BHS News
March 26, 2020
English:
If you need this document translated, please scroll to the bottom of the page for the translation feature.
Spanish:
Si usted necesita este documento traducido, por favor desplácese a la parte inferior de la página para la característica de traducción.
Portuguese:
Se você precisar deste documento traduzido, por favor enrole ao fundo da página para a característica de tradução.
Arabic:
إذا كنت بحاجة إلى ترجمة هذا المستند ، فالرجاء التمرير إلى أسفل الصفحة للحصول على ميزة الترجمة.
School Closed Until May 4th
Please know the administrative team and teachers are working to determine what teaching and learning will look like during the extended closure.
Like you, just when we feel good about a plan we have in place, things are changing as we need to adapt.
One thing we have decided, based on feedback from students, teachers, and parents, is that beginning next week, Wednesday will be a designated "fix it" day for students. There will be no new work posted and students will be able to use the day to catch up on work, check-in with teachers and organize themselves.
I know there are still many questions to be answered, and I anticipate reaching back out to families tomorrow.
Class of 2020
I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the families and students in the Class of 2020. Please know all the teachers, staff and administrators are all thinking of you and are so sorry that your senior year has been impacted this way. We are keeping a close eye on all the upcoming senior events and do not yet know what the rest of the year will look like.
Whatever happens, we are dedicated to making it special for the Class of 2020. We have not forgotten about you and we recognize the impact the school closing has on your class in particular.
Free Lunch and Breakfast
We are happy to announce that all families currently qualified for free and reduced meals can pick up one breakfast and lunch per district student.
Breakfast and Lunch pick up will be every Tuesday and Thursday until further notice.
Drive-through service will be available at the side cafeteria entrance of Bellingham Memorial School (130 Blackstone Street) from 11:00 am- 1:00 pm.
We kindly ask that you have your student name & ID# ready when picking up. Some meals will be perishable and need to be refrigerated, so it is highly recommended that you are able to store or consume quickly after receiving.
Please check out our Program Facebook page (Bellingham Public Schools Nutrition and Wellness) for the most up to date information and feel free to contact our office if you have any questions. We hope that this will help provide some ease during this time!
Thanks so much,
Liz Bell
Nutrition Director Bellingham Public Schools lbell@bpsdk12.org
Free Internet Access
Free Internet Access is available for families that qualify. Please see the information below.
Go to https://internetessentials.com/apply
There is an "APPLY NOW" button at the top of the screen on the right or go directly to https://apply.internetessentials.com/
How to Qualify
To qualify, your household must:
- Be in a Comcast serviceable area.
- Receive state and/or federal assistance.
- Not have any level of Xfinity Internet service now or within the last 90 days.
- Not have an outstanding Comcast balance that is less than one year old.
Including meeting all of the above, your household must also be eligible for or receive public assistance like:
- Medicaid: Federal Healthcare Program
- NSLP: National School Lunch Program
- SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- Housing: public housing assistance including HUD, Section 8, Housing Choice Vouchers, etc
- TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- SSI: Supplemental Security Income
- LIHEAP: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
- Federal Pell Grant: Community college financial aid (CO and IL only)
- WIC: Women, Infants, and Children
- VA: Veterans pension eligibility determination letter from the Veterans Administration
- Tribal Assistance program including TTANF, FDPIR
Education Programming on TV
WGBH WORLD can be found on Comcast 956; FiOS 473; RCN 94; Cox 807, and Charter 181. WGBY WORLD is broadcast over-the-air on channel 57.2 and on Comcast 209.
This block of programs will run from noon to 5pm ET, and was put together for middle and high school students.
Younger children can continue to tune into WGBH 2 and WGBX 44 during the day and WGBH Kids 24/7. Note that each program has associated optional related resources for online learning.
Scholarship Information
To make sure the class of 2020 has the most up to date information on the scholarship, the school counseling office has invited all seniors to join a Google Classroom for Scholarships. The information was sent to seniors last week.
Mrs. Lacasse has also scanned all the scholarships that were posted on the bulletin board outside the school counseling office, and I will be working on uploading those while we're working from home. I will also be sure to update GC with new scholarships as they're made available.
If you have any questions or need anything at all for your scholarship applications (including transcripts), please feel free to send me an email at alacasse@bpsdk12.org and I will be happy to help.
Class of 2020 Local Scholarships
Please note we have pushed the deadline back to April 30, 2020.
From CollegeBoard Concerning AP Courses and Testing
Your health and safety are our top priorities. We know the coronavirus has created new and unexpected challenges. Here’s how the AP Program is supporting you and your school:
- We’re providing live and on-demand AP courses for free.
- We’re developing a new at-home testing option.
Based on the number and length of school closures, it's clear that the usual way AP Exams are given at schools won’t be possible.
Some students may want to take the exam sooner rather than later, while the content is still fresh. Other students may want more time to practice. For each AP subject, there will be two different testing dates. The full exam schedule, specific free-response question types that will be on each AP Exam, and additional testing information will be available by April 3.
Taking the Exam
We surveyed 18,000 AP students to see if they still wanted the opportunity to test this year. Their answer: a resounding yes.
Free resources will be available through exam day to help you get ready. While we encourage you to wait until closer to the test to decide, any student registered for an exam can cancel at no charge.
For the 2019-20 exam administration only:
- We’re developing secure 45-minute online free-response exams for each course.
- The exam content will focus on what most schools were able to complete by early March.
- You’ll be able to take your exams on any device you have access to—computer, tablet, or smartphone. You’ll also have the option to write your responses by hand and submit a photo.
- Colleges support this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive the credit they have worked to earn. For decades, colleges have accepted a shortened AP Exam for college credit when groups of students have experienced emergencies.
- We know that not all students have access to the internet or a device. We’re working on solutions to help students get what they need to show their best work. If you need mobile tools or connectivity or know someone who does, you can reach us directly to let us know.
The exams will be secure. We’re using a variety of digital security tools, including plagiarism detection software.
Free AP Review Classes
Beginning on Wednesday, March 25, you can attend free, live AP review courses, delivered by AP teachers from across the country. These courses:
- Are optional, mobile-friendly, and can be used alongside any work your teacher may give you.
- Will be available on-demand, so you can access them any time.
- Will focus on reviewing the skills and concepts from the first 75% of the course. There will also be some supplementary lessons including topics from the final 25% of the course.
To access the live classes and recordings, visit the AP YouTube channel or find your course schedule below. We’ll be adding more courses soon.
WAYS TO COPE WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING
1.) Eliminate or at least limit your exposure to the news
We realize the importance of staying informed of the latest news, especially during a global pandemic. However, the need to check and read the latest updates can become compulsive, which only exacerbates anxiety. Try limiting the amount of time you spend reading or watching the news.
2.) Allow yourself a worrying period
We understand that it may be difficult to not worry right now. Although this is a normal and natural response, we recommend trying to limit the amount of time you spend in this state of mind. Try to give yourself half an hour to worry and then move on to something else, preferably an activity that will offer a positive distraction.
3.) Exercise
Get up and get moving! Exercise promotes physical and emotional health! Some examples are going for a walk, trying an online exercise class or DVD, yoga, or floor exercises.
4.) Find a schedule that works for you
Everyone needs to figure out what their own expectations/responsibilities are on a daily basis. This will look different given everyone’s personal preference and circumstances. During this trying time, it is important to stay as productive as you can while being patient with yourself and others. We are all trying to adjust to this new normal. To start you may want to make a list of activities/responsibilities you hope to accomplish. Next, categorize them into three sections:
1) What needs to get done today.
2) What would be great to get done today but can also wait for tomorrow.
3) What I can let go of...and it will still be OK!
5.) Stay Connected
To avoid feeling lonely and isolated, it is important to stay connected. Reach out to family and friends by phone, text, email, Facebook, google hangouts, or several other social media modalities. It is important to continue to socialize with others as best as we can since it improves physical and emotional well-being.
6.) Engage in a hobby / try something new
This is an opportunity for you to engage in all those activities that you never had time to do because of school, work, athletics, music, art, drama, and all your other responsibilities. Maybe you used to enjoy reading or writing or painting. Now you can get back to it! Or perhaps this is your time to try something new such as scrapbooking or photography. Seize the moment and try new things!
7.) Breathing and Grounding exercise
When we are experiencing stress, it is very common for our breathing to change. This change in breathing causes physiological changes, which ultimately can exacerbate feelings of anxiety. It is helpful to calm ourselves through breathing techniques. There are several different types of exercises as well as many Apps you can download to help you learn these techniques.
8.) Try a Countering Technique
This is a type of coping strategy that assists you with managing unproductive, anxiety-producing thoughts. When we are experiencing stress we have the tendency to “catastrophize” or make things bigger than they need to be. It is helpful to counter these negative thoughts and replace it with a more reasonable message. For example, if your persistent thought is something like “We are going to all go crazy stuck in this house!” you can counter it with more realistic thinking such as, “although this is hard right now, it could be worse and this will pass.”
9.) Help Others
Helping others has many benefits for both the receiver and the giver. It is so important to take care of each other, especially during difficult times. Helping others aids in boosting positive feelings as well as increasing a sense of connection. Some ways to take care of each other while practicing social distancing are writing letters to others, checking in on our neighbors and seniors to see if they need anything, running to the store for someone in the high-risk category, ect. We all need to stick together and be there for one another. We are all in this together!
Bellingham High School
Email: mlafayette@bpsdk12.org
Website: https://bhs.bellinghamk12.org/
Location: 60 Blackstone Street, Bellingham, MA, USA
Phone: 508 966-3761
Twitter: @meglafayette