Happy Holidays!

Dear Community,

The first "real" vacation is upon us.  Upon dismissal today, students were sent home with strict instructions: rest, recharge, and stay safe over the next 13 days.  Simple, yet important.  When your young scholar arrives home today, be sure to ask him or her for the progress report we distributed today.  The grades on this report indicate how your student is doing at this point - the midpoint of the second grading quarter.  This is a good time to have a conversation about what's going well and where improvement is needed.  If you want to login and see it yourself, follow this link to set up an account (I know I sound like a broken record on this point).

School is officially closed for the vacation.  Remember, there is no school on Monday.  Students return on Friday, January 3rd.  This is a rather odd day to return, but an important one anyway.  We have several assemblies happening that day (see below).  This day will be fun and informative for sure.

Please accept my best wishes for wonderful holiday season!

Sincerely,
Dr. T


1/3/13 Assemblies:

2^nd period 8:30 am

9^th Grade- Tim Klein from Summer Search- Doing the Right Thing

3^rd period 9:30 am

   12^th Grade- Ben Franklin - Charlie Cremens and Roxbury Community College – Charles Diggs on The Advantages of and Programs offered by a Technical School and/or Community College

5^th period Noon

          11^th Grade- How to pick a college(Guidance)/ How to pay for college (UAspire)/Fisher College on Dual Enrollment

         

6^th period 1 pm

10^th Guest speaking panel on the Path to Success

Happy Friday!

Dear Community,

We're quickly rounding the corner to a much-deserved vacation.  By way of reminder, at dismissal next Friday, winter vacation will officially begin.  There is no school on Monday, December 23rd.

Lots happening on the campus this week.  This week played host to the first official winter athletics games/meets.  To be clear, BHS offers boys and girls basketball and winter track.  There are also intramural leagues sponsored by the Boston Scholar Athletes.  I was able to lay eyes on just about all of the athletes, preparing for or engaging in official contests.  They looked great!  For the record, participation is a good thing.  Student-athletes tend to have higher grade point averages (GPA's) than those who do not.  Yesterday morning, our HOSA (Health Occupation Student Association), put on an incredible Health Fair.  I'm not sure how many students attended, but I'm certain that it was in the hundreds.   Lastly, approximately 75 BHS students were treated to a wonderful holiday concert this morning.  Musicians from Boston College gave of their time to put this on.

If you're still waiting for a report card to arrive in the mail, forgive me.  It's coming.  In the meantime, please know that you can set up an account Student Information System to see your child's grades for the first quarter or real time in the second quarter.  Follow this link.

Have a great weekend!  Stay warm!

Best,
Dr. T
 

Welcome Back!

Reminder - there is no school on December 23rd.  Students will return from winter vacation on Friday, Jan 3rd.

Dear Community,

I hope this message finds you well after the Thanksgiving Holiday!  Our transition back to classes was seamless.  Hold on to your hats though.  We have only two weeks before the winter vacation.

Good news!  The Bengal football squad prevailed in their game on Thanksgiving Day giving them the distinction of City Champs!  We're incredibly proud of the team.  An additional congratulations to Jalen Applewhite who earned Boston Herald All Scholastics honors.  Jalen is the third BHS quarterback to earn this distinction in six years!  If know him and you see him, congratulate him!

More good news - we have more then 100 seniors signed up to take the Accuplacer exam before the winter vacation.  The Accuplacer is an exam that colleges use to determine if a student is ready to take college-level courses.  Seniors who are inclined can take a course at Bunker Hill Community College this spring FREE OF CHARGE.  The Accuplacer is a requirement for this opportunity.  The early returns are great!  If you would like more information, don't hesitate to contact me (ptutwiler@bostonpublicschools).

BPS is going Google!  Next Monday the district will shift to the gmail platform.  I share this with you because there are a number of teaching opportunities this technology presents.  Bottom line: we're getting better everyday.  More soon!

Lastly, we lost a true champion of human rights causes this week.  Nelson Mandela will no doubt go down as one of the most influential figures in history.  He touched the lives of millions.  His inspiration hit very close to BHS.  Follow this link to see how he inspired Mr. Depina, a 9th grade history teacher.

Have a great weekend!

Best,
Dr. T


P.S.   On Facebook?  Like BHS: facebook.com/bhsbengals