Principal's Weekly
Principal Beth N. Choquette, Bridge Street School
Bridge Street School
2 Parsons Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
413-587-1460 (phone) 413-587-1484 (fax)
Beth N. Choquette, Principal bchoquette@northamtpon-k12.us
Elizabeth Peterson, Administrative Assistant epeterson@northampton-k12.us
Nicole Soutra, Senior Clerk nsoutra@northampton-k12.us
Nora DeJasu, Head Teacher ndejasu@northampton-k12.us
Translation of the Principal's Weekly
At the top of the weekly email, there's a link that reads "View it in your browser," click that and it takes you to the post on a webpage.
Scroll to the bottom where there's a black menu bar and pick the option that says "Translate."
Select the language you would like it translated in and it will then translate it on the webpage.
Traducción del semanario del director
Solo un recordatorio de que el sitio web que uso para crear mis boletines semanales, ahora tiene traducción en muchos idiomas diferentes. Aquí están los pasos para traducirlo:
En la parte superior del correo electrónico semanal, hay un enlace que dice "Verlo en su navegador", haga clic en eso y lo llevará a la publicación en una página web.
Desplázate hacia la parte inferior donde hay una barra de menú negra y elige la opción que dice "Traducir".
Seleccione el idioma en el que desea traducirlo y luego lo traducirá en la página web.
A Message From Principal Choquette 5/3/19
Dear Families,
Happy May! Please come out and show your support for our LGBTQ community on Saturday, May 4th for the annual Pride Parade. All Northampton Public School participants will be meeting on Hampton Ave at 10:30-10:45 AM, as the parade kicks off at 11 AM. NPS will be located somewhere near the brewery, probably a bit closer to the parking garage than Provisions. There will be a dozen balloons high above our contingent to allow you to find the NPS cohort from far away. Balloon colors include: dark pink, yellow, blue. Students should wear their BSS t-shirts or sweatshirts if they have them!
We now have had the Gaga Ball Pit for a couple of weeks, but as with anything that is new, the novelty can wear off and although our students are having a blast, I want to hear from you regarding any concerns you may have and the positives that your kids are talking about. Yesterday I gave a tour of our school to Representative Sabadosa, she asked to see the Gaga Pit in action and just loved ending her day observing kids playing Gaga. Please email me any concerns and joys that your students are experiencing at bchoquette@northampton-k12.us
This is the last reminder about the Northampton Public School annual K-8 art show from May 10th-31st. The opening of the art show will be held on May 10th from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at JFK Middle School. Light refreshments will be served by the Jackson Street PTO. This is always an amazing event, I hope to see you all there.
Next week, May 6-10, is Teacher Appreciation Week. Let's not forget our amazing teachers and all that they do for our students and families. Thank you to the entire Bridge Street Faculty and Staff for your dedication and commitment to education.
I hope you all have a wonderful week next week.
Girls on the Run
Girls on the Run (GOTR) at BSS are getting ready to run/walk their practice 5K on Friday May 10th! This is in preparation for the final 5K at Springfield College on June 2nd to mark the end of their season (more information about that amazing event will be coming soon!).
We would love your support for the practice 5K. We will be walking/running a route around the Bridge St. neighborhood. The girls will do two 1.5 mile loop and go right past the school!
There are lots of ways to support the girls. We need running buddies (someone to support the girls at whatever pace they want), folks for a water table, giving out awards, holding tape for the finish line for each girl, special snacks or just folks to cheer everyone on.
If you work at the school, we invite you all to step outside the building after school on Friday May 10th and give them a few shouts of encouragement when they start. We should be officially starting the 5k by 3:30pm.
If you can commit to being there for any of the tasks above please let us know, as we do need helpers arranged ahead of time. Otherwise, just come for whatever portion you can.
To sign up to help, email Alex at: alexandra.russellb@gmail.com
THANK YOU in advance for supporting the girls. You are sure to bring a smile to their faces!
Bridge St. GOTR Coaches:
BSS Parents:
Carrie Raptelis, Alex Russell and Brant Jones
NHS Students:
Ruby Gottlieb and Jarrett Borer
The Northampton Arts Council
The Northampton Arts Council is excited to present our First Annual Northampton Public Arts Festival. The festival will take place on Saturday May 11, 2019 and Sunday May 12, 2019 in the plaza behind Thornes Market at 99 Armory Street in Northampton.
The Northampton Public Arts Festival is a unique 2-day event aimed at promoting public arts through live mural painting and workshops for young artists and youth interested in the arts. The festival will bring local and nationally recognized street artists and muralists to convene and create beautiful public art for the city of Northampton and the Pioneer Valley. Local DJs will be spinning vinyl from noon-5pm, Laughing Tomato Pizza will be on hand as well as, 10 curated locally based art vendors.
On Saturday, May 11 from 9am to 7pm, our team will run an open painting session to paint four mural cubes with eight selected artists, with two artists painting each cube. The fifth cube will be painted in collaboration between Jonathan Neville of Dripped On Productions and the public in attendance. This day of collaborative art making will include three scheduled workshops at 10:00am, 12:00pm, and 3:00pm. The workshops offer a hands-on opportunity for youth and adults to work directly with street artists to learn how to use spray paint to create art under professional guidance. The workshops break down barriers and pre-existing notions about spray paint and street art, and gives the public a chance to become their own artist! All the aerosol used is kid friendly and paints are water based non toxic.
We would like to invite your students to participate in one of the three workshops held on Saturday. These workshops are a great opportunity for young artists to explore a new medium and learn hands on, alongside an artist, how to work with new tools in new ways. Please be in touch via email, arts@northamptonma.gov to let us know which workshop your students would like to attend and how many participants you anticipate.
Thank you for your continued support of the arts.
MCAS Update (5th grade Science)
K-5 Celebration 5/9/19
Principal's Chat
Important Dates
5/6-5/10 is Teacher Appreciation week!
5/13/19 Unified Special Olympics
5/14/19 PTO Meeting 3:15-4:15 Library
5/15/19 School Council 3:30-5:00 p.m. BSS Conference Room
6/7/19 Field Day
6/10/19 5th Grade Graduation 9:15 a.m. BSS Gym; Kindergarten graduation 2:00 p.m.
Upcoming PTO Events
Tonight! May 3, 6:30-8:30 pm is the Family Dance Party in the BSS gym. Bring the whole family to dance! Glow sticks, bracelets, and the like will be available for purchase. The cafeteria will be available with Y after school program friends Ben and Ian and quieter games/crafts for those who need a break from the dance party.
May 11, 9 am - 1 pm, on the Smith Voc lawn is the annual plant sale. The BSS PTO will be running the bake sale as a fundraiser for the PTO.
If you can contribute baked goods for the sale please let 1st grade parent Karen Foster know: foster.karen.lynn@gmail.com.
If you are available for an hour or 2 that day to help at the sale please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050c4caaa723a5f58-sosplant
May 16 is the annual BSS Talent Show in the BSS caf.
May 31, 7 pm at the Parlor Room is the BSS Caregiver Dance party with live music, auction items including Celtics and Green River Festival tickets, and beer/wine. Get the sitter!
Friday, June 7 is Field Day! Check out this Field Day sign-up form did the schedule and volunteer slots: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdh-6d9IAKay4oQD6v-1pDQ0KtCAIUHDzCViPzz_2WRd3l6_A/viewform?usp=sf_link