BPIS Community Connections calendar

Question: Is it possible to post the BPIS Community Connections schedule on the
website as in previous years? I wasn't aware today was a Community
Connections day.

Answer: Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention; it was an oversight. Click here to access the Community Connections calendar on the district website.
- answered by Betsy DeMars, communications specialist/district webmaster

Who can join Lego robotics program?

Question: Is the new Lego robotics program open to all fifth- and sixth-graders or are the students selected to join?

Answer: Over the summer, the district mailed letters to the families of all students entering grades 6-8, inviting them to participate in the new FIRST Lego League robotics program at Broadalbin-Perth. Middle school teams were formed based on student sign-ups and the availability of volunteer coaches.

We asked a member of our faculty to pilot the program with one fifth-grade team; so, there were no open sign-ups for this program at the fifth-grade level.

Understandably, there has been a lot of interest in this program, especially among families whose children have also participate in Odyssey of the Mind. However, FIRST Lego League is very different from Odyssey of the Mind in many ways, but especially in the way teams are formed and registered for competition. The team registration period has already closed, even though competitions won't take place until the spring.

Our plan is to expand our participation in this program to the intermediate school and high school next year, depending on the availability of volunteer coaches.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, superintendent of schools

Fifth-grade field trip to Great Escape

Question: Will the fifth-grade classes at the intermediate school take a field trip to the Great Escape in June? Has the date been decided? I would like to volunteer as a chaperone and want to request the day off at work.

Answer: Thank you for inquiring about the fifth-grade field trip to the Great Escape. The trip is scheduled for June 23. Information will be coming home soon. We are always looking for more parent chaperones. Please let your child's teacher know you're interested in volunteering as a chaperone so he/she can plan accordingly.
- answered by Daniel Casey, intermediate school principal

Paying for field trips

Question: Several years ago when B-P had a contingency budget, students were asked to pay a certain amount to cover the cost of the buses when they were used for a field trip. The district is no longer on a contingency budget, yet the district is still asking the students to pay for the cost of using the buses. Why is this? Teachers are asked to collect bus money from the students for field trips, yet the students were not asked for money to pay for buses when they went to the Mohawks game. Did the intermediate school cover the cost? Are all schools asked to collect money to pay for the buses for field trips? Does the district have a written policy on this?

Answer: Yes, the district did begin charging families for field trips when it operated on contingency. We decided to continue the practice when we had a passed budget because money is still tight and we still must prioritize our spending.

We considered several options regarding field trips under a passed budget. We could have cut down the number of trips that our students take every year and covered 100% of the costs using district funds, or we could maintain the number of trips our students take each year and continue asking families to pay a small amount (usually less than $5) to help defray costs. We also could have maintained the number of trips AND used district funds to pay for all of them, but that would have meant cutting funds from other areas, like modified sports, in order to pay for the field trips.

Father/daughter dance

Question: The district calendar shows the father/daughter dance scheduled for March 9. I haven't seen any information come home about this yet. Is it still being held? Thanks.

Answer: Yes, the father/daughter dance is scheduled for 6-9 p.m., Saturday, March 9, in the high school gymnasium. The cost is $20 per father/daughter couple and $5 for each additional child. This flyer has been sent home with students at The Learning Community, and it will be going home with intermediate school students today. Information about the dance was also included in the latest edition of the high school newsletter. If you have any questions about the dance, please contact one of us.
- Lynn Bond and Anne Sullivan-Krutz, co-advisors, Class of 2015

Halloween parade in the rain

Question: I think it is great that The Learning Community and intermediate school are planning to hold their Halloween parade together. However, if it rains will they be separate at each school? Is there some way to keep the parade together indoors? High school gym?  Auditorium? How do parents with a child in each school tell them that they can only pick one of their parades to attend?

Answer: If it rains tomorrow afternoon, The Learning Community and intermediate school will hold their Halloween parades together at 1:30 p.m., in the high school gymnasium.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, TLC principal and Dan Casey, intermediate school principal

Why was the third-grade concert cancelled?

Question: Why was the third grade concert canceled?  Will it be rescheduled?

Answer: Thank you for your inquiry into the rescheduling of the third-grade Spring Chorus Concert. This concert will be held on Tuesday, June 7, at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. It was misprinted on the calendar. I apologize for the confusion and look forward to seeing you there!
-answered by Daniel Casey, Intermediate School Principal

School banking accounts

Question: If a student has an established school banking account from the primary school, can he or she continue banking in the Intermediate and Middle Schools?

Answer: Right now, our school banking program rungs in The Learning Community and the Intermediate School. The program does not run in the Middle School, although running it through our secondary program is a great idea. I will pursue that idea with the PTSO and our secondary principals.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

Transition concerns

Question: At the October board meeting it was mentioned in public comment that several fourth graders are struggling with the curriculum because they were not prepared in the primary school for fourth grade. My fourth grader is one of the many that are struggling. What is going to be changed in the TLC to address this problem?

Answer: After that board meeting, members of the district leadership team met with concerned parents and teachers at each grade level in the elementary schools to identify possible problems in the transitions from one grade to the next. The leadership team will work with parents and teachers to address any problems in transitions as they arise.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

Elementary reading programs

Question: I attended the Community Roundtable for curriculum and instruction. I learned a lot about how the district handles professional devlopment and other topics. I did not get a chance to ask about continuity in curriculum programs. I guess my question is how the skills taught in the early primary grades are carried through to older grades. For example, kindergarten and first grade use Saxon phonics and in fourth grade students begin using the challenging Harcourt series for reading. What program is used in second and third grade to build on the phonics skills and continue growth in reading to allow students success in the intermediate grades?

Answer: Teachers in the elementary schools at Broadalbin-Perth draw on multiple resources, including several published literacy curricular programs, to provide the best possible reading instruction for our students. Our teachers don't necessarily follow one program to the letter; rather, they utilize the best that each program has to offer to address the individual literacy needs of each child.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal