The Bedford Buccaneer
October 19, 2020
IMPORTANT DATES
Saturday October 31 - PL874/Impact Aid Survey form due
Tuesday, November 3 - Federal Elections, No School
Friday, November 6 - AP Exam Registration Payment Deadline
Wednesday, November 11 - Veterans Day, No School
Wednesday, November 25 - Schools Close at Early Dismissal
Thursday, November 26-27 - Thanksgiving Break
IMPORTANT - PL-874 Form Return Deadline is approaching
If you haven't already done so, please return all completed Bedford High School PL-874 forms to: bhs-impactaidsurvey@bedfordps.org or students may drop off the form in the main office.
Please click below for a message about the Annual Impact Aid Survey (PL874) that brings critical funding for Bedford Public Schools. A new web site has been set up to help families complete and return their surveys.
PL874 Superintendent Letter - October 1 2020.pdf
Impact Aid Survey - Impact Aid Survey 2020-2021.pdf
List of Federal Properties - List of Federal Properties.pdf
Thank you!
BHS PARKING STICKERS
Seniors and Juniors may now apply for a 2020-2021 parking sticker here: BHS Parking Sticker
This year the Assistant Principals will be delivering students parking stickers during ARC meeting times. Parking stickers will be delivered in the order in which they were received.
Please note, you will need to present a picture on your phone or a paper copy of your license and registration before receiving your parking sticker.
Once all the stickers are delivered, the police will begin monitoring and ticketing those not parked in designated student parking lots. The student parking lots are located across from the main entrance and in the parking lot next to the Library/drop off area marked "Student Parking". If you are parked in an area that is not designated student parking, you may get ticketed starting in November. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
School Council Voting is open NOW for a Hanscom parent/guardian representative
Voting for the BHS School Council is open now in the Aspen Parent Portal
Please take a moment and vote! Voting will close on Sunday, October 25th at midnight.
There is one open position for a Hanscom parent/guardian representative. Please read through the personal statements of the candidates, and then vote for your preferred candidates. Instructions are shown below. If there are any questions, please contact BHSBucsParents@gmail.com who will relay it to BHS Admin and the IT Department.
Instructions for voting:
Log in to the Aspen Parent Portal. If you are viewing on a mobile phone, scroll down on the home page and select “Full Site View”.
Go to "Page Directory" button on the left hand side of the page.
For the "Pages I'm a Member Of", press "Add" under "BHS Parents" ("add", do not "remove" the parent group.)
Note: if you have added this group in the past, you will still need to add it now.
Go back to the left hand side of the page, under the “Home” icon and click on "Other".
Click on "New" under the “Status” column to start the voting process.
Read the candidates’ personal statements
Click the "Begin" button in the lower right corner, select your choices, and click "finish" for your vote to be counted.
BHS Reopening Team
We continue to meet as a team in an effort to receive feedback and make edits to the reopening plan as DESE guidance and new health & safety information becomes available. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. There was talk about the great energy in the building and much gratitude was shared by parents and students for the tremendous efforts of our faculty and staff.
Here are the minutes from our 9/30 meeting.
Please click here to view the minutes from our 10/13 meeting.
As a reminder, you all also have access to the BHS Reopening Supplement.
BHSPA Fall Appeal
Thank you to the parents and guardians who have supported the BHSPA Fall Appeal! We appreciate it! If you haven’t had an opportunity to donate - there’s still time! Donations will be used to support ongoing requests for programs and events to support BHS. To make a donation to our Fall Appeal: https://bhspa.org/donate/
All donors will be recognized on our website and social media. The BHSPA communicates using Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
With our families and educators in mind, we are offering two of our popular workshops that help decrease parent and student stress. Please feel free to share with your friends and parent communities. We look forward to seeing you online!
Warmly,
The Challenge Success Team
A Healthy Approach to College Admissions
Tuesday, October 27th at 5pm PT | 8pm ET.
- What do college rankings really
measure?
- Are students who attend higher ranked
colleges better off later in life?
- What is “fit” and why does it matter?
Learn strategies to help reduce pressure around the college admissions process and ways to support students' well-being and readiness for life in college and beyond. With the pandemic inserting more uncertainty into this process, we will include a Q&A at the end to answer some of your most pressing questions. Register Here
“This presentation is excellent and essential for our students and their parents. Now what we really need is for them to see it in ninth grade so it can guide their entire high school experience.” - High School Administrator
Navigating School During Uncertain Times
Thursday, November 12th at 5pm PT | 8pm ET.
How can parents best support the personal and academic needs of their children while also attending to their own professional and family needs? In this presentation, caregivers will learn how they can establish a healthier home environment for their school-aged child, reduce academic stress without sacrificing achievement, and increase resilience, creativity, and well-being. Register Here
DON'T MISS reVISION 2020!
On Friday, October 23rd, Co-Founders Dr. Denise Pope & Dr. Madeline Levine will welcome special guest Lori Gottlieb to this year's joint parent education event and annual fundraiser. Learn more and register for free here.
Counseling Corner
We know that this is an incredibly difficult time for so many of our students and families and we want you to know that our School Counselors and other support staff are here to support you all in any way that we can. We are available to meet with students in person, via Zoom, talk on the phone, help coordinate communication with teachers and serve as a resource to families. Additionally, we can provide information on resources both within and outside of our school for students in need. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need support and/or are concerned about your son/daughter.
Important Dates
Virtual College Rep Visits - See Scoir Calendar for Details and Zoom Links
Wednesday, October 28 - Freshman Seminars
Wednesday, October 28 - College Guidance Network (CGN) Presentation at 7pm
How to Manage Admissions Pressure—and Stay Well
Webinar Registration
Wed and Thurs, November 4th and 5th - Coalition for College Virtual College Fair
Nov. 4, from 6-10 p.m. and Nov. 5, from 7-10 p.m.
Schedule and List of Attending Colleges
Student Workshops - Links in Scoir Calendar & Counseling Classroom - All Start at 1:30
Monday, October 19 Scoir and Requesting Transcripts
Tuesday, October 20 Personal Essay
Thursday, October 22 Financial Aid
Monday, October 29 The Common Application
Moday, November 9 The Common Application
Tuesday November 17 The Common Application
Post-Secondary Resources for Junior and Senior Parents
College Guidance Network is a new resource that has a great amount of information. There is a podcast every other Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM. Every episode has a Takeaway Toolkit to guide planning and conversations for students and their families.
Full calendar available on the BHS Counseling website “Counseling Corner Buc Bulletin”
BHS Counseling is on Twitter!
To all parents and guardians,
Thank you for monitoring for symptoms of Covid-19 each morning. If your child is ill with symptoms of Covid-19, please call the nurse at: 781-275-1700 ext. 4416 or email Nancy_Thorsen@bedfordps.org
Thank you,
Nancy Thorsen RN
AP Exam Registration
AP Exam Registration is now open! Students who intend to take AP exams in May 2021 must register and pay by November 6th. Please refer to the AP Student/Parent Letter and Payment Form for instructions.
Students who want to self-study for exams and are not enrolled in the corresponding AP class must email kristen_milano@bedfordps.org to get an AP Classroom code in order to register.
Back to School Night Recordings
Please enjoy the Back to School Night presentation slides by clicking here. Also, the Faculty recorded short introductory videos for you to view. In the videos, the Faculty share information about their courses and themselves. Link to Back to School Night Videos
MCAS
The Department of Secondary and Elementary Education has released initial information about MCAS for this year. Currently, the Classes of 2022 & 2023 will need to take both the ELA and Math MCAS tests and passing them is still a graduation requirement.
Here is the link to the recent communication from DESE regarding MCAS. We have already met as an administrative team to begin the planning process even though there are still many unanswered questions from DESE. However, we will continue to share the plans and updates as they become available.
SENIOR UPDATES
Sunday, October 18 - Yearbook Senior photos due
For Senior Portraits not taken by Mark Lawrence Photographers - submitted picture size is: 2.5 X 3 with a DPI of 300. Please send all photos to eShare.
Enter the school code Bedford (capital B)
It’s time to order your yearbook!
Our Yearbook Features ALL students in ALL grade levels. This is how you’ll remember your high school experience! Deadline to order: January 17, 2021.
Please email karen_santos@bedfordps.org with any questions regarding yearbook.
Class of 2021 T-Shirts Order Form
Order your Senior class shirt here for $15! Pay with VENMO (@classof2021-humphrey).
If paying with cash, exact change is required, checks can be made payable to the Class of 2021. With the cash or check option, please place in an envelope with your full name on it and ARC (Advisory/Remote Counseling) room number.
Mr. Humphrey will be collecting the payments in room D107, before first class and after last class. Once payment is received Mr. Humphrey will bring your shirt to one of your ARC classes. Go Bucs!
Cookies for a cure
With the current pandemic and the risk it poses to cancer patients during this time, we, as a Relay for Life team, believe that now more than ever, is the time to help. Relay for Life is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money for cancer research and support for cancer patients who are undergoing treatment. The money raised goes to a variety of different things such as providing a breast cancer patient with one on one support, giving a patient and their caregiver free nights of lodging when treated far from home, arranging rides to and from treatment, and offering patients access to a 24/7 information and support.
We are selling homemade frozen cookie dough and pre-baked cookies, to be made upon order to support Relay for Life. The pre-formed dough will be delivered frozen. You can stick them in the freezer for later, or bake them then! Your house will be smelling like a bakery within minutes, to be followed by the delicious taste of freshly baked cookies. The dough is made with proper safety measures.
We are offering frozen pre-formed balls of dough, a frozen roll of dough, and baked cookies in a variety of flavors, chocolate chip, chocolate brownie cookies, snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, and oatmeal raisin. The cookies are 9 dollars a dozen with free delivery in towns surrounding and including Bedford.
If you want any more information about Relay for Life or the cookie fundraiser, including how to order, you can visit our website https://sites.google.com/bedfordps.org/cookies-for-a-cure/home or find us on Instagram and Facebook @anftf.relay.
Relay for Life Halloween Costume Contest open to Bedford residents
We, as the Bedford High School Relay for Life event leadership team, have created a Halloween Costume Contest open to any Bedford resident.
Here are the rules:
Submit a photo of you (or your pet!) in your costume to rflbedfordma@gmail.com by Sunday October 25th for a chance to win a Relay swag bag! Your photo will be put on our Instagram between October 26th and October 30th. Win the swag bag by getting the most likes on your post! The winner will be announced on October 31st! We can’t wait to see everyone’s Halloween spirit:)
Donations are being accepted online at https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR/RelayForLife/RFLCY21NER?team_id=2556303&pg=team&fr_id=99489
Support for Mrs. Pietrangelo and her family
As you may have heard, Ms. Pietrangelo was in a serious accident Thursday, September 10th. Many families have asked what they can do to help. Here are some specific ways you can help:
GoFundMe: A gofundme account has been established to help the family with expenses. If you would like to make a direct financial contribution to the family, please go to https://gf.me/u/yzjqsu
Gift Cards: the following gift cards were suggested to us by the school and her friends.
- Door Dash and Grub Hub (so her husband, Matt, can order from area restaurants)
- Arlington area restaurant gift cards (Ms. Pietrangelo lives in Arlington with her husband and two young children)
- Grocery Stores in Arlington: Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Stop & Shop
- Gas gift cards
- Amazon
Meals: Since the accident, the family has received a great deal of food from friends and neighbors, so meals are not currently needed. However, in the weeks and months ahead, they will likely need meals. At that time, we will post information on how you can sign up to provide meals for the family.
Thank you all for reaching out!
Employment Permits
We know that many of you are trying to secure employment permits and there are new guidelines in place so that we can help you. Download the application with the link below. Once you have the employer sign it, you must have a parent or guardian sign as well and submit a physical if under 16. Once all of the above is done, send the completed application to our Registrar, Mrs. Powell at nancy_powell@bedfordps.org and she will prepare the work permit and email it back to you.
Link to Youth employment permit application
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/youth-employment-permit-information
Bedford High School
2020-2021 New School Hours
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 7:45am - 1:03pm
Wed: 8:05am-12:55pm
Phone: 781-275-1700
Absence Line: 781-918-4561
Fax: 781-275-6664