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CONNECTIONS
BURLINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
52 Institute Road, Burlington, VT 05408 802‐864‐8411 www.bhs.bsdvt.org Amy Mellencamp, Principal, [email protected] Find us on Facebook at Burlington High School May 18, 2015 Thank you to the BHS school community for their support of the Nepali Dinner last week which raised over $2,100 for earthquake relief. Thank you to the Vermont Nepalese Student Forum at BHS for leading and organizing this effort. FINAL ASSESSMENTS/YES SCHEDULES Final Assessments ‐ Come Only for Required Assessments
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Tuesday: Blue 1 8:05, Blue 3 10:45
Wednesday: Blue 4 8:05, Blue 2 10:45
Thursday: White 4 8:05, White 2 10:45
Friday: White 1 8:05, White 3 10:45
If students have an Academic Study, for instance, do not come for that block this week. Students go home after assessments, though quiet study and tutorial support is available in the library from 1:00‐3:00. The cafeteria is open from 7:15‐8:00 and 9:30‐1:00. 
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Monday, May 25: Memorial Day – No School Tuesday, May 26: Make‐Up Finals/Course Work Day – No School unless Exam/Extra Work Time Assigned Wednesday, May 27‐Tuesday, June 9: Year End Studies Program 9:30‐2:15 with Credit Recovery (assigned) 8:000‐9:15 and 2:30‐3:30; Seniors Must Turn in All Community Service Hour, iPads, and Pay Fines in order to Get Graduation Tickets Monday, June 8: Academic Awards Night 7:00 – Students receiving awards and their parents will be invited Tuesday, June 9: BTC Graduation 7:00 Wednesday, June 10: YES Presentation of Learning Day – All Students Required to Be in School; Last Day of the School Year; Athletic Awards Night 6:00 – Students being recognized and their parents will be invited Thursday, June 11: Senior Graduation Rehearsal 8:30 – All Seniors Must Attend to Participate in Graduation Friday, June 12: Graduation! 10:00 BHS 9th Grade Orientation Thursday, May 28, 2015, 7:00 p.m. in the BHS cafeteria Meet key BHS staff, learn about the school, take a tour and get a packet of cool, useful information! Incoming 9th graders and their parents/guardians are invited to this evening. Sports Calendar 
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Tuesday, May 19: HOME JV Baseball 4:30; AWAY Boys/Girls Golf 3:00; Varsity Softball/Baseball at Milton 4:30 Wednesday, May 20: HOME Track and Field; AWAY Boys Lacrosse 4:00 Randolph; Girls Lacrosse 5:30/7:00 at S. Burlington; JV Baseball at Essex 4:30 Thursday, May 21: HOME Varsity Softball/Baseball 4:30; AWAY JV Baseball 4:30 at Colchester Friday, May 22: HOME Boys Lacrosse 5:00/7:00; Girls Golf at Kwiniaska 3:00 Saturday, May 23: HOME JV Baseball 11:00; AWAY Girls Lacrosse 11:00/12:30 at Essex; VSoftball/Baseball 11:00 at Middlebury Upcoming Opportunities Make a Change. All BHS 9th graders have been hard at work on their culminating Make a Change Project for Humanities this year. They have identified a conflict in their lives or community, and then found out how to make a positive difference. Students have investigated conflicts ranging from gender bias in the work place to more student choice in classes to homelessness and hunger in Burlington. Come hear students present their projects at Make a Change Night on Tuesday, May 26 from 6:00‐7:30. American Denial. Through a partnership with Vermont PBS and the Partnership for Change, BHS will show the documentary American Denial on May 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the BHS Auditorium, followed by a panel discussion with BHS teachers and students. Please join us to “Follow the story of Swedish researcher Gunnar Myrdal whose landmark 1944 study, An American Dilemma, probed deep into the United States' racial psyche. The film weaves a narrative that exposes some of the potential underlying causes of racial biases still rooted in America’s systems and institutions today….. American Denial sheds light on the unconscious political and moral world of modern Americans, using archival footage, newsreels, nightly news reports, and rare southern home movies from the ‘30s and ‘40s, as well as research footage, websites, and YouTube films showing psychological testing of racial attitudes. Exploring “stop‐and‐frisk” practices, the incarceration crisis, and racially‐patterned poverty, the film features a wide array of historians, psychologists, and sociologists who offer expert insight and share their own personal, unsettling stories. The result is a unique and provocative film that challenges our assumptions about who we are and what we really believe.” Vermont PBS will be recording this important learning opportunity. All are welcome! Student News Thanks to the cast and crew of Scapino, a highly entertaining comedy that charmed the BHS school community last week. Thanks to all who supported this great production including adviser Leesa Guay‐Timpson and set designer and director volunteer Tom O’Brien. Congratulations to Cho Theh Aye who won the Grand Prize as “reader of the year.” As part of her recognition, she will throw out the first pitch at an upcoming Lake Monsters Game. Other students recognized for their outstanding reading progress this year are: Fartun Dayo, Anjana Mangar, Yara Alshaabi, Faiza Hassan, Ryan Mitchell, Francoise Manishimwe, Furaha Nsengiyumaya, and Alyssa Russell. Zeitlyn, Solomon and Avery Follett participated in GigHacks, a three‐day multi‐city hackathon that took place recently in five communities across the country including Burlington. The event was sponsored in part by Burlington Telecom, and also by US Ignite, a federally and privately funded initiative that connects the country's gigabit‐speed networks and helps cities leverage them for economic gain. The students were part of a civic engagement programming application that won the Most Innovative Award. Thanks to technology integration specialist Adam Provost for his support. Congratulations to BHS math students who excelled on the UVM Math Test. Earning certificates of merit (top 10%) were Lucas Bull, David Gafner‐Bergeron, Sally Matson, Isaiah Mindich, and Oscar Smith. Isaiah also won the region’s First Prize and will be honored at UVM for this accomplishment. A big thank you to the sponsors of the BHS After Prom. Many volunteers, parents and local business and organizations made this great event possible including: Mobil Short Stop, La Boca Wood Fired Pizza, North Star Cycle, Scout and Company Coffee Shop, North Star Leasing, and Burlington Partnership for Change! Student Opportunities Interested in being a student representative? Thank you to graduating senior Xander Long who has served as a school board Student Representative on the Burlington Board of School Commissioners for two years! 10th graders: Please consider applying to be a student representative for the next two years. Application forms are available in the Main Office and due back on Wednesday, May 27. Drivers Education There are still a couple of slots left for summer’s Drivers Education. 11th and 12th graders who have their Learning Permits and are interested in signing up for Drivers Education classes this fall, which will happen during the school day this coming year, should stop by and see Mr. Hill in the Cafeteria this week or email him at [email protected]. National Honor Society Community Service Opportunities 
Food Drive: NHS is participating in the YMCA food drive to benefit the Food Shelf. There is a table in A‐building across from the gym where you may place donations. Please encourage students to participate in the food drive, if they are able. 
Senior Closet Clean Out! Next to the food drive table in A‐building, there are boxes for our NHS clothes drive to restock the BHS Clothes Closet. Please encourage seniors to donate any clean, gently‐used, unwanted clothing. Anyone is welcome to donate. NHS thought it would be good to zero in on seniors since many of them will be leaving home and will be asked to clean up their rooms. 
Car Wash: The NHS Car Wash will be in the main parking lot on June 7th (Sunday) from 9:30am‐1:30pm. Tickets are $5 and all proceeds benefit a former BHS student who is battling cancer. NHS students have tickets now for purchase or you may purchase a ticket at the car wash. Summer Bus Opportunity CCTA understands how hard it is to manage transportation for your children during summer break. This year we are offering a new Youth Summer Fun Program which offers UNLIMITED local service for children ages 7‐17 from June 15 through August 25 for only $25! That's more than two months for the price of one! This pass (in the form of a wristband) gives children access to convenient, safe, reliable transportation to sports and summer programs, museums, parks, beaches, friends, family and much more. The best part is you gain the freedom and independence you’ve been looking for. For more information on this program or to purchase your pass, visit us at CCTAride.org or call the main office at 802‐864‐2282. BHS Advisories Next year students BHS will be starting an Advisory Program for 9th, 10th and 11th graders, with seniors participating in Senior Time. The purpose of advisory is to for each student to be known well, to set goals, and to get support from an adult and from a peer group. Advisory is about connections ‐ students to adults, and student to student. It is grouped by grade level, and will meet 4 days a week, for 35 minutes. Students will also begin keeping a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) to track and guide their learning at BHS. Read more about this initiative on the BHS web page under Advisories/PLPs. Project Sticker Shock a Success! START students from BHS and Burlington’s local substance abuse prevention coalition, the Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community (BPHC), launched their annual “Project Sticker Shock” to reduce the negative consequences of underage drinking for their peers. The timing was a perfect prevention effort for the BHS prom on Saturday, May 9th. Research shows that more teens die from drinking and driving during prom and graduation than at any other time of year. Burlington teens and BPHC recognize how important it is to remind adults that they can have a big impact on supporting youth to make healthy and legal decisions about alcohol use during this high risk time. Project Sticker Shock is geared to raise public awareness about underage drinking and youth access to alcohol and to strengthen the laws against providing alcohol to a minor. It is a statewide public awareness campaign in which adolescents, accompanied by adult chaperones, place bright stickers on multi‐packs of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine coolers, etc.) and on alcohol cooler windows at participating grocery and convenience stores in Burlington. The stickers and window clings read: According to the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 62% of teens in Burlington who drank in the last month report obtaining alcohol by someone giving it to them or them giving someone $ to buy it for them. Research conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation estimated that underage drinking cost the citizens of Vermont $123.4 million in 2010 (sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention). Burlington High School senior, Tian Berry, gives this reason for participating in the project, “Sticker shock is a way for us to start spreading the message around Burlington to adults and high school students that staying sober is okay, even if other people aren't, and that there are punishments for breaking the law.” START students, along with Jill Nye‐McKeown, BHS Prevention Coordinator, Margo Austin, BHS SAP Counselor and Mariah Sanderson from BPHC, met after school on May 6 and visited these retailers in Burlington for Project Sticker Shock: Waggy’s Store & Deli, Pearl Street Beverage, Pine Street Deli, Bessery’s Quality Market, Kerry’s Kwik Stop, 802 Beer Wine Spirits, and JR’s Corner Store. Thank you to these retailers for letting us get the word out to “Keep Alcohol out of the Hands of Minors!” Channel 17 Telecast Showings of Kevin Brooks and Muji Karim Kevin Brooks ‐ Just Wiggle Your Toes was recorded on 2015‐04‐30. *WATCH ON TV : * You can watch this program on Channel 17/ Town Meeting Television, on Comcast Cable and Burlington Telecom at the following times: 1 Wednesday May 6, 9:50 PM 2 Thursday May 7, 2:50 AM 3 Thursday May 7, 8:50 AM 4 Saturday May 16, 4:30 PM 5 Sunday May 24, 1:00 PM *WATCH ONLINE : * You may watch the program on‐line by clicking here: https://www.cctv.org/watch‐tv/programs/kevin‐brooks‐just‐wiggle‐your‐toes Bilateral Amputee and Former BHS Athlete Sets Sights on the Road to Rio was recorded on 2015‐05‐08. *WATCH ON TV : * You can watch this program on Channel 17/ Town Meeting Television, on Comcast Cable and Burlington Telecom at the following times: 1 Thursday May 14, 2:00 PM 2 Saturday May 16, 3:30 PM 3 Sunday May 24, 6:30 PM 4 Thursday May 28, 1:00 PM 5 Wednesday June 3, 4:30 PM *WATCH ONLINE : * You may watch the program on‐line by clicking here: https://www.cctv.org/watch‐tv/programs/bilateral‐amputee‐and‐former‐bhs‐athlete‐sets‐sights‐road‐rio BURLINGTON HIGH SCHOOL: OUR VISION AND MISSION
Burlington High School is an innovative, equitable, and collaborative community of learners inspiring and
shaping a dynamic and sustainable future for Burlington.
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We build on the diverse cultures, experiences, and interests of our students and community to support
student-centered learning and foster intellectual growth.
We partner with families and the community at large to help our students develop the skills to become
independent, self-directed, and lifelong learners who contribute responsibly to our world.
Our mission is to challenge all students to achieve at their highest levels and to demonstrate Critical
Thinking and Problem Solving, Effective Communication, Cross-Cultural Understanding and Civic
Engagement, Personal Development, and Curiosity and Creativity.