The Look Ahead

February 21, 2021

IMPORTANT DATES

Wednesday, February 24

• Mid-Year Zoom Chat with Mike Schloat (7:30 p.m.)

Friday, February 26

• Sign-Up Deadline for Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Webinar

Friday, March 5

• Spring Vacation Begins (3:30 p.m.)

Wednesday, March 10

• Progress Reports Posted to Parent Portal (5:00 p.m.)

Monday, March 22

• Classes Resume, Remotely (8:10 a.m.)

ALL SCHOOL

Mid-Year Zoom Chat With Mike Schloat

Parents and caregivers are invited to a mid-year Zoom chat with Mike Schloat on Wednesday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. This is an opportunity to check in, share how your year is going, and chat about all things Bement. Zoom links will be emailed the day before the call.

Sign-Up Deadline for Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Webinar

In a follow-up to Mike Schloat’s February 10 letter to parents and caregivers about the Dr. Ibram X. Kendi webinar, entitled “Go Beyond an Awareness of Racism,” the sign-up deadline for this event is Friday, February 26. Please refer to Mike’s letter for the registration link.

 

For more information on Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, please refer to this list of resources. 

Upcoming National Language Testing

In the final week of the winter term, some of our upper school students will participate in national language testing. All seventh, eighth, and ninth grade Latin students will take the National Latin Exam, while some French students will participate in the Le Grand Concours. The testing will occur during regular class periods or during the sports block. Please email Alice Gearhart if you have any questions.

End of Winter Term

Friday, March 5 marks the end of the winter term. Dismissal will be regular Friday times for both lower and upper school students.

 

Progress reports for both the upper and lower schools will be posted to the Parent Portal by the end of the day on Wednesday, March 10.

Spring Vacation

Spring vacation begins Friday, March 5 at 3:30 p.m. Classes resume on Monday, March 22. All instruction during the week of March 22 will be remote with full community COVID-19 testing on campus on Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26. Our plan will be to then return to in-person instruction on Monday, March 29, contingent on the results of community testing.

Dining Hall Menu

Click here to access the menu for the week of February 22. The menu is also available on the Parent, Student, and Faculty Portals of the website.

LOWER SCHOOL

Student Council Wish Weeks

The Upper School Student Council has organized Wish Weeks, a series of fundraisers (and spirit events) from Monday, February 22 to Sunday, March 28, to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

 

Lower School will participate in the following two activities:

 

Bad Fashion Day: Friday, February 26 - Students should bring a dollar to school to wear a bad fashion outfit instead of Formal Friday Dress! 

 

Reading Raffle: Monday, February 22 to Sunday, March 28 - Students get raffle tickets for each hour they read (being read to counts!); the winner gets a Bement store gift card. Students will receive a paper form so they can track their progress. 

Girls On The Run 

This spring, Bement will host a Girls on the Run team! Girls on the Run is a program for third, fourth, and fifth grade girls that encourages girls to recognize their individual strengths and celebrate connections with others. Physical activity is woven into the program to inspire an appreciation for fitness healthy habits and teach life skills including treating others with care, practicing gratitude, and managing emotions. Practices will be on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. You can register for our team here starting Monday, February 22. Please reach out to Hannah Dancer or Molly Hoyt if you have any questions. 

 

UPPER SCHOOL

Student Council Wish Weeks

The Student Council has organized Wish Weeks, a series of fundraisers (and spirit events) from Monday, February 22 to Sunday, March 28, to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The agenda is as follows:

 

Bad Fashion Day: Friday, February 26 - Students pay a dollar at the door of Kittredge to wear a bad fashion outfit instead of Formal Friday Dress!

Penny Wars: Monday, February 22 to Wednesday, March 3 - Blue and white groups in each grade will compete to raise the most money. Students can contribute coins to their group's fundraising effort.

Reading Raffle: Monday, February 22 to Sunday, March 28 - Students get raffle tickets for each hour they read; the winner gets a Bement store gift card. Students will receive a paper or Google form so they can track their progress. 

 

During last Friday’s morning meeting, members of the Student Council provided more detail for upper school students about these events. 

Ninth Grade Ski Trip

On Thursday, March 4, the ninth grade class and their advisors will take a full alpine ski day to a local resort. More details to come, but we wanted parents to be able to mark their calendars!

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION RESOURCES

Resources for Families

In this section of The Look Ahead, we share one resource each week as a part of our commitment to broadening perspectives and continuing learning in support of dismantling racism. These resources are archived on the Diversity page of the website.

 

This week’s resource is:

 

A list from Reading Rockets: Celebrating and Learning About Black History and Culture

BEMENT FAMILY ASSOCIATION

Earn Money for Bement - Three Easy Ways:

Below are three easy ways to earn money for Bement as you do your regular shopping:

 

1. Box Tops for Education provides an easy way to earn money for Bement, with products you may already buy. The best part: No more cutting out box tops! Simply scan your store receipt with the Box Tops mobile app to identify participating products and instantly add cash to Bement’s earnings online.

 

2. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. Each quarter, Bement receives a check.

 

AmazonSmile is available in the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones. AmazonSmile customers can choose to support Bement in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones. 

 

Follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations with each of your purchases, at no cost to you:

1. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
2. Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings'
3. Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process

3. Earn cash for Bement by shopping at Stop and Shop! Sign up for the Stop and Shop A+ School Rewards program by linking to your Stop & Shop card. Bement’s school number is: 09669. The Stop & Shop program end date is March 31, 2021.

COVID REMINDERS

Travel Reminder

In an on-going effort to keep our school community COVID-free, we would like to remind families of the importance of our shared Community Health and Responsibility Pledge, in particular the travel orders. If you are planning to travel outside of the state of Massachusetts, please refer and adhere to the Massachusetts travel order described on the Mass.gov website. You should also be sure to check any state travel requirements for any area outside Massachusetts to which you are traveling. All visitors entering Massachusetts, including returning residents, who do not meet an exemption, are required to:

• Complete the Massachusetts Travel Form prior to arrival
• Quarantine for 10 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72-hours prior to your arrival in Massachusetts

Please note: Bement has adopted a policy to ensure a safe return to school for anyone in our community who travels via commercial air during the pandemic. In addition to following the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ travel orders, Bement asks students and employees in this circumstance to quarantine for an additional five days after arriving in Massachusetts and secure a negative PCR test after the fifth day before returning to campus in person.

COVID Testing Schedule

As a reminder, lower school students will be tested on Thursday, February 25 during the school day. Upper school students will be tested again on Thursday, March 4.     

 

Please reach out to Student Health Services with any questions.

Daily Health Screening

In our ongoing effort to keep our community healthy, if your child presents any symptom that appears on Bement’s Daily Health Screening Form, please follow these procedures:

 

1. Keep them home from school.

2. For Upper School, email Toni Costa (413-773-5967) to report the absence and indicate if your child plans to participate in classes remotely. 

3. For Lower School, email Toni Costa (413-773-5967) AND your child’s homeroom teacher to report the absence and indicate if your child plans to participate in classes remotely. 

4. Contact Bement’s Student Health Services (413-774-7061, ext. 1), so they can help you to navigate next steps.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Heather McGhee ’94’s, The Sum of Us

Alumna Heather McGhee ’94 has recently published a new book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. Heather has spent her career working to design and produce solutions to inequality. She is also a contributor to the recently released collection of essays, 400 years of African American History, Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019. To learn more about Heather and her work, click here.