Bishop Guertin Updates

Parents and Students,

As we approach Midterm Exams, I would like to share some important information and resources to help everyone prepare for this significant academic period.

In order to help students prepare for exams, the BG Counseling Department has created a helpful video with tips and strategies for managing the upcoming weeks. This resource covers various aspects including maintaining health and efficiency during exam preparation, effective study techniques, and understanding the importance of midterms and their impact on transcripts. You can find the video here.

Please follow this link to the Midterm Information page for detailed scheduling. Note that Friday, December 20th will be a required testing day in case of snow cancellations during the week. Families should not make plans to be away from school before that date.

While the schedule differs from our regular routine, this is not a relaxed vacation period. Students should make thoughtful choices in managing their time and exam preparation. The exam review process is designed to help students reinforce concepts learned throughout the year. 

Exam grades will not be available during Christmas Break, as we want our faculty to enjoy time with their families. Exam results will be made available after classes resume in January. Semester grades are the first 'official' grades of the year and will be used for GPA calculations, honor roll, and eligibility determinations.

Thank you for your attention to these details, and we wish you both a successful midterm period and a wonderful start to your Christmas and holiday season!

Sincerely,
Mr. Gurall

Academic Periods - KLC

All freshman students will participate in a seminar with the school counselors and junior mentors. Discussions around building a strong high school transcript, why this is important, and how transcripts are used in your future will be the focus of the meeting. The mentors will share their experience as a freshman student and what to think about as the second semester begins. 

6:30 PM - KLC

This program is designed for student and parents of the Class of 2025. Counselors will explain the college admission timeline, process for visiting colleges and building a solid college application list, along with other important admission information. Please join us for this very helpful informational evening to kick- start your student's college admission process. Look for more information when we return from Christmas Break.

Revolutionary Prep is partnering with the BG Counseling Office to offer this great opportunity for BG sophomore and juniors to take a FREE practice SAT exam. All sophomores and juniors have received a personal email from Mr. Mullin outlining how to register and where to find more detailed information. Registration instructions can be found on the Class of 2026 or 2027 Counseling Class Pages.

This is a great way to practice for college admission testing - do not miss out, sign-up now!

• Information regarding how to order caps and gowns for the 2025 Commencement: https://jostens.co/bggrad25

Dear Parents of the Class of 2025,

With fingers crossed and hopeful anticipation the FAFSA is slated to open on December 1. As you may know, last year this Free Application for Federal Student Aid – the most important form to fill out if families of college bound students are hoping for financial assistance was delayed last year by many months. This was after a long and arduous overhaul of the form that was designed to support families more effectively through this process and provide a more open algorithm for financial aid. All of this ultimately happened, but not as timely as both the colleges and the applicants were comfortable with. This year there has been a BETA roll-out and from all indications it went well and is ready to go. The hope being the opening of the FAFSA will be both timely and effective and available soon. So, fingers crossed.

Financial Aid officers from across the country are doing their best to help prepare families for this process. Beth Maglione, interim president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators advises families to prepare by setting up a studentaid.gov account, gathering personal and tax information, documenting financial records, and listing schools. This is good advice and will assist in helping complete the FAFSA seamlessly.

Many parents ask the BG Counselors, "should we even apply? I don’t think we will get any aid. My other student in college didn’t get any so why should we?"  

The answer to these questions is a resounding YES! Many colleges will not award merit aid, work study money, or other opportunities if they do not see a FAFSA on file. There is never any harm in filling it out.

FAFSA is crucial for accessing federal aid, including grants that do not require repayment. It also is the application for a low interest government loan that can increase as students move through their college years. It is well worth the time filling out the form.

We are fortunate to have partners to help our BG families complete the FAFSA. Below you will find helpful websites to assist you. As always feel free to reach out to me or your student’s counselor with any questions you may have. 

Granite Edvance  

https://graniteedvance.org/

FAFSA

https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA)

https://www.mefa.org/

Sallie Mae

https://www.salliemae.com/

Remember to contact the Financial Aid offices at the colleges your student has applied to – they can be extremely helpful.

Wishing you the best of luck through this process,

Brenda Poznanski

Sr. Director of School Counseling and Admission

The Bishop Guertin Medical Professionals Club is seeking volunteer speakers to come in and address club members about their chosen profession.

Interested guest speakers can reach out Mrs. Crivac to discuss.

The following dates are open for speakers:

• January 17 and 24 

• February 14 and 21

• March 14 and 28

• April 11

• May 8

During the 2024-2025 school year, Bishop Guertin will continue to offer morning transportation using the school's minibuses.  The cost for the entire year is $850.

The following bus routes will be available this year:

(Times listed after each stop are approximate for bus arrival.)

East Route

• • Bishop Guertin High School

  • Market Basket Old Ferry Rd, Lowell, MA, USA 6:10am

  • Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, Bridge Street, Dracut, MA, USA 6:25am

  • Hannaford, Bridge Street, Pelham, NH, USA  6:35am

  • Icenter Salem, Lowell Road, Salem, NH, USA 6:45am

  • Shaw's, Indian Rock Road, Windham, NH, USA 6:55am

  • The White Birch Catering and Banquet Hall, Hudson NH  7:10am

  • Bishop Guertin High School 7:20am

North Route

• • Bishop Guertin High School

  •  Saint Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, Meetinghouse Road, Bedford, NH, USA    6:50am

  •  Los Primos Mexican Restaurant, Amherst Road, Merrimack, NH, USA    7:05am

  •  Bishop Guertin High School    7:15-7:20am

West Route

• Bishop Guertin High School

•  Market Basket, Jones Road, Milford, NH, USA 6:10am

•  NH Liquor & Wine Outlet, Route 13, Brookline, NH, USA  6:20am

•  Hannaford, Main Street, Townsend, MA, USA   6:35am

•  Pepperell Community Center       6:50am

•  Bishop Guertin High School   7:15-7:20am

To register for the 2024-25 BG Morning Bus Routes, please click this link and select the "STUDENT TRANSPORTATION BUS ROUTES" drop-down menu to complete the form.

The Nashua School District offers transportation to students residing in Nashua. 

If interested in this option, you can reach the office of transportation at 603-966-1055. To register your student in person, you can visit their offices located at 144 Ledge Street in Nashua.

Based on numbers, students in the mornings will ride their neighborhood high school bus to either Nashua North or South, and will then take a shuttle bus from there to Bishop Guertin. In the afternoon, buses will leave Bishop Guertin at 3:30 PM to drop students off near their home.

Our daily schedule is unchanged from last year.  Please refer to the printable daily schedule.  The letter designation and schedule of each day is published on the MyBG calendar. 

We will continue allowing students to be dismissed by parents when they have an academic period (study hall) during the last period of the day.  Near the start of school, you will see a survey in MyBG to give your permission for your son/daughter to check out of end-of-day academic period.  Students who have received parental permission may report to academic period and check out with the teacher.  It is expected that students who are dismissed early will leave campus directly and are not to congregate around the school (in locker rooms, the gymnasium, cafeteria, etc.).  If a student stays in school, the student must remain in study hall.

Please note that early dismissals due to a final-period study will not begin until a formal announcement is made.

Please refer to our 2024-2025 Calendar-at-a-Glance for details regarding key dates during the year. 

Our dress code for the school year will remain largely the same with a refocus and emphasis on some of the already existing guidelines. 

Mainly, gentlemen will continue to tuck-in their polo shirts and ladies will be expected to wear knee-high green, black, or navy blue socks when choosing to wear a skirt. Students will not be allowed to wear white athletic socks with their uniforms. The appropriate socks are made available at Red Brick Clothing both online and in store. 

As always, please review the official dress code copied below from the 2024-25 Student-Parent Handbook.

FEMALE DRESS CODE

Female students wear: a Bishop Guertin oxford blouse, a Bishop Guertin skirt or business professional pants, closed toe shoes of leather or suede upper and hard sole. Female students who choose to wear a skirt must abide by the following: (1) skirts should be worn with either knee-high green, black, or navy blue socks, or tights/nylons and (2) skirts should not be rolled or hemmed and should rest no higher than a student ID card above the knee.

Hair must be neatly kept and a naturally occurring hair color. Piercings are limited to traditional earlobe piercings. Traditional headbands and hair ties are allowed. An official Bishop Guertin sweater or solid-color blazer may be worn. Polo shirts are allowed between April 1 and October 31, unless a formal event is scheduled during the school day.

MALE DRESS CODE

Male students wear: a tucked-in Bishop Guertin oxford shirt, a tie, Dockers-style pants, a belt, dress shoes of leather or suede upper and hard sole, and dress socks. Hair must be a naturally occurring color, neatly kept, and off the collar. 

Ponytails, buns, and piercings are not permitted. Neatly trimmed facial hair is acceptable. No earrings or visible jewelry may be worn. An official Bishop Guertin sweater or a solid-color blazer may be worn. Polo shirts are allowed between April 1 and October 31, unless a formal event is scheduled during the school day. When worn, polo shirts must be tucked in.

Bishop Guertin High School partners with StudySix to bring international students to study here at school and to experience life in the United States.  The program depends on good host families, but StudySix is finding that host families are in short supply.  If you or someone you know would like to welcome international students into your home, please consider supporting the experience of these students.

Host families are given a monthly stipend of $1,100 per student. Students will arrive around August 16th or 17th.  

Please contact Mr. Casey Henry if you are interested in learning more about hosting.

We are seeking families to host visiting students from Les Chartreux School in Lyon, France from  March 25 to April 8, 2025. The annual exchange between the two schools will begin in March and continue in June with the departure of BG students for France. (Dates are still in development but tentatively June 10-24). We are in need of host families in mid-spring for the first half of this exchange.

While the Les Chartreux students here, they will attend classes at BG, visit local sites, and, most importantly, stay with BG families to practice their English and see what life is like in an American family. 

·      Students are occupied during the day, with host families spending time with them in the evening and on weekends. 

·      The students speak English well, and no French is needed in the home.

·      Hosting a student would allow your student further exposure to French language and culture as well as help the French student adjust. 

HERE you will find a link to the application to host. It also contains information about the France part of the exchange.

Students who host will also have priority to apply for the France trip. If you have or know students who would be interested in hosting and/or traveling to France, please pass this information along. There is no requirement to study or speak French to participate as a host or traveler. 

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact French Teacher Elsa Conrad (conrade@bghs.org). If you would like to host, complete a copy of the form and return it (paper or electronic version). 

Final Information and prices for the France visit will be available shortly.

Textbook information is available at the bookstore page. This page also includes information about summer reading.  Students should be sure to order all textbooks in advance and be attentive to their summer reading.  They will be assessed and graded at the start of school.

Throughout the school year, Mrs. Prunier and Mrs. Daly will send an email to parents and members of the Class of 2028 as part of the Cardinal Steps for Success program. This endeavor is aimed at helping first-year Cardinals better acclimate themselves to BG and the high school curriculum. Although there is a regular email with this information, you can also check THIS SITE to stay up-to-date on all Cardinal Steps for Success correspondences. 

COVID is a respiratory illness with symptoms that may include runny nose, sore throat, headache, and in some cases fever, diarrhea and vomiting.  Symptoms may be mild or severe.

If your child has a fever, vomiting and/or diarrhea, please keep them home until asymptomatic for twenty-four hours without fever reducing medication.  

Masking is optional and they may return when they are feeling well enough to be in school for the day.

You do not need a negative test to return to school.

Daily mass will resume it's usual 7 a.m. start time in the BG Chapel again. Students, faculy, staff and parents are all invited to attend this service befor the start of the school day.

Brother Roger

Returning for the 2024-25 school year is our student-run podcast. Re-branded as "The Redbird Report," this weekly podcast offers listeners information on all the happenings around Bishop Guertin, including upcoming athletics events as well as a look at the academic calendar for the week ahead.

You can find "The Redbird Report" on both Apple and Spotify. 

The Bishop Guertin Counseling Department hosts an online webinar aimed at better understanding adolescent behavior.