MCAS
The MCAS assessments will begin this Tuesday, March 22 for all our sophomores (regardless of whether school is cancelled on Monday). The sophomores will be testing for their ELA (English Language Arts) competency. The first day (Tuesday) the students will be completing the Composition portion of the exam, while Wednesday and Thursday they will be assessed in grammar, writing, reading and additional conventions of the language. This is their first opportunity to meet the ELA Graduation requirement for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They will be assessed in the MCAS math competency in May. We met with the sophomore class on Friday to talk about the importance of the assessment in relation to our school and their future post secondary plans. I am asking for your assistance as well. Over the next week during the MCAS assessment, please talk with your child/ren about the importance of doing well on the assessment. The MCAS assessment can benefit them personally through the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship as well as the school and community. We speak to our students about the importance of the SAT, ACT , and AP exams because of the personal impact it has on their college application. The MCAS assessment impacts them as well as it is the most public arbiter of school performance. Whenever our students compete, whether on the field, court, gym, or in the classroom, we expect them to give their best. We have been rewarded with scholarships, state and conference titles, TAMY, engineering, AMC, and science awards. The MCAS should be thought of in the same manner. It is an opportunity for our students to demonstrate their mastery of the state's standards in ELA, math and science. Although it is only one indicator, I believe we should be trying our best with every indicator, inclusive of the MCAS. Please encourage them to do their best over the next few days.
The Department of Education has changed the requirements to receive a John and Abigail Adams Scholarship for graduates beginning this year.
Beginning with the class of 2016, in order to be eligible
for the scholarship,
- students must score at the Advanced performance level on one of the three high school state assessment tests in ELA, Mathematics, or STE (Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, or Technology/Engineering);
- and score at the Proficient level or higher on the remaining two high school state assessment tests;
- and have combined scores from the three tests that place them in the top 25 percent of students in the graduating class in their district.
Scholarship eligibility is based on each student's first
attempt at taking the spring grade 10 MCAS tests in ELA and Mathematics (and
for students in the class of 2016 and beyond, first attempt at taking one of
the four STE tests). In order to receive the scholarship, a student must be
enrolled in a Massachusetts public high school in his or her senior year.
Students who qualify for the scholarship will receive award letters and further
information in the fall of their senior year.
A Big Thank You to the those though that put a Pep in our step this winter
This past winter we were fortunate to start a new tradition at BMHS with the addition of a Pep Band during our home basketball games. Junior Adam Alves organized a terrific collection of musicians that provided a supportive beat to our boys' and girls' basketball games at the Ed James Gymnasium. We believe in an inclusive environment and adding music to our athletic events is a very natural fit. The Pep Band received so many compliments throughout the season from our own parents to visiting team parents to game officials. We are all looking forward to next season and the continued growth of our Pep Band.
National Honor Society
Last Tuesday night the BMHS Chapter of the National Honor Society inducted its newest class. One hundred and eight members of the Class of 2016 and 2017 took the oath having met the criteria of the four pillars of NHS; Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character.DECA
Our DECA students traveled to the Boston Marriott last weekend hoping to continue their success at the national stage this April. Mr. Magliozzi and Mrs. Lydon and the rest of the Business Department prepared our students over the course of the last five months. When the awards were announced Saturday morning, BMHS had 38 students qualify for the Nationals in Nashville, Tennessee. Nicholas Glasser, Jacob Hulsoor, Gregory Westcott, Cameryn Brothers, Victoria Bones, Kelsey Johnson, Melissa Johnson, Chris Looney, Brendan Murphy, Joseph Hodgkins, Marc Ashman, Matt Ternullo, Daniel Canniff, Ryan Stack, Ryan Cahill, Adam Lennerton, Dylan Coppinger, Shaun McAvoy, Aiden McCarthy, Daniel Trask, Alexandra Whalen, Nicholas Scuccimarra, Brittany Papa, Lauren Sullivan, Daniel LoGuidice, Brendan Maloney, Ciara Lydon, Ethan Hadley, Ryan Jackson are heading to Nashville to continue the tradition of winning National Titles. The BMHS DECA program has won 8 National Titles over the last 8 years and they will be looking to continue the tradition of winning "glass." - (so named because the national titles are glass obelisks.)
BMHS Construction
Since the election on March 5 and the approval of the debt exclusion there have been many questions regarding construction and the impact on BMHS over the next few years. I have received a couple of emails from parents asking if we have already started the demolition part of the project. Since this will not take place until 2019, I thought it would be a good idea to share some information with you and let you know where you can get updates to the project and the potential impact it will have on BMHS and your child/ren over the next three years. First, I have added a tab on the Aspen page entitled BMHS Construction. This is available to anyone that has an Aspen log in. There will also be a public page from the Building Committee, but this page will provide internal updates for people directly impacted by the project (staff, students, and parents). The BMHS Construction tab includes some current architectural pictures as well as the BMHS Building Committee Calendar and Twitter feed. If you have any difficulty viewing this tab, please let us know. The construction firm has been selected and we are currently working on the contract. The construction firm is Shawmut Construction and they have recently completed the UMASS Lowell Crossing project as well as Wayland High School.
Shawmut Construction is scheduled to be at our next Building Committee meeting on March 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Auditorium. As soon as Shawmut develops the timeline for the project, we will be meeting with the students to convey the potential impact it will have on the school and them over the next 3 years.
Monday, March 21, 2016
- Spring Musical Rehearsal - 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. @ BMHS Auditorium
- First Day of Spring Athletic Tryouts - 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
- Early Release Day - 11:50 a.m.
- MCAS ELA Day 1 Composition 7:15 a.m - 10:25 a.m. @ BMHS
- Community Based Justice Meeting - 8:00 a.m. @ BMHS
- Spring Musical Rehearsal - 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. @ BMHS Auditorium
- German National Honor Society Induction - 5:30 p.m. @ BMHS
- Winter Sports Awards Night - 6:30 p.m. @ BMHS Auditorium
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
- MCAS ELA Day 2 Session I & II - 7:35 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. @ BMHS
- Spring Musical Rehearsal - 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. @ BMHS Auditorium
Thursday, March 24, 2016
- MCAS ELA Day 3 Session III - 7:35 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. @ BMHS
- Student Government Meeting - 8:45 a.m. @ Principal's Conference Room
- Spring Musical Rehearsal - 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. @ BMHS Auditorium
- Team 4909 Billerica Bionics UNH District Event - 5:00 p.m. @ UNH
- Sophomore Semi-formal - 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. @ Ed James Gym
Friday, March 25, 2016
- No School
- Team 4909 Billerica Bionics UNH District Event - 8:00 a.m. @ UNH
- Spring Musical Rehearsal - 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. @ BMHS Auditorium
Saturday, March 26, 2016
- Team 4909 Billerica Bionics UNH District Event - 5:00 p.m. @ UNH
