March 29, 2024

THE BECKWITH CHRONICLE

D.L. BECKWITH MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS Website: drregional.org

Posted

March 2019

Dates to Remember

  • April 2-3 Grade 5 MCAS testing
  • April 4-5 Grade 7 MCAS testing
  • April 8-9 Grade 6 MCAS testing
  • April 9 School Committee Meeting 6:30pm
  • April 10-11 Grade 8 MCAS testing
  • April 10 PTSA Meeting at PRES
  • April 12 Term 3 Report Cards Issued
  • April 15-19 No School – Spring Recess
  • April 22-26 MCAS ELA Make-ups
  • April 23 School Committee Meeting 6:30pm
  • April 30 Grade 5 MCAS
  • May 1 Grade 5 MCAS
  • May 2-3 Grade 7 MCAS
  • May 7-8 Grade 6 MCAS
  • May 8 PTSA Meeting at PRES
  • May 9-10 Grade 8 MCAS
  • May 14-15 Grade 5 MCAS
  • May 16-17 Grade 8 MCAS
  • May 17-19 Beauty and the Beast
  • May 20-24 MCAS Make-up for Math and Science

Students of the Month
The following students were presented with Student of the Month Certificates for the month of February:
Gr. 8 – Sofia Brown/Destin Michener
Gr. 7 –Sophie Darling/Liam O’Neill
Gr. 6 – Olivia Visinho/Joshua Roulier
Gr. 5 – Avery Brown/Easton Theberge
Related Arts – Samantha Serpa/Brady Fontaine

Mrs. DiFilippo is Named Massachusetts PTA Outstanding PTA Counselor of the Year
We are proud to announce that our guidance counselor, Mrs. DiFilippo, has been named Massachusetts PTA Outstanding PTA Counselor of the Year. She will be honored at the awards dinner on March 30 at the Wylie Inn and Conference Center. She was nominated by Mrs. Traci Cady who wrote in part that “Mrs. DiFilippo has always gone above and beyond the call of duty in assisting my children and family. She is readily available by phone, appointment or email.”

She went on to say “Mrs. DiFilippo is truly an advocate for our students in Rehoboth. She has worked diligently to ensure the services required for our students are being met. She has spoken to teachers and advised children whenever they have approached her. She always has a smile and word of encouragement.” Congratulations Mrs. DiFilippo! Thank you for all you do for our students.

Southeastern Massachusetts District Music Festival
Congratulations to 8th grader Dustee Forster who auditioned against students from over ninety local middle and high schools and was selected to represent Beckwith Middle School in the annual Southeastern Massachusetts District Music Festival. This two-day festival, held on March 8th and 9th at Attleboro High School, consisted of full-day choral rehearsals under the direction of Mrs. Sarah Prickel-Kane, conductor of the Narragansett High School Chorus and the Rhode Island Children's Chorus. The festival concluded with a concert that was enjoyed by family and friends.

Anawan Lions Peace Poster Contest Winner
On February 15 sixth grade student Anthony Mercer, winner of this year’s Anawan Lions Club Peace Poster Contest, was recognized by the Lady Lions with a check and certificate. Anthony’s quote on peace was, “Peace means everyone getting along with each other living by the ‘Golden Rule’.” Congratulations also to Julia Escobar for winning first place in the Peace Poster contest for the Rehoboth Lions Club. This year’s theme for the poster contest was “Kindness Matters.”

Muncha Buncha Books
On Friday, March 1, 2019, the fifth grade students and staff celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday by reading. Students got comfortable in the halls with blankets and favorite independent reading books during the final period of the day. It was a great experience for kids and adults!

Nurse’s Notes
To parents of 6th grade students: Pursuant to Massachusetts Department of Health regulations students entering 7th grade in the fall for school year 2019-2020 must submit a current physical dated after August 2018 as well as proof of having received the Tdap booster and the 2nd Varicella (Chicken Pox) booster. Without this proper medical documentation, your child will be subject to exclusion from school. Documentation must be sent to the school nurse before the first day of school. Please reach out to Mrs. Cathy Mondor, RN to let her know when such documentation will be sent in and if your child will be seeing his/her pediatrician over the summer. Thank you. Mrs. Cathy Mondor, BSN, RN, NCSN

Beauty and the Beast
Students at Beckwith have been hard at work with this year’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. This year has been a little different, as students have had to commit to rehearsals on Saturdays and we did not get started until January! This cast is quite talented and dedicated to coming in on Saturdays and over their February vacation!

Beauty and the Beast tells the story of the Beast who has been forced to live his life as a hideous creature as punishment for being selfish. All the servants in his mansion have become living objects, like Lumiere, a candlestick and Cogsworth, a clock. They are desperate for someone to love the Beast and get some sign of hope when Belle comes along. She saves her father and must spend eternity with the Beast. They slowly fall for each other and all seems great until Belle needs to save her father from the grasps of the conceited Gaston. The show culminates in an intense and funny scene that you do not want to miss.

Ms. Lopez has been teaching the students all the music and some choreography. Ms. Mullaney is working with the students on their blocking on stage and where they should be standing. Some students are choreographing our big number, “Be our Guest,” while other students are building our props and set. We have a lot left to do before our show opens in May and cannot wait for you all to see our cast and crew’s hard work pay off.

Please join us on Friday, May 17th at 7pm, Saturday, May 18th at 7pm, and Sunday, May 19th at 2pm at Beckwith Middle School to see the Drama Club’s production of Beauty and the Beast.

Beckwith Believers
The Beckwith Believers started off their 2019 season with a home game against Somerset. Our Believers showed great skill, teamwork and compassion in their games this season.

PTSA Reflections Update
We are very pleased to share that the following students who earned an Award of Excellence in the local PTSA Reflections Contest have also earned awards at the state level and are being advanced to the national qualifying round. Congratulations to Raegan Baer, Caraline Corvi, Ryan Bomes, and Katie Vitale on their achievements. The National PTA will announce the winners on May 1, 2019.

BMS American Heart Association Fundraiser
Beckwith Middle School recently held its annual American Heart Association (AHA) Fundraiser organized by Physical Education teachers, Miss Miller and Mr. Sampson. The fundraiser kicked off in early February and culminated with the Play for Heart Events held on March 7th for grades 7 and 8 and on March 8th for grades 5 and 6. BMS has been ranked #1 in donations raised in Southeastern Massachusetts for the past two years and, once again, our school did not disappoint. Our goal was to reach $3000 and we just made it with a grand total of $3011.50! This total more than doubled the donations from the closest ranking school!

In early February, Miss Miller and Mr. Sampson challenged BMS with trying to raise at least $3000 for the AHA by collecting money from family and friends to support heart health, research, and education. Interesting facts about heart health were posted throughout the building and were also announced during lunches with the help of our student council representatives. During health and physical education classes, the topics of heart health and empathy were discussed in order to inform and inspire. Stories were shared about students, family, and friends touched by heart disease. Envelopes began pouring in from students in all grades and some students raised money online, including our top donator, 7th grader, Dylan Medeiros, with a whopping $375!

In addition to collecting money, many students also chose to participate in the Play for Heart Event. We had close to 100 students participating over the 2-day event. Each participant needed at least a $5 donation to play, but many students raised much more than that! Students were allowed to bring teams of three to four players of their own choosing to compete in four different activities: dodge ball, corn hole, 4-square, and basketball. Everyone who wanted to play was included on a team. Also, a handful of very courageous staff members joined in on the fun including our own administrators,

Mr. Pirraglia and Mr. Shea, who were a force to be reckoned with! Teams tallied up wins throughout the challenge with first place for the 7th and 8th graders going to The Three Muskateers with Angelina Araujo, Caroline and Katie Vitale, and a secret weapon fourth musketeer, Mr. Francese! First place for the 5th and 6th graders went to The Ballers with Logan Menezes, Nick Mourao, Henry Murdock, and Ola Odumosu.

Thank you gifts from the AHA for donations of $10 or more will be coming in soon and will be delivered to students who earned them. Finally, we are so proud of our students, their families and friends, and our whole school community for the outpouring of generosity and support in raising money and awareness for a very worthy cause and for helping to make our BMS fundraiser a huge success…not to mention keeping our school in the #1 spot for our region! Way to go, Beckwith Middle School!

App Update- Monkey App (from smartsocial.com)
Monkey App Encourages Kids To Video Chat With Strangers
The Monkey app is a popular video chat app that encourages students to have 15 second video chats with strangers. This app is listed in the SmartSocial.com ‘Red Zone” which means we highly recommend deleting the Monkey app if your child has it.

What is the Monkey app?
• The Monkey app connects users to talk with strangers via 15-second video chats using their Snapchat usernames
• Users are randomly paired with strangers for a 15 second video chat (Like Chatroulette)
• When signing up, users connect their Snapchat usernames and phone numbers to the app
• Users see the age and gender of the other user before connecting with them in a 15 second chat
• If users want to video chat for longer than 15 seconds, then they have to
click on the time button. Both users must click on the time button for the chat to extend past 15 seconds
• Additionally, users can add the person on Snapchat to keep the conversation going
• The app relies on Facebook or Snapchat to verify that the user is over the age of 13
• Users can post a “moment” for all of their followers to see
• Direct messaging allows users to chat privately
• Users earn “bananas” by using the app
• “Bananas” are then used to purchase merch from the app
• The Monkey app supports group video chats so many users can chat at the same time

Why should parents care?
• Any app that encourages students to connect with strangers online can be very dangerous
• The Monkey app shares its users’ personal information with third parties
• Since the Monkey app functions like Snapchat, kids love using it
• Random video chatting apps, like Monkey, make it easy for teens to be targeted by predators
• 15 seconds isn’t a long enough to determine if someone is worth connecting with on social media
• Users are likely to encounter inappropriate content on the app and be asked to share mature content
• Content with bullying, bad language, and nudity is common on the Monkey app despite their content moderation
• There is no way to verify that the person you are about to chat with is actually the age and gender they’ve indicated in their profile
• Since Monkey is connected to your Snapchat account, it can be easy for strangers to get access to your personal information

What can parents do?
• Teach your teen to be very cautious of the information they share online, even if they post anonymously. Remind students to never share personal information, especially with strangers
• Discuss the risks of chatting with strangers online
• Challenge your teen to avoid private messaging apps

Principal’s Message

Dear Families,
Beckwith Middle School, along with middle schools throughout the United States and organizations such as The Association of Middle Level Education, New England League of Middle Schools, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Middle Level Educators Association, is celebrating Middle Level Appreciation Month. The key messages for the month of celebration are:

• The importance of parents being knowledgeable about young adolescents and being actively involved in their lives.
• The understanding that healthy bodies plus healthy minds equal healthy young adolescents.
• The realization that the education young adolescents experience during this formative period of life will, in large measure, determine the future for all citizens.
• The knowledge that every young adolescent should have the opportunity to pursue his or her dreams and aspirations, and post-secondary education should be a possibility for all.

Here at Beckwith we are celebrating with a few activities for students and staff
• Teachers will be sharing photos of themselves from middle school with a message to students “What I wish I knew when I was in middle school.”
• We are asking students to share what adults should know about middle school students in the form of a tweet. These will be posted in the lunch room.
• Teachers will also share why they love working with Beckwith students.

• We will be having a spirit week for students and staff with daily themes and music played over the intercom at random times throughout the school day encouraging students and staff to dance (middle school appropriateness at its finest).
• Finally we are doing a podcast- sharing the stories of a student, a parent, a teacher, and an administrator about their experience in middle school. Look for a link to our podcast on our website and our daily Beckwith Top Ten.

Have a great month,
Joe Pirraglia

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