January 5, 2024
BHS NEWSLETTER
Check out the BHS Important Links Guide if you have questions about Bethel High School.
Junior and Senior Privilege forms need to be submitted for Semester 2. If your Learning Lab isn't changing and you already have privilege, you do not need to resubmit the form. The forms can be located above in the BHS Important Links Guide.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 12 - End of Marking Period
January 15 - Martin Luther King Day - Schools Closed
January 16-19 - Mid-term Exams
The district calendar can be found here
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Midterm exams begin January 16th. We encourage all students to use this final week to prepare and manage your time wisely as you close out the first semester. It is a great opportunity to meet with your teachers (particularly during academic support Wildact time) to catch up on any missing work and get the support you need. If you have not done so already, please take a moment to review the exam schedule here. Best wishes on all your exams!
Sincerely,
Christopher Troetti
Principal
The Bethel School District takes pride in working hard to provide the best school culture possible so that students can thrive in the classroom and in their extracurricular activities. As we enter the new year, it is a great time to remind all students of the importance of a healthy and safe school environment. To help deliver this message, Bethel High School and Bethel Middle School are excited to announce that on Wednesday, January 10th we have secured Mark Leinweaver as a public speaker to address our 8th-12th grade students. Mr. Leinweaver is a professional sports agent who also doubles as a keynote speaker at various conferences and schools across the country. During his presentation entitled, “Why Character Matters”, he will address topics such as the dangers of social media, the importance of volunteering, building a positive school culture, and anti-bullying leadership.
This dynamic speaker will reinforce our core values of Bethel Pride: perseverance, respect, integrity, dependability, and empathy so that our students will continue to model these expectations throughout the rest of their time in the Bethel School system.
If you have any questions or concerns about his presentation, please contact BHS Athletic Director Mark Caron at caronm@bethel.k12.ct.us.
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.
Safe Driving in Parking Lots:
We have seen an increase in fender benders in our parking lots. Most students have done the right thing and reported the incident to the main office and/or Officer Broad. However, there have been a few cases where the student or adult has left the scene of the accident. We understand that accidents happen as many of our drivers have just begun driving. Please remind your students that if they have an accident they must report it immediately. Thank you for your for your partnership in this matter.
US News and World Report
We are once again pleased to announce that Bethel High School earned high National and metro-area rankings in 2023-2024 Best High Schools, which U.S. News released on August 29th. Please see Bethel High School's updated U.S. News profile page, with details about its rankings. Thank you to our staff, students and greater community for making BHS a wonderful place to be!
The Teacher of the Year nomination process is open. The criteria for selecting the nominee is as follows:
The nominee must have taught in the Bethel Public Schools a minimum of 5 years.
The nominee should possess a superior ability to inspire learning in students.
The nominee must be a CT certified teacher who has achieved tenure in Bethel and is in good standing.
The nominee must teach children at least 50% of the time.
Please support the Bethel High School Navy JROTC program and let our cadets pick up your Christmas tree to be recycled.
A $10.00 donation is suggested and goes toward Educational Programs for our cadets. PLEASE request a pick-up and pay using the QR code on the flyer or www.rotc.bright-moments.com
See flyer for further details.
BHS-JROTC-treepickup (1).pdfCentral PTO 23-24.pdfSki Club Flyer.pdf
The BHS Kindness Club is proud to announce this year's Kindness Day t-shirt campaign! This year, we are sponsoring the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation, which is dedicated to Catherine's memory and legacy after Sandy Hook. This charity is very meaningful to the BHS Kindness Club students as the students from Sandy Hook would have been graduates of the Class of 2024.
T-shirts will be available for sale via the QR Code on the flyer or the through the fundraising page on Custom Ink through Friday, January 12, 2024. This year's official Bethel Kindness Day is planned for Friday, February 16th. Please join the Kindness Club in our support of the CVH Foundation and our mission of cultivating kindness in the community by purchasing and wearing your "Kindness Heals" t-shirt on this date! T-shirt sales are open to all Bethel community members, including students of all ages, faculty, and staff from each of our schools. See the flyer linked (please feel free to share and post) and the direct link to Custom Ink can be found here for purchases.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
The BHS Kindness Club
COF Open Screen 2023-2024..pdfCOF Announcement.pdfCOF Open House 24.25.pdf
DO YOU YOGA?
Ah Ha Yoga has been a staple at Bethel High School since 2014. In fact, students at BHS have an opportunity like no other students in the state of CT: To take a semester of Yoga for credit…How amazing is that?! I have been teaching yoga for 11 years with over 3500 hours of teaching and have had many students here at BHS take this course more than once.
Yoga is a powerful tool for teenagers to help them find calm and balance amidst the chaos of daily life. Yoga is not simply a physical endeavor, but it is one that addresses all of the other dimensions of health (mental, emotional, and social) and it empowers teens with increased emotional intelligence.
From simple breathing exercises to mindful movement sequences, students will experience and cultivate self-awareness, self compassion, and resilience, as well as physical strength, cardiovascular endurance, and of course, flexibility. And by the way, you DO NOT need to be flexible to practice yoga! Touching your toes is not the goal; it's the journey getting there.
All students are eligible to take this elective course and it will be unlike any other course you have ever taken.
~Namaste
Ms. Kaye
Center for Empowerment & Education
Presentations Grades 9-12
Character Strong Tip of the Week:
As 2024 begins many people set new year's resolutions, setting positive goals to improve their lives. Goals are achievable when there is a clear plan that includes small steps that lead to success. Creating a plan with specific actions makes it easier to make progress. Writing down the plan and celebrating small milestones while tracking your daily progress helps turn new year's resolutions into reality.
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.
Nurse's Office
PARENTAL/GUARDIAN RESPONSIBILITY:
It is your responsibility to alert the health office of your child's school if your child requires medication. Parents/guardians are responsible for supplying their child's medication (i.e. EpiPens, inhalers, diabetic supplies, etc.) at the start of each school year and replacing this medication upon expiration. These medications must be accompanied by current doctor's orders (see blank forms below) which must be signed by both the doctor and parent/guardian.
Updated: BPS - AuthorizationofMedication.pdf
Updated Allergy Treatment Protocol.pdf
Working papers are available all year long from the Main Office @ BHS. Please read this important letter.
The process is as follows:
The student gets a job.
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.
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.
Nondiscrimination Statement
The Board of Education complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws prohibiting the exclusion of any person from any of its educational programs or activities, or the denial to any person of the benefits of any of its educational programs or activities because of race, color, religion, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, alienage, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, veteran status, or gender identity or expression, subject to the conditions and limitations established by law.
It is the policy of the Board that any form of discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, alienage, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, veteran status, or gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by state or federal law is prohibited, whether by students, Board employees or third parties subject to the control of the Board. The Board’s prohibition of discrimination or harassment in its educational programs or activities expressly extends to academic, nonacademic and extracurricular activities, including athletics. It is also the policy of the Board to provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics such as race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, alienage, disability (including pregnancy), veteran status, or gender identity or expression.
Title IX District Coordinator, Dr. Kristen Brooks, Assistant Superintendent, 1 School Street, Bethel, CT 06801, 203-794-8613 Section 504 District Coordinator, Dr. Christine Sipala, Director of Special Education & Pupil Services, 1 School Street, Bethel, CT 06801, 203-794-8616
