieces at the Aldrich Library on Tuesday, November 18th. Prizes were donated in
memory of former BCEMS teacher, Janet Locke, by her husband, Chuck and
daughter, our own Stacy Ferland. All are encouraged to congratulate the following winners:
BCEMS BAND
PERFORMS
DURING VETERANS’ DAY
CEREMONY
Grades 1 and 2
Jessica Shepard, Runner-up (BTMES)
Isabella Cecchinelli, 1st Place (BCEMS)
Grades 3 and 4
Ryan Allen, Runner-up (BTMES)
Abigail Lindheim, 1st Place (BTMES)
REMINDER TO
CALL THE
Grades 5 and 6
OFFICE IF
YOUR CHILD IS Camden Simpson, Runner-up (BTMES)
Kim Davis, 1st Place (BCEMS)
OUT.
Grades 7 and 8
Beth Poirier, Runner-up (BTMES)
Abby Haigh, 1st Place (BCEMS)
High School
Monica Longchamp, runner-up
Renee Eastman, 1st Place
Adult
Todd Washburne, Runner-up
Heather Wieler, 1st Place
FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PROGRAM GOING WELL
FITZ VOGT PROVIDING HEALTHY SNACKS FOR HOLIDAY PARTIES
We want to thank our food service provider, Fitz Vogt, for preparing healthy snacks for all of our PreK-grade 8
students on Tuesday, December 23, to help them celebrate the upcoming holiday season! Not only does this represent a relief to all of you during this busy season, but it will help support our school’s nutrition policy. Special
thanks go to Fitz Vogt manager, George Mackey, and all of his staff who are helping prepare this treat!
In addition to these holiday treats, once a month Fitz Vogt prepares a special meal and dessert as a way of recognizing all of the children’s birthdays that month. We are finding that not only does this significantly reduce the
amount of sugary foods that come to school, helping to support our school’s goal of promoting nutritious foods,
but it also places less strain on all of you and your budget.
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BCEMS Dec 2014/Jan 2015
Calendar of Events
REMINDER TO REVIEW WHERE YOUR CHILD IS TO GO
IN THE EVENT OF AN EARLY DISMISSAL
With the return of cold, wintry weather, we would like to ask you to please review with your
child where s/he is to go in the event that school has to be dismissed early. If this were to occur,
an announcement would be made on the local radio stations: WDEV (550 AM), WSKI (1249
AM), WSNO (1450 AM), and WORK (107 FM) and we would activate our automated calling system. Please make sure our office always has current home and work numbers so we can reach
you.
P.T.O REMINDER
We want to remind you that our P.T.O. sponsors both the Campbell’s Soup Label and the General
Mills Box Top programs that allow schools to redeem the labels and box tops for instructional
equipment and/or money. A collection bin is located just inside both main entrances to the
school. We also participate in the Hannafords for Schools Program which generates cash for our
school to purchase special enriching items for the children.
The P.T.O. held a very successful “Family Movie Night” on Friday, December 5, when the movie,
"Frozen," was shown. The children seemed to have a great time enjoying the movie and homemade snacks that were created to look like characters from "Frozen!" Special thanks to the parents who helped organize this event!
Middle School Art
Page 6
BCEMS Dec 2014/Jan 2015
Calendar of Events
BARRE CITY ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014-15
DEC. 18
School Board Finance Committee Meeting Conference Room
DEC. 23
Last day of school before December Break
DEC. 24-JAN 4
No School...December Vacation
JAN. 5
School Resumes...Happy New Year!
JAN. 8
School Board Finance Committee Meeting
5:30 P.M.
JAN. 12
School Board Meeting
5:30 P.M.
JAN. 14
2nd Marking Period Ends
JAN. 19
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Staff Development Day-No School for Students
JAN 21
Grade K-8 Report Cards Go Home
JAN. 26
Curriculum Committee Meeting Conference Room 5:00
Library
5:30 P.M.
We’re on the Web!
http://www.bcemsvt.org
Barre City Elementary and Middle
School
50 Parkside Terrace
Barre, VT 05641
LOST AND FOUND ITEMS NEED
CHECKING
Please be sure to check out the “Lost and
Found” table and coat rack located in the
front lobby. Any unclaimed items will be
donated to the Salvation Army during the
December vacation.
In the spirit of this holiday season, we want to tell
you how much we enjoy and appreciate the opportunity we have to work with your children every day.
The energy and the excitement for learning that they
bring inspires all of us. Thank you, too, for the support you give your child and our school. We feel so
fortunate to work with such a caring and compassionate group of people. Please remember to spend
those precious 15-30 minutes each evening reading
to or with your child...and to be sure to check in
with him/her to see how their day at school went.
Regardless of the holiday you celebrate, we wish
each of you a healthy and happy one!
Respectfully,
Michele Cote James Taffel
5-8 Principal Pre-K-4 Principal
Jackie Tollman
Vice-Principal
Stacy Ferland
Director of Special Services