Giving Back This Holiday Season

Our students are focusing on giving back this holiday season. Our CSS students will be bringing in non-perishable food items for distribution to local pantries. First grade students at SRE are donating hats, scarves, and mittens for children in need. At CHCS, the students are bringing in non-perishable food items and socks for distribution. The running club at JBMS ran in the Hot Chocolate run in Northampton on Sunday, December 8th, for Safe Passage and to raise awareness about domestic violence. BHS students are encouraged to donate $1.00 at lunch to help those who are in need. These activities represent one of the basic tenets of our PeaceBuilders program, which is to build peace at home, at school, and in the community.

I am also pleased to announce that my superintendent colleagues across the valley have also stepped to the plate to join in. The Connecticut Valley Superintendents' Roundtable met on Friday, December 6th. I am serving as the Roundtable president this year. The group was treated to some performances by the BHS music department: a saxophone quartet and the Women's Choir. The students did a fantastic job! Thanks go to Ms. Boysen and Ms. Comstock for coordinating and preparing their musicians. This is one of two traditions the group has. The second is to collect toys and non-perishable food items or to give a cash donation to families in need in the president's school district. I will be distributing food items and $195.00 in donations to Belchertown CAN and the toys will be distributed to families in need in Belchertown.

Owl Release Photos

As I mentioned in last week's blog post, Jean Brunelle, JBMS Science Teacher, released an owl that had been sprayed by a skunk she rescued this summer. After going through some rehab, the owl was ready to be released at Lake Wallace. As promised, pictures are posted here.

Jean Brunelle describes how she came to the aid of the owl in the carrier prior to its release.

The owl takes flight! Photo courtesy of Aimee Henderson, Belchertown Sentinel.

Holiday Extravaganza!

The BHS music department will cap off this season's musical performances with the Holiday Extravaganza! Concert on Tuesday, December 17th at 7:00 pm in the BHS auditorium. Come join us for some holiday cheer and be sure to bring your singing voices for the "Super Sing-a-Long"! Tickets are $5.00 each. Call the school at 323.9419 to reserve your seats as this concert tends to sell out!

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this blog post, please call me at 413.323.0423 or send an email to: superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools