November, 2017
Greetings to Becket Washington Families and Friends!
The cooler fall temperatures came late to Berkshire County, but they are
definitely here now. Please be sure your children have appropriate clothing as
we go outside on most days as long as there is not heavy rain or extremely
low temperatures.
October was a busy month. The Halloween Dance was a highlight, and our
thanks goes out to the PTO for their hard work. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade
students were excited to attend a presentation by “LivBits” at Kittredge
School on the 23rd. This ten year old girl made a big impression inspiring our
students to be responsible digital citizens, and encouraging them to find
their own “voice” in both their reading and writing.
At our school Gathering on the 20th we introduced the Becket Washington
core values to the students. These will inform our practice throughout the
year, and will serve as reminders to children and staff of what we hold to be
important in this building:
BE KIND AND RESPECTFUL.
BE RESPONSIBLE.
BE SAFE.
BE READY TO LEARN.
As part of our ongoing effort to maintain a positive school climate, we will
be reinforcing these values through actions and practice, skits, music,
lessons, student-created videos, etc.
Please read through the entire newsletter to keep up to date on all that
happens in this busy school. I’d love to hear from you if you have any ideas
or input of your own. Let’s keep those lines of communication open!
Mary Kay McCloskey
Principal
BOOK FAIR
The semi-annual Book Fair is scheduled to take place at the school from
November 6th through the 9th. The PTO is actively looking for volunteers
to help out in shifts for as little as one hour. If you can help, please
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES/REPORT CARDS
If you haven’t already scheduled a time to meet with your child’s teacher,
please do so as soon as possible. There is a half day for students on November
7th so that conferences can take place that afternoon and evening. It is so
important to keep the communication open between home and school. Report
Cards are scheduled to go home with students on Friday, November 3rd.
BECKET OUTDOOR CENTER
Please be aware of days your child will be going to the Becket Outdoor Center.
Each child needs to be dressed appropriately for outdoor learning, and bring a
lunch and snack. These are the upcoming dates:
November 14 Grades K-2
November 15 Grades 3-5
PTO/SCHOOL COUNCIL
The Becket Washington School Council meets before PTO meetings at 6:30 pm
on the first Thursday of the month. PTO starts at 7pm. Please try to join us
on November 2nd.
TARGETED PROGRAM REVIEW
CBRSD recently completed a district-wide Targeted Program Review. The
team from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education (DESE) visited all the schools in the District and conducted
interviews with all stakeholders. Their report should be complete in
December/January.
MCAS RESULTS
MCAS results have been mailed to parents of those students in participating
grade levels.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
November 2 PTO/School Council Meeting, 6:30 pm
November 5 Move your clocks back one hour!
November 6-9 Scholastic Book Fair at BWS
November 7 Half Day for Students/
Parent Teacher Conferences
November 10 No School, Veterans’ Day observed
November 14 Grades K-2 to Becket Outdoor Center
November 15 Grades 3-5 to Becket Outdoor Center
November 21 “Willie Was Different” performance at BWS
Berkshire Music Schoool
November 22 Half Day for Students
Dismissal at 11:20
November 23-24 Thanksgiving Vacation
November 30 Picture Make-Up Day
December 1 Half Day for Students/Teacher Inservice
Dismissal at 11:20
LOOK AT US!!!
