BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose Is to Improve Student Achievement”

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

Contents Superintendent’s News

Superintendent’s News Christine Carver, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools Kindergarten Registration BOE Policy Updates In This Section: Elementary School Lunch News - Welcome to a New School Year! All Sports Booster Club - Reminder – August 30th – First Day of School - FULL DAY - ***IMPORTANT - STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC UPDATES*** Berry School News  School Closing & Delay Information Rockwell School News  SchoolMessenger Call-In Message Retrieval Johnson School News - 2017-2018 Open House Dates Middle School News - Breakfast! High School News - Bus Routes -2017-2018 School Calendar BEtv Schedule - Sales Tax Free Week, August 20 - August 27, 2017 BEtv Schedule - Summer’s BEST Update Family-School Partnership Bethel Education Foundation Dear Parents, Care Givers, and Community Members: BPS Flickr Community News & Events It is my great pleasure to welcome you back to school for what promises to be another great year in Bethel! We welcome back all of our returning families and welcome our FAQs many new families to the Bethel Educational Community. On behalf of our Board of 2017-2018 School Calendar Education and our entire staff, we wish you the very best as we embark on this new school year. As aligned to our district mission, we pride ourselves in educational School Closing /Delay Info. excellence and know that this year will continue to ensure that the children of Bethel have the highest quality instruction as reflected in our outstanding student outcomes. @BethelCTSuper Reminder – August 30th– First Day of School is a FULL DAY Click here for the 2017-2018 School Times Schedule.

Upcoming Parents should have received an email for returning students (PK-12), for new Events students the form has already been updated, regarding updating your demographic

information for your child(ren) in the Parent Portal. This information is critical to providing us the most accurate information and phone numbers if there was an  August 30 emergency. To update your child(ren) demographic information in the Parent Portal, First Day – FULL DAY click on the School Forms link in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Please

make sure you click the link for 17-18 returning students. In this form, you will also be  September 4 Labor Day asked to sign off on our district forms, which are now all housed electronically.

Schools Closed st The Parent Portal will open on August 21 . We are requesting that you update the demographic information prior to the start of school (August 30th). In addition, the  September 21 Rosh Hashanah Parent Portal will now house the sign off for the Chrome Book Protection Plan for Schools Closed grades 6-12. You can purchase the Protection Plan now on “My School Bucks” for your  October 6 convenience. Prof. Learning Day Schools Closed If during the school year any of your demographic information were to change, you can update it at any point by contacting your child(ren) school directly  October 9 Columbus Day Schools Closed Parent Portal Access Instructions

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

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. (You must opt-in for text messaging. *See Below.)

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

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.

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 Publics Schools.

 You must update your child(s) demographic information directly in the PowerSchool Parent Portal by clicking on the School Forms link in the upper right hand corner of the screen when you have changes to your information (phone numbers, email addresses, etc.) so that our PowerSchool database can be updated.

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

*Parents/Guardians who would like to receive text messages from our SchoolMessenger communication system, as per federal law, must opt-in. Please text "Yes" or "OPTIN" or "SUBSCRIBE" to 68453 and contact your child’s school directly to update your wireless number(s) in our student information database.

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.

To opt out of all text messages from SchoolMessenger, reply with STOP to the message or visit www.schoolmessenger.com/tm.

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.

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

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.

This feature allows phone call recipients to dial a toll-free number and replay phone notifications. 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 Publics 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.

Breakfast! Parade magazine listed important things to do to make your child have a successful year in school and #1 was for your child to have a good breakfast! Bethel Public Schools serves breakfast daily at all schools for $2.25. Students who qualify for reduced lunch will also qualify for FREE breakfast.

Research suggests that students who eat a good breakfast in the morning:  are able to attend better, have increased cognitive performance, and have increased perceptual and spatial memory  have more positive social interactions  have higher academic achievement  have better attendance and fewer complaints of headaches and other illnesses

Nationally, nearly 1 in 5 students come to school daily without breakfast. Our goal with this program is to ensure that ALL of our students have the opportunity to eat a nutritious breakfast each day.

Bus Routes The 2017-2018 Bus Routes will be posted on the district website a few days before school starts under “For Parents” on the menu bar and then Transportation Information or click here 2017-2018 Bus Routes

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

Connecticut’s Tax Free Week 2017 CT Tax Free Week - Sunday, August 20 through Saturday, August 27, 2017, During CT Tax Free Week, there will be no sales tax charged on any item of clothing or footwear sold for $100 or less in the State of Connecticut.

Summer’s Best 2017 The Bethel Public Schools completed another successful summer of enrichment, remedial, pre- kindergarten and high school credit recovery summer programs. Over 500 students attended programs this summer. Students received targeted instruction in reading, writing, math and enjoyed enrichment programs which included hands-on science, PE, art, cooking, history, and technology classes. Many of Bethel's incoming kindergarteners attended free programs to acclimate them to Kindergarten this fall. The Summer’s BEST programs continue to engage students in educational activities that excite!

Open House Dates - 2017-2018

Bethel High School Johnson School September 14 – 6:00 PM September 6 – 6:00 PM

Bethel Middle School Rockwell School September 12 – 6:00 PM September 13 – 6:00 PM

Berry School September 7 – 6:00 PM

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, @BethelCTSuper, we have a Facebook page at Bethel Public Schools We post photos of school and district events, general communications, and school closing/delay information. Please “like” our page!

Elementary School Lunch News

Bethel offers families the opportunity to apply for free or reduced meals. Guidelines are established by the Federal Government and forms are available at each school. Please note: applications for free or reduced meals are strictly confidential. Should a child qualify for either free or reduced meals, the debit system will treat the child as if he/she has paid for lunch and no one will be able to tell that the child is receiving his/her meals at a reduced rate.

Students who will attend Bethel Public Schools in 2017-2018 may be eligible to receive free or reduced- priced meals from the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program.

For more information, please call Trisha Dee at (203) 794-8603 or visit our website at www.bethel.k12.ct.us and use the School Lunch Information Link under the Parent Menu.

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

In an effort to address the growing population of gluten-free and vegetarian students, we are offering more of these choices. You will see them marked on our menus as (V) for Vegetarian and (GF) for Gluten Free. We will be offering Coleman's All-Natural Gluten Free Chicken Tenders every Monday as a choice in the elementary schools, and on hamburger and hot dog day, students will have a choice of getting their selection bun free.

If your student has a medical issue with gluten or any other dietary special needs, please contact Betty Avery, Director of Health Services at [email protected]. With proper verification from a doctor, we can make appropriate menu modifications for children with food allergies.

Lunch prices are as follows: $2.80 Elementary - reduced students $.40 $3.20 Middle/High School - reduced students $.40 Students who qualify for reduced price lunch will be charged $.40. Breakfast is offered daily at all schools for $2.25. Students who qualify for reduced lunch will also qualify for FREE breakfast.

If your child qualifies for free or reduced lunch, he/she may also qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program visit our website at www.bethel.k12.ct.us and use the School Lunch Information Link under the Parent Menu or click on the following for additional program information: Addendum C - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

In an effort to be more “green,” we do not print copies of the elementary menus. Please follow this link to access all school menus: https://bethel.sodexomyway.com/. To make online prepayments to your child’s lunch account, please go to www.myschoolbucks.com to set up an account.

With the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in full swing here in Bethel, we continue to encourage students to eat more fruits and vegetables. They are an important component of our meal and we will do our best to offer as much locally grown fresh produce that is available through our vendors.

Click here for more information on the School Lunch Program. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, I am always available to help. I can be reached at (203) 794-8722 or via email at [email protected]. Kind regards, Amanda Riley, Food Service Director

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION – 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR If your child will be five years old on or before January 1, 2018, he/she is eligible to start kindergarten in August 2017, in the Bethel Public Schools. The registration process is in full swing! Please start the process by completing the online registration form. To access the site, go to our website, www.bethel.k12.ct.us, scroll down, and click on the “Registration” link on the left-hand side of the page. Select 2017-2018 Student Registrations. There you will find

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

instructions on how to formally register your child for kindergarten. At the completion of your online registration, an email will be sent to you prompting you to sign up for an in-person registration appointment. In-person Kindergarten registration appointments are currently taking place. Please contact Laurel McCollam, District Registrar, at (203) 830-7355 if you have any questions or need further information.

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 will be including 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 Polices

School Newsletters/Blogs

Berry School News Berry School Newsletter – Dandy Lines Rockwell School News Rockwell School Newsletter – Peek at the Week Johnson School News Johnson School Newsletter – Weekly Bulletin Middle School News Middle School Newsletter – Tiger Times High School News

The BHS Freshman Orientation will take place on Wednesday, August 23 from 8am to 1:45pm. Bus transportation will be provided. The Bus Routes have been posted to the Main Page of the Bethel Public Schools Website. These are the Bus Routes and Pick-Up times for the upcoming school year. On the day of Orientation, your son/daughter should be prepared for pick up any time after 7:10am. Do not go by the times listed on the Bus Route document.

Contact Mari Lerz, BHS Assistant Principal, if you have any questions. [email protected] Office: (203)7948600 ext 1400

BEtv – Comcast Channel 97

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

Remember if you don't get us on Comcast cable, Channel 97, you can still see all our programing streaming live at http://dv2.discovervideo.com/play/?id=xw3838k&player=291&type=flash Or want to watch when you want to watch? Go to our video On Demand page at http://devos2.bethel.k12.ct.us/show- videos?g=4d17c1b509fc&page=1&filter=vod

BPS Flickr Page

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

We have posted 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. Click on logo.

Family-School Partnership The Family School Partnership Committee and Bethel Schools introduce the Parent Network Facebook Pages! Questions about school policies, homework, special events, etc., at our schools? Join the Berry Parent Network, Rockwell Parent Network, Johnson Parent Network, BMS Parent Network or the Bethel High School Parent Network on Facebook. These friendly forums, designed to support K-12 families, allow parents to post questions, give advice and provide resources to other parents. We encourage all to join! How to join: Questions: Berry Families - Facebook/Berry Parent Network Berry Families - [email protected] Rockwell Families - Facebook/Rockwell Parent Network Rockwell Families - [email protected] Johnson Families - Facebook/Johnson Parent Network Johnson Families - [email protected] Bethel Middle School Families - Facebook/BMS Parent Network Bethel Middle School Families - [email protected] Bethel High School Families - Facebook/Bethel High School Parent Bethel High School Families - [email protected] Network

Bethel Education Foundation Click here for the Bethel Education Foundation Newsletter.

www.bethel.k12.ct.us

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

BETHEL PUBLIC LIBRARY

Community Dance to Celebrate Bethel Library Founder’s Day Everyone is invited to the Community Dance in celebration of the Bethel Public Library's Founder on Friday September 8. Come to the Bethel Municipal Center, General Purpose Room, 1 School Street, 7:00-8:30 pm, for music, dancing, socializing, and refreshments. Enjoy the lively traditional tunes

www.bethel.k12.ct.us

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement” of Patricia Campbell and The Reel Thing musicians. No dance experience is necessary because each set has a “walk-through” so that everyone can follow Patricia’s call when the music starts! Grown-up couples and singles, as well as youngsters 7 years and older with a parent or adult guardian, will have a great time at this special event! Wear comfortable shoes. Light refreshments will be offered.

Join us for an evening of fun, family, and friends. The event is free, but registration is required due to capacity limits. Register online at www.bethellibrary.org; or call 203-794-8756 ext. 4.

Community News & Events

SCOTTY Fund Super Fun Saturday Picnic event on Saturday, September 9th, 2017 on the Bethel Municipal Center front lawn from 11:00 am- 6:00 PM. This event is truly "Neighbors helping Neighbors", as your support goes directly to children in our area with life-threatening and critical illnesses.

As always, this is a great community event! For Adults, this year we have added food trucks (Fork in the Road, Paradise Foods, Cinnamon Churros), as well as other local food vendors... so stop by for lunch or dinner. Live Music From Gorja from 4:00- 6:00.

In addition to fun inflatables for the kids, we will have a Rock Wall, Wrecking Ball. Lego Racer Challenge, Be Your Own Super Hero, All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream #Scooperbowl! and much more!

www.bethel.k12.ct.us

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

www.bethel.k12.ct.us

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

www.bethel.k12.ct.us

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

Where you eat, shop, and play all make our community our home! When you shop locally you are making an investment in Bethel, in your schools, in your neighbors, and yourself. Shopping locally is a great opportunity for you to support the merchants that support our schools, our sports, and other school clubs and organizations.

Check out the chamber’s Bethel Bucks program. Bethel Bucks are gift certificates that can be used to purchase many products like groceries, toys, gifts, photography. They are even redeemable at the Bethel Park and Rec. department. They are available in $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, and $50.00 denominations. They make great teacher gifts too! Purchase Bethel Bucks at the Chamber Office or by emailing [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

2007-2018 School Calendar & School Times Schedule

School Calendar & Time Schedule

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. (You must opt-in for text messaging. *See Below.)

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

www.bethel.k12.ct.us

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

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

To opt out of all text messages from SchoolMessenger, reply with STOP to the message or visit www.schoolmessenger.com/tm.

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.

This feature allows phone call recipients to dial a toll-free number and replay phone notifications. 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 Publics Schools.

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.

www.bethel.k12.ct.us

BETHEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS E-NEWS “Our Primary Purpose is to Improve Student Achievement”

BPS 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. We are hoping that 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 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 screen shot of what the App looks like. Nondiscrimination Statement The Bethel Public Schools do not discriminate in any employment practice, education program, or educational activity on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by law. The Bethel Public Schools provide equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Inquiries regarding the Bethel Public Schools nondiscrimination policies should be directed to:

Title IX District Coordinator Section 504 District Coordinator Dr. Kristen Brooks Mrs. Susan Budris Assistant Superintendent Director of Special Education and Pupil Services 1 School Street 1 School Street Bethel, CT 06801 Bethel, CT 06801