This Week at BMHS - February 27 - March 5, 2017

OECD/PISA Testing

Every three years more than 500,000 15-year olds in more than 70 countries are assessed through the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA. This assessment creates a list that details how each country's students compare to the rest of the world, but it does not provide any actionable data for schools to evaluate their students compared to their global peers. The Alliance for Education Excellence and Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy have created the OECD assessment to create school-level data based on an assessment derived from the PISA. BMHS will be participating in the OECD testing this March, creating actionable data at the school level to better inform us how we are doing in preparing our students to excel beyond high school. The academic portions of the OECD Test for Schools reflect PISA’s test and question design, and as such, they differ from most standardized assessments in the United States. "Rather than provide a series of disconnected questions, PISA and the OECD Test for Schools cluster them into units that revolve around a complex theme and build upon one another."

2015 PISA Mean Science Scores

A random sample of students aged 15 years 3 months to 16 years two months will be chosen to take the assessment.  There are over 280 students eligible, but the testing center will generate a list of 85 students. If your child is selected, they will bring home a permission slip allowing participation in the assessment. The assessment is computer-based and will be completed in a single day, lasting approximately 3 hours, which includes set up, directions, and breaks). Our first test session is scheduled for March 6 and the last session will conclude by March 20.

Parent Conferences

The late winter/early spring conferences will take place on Thursday, March 9 from 6 - 8 p.m. We will once again be using the PTC Wizard platform. If you created an account for the fall conference you do not need to re-create an account for this session. The window for scheduling conferences will open on March 2 at 3 p.m. EST. If you cannot make it that night, or are unable to schedule a time with a teacher, please feel free to reach our prior to conferences via email, or phone. Please follow this link to create, or review your account at PTC Wizard. http://billerica.ptcwizard.com/authenticate/?redirect=none

Program of Studies 2017-2018

We are working on the final revisions to the 2017-2018 Program of Studies. The Program should be available before the end of the week. We will be emailing the finished copy to every student and their family for review and selection of courses for the upcoming school year. Our goal is for students to receive their completed schedules before the end of the current school year, mitigating significant changes in the fall.

Billerica Bionics

Team 4909 wrapped up the "build season" this past Tuesday evening. One of the major challenges of the build season for teams in the northeast is our New England weather. The official end of the build phase is the same for all schools, but not every school is subject to our inconsistent forecast. The 70 degree days are always welcome, but when school is cancelled, the team is not afforded extra time to complete their project, creating additional stressors and pressure. In spite of this, the team has put together a terrific design and will open the season on March 17 - 19 at the North Shore District Competition at Reading Memorial High School.




Class of 2019 Fundraiser

Please join the Class of 2019 for a night out at the 99 Restaurant on Middlesex Turnpike, March 7 from 4 - 10 p.m. The 99 will donate 15% of your check to the Class of 2019. Bring a copy of the attached voucher and hand it to your server that evening.

On to the playoffs

Head Coach Bob Belanger, Chris Derosa, Henri Behaeghal,
Ryan Higgins, James Best, Asst. Coach Ray Derosa

As we close out the winter regular season many of our teams our busy preparing for the post season. Our wrestling team just closed out their season at the All-State Wrestling Meet this weekend in Reading. BMHS finished in 2nd place overall behind the outstanding performances of Henri Behaghel's State Title, Chris Derosa and Ryan Higgins second place finishes, and James Best' seventh place finish. 

The Varsity and JV Cheerleaders won their respective MVC Championship this past Sunday at Central Catholic. These young ladies have continued their program's success establishing themselves as one of the elite programs in the state of Massachusetts. They will be competing in the Regionals next weekend.

Billerica was well represented at the 32nd Annual MIAA Indoor Track & Field All-State Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track this past weekend. Senior Alyssa Harris (55m Dash), Sophomore Sam Maffeo (600 M), Freshmen Nicole Anderson (1000 M), Senior Amanda Hawkes (2 Mile), Junior Vanessa Attaya (Shot Put), and Junior Thomas Baltayan (Shot Put) qualified to compete against the best in the Commonwealth.

The Girls Basketball Team will be hosting Lowell tonight at 7 p.m. at the Ed James Gym. The Boys' Basketball team will be traveling to Everett on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against the Crimson Tide.

Athletic Association Fundraiser

The Billerica Memorial High School Athletic Association is sponsoring the 3rd Annual Cornhole Classic on April 23 at the Billerica Elks beginning at 11 a.m. The entry fee is $70 per team (2 person teams) and all participants must be aged 18 or over. First Prize is $400, Second Prize is $300, Third Prize is $200 and Fourth Prize is $100. Please fill out the attached flyer and mail to BMHSAA 35 River Street, Billerica, MA.









Building Project

Back Teacher Parking Lot

While the inside of our building was relatively quiet over vacation, Shawmut Construction was busy working to prepare for an "official" late March groundbreaking. The site enclosure fence work was completed early last week in preparation of the retention work along the western boundary. On Friday, Shawmut removed the former teacher parking lot in the back of the building. The unseasonable warm temperatures last week allowed Shawmut to move in some equipment and be in position to start moving some earth by the end of the upcoming week. Assistant Project Manager, James McKenna, joined the Billerica project full-time this past Friday. He arrives from the Hunking School Project in Haverhill. This is another marker towards shovels in the ground in our near future.

This is also a time to remind everyone that Shawmut has officially taken over the construction site. Safety is a paramount concern on any construction site, especially a site as large and active as ours will be. Therefore, access to the site is limited to Shawmut workers and people that have their permission to be on site. We will be diligent sending out pictures and updates on the project's progress.

This Week at BMHS - February 6 - 13, 2017

Career Fair and Social Media Presentation

On Wednesday, February 8th, BMHS will host our annual Career Exploration Day from 8:30 am-10:30 am.  Please see the schedule below. This year, we have arranged for every student to visit the Career Fair, while at the same time ensuring that every B-Day class block will meet.  We currently have forty presenters who will highlight careers in various disciplines, and teachers have volunteered to man tables at the fair to promote their classes. If you wish to promote your classes at the Career Fair, please email me and we will add you to our list.

Each grade will be allotted 1 hour at the fair and 1 hour at a presentation on cyber safety, given by social media expert Detective Jennifer Frank of the Windsor, Vermont police department.  Detective Frank will present on how to be safe in the age of Facebook and other similar sites, which gather information that can be easily obtained and put to illicit or dangerous use.  Detective Frank presented here several years ago, and her dynamic style of delivery captivated the audience!

Block 1B: 7:15-8:25

Career Fair & Presentation

Session 1: 8:30 – 9:30: grades 9 & 10 in the Auditorium (Presentation)

Session 1: 8:30 – 9:30: grades 11 & 12 in the Gym (Career Fair)

Session 2: 9:30 – 10:30: grades 9 & 10 in the Gym (Career Fair)

Session 2: 9:30 – 10:30: grades 11 & 12 in the Auditorium (Presentation)

Block 2B: 10:35-11:24

Block 3B*: 11:29-12:55

        A Lunch 11:29-11:52

        Class 11:56-12:55

        Class 11:29-12:28

        C Lunch 12:32-12:55

Block 4B: 1:00-2:02

Understanding Teen Depression Workshop

The Billerica Public Schools in conjunction with the Billerica Police Department, Lowell General Hospital, Families for Depression Awareness, and CircleHealth are offering a workshop on Teen Depression. The workshop will take place at the Paul Cox Auditorium at the Marshall Middle School. The presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free.

Student Spotlight

Massachusetts DECA's January Member of the Month is one our own - sophomore Victoria Bones. Victoria is currently the Class of 2019 President and student representative to the School Committee. She was the inaugural guest on the Superintendent's new monthly BATV show providing context to the impact students can have on their education and community.

Alumni in the News

Sachin Gupta, a member of the Class of 2000, was an exceptional math student and member of our cross country and track teams. He always wanted to find a way to leverage his love of math and athletics. Upon graduating from BMHS, Sachin earned his BA from M.I.T before joining the rank of new employees at ESPN. For anyone that enjoys the world of fantasy sports leagues, finding the right application to evaluate talent and gain an edge on your competition is never easy. Sachin created the ESPN Trade Machine, which was quickly heralded by fantasy team owners as well as NBA General Managers. His software success and passion for sports found him working for the Houston Rockets and later as the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76'ers. There is a nice article detailing Sachin's success that is attached below. Aside from being a wonderful young man, Sachin found a way to bring his two loves - math and sports - together to create an impact in the NBA. Maybe someday soon he will come home and help the other Green and White team in Boston bring home Banner #18.

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/01/31/sachin-gupta-trades-sam-hinkie/