BPMS Family News

March 14, 2025

IMPORTANT DATES

 Our academic day begins at 7:40am and doors are open at 7:20am for breakfast and time to get ready for the day.  If your student is going to be absent or there is a change to their after school schedule, please copy Sue (susan.vandervliet@mmuusd.org) in addition to emailing their classroom teacher. 

Reminder: Staff Availability and Email Response Time

As stated in our Welcome Back to School email, our staff is available from 7:15 AM to 3:15 PM, with their primary focus being students during the school day. While staff members check email periodically, please allow up to 24 hours for a response. Emails sent after school hours or during school vacations will be addressed on the next school day.

If you require immediate assistance during school hours, please contact Sue Brady in the front office (#802-434-2074).

Thank you for your understanding!

ALL SCHOOL MORNING MEETING SCHEDULE

March 21st ~ Preschool will lead our ASMM

March 28th ~ No ASMM / Afternoon Artist In Residence Performance

April 4th ~ Dance Party with Peter Taylor

April 11th ~ Rhonda from CSWD with visit us

April 18th ~ Anna Carter's classroom will lead our ASMM

Check out our slideshow!

INTERVIEW COMMITTEE

Invitation to Join Interview Committee for Retiring Staff

We are in the beginning phases of planning for the upcoming retirement of some of our staff members, and we are excited to invite parents to be part of the interview committee as we work to find the best candidates for these important roles.

We anticipate conducting interviews the week of March 31st (but that is subject to change!) and would love to have a variety of perspectives represented. If you're interested in being part of the committee, please send an email to Michelle Patnode at michelle.patnode@mmuusd.org. Please note, not everyone who applies will be selected to be part of the committee, but we appreciate your willingness to participate in this important process.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to working together on this important task!

BPMS CONTRA DANCE NIGHT

The students are very excited for our Contradance Night on Tuesday!

Here's a little about what you can expect:

We will take the dance floor at 6:00pm, but there is no need to arrive early and save that front row seat because YOU will be joining us! Yes, that's correct... wear comfortable footwear, bring a water bottle, and join our BPMS students on the dance floor. No previous experience is needed. We will teach you everything you need to know. All ages are welcome, although friends kindergarten age and younger should expect to need assistance from an adult. The evening will be wrapped up by 7:00pm.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jennifer Corrigan (jennifer.corrigan@mmuusd.org). We hope you will be able to join us!

¡Hola Familias!

In our next unit, K-2 students will be learning about the culture of Spanish-speaking countries through families. We'll be looking at photos of our own families and families from different Spanish-speaking countries to notice similarities and differences, as well as to practice family vocabulary.

If your student would like to share a photo or two of your family with their class, please email pictures to me. My email is gabriel.ely@mmuusd.org.

Gracias,

Profe (Gabriel)

PLAYING WITH THE PRESCHOOLERS

MMU SCHOOL CHOICE & SPANISH IMMERSION

NEWS  FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE

We have noticed some students are choosing to bring sugary or caffeinated drinks to school. Drinking sugary drinks can lead to increased risk of tooth decay, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Please see below some information from the CDC on how to RETHINK YOUR DRINK for your family.

NEWS FROM THE ART ROOM

It is Chinese New Year and  this year is the year of the snake! Ms. McGrath's 3rd graders are working on their watercolor skills and practicing creating tie dye effects by allowing their colors to flow!

HELPING WILD BEES

Last Friday, March 7th, at All School Morning Meeting, Diane Reynolds, a volunteer with the Huntington Conservation Commission, came and spoke with the students and staff . She gave us wonderful information about how to help wild bees. Look for the sheet that was sent home with your learner. How exciting to create a pollinator environment that will help the bees for generations to come!

A SLICE OF P.I.E.

Don’t forget to check out The Giving Tree outside the BPMS library! Just grab a tag with one of the "wish list" items on the tree if you see one you'd like to purchase in support of our awesome teachers! When you bring the item to school you can drop it off to the teacher or with Sue, who has kindly offered to take the item to the classroom or support team member! Thanks for your help getting those little “extras” for our classrooms!

Gently Used Book Drive: Do you have good quality books that are taking up space on your shelf?  We are collecting gently used, current books that can be sold to help fund the amazing work in our school library!

You can drop them off in the box at BPMS under the giving tree. 

We're looking for:

- Adult and young adult hardcover and paperback books in good condition (no writing, highlighting, or damage)

- Titles published in the last 10-15 years

- Fiction and non-fiction books (but we cannot accept textbooks, encyclopedias, outdated nonfiction, or heavily worn books)


BPMS Apparel update: Thanks for all of your orders for this year’s apparel! We’re hopeful the new apparel will arrive in before April break! Once we receive a delivery date, we will announce a variety of pick-up times to accommodate different schedules. We will order some extra units in case you decide you need a few extra items or missed the ordering deadline! Email Lindsay at llymanclarke@gmail.com if you have questions!


We will have some light refreshment snack packs available by donation at the Contradance Night on Tuesday evening March 18! We look forward to seeing you there!


Please note there will be no Friday Morning Coffee this month due to our exciting Artist-in-Residence week with YES! Theater! More info on that to come soon!!

FROM THE KITCHEN

Kitchen Volunteers Needed

Are you interested in an opportunity to be involved in your child(ren)’s life during the school day? Would you like to get to know every child at BPMS by name? Curious to know if your kids are actually eating their vegetables at school? If so, volunteering in the kitchen as a lunch server might be a great place to start! The BPMS kitchen team is proud to make fresh, wholesome, and delicious food, however, we are dependent on volunteers to help serve lunch. Please consider signing up for a day or two to join the kitchen team and be a part of the school lunch hustle. The time commitment is from 10:50-12:30 and no experience is required! And, you get to see your kiddos and squeeze in a few extra hugs! Please check out the SignUpGenius HERE to sign up for a shift or contact Hilary at hilary.redman@mmuusd.org for more information.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Mount Mansfield Girls Lacrosse offers girls in grades 3-8 the ability to learn and play lacrosse.  Third graders will participate in practice but not games.  Season starts end of March through first week of June.  Practice is held at Browns River Middle School on Monday and Wednesdays from 6-7:30 and Games are played on Sundays starting the first Sunday in May through the first weekend in June.  Please contact melisamutolo@icloud.com for details.  Registrations will be accepted through March 15th 2025.