Dear BHS Students, Families, Guardians, and Caretakers, 

We are excited to announce that our first ever virtual DTBHS Open House will be taking place next Tuesday, September 28th from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

The evening will open with remarks from the Administrative Team (Principal Lauren McBride, Assistant Principals Melanee Alexander, Francesca Dupuis, Kate Paxton, and Dean of Students LeVar Barrino). We will then turn the program over to our amazing BHS Faculty who will be welcoming and providing information about their classes to our families in attendance.  

The structure of the Open House will be this: Families will be able to follow their students schedule and attend each class (using a GoogleMeet Link) for 10 minutes throughout the evening. On Monday, during advisory each student will be completing a schedule for families to follow. Here is an example of what a completed schedule will look like. You will notice that each class has a live GoogleMeet Link that is associated with the class. That class will meet for 10 minutes and then you will have a short transition time to make it to the next class. Please make sure you are dropping in at the correct times, as teachers will be meeting with different sections and classes over the course of the evening. 

Additionally, on Monday, I will be sending out a master grid of teacher and GoogleMeet links just in case your student is not in school on Monday to complete this schedule for you. 

A few tips to help you prepare for your Virtual Open House to ensure you get the most out of your time! 

1. Review your student’s schedule ahead of time. You can access schedules through Powerschool – email aguertin@bsdvt.org if you need help accessing  Powerschool ASAP.
2. Prepare for the Open House by logging into a google account a few days before.

You have three options, please complete one of them: 

1. Ask your student to login with their school email that ends with @bsdvt.org 
2. Use a personal google account. Usually ends with @gmail.com 
3. Create a personal google account. 
4. Come prepared with questions! Faculty and staff may not be able to answer them all in real time, but you will have the opportunity to send them via email as well. 

We are so excited to “virtually” see you all and have you experience a day in the life of a Seahorse. Again, we will be sending out more detailed information including links to the Teacher’s GoogleMeets on Monday. Please reach out with any questions, and we’ll see you at 6:30pm on September 28th! 

Best, 

Lauren McBride 

9/17

Dear BHS Students, Families, Guardians and Caretakers,

We are starting to sense that fall is just around the corner. There is a briskness in the air in the mornings that warms to a beautiful and sunny 70 degrees during the day. Tonight, we will host our first Seawolves Football Game at 7:00pm at Buck Hard Field off Institute Road. Football is always the true herald to the Fall season, and we hope you’ll come support your Seawolves and enjoy some of the beauty that Vermont autumn nights have to offer. 

I am reaching out, as you may be aware there is a current Tik Tok trend that emerged over the past month calling for students to vandalize schools in several ways and promote the acts under the tag “Devious Licks.” Tik Tok has recently removed this tag from their platform, however the trend has still remained. 

Sadly, here at BHS we have experienced vandalism over the past week that has been tied to this trend. We have been especially concerned because students have broken and removed soap dispensers from bathrooms, which are crucial components of a safe and healthy school environment. We have taken steps to work with students directly, and we have increased our coverage and monitoring of these areas. Additionally, today, Friday, September 17, our teachers and students will be meeting during our Advisory Choice Time in circles. This will be an opportunity for our learning community to come together to discuss this recent vandalism and find ways that we can move forward to heal and regain the sense of community and pride that we have at BHS. I am hopeful that our students will make good choices and recommit to building our community up, together. 

I am reaching out to you – our amazing families, guardians and caregivers – to help partner and support our movement forward. As you talk with your students, please help emphasize the importance of community, and that acts of vandalism have no place within a school community – or any community. Additionally, if they witness an event, it is important for them to let a staff member or a trusted adult know. We are working hard to bring this trend to a swift end so we can refocus on the great work and presence that our students bring to our community.

I appreciate your partnership and support in this.

Best,

Lauren McBride

Dear BHS Students, Parents, Guardians and Caretakers,

Welcome September. We are now officially one week into school and the time flew by! It seems like we have been back far longer, as students are navigating the hallways with ease and confidence, finding their classes and making connections with their teachers and friends for the first time in nearly 2 years. We had our first fire drill, our lunch flow has seemed to even out with the addition of new tables and awareness of how to move quickly through the lunch line – overall, DTBHS is feeling more and more like home. 

We continue to work on settling into this new space and have made some tweaks and refinements as they have appeared. As we look back on the first week of school it is really hard to believe that we have only been in this space as an ENTIRE BHS community for a week!

Below please find a updates and reminders I want to provide:

Attendance:

Being present and in class is vital! Our faculty is building community and setting up routines. If you are out for the day, have an early dismissal or need to be out of class, please make sure that parents, guardians and caretakers are letting the school know where you are. Adults can call 864-8411 x22001 or email dtbhsattendance@bsdvt.org. 

Need Tech Support?

Student, do you need tech support or help with your device? Our Tech team is available in  Room 113 between 10am – 12pm  on Mondays and Thursdays, and 12:30 pm – 2:30pm on Fridays. 

Schoology Update:

For the 21-22 school year, BSD students and staff in grades 6-12 will use Schoology as their learning management system. Schoology will hold all content, assignments, grades and other feedback for students, replacing Unified Classroom. Schoology provides additional opportunities for collaboration and personalized learning for BSD students.

Families will be able to access Schoology starting in the late fall. Back-to-school nights in grades 6-12 will include additional information about Schoology and hands-on support for logging in and accessing materials. Families will continue to have access to the PowerSchool Family portal throughout the year to access forms, grades, comments, and schedules.

To view a road map of the Schoology roll-out in BSD, click here: Family, student and Staff Schoology Road Map: Year 1

Going “Off Campus”

As a reminder, currently only our seniors are able to leave DtBHS during the school day. Seniors that leave are expected to sign out in the front main office and sign back in upon their return. Many students have asked to sit outside on the front steps with their lunches. As long as we as a BHS community can remain respectful of the larger Burlington community and represent BHS in an appropriate way, this is absolutely fine. Our staff have been present to ensure that students are coming back in the building and heading back to class in a timely manner. We know that being downtown is exciting and as we move into the school year, we can relook at who is able to leave during the school day as part of our Student Handbook revision process. Until this is complete, we will maintain the Senior Privilege policy to ensure safety of our community. We appreciate everyone’s support in this. 

Friday Schedule

This Friday will be our first “Friday” Schedule. Friday this week will be a BLUE day. During the extended advisory block we will be holding an activities and extracurricular fair for students to participate in. We are excited by the opportunities that Fridays will begin to encompass as we move forward. 

We know that there are some growing pains that come with being in person as a whole BHS community again, coupled with the fact that we are growing within a whole new environment. We appreciate the grace, flexibility, and understanding of our parents and caregivers as we continue to learn and grow together. 

Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Lauren McBride, Principal

Melanee Alexander, Assistant Principal

Francesca Dupuis, Assistant Principal 

Kate Paxton, Assistant Principal of Student Supports

LeVar Barrino, Dean of Students 

---

Greetings BHS Students, Families, Guardians, and Caregivers, 

It is with great excitement that I am officially welcoming you to the 2021-2022 school year here at Downtown Burlington High School. We are ecstatic to start this year off at our new location, welcoming all students, faculty and staff back together at one time. This will be the first time since March of 2019!

Over the past 12 months, we have experienced COVID, PCBs, the closure of 52 Institute Road, the successful opening of our new Downtown BHS space at Cherry Street, leadership change at all levels, outdoor COVID graduation, and countless other firsts. As we look ahead to this upcoming school year, we are focusing on re-engagement, consistency and stability for our students. I have spent the summer working to ensure that BHS has a clear vision and plan as we move into the new school year. As part of this plan we have redefined our leadership team. I am beyond excited to welcome two new members of this team to BHS from out of state and also congratulate two BHS veterans to join me in this work as we forge ahead. Additionally, we are in the final stages of construction of full height walls that have been added throughout the building to reduce noise concerns. Preparation for this school year has included a variety of plans from systemic to logistical to physical!

Our new leadership team joined late this summer and has jumped in feet first. This year we are focusing on increasing student voice and participation in all aspects of school. Part of this work includes reconvening my student advisory and family advisory groups this fall. Additionally, we have met with students in our summer programs including the Racial Justice Academy, Upward Bound and Summer Transitions who have all spoken about areas where we can examine structures and include students as change agents. Our leadership team is looking forward to examining some of these areas together and also breaking down barriers that existed within our old schedule. As we look ahead our newly enhanced Bell to Bell schedule provides student groups to meet weekly within the school day.

We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 numbers and working with the Agency of Education (AOE) to ensure a safe and healthy opening of school. As part of the recommendations, we will be requiring all students and staff to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. We appreciate everyone’s flexibility in this effort as a way to ensure a strong start to the school year. 

We are looking forward to seeing our students in just a few short weeks. We are excited by this opportunity to use this year to really define who we are at BHS. Please enjoy the rest of your summers to the fullest – eat lots of creemees. Spend time outside. Enjoy your time with loved ones.

Best, 

Principal Lauren McBride 

67 Cherry Street

Burlington, Vermont 05401

Phone: (802) 864-8411

Good evening parents, families, students, and caregivers, 

We did it! Day one of the 2021-2022 BHS School year has officially come to a close! We had a day full of excitement, learning, laughter, and joy. As is with every first day of school, there was also plenty of change, confusion, uncertainty, and nervous excitement. It was amazing to see friends reengage and reconnect with each other and our new class of 9th graders come together as one class. 

I wanted to send a quick update on just a few important things to remember for tomorrow and as we move forward into the school year: 

• The front entrance on Cherry Street is for city bus pick up and drop off only. If you are being dropped off in the morning by a parent, please drop off on the corner of Bank and Pine for all students. This helps to facilitate traffic flow and keeps Cherry Street from getting jammed up in the front of the building. For all students that are being dropped off on Cherry and Bank, there is a door located on the backside of the building where staff are located in the morning.
• No students are allowed in the building until 8:45am. Due to our later start time, we are not opening the doors until 8:45am. Students can enter from the front entrance or the parking garage until 9:15am, after which all students and visitors must enter through the front Cherry Street entrance only. Similar to last year, if a student does not have a first block class, they do not need to arrive on campus until 2nd block and if a student does not have a 4^th block class they are permitted to leave at the end of 3^rd block. 
• Masks must be worn in the building at all times, regardless of vaccination status. As a reminder, all students must be properly wearing masks (covering the nose and mouth) whenever in the building except when actively eating/drinking. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns, but for now this is a non-negotiable part of being in the larger learning community. We must do our parts to keep everyone safe. 

We are looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow for our first full white day schedule tomorrow! Block 1 begins at 9:00am!

Dear BHS Students, Families and Caregivers,

I would like to officially welcome you to the 2021-2022 School Year! We are beyond excited to welcome ALL of our students back under one roof at one time for the first time since March of 2019. We recognize that with this comes a lot of excitement, nervousness, curiosity, and potentially even fear. We want you to know we are here to support you, welcome you and do what we can to start your year off right. 

Our teachers continue to be busy prepping their classrooms and getting everything ready for your first day. As a reminder, our first day for all students is tomorrow, Wednesday, August 25th. We will begin the day with 9th Grade Orientation in the morning (Schedule here!) and then welcome all students back beginning at 11:45am (doors open for lunch) with afternoon classes beginning for ALL students at 12:25pm. Here is the Afternoon Schedule. 

Additionally, as I mentioned in my previous email we have been working on a “Student Playbook”. This is an abbreviated version of our student handbook. It will be put on our website and also has been given to teachers to review. We will be launching a task force later this fall to revitalize our whole handbook. In the meantime, we hope this provides you with a solid understanding of some policies and procedures as you enter into the new school year. 

Again, we recognize that the next few days will bring on a flurry of emotions. Please know that our faculty and staff are here to support you, answer questions and welcome you. We truly are so excited to see you all in person for our first day tomorrow.

Dear BHS Students, Families and Caregivers,

Yesterday, we welcomed back our full faculty and staff at DtBHS. They are currently busy engaging in professional development and preparing their classrooms and curriculum for the upcoming school year. Yesterday, I experienced those familiar butterflies of pride and excitement walking through the halls. First day jitters aren’t just for students, and I know that all of our new and returning staff members had their own belly of butterflies as we launched into the 2021-2022 school year together. 

This year we are welcoming many new staff to our DtBHS community. We are incredibly excited by their expertise and experience. I am attaching an overview of our new, amazing faculty and staff so you can have a sneak peek of the new faces we will see this year at BHS. I am excited for you to make connections and memories with these new faculty and staff, and it’s a privilege for me to watch those relationships grow over time. 

Yesterday we sat in circle hearing recommendations from our students who participated in the Racial Justice Academy this summer. Hearing student’s perspectives of areas of change was powerful for our staff. We are reviewing the recommendations from this group and as a quick action, we are working on the accessibility of our website as a place for information. If you go to our High School Website, you will now have access to all of my communications under the “School News– Family Communications” section. We have also added a Drama Club page that can be found in the “About or School” section. We are also committed to keeping our calendar up to date as the school year continues in order to be an accessible place to find out what is happening on any given day.

Another area that was addressed by students was the accessibility and knowledge of our Student Handbook. Students stated that our current handbook is out of date. We agree. We will be planning to launch a task force or committee that includes students to look at this document this year and make the necessary changes. In addition, we are working on releasing a “Playbook” next week. This will be an abbreviated version of the full Student Handbook with important need to know information. We will be sharing more information about how to join the task force looking at the handbook later on this fall! More to come!

There will be more information about the start of the school year in the coming days, both virtually and through physical mailers sent home. Please see the below list of folks to contact for the following questions in the meantime: 

Enrollment Questions: Ms. Stein (kstein@bsdvt.org)

Class Schedules: School Counselors (lmarshal@bsdvt.org to schedule an appointment) 

Parking Passes for Students: Ms. Straley (lstraley@bsdvt.org) 

After School Programming: Ms. Haiduck (shaiduck@bsdvt.org) 

Transportation Questions: Kyle Toof (ktoof@bsdvt.org) 

All Other Questions: Ms. Hoyt (bhoyt@bsdvt.org) 

We are truly looking forward to welcoming our community back to BHS next week. Enjoy your last summer weekend, and we’ll see ALL our students on Wednesday, August 25th! 

Best,
Lauren McBride

Dear BHS Students, Families, and Caregivers, 

Here we are – one week until we welcome all of our Seahorses back into the building for another year! Faculty and staff, like you, are feeling all of the feelings as we gear up to get back into it! We are excited, anxious, thrilled, exhilarated, inspired, focused, nervous, and above all else – ready. We are ready to be back in the same space for the first time in over a year, ready to tackle this school year with you head-on, and ready to fill the halls of DtBHS with laughter, joy, and learning for the 2021-2022 school year! 

While I launch with all the excitement, I also recognize that the stress and nerves come with the rise of the COVID-19 Delta Variant across the country and in our community. I want to stress that we are actively reviewing all recommendations from the Agency of Education and Department of Health to ensure we are doing all we can to keep our community safe. As part of this, as the Superintendent’s message indicated for the start of this year, all staff, faculty, students, and visitors – regardless of vaccination status – will be required to wear a mask at all times while in the building.  There will be more information to come about our protocols next week.

Below you will find schedules for next week and some logistical information about the first few days of classes. Please note the important start times that differ based on grade level: 

• 9th graders will need to arrive at DtBHS Cherry Street Entrance between 7:45-8:00am on Wednesday, August 25^th. 

The 9th Grade Orientation Schedule is below:

    Welcome to DtBHS 

             NINTH GRADE ORIENTATION DAY SCHEDULE

             Wednesday, August 25, 2021

7:45-8:00 Arrive at Main Entrance (CHERRY ST.); Breakfast available (CAFETERIA/LOBBY)

8:00-8:10 Welcome Class of 2025 – Principal, Asst. Principals, Dean (CAFETERIA/LOBBY)

8:10-8:20 Meet Your Orientation Leaders; Get Your Schedules (ESCALATOR ATRIUM)

LAST NAME “A” through “L”, go UP the Escalator to 2nd Floor

LAST NAME “M” through “Z”, STAY downstairs on 1st Floor

8:20-8:45 Jigsaw 1

Group A: LAST NAME “A”-“G”	Group B: LAST NAME “H”-”N”	Group C: LAST NAME “M”-”Z”
School Photos(orientation leader leads to photo line by Student Support)	Skits – Chorus Room (orientation leader leads to Room 143)	School Tour(orientation leader leads from ESCALATOR ATRIUM sign)

8:50-9:00 White Day, Block 1

9:05-9:15 White Day, Block 2

9:20-9:30 White Day, Block 3

9:35-9:45 White Day, Block 4

9:50-10:15 Jigsaw 2

Group A: LAST NAME “A”-“G”	Group B: LAST NAME “H”-”N”	Group C: LAST NAME “M”-”Z”
School Tour(go to ESCALATOR ATRIUM sign – 1st or 2nd floor)	School Photos (go to photo line by Student Support – 1st floor ATRIUM)	Skits – Chorus Room(go to Room 143)

10:20-10:30 Blue Day, Block 1

**10:30 – New 10th, 11th, 12th graders – 45 min tours available leaving from Cherry St. Entrance**

10:35-10:45 Blue Day, Block 2

10:50-11:00 Blue Day, Block 3

11:05-11:15  Blue Day, Block 4

11:20-11:45 Jigsaw 3

Group A: LAST NAME “A”-“G”	Group B: LAST NAME “H”-”N”	Group C: LAST NAME “M”-”Z”
Skits – Chorus Room(go to Room 143)	School Tour(go to ESCALATOR ATRIUM sign – 1st or 2nd floor)	School Photos (go to photo line by Student Support – 1st Floor ATRIUM)

11:45-12:30 Lunch (CAFETERIA); Last Chance for Photos (1st FLOOR ATRIUM – Photo Line)

12:00PM School Day Continues for 9th Grade – 10th, 11th, 12th grades arrive 

3:00PM School Dismissal – all grades

• All Students (10th-12 graders) will need to arrive at DtBHS at 12:20pm. Doors will open for students at 11:45am and we will have a grab and go lunch available for all 

Schedule for ALL Students on Wednesday, August 25^th

Once all students are in the building and have gotten their Grab and Go lunch, we will continue to our classes. Our Blue/White day schedule and important information for the first day of school is below: 

    Welcome to DtBHS 

ALL STUDENTS FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL SCHEDULE

             Wednesday, August 25, 2021

11:45 – 3:15 PM

11:45 – 12:20 Arrive at Main Entrance (CHERRY ST.); Lunch available (CAFETERIA/LOBBY)

Students will be able to arrive beginning at 11:45 for a grab and go lunch. Classes begin promptly at 12:25pm. Classes will run 15 minutes in length with the purpose of welcoming students to the building, providing time to meet their teacher, refamiliarize themselves with the building and take it slow. We recognize that this is the first time that students have been together in one space as a whole school since March of 2019. 

Time	Block
12:25 – 12:40 PM	White Block 1
12:45 – 1:00 PM	White Block 2
1:05 – 1:20 PM	White Block 3
1:25 – 1:40 PM	White Block 4
1:45 – 1:55 PM	Advisory
2:00 – 2:15 PM	Blue Block 1
2:20 – 2:35 PM	Blue Block 2
2:40 – 2:55 PM	Blue Block 3
3:00 – 3:15 PM	Blue Block 4

Finally, below are the schedules for Thursday, August 26th and Friday, August 27th. Please be sure to pay attention to BLUE DAYS vs. WHITE DAYS.      Thursday/Friday August 26^th and 27^th

Time	Thursday: White DayFriday: Blue Day
8:45 – 8:55 am	Breakfast
9:00 – 10:15 am	Block 1
10:20 – 11:35 am	Block 2
11:40 – 1:20 pm	Block 3 and Lunch
Lunch 1: 11:40 – 12:05 pm
Lunch 2: 12:05 – 12:30 pm
Lunch 3: 12:30 – 12:55 pm
Lunch 4: 12:55 – 1:20 pm
1:25 – 1:55 pm	Advisory
2:00 -3:15 pm	Block 4
3:15 pm3:30 Start	SupperHomework Center, Afterschool Activities, Athletics, Clubs

We will run the same schedule on Thursday and Friday. Thursday is a White Day. Friday will be a Blue Day for week 1. Beginning the following week Friday’s will alternate between Blue and White and also run a slightly different schedule than Monday-Thursday. 

• These first few days are also add/drop days for classes. If you would like to add or drop a class from your schedule, please reach out to Loren Marshall (lmarshal@bsdvt.org), our Counseling Administrative Assistant, and she can help schedule an appointment with your counselor. 

• If you have questions about parking passes for the school year (Juniors and Seniors only) please reach out to Lisa Straley (lstraley@bsdvt.org) for information, payment, and procurement of your parking pass. 

• If you are having trouble accessing your Powerschool account, please contact our data manager, Andrew Guertin (aguertin@bsdvt.org) to restore your access. 

• LifeTouch will be on site on Wednesday, August 25th and Thursday, August 26th to take school photos and ID photos. If you would like to order school photos, please visit mylifetouch.com and enter the following code: 

EVTSC72FB

***If the above code does not work, please contact LifeTouch customer service directly. 

Lastly, I’d like to thank you all for your patience, flexibility, and ability to continue to demonstrate grace and resilience through some truly trying times. We are so proud to be welcoming our Seahorses back to BHS – it’s been a long time coming! We all made it together. Because we are always #StrongerTogether. 

Be well. Enjoy these last few days of summer. We’ll see you on Wednesday, August 25th! 

Principal McBride

Assistant Principals Alexander, Dupuis, and Paxton

Dean Barrino

Dear BHS Students, Families and Caregivers,

We are two weeks away from the first day of school! Construction at Downtown BHS is just finishing up, and our faculty and staff have been popping in to work on their classrooms. It has been great to catch up with people and there is a real buzz in the air as we know the first day of school is just around the corner. 

I wanted to remind everyone that Wednesday, August, 25^th will be the first day of school for all students at BHS. The morning will be exclusively designated as 9th grade orientation. We will be welcoming 10^th-12^th graders back on campus starting at noon to reorient to DtBHS. We recognize that the first day this year is a big deal at the High School. It will be the first time that we are welcoming ALL of our students back together at one time, and that for many this will be the first time they are walking through the front doors of DtBHS. Not only does it give our entire student body a chance to reacclimate to the space and reconnect with each other, but LifeTouch will be here all day to take school photos for the year! Please visit mylifetouch.com and use the ID Code EVTSC72FB to order photos!

We are currently finalizing the schedules for both the morning 9th grade orientation and afternoon session. Those schedules will be released within the next week. Thursday, August 26^th we will run a regular White Day Schedule and Friday, August, 27^th will be a regular Blue Day Schedule (we will not the longer advisory time on this day- this will begin the following week).  

Today we are releasing student schedules for the 2021-2022 school year! They will be available online after 1pm. You will notice that Advisory will be listed on your schedule and will not have an assigned faculty and staff. We are just finalizing our advisors and they will be input into the schedules soon. This year advisories will be multigrade and seniors will be rejoining advisory for the fall as a way to welcome and support all our students! Additionally, faculty and staff are all in the mix as advisors! So you will see teachers, counselors, Assistant Principals to name a few who will also serve as advisors throughout the school year. We are excited by this shift and enhancements to our advisory program. 

A huge thank you to our counseling department, Data Manager and admin team who have been reviewing and making the final adjustments to ensure they are ready to go. I wanted to share with you a communication from our Counseling Team about the release of schedules. Please find the communication below. 

Dear 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! We are excited for the school year to start, with a great new schedule and finally a place we can call school….full time, in person! As you may be aware, the building of a school schedule is a multilayered, timely and a complex process. The work we did with students in the spring around course requests has paid off. This frontloading allowed for more requests to be met, which is very exciting! As counselors, we have been working around the clock reviewing each student’s schedule. We have given time, intention and great thought to each schedule, and have been actively engaging many students in the process. 

We understand students may want to make changes; however, in reviewing the schedules we notice there is little to no flexibility. We have ensured most student requests are met and are working toward meeting 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. There are always more complicated situations where a core class may not fit in a schedule. If this is the case, we encourage students to fill out the Google Form we have provided. The form will be available on August 11th and will remain open till August  24th. Counselors will review the forms and make adjustments and/or provide a response as quickly as possible. Additionally, there will be an add/drop period beginning on August 26th that will run through September 9th. This will be another opportunity for students to meet with their counselors if there is a concern about a class. We thank you for your support and are looking forward to seeing you all in person very soon. 

Looking forward to a great year! 

Karen Prouty

Lise Bruder

Tony Settel 

Jennifer Richter

Dear BHS Students, Families and Caregivers,

I know, two emails in one week. There is a lot happening, and I felt it important to ensure I am providing you with information that is pertinent to your planning as we move closer to the beginning of the school year. This email is to provide you with our finalized Bell to Bell Daily School Schedule. 

This past spring we surveyed students, families and faculty/staff to ask them questions about the daily schedule. A task force composed of students, community members and faculty and staff then met four times to review data. They researched schedules that reflected the information provided by the survey results to provide parameters that we needed to include as we finalize our new daily schedule. We are really excited with the final product and think that this schedule reflects the information we received from the community and provides space for increased student engagement.

Here is what you will notice

• We are returning to a “Block Schedule.” This means that students will be assigned to their classes. Classes will fall either on Blue or White days throughout the semester/year.
• Most classes are year long classes. There are additionally some semester based classes.
• Our school day begins at 9:00am every day. There is no late start or different schedule on certain days. Doors will open at 8:45am for breakfast daily. The school day ends at 3:15pm.
• Classes remain at 75 minutes (similar to last year).
• Fridays will alternate Blue and White day. 
• Advisories are back! Advisory will meet on Mondays and Thursdays. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are “Flex Days”. During this time students may be scheduled to meet with a teacher for additional support and checking in on class. 
• Fridays we have a “working lunch extended Advisory/Club” time. What this is intended for is to support after school clubs or facilitate group activities. We heard from students that many want to participate in after school clubs and activities but due to conflicts (athletics, theater, after school jobs, etc.) that it was hard to meet after school. This one day a week opportunity allows students to engage in clubs that they are interested in joining but previously have not been able to join.

I want to thank the task force for their input and help in this process, and also our community, students, faculty and staff for their input in thoughtful participation in responding to surveys and having their voices heard as part of this process.

Can you believe that we have just entered into August? It is hard to believe that in just less than 23 days we will be welcoming back our students here to DtBHS full time. As we move into August, I hope that you are able to soak up all the sun and outdoor fun you can. I am hopeful for more sunny and less soggy days as I look at the weather for this upcoming week and the month ahead. 

This week we continue to build walls in DtBHS and also welcome back students for Week 2 of our Summer Expanded Program. This week students will be outside biking, paddleboarding, painting murals, fishing and cooking to name a few of our Summer Expanded Learning options. 

I wanted to provide you with an update on the release of student’s class schedules for this upcoming year. Initially our intention was to release schedules this week. However, we will need to delay the release of these schedules by a few days to provide ourselves with some additional time as we finalize details. Our counselors have been busy this summer reviewing each student’s schedule. I want to thank them for their work – as they are all working through their summer to ensure students are complete as we move into the new school year. Additionally, we are in the process of welcoming our new leadership team to BHS and there are some areas we are focusing on, specifically the reenvisioning of our Advisory Program. This is exciting work and we are expanding our thinking on the content of this time and solidifying advisors.  

After a year of “pivoting” our goal is to ensure our schedules are complete with all these important details. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding, as we know that many are anxious and ready to see what their schedule looks like. Do not worry! They are coming and will be available next week on Wednesday, August 11^th. 

At the same time, we know that technology is great when it works. It came to our attention that some schedules had been made visible on PowerSchool in error. Please disregard these schedules if you are able to view them. They are not correct. We will communicate when the correct schedules have been loaded and are ready to view. 

If you have questions, please reach out to your counselors. Please keep in mind that they are also still on vacation until August 16th, and so if you do not hear back immediately, they will get back to you as soon as they can. 

I realize that this may cause some anxiety for families who are trying to plan for the upcoming year. We’re asking you to continue to be patient and keep an eye on your email – schedules will be out as soon as possible! 

Thank you, and have a great week! 

Good afternoon BHS Students, Families, and Caregivers, 

I hope this brief update finds you well, rested, and enjoying your summer. Last week I was able to meet and retreat with the new leadership team. During the week we reviewed data, met with students and developed our priorities for the year. We left the week energized for the year ahead and eager to welcome back our students, families and faculty in just about a month’s time. 

Things are a little noisy here at DtBHS, and not in the way you think! We are in the middle of our sound mitigation process which includes the building of additional full height walls throughout the building. We have spent time working with the architects to ensure we still have a high level of air flow and quality within the building while also reducing the noise. Construction will be finished well before the start of school, as we know our team at Farrington can make the impossible possible!

As I mentioned in my last communication, the decision was made to restructure the Director of School Counseling position into an Assistant Principal of Student Supports position for the 2021-2022 school year. This decision was made with the wellbeing of our BHS schools and community at the forefront, and we are excited to announce that among the many qualified candidates that applied, we have selected a new AP of Student Supports! It is my pleasure to introduce Ms. Kate Paxton! 

Kate (she/her/hers) comes to Burlington High School as Assistant Principal of Student Supports. She brings strong teaching and administrative experience, most recently serving as an elementary school principal in Bradford, Vermont. 

Kate’s passion for education is grounded in the belief that positive relationships are based upon kindness and respect, and that these relationships lay the foundation for successful teaching and learning. This commitment led her to pursue graduate work in ethics and education at the University of Vermont, where she received a Master’s in Educational Studies, and Arizona State University, where she earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Evaluation. Kate has traveled and taught across the United States and internationally, and celebrates diversity and inclusion as core values. In Kate’s role at BHS, she brings an equity-focused lens to her work with student support teams and all members of the school community.

Kate has two children (ages 4 and 6), and is excited to rediscover the Burlington area with them. They all love outdoor adventures, including hiking, swimming, and camping. Kate is thrilled to be joining the BHS community, and looks forward to supporting students, families, and staff in this new role!

Please join me in welcoming Kate to the BHS community! The leadership team met all last week to focus on what this upcoming year will look like, and we can’t wait to bring Kate into that picture! 

Please enjoy the final few weeks of summer, and we can’t wait to see you all soon!

Dear BHS Students, Families and Caregivers,

We are hitting the halfway point in summer! It has been a lot of fun seeing students in the building for summer programming and connecting with teachers who have been in and out periodically. 

I wanted to provide you with a few important updates about changes to the BHS leadership structure beginning this school year. After careful consideration and consultation, we have restructured the Director of Counseling position at BHS to an Assistant Principal of Student Supports. This assistant principal will lead our school’s counseling, special education, and EL departments to help provide coordination of services and continuity for students to give them the support they need to continue to thrive at school. 

It has been challenging to hire and retain qualified staff in the Director of Counseling position over the years. I have spent time meeting with different stakeholders, including Meg Hughart, our outgoing Director of School Counseling to understand the complexities and challenges of this position. One thing I have learned this past year is to see area of concern as opportunities to redefine systems that can be enhanced rather than remaining status quo. This restructuring has already proven fruitful in allowing us to recruit more qualified individuals and build leadership capacity in our district; we received 9 qualified applicants and are currently entering into the second round of interviews for this position. 

I also wanted to share that we have hired Jennifer Richter to step into the role of School Counselor replacing Maggie Weintraub this fall. Jen, a current BHS faculty member, will be transitioning into this position from their current role of 504 case manager and program coordinator of our 9th grade alternative education program.

Additionally, I have been working with two school counseling consultants to help me identify the structure and goals of the school counseling department as we move into our new school year.  One of my main priorities has been to focus on the transition of this department and how we can continue to create systems and structures that continue to bridge experiences for students and families rather than keep departments siloed. At the same time, I have been meeting frequently with our current counselors, Ms. Bruder, Ms. Prouty and Mr. Settel to support our transition. It is important to note that with this shift we will still have four school counselors, allowing us to continue to meet the student to counselor ratio recommended by the American School Counselors Association. 

Finally, I hope you will join me in welcoming our new Assistant Principal, Francesca Dupuis and new Dean of Students LeVar Barino. Both Ms. Dupuis and Mr. Barrino will be stepping into leadership after years of experience at the high school. To learn more about Ms. Dupuis, Mr. Barrino, and our Leadership you can check out our bios here!

This week our new leadership team is meeting to continue to prepare for our upcoming school year. Tomorrow, Wednesday, our team will visit different summer programs to meet and hear from students about their hopes and dreams for the upcoming school year and think about how to enhance and create a school community that is welcoming and provides robust educational opportunities for all our students. 

I want to thank you for your patience as we work through this transition. While change can be hard, I am excited by this leadership structural change and the applicants that we have interviewed. I look forward to sharing our new leadership team member with you in the coming weeks.

Dear BHS Students, Families and Caregivers,

As we enter into July we are formally saying goodbye to Director of School Counseling Meg Hughart, school counselor Maggie Weintraub and Counseling Administrative Assistant Emily Merrill. We feel fortunate to have had them as part of our Seahorse community and wish them well on their future endeavors, knowing that once a seahorse always  a seahorse!

During this time of transition we want to ensure our students and families that there is a plan in place for students if there is anything they need over the summer. We are currently working on finalizing caseloads for our counselors and will be reaching out to families in early August with new counselor assignments. During this time of transition, any students on Ms. Hughart or Ms. Weintraub’s caseload with immediate needs can reach out to school counselor, Tony Settel at tsettel@bsdvt.org. 

Additionally, Kate Stein, BHS Registrar, will be in the office throughout the summer. If you have any questions regarding transcripts, student registration, and Naviance access Kate will be the point of contact for these requests. Ms. Stein will also have access to school counselors if there are immediate questions about VTVLC, SAT/ACT Test registration, college counselor and other issues. Ms. Stein can be reached at kstein@bsdvt.org. 

We are currently finalizing our master schedule process and schedules for all students. This year student programs/schedules will be viewable on Powerschool the week of August 2^nd. Our goal is to serve the greatest number of students, and we know that as these schedules are released there may be scheduling conflicts that may arise. Students that need to connect with a counselor to request a course change will be asked to complete a google form. This form will be available beginning on August 2^nd  – August 15^th.  Our counselors will be back on campus full time beginning on August 18^th, and will begin making adjustments and reaching out to students at that time. 

It is important to know that our school offers an Add/Drop period at the beginning of the school year to support student schedule changes. This add/drop time frame will run from August 26 – September 9, 2021. 

For rising seniors, we are especially sensitive to the fact that some of you will be engaging with a new counselor at a critical time. It is important to know that our process of engaging with students and their families is intensive and comprehensive and we will be giving special attention to this during the early fall.  As we look to the fall, our counseling team would like to share with you a few dates to put on your calendars in preparation for the fall.

• Thursday, September 9^th at 6:30 PM – Meeting for Seniors and Parents/Guardians: This meeting will cover the various parts of the post-secondary process:

• Beginning Sept. 13^th – Group meetings by Counselor: These meetings will cover more specific questions and will include the initial steps of creating a Common Application account and connecting the Common Application and Naviance. Students will sign up in advance for these meetings beginning September 10^th.
  • After a student has attended one of the group meetings, they are free to set up an individual meeting with their school counselor (parents are also welcome to attend these meetings.)  Students are welcome to as many meetings with their counselor as they need over the course of the school year.  These can involve choosing schools, working on their essay, searching for scholarships, understanding their award letters, etc.
• September 2021 – date to be determined – Essay Writing Workshop run by members of the UVM Writing Center.
• September 2021 – date to be determined – NEACAC College Fair –free and open to the public.
• October 14^th 6:30 – FAFSA completion night: Come get help completing this essential document for receiving financial aid

Finally, if you have any Powerschool login issues, please contact our high school Powerschool guru Andrew Guertin, (aguertin@bsdvt.org).

We want to thank you for your patience as we transition as a team. We see a lot of opportunity for our counseling department as we look ahead to next year. 

All the best,

Lauren McBride

Dear BHS Students, Families and Caretakers,

I hope that this email finds you well and enjoying this reprieve in the heat and humidity. I wanted to send a quick email to highlight some amazing things our BHS students are doing out in the community, in case you missed it!

Congratulations to our Girls Soccer Team for the amazing feature in the HBO Documentary LFG, about the Women’s National Soccer Team’s fight for Equal Pay Movement. Burlington Soccer (girls and boys teams!) are featured about 45 minutes into the documentary. It is so inspiring to see the impact that these student athletes have made and continue to make for their stand to support the Equal Pay Movement. 

Congratulations to Kelemua Summa, recent winner of the Juneteenth Youth Poetry and Speech Contest at Burlington’s Juneteenth Celebration. Kelemua’s poem digs deeper into the significance of the Juenteenth holiday, her experience as an advocate and leader for change. To watch the video of presenting her poem, you can check it out here. Congratulations Kelemua!

Finally, even though school is out, our Scholar Bowl team recently competed in the  American Quiz Bowl League’s Online National Championship Tournament. In this tournament the BHS team walked away with an official record of 8 wins and 8 losses. Competing members of this team included recent graduates Wyatt Harte, Dylan Severson, Sam Silberman and Mari Davis, junior Theo Ellis-Novotny, and sophomore Robbie Safran. It is worth noting that despite the complications of the year due to a pandemic this team competed in a total of 15 competitions at the local, regional and national level! 

Congratulations to these Seahorses! We are so grateful for all you bring to our community. Please enjoy the upcoming holiday this weekend. I will be taking time off and relaxing with friends and family, and I hope you get to do the same!