Recent happenings

What a busy and fun week we had last week! Thursday night we had a great turnout and a fun time at the Family Read and Rise Literacy Night. Reading support teacher Kelly White coordinated a fantastic family event. Every BCHMCPS student was able to choose a book with sponsorship from Scholastic, Kellogg's and BJ's. There was a wide selection of books:

and even a visit from Clifford the Big Red Dog!

Mrs. White and I were honored to accept the "check" for 500 free books for the BCHMCPS students

from the Scholastic, BJ's and Kellogg's representatives. It was a great night for everyone.

If that wasn't enough fun, the next morning we celebrated the six-week clusters with a great celebration. This year's celebration was held at the HYCC. So many wonderful demonstrations of cluster work and student learning. Thank you to all who volunteered to teach a cluster this year. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me during the celebration. So, if anyone wants to share a photo from the Cluster Celebration, please send me a photo or two and I will share in a future blog.

IMPORTANT UPDATE- We had an early dismissal day scheduled for the March 10th snow day. This half-day early dismissal has been rescheduled to Thursday, April 13th. Please note there will be a 12:00 dismissal on Thursday, April 13th. 
Grade 3 families- we will be rescheduling MCAS Session 3. You will be informed soon about the new Session 3 test date. 

New Blog Post

We had a busy week at BCHMCPS! On Wednesday the lottery for new students for the 2017-2018 was held. A big thank you to HYCC General Manager Joe Izzo for drawing the names in the lottery. Confirmation letters and waiting list letters have been mailed to all families who submitted applications. We are looking forward to welcoming all the new BCHMCPS students and families for the new 2017-2018 school year.

Thank you to the parents who came to the Principal's "Second Cup of Coffee" meeting last Monday. At the meeting I announced some very good news about school breakfast. Starting on April 24th, ALL BCHMCPS students will receive breakfast free of charge every morning! This wonderful opportunity is part of the Breakfast in the Classroom initiative. When students arrive in the classrooms, breakfast foods will be there waiting for them. Fresh fruit, a breakfast choice (cereal, bagel, yogurt, etc.), juice and milk will be offered to all students at no charge every day. Foods not eaten at breakfast, such as the fruit, can be saved for a snack later.  The research is clear that students who eat a healthy breakfast do better in school!                                      This is possible to the hard word of Barnstable Food Services Director David Badot and also to a very generous grant from the EOS Foundation to purchase the materials needed to get the breakfast program going.  A very big THANK YOU to Dave Badot and the EOS Foundation! More information and a breakfast menu will be coming home in the next few weeks.

BCHMCPS parent and PTO member Hilary Peck has been coordinating the Square 1 fundraiser (I call this a "fun"raiser) and has the following message for families:

Hello Parents!
Don’t forget to order cool gifts for that special family member or hard-to-buy-for person. With over 40 unique and useful keepsakes ready to purchase during the Square 1 Art fundraiser, your child's artwork is the perfect gift for any occasion or celebration. Nothing says “you’r loved” like”I made this art keepsake just for you”.
It’s the final days of the fundraiser, so don’t delay. The school benefits with every order!    LAST DAY TO ORDER: 3/22/2017

A reminder that the Read and Rise Literacy Family event has been rescheduled to this Thursday
March 23rd. The event will run from 5:30-7:00. Every BCHMCPS will receive a voucher for a free book! There will also be  parents' literacy workshop, children's read aloud and whole family activity! This event is sponsored by BJ's, Kelloggs and Scholastic Books.

After two postponements because of snow days, the much anticipated Cluster Celebration will take place this Friday at the HYCC starting at 9:30. All families are invited and encouraged to attend. Students will walk over from school and meet families at the HYCC. Parents and friends please go directly to the HYCC on Friday morning. Thank you to Enrichment teacher Carol Panasci for her coordination of the clusters and the Celebration. Please see a note for Mrs. Panasci below:

Dear BCHMCPS families and friends,
Enrichment Clusters ended yesterday and everyone had a great time. We like to have some products on display in our school to show what students accomplished. Examples of their work will be on display in the First and Second grade hallways next week from Monday through Wednesday. Because of the Read and Rise Literacy event Thursday night, unfortunately the displays will not be able to be up on the morning of the Cluster Celebration, Friday, March 24.

Please come in and visit the "Cluster Museum" next week Monday-Wednesday and we hope to see you on Friday, March 24 at 9:30 at the HYACC.

A reminder that Barnstable Little League registration is open. If you would like your child to register and may need some financial support to make this happen, please contact me at the school. There are some scholarships available for BCHMCPS families.
Please see
http://www.barnstablelittleleague.com/2017Registration.aspx
for registration information.

On a very happy note- we welcome Spring on Monday at 6:39 a.m.!

This week at BCHMCPS

Well, it looks like winter does not want to let go yet! After a snow day on Friday we are looking at the possibility of more snow on Tuesday.
Reading specialist Kelly White and I have been planning for this Tuesday night's Read and Rise Family Literacy event for over three months. Some sponsors of the event- Kellogg's BJ's and Scholastic- are flying in from other parts of the country to be here at BCHMCPS for this special evening. With the threat of substantial snow and possible blizzard-like conditions on Tuesday, we have made the decision to postpone the event until Thursday, March 23rd. If you have already sent in your registration for this evening, that registration will be good for next Thursday. Winter weather in New England can be so unpredictable.


Another event affected by the snowy weather is the Cluster Celebration.  The Cluster Celebration has been rescheduled once because of a Friday snow day and we do need to reschedule the Cluster Celebration one more time. The Cluster Celebration will now take place on Friday March 24th. It will still take place at 9:30 at the HYCC.

Tomorrow morning from 9-9:30 is the March Principal's "Second Cup of Coffee" meeting. Kindergarten teacher Ms. Fravel  will talk about the process of selecting a new Math program. After a year-long pilot of two different Math programs, the Mat Cadre has made a recommendation for a new Math program. Ms. Fravel will discuss how the decision was amde.
I am very excited to introduce tomorrow BCHMCPS's participation in the Universal Breakfast Program. I will explain what this will look like and  mean for our school and the timeline for the implementation of the program. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 9:00 in the cafeteria.

Reminder- the 2017-2018 lottery will take place this Wednesday March 15th at 2 pm.

upcoming events

I want to remind families of a few events coming up.

This Friday March 10th is a 12:00 dismissal. There is no afterschool care on this day. 









Next Tuesday is the much anticipated Read and Rise Literacy Night! You should have received an invitation about this fun night last week. In order to prepare for this night, all families attending must RSVP. If you need another copy please contact Kelly White at white_kelly@barnstable.k12.ma.us. Families MUST sign up ahead of time. This is a free event that will include a free book of choice for every BCHMCPS student, a family workshop, interactive family activities and a read aloud.
Below is a copy of the invitation sent home last week.

Wednesday March 15th at 2:00 pm in the BCHMCPS cafeteria the 2017-2018 lottery will be held. All applications must be in by 12:00 on March 15th. As a reminder, all siblings who wish to enter BCHMCPS for the 2017-2018 school year must have an application submitted. Siblings are first accepted but must have an application submitted by 12:00 on March 15th.

Read Across America Day and Little League Registration

Tomorrow is Read Across America Day! This day is held in celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Students will take part in this day by dressing in pj's, reading  together in the halls for a short period of time, being read to by community volunteers and having a visit from the Cat in the Hat. Also, Green Eggs and Ham will be served in the cafeteria!
We invite you to celebrate this day by reading your favorite Dr. Seuss book to your child at home. My favorite is "Horton Hatches an Egg". What is your favorite?

Watch for an invitation in your child's backpack tomorrow about a great night to continue to celebrate our love of reading! The Read and Rise family event will be held on March 14th from 5:30-7:00. Each child attending will get a voucher for a FREE book of their choice from the book fair, along with family events and a free raffle for a basket of books. WOW!

Batter Up!! Red Sox are in exhibition game mode and Barnstable Little League will soon be joining the fun!
Online registration is open now for Barnstable little League. The Barnstable Little League website is www.barnstablelittleleague.com. All information about Barnstable Little League is there. Walk in registration is March 4th at the Elks. We want every child in Barnstable playing baseball. No child is turned away and we have a great season planned that your children won't want to miss! As you know we are opening up Fenway Cape Cod & Jr. Cape League which will be on May 6th and we have Red Sox Alumni, Wally, Airplane flyovers and so many more great things planned to help us kick it off in style. Registration forms will also be available at the cluster celebration @HYCC.