February 3, 2023

 Newsletter

Bethel Public Schools E-News 

“Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

This Week's Content

Superintendent's News

Christine Carver, Ed.D.,

Superintendent of Schools

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, and Community Members,


Advocate for Local Needs at the State Level for Excess Cost Grant

The District and Board of Education want to make sure you are informed and have a chance to be involved in the budget process.  The next meeting on the budget is Thursday, February 14, 2022, at 7:00 PM in the Municipal Center in Meeting Room A where the Board of Education will present their proposed education budget to the Board of Finance and Board of Selectman.


This budget year is extremely tough for a variety of reasons.  I continually advocate at the State level for more resources to reduce the burden on local taxes.  One way that you can help me advocate for our local needs is to email our delegation about the Excess Cost Grant.  This is a grant which reimburses the district to support the needs of students with disabilities in the state and in our district.  Changes in legislation and the formula could mean a significant amount of revenue to the district to offset costs, thereby lowering local expense.  If you would email our local delegation in support of fully funding the Excess Cost Grant, it will make a difference.  These are some messages you might include:


Our delegation emails are:


Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan - raghib.allie-brennan@cga.ct.gov

Representative Martin Foncello - martin.foncello@cga.ct.gov

State Senator Tony Hwang - Tony.Hwang@cga.ct.gov

State Senator Eric Berthel - eric.berthel@cga.ct.gov

 

Bethel Education Foundation Awards Grants

Yesterday, the Bethel Education Foundation surprised 9 teachers and administrators with announcements that their grant proposals were approved as part of $15,469 in grants to the Bethel Public Schools for this school year.  Grants were awarded to BHS, BMS, Johnson, Rockwell, and Berry for the following innovative projects:

2023-2024 Proposed Education Budget Information


Board of Education 2023-2024 Budget Dates

As the schedule develops we will post it here, on the website, and in other district communications. 

  

Tuesday, February 14, 2023 - BOE Budget Presentation to the Board of Selectmen & Board of Finance at 7:00 PM

*Meeting dates that are an exception to Thursday meetings. 

All Board of Education meetings are held in the Board of Education Offices, Meeting Room E, Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center, 1 School Street, at 7:00 p.m. (unless otherwise posted).


Please Note:  Prior to the budget being set for the referendum, 2023-2024 Education Budget Information can be found here in the Superintendent’s Bethel Public Schools Newsletter each week and on District Dashboard our website.  District Dashboard - 2023-2024 Education Budget Information

Department News

Bethel Regular Sale flyer NEW VERSION.pdf

BHS SENIOR PARENTS -CONGRATULATE YOUR GRADUATE!

Order a Yearbook Parent AD for Your Graduate Today!

Submission Deadline 2/17/2023

NJROTC Military Ball - Friday, March 24, 2023

The Military Ball will be held on Friday, March 24, 2023, at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville, CT  from 5:00 – 11:00 p.m.   See the Military Ball letter for further details.  


This Week's Updates & Reminders

Bethel Public Schools COVID Guidance/Protocols

As a reminder, The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revised their COVID guidance for schools on August 11, 2022, after the Department of Health had released its Operational Strategies guidance. Please note the following:

The Bethel Public Schools Health Offices no longer have COVID test kits available to distribute. However, every U.S. household is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests through the U.S. Postal Service. Please click on the link below:

https://www.covid.gov/tests

SMS_Text_Opt-In_Flyer_67587_11212019.pdf

BPS Parents/Guardians:    Opt-In for our SchoolMessenger Text Messaging 

The district uses the SchoolMessenger notification service to send important information to families through phone calls, emails, and text messages.

To receive important information from the district/schools via our SchoolMessenger SMS text messaging service you can Opt-In to participate in this free service* just by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587, from the wireless cell phone number that the district has on your file.  If during the school year, any of your demographic information were to change, you can update it at any point by contacting your child’s school directly.  

If you have any questions about student demographic updates, please contact your child’s school directly.

You can also opt out of these messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.  

We recommend saving this shortcode and Caller ID to the contacts on your phone. This will help prevent any 3rd party call blocking systems from interfering with your receipt of important messages sent by the school or district.


*Please note, although the district does not charge you for this service, it does not pay for text message charges that may be incurred by you for sending or receiving text messages. Check with your wireless carrier for possible charges. 

Kindergarten Registration is Open!

Attention Families!!!


Do you have children that will be 5 on or before January 1, 2024 and ready to join the Bethel Public Schools family?

   

If the answer is yes, please complete the registration process for your child to attend kindergarten in the fall.  

 Please see the info below for our process. 


Kindergarten Registration for the 

2023-2024 school year is now open!


To access the kindergarten registration site, go to our district website, www.bethel.k12.ct.us, scroll down, and click on the “Registration” link in the maroon circle halfway down the page. Select BPS Pre-Registration Form K-12. There you will begin the online process to formally register your child for kindergarten. 


At the completion of your online registration, an email will be sent to confirm that the parent portal account has been created AND all of the online enrollment forms have been filled out.  At this time, we anticipate that in-person appointments will take place in March & April (no registration appointments will take place until all of the online registration is complete). This appointment will take approximately 15 minutes as long as all of the required paperwork is provided. Students do not need to attend this appointment with their parents.  Parents/guardians will be contacted using the email provided during online registration to make a kindergarten screening appointment, which usually takes place at the end of May.  More information will follow on this step of the process.


If you are a parent of a current Circle of Friends student, you do not need to complete the online registration. Kindergarten registration instructions will be sent home with your child. 


If you have any questions about the process or need help, please contact the District Registrar at (203) 830-7355.

School Closing/Delay Decisions/Notifications

Although we are enjoying mild temperatures, winter is coming! Families should have a plan for delays, early dismissals, and/or school closings.  To be honest, calling delays, early dismissals, or closings are one of the most challenging aspects of my job.  I get frequent feedback from parents and students on the topic. Safety is always our top priority.  When determining any weather-related decision, we look at the timing of the storm, total accumulation predictions, ability to complete a school clean-up, and road conditions.  Please be reminded, if you feel that conditions are unsafe, you can make the decision that you feel is in the best interest for your children.  A few reminders about our process:

 

 

Reminder:  In addition to Facebook, Twitter, email, and texts, announcements are also made over the following radio, television stations, and websites:


WLAD                 AM      Danbury             800 on the dial

WINE                  AM      Brookfield         940 on the dial

WICC                  AM      Bridgeport         600 on the dial

WEBE                         FM      Bridgeport         108 on the dial

WEZN                 FM      Bridgeport         100 on the dial

 

TV Channel 3, TV Channel 8, & TV Channel 6.

Bethel Public Schools Website – www.bethel.k12.ct.us

Connecticut Weather Website – www.ctweather.com

 

Please Note: Notifications are sent out as soon as decisions are reached. Being on the notification list is not a substitute for monitoring your local media (radio, TV, and so on) in situations where a delay in opening or school closing is an obvious possibility (such as when the weather forecast calls for snow). The BPS website is updated as media calls are made.

Upcoming Calendar Events

Flyers, Fundraisers &, Community News & Events 

Formal Dress Exchange FINAL A Flyer (1).pdf

Formal Dress Exchange

Saturday | February 11 | 10:00 AM-4:00 PM

Sunday | February 12 | 11:00 AM-4:00 PM

BHS PTSO

Foreign Friends.pdf

FOREIGN FRIENDS

CREATURES FROM FAR AWAY

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

@ EDMOND TOWN HALL GYM

Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary 

FREE EVENT

February 5, 2023

Byrd's Books

Mini Golf School Flyer 2023.pdf

Save the Date

Mini Golf "fore" the Library

March 31, 2023 &

April 1, 2023

Bethel Public Library

2023 Spring Soccer Flyer.pdf

2023 Spring Season Registration

Registration Closes April 1st.

Bethel Youth Soccer Association

BSA 2023 Spring flyer.pdf

It's Softball Season

Bethel Softball Association

Registration Opens 

January 23-March 5, 2023

Spring Flyer 2023.pdf

Parks & Recreation Spring Brochure

Registration Begins February 22, 2023

Bethel Parks & Recreation

Affordable Connectivity Program

The Affordable Connectivity Program is a Federal Communications Commission program that helps connect families and households struggling to afford internet service.  This new benefit  provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers.

Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail in application.

You can learn more about the benefit, including eligibility and enrollment information, by visiting www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575. 

Do you want to be the first to know when school is delayed or canceled in bad weather? Follow me at:  @BethelCTSuper In order to enhance communication with parents, in addition to our Twitter feed, we have a Facebook page at Bethel Public Schools, and Instagram at @christinelcarver  We post photos of school and district events, general communications, and school closing/delay information. Please “like” our page!  Also, be sure to check out our bethelpublicschools Flickr page

Bethel Public Schools App

Check out the App for the Bethel Public Schools. If you go into your App Store and type in Bethel Public Schools, you should be able to install it for free. The App can provide you quick mobile access to information commonly requested.  

 

Our calendars, time schedules, social media feeds, athletic schedules, district social media, lunch menus, etc. are all in the App. You can even call the schools from the App.

 

After you download the App, you will be prompted to select the schools from which you want to get information. Essentially, this is the "news", push notifications, and the "events calendar". This is a screenshot of what the App looks like.

Bethel Public Schools Flickr Page


Check out the photos on the Bethel Public Schools Flickr page!  Dan DeBlois, District Photographer, will post photos on Flickr throughout the school year.  Follow @DanDeBlois on Twitter to be notified when the photos are posted. 

 

We post photos taken by our staff. The photographs are from various school events open to the public. Sports, Concerts, and Musicals are some examples. We will be regularly including more events. On Twitter follow @DanDeBlois for updates on event postings.  Go to flickr and take a look. 

BEtv - See what's new this week! 

Watch the Bethel 1st Selectman Candidate Forum here

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show?video=8c237b84d92d

Berry Roars at its January School Assembly!

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show?video=28aca61e0764

Meet Johnson Schools resource officer in their JStv Interview

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show?video=6049abd5fe69&apg=4d17c1b509fc

Dr. Carver presents the proposed School Budget for next year

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show?video=dee119ce9385&apg=4d17c1b509fc

BMS Winter Chorus Concert

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show?video=f47523da87d1&apg=4d17c1b509fc

BMS Winter Orchestra Concert

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show?video=6982c09e0030&apg=4d17c1b509fc

BMS Winter Band Concert

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show?video=906777c39926&apg=4d17c1b509fc

Take a walk back in time! Here is a throwback concert from 2004!

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show?video=f22c46526b8b&apg=4d17c1b509fc

The latest Board of Education Meetings can be viewed here.

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/Show-Videos?g=f87c9047&page=1&filter=vod

Check out our full lineup here

https://sites.google.com/bethel.k12.ct.us/betv/home

Watch when you want to watch. Go to our Video On Demand Channel

http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show-videos?g=4d17c1b509fc&page=1&filter=vod

Board of Education Policy Updates

The Bethel Public Schools, as a learning community devoted to the academic and social growth of our children, creates educational opportunities that inspire competence, creativity, teamwork, and a drive to excel. In an environment of trust and respect, high expectations for student performance are evident in the discussions, actions, and policies of the Board of Education. Board of Education policies can be found on our district website. As a way to increase communication about Board of Education policies, we include Board of Education policy updates in this section of our newsletter as they are approved by the Board. You can find the Board of Education policies on the district website at Bethel Board of Education Policies 

Recently Revised/Reviewed Policies & Regulations: 

School Closing/Delay Information

In the morning when it is necessary to close school due to inclement weather or have an unscheduled early dismissal due to forecasted inclement weather for the afternoon, the “Schools Closed” or “Early Dismissal” announcement will be made over the following radio, television stations, websites, Twitter, and text message via our SchoolMessenger communication system.  

             WLAD                 AM      Danbury 800 on the dial

             WINE                  AM      Brookfield         940 on the dial

             WICC                  AM      Bridgeport         600 on the dial

             WEBE                     FM      Bridgeport         108 on the dial

             WEZN                 FM      Bridgeport         100 on the dial

 

TV Channel 3, TV Channel 8, & TV Channel 6.

 

Bethel Public Schools Website – www.bethel.k12.ct.us

Connecticut Weather Website – www.ctweather.com

Twitter - @BethelCTSuper

Facebook - Bethel Public Schools

 

When school is in session for the day and it is necessary to have an unscheduled early dismissal (click for times) due to weather or other emergency an “Early Dismissal” announcement will be made.  You will be notified by our automated message system, SchoolMessenger, via voice, text message, email, and appropriate announcements will be made over the above radio, television stations, websites, and Twitter. 

 

*Therefore, it is important your contact information is accurate and you update your contact information promptly if this information changes. If during the school year any of your demographic information were to change, you can update it at any point by contacting your child’s school directly.

 

The SchoolMessenger caller ID for all phone notifications is: (855) 326-1797.

**Please add this number as a contact in your phone so you can easily identify the call is coming from the Bethel Public Schools.

 

Please Note:  There will be no school activities, including athletics, on days when school is closed due to inclement weather.

 

 

For emergency announcements, SchoolMessenger notifications are sent out as soon as decisions are reached. Being on the notification list is not a substitute for monitoring your local media (radio, TV and so on) in situations where a delay in opening or school closing is an obvious possibility (such as when the weather forecast calls for snow). The BPS website, is updated as media calls are made.

 

 

Please note, although the district does not charge you for this service, it does not pay for text message charges that may be incurred by you for sending or receiving text messages. Check with your wireless carrier for possible charges. 

 

SchoolMessenger alert for Text messages

For all NEW parents/guardians: 

Reminder to New BPS Parents/Guardians - SchoolMessenger:

The district uses the SchoolMessenger notification service to send important information to families through phone calls, emails, and text messages.

To comply with wireless carrier requirements and protect against unsolicited text messages, you may receive a text message on the wireless cell phone number which the district has on your file, requesting that you "opt-in" to receive important information from the district via our SMS text messaging service.

The message you receive will come from our 'short code', 67587 and read similar to the following:

"Bethel Public School messages. Reply Y to subscribe or STOP to cancel. Msg&data rates may apply. Msg freq varies. Visit schoolmessenger.com/txt for info"

So that you may continue to receive these important messages, we encourage you to reply with "Y" or "Yes" when you receive such a verification message. If you do not reply, you will not receive any further text messages from our schools.

To opt-out of all text messages from SchoolMessenger, visit http://www.schoolmessenger.com/txtmsg/ or reply with "STOP" to the opt-in message that you receive. If you opt-in, but later decide to opt-out, simply send "STOP" to 67587.  You may also reply "STOP" to any message from our organization.

Please check with your wireless carrier for information about your mobile service plan and any possible charges related to text messaging.  Our organization does not reimburse for any charges associated with sending or receiving text messages. See flyer for details/QR Code.

SchoolMessenger Call-In Message Retrieval

As you know, our automated message system, SchoolMessenger, allows us to communicate important information to parents, guardians, and staff via voice, text message, and email.  Our SchoolMessgenger account now has a Call-in Message Retrieval feature.

 

The Call-In Message Retrieval feature is a powerful option that allows SchoolMessgenger phone call recipients to dial a toll-free number where they can replay previous phone notifications that they may have missed, or someone else answered the call, in cases where a cell phone call was dropped before the message could be completed, the reception was poor and/or the recipient was unable to understand the message.

 

The SchoolMessenger caller ID for all phone notifications and Call-In Message Retrieval is:   (855) 326-1797

 

*Again, please add this number as a contact in your phone so you can easily identify the call is coming from the Bethel Public Schools.

Please Note:  When a recipient wants to call into the system to listen to a message they might have missed, they simply hit re-dial on their phone, and, if their caller ID is not blocked, the system will identify them and play back the most recent 10 calls to that number from the past 30 days - including the time/date that the message was sent.

 

If the recipient has their caller ID blocked, the system will prompt them to enter the number that received the original call, after which the system will replay the recent messages to that number.

School Lunch Program 2022-2023

As was communicated in a separate email and on social media, the schools have opted into Shool Meals Assistance Revenue for Transition (SMART) funds.  These funds provide meals (breakfast and lunch) at no cost for all students at the beginning of the school year (anticipated through December).  Even though lunch will be free at the beginning of the year, it is important that all families who might qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch submit an application as soon as possible.  Please read the email which was sent for more information.    Español. Português. 

BPS School Resource Officers

School Resource Officer's Program Goals & Objectives

Assignment of a uniformed law enforcement officer to a school by the Police Department to work in cooperation with the school administrators, students, staff, parents, and community members in the following areas:

We would like you to meet our School Resource Officer Team for 2022-2023

Our School Resource Officer's biographies can be found on our website at BPS Resource Officers

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, 203-794-8613   1 School Street, Bethel, CT 06801 

Section 504 District Coordinator:  Dr. Christine Sipala, Director of Special Education & Pupil Services,  203-794-8616 , 1 School Street, Bethel, CT 06801