Barrington Middle School
BMS Connected Learning Newsletter: October 4, 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.
Common Commitments:
To empower ALL students to excel, The BMS Learning Community will provide:
A safe, caring, and supportive learning environment;
A challenging curriculum supported by current technology;
The best research-based strategies to meet the unique educational, physical, emotional, and social needs of the 10 to the 14-year-old learner; and
A deliberate and specific approach to meet the individual needs/abilities for each performance subgroup of our student body.
BMS Spotlight on Learning:
This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on Mr. Chris Keller and Mrs. Meg Snyder for being our BMS Canvas Ambassadors. This past week, we had our district kick-off meeting, and I know Chris and Meg are excited and willing to help. Please stay tuned for specific ways to connect with your Canvas Ambassador. Thank you Chris and Meg for technological wisdom!
BMS New Information
Start with Hello Week:
Next week (Week of October 13th) we will be having Start with Hello Week to promote unity and inclusion throughout our BMS Learning Community. Each day, we will be making announcements to encourage students to connect with new classmates. We will also be providing activities you can complete during FAST/Advisory.
BMS Special Education Task Force:
BMS will be forming a Special Education Task Force to support and enhance our culture, communication and school/family partnerships. The task force at each building will represent families and school staff and will be led by the building administrator. This group will meet on a regular basis throughout the year to engage in collaborative action planning around Special Education. The work of each school’s task force will align with the work of the District Special Education Task Force. If you are interested in participating on the BMS Special Education Task Force we ask you to fill out the google form below by Tuesday, October 13th. We will hold our first meeting at the end of October.
BMS Special Education Task Force Application 2020
BMS School Improvement Team Family Representative:
The BMS SIT team is seeking parent membership. As a parent member of the team, we are asking for a 2 year commitment. Meetings are scheduled the last Tuesday of each month from 3:30 to 4:30. If interested, please complete the below form by Friday, October 16, 2020.
BMS SIT Family Membership Application 2020
FastBridge:
Beginning the week of October 11, 2020, All students at BMS will be participating in the Fall Fastbridge Screening (numeracy and literacy). As part of our programming here at BMS, screening provides the school with a snapshot on how the students are performing in numeracy and literacy. Depending on how students perform, some students may be given additional assessments to take a closer look at performance in these specific areas. Please feel free to reach out to your child’s cluster teachers or school counselor if you have any questions. Please see the link below for additional information on the FastBridge Assessment:
FastBridge Directions BMS Families
BMS Old Information
Updated BMS Blue/Gold Calendar:
Please see our updated BMS Blue/Gold Calendar. In order to help with clarity, we alternated each day to either be Odd or Even. As you will notice, due to the number of days off in November, there will now be 3 Even Mondays in a row, followed by 2 Odd Mondays in a row.
BMS Daily Calendar 2020 - 2021
Student Attendance/early dismissal:
If your child is going to be absent from in-person learning or distance learning we ask that you contact the main office to let them know. If your child needs to be dismissed from school (in-person or distance learning) we ask you to follow the same procedure. It is important that we have accurate attendance records.
Screening Students
Barrington Public Schools abides by the guidelines set forth from the RI Department of Education (RIDE) and RI Department of Health (RIDOH) for Screening Students and Staff, related to COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidance for reopening schools.
Checking for symptoms at home each morning by families and caregivers is critical and will serve as the primary screening mechanism for COVID-19 symptoms. Communication of this protocol and a self-attestation form will be provided to parents to use as a screening tool. This tool will be used to symptom check, and families should not send their children to school if they exhibit any COVID-19 symptoms. We will update the checklist of symptoms provided on the form if any guidance from the CDC changes.
Student Attestation Procedures:
You must screen your child for temperature, other symptoms, and risk factors for COVID-19 each day before sending them to the bus or building. If the student has any signs of illness or risk factors, they will remain at home, and the parent/guardian will contact the school nurse.
Barrington Public Schools requires you to use the Student attestation form daily to screen your child. We will send out weekly reminders on Sunday evenings with reminders about screening for symptoms of and risk factors for COVID-19 and what would necessitate your child to stay home.
Please see the linked document below for additional information.
Notes about Screening Students:
Families and caregivers will screen students at home using a self-attestation form.
Fever is defined at 100° F or above related to this self-attestation form.
If a student has a low-grade fever, less than 100℉ before school, do not send your child to school and monitor at home for symptoms of illness or if increasing fever develops.
Remain in close contact with the school nurse or principal
If feeling well enough to learn, students monitored at home may engage in distance learning.
All students must stay home if they answer “Yes” to any screening questions before school.
If a student screens positive for any COVID-19 symptoms, the student’s parent/guardian should seek medical advice from the student’s healthcare provider and inform the school of the student’s absence and inform the school nurse (COVID-19 point of contact) at the school.
School staff (and bus drivers) should observe students throughout the day and refer students who may show signs of being symptomatic to the school nurse for assessment.
Nursing staff will monitor students who are symptomatic in isolation rooms until parents arrive and provide instructions for the next steps. Parents must pick up their children within one hour for the safety of all members of the community.
Canvas:
We are moving away from Google Classroom and beginning to use Canvas this year. We will be sending out specific directions to login and use Canvas. For now, we wanted to provide you with these introduction videos.
Unlike Google Classroom, you and your children will only have to log in to 1 Canvas Account to see all of your child's teachers at the elementary level and your child's courses at the secondary level.
Students’ Canvas Overview
https://community.canvaslms.co...
Parents’ Canvas Overview
https://community.canvaslms.co...
Barrington Community Information
Join the Adventure of Scouting with Troop 2 Barrington
Join us on Wednesdays at 5:00pm
Haines Memorial State Park (picnic site #20 -adjacent to boat ramp parking lot) Rte 103, East Providence, RI
Barrington Lions Club International Peace Poster Contest
Bringing Peace to the World, One Child at a Time.
Through service to others, we can give and receive so much - joy, kindness, hope and PEACE. Create a work of art that expresses your vision of "Peace Through Service" by participating in the Lions Clubs International Peace Poster Contest!
Please see this link for prize and contest entry information.
Flu Clinic
Please see the flier below for upcoming flu clinics that will be taking place in the district.