Superintendent Conrad’s weekly message for January 27, 2023, including International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Black History Month, National School Counselor, DEI Statement, Vaccination Clinic, William James College INTERFACE Referral Service Affiliation, The Help Line, Budget Update, Congratulations to BHS Students in track and Art, Budget Update, BEF Bash, District Calendar, and CSF of Bedford Dollars for Scholars Virtual Trivia Night, and Weather.
Hello Bedford School Community,
Friday, January 27, 2023
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Which is an international memorial day commemorating the tragedy of the Holocaust that occurred during the Second World War. It commemorates the genocide of six million Jews and eleven million others, by the Nazis. This memorial day is particularly important due to the sharp increase in antisemitic and hate-related crimes in Massachusetts and the country as a whole. For more information about International Holocaust Remembrance Day please visit UNESCO Holocaust Remembrance Day
Black History Month
Black History Month begins next Wednesday and is an annual celebration of the achievements of African Americans and a time to recognize the central role African Americans have played in our history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history. For more information please go to History.com Black History Month Information or the Association of the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) website which offers an opportunity to study the themes of identity and ideology through the ASALH’s Black History Themes website. Each year the themes change to reflect how people of African descent in the United States have viewed themselves, the influence of social movements on racial ideologies, and the aspirations of the black community.
National School Counselor Week February 6-10, 2023
National School Counseling Week 2023 (#NSCW23), will be celebrated from February 6th through the 10th in order to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February.
DEI Statement
On Tuesday night the School Committee endorsed the Bedford Public Schools Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mission Statement. The statement is the culmination of eighteen months of work by the educational professionals within the district. The statement is intended to guide the work we do to create a sense of belonging for our students, caregivers, faculty, and staff. To read the statement please navigate to Bedford Public School ~ DEI Mission Statement.
Vaccination Clinic
The Bedford Health Department’s regional partners in Lincoln and Wayland are offering upcoming opportunities for Flu and COVID-19 Vaccination for people ages 6 months and older. Bedford residents are invited to attend. For more information and to register for an appointment, use the links below. Flu & COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic on Friday January 27, 2023 from 4:00 pm until 7:00pm at the Lincoln School in the Reed Gym. The school is located at 6 Ballfield Rd, Lincoln, MA. For more information and to register click HERE
William James College INTERFACE Referral Service Affiliation
The Town of Bedford and the Bedford Public Schools maintain an affiliation with the William James College INTERFACE Referral Service, an outpatient mental health resource and referral Helpline, open Monday through Friday, 9 am-5 pm, that is available to Bedford residents and students of Bedford Public Schools. The Helpline can be reached at 888-244-6843 for resource information and/or outpatient mental health provider referrals from a trained resource and referral counselor.
The Helpline assists callers by gathering information about their or their minor child’s mental health concerns in order to match the caller to referrals for outpatient mental health professionals who best meet their needs based on insurance or fee requirement, specialty request, location needs, and general availability. INTERFACE Resource and Referral Counselors may at times re-direct callers to other resources in lieu of their service, or in addition to their service, based on their needs (for example, for callers presenting in crisis or with a need for a higher level of care). Additional information about INTERFACE can be found here – https://www.bedfordma.gov/209/INTERFACE-Referral-Service.
For more information on Social and Mental Health Services offered to Bedford residents, please navigate to Bedford Youth and family Services Website.
The MA Behavioral Health Help Line (BHHL) Launches
The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health launched the new Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line on January 3, 2023. The Help Line is available 24/7 to provide assistance across the state and in more than 200 languages to help anyone in need of mental health services connect with a provider. For individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing contact MassRelay at 711 to be connected to The Help Line. The BHHL is free and available to all Massachusetts residents.
Congratulations!
The BHS boys’ 4-by-800-meter relay team took third place in their race last with a time of 8:28.31. In the process, they set a school record running more than three seconds faster than the previous record set in 2018. The running order was Josh Garraway, Oren Brosgol, Jonny Garraway, and Carter Rauch. The BHS girls’ team, which finished fourth with a time of 10:34.45 also qualified for a medal in the 4-by-800. The team’s running order was Grace Niu, Anna Massaro, Addi Poulter, and Farrah Scott.
The following Bedford students have been recognized for their artistic merits by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards 2022-2023 juried competition. The students include Ada Cooprider: Silver Key & Honorable Mention, Paul Jeon: Gold Key, Kaylyn Sethakosee: Honorable Mention (x3), Raaga Vakamalla: Silver Key, Honorable Mention, Kate Woo: Silver Key, Gold Key, Jocelyn Young: Silver Key.
Budget Update
On Tuesday, January 24, 2024 the School Committee held a public hearing and final vote on the FY24 budget. The budget will next be presented to the Bedford Finance Committee on Thursday, February 9, 20223 as the School Committee’s FY24 Budget.
BEF Black and White Birthday Bash!
Tickets are on sale now for the Bedford Education Foundation’s Black and White Birthday Bash! The event will take place on Saturday, March 4, 2023, from 7:00 until 11:00 pm at the Café Escadrille in Burlington. Tickets are $50 each on-line through Wednesday, March 1st. After that, they will only be available at the door for $60. This year, the BEF is once again offering a special sponsorship, for individuals and families only, who would like to offer additional support. With a donation of $250, you can become a “Birthday Benefactor”. This sponsorship includes two tickets to the event, recognition at the Bash, as well as entry into a special raffle just for Birthday Benefactors. The links for both options are at https://bedfordeducation.org/.
We hope you will join the BEF for this very special event celebrating 15 years of the BEF! Since 2008, the BEF has funded $312,000 for grants at all four Bedford schools. A mission that could not be accomplished without your support. So, come celebrate with the BEF and enjoy an evening of fun, music, dancing, an amazing silent auction, and more, all for a wonderful cause! Any questions, please email the BEF at [email protected]. See you there!
Save the Date for the CSF of Bedford Dollars for Scholars Virtual Trivia Night
Registration is now open for the Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of Bedford Dollars for Scholars Virtual Trivia Night to be held on Friday, February 10, 2023, from 7:30-9:00 pm.
The CSF Dollars for Scholars Trivia event will be a virtual event this year and is brought to you by Sporcle Trivia. The virtual doors will open at 7:30 pm and the trivia game will run from 8:00 until 9:00 pm. Teams of 6-10 players (maximum of 10 players per team) at a cost of $25 per person are eligible to participate. Team players do not need to be in the same location, however, each person counts as a player, even if sharing a device. The maximum attendance is 200 players, so reserve your spot now! Ticket sales will end on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at 8:00 AM or when the maximum number of players sign up, whichever comes first.
Prizes will be awarded and all proceeds go to support scholarships for Bedford High School graduates. Team Captains please register your team HERE, or visit the CSP of Bedford website at http://www.bedfordma.dollarsforscholars.org
District Calendar: 2023-2024
The 2023-2024 District Calendar was re-approved by the School Committee at the January 17, 2023 meeting. You may view the calendar on our website here.
Weather
This was a very busy weather week. Please note that we will always make an “all call” to phones and email addresses to announce weather related decisions. This information is pulled from our ASPEN student information system and can be updated by each family there. Additionally, when there is a delayed opening, cancellation, or early release we will provide that information to the Boston area media outlets so that it can be included on the cancellation lists. Please note that we work closely with the Bedford Department of Public Works, Bedford Charter (our transportation partner), and other area superintendents during weather related situations. Additionally, we rely on briefings from the National Weather Service and Precision Weather Forecasting. For fun you can always use the Snow Day Calculator Website to see their prediction.
As always, thank you for your patience, your participation, and your continued commitment to our schools.
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