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.