November 17, 2025

Greetings, BHS students, families and community. The clocks have changed, we've had our first snowfall of the season, and our first extended break is coming up. Each year, this is when the school year begins picking up speed as we seemingly leap from break to break.

I've been able to get into a lot of classrooms over the last few weeks, both for informal walkthroughs and formal observations (all new teachers are observed four times/year, and veteran teachers rotate through cycles of observations every few years at BHS). What I've seen is students engaging in challenging, authentic learning experiences: small classes journaling and in conversation together, hands-on experiments like building circuits, literary analysis of novels, paragraph writing in science classes, making cardboard models to understand geometry, and much more. BHS is fortunate to be staffed by so many dedicated, creative and committed educators -- and so many motivated, curious and talented young people. 

That's not to say there aren't any issues. We still continue to work on improving attendance, and some students engage in avoidance behaviors when things start to feel challenging. Through this, we wrestle with extending trust to students while also confronting the reality that sometimes students make choices that don't advance their (or others') education. Cell phones are a piece of this. Please remember that Vermont has passed into law a bell-to-bell cell phone ban in all K-12 schools effective next school year. Most high schools in the state have already implemented this ban, and BHS will be doing so upon our return to school in January. You can help by having conversations with your child about this, and setting limits on their phone usage. We are hoping for a smooth transition away from phones during the school day, but it will take strong partnerships between school and home. In December, I will share more information about the benefits of phone-away-all-day campuses; the info might be useful if your teen is feeling upset about needing to set their phone aside at school.

Also, we've recently had issues with students ordering food to campus, leaving their classes, and returning later with meals in delivery bags. Please know that services like DoorDash are not permitted at BHS. We provide free meals daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner; ordering delivery is not an acceptable reason for skipping a class or missing learning for extended periods of time. 

Finally, all BSD schools will be closed from Monday, 11/24-11/28. I wish you and all our families well as we approach an extended break and enter the holiday season. I hope the coming weeks are filled with connection, laughter, fun, and rest. Please remember that if you need assistance with groceries or warm clothing in the coming weeks or months, we're here to help! The best place to start if you're seeking some support is your student's counselor, clinician, or assistant principal.

With gratitude,

Sabrina Westdijk