Best of Bennet
February 25, 2022
From the Principal
As I reflect on this snowy morning, I am overcome with appreciation. Appreciation for the effort that everyone, all stakeholders (staff, students and families), have put into this school year! I completely understand that we still have almost four months of school left in this school year. However, I also know confidently that, based on the first six months of school, we are going to have a strong finish to our school year.
Thank you all for being such an instrumental part of our school community!
With appreciation!
Joe Chella, Principal
Can my child go to school today?
Has your child or a family member been in close contact with a known positive Covid person?
Does your child or a family member have a persistent cough, or other respiratory symptoms, shortness of breath, lung congestion?
Has your child or a family member lost the ability to smell or taste?
Does your child or a family member have a fever over 100 F?
If you have answered YES to any of these questions for you or your child, your child should stay home and you should call the school absentee line.
If you answered YES to any of these questions for a member of your family, please contact the school nurse for advice prior to sending your child to school.
MASKS BECOME OPTIONAL
Starting Monday, February 28, masks become optional for most people in school buildings. Due to federal guidelines covering public transportation, masks will still be required on school buses and for all students, staff, and families who enter Manchester Preschool Center (Head Start is federally funded).
Students or staff who test positive for COVID-19 will quarantine for 5 days and wear a mask for five days following their return to school as stated in the current CDC guidelines.
Attendance Line - 860-647-3582
Please take note, even if your child is in quarantine, it is important to call them in absent if they are to ill to complete assignments or participate in remote learning (if they qualify).
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Donations are still being accepted!
Below see Tania Pickering, Gizelle Clark and Veneetha Quddus representing the PTSA and our school wide canned good collection! Thank you for participating and keep the donations coming!
February is Black History Month
How do you celebrate Black History Month? Who do you want your child to learn about? Here are just a few people who had an impact on history that you may not know about.
Inez Beverly Prosser (1895-1934) is considered to be the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology. Her dissertation, " The non-academic development of negro children in mixed and segreated schools." evaluated the effects of racial inequality and racism on the development of Black children's identity and mental health. Her research and arguments helped lead some of the first discussions about desegregating American schools.
Shirley Chisholm (1924 - 2005) Congress is more diverse now than it's ever been. However, when Chisholm was attempting to shatter the glass ceiling, the same couldn't be said. During the racially contentious period in the late '60s, she became the first Black woman elected to Congress. She represented New York's 12th District from 1969 to 1983, and in 1972, she became the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Her campaign slogan: "Unbought and Unbossed" rings even louder today. Senator Kamala Harris paid tribute to Chisholm in her presidential campaign announcement by using a similar logo to Chisholm's.
Bayard Rustin (1912 - 1987) Dr. King is usually credited for the March on Washington in August 1963. But it was Rustin who organized and strategized in the shadows. As a gay man who had controversial ties to communism, he was considered too much of a liability to be on the front lines of the movement. Nonetheless, he was considered to be one of the most brilliant minds, and served his community tirelessly while pushing for more jobs and better wages.
Claudette Colvin (1939 - ) Before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, there was a brave 15-year-old who chose not to sit at the back of the bus. That young girl was Colvin. Touting her constitutional rights to remain seated near the middle of the vehicle, Colvin challenged the driver and was subsequently arrested. She was the first woman to be detained for her resistance. However, her story isn't nearly as well-known as Parks'.
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CVS
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Things to note on the calendar:
REMEMBER WE HAVE EARLY RELEASE EVERY WEDNESDAY THROUGH JUNE 1st. Students will dismiss at 1:15 on Wedndesdays.
Home Access Center is where you access your child's grades. If you do not know your HAC information please email Mrs. Turner (b39hturn@mpspride.org). You can see your child's grades, attendance and progress notes as well as report cards, so take note of the different tabs.
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English Language Arts
Students continue to engage in an integrated Reading, Writing & Social Studies unit which centers around the historical fiction novel, Refugee, by Alan Gratz. During interactive read alouds with their teachers and classmates, students are guided to focus on higher-level character work that historical fiction highlights, such as figuring out the character's ;relationship to the historical conflict, analyzing how that conflict shapes the character, filling in the backstory & knowledge of the era to determine what motivates a character, identifying character traits that clash with the external conflict, and citing text evidence to support that analysis Most recently, as the above student work highlights, students have been analyzing the impact on the author’s word choice on tone.
After engaging in a shared literary essay with the class, students have been asked to select a character in our shared text, Refugee by Alan Gratz to analyze. They have drafted thesis statements and are now using a boxes-and bullets planning structure to collect evidence to include within each body paragraph of their writing.
Looking for ways to support your writer’s thinking around literary analysis?
Encourage your learners to think about a character’s motivations, problems and lessons learned and to look for patterns. Then to form an opinion about that character? What traits would they use to describe a character? Ask him/her to “prove it” by giving examples (details) from the story that “show” the character behaving a certain way.
When reading with your child, ask him/her “what do you think the character learns about life in this story?” Ask why they think that. What details in the text show that s/he is learning something new?
Ms. Song - 6th Grade Humanities
In ELA we have been reading the book, Refugee by Alan Gratz. Students have been following the lives of 3 characters: Isabel, Josef and Mahmoud. We have read about half of the book. We have been taking notes on each character which will be used to write a Literary Essay on the character of their choice.
In Social Studies we have been working on a project that has students studying the historical background of their chosen character through creating timelines, maps, and searching for historical pictures.
Ms. Tanner and Ms. Borcea - 5th Grade
Social Studies: Students are currently learning about the 13 colonies. They’ve started with an in depth look at how the climate and geography of the eastern United States affected the economy of the early colonies. They have learned about mercantilism and played a fun simulation game to understand how unfair the Navigation Acts were to the colonies. Students have learned about the impact of the Triangular Trade and Middle Passage on enslaved people. Next, they’ll investigate the similarities and differences among the three colonial regions.
ELA: Students have started a unit on informational text. They are learning how an author chooses text structures specifically to get their points across in the best way. They’ve hunted for text features in their independent reading books. Students are working on identifying multiple main ideas and supporting details as well as writing summaries. After we complete the reading unit, students will use all this knowledge to complete an informational research writing assignment, which will be integrated with their work in social studies.
Math: Now in our fourth unit of math, students are adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, including mixed numbers. They will take the next Performance Task assessing these skills in early March.
Science: Students did an incredible job creating their Ecosystems posters and proudly shared them with their peers during a museum walk. We are now in unit 3 which covers Water and Earth’s Systems. As you hopefully know, students worked in groups to create a presentation on one of the four spheres of the Earth: the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Students will continue to sharpen their research skills by learning about a biome and sharing their new knowledge with their class.
Mrs. Fiorello - Grade 6 STEAM
Hi 6th grade Bennet families!
I hope everyone had a wonderful week! It’s hard to believe that we have already been in school for over 100 days!! Students are working hard in math and science.
MATH- In class, we started working on unit 5- Understand and Use Ratio and Rate. I introduced ratios and how to write ratios. We moved on to how to generate equivalent ratios using multiplication and division. Be sure to ask your child about the hands-on food activity we did this week!! Toward the end of the week, we will move into comparing ratios to solve problems and finally graphing ratios. Please encourage your child to work on Dream Box at home.
SCIENCE- We also started a new unit in class this week all about Adaptation. Over the course of the next month, students will come back to the big question, 'Should we intervene or let nature take its course?’ After we complete a lesson, students will take what they have learned and apply it back to the salmon we’re raising in our classroom. At the end of this unit, students will share their google slides with each other and we will have a debate.
News from Ms. Brahm and Mrs. Jodoin - Grade 5
During advisory class, one of our focuses this year is being kind. To help bring to light the importance of kindness to ourselves and others, we are reading the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It is the story of August, a 5th grader with “craniofacial abnormalities”. We experience this character’s trials and tribulations through the storytelling of multiple perspectives. This helps us develop a deep sense of empathy and sympathy for others who look and/or act differently than ourselves. The book features different precepts which serve as starting points to wonderful discussions as a class. Some of our favorites are:
SEPTEMBER: When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind. —Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
OCTOBER: Your deeds are your monuments. —inscription on an Egyptian tomb
NOVEMBER: Have no friends not equal to yourself. —Confucius
DECEMBER: Audentes fortuna iuvat. (Fortune favors the bold.) —Virgil
JANUARY: No man is an island, entire of itself. —John Donne
FEBRUARY: It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers. —James Thurber
We plan to have a culminating celebration by watching the movie and comparing it to the text in mid-March.
Ms. Kelley & Ms. St. Laurent - Gr. 6:
Scientists from Ms. St. Laurent and Ms. Kelley's homeroom are excited for their salmon eggs to hatch within the next couple of weeks! Mathematicians are beginning a new unit on ratios. Some students were able to celebrate their success in Dreambox with a coding celebration. Readers are finishing up book presentations with the hopes to convince fellow classmates to read their historical fiction novel. Researchers are mapping a country affiliated with a character from the class read aloud Refugee. Lot's of exciting happenings in these classes!! Ask your 6th grader about the salmon eggs!
Gr. 5 - Ms. Leahy & Ms. McDonnell:
This marking period the students have been listening to read alouds focused on Black History month. This has led to some highly engaging discussions. Also in Language Arts, students have been working on reading nonfiction/information. These skills have been applied across the curriculum when working on their science research projects on the Earth's spheres and will be useful when they proceed to complete another project on Biomes. In math, we are in our fractions unit. The students are learning how to apply these skills to real world problems. We are quite proud of how hard the students are working and how much they are accomplishing.
Mrs. Carlson, Ms. Wollert, and Mr. McDougal’s Class Updates - Gr. 6
In Humanities, students are enjoying our historical fiction unit. We are reading Refugee by Alan Gratz. The novel allows for cross curricular activities between ELA and Social Studies. Refugee follows the stories of three different children and their families during different decades. Each character is attempting to flee their homeland countries because of the historical conflict impacting their lives. Our students are studying each character and their historical conflicts deeply. As the story progresses, we will be discussing how historical conflict impacts character change and growth. At the end of the unit, each student will write a literary essay on their character of choice. This is an exciting unit and the students are enjoying it!
From Ms. Milton & Ms. Kowaleski - Gr. 5:
Social Studies: Students worked on the Elisabeth M. Bennet project upon our return from Winter Break. Students created posters, pamphlets, and mosaic art for their final projects. We transitioned into our unit on the 13 colonies. Discussions about how the climate and geography of the colonies impacted their economy. Students participated in a trade simulation activity to fully understand the power England had in this time period.
ELA: We have begun work on our informational unit. Students are beginning to understand all the information they can find in a nonfiction text. Our kiddos will also be writing an informational paper on an animal or colonial profession.
Math: We are in the middle of our adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers unit. The students began with fraction models, then moved to using multiplication to find equivalent fractions to add and subtract fractions.
Science: We just finished up unit 2, which was all about ecosystems and the food chain. We are beginning unit 3, Earth’s Systems. The students have already researched one of Earth’s Spheres, and did a presentation on the sphere they researched.
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Parents please help!
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Ms. Fagan's class wished her a happy birthday with flowers!
We are Nut-Free this year!
Remind your student please!
What's for lunch?
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We have water stations all over the school, and we are running out of cups!! Do your part to save the landfill by sending your student with their own bottle to fill.
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HONESTY HOUR
Recently I was talking with a parent about an incident that had happened with their child during the day. I told mom we wanted her aware of the details in case her child mentioned it, but knowing kids he probably wouldn't. Mom replied that he had already shared with his father during "Honesty Hour". I was intrigued about this and asked her to explain more.
The mom wanted to remain anonymous, but explained that Honesty Hour started when she had a long commute after work and picking up her child from school. Her boy tends to be "in his head" alot, even as a preschooler. Honesty Hour started as a way for them to bond and get to know each other better. Currently, they do it at the dinner table or on walks or anytime they can have it. There are only two rules, which is even if one party had a stressful day, we must commit to being a respectful and active listener and to be honest! Mom finds that it has helped her to be not just a better parent but a confidant to her son, which most kids need whether they admit it or not. It also gives her child more access to his parents as people, which lets him know that they are as human as he is and that parents have or had fears and issues too.
I loved this idea so much (and wished I had it myself when my children were younger) that I wanted to share it with you all. Do you do something a little different in your home that you think others would benefit from hearing about? Please reach out to Carla Berman at cberman@mpspride.org and maybe we will share your idea too!!
The Bennet Bear Den
SHOUT OUTS!
We are going to continue highlighting the positives this school year. Throughout the year please let us know who has made you smile, or been a wonderful role model for your child, went that extra mile, or was there when you needed a shoulder. This could be a student, a teacher, support staff, or even an administrator. Remember, we rise by lifting others!
Shout out to Milo Chandler for standing up for a peer.
Shout out to all the teachers, staff and parents who help make this newsletter so much fun to read!
Shout out to Ms. Petito (6th grade guidance counselor) for always going above and beyond for her students! Ms. Petito can often be found working late into the evening at school and at home!! Her sweet and gentle nature and work ethic do not go unnoticed!
We want to hear from parents and staff alike - email cberman@mpspride.org with your shout-out!!
Nurse's Corner
Parents please talk with your children about not texting or calling home from their cell phones when they feel ill and would like to go home. If your child is not feeling well the protocol is for them to get a pass to the nurse, who will then evaluate their status and determine if a call home is warranted, or if they need a little TLC, a snack, a rest, some ice, etc. and to go back to class. It is becoming an issue with students using their phones and parents arriving unexpectedly.
Bennet School Nurses
Penny Parent & Elisha Mathews
860-647-3582 (p)
860-647-6348 (f)
Attention: Sixth Grade Parents
Requirements for your student to start Grade 7 include:
-a copy of your child's most recent physical dated January 1, 2021 or later
-Tdap booster
-MPV/meningococcal vaccine
These documents can be faxed to Nurse Michaud at 860-647-6348. Please call 860-647-8189 with questions or email cmichaud@mpspride.org.
Christie Michaud BSN RN
Manchester Public Schools
District Nurse Substitute
REMINDERS - Masks, Water Bottles, and Home Access Center!
*Please continue to send your student with a reusable water bottle as all water fountains remain closed this year. We do have filling stations throughout the school to refill their bottles.
*Please be sure your student has a mask when they leave the house if they ride a bus. Masks are required on buses at all times.
*Just a reminder that grades, progress notes and report cards are posted in the Home Access Center. Your login and password remain the same for HAC throughout your child's time in Manchester Public School through graduation. Please keep this information in a safe place as you can always log in to look at your child's grades, but it is also where Progress Notes and Report Cards are found. If you need help logging into the HAC please follow the link above and click on "forgot my user name or password". We no longer have access to your password at the school level.
Take a look at our Virtual Backpack!
The PTSA needs you!
Bennet PTSA is looking for a new Treasurer this school year. Interested candidates should email the PTSA @ bennetacademyptsa@gmail.com.
To join the PTSA as a regular member please fill out the membership form below and send it in with your child or email it.
News from the Bennet Office:
Picking your student up early? Please call about 10 minutes ahead and we will have your student ready. Let us know when you arrive and we will meet you at the front door with your student to check your ID. Thanks for being patient with this early dismissal procedure as we limit visitors.
For all technology assistance (including Chromebooks, laptops and iPads), go to the IT Helpdesk or call / text 860-682-0607, Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
- Did you move? Please see the list of required documents. Contact Registrar Heidi Turner to update your information: b39hturn@mpspride.org or 860.647.8275. Remember we cannot change your child's bus information until you have provided your new proof of residency.
- New number? Please remember to update the registrar with any changes to your phone number or email so we can reach you! We send out newsletters twice a month and emails from the principal weekly and you do not want to miss anything!
- New email? If you are reading this on our app and not in your email it may mean we have old information. Please contact Ms. Turner with your new email address so you don't miss out!
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10 Ways to Bring Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Home
From your Bennet Social Work Team...Last time we brought you the 9th of 10 tips and here is the final tip...
Tip #10: Give yourself grace.
Don't be perfect, be real. No one is perfect! These are times filled with worry, fear and uncertainty. By opening an honest dialogue about our emotions and incorporating Social Emotional Learning into our days, we are helping ourselves and our children.
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Bottle & Can Drive TOMORROW!!
Our own 5th Grade teacher, Mrs. Denise Brown's son, Ryan, is working hard to become an Eagle Scout. He is organizing a bottle and can drive to raise funds for his upcoming Eagle Project. If you are able to help, both him and the community, with a donation stop by tomorrow!
When: Saturday, February 26
Where: St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 41 Park Street, Manchester
Time: 8:00AM~11:00AM
Thank you for your support,
Ryan Brown
NOTES FROM SECURITY
If you pick up your child utilizing the School Street to Vine Street route please be aware that you may be blocking driveways of the residents on School Street. We have had several compaints about people not being able to get in or out of their driveways as cars are sitting in line, blocking the driveways and not yeilding for a resident to pull in or out. If you are blocking a driveway and see a car trying to get in or out, please yeild to them. It is very frustrating for our neighbors to have to fight to get in and out of their property every day. We appreciate your being aware of your location and helping spread goodwill!
Please be aware as you drive through our pick up/drop off area that students are everywhere!
Please do not stop on the CVS side of Wells Street to drop off or pick up your child. It is much too dangerous to have students crossing that narrow road and causes traffic issues on both sides of the road. Also, there is no parking in the CVS parking lot for drop-off or pick-up.
Please be sure to discuss pick up and drop off plans with your student to eliminate any confusion and keep your plan consistent. Thank you.
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Is there something you would like to see in this newsletter?
Bennet Academy
Email: jchella@mpspride.org
Website: https://www.mpspride.org/Domain/9
Location: 1151 Main Street, Manchester, CT, USA
Phone: 860-647-3571