BHMS Principal's Update 1/4/22
New Year and COVID-19
Keeping Up with What is Going on at the Hill!!!
Thank you for your patience as we are navigating weather and a sudden pivot to remote instruction. I want to wish all families a Happy New Year and continued hope that we will get through this pandemic soon. You all have been stellar in your understanding of this crazy time, especially with the timeliness of the district's message. Every effort is made to provide prompt communication at the district level, but there are a lot of layers in that decision making process. Nevertheless, thank you for your continued support.
In this newsletter we will talk about some key points for remote learning this week and the best way to be in attendance and have your child navigate classes. We are here to support you. We have access to our phones and email. Understandably we have a lot of emails/calls and we are responding to each as soon as we can.
Thank you again, and looking forward to seeing your children on January 10, 2022
Sincerely,
Mike D'Ostilio
In this Newsletter:
- New and Important Information
- COVID-19 Updates and Remote Learning
- Monitoring Social Media
- Coat Drive
- What it Means to Be a Bulldog
- Bulldog Bash
- Picture Info and Yearbook Update (Buying personal ads)
- PTO Information
- Signing Up for Remind Text Notifications, Facebook, and Twitter
- Building Better Bulldogs Mission and Vision
New and Important Information
Some Important Dates:
January 4-31...Coat Drive
January 4-7...Remote Instruction
January 10...Return to In Person Instruction
January 10...Last Day to Order an Ad for the BHMS Yearbook
January 17...Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
January 21...Early Dismissal
January 26...7pm...PTO Meeting
Updates for the Week (1/3-1/7)
This letter includes the bell schedules (Delayed opening 1/4/22 and Regular Bell Schedule 1/5/22 to 1/7/22). Both Schedules will be displayed below. The letter also includes some tips and protocols for remote instruction and attendance.
Delayed Opening Bell Schedule 1/4/22 Only
Regular Bell Schedule 1/5/22 to 1/7/22
Please See the Digital Etiquette Guidelines for Remote Learning.
Rise in Positive Cases in the District. Changes at BHMS for the Week.
Please continue to stress the importance of properly wearing the mask. Also please continue to report to our nurse if your children are exposed to or test for COVID-19
Reminders about Protocols Updated 12/2/21
The Superintendent Keeps the Community Update about Different Protocols for Quarantine. Beginning, on 12/17/21, the district will follow the quarantine and testing regulations that recently came out by the NJDOH. That guidance is listed here: NJDOH Guidance. This information was recently posted on the district website.
Please Help Us Combat the Behavior over Social Media. Please Monitor Your Children's Accounts
Recently, we have had a counseling lesson on social media etiquette in the 8th grade with the support of Officer Hamilton and will continue to have these talks with the entire school in the upcoming year.
Some things you should know:
1. Snap Chat: Please check and ensure parent filters are enabled on your children's snapchat and especially set to private so only your child's friends can "snap" each other. We've had situations where random people infiltrated our students' snap chat with inappropriate images or messages. Also with snap chat, people can send pictures or message that quickly erase. Unless your child screen shots things, these messages are hard to retrieve and the hate or bullying has already been done.
2. Tik Tok or Discord: Again these platforms (like snap chat and if the parental controls and privacy settings are not enabled) students can be met with an onslaught of negative information. Most of our country's threats of violence are happening on Tik Tok. The vandalism that was going on in the fall was a result of Tik Tok challenges. Tik Tok is highly unregulated content. The challenges and threats in Tik Tok can have felony or misdemeanor charges With Discord, we had a recent threat on that platform as well.
3. Instagram: With Instagram, we have had our own students make fake pages, especially talking about students. The owners of these pages make fun of students, make lies about students, antagonize drama between people, or make up that students are in relationships with each other. Regardless of the content, the sole purpose is to tear people down. Please ensure that your children do not follow anything like this. By following these pages, it gives credence to these students who seek to emotionally harm their peers.
"Paws" and Talk Coming to BHMS
Shoot For the Bulldog Bash
Building Better Bulldogs (3Bs) Mission and Vision
This pandemic has created so many questions and concerns for students that are well beyond academics. We are committed to providing a safe environment where students can express themselves as they question the ebb and flow of their world around them. Please see below our affirmations about Buidling Better Bulldogs and the people we as Bulldogs aim to be.
Bunker Hill Middle School: Home of the Bulldogs
Email: ddijohn@wtps.org
Website: https://www.wtps.org/bunkerhill
Location: 372 Pitman Downer Road, Sewell, NJ, USA
Phone: 856 881 7007
Facebook: facebook.com/OfficialBHMS
Twitter: @Official_BHMS