Middle school teams

Question: I was wondering how many seventh-grade teams there are, the name of each team and the differences between each team. Are the students grouped together and the teams comprised of students with the same academic ability? Is one team more advanced than another?

Answer: B-P Middle School has four teams of teachers for the core academic subjects, English, math, science and social studies. Teachers on Team Voyager teach sixth-graders; teachers on Team Discovery teach sixth- and seventh-graders; teachers on Team Millennium teach seventh- and eighth-graders; and teachers on Team Enterprise teach eighth-graders.

A student who has specific academic needs, such as enrichment or remediation, will be assigned to teachers who teach classes that can best meet those needs. Whatever team those teachers belong to is the team the student is assigned to. There are not specific “advanced” or “remedial” teams.

If you have any other questions about the team teaching model at the middle school, please contact me at hotalings@bpcsd.org or 954-2704, or contact my colleague Jennifer Steele at steelej@bpcsd.org or 954-2722.

- Stephanie Hotaling, middle school counselor

MS picture retake date

Question: I don't see a MS picture retake day listed on the calendar, and I do not see it listed on the website's calendar. Is there a date scheduled?

Answer: No date has been set yet. The company that takes our school photos will provide a date to us when they send us the photos they took on the first picture day.

- answered by Kimberly Nichols, middle school secretary

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

Safety concerns about middle school morning traffic

Question: Is there anything that can be done about the middle school traffic and congestion at 7:20 in the morning? There are parents dropping students off all over the place, trying to avoid waiting in a long line. Students are even crossing Rt. 107 so their parents don't have to wait in line. People cut across the parking lot in cars. It seems very unsafe. Perhaps a crossing guard, light, or left-hand turn restrictions are needed at that time of day. Something needs to be done to rectify this unsafe situation that occurs daily.

Answer: We're well aware of the problems that exist with traffic and safety at the middle school site, and we've made many attempts to address the problems in recent years. For instance, we requested that the county install either a traffic light or a blinking "school zone" sign on Rt. 107 near the entrance to the Perth campus, but the county denied our requests.

The property adjacent to the Perth campus that the district purchased as part of the capital project approved by voters in February 2013 is part of a long-term plan to expand parking at the Perth site and address safety concerns. We will continue to look for ways to improve student and family safety in this area, especially during the morning student drop-off times.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, superintendent of schools

Middle school summer school

Question: Will B-P offer summer school opportunities for students who do not pass a required course in the middle school? If not, how can families find local districts that will be offering summer school?

Answer: Yes, Broadalbin-Perth will be offering an in-house summer academic program for Grade 6-8 math and English Language Arts (ELA) only. These classes will take place in the morning. The summer school schedule, including dates that summer school will run, have yet to be finalized.

If you would like more information about our middle school summer school, please contact Mr. Wayne Bell, our middle school principal, at 954-2700. You can also contact any of our neighboring school districts to find out about other opportunities.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, Superintendent of Schools

Focused Fridays

Question: I'm having an issue with "Focused Fridays" in the middle school. Isn't this taking "teaching to the test" to the extreme? What about those students who don't need all of the extra assistance, such as those in advanced math or English? Why not offer them enrichment classes or advanced classes instead of boring them with the same old, same old? Lastly, is my child really getting targeted ELA and math instruction if it is being taught by someone who isn't an ELA or math teacher?

Answer: Earlier this year, our middle school was identified as a "School in Need of Improvement" under the federal No Child Left Behind law. If we continued to do the same things we'd always done in the middle school, we could expect to get the same results -- and those results are not acceptable. Put simply, we've had to think out of the box, and "Focused Fridays" are part of that thinking.

In general, Focused Fridays are designed to let us provide direct instruction to students according to their needs. The format allows us to provide enrichment to high-level learners and prescriptive instruction to lower-leverl learners. There are also some students who are near proficiency, and this extra focus might be enough to push them over the line.

As a district, we're doing the best we can to provide quality instruction to our students with limited resources, and Focused Fridays are just one part of that.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, Superintendent of Schools

Why are building lights on at night?

Question: Many evenings, when driving by both schools, we notice many lights on. Couldn’t we save some money and energy by eliminating the number of lights that are being left on day and night or by utilizing motion sensor lights or energy efficient lighting?


Answer: Several rooms in our buildings do have lights that turn on or off depending whether or not there is movement in the room. These lights do save energy. In addition, the lighting in our Middle School gym is being upgraded as part of the EXCEL capital project, and will be having energy-efficient, motion-sensor lights installed.

Overall, about 90 percent of the building’s lights are off when school is not in session. I believe the lights you are seeing are emergency lighting that is required by the state to be on to ensure safety and security. These lights never go off; however, they are using less energy than lights during the day. I think they appear brighter than they are because they illuminate the dark hill. If our schools were completely dark, it would be a security issue.

You may have also noticed lights on near our parking lots and bus garages. These lights are also on to ensure safety and security. We have security cameras set up to monitor the area and we need to have lights to properly monitor the area through the tape.
-answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

Applause for 8th grade celebration

Comment: I would like to applaud Mr.Bell and the 8th grade teachers and staff for the wonderful celebration they gave the 8th grade students. The ceremony was a delight and to see them give back to the naval officer and and Bethany Sweet -- there was not a dry eye near where we were sitting. It was a pleasure to see that the students have learned respect and giving. Also, giving back to their principal and teachers was very nice. It really shows that between the school, staff, teachers and parents, we can make a difference. The decorations were beautiful and I hope the children will remember this forever. Again, thank you. All of you should be proud.

Praise for Mr. Halligan

Comment: I applaud the person or persons who set up the bullying assembly at the middle school last week. It was very nice to hear Mr. Halligan speak. I really believe it left a good impact on the students. I would like to suggest that you have him come back for a parent evening since it would be very helpful for all to hear. Maybe the high school students could learn from him also.
Click here to read about John Halligan's talk at Broadalbin-Perth Middle School on Friday, Feb. 5.

Honor roll information

Question: Does B-P post honor roll information for the Middle School and High School? If so, where is it located?

Answer: Both the middle school and high school send the names of their honor roll students to the Gloversville Leader-Herald and the Amsterdam Recorder each quarter. In addition, the middle school posts the names of its honor roll students on a bulletin board in its dining room.
- answered by Robin Blowers, High School Principal, and Wayne Bell, Middle School Principal

Middle school gym renovation

Question: Where did the money come from to redo the gym at the middle school?

Answer: The renovation of the middle school gymnasium was part of the $6,160,000 Excel project that was approved by voters on Feb. 7, 2007.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent