Dear Parents, Students and Staff,

As we approach this three day weekend, we must remember the reason why we have Monday off.  On January 15th, we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.  As we celebrate his birthday, we must remember his accomplishments as a leader.  In today's world, with so much tension and war, we are reminded of one of the many quotations around his efforts to bring peace to our society.  In his speech in Montgomery, Alabama, March 25, 1965, King stated, "We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience."   Somehow we must find a way to live by these words in order to bring about positive change we seek for generations to come.  My sincere hope is that our students will help lead this change for a better future. 

Christopher Troetti

Principal

PSAT Score Reports

In October your child took the PSAT, and now has access to the PSAT score report online (https://studentscores.collegeboard.org/home). Your child needs to create a College Board account to be able to access the online score report. The report is interactive, and pinpoints areas of academic strengths and weaknesses in reading, writing and language, and mathematics. 

We highly recommend that you and your child access the online report to:

1.   Review Skills Insight to get targeted suggestions for improving performance;

2.   Identify test questions and answer explanations in areas of difficulty to clarify errors in understanding and answer selection; and

3.   Link your child’s College Board account with Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy to get a personalized practice plan with instruction and feedback relative to college and career readiness skills. You may access College Board’s tips on How to Link Your College Board and Khan Academy Account.

Character Strong Tip of the Week:  

Healthy coping skills like working out or meditation are great tools for short-term relief but shouldn't be mistaken as a plan for long-term success and happiness. Most know that unhealthy coping tools like vaping have tremendous consequences, but even healthy coping strategies can be addictive because they alone do not help address the root cause of the stress. "The alternative is to use emotional discomfort as an opportunity to build emotional strength and resilience. In every aspect of life, health and happiness come from the willingness to do the right thing despite it often feeling uncomfortable. And this is just as true in your emotional life as it is your physical, financial, social, or spiritual life."

(source:  Nick Wignall Ph.D)

If you are interested in volunteering in our community, click here to learn more about the Bethel Community Cares Coalition.

Are you interested in attending a virtual Character Strong lesson?  Please email Tom Salvador for more information on upcoming virtual sessions.

For more information about the Character Strong program, please visit the BPS EI website.

Free/Reduced Lunch Application 

Working papers are available all year long from the Main Office @ BHS.  Please read this important letter.

The process is as follows:

1. The student gets a job.

2. Employer gives the student a “Promise of Employment”.  This letter MUST have ALL of the following information: the business information (preferably on company letterhead), hourly wage (currently minimum wage is $15.69), the hours per week and a DETAILED list of tasks (no vague descriptions like ‘cleaning’ are permitted). If the letter does not have all that information, we cannot issue Working Papers.

3. Student emails or brings a copy of the Letter of Intent to Hire to the Main Office at BHS – call first (203-794-8600 opt. 0) to make sure someone is available.  Secretaries prepare the working papers and give them to the student.

Please don’t wait until the last minute as this may impact your start date at your new job.

 Exceptions to the need for the ED-301(Working Papers)

1. If the employer is a licensed summer camp, a municipality, state or federal employer, Working Papers are not required BUT the same prohibitions for time/days of work apply – especially with 14 and 15-years old. The prohibitions for the hazardous tasks which apply to all minors also apply – see the Hazardous Occupations Orders in the Manual. Working on roofs, use of certain machinery etc. are all prohibited.

2.  Agricultural Jobs – We do not issue Working Papers for minors to be employed on farms. When we say agriculture or farm work, we are implying work that is directly related to the function of the farm: dealing with animals, planting, picking product etc. If you get this kind of job, you must simply provide proof of age (14-17) to the employer and if you are under 16 years old, you are not permitted to use ladders or power-driven equipment.

PLEASE NOTE that this ceases to be agriculture when it is work in retail stores (not just a produce stand on the side of the road). If you are working in a STORE like a garden center, this is not agriculture and does require Working Papers.

3. Minors under 16 do not work AT ALL ANYWHERE (including agriculture) during the school year, EXCEPT that a 15-year-old may work in a Grocery Store as a cashier, bagger or stockperson and only on a Saturday for no more than 8 hours. Work is restricted to periods of school vacation (defined as when school is out of session for 5 days or more) and never on a day followed by a school day.

·       At 14 we issue Working Papers for a minor to work as a caddy or in the pro shop of a private or municipal golf course during school vacations.

·       At 15 we issue Working Papers to work in retail as a cashier, bagger or stock person during school vacations or for the grocery store exception during the school year.