Congratulations to B-town's As Schools Match Wits Team!

Coached by Mr. Stephen Vigneux, our As Schools Match Wits Team had an impressive showing against Monument Mountain on Sunday night! Team members Drew Lindholm, Morgan O'Connor, Richard DelValle, and Eric Gendreau answered questions on a variety of topics, scoring 335 points, second only to Amherst Regional High School!

As Schools Match Wits Team, from left: Drew Lindholm, Morgan O'Connor, Richard DelValle, Eric Gendreau

If you would like to see the video episode, click here. Congratulations to the team on an outstanding job!

Family Resources

As part of our bullying prevention and intervention plan, each of our schools has a Family Resource Center where families can find brochures on a variety of topics related to bullying prevention and intervention as well as other information families may find useful. These brochures have been uploaded to our district's web site. We encourage you to take a moment to see what these informative brochures have to offer and either pick up a hard copy at one of our schools or download them from our web site.

School Committee to meet on February 26, 2013

The School Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 26th at 7:00 pm in the library at Swift River Elementary School. Click here to see a copy of the agenda.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you. Please call my office at 413.323.0423 or email me at superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

Winners in a Winter Wonderland!

Wow! A winter wonderland has greeted us and Storm "Nemo" is just about finished in Western Massachusetts, with the exception of the wind. Unofficial snow totals are just under 2 feet from this storm in the Pioneer Valley with much more to the south and east of here. The Nemo theme has taken over the Internet and people's imaginations as evidenced by this Nemo snow sculpture!

I hope that this weekend finds you and your family safe and sound - now the clean-up begins!

And the winners are...

Last week's post highlighted the BHS National Art Honor Society Project Runway event. I attended and was treated to a very creative fashion show of outfits that were made from repurposed prom dresses received from Hampshire Regional High School. As always, our artists did a fantastic job creating gowns, casual outfits, and other delights to the amazement of the audience. Fourteen designers participated, with awards given to several of them. Kerrie Long was the first place winner, followed by Kendra Desroches and Madeline Hamparian, who won 2nd and 3rd place recognition. Congratulations to all of this year's designers!

Project Runway contestants show their work to an appreciative audience.

James Ryan signs national letter of intent!

James Ryan,  a member of the Class of 2013, signed a national letter of intent on Wednesday, February 6th - national signing day - to attend Sacred Heart University and play football. This is an historic event as James is the first BHS senior to sign with a Division I school to play football! Surrounded by his family; Coach John Mayo; Mr. Marchewka, Dean of Students and Athletic Director; Mrs. Vigneux, BHS Principal; Officer Krol, School Resource Officer; Mr. Cameron, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning; and me - James proudly signed his letter of intent. James will be majoring in business with an eye toward sports management. Congratulations, James!

James shows off his signed letter of intent to attend Sacred Heart University.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this blog, feel free to email me at superintendent@belchertown.org or call me at 413.323.0423.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

A weekend of artistic talent!

Happy February to one and all and let's hope the groundhog does not see his shadow tomorrow!

There are 2 arts activities occurring this weekend and I hope you will take advantage of one or both. First is at Jabish Brook Middle School - the drama club is putting on a production of "Schoolhouse Rock Jr." Last night was opening night and the kids did a phenomenal job! There are performances tonight and tomorrow night, so I hope you will take advantage of them. Both start at 7:00 pm in the Music Assembly auditorium.

In just a couple of short hours, the BHS National Art Honor Society will be hosting their annual "Project Runway" show. Every year, the students are given a challenge to come up with some very unusual costumes and judges vote to award the students for their creativity. That begins at 7:00 pm tonight in the BHS auditorium, so if you haven't got any plans, grab your coat and join us for what promises to be an enjoyable evening!

Belchertown is blessed with some wonderful performing and visual arts programs. Our teachers and students do an outstanding job with all of them. This is a great opportunity to come together as a community and support our students!

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to call my office, 413.323.0423, or email me, superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools