The Bedford High School varsity football season continues Saturday at noon, thanks to some quick work by Director of Athletics Keith Mangan and Head Coach Tom Tone.
The Bucs will entertain the Milton High School Wildcats beginning at noon. Milton, which plays in the Bay State League, has won two of three games, as has Bedford in this unprecedented “Fall II” season.
April 1, 2021
* One (1) new COVID-19 positive case at JGMS (JGMS case #17). No close contacts.
* There are currently two (2) active COVID-19 positive cases in the JGMS community at this time.
* This case does not appear to be connected or related to previous cases identified in the schools.
“Finding out you were assigned to Mr. Fichera’s fifth-grade class was like finding out you found a golden ticket to a world that only a few lucky kids got to experience each year.”
Eric Taylor spoke for hundreds of former students at Page, Davis, and Lane Schools, some of whom are in their 50s, about an educator whose impact helped shape their lives.
John Fichera died in Florida last Friday after an illness. Fichera taught in Bedford from 1973 to 2007, almost all of them in Grade 5.
“John was simply a terrific human. Polite. Creative. Funny. Caring. He loved his students!” said Lane School Principal Rob Ackerman, whose tenure overlapped with Fichera’s final year. “Not many people realize he attended every Bedford High School graduation after he retired until he saw his final Grade 5 class cross the stage and get their diploma.”
Mary Gallant recalled her Davis School class campaign to get the Legislature to declare the first Thursday in May as Right Whale Day. Students wrote letters and read them in person at a legislative committee meeting.
“To me, he was the life of the school. He was one of the reasons I became a teacher,” said Gallant, who has taught third grade in Cambridge for many years.
Facilitators at a virtual workshop on race and identity last week advised participants to start taking small actions now to support an endeavor that is lifelong.
“The only way to actually talk about race is to talk about race,” said Rebecca Smoler, who with Claudia Fox Tree conducted the session sponsored by the Parents Diversity Council and Bedford Embraces Diversity.
The long-time provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at Middlesex Community College is one of five finalists for the position of college president.
Phil Sisson joined Middlesex 11 years ago. His focus has included student pathways and outcomes; workforce development and growth; and inclusion and equity.
Editor’s Note: The Bedford Citizen thanks the Bedford High School Chapter of HOSA/Health Occupations Students of America for this article explaining coronavirus vaccinations. Contributing writers include Noy Toledano, Shahadah Manzer, Ella Mullins, Maddie O’Neil, and Harsheni Sudakar. BHS School Nurse Nancy Thorsen, BSN, RN, NCSN, served as an advisor for HOSA’s project. Many people are hesitant to receive a Covid-19 vaccine and for good reason! The phrasing of “emergency authorization” can be scary. In this article, we address all of those concerns and more, but if all your questions are not answered, you can find our Vaccine FAQs in our Instagram bio (@bedford_hosa) or contact us at bedford.hosa@gmail.com and we will be glad to be of help.
Back in 2016, the question of 611 Springs Road was a saga. Now it’s more like a footnote.
The School Committee Tuesday voted unanimously to accept the children at that address as students in the local schools — even though part of the property is on the Billerica side of the town line. The school district can have a significant impact on the value of the property. School Superintendent Philip Conrad said the recommendation is based in precedent—and on advice from counsel.
March 1, 2020, was a fun and exciting day at Iskwelahang Pilipino, the Filipino cultural school based in Town Center. “We had our annual cookoff, with chefs, and it was a big day,” said Executive Director Myra Liwanag. “Then we put everything away nicely.”
That was a good decision, since a week later the school, like millions of institutions worldwide, froze in place, as the dangers of Covid-19 engendered a shutdown.
The school has been operating virtually since then and is likely to finish the school year online. But the leadership is hopeful about returning for its 24th year at Town Center.
“I think Shawsheen Tech is Bedford’s best-kept secret.”
Dr. Bradford L. Jackson, superintendent-director of Shawsheen Valley Technical High School in Billerica, is also a huge booster.
Jackson is not only in his first year at the helm of Shawsheen Tech, but also comes from a background of a traditional comprehensive high school system. He most recently served as superintendent of schools in Holliston for 16 years and is the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.
Correction: Bedford’s return to school date is April 26, not April 16 as erroneously posted in Wednesday’s headline
Students at Bedford High School and John Glenn Middle School are scheduled to return to full-time in-person learning on Monday, April 26, School Superintendent Philip Conrad told the School Committee at its meeting Tuesday, bringing the school system ever closer to pre-pandemic conditions not seen for more than a year.
I wanted to let you know that we are busy planning for the return of students to all four schools five (5) days per week.
This is so that we can be in compliance with the Commissioner’s announcement on March 9, 2021, that Hybrid and Remote learning days will no longer be counted towards Student Learning Time (SLT) as of April 5, 2021, for elementary school students and April 28, 2021, for middle school students.
Jean Valjean, with all due respect, had some bad days. But he never knew what it’s like to have to abandon a high school musical performance on the threshold of opening night because of a sudden global pandemic.
Valjean and the other characters from Les Misérables are a big part of the response to last spring’s colossal disappointment at Bedford High School.
Preparations are in high gear at the high school for a filmed version of the sung-through musical Les Misérables (school edition), by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo. The decision was made early to bypass live performances, and that turned out to be the right call, as Covid-19 protocols are still in place.
Students at Bedford High School and John Glenn Middle School are scheduled to return to full-time in-person learning on Monday, April 26, School Superintendent Philip Conrad told the School Committee at its meeting Tuesday, bringing the school system ever closer to pre-pandemic conditions not seen for more than a year.
The return is facilitated by the recent change in guidelines by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that three feet of student separation in the classroom is no riskier than the former standard of six feet, as long as masks and other protocols are observed.
“I have instructed the principals, leadership teams, and transition teams at John Glenn Middle School and Bedford High School to bring students back students back with three-foot distancing and maintain six-foot distancing in front of the room for educators,” Conrad reported. “Elementary students are all back in at six feet and I see no reason to change to three feet because they are making it work.”
All Bedford schools will be adding Wednesday classroom time to meet the state’s five-day requirement.
The commissioner of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has announced that the hybrid model will no longer be counted as required learning time for elementary schools as of April 5 and middle schools as of April 28. Bedford will meet both of those deadlines, Conrad said, adding that the state commissioner has not announced a return date for high schools.
The current remote learning option will be retained for students who for medical or other reasons require them. Conrad noted that the commissioner announced that a remote option will not be required for the coming school year.
The superintendent and the committee Tuesday focused on ensuring that situations that bring children together — lunch and bus transportation — are in compliance with safety standards.
March 23, 2021
* One (1) new COVID-19 positive case at JGMS (JGMS case #16). Close contacts identified.
* One (1) new COVID-19 positive case at Bedford High School (BHS case #54). Close contacts identified.
* There are currently four (4) active COVID-19 positive cases in the JGMS community and four (4) active COVID-19 positive cases in the Bedford High School community at this time.
* These cases do not appear to be connected or related to previous cases identified in the schools.
Dr. Bradford Jackson, superintendent-director of Shawsheen Valley Technical High School in Billerica, last week announced that planning is underway “for a full reopening before the end of the school year. We have not set a specific date yet—our goal is early May.”
In a March 23 message to the community, Jackson and Principal Jessica Cook confirmed the school’s plan to return students to a 100% in-person learning model on Monday, May 3, 2021.
* One (1) new COVID-19 positive case at Bedford High School (BHS case #53), no close contacts.
* There are currently three (3) active COVID-19 positive cases in the BHS Community at this time.
* These cases do not appear to be connected or related to previous cases identified in school.
Speedy sophomore Eric Miles scored three touchdowns and ran for 161 yards to lead the 2-0 Bedford High School Buccaneers to a 35-19 victory over Cambridge Rindge & Latin Friday afternoon at Sabourin Field.
Miles scored twice in the first quarter on runs of 37 and seven yards. Early in the third period, he put Bedford ahead 27-7 as he broke through a hole on the left side of the line and outran the defense for 87 yards.
Zackery Poor and Jake Morrison also scored touchdowns for Bedford, and Nick Tatarczuk kicked five extra points.
* One (1) new COVID-19 positive case at John Glenn Middle School (JGMS case #15). Close contacts have been identified.
* Two (2) new COVID-19 positive cases at Bedford High School (BHS cases #51 & 52). No close contacts.
* There are currently three (3) active COVID-19 positive cases in the JGMS community and two (2) active COVID-19 positive cases in the Bedford High School community.
* For the new BHS cases, they do not appear to be connected to or related to previous cases identified in the schools.
* For the new JGMS case, while this case is not indicative of in-school transmission, the impacted individual has had out-of-school connection with a previous JGMS case.
CSF of Bedford Dollars for Scholars is resonating throughout the community like never before.
Despite the restrictions dictated by the pandemic, a few weeks ago the chapter hosted its best-attended trivia night fundraiser – on Zoom. The annual phonathon during the first weekend in March was also off-limits, so the chapter turned to the U.S. mail with an online donation option.
* One (1) new COVID-19 positive case at John Glenn Middle School (JGMS case #14). Close contacts have been identified.
* There are currently two (2) active COVID-19 positive cases in the JGMS community.
* While this case is not indicative of in-school transmission, the impacted individual has had out-of-school connection with a previous JGMS case.