THE BECKWITH CHRONICLE D.L. BECKWITH MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS

Website: www.drregional.org

April 2020

Dates to Remember Apr 13 Grade 8 Course Selections Start

Apr 17 Term 3 Report Cards Issued

Apr 20 No School Patriots Day

Apr 28 School Committee Meeting

6:30pm DRRHS

Students of the Month The following students were

selected Student of the Month for

the month of February:

Gr 8 – Caitlin Laliberte/Justin Chmielewski

Gr 7 –Haleigh McCracken/Anthony Mercer

Gr. 6 – Avery Brown/Hawkyns Pray

Gr. 5 – Ava Randall/Damien Landry

Related Arts – Aubree Miller/Jack Swan

PTSA Reflections Contest Congratulations to the following Beckwith

students whose entries earned awards in the

recent PTSA Reflections Contest. Winners

will be contacted directly by the state level

of the PTSA. In the category of literature,

Aundraya Pinho, Caraline Corvi, and

Rowan Whittaker all earned the Award of

Merit. In the category of photography,

Ryan Bomes earned the Award of

Excellence and Cole Gifford earned the

Award of Merit. In the category of visual

arts, Benjamin Bogosian earned the Award

of Excellence.

Winners of the PTSA Reflections Contest with

Mr. Shea and Mr. Pirraglia

Wax Museum Fifth graders in Rooms 101, 102 and 104

participated in a “Wax Museum” on

February 27. Students chose a historical

figure from the Revolutionary War.

Students were required to research their

person, create a poster, make an artifact,

create a speech and, finally, dress up as

their figure. This was a successful learning

experience for our students.

Grade 5 students dressed and presented as

Revolutionary War figures for their “Wax Museum.”

Career Day On February 5 and March 4 Beckwith held

Career Day for our eighth grade students.

Volunteers from a variety of fields

including a veterinarian, vet technician,

insurance industry, parole officer, physical

therapist, attorney, pastry chef, nurse,

police officer, representatives from

Rehoboth Ambulance, U.S. Army first

sergeant, a retired special education

teacher, and our superintendent came in to

speak to our students about their jobs,

responsibilities, ethics, educational

requirements, and what they like most and

least about their jobs. We would like to

thank Courtley Watson, Megan Sousa,

Elizabeth McCann, Sharon Hoskins,

Andrea Wasylow, Kate Pirraglia, Mark

Soliday, Sarah Burton, Scott & Bonnie

Meagher, Alan Jerauld, Dr. Azar, Keith

Perry, and Jesse Armell for taking time out

of their busy days to make this event

possible. Thank you also to Mrs. DiFilippo

for coordinating Career Day.

Veterinarian Courtley Watson and Vet Tech Megan

Sousa presented on our March 4 Career Day

BMS AHA Fundraiser Beckwith Middle School recently held its

annual American Heart Association (AHA)

Fundraiser organized by Physical

Education teachers, Miss Miller and

Mr. Sampson. The fundraiser kicked off in

early February and culminated with the

Play for Heart Events held on March 4 for

grades 7 and 8 and on March 5 for grades 5

and 6. BMS has been ranked #1 in

donations raised in Southeastern

Massachusetts in four of the last five years

and has been #1 three years in a row since

2016. Once again, our school community

did not disappoint. More than 150 students

donated money to help us reach our new

goal of $4,000 and we crushed that goal

this year by raising $5,886! This grand total

more than triples the donations from the

closest ranking school!

In early February, Miss Miller and

Mr. Sampson challenged BMS with trying

to raise at least $4,000 for the American

Heart Association by collecting money

from family and friends to support heart

health, research, and education. Interesting

facts about heart health were posted

throughout the building and were also

announced during morning announcements.

During Health and Physical Education

classes, the topics of heart health and

empathy were discussed in order to inform

and inspire. Stories were shared about

students, family, and friends touched by

heart disease. Envelopes began pouring in

from students in all grades and many

students raised money online.

In addition to collecting money, many

students also chose to participate in the

Play for Heart Event. We had over 100

students participating over the two-day

event. Each participant needed at least a $5

donation to play, but many students raised

much more than that! Students were

allowed to bring teams of 3-4 players of

their own choosing to compete in four

different activities: dodge ball, corn hole,

4-square, and basketball. Everyone who

wanted to play was included on a team.

Also, a handful of very courageous staff

members joined in on the fun, including our

own administrators, Mr. Pirraglia and

Mr. Shea, who were a force to be reckoned

with! Teams tallied up wins throughout the

challenge, but the main focus was on great

teamwork, good sportsmanship, and

friendly, spirited competition to highlight

the importance of movement and fun in

keeping one’s heart healthy. In addition, we

also had our own sixth grader, Ben Darling,

speak at each event. Ben struggled with

heart issues at a very young age and is now

a shining example of what your American

Heart Association dollars can do to help

those in need.

BMS students making a difference participating in the

Play for Heart event

Thank you gifts from the AHA for

donations of $10 or more will be coming in

and will be delivered to students that

earned them. Finally, we are so proud of

our students, their families and friends, and

our whole school community for the

outpouring of generosity and support in

raising money and awareness for a very

worthy cause and for helping to make our

BMS fundraiser a huge success…not to

mention keeping our school in the #1 spot

for our region! Way to go, Beckwith

Middle School!

SPIRIT WEEK 2020 Although we couldn’t be together to

celebrate Beckwith Spirit Week this year,

we were together in spirit. We are

including a few photos of our virtual Spirit

Week

Monday was Sports Day and the celebration was open to students and their families if they chose.

We had many participants on Sports Day

Beckwith Spirit on Sports Day

Super Hero Day!

Creative Arts Day

Blue and White Day

Color Day just happened to be on a Friday “Shout

Out” Day

Grade 6 students wore ORANGE on Color Day

Grade 6 Virtual Color Day

Message from Mr. Shea

Dear Friends,

Let me start by telling you that we miss

everyone. The whole staff has

impressively handled learning an entirely

new approach to teaching students;

however, what we are struggling with is not

seeing our students’ faces and wonderful

personalities each and every day. We hope

you are all safe and we can’t wait until

September when we will celebrate our time

together.

As we officially enter the next phase of

distance learning due to Governor Baker’s

announcement on April 21, 2020, we want

everyone to know that our students’ and

families’ well-being is our number one

priority. Everyone is feeling an excess of

emotions right now. We are all justifiably

feeling fear of the unknown, sadness that

we will not be able to properly say goodbye

to our peers, students, and friends as we

start new chapters in our lives. There is

anxiety about too many things to mention.

The one emotion I want everyone to stop

feeling is guilt. I often talk with students

about what the best version of themselves

looks like. We need to adjust ourselves and

understand that in this situation, in which

our lives have been up-ended, our best is

measured by many factors. My 2-year old

is watching way too much Disney +

(especially Puppy Dog Pals). Yet, he is

also spending much more time outside than

prior to the shutdown, and luckily we are

also getting an unusual amount of family

time. We try to be the best version of

ourselves that we can each day. The most

important thing we need to understand is

that our kids will be okay. This is a once in

a generation experience and we need to

remember that students are resilient. If they

do need support, we are here to help.

At Beckwith we often talk about the

reasons for clear expectations. It is my core

belief that we all need to know what is

expected of us so that we can rise to those

expectations. COVID-19 has changed all

those expectations. As a district we are

expecting students to try the best they can

to follow a three and a half hour day

schedule, to the best of their abilities.

Please remember the important outlet that

the related arts classes serve our students.

Some days will look different than others,

and that’s okay, as long as students are

trying their best; we are here to support

everyone.

Lastly, I want to extend my thanks to our

staff. I want to thank the teachers. In a

very short time, they have had to learn a

new methodology and delivery of

instruction, yet their number one concern

and true focus has always been their

students. Every staff member through

flexibility, creativity, and hard work has

made a positive impact on our ability to

continue to educate and support our

students. Thank you all for all you do.

Thank you, stay safe, be smart, and always

be kind.

Ryan Shea