Spotlight on Education - Bristol Public Schools

Bristol Public Schools
Spotlight on Education
Excellence Now
Success Tomorrow
Spring 2016
Volume 16www.bristol.k12.ct.us
Special Education Optimizing a Child’s Potential
By Dr. Kim Hapken, Director of Special Services
S
ay “special education” and many
people think of children who are
severely impacted by their disability.
Although students who receive special
services are highly diverse, the vast majority
are not severely disabled, either physically
or mentally. Most are diagnosed with
learning challenges that do not necessarily
mean reduced mental capacity. With
accommodations and specialized support
services, the majority of students identified
with special needs can perform at grade
level and graduate from high school with
a regular diploma. It is the philosophy
of Bristol’s special services department to
include students in general education to the
maximum extent possible. Understanding
the value of education and the purpose
of special education provides the basis
for inclusion.
In order to be fully included in the
educational process and to reduce barriers
to learning, the special education program
in the Bristol Public Schools works
collaboratively with all stakeholders in the
schools and community to optimize all
children’s potential for lifelong learning.
Today every child has the right to a free
appropriate public education that will lead
to an adult life characterized by satisfying
relationships with others, independent
living, productive engagement in the
community and participation in society
at large. The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, requires all public schools
to provide equal access to education for
children with disabilities ages three through
twenty-one at no cost to families.
The mission of the Special Services
Department is to ensure that students
who require special education and related
services will receive specially designed,
high-quality instruction to enhance each
student’s
academic,
social/emotional
Pre-school students in circle time at the
Bristol Early Childhood Center
Peter Norris, a student in the community
vocational class at work at Price Chopper
The Hubbell Elementary Unified Sports Team
and behavioral development in the least
restrictive environment. Teams of highly
qualified, committed and dedicated special
and regular educators collaborate to
providing outstanding instruction to our
most challenged learners.
The Special Services Department
provides a continuum of services from
support in the general education classroom,
to self-contained programs designed to meet
the complex needs of all learners requiring
special education and related services.
The highly qualified staff consists of
special service supervisors, certified special
education
teachers,
paraprofessionals,
speech-language
pathologists,
school
psychologists, occupational therapists,
physical therapists, and other contracted
professionals who support students across all
school environments.
The special education staff also devotes
countless volunteer hours to the Unified
programs, providing students with special
needs opportunities to develop athletic,
dramatic, artistic and social/emotional skills
and life-long partners with their general
education peers.
2
SPOTLIGHT
ON
EDUCATION
Bristol Public Schools
From the
Superintendent’s Desk
I
t is my pleasure to announce that we will soon be transitioning from a school-based newstudent registration process to a centralized registration process. This centralized registration
process will be designed to provide a more efficient and user-friendly approach to registering
new students who will be attending one of our thirteen district schools. Instead of requiring
parents to travel to one or more schools in the city to register their children, all registrations will
be completed at the centralized registration office – soon to be opened at the Bristol Board of
Education Offices on the first floor. We anticipate that this significant change to our registration
process will occur sometime on or after September 1st of the new school year.
The new centralized registration office will be staffed with two registrars who will be
available to assist parents with completing all registration application materials, answering
parent registration questions, and providing any additional assistance, including support
for parents whose primary language is not English, Plans are already underway to create
a centralized registration office space large enough to allow parents direct access to our
registrars as well as a comfortable waiting room area and direct access to computers so that
the registration paperwork can be completed right on-site.
We are excited about launching this service to the community and we are confident that
the efficiency and customer service that it affords Bristol parents will prove very positive.
BPS Has Launched A New Website
After many months of hard work by the district Tech Team, under the leadership of
Dr. Rich Gagliardi, the district has recently launched a brand new and improved website.
The new site is designed specifically to provide you with a user-friendly and informative
experience – with easy access from any mobile device. Besides a great new look, you can
now directly access our Twitter, Facebook and You Tube pages directly from the website by
clicking on any of the icons located on the upper right portion of the main page. There you
will find up-to-the-minute information including news and announcements, achievements,
videos, events and more. You can log on at: www.bristol.k12.ct.us and let us know what you
think of the new website at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CL7GMQZ
Bristol parents are also reminded that the last day of school for students comes earlier
than usual this year – Thursday June 9th.
Best wishes for a safe, happy and healthy summer season.
Sincerely,
Bristol Receives State
Grant for Technology
Google Chrome books getting ready for
distribution to the schools
he Bristol Public Schools received
a grant from the State of CT
to provide financial support
for districts for upgrades in technology,
equipment, and start-up costs to expand
the availability of high-quality models
for the implementation of the Common
Core State Standards and the new
assessments that measure those standards.
Bristol was awarded $178,861. The funds
were used to purchase 510 Chromebooks,
17 Chromebook storage carts and
19 document cameras for high school
math classes.
T
Bristol Board of Education
Dr. Ellen Solek
Superintendent of the Bristol Public Schools
Superintendent of Schools:
Bristol Central H.S. Earns Silver Medal
Deputy Superintendent of Schools:
B
ristol Central H.S. once again earned
a Silver Medal Award, ranked in the
top 5% of all schools
nationwide and named one of
the 30 best public high schools
in the State of Connecticut by
U.S. News & World Report.,
and was the highest ranked
urban public school in the state.
More than 6,000 schools were
awarded gold, silver and bronze
medals in this year’s national rankings
Bristol
Central also just received its regional NEASC
accreditation after undergoing an extensive
Dr. Ellen Solek
on-site evaluation process conducted by a
NEASC committee. In its official letter
to Principal Peter Wininger,
NEASC
commended
60
different aspects of the school
including
according
to
Wininger, “The core beliefs,
values and learning expectations
that reflect the priorities of
our school community and
the hard work and dedication
of our teachers to implement curriculum
and co-curricular activities with the
available resources.”
Dr. Susan Kalt-Moreau
Chairperson:
Mr. Christopher Wilson
Vice-Chairperson:
Mrs. Karen Vibert
Secretary:
Mrs. Karen Hintz
Mr. Jeff Caggiano
Mrs. Jennifer Dube
Mr. Joe Grabowski
Mr. Thomas O'Brien
Mr. David Scott
Mrs. Tina Taylor
Excellence Now
Success Tomorrow
3
World Premier at Bristol Eastern H.S.
O
n Monday May 23rd, the Bristol
Eastern Band is going to be
doing something that not a
lot of high schools EVER do. They are
going to be doing world premieres of
brand new pieces of music. Last summer,
music teacher Amy Dauphanais won an
international conducting competition and
had the opportunity to go to Italy. While
there, she asked not one, but two composers
to write brand new pieces of music
especially for BEHS! They both agreed,
and BEHS will be doing the world
premieres of those pieces at their May
concert. One piece is for the senior band
students and the other is for flute choir.
In addition, BEHS is part of a
consortium (group) commission along with
49 other schools, colleges, and universities
across the nation for the commission of a
piece of music for the large band ensemble.
The idea for the commission came from
Dr. Matthew Smith from the University
of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the
piece was written to honor 5 fallen men
in the line of duty http://newschannel9.
com /ne ws/loc a l /song-composed-forthe-fallen-five-debuts. Dr. Smith will be
coming to Connecticut to conduct the piece
in the concert. This specific performance
will be the U.S. Northeast Premiere of
this piece. Following the concert, all three
Bristol Eastern Band
new pieces will be available for purchase,
noting that they were commissioned by
Bristol Eastern.
Maker Bots 2016 Robotics Challenge
T
West Bristol Robotics team compete in
Annual Middle School Competition
he Bristol Education Foundation
sponsored the Annual Bristol Middle
School Robotics Challenge. The
four Bristol middle school teams competed
in challenges based on manufacturing
applications created by their teachers. The
theme of this year’s event was “MakerBots:
Robots in Manufacturing.” Students were
challenged to collaborate and demonstrate
creativity and problem-solving skills.
Teams worked together to program their
robots to successfully maneuver through
a series of obstacles simulating a variety of
manufacturing processes. Representatives
from local manufacturing firms interested
in getting students to consider careers in
manufacturing served as judges The packed
BOE auditorium was full of energy and
excitement as the students enthusiastically
raced to finish their programming challenges.
Stafford School Supports Family Learning
I
ncreasing parental engagement is a
priority at Stafford School. Stafford held
its’ Spring Fling: Family Learning Night
on April 26th. This event allowed their K-5
students to complete fun and engaging
literacy, numeracy and social/emotional
activities with their parents, guardians or
special adult guests. Many parents shared
how much they enjoyed the work ticket
format and completing the activities inside
their child’s grade level classrooms. “When
schools, families and community groups
work together to support learning, children
tend to do better in school, stay in school
longer and like school more.” That’s the
conclusion of A New Wave of Evidence,
a report from Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory. In addition to
these special activities, a presentation on
ways parents can help their students succeed
in school was given by Principal Tracy
Youngberg. Parental feedback was gathered
in the form of a survey to help target areas
the school can help parents be engaged
in and share responsibility in their child’s
academic success. Multiple studies show
that quality parent involvement activities
result in substantial benefits to children,
parents, educators and the school. Family
engagement in schools improves student
achievement, reduces absenteeism, and
restores parents’ confidence in their children’s
education. Students with involved parents or
other caregivers earn higher grades and test
scores, have better social skills and show
improved behavior.
Stafford Eagle
4
SPOTLIGHT
ON
EDUCATION
Bristol Public Schools
Community CONNECTION
• The Bristol business community and the
Bristol Education Foundation provided tickets
for 20 high school students to attend the
Central CT Chamber Business Forum to learn
more about the local business community and
network with business leaders.
the bookmobile to be equipped with an
awning, books and supplies and support the
director’s position. The Stocker Foundation
also supported an Early Childhood Distant
Learning opportunity for Bristol educators.
The crew from ESPN unloads bleachers at
Greene Hills
Donations from Walmart create a “Teachers’ Store”
• ESPN donated two sets of metal bleachers,
two professional-grade outdoor portable
basketball hoops and metal player benches
to the Bristol Public Schools. Greene Hills
is the recipient of the bleachers and benches
and the hoops will be set up at Hubbell and
Stafford Schools.
• Walmart in partnership with the United
Way donated school supplies valued at over
$7,000 to Bristol educators. Teachers were
able to access the items through a “free”
teacher store held at the Board of Education.
“Best in Show” at Bristol Central’s
“Writing Inspired by Art Show” supported
by a grant to Gale Dickau from the Bristol
Education Foundation
• The Bristol Business Foundation awarded 19
mini-grants totaling $14,764 to Bristol Public
School educators for a variety of high-quality
educational, innovative, and sustainable
programs that positively impact students.
The grant recipients include Michelle Burns,
Jeanine Audette, Gale Dickau, Paul Pinette,
Liz Porter, Keagan Radziwon, Gina GalloReinhard, Terry Grant, Lisa Ayotte, Tracy
Youngberg, Joy Cannata, Janet Kenney,
Carolyn Kielma, Jennifer Plourde, Carly
Fortin, Ashley Ingvertsen, Betsy Curto,
Stacey Pratt, Tim Hokanson, Erin Daley
and Lucia Infante. Projects ranged from
Interactive Algebra Notebooks to Creative
Writing programs to supporting the Greene
Hills G-Men’s community service projects.
• The Liberty Bank Foundation awarded the
Bristol Board of Education Office of Teaching
and Learning $30,000 to implement a
3-year Summer Literacy Camp for students
in grades 1-3 from the non-Title 1 schools,
Ivy Drive, Edgewood and Mountain View.
Students with challenges in literacy and
reading will attend a comprehensive summer
program where they will receive engaging
intensive, explicit systematic small-group
instruction using evidence-based practices
to reduce summer learning loss and improve
achievement to reach their grade level
benchmark in English language Arts. Liberty
Bank also awarded Bristol Adult Education
$2,000 in scholarships for adult learners
pursuing a post-secondary education.
• Bridget Gohla was awarded a grant from
Target and Scholarship America to fund a
field trip to the CT Science Center.
• In recognition of Teacher Appreciation
Week, WFSB Channel 3 and the Liberty
Bank Surprize Squad visited Hubbell School
honoring Grade 1 teacher Kristin Orlolani a
dedicated teacher who is battling breast cancer.
• First Bristol Federal Credit Union sponsored
a PSA to help recruit mentors for the Bristol
Public School Mentor Program.
• The Farmington Bank Foundation awarded
the Bristol Mentoring program a $750 grant
to support the program.
• The Rotary Club awarded the Bristol
Education Foundation a $1,000 to support
the mini-grant program for Bristol educators.
• Barley Vine, Amano’s Pizza, The 99
Restaurant, Super Natural, Chunky Tomato,
Harvest Bakery, Marilyn’s Pub, Moes,
Monterrey, Nuchie’s, Puerto Vallerta and
Stop and Shop supported Bristol Central’s
Culture Night and evening celebrating the
cultural heritage of the student body.
• Chilis, Firefly Brewery, McDonalds, Moes,
Dunphy’s Ice Cream, Sno-White Car Wash,
and Friendly’s all hosted school nights to
help our schools raise funds for important
programs.
“WOW” Bookmobile
• The Stocker Foundation awarded the Bristol
Board of Education a grant of $11,050 to
support the “WOW” bookmobile summer
literacy program. This grant will allow
• Valley Baptist Community Church held a
5-K run at Greene-Hills. All proceeds went to
supplying students with coats, hats and mittens.
• General
Electric
sponsored
Junior
Achievement Day for students in Grades K-5
at Greene Hills.
• Bonnie plants donated cabbage plants to
Mountain View Grade 3 students.
Excellence Now
Success Tomorrow
5
Hubbell School Harnesses the Power of Storytelling.
T
he educational staff at Hubbell
School understands how storytelling
can enhance the language arts
curriculum and improve literacy skills.
As a learning tool, storytelling can
encourage students to explore their unique
expressiveness and engage their imaginations
and hone their listening, speaking and
visualizing skills while having fun. These
benefits transcend the art experience to
support daily life skills. In our fast-paced
media-driven world, storytelling can be
a nurturing way to remind children that
their spoken words are powerful, listening
is important and clear communication
between people is an art. Through funding
provided by the Barnes Foundation, Hubbell
was able to incorporate “Start with Stories”
a program offered by the CT Storytelling
Center. Students received multiple classroom
visits from a professional storyteller. Students
listened to folk tales and participated in
storytelling themselves by retelling parts
of the stories through role-playing, the use
of puppets and other storytelling activities.
Discussion of the problems in the stories
encourages comprehension and love of
spoken and written language.
Author, Bill Thompson revisited Hubbell
to unveil his new book “The Typewriter”,
a wordless book designed to foster
imagination through illustration, inspiring
students to create their own narration. He
used Hubbell students, Mikayla Ervin and
Hilton Chanthakhyly he met three years ago
during his first visit as models for characters
in his new book.
Bill Thompson unveils his new book
“Typewriter” with the Hubbell students he
used as models for characters in his book.
Mountain View uses Digital Learning to Support Summer Learning
M
ountain View School wanted
to stay connected and expand
learning opportunities for their
students during this long summer ahead. To
help them accomplish this, Mountain View
purchased the Sumdog app for all of their
students. This app allows teachers to send
out challenges throughout the summer on
specific mathematical standards that students
have learned this school year. The teachers
will be able to track their progress and
encourage the students to practice their math
skills. The Mountain View PTO helped to
purchase RAZ KIDS for all of the students.
This app allows teachers to progress/monitor
students’ reading levels during the summer.
The app also provides students with over
50,000 digital books to choose from which
connect to five comprehension questions.
The questions help maintain and build
literacy skills. Students will earn stars with
each book read to gain rewards at the RAZ
KIDS store. The Mountain View staff is
excited about having this virtual connection
with their students this summer to support
their summer learning.
Mountain View students using SUMDOG
Community CONNECTION continued
• Shop Rite visited Mountain View and
presented a program on nutrition and healthy
eating. They also held nutrition programs at
South Side School and the District Art Show.
Sarah Orde, Carolyn Kielma and Keagan
Radziwon received full funding for
their projects through a grant from the
Dalio Foundation.
• Thrivent Financial donated $250 in start-up
funds to help the BCHS Interact Club raise
$1,300 for Make-A –Wish.
• Through a partnership with Whill, a
Japanese company, Carolyn Kielma’s BEHS
biotechnology class had the opportunity
to test drive a new type of wheelchair, so
advanced and “futuristic,” it appears in the
new Batman v. Superman movie.
• Through Donors Choose, teachers, Amy
Morgan, Jennifer Stafford, Janet Kenney,
• Arthur G. Russell sponsors a FIRST highschool level robotics team that won the N.E.
District Competition.
• The Hartford Science Center presented the
different aspects of robotics to Mountain
View students in Grades 2-5. The program
was sponsored by the Barnes Foundation.
• IBM sponsored Junior Achievement Day at
South Side School.
6
SPOTLIGHT
ON
EDUCATION
Bristol Public Schools
Giving Back
• Bristol Eastern Staff Reaching Beyond
Their Classrooms. The African Proverb, “It
takes a village to raise a child, “is as relevant
today as it was many years ago. Bristol Eastern
teachers and staff have started a new club
called BE and Beyond to join help build
partnerships between their school, the Bristol
Community and local businesses to increase
learning experiences for all students. Recently
12 staff members held an activity night at the
Bristol Boys and Girls Club at Cambridge
Park, creating crafts and playing games with
the attendees.
• The
Bristol
E a r l y
Childhood
Center
has
formed
a
wonderful
relationship
with
the
Bristol Senior
Center. They Pre-School students give
c e l e b r a t e d Valentine’s Day Cards to
V a l e n t i n e ’ s thank their friends at the
Day
with Senior Center
them
and
enjoy the new Book Buddy Program. The
seniors shared their gym with the Center
during the cold winter months when the
students couldn’t play outside. • B r i s t o l
Preparatory
Academy
students
t a u g h t
technology
classes
to
members of
Preparatory
the
Bristol Bristol
student helps his client
S e n i o r
from the Senior Center
C e n t e r . with her technology
They helped questions
seniors use
Smartphones and tablets, troubleshoot
problems, learn how to download apps,
navigate various websites and video chat and
text. The seniors were very impressed and
grateful for all the help they received.
• The West Bristol 5th grade team raised $260
for the Autism Society of America.
• The Bristol Board of Education’s Dress
Down days raised funds for the following
causes January, $2,816 for the School/
Community Food backpack program,
February, $5,297 for the William King Fund,
March, $2,652.25 for the District’s Unified
programs and April, $2,872 for the Parent
and Child Center.
ACCESS students with their mentees
• Bridget Gohla’s students in the ACCESS
program teamed up with students from
Emily Gomes and Courtney Decker’s ASEP
1 classroom to continue the cross district
special education mentor program created
last year. The older students have provided
the role of mentor and role model for the
younger students.
• The Red team at Northeast M.S. collected
over 100 food and toiletry items for the St.
Vincent DePaul shelter.
• Bristol Central H.S. and Bristol Eastern H.S
held blood drives.
• Bristol Eastern H.S National Honor Society
held a Charity Dodge Ball Tournament that
raised $325 and with the United Way Youth
Board and support from ESPN collected 150
bags to donate to foster children.
• The Bristol Central Interact Club adopted
5 families for the holidays, raised $4,500 for
the St Jude’s Hospital at the Charity Cycling
Challenge They hosted the Mr. BCHS Pageant
raising $6,753 to be divided among the Boys
and Girls Club of Bristol Family Center,
the Connecticut Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society and St. Jude’s Children’s Research
Hospital. Interact members also volunteered
at the Bristol Senior Center, Indian Rock and
the Rotary’s Great Pizza Challenge.
• BCHS National Honor Society held a
food drive collecting over 300 items for the
Christian Fellowship.
• Hubbell School teacher Steve Bashaw
organized Hoops for Hope raising over $100
for the American Cancer Society.
• The BEHS LEO club held a Thankful Gram
fundraiser to raise money to donate to their
sponsor organization, the Bristol Lions. Club
members volunteered at the annual Pancake
Breakfast, Carousel Museum and Back to
School Drives. Currently the LEO club is
focusing on raising money for their fellow
classmate, Billy King through selling bracelets
and t-shirts reading “No One Fights Alone”
and organizing the “Walk for Billy.” To
date the BEHS community has raised over
$14,000 for Billy.
• Greene Hills Art Club under the direction
of teacher Joe Johnson raised $527 selling
pumpkins and sundaes at parent-teacher
conferences. They also volunteered to paint
faces at the spring Walk for MS.
South Side School Community Club
deliver “smiles” to Sheriden Woods
• South Side School Community Club sold
“smiles” raising over $400 for local charities.
They hand –painted and filled over 70 flower
pots and delivered them to Sheriden Woods
Health Care Center.
• Ryan Broderick organized “Push-ups for
Patriots” at BCHS raising $2,900 for the
Semper Fi Fund.
• Northeast M.S. collected 760 books for the
WOW bookmobile summer program.
• The BCHS Family and Consumer Science
Club created a fundraiser for Alex Milosevic,
who was injured in an accident.
• Greene Hills G-men collected over 400
pounds of candy to send to our troops.
• Over 200 toys were collected at the Greene
Hills School Toy Drive.
Excellence Now
Success Tomorrow
7
Bristol Schools Music Program Wins National Award
B
ristol was one of 476 districts nationwide that received the
Best Communities for Music Education Award from the
NAMM Foundation. This award is given to districts that
demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music
access and education to all students, and are regarded as models for
other districts. The Board of Education and the community at-large
support music education at a high level. “It’s very exciting. We’ve got
a great bunch of teachers that are very dedicated to what they do and
to improve upon what they do. It’s nice to get that recognition for
what we’re trying to do here for the kids and for all their hard work,”
said Ken Bagley, citywide coordinator for music. Music is offered to
students in grades K-12 in multiple course offerings and a new music
elective has been added at both high schools. In addition, the Cistulli
Fund at the Main Street Community Foundation and the Bristol
Business Education Foundation support the district’s program.
• Kara Friedman from Bristol Eastern was selected to the All-State
Orchestra.
• Four Bristol Central H.S., six Bristol Eastern H.S., eight Chippens
Hill M.S., twelve Northeast M.S. students and one student each
Music students being recognized for their accomplishments
at the Board of Education meeting.
from Greene Hills and West Bristol were chosen to perform in
the Northern Regional Music Festival. The ASBDA Honor Band
included nine BCHS musicians and the UCONN First Chair
Band included six Bristol Eastern musicians.
Art Students and Staff Continue to Bring Home Awards
S
outh Side School’s Art teacher Walt Lewandoski was named
Elementary Art teacher of the Year by the CT Art Education
Association. The award recognizes art educators for
demonstrating excellence in the classroom, active participation and
leadership, publication and/or exhibits, advocacy for the arts and
other accomplishments in the field of art education. The South Side
community held an art expo to honor Mr. Lewandoski raising $650
in his honor for the Jill Schaffrick and Sid Bernard Funds at the Main
Street Community Foundation.
The Bristol Public Schools won 13 awards, 2 Gold, 3 Silver and
8 Honorable Mention at the 2016 Scholastic Art Competition.
Taylor Patnode won a top award. She received the CAAA – Best
in Printmaking for Group 1. Jade Vigue won a gold key and James
Daniels, Janelle D’Emanuel and Abigail Calfe won Silver Keys.
Bristol continues to be recognized for their excellent art program.
Giving Back
Walt Lewandoski, CT Art Taylor Patnode won Best of Show in the
Teacher of the Year
Scholastic statewide arts competition.
continued
• West Bristol students held a “Penny War” to
raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
and the West Bristol Leadership Academy
created a Garden of Kindness. Paper roses were
sent home with each student; they completed
acts of kindness and wrote their acts on the
roses that were placed on a bulletin board.
• Bristol Eastern High School hosted an
instrument “petting zoo” for elementary
students in town. Elementary students
deciding which instrument they’d like to play
in the had the opportunity to look at, try to
play, and listen to the various instruments.
• Chippens Hill yellow team collected $201
for the American Cancer Society Relay for
life through a penny war. Chippens Cares for
Cures Team is walking in the event and has
sold t-shirts raising over $600.
BEHS Honor Society collected bags for
foster children.
8
SPOTLIGHT
ON
EDUCATION
Bristol Public Schools
Broadway Returns to Northeast Middle School
A
lmost 90 students participated in the Northeast M.S. Drama
Club production of THE LION KING, JR. The play, based
on the Disney movie and Broadway musical of the same name
performed to sold-out crowds. The production brought the entire
NEMS community together. The 43 cast members worked from
November to April on character development and learning music
for the production, while 10 students on the tech crew designed,
built and painted props and sets. In addition, NEMS instrumental
music teacher Sharon Vocke assembled and conducted an orchestra
of thirty-three students who performed “The Lion King,” a medley
of songs from the original show. All of the orchestration was culled
together by Mrs. Vocke to set the appropriate tone for scenes in the
show. The show comes with recorded orchestration so the fact that
NEMS had an orchestra was unique to this production!
The show was directed by Lisa Carroll, NEMS Library Media
Specialist, and former Drama Club advisor at BEHS. Angela
Lomaglio, vocal music teacher at NEMS, was the musical director
and worked with soloists and the ensemble. Art teacher Allison
Chatelle designed and created many of the masks and props for
the productions. Faculty support came from Ann Bonetta, Sally
Bronson, Gary Gworek, Corinne Prete, Janice Rustico, and Toni
Simpson. Sarah May worked with art students to create a savannah
in the lobby and Vince Jennetta and Chris McAleese worked with
Technology Education students to build some of the set pieces and
construct some of the props. Chippens Hill Team on to the Nationals
T
he Chippens Hill Middle School’s Odyssey of the Mind
team competed at the annual CT State Odyssey of the Mind
Competition. Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative
problem solving competition that rewards thinking “outside of the
box” without any outside assistance. The competition emphasizes
creativity and teamwork and has grown into the largest international
creative problem-solving competition worldwide.
The team of 8th graders: Luke Ashworth, Rebecca Bender,
Genevieve Dailey, Adam Poniatowski, Sara Stadnicki, Chelen
Smith, and 7th grader Ashlee Lewandowski placed first for the state
of CT in division II for their problem. For the past eight months
these students have spent approximately 12 hours a week coming
up with their solution to their problem of Furs, Fins, Feathers
& Friends. The team had to create a humorous performance
depicting problem solving from the perspective of three different
animals. Their Egyptian themed performance with high scores in a
spontaneous solution to an unknown problem has earned the team
Chippens Hill Odyssey of the Mind Team
a trip to World Finals at Iowa State University at the end of May in
which they will be one of the over 830 teams from around the world
that will compete in the 37th Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.
Only a few advance to World Finals — these teams represent the
best of the best creative minds.
Greene Hills School a Culture of Kindness
W
hat began as a monthly initiative
has grown into a mind-set
the entire school community
focuses on year round, promoting kindness.
Students and staff alike have taken extra
steps developing projects that help make
both their school and Bristol community
a better place. Acts of Kindness month
inspires students to give back. The Greene
Hills G-men held a candy drive for our
service men and women stationed overseas.
One group of girls formed a Card Club
to make cards for nursing home to make
people smile. Kindness for Kids collects
books for the library. The Save the Animals
Club collects dog and cat food and supplies
for the shelters. Over 6000 acts of kindness
were recorded on a huge paper chain that is
proudly displayed as you enter the school.
Friendship Day at Greene Hills
Excellence Now
Success Tomorrow
9
Class Size, Making Sense of the Numbers
R
ecently there has been a great deal
of attention directed at the class
sizes in our elementary classrooms.
According to the April 2016 data, the
average class size for students across the
district in grades K-5 is 20.8 students. The
district guidelines at the start of each school
year for grades K-2 is to cap class size [close
enrollment] at 22 students and for grades
3-5, the cap is 27 students. When full day
kindergarten was implemented 2 years ago,
the ability to add additional sections in a
grade level became impossible. We needed to
use an additional 15 classrooms throughout
the 8 buildings that house students in grades
K-5. Because of issues beyond the district’s
control, there are fluctuations in class size
during the school year. Once a grade level
is capped, newly enrolled students must
either attend a nearby school with space
available or exceed the cap. At or near the
close of this school year, after our budget
has been approved, schools will be informed
of the number of anticipated sections in
each grade level. However, summer moves
and kindergarten registrations can change
numbers dramatically. During the first week
of August, class sizes are reviewed and some
changes may be made. Therefore, we do not
assign students to a particular class until after
this decision is made.
Bristol Eastern Valedictorian Kaleah Smith!
K
Valedictorian Kaleah Smith
aleah Smith is the last of Kathryn
Smith’s six children to graduate from
Bristol Eastern all of who went on to
college. While her siblings all found success at
BEHS, Kaleah is finishing the family legacy
with an exclamation point, being named the
Valedictorian of the Class of 2016. According
to Kaleah, “My Mom was always there
to support us. She came to every event we
participated in. She instilled in us the belief
to always do our best. She encouraged all of
us to balance academics and extracurricular
activities to become a well-rounded student.”
Since she and her Mom live just around the
corner from the school she feels she has been
a part of the BEHS community forever.
While her siblings found their passion in
music and sports, Kaleah found her passion
in academics and the Leo Club. She has
embraced all the academic opportunities
BEHS has to offer, taking six AP classes.
She finds great satisfaction working on
projects and volunteering to support her
school and community. She credits her AP
Chemistry teacher Mrs. Vetrano, for helping
her learn how to overcome roadblocks and
achieve to her potential. Kaleah has received
a scholarship to and will be attending the
University of Pittsburg.
South Side School: Digital Learning and Communication
S
outh Side students recently held a One
School One Book program, reading
“The One and Only Ivan” whose main
character is a gorilla. Since the entire student
body could not go to the zoo, the zoo came
to them. Pat Zadroney, school librarian, in
consultation with Jen Wolman from the
district technology office, used technology
to bring the book to life by arranging a live
teleconference between SSS third graders
and Emily, the zookeeper at the St. Louis
Zoo. She gave a presentation on gorillas and
then students watched a live feed of the four
gorillas in their zoo habitat, Fragile Forest.
Because the experience was so successful,
Mrs. Zadroney arranged virtual field trips
with the rest of the grades so they too could
experience this type of learning. These types
of innovative learning experiences support
South Side’s instructional focus of expanding
learning through the use of technology. The
whole school vision involves connecting
and collaborating between all staff, families,
administration and students to demonstrate
shared ownership and successful outcomes in
the important work they do.
South Side School on a virtual field trip at
the St. Louis Zoo
10
SPOTLIGHT
ON
EDUCATION
Bristol Public Schools
West Bristol School: Educating the Whole Student
T
he staff at West Bristol School is
involved in multiple initiatives
to help their students grow
academically, physically and socially. The
West Bristol School literacy team had the
opportunity participated in the Connecticut’s
K-3 Literacy Initiative (CK3LI) at the
Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
The team shared their progress towards
improving literacy achievement through
enhanced instructional practices and ongoing coaching. To date at least 75% of our
K-3 students are at or approaching grade
level reading expectations. Anthony Julius,
physical education teacher and Kiara Bonilla,
wellness teachers partnered with Healthtrax
to incorporate wellness workshops for
Grades 6-8, offering an introduction into
a variety of wellness activities to encourage
healthy lifestyles.
The West Bristol family supported Autism
Awareness and Cystic Fibrosis during April
and May respectively. Fifth grade students
helped to celebrate Autism Awareness. All
month long, they were read books about
characters on the autism spectrum. More
importantly, they learned about good ways,
as well as poor ways, of interacting with
someone on the spectrum that they may one
day encounter. To raise awareness for Cystic
Fibrosis, West Bristol students have created
a Garden of Kindness,
West Bristol Garden of Roses
Edgewood School Chosen for Webster Bank’s “80 Days of Giving”
E
Chris Prentiss, V.P., Internal Audit Portfolio
Manager at Webster Bank talks to Edgewood
students
dgewood Grade 3 teacher Melissa
Prentiss collaborated with her
husband Chris, Vice President,
Internal Audit Portfolio Manager at Webster
Bank to apply to be part of the Webster’s 80
Days of Giving, honoring the bank’s 80th
Anniversary. This program allows employees
who work with charitable organizations
between October and the end of December,
to “give back to community” and to nominate
them to receive one of 80 $1,000 grants
from Webster Bank. Chris and two of his
fellow employees came to Edgewood School
and spoke to the third grade about creating
budgets, prioritized spending and saving
money. Each student was given a calculator
and play money to help them understand the
concepts of managing money. The employees
were glad to come over and cover important
information that is not typically part of the
curriculum. Chris was very impressed with
the students’ knowledge and stated, “It
was evident we made a difference in these
students’ lives by their level of engagement,
the volume and detail of the questions they
asked and the expressions and reactions they
gave when faced with making decisions.”
As one of the top 80 programs Edgewood
received a $1,000 grant from Webster Bank.
Ivy Drive Principal Helps Prepares Next Generation of School Leaders
D
r. Rosie Vojtek, principal of
Ivy Drive School received the
University Council for Educational
Administration 2016 Award for Excellence
in Educational Leadership Award for her
significant contributions to the improvement
of administrator preparation in the field of
Education. Much is being asked of school
leaders, especially principals, in the quest to
raise standards and student achievement. It
is imperative graduate programs in school
administration provide the foundation that
prepares our future school leaders to do their
jobs more effectively from the start. School
leaders need the academic and practical
training to provide teachers with the necessary
resources and professional development they
need to be successful; create supportive,
comfortable environments conducive to
doing good work; involve parents and the
community at-large in meaningful ways;
and are willing to go above and beyond
the core requirements to ensure that every
student is successful.
Ivy Drive Principal, Dr. Rosie Vojtek
Excellence Now
Success Tomorrow
11
Awards and Accolades
• Southside teacher Julia Darcy, and her Grade
5 students were featured in the Capital
Region Education Council March newsletter
about how her student Jillian Kovitch
taught her class about PowToon and Khan
Academy on Digital Learning Day.
• BEHS senior Cassidy Yates and BCHS
senior Gabrielle Raymond were the
recipients of the 2016 DAR Good Citizens
Award.
Representatives from State Farm Insurance
award Bristol Central the check for $100,000
• Gina Gallo-Reinhard and Jonathan Horan,
teachers at Bristol Central H.S. had a
vision and the “drive” to make it happen.
Mr. Horan and his video production
and communication technology students
created an outstanding PSA video for the
State Farm 2n2 safe driving slogan. Ms.
Gallo-Reinhard led the all-out marketing
campaign to garner the on-line votes
necessary to finish in the top 5 out of over
3000 applicants nationwide winning a
$100,000 State Farm grant for BCHS.
The monies will support safe driving and
making healthy choices programs as well as
other important projects at their school.
• The Hartford Art School awarded Melanie
Michaud a scholarship to attend summer
portfolio classes.
• Juniors Adam Ward and Megan Radke
were awarded $2,500 CHET Advance
Scholarships.
• Greene-Hills has been selected by Scholastic
as the winning school in Connecticut for
the first-ever Dave Pilkey ‘Be a Reading
Superhero’ Educator Contest and will
receive a new book for every student.
• Bristol Central student Julian Galindez was
named the 2016 Youth of the Year by the
Bristol Boys and Girls Club
• Chippens
Hill
teacher Corey Nagle
was published in Science Scope and
AMLE (Association
of Middle Level
Education)
Magazine. Chippens Hill Science
teacher Corey Nagle
• Students in Bristol Central’s music
program competed in the Heritage Music
Festival in Chicago. The Concert Choir,
Madrigal Singers and the a cappella group
DyRAMics all received a Silver Award.
Lauren Santiago and Tyshaun Rodriguez
received judge’s awards.
• Bristol Eastern teacher Amy Dauphinais
gave workshops for the CT Music
Educators Assoc. and the Womens’ Band
Directors International.
• Bristol Central science teacher Nicole
Shook was the district winner in the Shell
Oil Science Lab Challenge, winning $2,300
to upgrade her science lab.
• BCHS Alexandra Calfe’s and BEHS
freshman
Nana
Akua
Bimpong’s
submissions were chosen for publication
in the CT Student Writer’s magazine from
over 1700 entries.
• Students Quentin Bensavage and Frances
Fijalek from BEHS and Joanna Lalaj and
Anita Du tremble from BCHS received
the CIAC Unified Sports Mike Savage
Exemplary Unified Teammate Award.
• On Teachers’
Appreciation
Day News 8’s
Brian Spyros
went back to
Bristol Central
to interview
and
feature
Gale Dickau,
who has been
teaching since
1968
and
inspired him News 8’s Brian Spyros
to get into with Bristol Central
broadcasting. teacher Mrs. Gale Dickau
• Ty Davis and Jace Rodriguez from South
Side and Preston Guarda from Ivy Drive
won grade level awards at the state CT
Invention Convention.
• CABE Student Leadership Awards were
given to Aaliyah Ulett, Matthew D’Amato,
Kerly Delgado, Spencer Yetke, Lauren
Godin, David Kaminski, Alexandra Opoka
and Dylan Albright for their leadership
both in their schools and the community.
• CAS Art awards were given to Alexa Caron
and David Myska from BCHS and Brenda
Krosnicki and Meghan Latimer from BEHS
for their qualities of leadership, scholarship
and their excellence in art.
• The CAS CIAC Scholar-Athlete Program
recognized Brittany Stancavage and
Matthew Varnum from BCHS and
Morgan Dauphinee and Joseph Lombardi
from BEHS for their exemplary academic
and athletic careers.
• All-State Athletes from BEHS include Bailey
Wyrebek and Angela Daley, Volleyball,
Joshua Wilson-Wrestling Class L Champion,
Academic All-State and CCC Conference
Champion Volleyball and Girls Swimming.
• Creighton Paquette-Claman’s Bristol
Eastern UCONN 1070 class won 4 out of
the 9 awards for the Braindance/Hartford
Hospital Competition again this year out
of 250 entries. One of the awards being the
top technology award.
• Bristol Central Latin classes took the
National Latin Exam, against 154,000
Latin students. Stephen Pittman, a Latin I
student, earned a perfect score on the exam.
The winners from BCHS include: Gold
Medal Winners Arianna Olson, Molly
Watstein, Nancy Ongany, Nicholas Osuch,
Desmond DeVille, Stephen Pittman,
Sebastian Kania, Jack Hale and Marianna
Apergis, 17 Silver Medal Winners and 28
Third Place Winners.
• The following BCHS students received an
honorable mention on the National Italian
exam, Arianna Olson, Ellesse Dinino,
Nicole Ledesma, Jenny Bukowski, Jasiel
Filiberty and Ebony Agustin.
• Bristol Eastern’s Future Business Leaders of
Continued on page 12
12
SPOTLIGHT
ON
EDUCATION
Bristol Public Schools
Partnerships Create Career and Technical
Pathways to Student Success
B
ristol Adult Education partnered
with Rowley Spring and Stamping
to develop and implement the Adult
Education Diploma and Certificate program
in manufacturing. The program is a workforce
training program for adult learners and high
school seniors in important manufacturing
competencies. There is a critical need for
skilled tradesman to replace the aging
workforce in manufacturing to keep the
economy moving forward. The importance
and critical need to sustain this award-winning
program in evident the extensive collaborative
funding stream it has received from the Bristol
Board of Education, the City of Bristol, The
CT Department of Labor, NESMA, Marion
Manuf., MW Industries, The Ultimate
Company, Sirois Tool, Southington Tool,
Wafios, CT Spring and Stamping, Atlantic
Precision, Century Spring, SMA, Rowley
Spring, Patriot Manufacturing, Interwire
Group, North America Spring Tool and the
Tim Walsh Charitable Fund at the Main
Street Community Foundation.
Students from both Bristol Eastern and
Bristol Central High Schools toured MW
Industries (Economy Spring) manufacturing
facility in Bristol. Students listening to V.P.
Tim Thompson’s presentation on what items
they produce, their use and how they are
created. Students saw springs used in the
EpiPen® coming off the production line and
were reminded how important it is for those
springs to work perfectly when a consumer
needs to inject themselves with a life saving
drug. Every aspect of production is crucial and
the employees at Economy take great pride
Students from Bristol Eastern and Bristol
Central tour MW Industries, Economy Spring
BEHS student demonstrates CAD to
representatives from local manufacturing
companies.
AEDAC Press Conference at Rowley Spring and Stamping
in the items they supply for these important
applications. The students realized that the
field of manufacturing is an innovative,
dynamic and exciting career pathway that
impacts all aspects of everyday life.
The Career and Technical Education
Departments from Bristol Eastern and
Bristol Central hosted an Engineering &
Technology Open House at Bristol Eastern
High School. Representatives from NESMA,
Ultimate Wireforms, Atlantic Precision
Spring, TRUMPF, ETTER Eng., Rowley
Spring, CT Spring & Stamping, Laurel Wire
and Reed and Stefanow Machine had the
opportunity to tour the engineering labs and
discuss the technical programs operated by
the Bristol Public schools. Engineering and
Awards and Accolades
technology students had the opportunity to
showcase their learning by exhibiting their
skills involving robotics, computer assisted
design, and CNC machining. As a result, Bristol students will have
the ability to acquire internships providing
valuable authentic learning experiences which
will enhance their traditional classroom
learning. In addition, these partnerships
continue to open doors to visit local facilities.
In an open forum, business leaders shared
their insight in an effort to provide students
a good understanding of what the current
manufacturing field looks like and to forge
positive school/business partnerships to help
transition from high school to careers in the
lucrative fields of engineering and technology.
continued
America competed at the State Leadership
Conference. Dylan Albright won 3rd
place in Healthcare Administration. Josh
Perez-Ochoa placed 5th in impromptu
speaking and the Chapter earned Bronze
chapter recognition.
• Edgewood PTA won 7 awards at the
Connecticut PTA Awards Ceremony. Awards included recognition for family
and community involvement, quality
enrichment programs, and strong
communications. • The BEHS Strawberry Fields group
appeared on Sing That Thing!, a public
television show highlighting a cappella
groups from New England.
• All-State Athletes from BCHS include,
Noah Cruz and Josh Moxam, Football
and Noah Cruz and Chris Nizielski,
Wrestling. Girls Indoor track won the
CCC Championships West
Bristol
student Rachel
Roloff
was
a winner in
the
poster
category in the
UCONN Martin
Luther King Jr.
Observance.