Dear Students and Families,
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying summertime. School will be back in session before we know it, so get out and enjoy the sunshine! Next year’s schedules are now available to students and families through the PowerSchool portal. Building the school schedule each year is a complex, multilayered, and timely process. We are pleased to report that we have been able to honor most students’ course requests from the spring. Counselors have had the opportunity to review each student’s schedule and make them as close as possible to the requests of students, recommendations of teachers, and for what students need in order to continue graduation progress. As you review your schedule for next year, please note the following:
- Welcome!Blue/White Day Schedule: BHS uses a White/Blue Day schedule with Thursday, August 31, the first full day of school being a White Day. Mondays/Wednesdays are Blue Days, Tuesday/Thursday are White Days, and Fridays alternate between Blue and White. Classes are 75 minutes long and meet every other day.
- Incoming Ninth Graders: We are particularly happy to welcome Ninth Graders to BHS! There will be a special 9th Grade Orientation session the morning of August 30th; look for more details in the August welcome letter referred to at the end of this email message. In the meantime, we want to give you a taste of BHS through this Welcome to Ninth Grade video. Though it was filmed a year ago and a couple of teachers have changed, it provides a nice brief overview of the school and the ninth grade program.
- Draft Schedule: The schedule you see is a DRAFT. We have new students registering this summer, and other students moving to other schools. Small changes to your schedule, like what time you take a certain course, may occur as we balance the number of students so that some classes are not too big and others too small.
- Numbers of Courses: 9th graders need to be scheduled for 8 classes; 10th graders for at least 7 classes, 11th graders for at least 6 classes, and 12th graders for at least 5.
- No Lunches/Advisories Yet: Lunches and advisories will be added to student schedules this summer. The schedule you view on August 29th in PowerSchool will be the schedule you use the first days of school.
- Support Classes: A number of students have been recommended by their middle school and high school teachers for support classes to be sure students are successful academically. Students will need to be in these courses until the end of the First Semester after which time, if students are doing well in their classes, they can choose other courses for the Second Semester. The student support classes allow students to complete course assignments with assistance, gain additional study and learning skills, and understand course material in more depth.
- Progress Towards Graduation: 9th graders must have 6 credits including English to advance to 10th grade status; 10th graders must have at least 12 credits including two English credits to advance to 11th grade status; and 11th graders must have at least 18 credits plus 3 English credits to advance to senior status. Students may take additional required classes if there is room in their schedules (or through summer, dual enrollment, and VTVLC/virtual classes) in order to gain missing credits.
We are thrilled to have two new School Counselors joining BHS for 2023-24. We have said goodbye to Jen Richter who will be at Stowe High School next year and wish her the very best. We welcome KasCandra Dougherty as our new Director of School Counseling; an experienced counselor and school leader, she comes to us from Memphis, Tennessee. We also welcome Allie O’Hara from Harwood Union High School/District who also brings great counseling expertise. Unless you hear differently from a counselor, the following will be counselor assignments for 2023-24 per the first letter ofyour last name:
Lise Bruder: A-D
Karen Prouty: E-K
Allie O’Hara: L-R
KasCandra Dougherty: S-T
Tony Settel: U-Z + EL Students
To view next year’s schedule, log into PowerSchool at https://psapp.bsdvt.org/public/ or on the phone app, and click the chair icon on the left-hand side that says “Next Year’s Schedule.”
- Parents/Guardians: If you have forgotten your username or password, click “Forgot username or password?” and follow the steps. If you do not have a PowerSchool account, or if you’re still having trouble logging in, email bhscounseling@bsdvt.org.
- Students: If you have forgotten your username or password, email bhscounseling@bsdvt.org.
Want to make a change to your schedule? We understand students may want to make changes, however, from reviewing the schedules, we can let you know that there is little to no flexibility in many cases to do so. We have ensured most student requests are met and meet graduation requirements. If student requests were not met, it was either due to the class being full or conflicting with another class which may be a priority for graduation.
If you do wish to make a change, please fill out this Google Form. We ask students and families to be thoughtful and to fill out this form just once. This will ensure we can look at all requests at once and see what is possible. You can fill out the form up to August 15th, after which time counselors will be hard at work responding to those requests. Counselors will review the forms and make adjustments and/or provide a response back to you as quickly as possible. There will also be an Add/Drop Period from September 7-12 when students will have a chance to meet with counselors to request changes. Please note:
- Reasonable Changes: We do not make changes to schedules so that students can be with friends in classes or to have a certain teacher. There is little flexibility to do so in any case, and it is important for students to have the opportunity to make new acquaintances and to work with a variety of teachers. But we do understand that some students may wish to adjust their schedules, for instance adding band and chorus, selecting a different junior or senior class, and/or adding other elective classes.
- Impact of Changes: Please note that a requested change may impact other classes, for instance, requiring the adjustment of the timing of other scheduled classes.
The First Day of School Schedule on August 30 is still being finalized. Please look for a welcoming letter from new principal Deb Beaupre during the middle of August with more details, not only on that opening day schedule but also on school photos (to be taken August 31/September 1), key events in September, and updates on faculty, staff, and the upcoming school year.
Have a great summer!–
Amy Mellencamp
Interim Principal
Burlington High School
amellenc@bsdvt.org
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