Principal's Weekly
Dr. Beth N. Choquette
Bridge Street School
2 Parsons Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
413-587-1460 (phone) 413-587-1484 (fax)
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
If you haven't had a chance to drive by the school to take a look at our new sign, please do. It is so beautiful and is something we've been hoping to get for BSS for many years. This would not have been able to happen without the hard work of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association, the PTO, and the many people who donated to help make it happen. Thank you so much to everyone involved in this project. If you can't get out in person, take a look at the picture below!
I know that the sudden pause of in-person learning on Thursday put many families in a tough spot. The district is working so hard in making sure our schools our safe in order to have our students return. We all want students back in the building. Remote learning is just not the same. Student engagement, academic progress, relationship building, and socialization are all compromised, regardless of how hard we are all working to ensure those things happen. As the district, school committee, and NASE continue to collaborate, please understand that our teachers are putting in 10+ hours a day. School is different, our expectations of teachers are still high, but they are different. As I've said to them, think of this as being a first year teacher all over again. It is all brand new, they are learning how to do this as they go, and I am so grateful to every single one of them for the hours they are putting in to make this the best that it can be given the circumstances. We all want to be back, let's make sure we continue to work together, collaboratively, creatively, and safely so we can return. We miss them so much and are just as eager as you for the safe return to school. Tomorrow we will resume in-person services for those who were receiving them prior to the closure last week.
Thank you, and have a wonderful rest of the weekend.
Emergency Assistance for Renters and Homeowners
Important Information from Nurse Jessica
New Flu Vaccine Mandate
Social Justice Corner
Indigenous People's Day
In his words, Howard Zinn states, "To emphasize the heroism of Columbus and his successors as navigators and discoverers and to deemphasize their genocide, is not a technical necessity but an ideological choice. It serves-unwittingly-to justify what was done." He goes on to say, "The treatment of heroes (Columbus) and their victims (the Arawaks)-the quiet acceptance of conquest and murder in the name of progress-is only one aspect of a certain approach to history, in which the past is told from the point of view of governments, conquerors, diplomats, leaders."
-A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewel
Did you take a notebook last time and write down everything that makes you who you are? If you did, try making an identity map. Tiffany describes this map by placing your name in the middle and placing your identities around your name. You could also illustrate your map too.
It is important to understand what social identity means. Basically, there are categories that we are either placed into by others, sometimes their is no choice, and categories we may place ourselves in. These social identities help us to identify who we are and who others are, but unfortunately, they also can determine how people treat us. Some of us, including myself as a white middle-class woman, are automatically born with privilege. Tiffany describes privilege as the benefits you receive due to how close you are to the dominant culture.
Here are some categories you may be familiar with that could impact how we interact with society:
Race
Ethnicity
Socioeconomic Class
Gender
Age
Language
Religious Beliefs
Sexual Orientation
Nationality
Abilities
Family Structure
Are there others you can think of? Can you write down your identity within these categories? Are there parts of your identity that hold power and privilege? Are there parts of your identity that are outside of the dominant culture? I hope you will take the time to explore identity together and discuss who you, and members of your family or circle of friends are to better understand each other and yourselves.
Forbes Library
Forbes Library has two great anti-racism webinars coming in October hosted by the #1 New York Times best-selling author Tiffany Jewell, one for youth ages 11-16 and one for adults (including parents, teachers and caregivers). All registrants get a free copy of Tiffany's book,This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on how to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work.
REAL
REAL (Racial Equity & Learning) is an NEF–funded project that brings together Northampton public school teachers, staff, students & caregivers to fulfill the project’s mission: support & strengthen our school community by developing an intentionally anti-racist culture. Check out our website at https://realnorthampton.com and follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/REALNoho) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/real_noho).
REAL will be hosting an open meeting via zoom on Tuesday, October 27 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. This will be an opportunity for new members to learn more about REAL and for current members to (re)connect in a less structured/more social environment than our current subcommittee meetings.
And REAL’s NPS Community Resource Network Subcommittee (formerly named “NPS Equitable Reopening”) will meet again on Tuesday, October 6 from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
If you would like to learn more about REAL and/or receive the zoom link for either of the above meetings, please contact REAL’s Bridge Street School parent representative, Annie Salsich, at salsichannie@gmail.com. Or one of the REAL co-leaders: Jenny Bender at jennybinhbender@gmail.com, Kristen Elde at elde.kristen@gmail.com, or Deborah Keisch at deborahmdk2@gmail.com.
Technology
A Note from Mr. Cantler
A note from Mr. Cantler:
Next week BSS will be piloting a new feature in Clever called the Family Portal. You will receive an invite to join it and instructions on how to join in your primary email account. Once you are linked the Family Portal will allow you to: log your student(s) into Clever, access their badge to log in a different device, and house links to important district websites. This is completely new and so I anticipate some challenges cropping up. Please be in touch and I am grateful for your patience as we roll out what I hope will be a useful tool."
Second Step
Skills for Learning
Skills for learning is the first theme in the principal's guide. These key skills help students manage their own learning in the classroom. Given our current learning environment of remote learning, review these skills with your children and expand the discussion to how these skills might help in a remote learning setting. I will expand upon these skills next week.
Listening: Students learn what their ears, eyes, bodies, and brains are doing when they listen.
Focusing attention: Students learn what it means to really focus and sustain attention.
Using self-talk: Students learn to use self-talk to stay on task, ignore distractions, and remember and follow directions.
Being assertive: Students learn and practice asking assertively for help with their learning.