December 8, 2025

Greetings, BHS students, families and community. I hope that, despite the shortening days, you're enjoying the arrival of winter and the routine snowfall. 

After a few mild winters, a deep chill has arrived pretty early this year. BHS students are sometimes reluctant to bring winter clothing to school, since we don't have lockers, but it's really important as temperatures dip low during arrival and dismissal that they are equipped with coats, gloves and hats. If you need any assistance securing warm winter items, please don't hesitate to contact your Assistant Principal (AP Win for Grades 9 & 10, AP Payea for Grades 11 & 12) or your student's school counselor. We maintain a supply of winter gear, and as you'll see below, we also host events to raise emergency funds for BHS students and families.

As we near the end of the calendar year, we are also approaching the start of stricter limitations on cell phones at BHS. In accordance with a Vermont law passed this past summer, we will ban the use of personal cell phones from bell to bell during second semester, which means that students will need to keep phones stowed securely from the start of BHS's school day all the way through dismissal at 3:15 (regardless of whether they have free blocks or are at lunch or in the hallways at passing time). We've elected to align to state law in January rather than waiting until it is imposed statewide next fall so that we can adjust to these new expectations before needing to adjust to a brand new school (and so that we can focus on all the positivity of our beautiful new learning home in August, rather than needing to also teach into new phone expectations that some teens resent). We thank you in advance for supporting these new expectations at home, and for taking time to reinforce and explain these new rules. We will also be providing messaging in advisory, announcements and other ways between now and second semester. We don't expect this change to be without bumps, and parent/guardian support will be invaluable!

I've also kept you posted this year on our work to boost attendance and reduce class-cutting among a small group of students who have persistently struggled. We care deeply about all our students, and our Student Support Team and administration spent time together before the break brainstorming new ways to get students back in touch with their learning. While we will continue to work with students, families and teachers to try to identify and address root causes for truancy (we conference with students and families around attendance frequently), we also need to take steps to require accountability and ensure that we know at all times where all students are. Starting soon, we will pilot a new approach to address chronic in-school truancy (cutting). After first being offered one redirection, students who are not where they are scheduled to be will need to choose to either return to class or be assigned an in-school suspension (ISS). ISS will offer a safe, supervised space where students will set attendance goals, talk through the barriers with a staff member, and complete some reflective activities before working on missing assignments. The next day is a fresh start. We feel this is an approach that balances accountability and safety with principles of restorative practices. While refusal to attend ISS would result in an out-of-school suspension, we are hoping very few students will choose that route. No single approach is the right fit for every student, but we view this as a potentially valuable addition to our toolbox. We will collect data on this pilot, and we will continue to try new approaches as we seek a "best fit" menu of solutions for BHS.

Of course, the longest term solution is to foster pride in our school for all, cultivate a strong sense of belonging, and fuel all students' belief that school has something really valuable to offer them and any post-secondary plan. Again, the work we are doing clarifying standards, assessment and reassessment also plays a role in this school culture work. It's a big undertaking, but we're moving forward at a steady pace. I appreciate your support, curiosity and feedback.

With gratitude,

Sabrina Westdijk