Principal's Weekly
Dr. Beth N. Choquette
Bridge Street School
2 Parsons Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
413-587-1460 (phone) 413-587-1474 (fax)
Dr. Beth N. Choquette, Principal bchoquette@northamtpon-k12.us
Elizabeth Peterson, Administrative Assistant epeterson@northampton-k12.us
Jordan Celino, Secretary jcelino@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
Le gustaría traducir esta carta de noticias? 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
Good evening, I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. It was nice to welcome your children back last week. Although things are different in the building, they look happy and glad to be back in person with their teachers and friends. It is still extremely important that we are all following the district protocols including doing the student/caregiver daily checklist, practicing social distancing, and most importantly wearing a mask. I'd like to remind you that anyone who comes onto school property MUST wear a mask. That means if you are dropping off or picking up your child and walk onto the school grounds, you must wear a mask, even outside. We are doing our best to set good examples for our children and to keep everyone safe and appreciate your cooperation in doing the same.
As you are aware, last week there were some deeply disturbing racist comments on a Facebook page regarding JFK and the principal at JFK, Principal Caldwell. Tomorrow I will be discussing with our classroom teachers what immediate actions and discussions they can have with their students about this. What happened last week was upsetting to me and to many of our staff. Racist acts, statements, and symbols, hate and division, have no place in our schools and I will continue to stand for all of our students, families, and faculty and staff to ensure that they feel safe and supported. I hope that all of you, as our school community, can do the same. Below is the statement read by the administrative leadership team at last week's school committee meeting about our stance on this. Here is our statement:
"On behalf of the Northampton Administrative Leadership Team, I would like to publicly state that we denounce white supremacy, overt and subtle statements, and symbols and actions that promote hate or division. We serve to end white supremacy by learning, educating, and making change in policy through the lens of equity and access and holding firm to our values. We stand in solidarity, as comrades and friends with our colleague, Desmond Caldwell. Desmond was hired by this district to lead JFK students and staff, he is an academic leader dedicated to building relationships and maintaining a safe and supported community. This is his work. As ALT we recognize that it is not the charge of Desmond to lift, to unite, to heal the existing racial hate. Yet, Wednesday, he publicly stated, “ I was born to do this work.” Desmond and the people of Northampton, tonight we want you to know that we will link arms with Mr. Caldwell. That we stand stronger together. That our role is to lift Desmond, to clear the path for him to do his important work, as a principal, free of white supremacy and hate. We will continue with conversation, planning, and becoming a better team by his side. This is not Desmond’s work alone. It is our collective responsibility to stand up and say not in our city, not in our schools."
I have attached the schools report card below. Although there is no new information regarding accountability, we are still required to post the information. All information is based on the MCAS scores from two years ago (2019). Additionally, the state is planning on administering MCAS to all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders this year. We will be testing in May and April. This year the test will be shorter, a sampling of information. Instead of 2 sessions of ELA, 2 sessions of Math, and 2 sessions of Science (5th grade only), the number of sessions for each subject have been reduced to one. Also, schools will not be held accountable this year, as they are administering the test purely as an indicator to see where students are given the past year that they have had.
Thank you for your help in relieving the parking congestion during pick-up and drop-off times. It has been better. As a reminder, please do not park along the side of the cemetery, in the bus loop, or next to the median. Thank you for your cooperation.
You will be receiving two newsletters from me tonight, this one and one title EdTrust Survey. The Northampton Public Schools has partnered with The Education Trust to learn more about our students' experiences around equity in our schools. Please take a moment to fill out the survey.
Finally, I wanted to let you know that I have been selected as a finalist for Superintendent of Schools for the Hampshire Regional School District. You are all aware that I have been working towards this next step in my career and I have appreciated the support you have given me. The next step in the process will be virtual site visits. I am not sure when those are happening yet, but I will keep you informed as I move through the process. The district (Hampshire) has given me permission to share this with you but has asked that it stay with you until they make it public this week.
I hope you all have a wonderful week, please reach out to me if you need anything. Thank you for your ongoing support and for all that you do for our kids and our school!
Have a good night.
Important Information from Nurse Jessica
Social Justice Corner
Parenting While Black-Free Webinar
Please see the link below to sign up for this free webinar by the Brazelton Touchpoints Center.
REAL (Racial Equity and Learning)
NPS Community Conversation about Racial Microaggressions
REAL (Racial Equity and Learning- https://realnorthampton.com/) is happy to announce the re-launch of our hosted discussions about race. Our first zoom conversation will be on Sunday, March 14th from 5:00-6:30pm and will focus on racial microaggressions. Caregivers, educators, students in grades 6 and up, and anyone else connected with the Northampton Public Schools are warmly invited.
Please note that participation requires no advance reading/ preparation.
If you are interested, please email Jenny at jennybinhbender@gmail.com for the zoom link. You can also email Jenny with any questions or concerns you might have.
REAL Resource Directory
Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment Program Applications (for resident students) will be available Feb 1 from our website under the ABOUT link. This program allows resident students the ability to attend a school outside of the assigned zone. Seats are limited and not all grades or schools will availability. Seats are filled through a lottery process. If applying for an incoming kindergarten child, please submit the application along with your registration paperwork (or if your child is already registered and attending our preschool program, please send the application in before the deadline). More information is on our website. Questions: (413) 587-1328 or jtowler@northampton-k12.us
Ms. Lilly's Art Corner
Hello Bridge Street School Families.
I would like to give a big Thank You to the BSS PTO for funding clay for the children in
art class. After the February break I will have a small brown paper bag with your child’s
name on it ready for pick-up. Inside you will find packages of self-hardening clay along
with other items to be used only during art class. When you do pick up the supplies be
sure to only pick the bag with your child/children’s name on it, and save it for the next
time they have art. I will guide the children on what to do with everything that is in the
bag, including the bag itself. So please save everything for Art Class.
Thank You!
Ms. Lilly