BC Link
May, 2006Volume 11, Issue 7
Inside this Issue:
1 / Graduation / Final Exams
2 / Internet Chat Rooms
Dress Code Issues
Coins for the Cure
3 / Unified Sports News
Junior Class News
Senior Pictures 2007
2006-07 Schedules
Events Calendar
“The Return”
High School Years
Think Central
Talk Central
Be Central!
FOCUS on Academics!
Bristol Central High School
480 Wolcott St.
Bristol, CT 06010
(860) 584-7735
Mission Statement
The mission of Bristol Central
High School is to encourage students to achieve to their maximum learning potential and to develop their self worth in a safe environment.
Principal-Mr. Dennis Siegmann
Assistant-Mr. Kevin O’Donnell
Assistant-Mr. Martin Semmel
WWW.Bristol.K12.ct.us
Graduation and
Final Exams Dates Set
At the April meeting of the Bristol Board of Education, the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2006 was set for Tuesday, June 20, 2006. The ceremony will begin promptly at 7:00 PM in the Charles C. Marsh gymnasium.
Final examinations for all students will begin on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 with period A-1 (7:45-9:45) and A-2 (10:00-12:00). Final examinations will also take place on Thursday, June 15, 2006 with period B-5 (7:45-9:45) and B-6 (10:00-12:00); Friday, June 16, 2006, period A-3 (7:45-9:45) and A-4 (10:00-12:00); and Monday, June 19, 2006, period B-7 (7:45-9:45) and B-8 (10:00-12:00). Final examinations are only held during examination periods for full year courses.
The value of each final examination is one/ninth of the total grade earned for the full year course. Students are only required to attend classes in which final examinations are scheduled. Final examinations will not be administered early in order for students to go on vacations; those examinations will be administered later in the summer and incompletes will be given for grades.
During final examination “week” only students that have examinations in the assigned testing periods are required to attend school. Students do not have to report on a final examination day for any half-year/semester course unless instructed to do so by their teacher. This includes many elective courses, study halls, and physical education.
Also, there is a final examination exemption for seniors that have a 90% yearly average or better in a course and no marking period grade below an 87%. Students that qualify do not have to take the final examination in the respective course(s).
Seniors are also reminded of the BOE policy that allows only students that have earned 26.25 credits and met the BOE writing requirement to participate in the graduation exercises. This same policy also states that students owing a financial debt to the school may not participate in graduation unless that debt is paid in full. Reasons for debt to the school include lost books, library fines, failure to hand in athletic equipment/uniforms, or other debts as incurred. Parents and students will be notified regarding the amount owed prior to graduation.
Internet Sites and Chat Rooms
Administrative Concerns
As technology continues to become more easily available to students at home, the administration at Bristol Central must deal with issues brought into the school from issues created through remarks on-line and in chat rooms.
On a daily basis the administration is asked to deal with accusations and threats made to students and by students against other students. Often we involve the Bristol Youth Officer assigned to BCHS. The most common issues arise from the My Space site and emails made to students from unknown authors. What the administration often finds interesting is that students carry on conversations on-line with these unknown authors for long stretches of time. Personal information is given during these discussions.
The administration urges parents to monitor what students are doing on computers at home. Monitor whom they converse with and the amount of time and information discussed. The administration will do our best to solve and get to the bottom of any threat or intimidation brought to our attention, but we have found that many issues could be prevented if students had not engaged in conversations with individuals they do not know. Certainly our concern is the safety and well-being of each of our students, but we need help and support at home with monitoring and limiting access to these sites.
Summer is fast approaching and many students may be home alone. Please spend some time with your son/daughter going over rules for computer usage. It is important we all understand the dangers of communicating with unknown people.
Warm Weather and the
Dress Code
As the warm weather quickly approaches, the staff and administration are very concerned with the dress of many of our students. Staff members on a daily basis send students to the office with concerns about dress code violations. If the student is a female, Ms. Kalat, our outreach and mediation coordinator is asked to discuss the inappropriate clothing that is worn by the student.
Students are then asked to wear a t-shirt provided by the school, or given the opportunity to go home and change with parental permission. Most dress code violations by female students involve inappropriate tops or blouses and male violations usually involve shirts with inappropriate messages.
Parents are asked to help out and assume responsibility for the dress of their son/daughter. Please ask yourself the question “Is this appropriate to wear to school?” It is understood that some of our students do not have parents at home when they leave for school in the morning, but good judgment should still prevail. Parents must assume some responsibility!
School rules do not allow the following:
See through or mesh style shirts or blouses.
Midriff tops
Backless tops
Halter tops
Tank tops
Sleepwear
Underwear worn as outerwear
Short shorts and cut offs
“Gang” related clothing
This rule will be strictly enforced as determined by the administration.
BCHS Students Collect Coins for a Cure
Students at Bristol Central High School recently completed their 2006 Pennies for Patients Campaign, sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and raised $868.08! For three weeks students brought their spare pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters to school and contributed them to their classroom’s collection container. Their spare change is helping to save the lives of people touched by blood cancers. Pennies for Patients offers a unique community service opportunity to schools - it is kids helping kids.
Funds raised through Pennies for Patients will go to support the Society’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Last year Connecticut schools raised over $70,000! This year the goal is set at $125,000 and The Bristol Central High School InterAct Club is helping the Connecticut Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society reach that goal. Isn’t it amazing what a little spare change can do?!
The BCHS InterAct Club is a junior division of the Rotary Club. The club advisors, Kelly Monahan-DiNoia and Valerie Guarino-Tito, and the club officers, Olivia Mazzarella, Megan Fanion, Mandy Johnson, Gia Bellantuono, Nicole Cloutier, and Marissa Catanzaro were pleased, but not surprised, by their school’s generosity. “When it comes to helping others”, Monahan-DiNoia said, “BCHS is all heart. The students and faculty always open up their wallets and give as generously as they can.”
For more information on the Pennies for Patients Campaign, please contact Karen Paluso, School & Youth Campaign Coordinator for the Connecticut Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at (203) 379-0445 or (888) 282-9465 ext. 33.
Youth Recognition Awards
Three Bristol Central High School students were recognized for exceptional volunteer service to the City of Bristol on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 during the regular monthly city council meeting.
Seniors Megan Fanion and Olivia Mazzarella and sophomore Brittany Monico were among seven award recipients from the Bristol Youth Commission. Congratulations!
Connecticut High School
Scholar-Athlete Winners
Seniors Jamie-Lee Metesky and Matthew Janczyk were honored at the Aqua Turf on May 7, 2006 by the Connecticut Association of Schools for exemplary academic and athletic careers including a minimum GPA of 3.5 or better and participation in a CIAC sport. Congratulations to both student-athletes!
Unified Sports News
On April 22, 2006, two Bristol Central High School students were honored at the Third Annual Michaels Jewelers-Unified Sports Cup Awards Luncheon. Mitchell Harkey and Jennifer Rulkowski were honored as “Exemplary Special Partners.” Both students received certificates and bags from the CIAC and ESPN. Kevin Nathan, NBC 30 Sports Anchor was the keynote speaker. Congratulations to both students for their participation and help with our Unified Sports team.
JUNIORS – TAKE NOTE!!!!!
You should be thinking about your quote to put in your yearbook next year. Listen to the announcements. Every morning there is a great quote read. We will need your quote in the beginning of September. Your quote should not be more than 100 characters, including spaces.
NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
If you want to have candids put in the yearbook next year, please start looking around for those now. We will be asking for those in the beginning of September also. We will need 1 baby picture, candids of you and your friends (the more people in the picture, the better), and prom pictures from this years Junior Prom.
Class of 2007 Pictures!
Your senior pictures will be taken on the following dates at BCHS:
June 8th
July 12th
September 13th *
These sittings will be free to you, so take advantage of this now. You must have your picture taken from Art Rich for the yearbook. We WILL NOT accept any other photographs. Even if you don’t plan on buying any senior portraits, get your picture taken so it can be put in the yearbook. Don’t miss out. * At the last sitting in September the studio will choose the picture to be used. On the other two dates, you get to pick the picture you want in the yearbook.
Art Rich will be here at the school on May 23rd and May 24th. At that time, you can sign up for a date that works for you or you can call Art Rich at 621-6711 to make your appointment.
STUDENT SCHEDULES
2006-07 SCHOOL YEAR
Student schedules for the 2006-2007 school year were handed out to students in their first period class during the week of May 22nd. A schedule will also be mailed to your home in June. We are expecting approximately 1500 students next year at BCHS, 50 more students than the current school population. We have worked very hard to provide all of our students with a schedule that is consistent with their requests and appropriate for their continued educational development. If a student does not receive all of the courses that he/she requested it is often due to constraints placed on us by the budget process. To make it mathematically possible to satisfy all of our students’ course requests we would require more teachers in our building. Parents are encouraged to discuss this schedule with their children to determine if they have any conflicts or problems. Please check for appropriate level and course title.
Parents are encouraged to discuss all schedule changes with the guidance department from now until August 18th. We will not discuss course changes for full year, semester one or semester two classes after Friday, August 18, 2006.
Study halls will be scheduled at a later date. Junior and senior students with no class during first or last period that are interested in early dismissal or late arrival should contact the guidance department at this time to sign up. We remain committed to the students, parents, and community of Bristol Central High School to provide our students with an excellent academic experience.
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