Barrington Middle School
BMS Connected Learning Newsletter 6.1.2020
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)
BMS Cluster Award Ceremonies (student event)
BMS Virtual 8th Grade Bridge Ceremony (pre-recorded) on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 beginning at 7:00pm.
8th Grade “Good-bye Drive Thru” and Locker Content Pickup on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 (please see below for specific times)
7th Grade Locker Content Pickup on Friday, June 19, 2020 (please see below for specific times)
6th Grade Locker Content Pickup on Friday, June 19, 2020 (please see below for specific times)
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
Please see the link for a look inside our amazing BMS Learning Community:
BMS Spotlight on Learning
This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mr. Jeff Blanchet and Mr. Bob Marley for their support during this past week’s BMS Math Progression Q and A. We had nearly 40 families participate. Jeff and Bob provided the families with their expertise and knowledge of the content, scope and sequence, and progressions. Great work Jeff and Bob!
BMS New Information
Distance Learning Schedule Week of 6/7/2020
Date | Day | Specials |
Monday June 8, 2020 | Day 3 | 7th Grade Specials 6th/8th Grade Independent Practice |
Tuesday June 9, 2020 | Day 4 Block | 7th Grade Specials 6th/8th Grade Independent Practice |
Wednesday June 10, 2020 | Screen Lite Wednesday Even Day | Screen Lite Wednesday Even Day |
Thursday June 11, 2020 | Day 5 Block | 8th Grade Specials 6th/7th Grade Independent Practice |
Friday June 12, 2020 | Day 6 Block | 8th Grade Specials 6th/7th Grade Independent Practice |
Please reach out if you have any questions.
Locker Content Pickup Dates:
During the week of June 15, 2020, families will have an opportunity to pick-up the contents of student lockers.
6/17/2020 Wednesday 8th Grade | 6/19/2020 Friday 7th Grade | 6/19/2020 Friday 6th Grade |
Green 8:30 am - 9:30 am | Aqua 8:30 am - 9:30 am | Lime 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm |
Purple 9:30 am - 10:30 am | Blue 9:30 am - 10:30 am | Razz 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm |
Red 10:30 am - 11:30 am | Orange 10:30 am - 11:30 am | Yellow 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm |
Locker Content Pickup Expectations / Instructional Material drop off:
6th and 7th Grade Families:
6th and 7th Grade families will be asked to pull into the “BMS front loop” bus driveway.
Families will be asked to tape the name of the child’s first/last name and cluster on the window of the car.
Families will drive all the way forward to the next available pick up/ drop off station.
Families will drop off the instructional materials in the bins and then will receive locker content bags.
Instructional materials will include library books, text books, instructional materials, etc.
Please wipe down materials with disinfectant wipes prior to return.
Please include your child’s first name, last name, and cluster in the materials that are being returned.
Families in the car are asked to wear masks.
Faculty/Staff distributing materials will also be wearing masks, as well as gloves.
Families and students will not be permitted to leave their vehicles at any time.
Students will not be able to access the property on bike/skateboard/walking/etc at any time to receive their locker content bags.
8th Grade Families
In addition to the above mentioned bullets, 8th Grade families will be asked to use the long driveway beginning across from the post office to pull into the property.
BMS Gym Lockers:
Please complete the below form only if you have items stored in our BMS Gym Lockers. We are currently assessing how many students have items so we can then go forward and make the best plan for students to collect their items. Unfortunately, lockers do not belong to an individual student, and there is not a record of which student uses which locker.
Incoming 8th Grade Math Recommendations:
In the next week, your child’s current 7th grade teacher will be emailing home to you the BMS 8th Grade Math Recommendations. Our teachers will make their mathematical recommendations for either Pre-Algebra or Algebra using a series of data points. From historical knowledge, students who are recommended to take Pre-Algebra, but opt into Algebra, have an increased potential of struggling, which will result in not having a strong command of algebraic concepts that will be invaluable as they progress in their math at the high school level.
Cluster Awards Ceremony:
At the end of each year, we call each grade level to the auditorium to participate in our grade level award ceremony. This year, Ms. Silveira, Dr. Anderson, and Cluster Teachers will be holding individual cluster award ceremonies via Zoom. We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of our amazing students. Later on in the summer months, the certificates will be mailed home to students.
Overnight Field Trip Reimbursement Update:
This week, we hope to begin the reimbursement process for those families who notified the BMS office that they are in need of the reimbursement. Please see the information below from a previous communication regarding the process.
8th Grade End of the Year Updates!
8th Grade Virtual Bridge Ceremony!
Please see a link to an invitation for our 8th Grade Virtual Bridge Ceremony (pre-recorded) below. Bridge Ceremony video will be made available for friends and families to view at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. This year’s Bridge Ceremony will include some of our staples (National Anthem, BMS a capella group, Student Council President Address, and Principal’s Address), as well as a few surprises as we celebrate our 8th Graders’ transition from Middle School to High School. We encourage you to share this invitation and linked invitation with friends and families who may be near and far.
Invitation to our 8th Grade Virtual Bridge Ceremony
8th Grade “Good-bye Drive Thru!”
On Wednesday, June 17, 2020 we would like to invite our 8th Graders to BMS for a very special 8th Grade “Good-bye Drive Thru” as 8th Grade students pick up their locker content bags (please see above for more information). 8th grade students and their families will be encouraged to drive onto campus and collect a very special gift prepared by our 8th Grade Celebration Committee. As families drive onto campus they will be greeted by various members of our BMS Learning Community wearing their Blue and Gold and waiving and wishing our 8th graders the best of luck.
Incoming 9th Grade BHS Orientations:
Please be on the lookout for information coming from BHS regarding Incoming 9th Grade BHS Orientations.
8th Grade Student Chrome-Books:
8th Grade Students attending BHS in the fall will keep their device over the summer months. When they return to school in the fall, they will turn their current device in for their new device. Students not attending BHS in the fall are asked to drop off their devices to BMS during their designated time on June 17, 2020. .
Old Information:
BMS Math Progression Overview and Q and A:
This past Thursday, May 28, 2020 we released our BMS Math Progression overview to our families. Please see link below:
Barrington Middle School Mathematical Progressions 2019 - 2020 (Video)
Barrington Middle School Mathematical Progressions 2020 - 2021 (Slide Deck)
ELA Summer Learning:
Incoming students in grades 6-8 will have personal choice for their summer learning, reading from the RIMSBA (Rhode Island Middle School Book Awards) list. Grades 6 & 7 students will select two books from the list to read. Grade 8 students will select one book from the list and read the first 71 pages of Dry to be prepared for the new school year. All students will also complete a brief response to literature activity for each book read. All BMS ELA teachers will share the reading expectations with students by June 12.
Math Summer Learning:
For students entering grade 6 math, grade 7 math, and grade 8 Pre-Algebra: Students will be given a code to a Google Classroom page for Summer Learning prior to the end of the year. This will include recommended assignments through Khan Academy.
For students entering Algebra: Students entering Algebra will receive a code to a Google Classroom page for Summer Learning, which will include the mandatory grade 8 Geometry practice assignments. These will be through Khan Academy and GoFormative.
Common Sense Media:
Our district and school continues to embrace the importance of teaching digital citizenship to our students. During the time of distance learning, we have come up with creative ways to substitute the typical CSM lessons with online digital citizenship activities. Over the next coming weeks, students during FAST will be completing various activities.
BMS Student Chromebooks:
Our current 6th Grade, 7th Grade, and 8th Grade Students will be hanging onto their Chromebooks over summer vacation. 6th and 7th graders will be using their device during the next school year (2020 - 2021). Our 8th graders will be returning their Chromebooks for the start of the next year, and will be getting a new Chromebook for their high school career. If you have any questions at all, please reach out to Dr. Anderson.
BMS Field Trip Update:
Please see a recent email that was sent to our BMS Learning Community regarding reimbursements for overnight field trips. Please feel free to reach out at any time if you have any questions.
Motivational Messages to BMS Students:
Over the past several weeks, our BMS Faculty/Staff have been creating motivational messages for our students! If you have a moment, please see the video that was put together from our faculty/staff to our amazing students!
Motivational Messages for BMS Students
Incoming 6th Grade Families Orientation:
Please see a few links below to our 5th Grade Parent Orientation, as well as our incoming 6th Grade Parent Q&A nights (by alphabetical order). I look forward to partnering with you in the future:
8th Grade Celebration:
Last week, a group of 8th grade teachers and representatives from the PTO met to begin to plan our 8th Grade Celebration. Although we will be unable to have our traditional in person celebrations (Bridge Ceremony, Dinner Dance, etc), the team is working hard on being creative to celebrate our 8th Graders as they transition from our Middle School to the High School.
BMS Cluster/Experience Preference Forms:
This year, we will be emailing the BMS Cluster/Experience Preference Forms home on Friday, May 22, 2020. We are requesting forms to be completed by Monday, June 1, 2020 by 4:00 pm.
High School Jazz Band Auditions:
Any 8th grader who would like to audition for next year’s Barrington High School Jazz band should contact Mrs. Barbara Hughes at the High School. Email: Hughesb@barringtonschools.org
BMS Teacher Appreciation Video:
Please see a link below to view last week’s BMS Teacher Appreciation Video! Last week, we had nearly 130 students submit a picture to show thanks to our BMS Faculty/Staff! A special thanks to Jack Culton for putting the video together!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZtApHWmtVRRH0qlUhRNgsIT4gor3jczJ/view?usp=sharing
BMS Student Distance Learning Expectations:
This week, we have asked our teachers to remind our students of our BMS Student Distance Learning Expectations. We have provided more examples/specifics for each area. Please see a link below for our updated expectations. We are also asking families to help remind their students to check into the BMS Homeroom google classroom daily. Students should check into the Homeroom google classroom by 8:42 am and complete the attendance form. Your help in reminding students about this important step each morning is appreciated.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7NxJr_V6clITFy8vCMjmBf95XqnYhIUFUJ_XOvZwCA/edit?usp=sharing
Student Schedule Video’s and Student Communication:
Ms. Silveira and I have been using our BMS Homeroom Google Classroom as means of communicating to our students on a daily basis. We have found this platform to be successful due to all of the students needing to access this page to sign in for the day.
Included in Monday’s message, we will be including the following videos that Ms. Silveira recorded to help students strengthen their understanding of our distance learning schedule. Great work Ms. Silveira for putting these videos together!
Student Attendance:
Students are expected to check in to the BMS Homeroom Google Classroom by 8:40 am each day and to attend all of their classes throughout the day. Attendance will be taken each period. We understand that there may be times when students are participating and completing their work, but cannot attend a session. In this instance, they will receive credit but will need to email the teacher before the end of the day. If your child is tardy please help to remind them they should check into the BMS Homeroom Google Classroom before they log-in to their scheduled classroom.
If your child will be absent or tardy, please send an email to bmsattendance@barringtonschools.org to report this. In the subject line please put your student(s) First and Last Name. Please report absences or tardies by 8:30am. The attendance email will be monitored daily by the office staff. Please see the linked document for our complete Daily Attendance protocol.
BMS Family/Student Distance Learning Questions:
We have provided you with an abundance of information related to Distance Learning. As questions come up please submit them using the BMS Family/Student Distance Distance Learning Questions form. Please check the BMS Family/Student Distance Learning Questions and Answers document for updates and answers to your questions.
IEP, 504 and Parent Meetings:
If you had a previously scheduled IEP, 504 or Parent Meeting we will be rescheduling these with you soon. Mrs. Bulman will begin reaching out to parents to reschedule IEP and parent meetings starting this week. Meetings will take place with parents via Zoom. If you have questions about IEP or parent meetings please reach out to Mrs. Kathy Bulman: bulmank@barringtonschools.org. Mrs. Nelson will be reaching out to reschedule 504 meetings starting this week. Meetings will also take place via Zoom. If you have questions about 504 meetings please reach out to Mrs. Kelly Nelson: nelsonk@barringtonschools.org.