Important Dates |
- 04/19-23 April Break
- 04/26 Begin Revised Schedule.
- 04/28 Begin In-Person Wed (early release)
- 04/26 12th Grade Parent meeting
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FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dear BHS Parents, Guardians, and Caretakers,
Can we pause for a Sunday PTO Weekly Blast and simply share gratitude? Last Thursday 4/8 we increased our in-person learning population to 1100 at 115 Greenough Street and 400 at Old Lincoln School. The weather could not have been better. More important, our students were happy to be back and grateful for everyone’s efforts on their behalf.
This is when I tend to imagine old A-Team episodes with George Peppard reflecting, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Many thanks to the following:
- Erin Gallentine, Alexandra Veccio, and the entire DPW and Parks and Open Space. We have four tents at 115 and three at OLS; we also have ten picnic tables on Cypress, underneath the tents, for studying, hanging out, eating meals, and the like.
- Our custodial teams for moving around a whole lot of chairs and making our flexible outdoor set-ups happen each day.
- PTO for supporting our efforts vastly to improve our outdoor spaces at both 115 and OLS. I even had some seniors tell me they expected mediocre furniture only to sit back and relax with friends in large Adirondack chairs.
- BHS parent Chris Reed for helping the BHS leadership team think about creative ways to use outdoor spaces, reinforce social distancing, and generally have students be excited to spend their lunches and mask breaks outside. To be fair, we have implemented just a small percentage of Chris and his team’s ideas; the work continues to improve the Welland spaces.
- District leaders, including School Committee members, for making sure we had tents back up in time for our shift on Thursday.
- BHS administrators and staff for providing adult presence and supervision for the youth.
- Our ACE students for designing and putting together some picnic tables and some garden beds to augment the little outdoor nook near their program. This is longer overdue, and we are grateful our students are helping lead the way.
- Our Performing Arts staff for holding many classes outdoors, thus enriching all of our lives, particularly the students singing, playing, and dancing together outdoors.
- The students for pitching in and understanding the need for individual and collective effort to make this all work amidst a pandemic.
These students we all share - the adolescents around which all of our work centers - seemed very happy to be reunited with peers, tnavigating the campus again, and having some normalcy in a year when there has been little.
Go, team,
Anthony
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ANNUAL POETRY FEST!
Support the poets of BHS at the 26th Annual BHS Poetry Fest: Mon. April 12 at 7:00 pm. Please encourage your students to attend and to read a poem! (Sign up on the BHS Library website.) All are welcome to attend at this Zoom Link. See you there!
WHIPPLE WRITING FELLOWSHIP
Is your BHS student a writer? Do they wish they could spend their summer writing and be paid for their hard work? This summer, the Whipple Writing Fellowship will choose 12 lucky BHS students to participate in our summer residency.
The cornerstone of the Whipple writing program is the Summer Residency. As Fellows, participants join a supportive cohort of 12 fellow aspiring writers, receive a generous $700 stipend to encourage their work, and learn from writers across a spectrum of professional writing styles how to craft a piece of writing that will ultimately be presented in a public forum and submitted for publication. The 2021 summer writing fellowship will focus on nonfiction writing across multiple genres. Fellows must be current 10th or 11th graders in order to apply.
Application and information on Summer Residency is here. Applications are due April 27th.
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THANK-YOU FOR SUPPORTING BHS
The Innovation Fund's Gala-rama was a great success! Thanks to all who participated. For results and appreciations, go here.
WEDNESDAYS BECOME IN-PERSON 4/28
Beginning the week after break (April 28), all Wednesdays will be in-person (for in-person students). There will be a revised schedule for all students.
BHS SPORTS REGISTRATION
Spring Sports registration is open at this link. The first official practice and tryout date is Mon. April 26. Please register ASAP! Reminder: physicals must be within 13 months current. Please upload physical from in FamilyID registration. No payment until until rosters are settled.
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GRADE 12 PARENT MEETING
THE POST-BHS TRANSITION -- WHAT SENIOR PARENTS NEED TO KNOW
Thurs. April 29, 7 p.m., Zoom link here.
Whether heading off to college or the military or staying close to home for a gap year or to work, the transition from high school life is a big change. On Thursday April 29, the Senior PTO and B-PEN present a special evening with guest speaker Dr. Anjini Virmani, BHS Social Worker Abby Dean, and some recent BHS grads addressing this milestone from both parent and student perspectives. The program will include information on current trends, safety tips, practical messaging regarding alcohol/drug use, and useful strategies for letting go while maintaining open communication. Dr. Virmani will share important information about dealing with college student medical needs away from home, including HIPAA health privacy guidelines and a “medical tool kit.”
OPEN POSITIONS ON THE BHS PTO EXECUTIVE BOARD
The PTO is recruiting new board members for the 2021/2021 school year. We'd love to hear from you! Please click HERE to learn more about the open positions. Reach out to
copresidents.bhs.pto@gmail.com with any questions or to let us know that
you're interested.
BTC ANNUAL EVENT!
SAVE THE DATE: Brookline Teen Center's Annual Event will held virtual on May 20 from 7-8pm. For more information, go here.
STEP UP FOR STEPS TO SUCCESS!
On April 14, via email, Steps to Success will kick-off its Step Up Celebration with student videos, guest speaker remarks, and our annual raffle (with a twist!). For more information go here.
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CANCELED: MONDAY & FRIDAY EARLY RELEASE
The early release days on Mon. and Fri. (4/12, 4/30, 5/10, 5/12,6/07,6/11) have been canceled. These dates are now full-days. Wed. remain early release days.
STUDENT POOLED COVID TESTING
BHS pooled COVID testing has been extended until May 7th. If your student is interested in participating in pooled COVID testing at BHS, please register here.
High participation in the pooled testing program helps PSB to detect people infected with SARS-CoV-2 but have no symptoms. Those people can be quickly removed from the school environment, and this action also reduces the number of people identified as close contacts. This program uses front-of-the-nose swabs collected at school, pooled together in groups of 5-10 swabs, and tested as a group at the Broad laboratory, Cambridge. The sensitivity of this pooled testing is very similar to individually testing each person. Please note that individuals in a positive pool would need to return for a second (“reflex”) test to determine which person in the pool is the infected individual. For more information or questions, please contact Nurse Debra Troderman at debra_troderman@psbma.org.
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE APPI COMMUNITY
The rising number of incidents of violence against the AAPI community reminds us all that we need to be active bystanders and supporters. The Brookline Asian American Family Network (BAAFN, offers a information and resources for everyone. Please go here, for COVID-19 specific information.
GUIDANCE INFORMATION
For information from guidance, go here. Quarter 3 ended on Apr, 6. Report cards will be posted in the Aspen Portal in a couple weeks.
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
The Brookline School Committee will meet Thurs. April 15 at 6 pm. Agenda and Zoom link will be here.
SURVEY TO GATHER DATA ON ASIAN HATE CRIMES IN BROOKLINE
Recently, the Brookline Select Board announced its solidarity against racism toward Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. On Tues., Mar. 23, the Board voted unanimously and unequivocally to condemn all forms of racism, racist, and other violence as well as all forms of hatred against women which have often accompanied Asian hate crimes.
Please respond to this short anonymous survey if you have witnessed or been a victim of hate crimes in Brookline. The Brookline Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Relations will analyze the survey data to better support and mitigate racism and discrimination in the community.
If you have questions, email, Dr. Lloyd Gellineau, Director of Brookline Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Relations at lgellineau@brooklinema.gov.
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ACT UP & VOTE SCREENING
You may viewt Act Up & Vote! Virtual Screening and Talkback here through April 23rd.
MAB SEEKS FUNDRAISING COORDINATORS
Mutual Aid Brookline is looking for volunteer fundraising coordinators! Mutual Aid Brookline provides essential resources like food, cleaning supplies, medication, childcare, and financial assistance, all of which cost money. In the past, our fundraising team has worked on day-long Instagram fundraisers, month-long themed campaigns, and speaker events. We are currently amid our MAB birthday celebration fundraiser. The options for fundraising in a creative and community-oriented way are limitless!
The fundraising team currently meets every Tuesday evening. This volunteer position requires approximately 4-6 hours per week, including meetings Interested? Please email mutualaidbrookline.fundraising@gmail.com.
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Sports and Extracurricular Events
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SPRING SPORTS registration is open! Try-outs start April 26th.
Schedules will be found here. |
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Support BHS
The Brookline High School Parent Teacher Organization is committed to supporting important communications between school and home. It sponsors a variety of events each year designed to show support of the school and to keep parents informed about how to help their children make the most of the BHS experience.
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