Barrington Middle School 

“We are BMS”

BMS Connected Learning Newsletter: October 26, 2020

The BMS Learning Community is Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Succeed! 

Mission:

Barrington Middle School’s Mission is to empower all students to excel in character, citizenship, collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking, so that they may positively impact the future.

Common Commitments: 

To empower ALL students to excel, The BMS Learning Community will provide:

  • A safe, caring, and supportive learning environment;

  • A challenging curriculum supported by current technology;

  • The best research-based strategies to meet the unique educational, physical, emotional, and social needs of the 10 to the 14-year-old learner; and 

  • A deliberate and specific approach to meet the individual needs/abilities for each performance subgroup of our student body.

BMS Spotlight on Learning:

This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on our “BMS House Band” members Mr. Eric Alteiri, Mr. Alex Tainsh, and Mrs. Dail Bienkiewicz for bringing back our Friday Music to our Eagle’s Nest. Thank you for starting our Friday off on a rocking note! 

BMS Upcoming Events

  • Monday, October 26, 2020 - Friday, October 30, 2020: Red Ribbon Week! 

BMS Standing Items

Student Daily Attestation Weekly Reminder: 

This is just a weekly reminder that you must screen your child for temperature, other symptoms, and risk factors for COVID-19 each day before sending them to the bus or building. 

  • If the student has any signs of illness or risk factors, they will remain at home, and the parent/guardian will contact the school nurse. 

  • Barrington Public Schools requires you to use the Student attestation form daily to screen your child.  

  • Please see this link for additional information. Student Attestation

Change from Distance Learning to In-Person Learning:  

We ask that if you decide to switch learning models, that you continue to email me but I also request that you complete linked form: Student Learning Model Change Request 

 

In-Person Participating in Distance Learning:  

An in-person student should only be participating in distance learning under two conditions.  The first condition is your child is sick and not able to come to school in-person but is still able to participate in class.  The second condition is if your child is quarantined due to a household member having Covid-19 symptoms or has tested positive for Covid-19.  Distance learning should not be used as a tool for your child not to come to school “just because”.  If your child fits one of the two conditions above, please call the school to notify them of the circumstance, and it is also recommended to email the teachers before the start of the school day so they can make sure they are prepared for an additional distance learning student.

 

BMS New Information

Masks:

We are asking families to send in two masks with your students daily.  This is helpful in case the mask breaks or becomes soiled throughout the day.  It is also helpful to have a spare mask in your student’s backpack in case a student gets out of the car and realizes they have forgotten their mask.  We appreciate your help with this.  

Red Ribbon Week: 

The Red Ribbon Campaign for drug-free youth was initiated in 1985 following the murder of Federal Agent, Enrique Camarena, by drug traffickers. The Red Ribbon is designated as the symbol of intolerance of illegal drug use and commitment to a drug-free lifestyle. 

This year Red Ribbon Week is October 26-30 with the theme being “Be Happy, Be Brave, Be Drug Free”. Barrington Middle School(BMS) students are encouraged to commit to a drug free lifestyle by submitting their drug free message in a Google form which will be used to enter them into a daily school wide raffle with prizes. There will also be daily announcements reminding students of Red Ribbon Week and making students aware of drug-use dangers through reported BMS statistics. Clusters are welcome to participate in our Virtual  Drug-Free Halloween Scene Cluster Contest. (Here is more information about that: Red Ribbon Week Virtual contest)

 On Tuesday, October 27th & Thursday, October 29, the students are encouraged to wear RED to demonstrate their continued commitment to a drug-free lifestyle. 

 All students, faculty, and staff can participate in a raffle to win prizes by completing this form.

If you have any questions please feel free to email Katie Hamel, Student Assistance Counselor, at BMS. hamelk@barringtonschools.org

BMS Daily Announcements: 

Below you will find some exciting information regarding our student groups at BMS! In addition to being featured in our weekly Connected Learning Newsletters, you can also find important student information in our BMS Morning Announcement spreadsheet linked below: 

BMS Morning Announcements 

The Literarians Creative Writing Club: 

Are you interested in creative writing, music, film-making, storytelling, marketing, public speaking, journalism, or all of the above? 

The Literarians is a creative writing club that is welcome to all students, regardless of their academic or personal interests! The Literarians participate in a variety of fun activities and projects that help students develop their skills in writing, communication, collaboration, and creative thinking. Even if you are unsure about joining, we encourage all students to come and see what the club is all about!

If you are interested in learning more about The Literarians, the first meeting will be held on Monday, November 2nd, at 4PM.  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

In order to access the zoom link to our first meeting, please join our google classroom: nvomozk

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to shoot us an email:

Emilee Souza, club founder: Souzae21@barringtonschools.org 

Mrs. Bannon, club advisor: Bannons@barringtonschools.org 

We hope to see you all there!

Sincerely, 

Emilee Souza and Mrs. Bannon

BMS Student Council: 

Any student who is interested in being part of the student council here at BMS should contact Mr. Kearns via email (kearnsb@barringtonschools.org)  or stop and see him in room 2221. Those who have contacted Mr. Kearns about their interest will be provided with the Zoom link to the virtual meeting. Please contact Mr. Kearns with any questions. 

BMS Yearbook Committee: 

Any student who is interested in being part of BMS yearbook committee should first, contact Mr. Kearns via email (kearnsb@barringtonschools.org) or stop and see him in room 2221. The first yearbook meeting will be held virtually on Monday, November 9th from 7:30-8:00 A.M. Those who have contacted Mr. Kearns about their interest will be provided with the Zoom link to the virtual meeting. Please contact Mr. Kearns with any questions. 

BMS Community Service Club: 

If you are interested in joining the Community Service Club please email Mrs. Oswald (oswaldc@barringtonschools.org) We will meet every other Friday and our first meeting is November 6th. We will meet via Zoom and after you contact Mrs. Oswald you will be provided with the Zoom link for the meeting.  We have a lot of fun finding ways to help others and all students are invited to join us!

BMS Math Counts: 

If you are interested in joining MathCounts, please email Mrs. Orrall (orralls@barringtonschools.org) or stop by Room 2223.  When you contact Mrs. Orrall, you will be provided with the Zoom link for the meeting.  All students are welcome to join!

Eagles Gazette: 

If you enjoy writing or creating comics and like knowing what's going on you may want to join The Eagle Gazette Newspaper staff.  If you are interested, please email Mrs. Oswald (oswaldc@barringtonschools.org)  The first meeting will be held via Zoom on Friday, November 13th from 3:45 - 4:45.  When you contact Mrs. Oswald, you will be provided with the Zoom link for the meeting.  All students are welcome to join!

 Message from BMS Science Olympiad: 

Hello!  I am the coach of the BMS Science Olympiad team, known as Coach Steve by parents and as Captain Planet by the students on the team.  This year's Science Olympiad events are taking place, but they will be entirely virtual and remote.  There are two competitions we will compete in.

 

One is an invitational through Harvard and Brown, in January.  You can find out more about that event here: https://www.sciolyharvard.org/divb and here: https://www.facebook.com/sciolyharvard/ 

The other is the RI State event, which will take place but a date has not been set just yet (most likely will be mid-to-late March or early April).  For more information on RI State SciOly, go here:  http://www.ric.edu/faculty/organic/ScienceOlympiad/

Both events will follow the remote MiniSO format, which you can find out more about here: https://www.soinc.org/play/tournaments.  We have 20 students on the team right now who are continuing from last year, which leaves over a dozen slots still open on the team for the Harvard-Brown event.  For the RI State event, our top 15 Olympians and 4 alternates will compete.

 

We have weekly (alternating Wednesdays and Thursdays) team meetings by Zoom.  Our next Zoom meeting is Thursday 22nd October at 4:00-4:45.

 

If your BMS student is interested in becoming an Olympian, please send me an email at bmsso@barringtonschools.org  and I'll add them to the team!

 

Thanks and all the best!

-Steve Gaurin

 

BMS Science Fair Club!

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be bringing back the BMS science fair club! While the fair isn’t mandatory, it will give the students a chance to explore areas of science they’re interested in, reach out to professors in those fields, and learn how to professionally present their scientific research.

The club will prepare the students to present in front of judges at the statewide fair where they’ll get the opportunity to win various prizes and awards, including scholarship money. While the club is new, the club will be run by international science fair finalists from the high school and the high school’s current science fair teacher, along with a few other award-winning science fair students.

If your student is interested in learning more about the fair, please have him or her attend the introductory Zoom meeting on Wednesday, October 28th at 4 PM. The Zoom link may be found here:   https://zoom.us/j/93201950216?pwd=Z2IrSCtaaDNGSStaNEpQVDJSQW1kdz09

The password for the meeting is: 2D17iZ

If you have any other questions about the meeting or science fair in general, please contact Josh Guertler at guertlerj21@barringtonschools.org.

Thanks to the great science teachers and passionate faculty, Barrington Middle School has done quite well at the state fair in past years, and we know that this year will be no exception. Thank you!

Book Bites:

Need a book to read?  Our awesome BMS Media Center staff recommends 6 books each week!  The recommended book list is available through blog form at http://www.mrsmelanieroy.com/ and also at our virtual bookshelf form: https://bit.ly/3lW9Q5e

MS Virtual Family Book Club:

This year we decided to go with an "Un-Book Club" theme for a virtual family book club series. Instead of choosing a single title that everyone reads, we will choose our own books based on a common genre or format and explore the aspects of that genre/format through our personal choices.

Meetings will be hosted by:

  • Ms. Tanya, Teen Librarian of Barrington Public Library

  • Ms. August, BMS Reading Specialist

  • Dr. Fernandes, BMS Reading Specialist

  • Mrs. Roy, BMS Librarian

Meeting Dates:

  • Tuesday, November 10 at 5pm - Kick-Off (nothing required but your presence)

  • Wednesday, January 20 at 5pm - Fantasy genre

  • Wednesday, March 24 at 5pm - Graphic Novel format (any genre)

  • Wednesday, May 19 at 5pm - Realistic Fiction genre

If you would like to sign up for the book club, please have your BMS student fill out this form. We will send you the Zoom link through the student and adult emails you put in the sign-up form.

Hope to see you there!

BMS Old Information

BMS Cluster Ambassadors: 

This week, as part of our Start with Hello Week, we will also be speaking with our students (7th and 8th grade students during Lunch) about becoming Cluster Ambassadors. The concept of being an ambassador will be for students to promote inclusion in the classroom setting. 

Interested students will receive specific training on how to include others in conversation, how to work with students with varying abilities in group work, and how to be a friend to all students. If your child would be interested in being a Cluster Ambassador, please pass your child’s name along to your child’s school counselor  (6th grade: Mrs. Poirier at poirierj@barringtonschools.org, 7th grade: Ms. Sleboda at slebodak@barringtonschools.org and 8th grade: Mrs. Nary at narys@barringtonschools.org ).

Updated BMS Blue/Gold Calendar: 

Please see our updated BMS Blue/Gold Calendar. In order to help with clarity, we alternated each day to either be Odd or Even. As you will notice, due to the number of days off in November, there will now be 3 Even Mondays in a row, followed by 2 Odd Mondays in a row.

BMS Daily Calendar 2020 - 2021

Student Attendance/early dismissal:

If your child is going to be absent from in-person learning or distance learning we ask that you contact the main office to let them know.  If your child needs to be dismissed from school (distance learning) we ask you to follow the same procedure.If your child needs to be dismissed from In-person learning, we ask that you send us a note indicating who is picking up your child and at what time. It is important that we have accurate attendance records.

Canvas:

We are moving away from Google Classroom and beginning to use Canvas this year. We will be sending out specific directions to login and use Canvas. For now, we wanted to provide you with these introduction videos.

Unlike Google Classroom, you and your children will only have to log in to 1 Canvas Account to see all of your child's teachers at the elementary level and your child's courses at the secondary level. 

 

Students’ Canvas Overview

https://community.canvaslms.co...

 

Parents’ Canvas Overview

https://community.canvaslms.co...

Notes about Screening Students: 

  • Families and caregivers will screen students at home using a self-attestation form

    • Fever is defined at 100° F or above related to this self-attestation form.

    • If a student has a low-grade fever, less than 100℉ before school, do not send your child to school and monitor at home for symptoms of illness or if increasing fever develops.

    • Remain in close contact with the school nurse or principal

    • If feeling well enough to learn, students monitored at home may engage in distance learning.

  • All students must stay home if they answer “Yes” to any screening questions before school

  • If a student screens positive for any COVID-19 symptoms, the student’s parent/guardian should seek medical advice from the student’s healthcare provider and inform the school of the student’s absence and inform the school nurse (COVID-19 point of contact) at the school.

  • School staff (and bus drivers) should observe students throughout the day and refer students who may show signs of being symptomatic to the school nurse for assessment. 

  • Nursing staff will monitor students who are symptomatic in isolation rooms until parents arrive and provide instructions for the next steps. Parents must pick up their children within one hour for the safety of all members of the community.

Barrington Community Information 

Barrington AfterProm Closet Cleanout:

Donate your clothing, shoes, bedding, towels, hats, mittens, scarves, ties, belts, jewelry, handbags and backpacks to the Barrington AfterProm Closet Cleanout drive on Saturday, December 5 from 8AM - 2PM.  Click here for the informational flyer.

Virtual Family Bingo Night:

The Friends of Barrington Public Library are hosting a Virtual Family Bingo Night on Wednesday, November 4 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.  For more information, click here for the flyerRegister here!

Become a Library Card owner!

Barrington Public Library (BPL) and Barrington School Libraries have teamed up to make sure all students have a BPL card!   "Get a Library Card" Flyer

Here is a link to the printable application. The application may be returned to Mrs. Roy during the month of October.

If you would prefer to apply online or need to replace a lost BPL card, please apply here.

Join the Adventure of Scouting with Troop 2 Barrington

Join us on Wednesdays at 5:00pm

Haines Memorial State Park (picnic site #20 -adjacent to boat ramp parking lot) Rte 103, East Providence, RI

Boy Scout Flyer

Flu Clinic

Please see the flier below for upcoming flu clinics that will be taking place in the district.  

Flu Clinic