Superintendent’s Update – March 31

Superintendent Conrad’s weekly message for March 31, 2023.

The First Annual Talent and Variety Show TONIGHT

The faculty and students of BHS will be hosting and performing in the First Annual Talent and Variety Show TONIGHT from 7-9 pm in the auditorium at BHS. This is the First Annual Talent and Variety Show and is hosted by the class of 2024. Tickets will be sold at the door: Students will be $5.00 and Adults will be $7.00. All of the proceeds will benefit the Class of 2024.

Passover

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To all of our families observing Passover Chag Same’ach or Happy Festival.  Passover or Pesach in Hebrew begins on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, and is one of Judaism’s most sacred holidays. Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites’ departure from ancient Egypt.  For more information about Passover navigate to https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/passover

The Month of the Military Child

April is the Month of the Military Child and we are proud to recognize our military families and students to recognize their resilience. We celebrate military-connected children every year during the month of April. It is an opportunity to celebrate our military students for their selflessness and sacrifice as they serve our country as part of a military family. The Month of the Military Child has been celebrated since it was established in 1986 by former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. For more information please navigate to DODEA Month of the Military Child. 

At BHS our military students will be feted with a breakfast, personalized certificates, dandelions (the official flower of the military child), a purple social media frame for picture taking, a Purple Up Day (April 14th), military minutes all month on BHS Live, and a cake at the end of the month. 

Autism Awareness Month

April is World Autism Month, beginning with United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on Sunday, April 2, 2023. Throughout the month, advocates focus on sharing stories and providing opportunities to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism, in order to foster worldwide support and create a world where all people with autism can reach their full potential. For more information please navigate to World Autism Awareness Month

Arab American Heritage Month

April is Arab American Heritage Month which Celebrates the rich and diverse culture and contributions of the diverse population of Arab Americans. National Arab American Heritage Month has been observed during the month of April since 2017. For more information please navigate to Arab American History Month

Bedford Holi Celebration

Holi, also known as the festival of colors, is an ancient Hindu tradition. It marks the end of winter and the start of a new season, and new beginnings. It also signifies the triumph of good over evil, and love for family and friends. Holi is celebrated by throwing colored powder (gulal) at each other. Music, dancing, and food are also a big part of the celebration. 

The Bedford Holi Celebration will be held on Sunday April 30, 2023 from 2-4pm (rain date is May 7). We encourage families and friends to come out and join us for a fun-filled afternoon that will include playing with colors, live music, face painting, and food for purchase! Tickets are $5/pp (cash only), which includes 2 packs of color. Remember to wear white so you can show off your color!

Annual Town Meeting

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2023 Annual Town Meeting on Monday, March 27, 2023. At the ATM Bedford citizens debated a number of issues and approved many of the twenty-two warrants, including the town budget. The open town meeting form of government is a New England tradition dating back to the 17th century. For more information please navigate to Town Meeting Information

Frozen Jr

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Frozen Jr. The performances were a great success!

Women of Science 2023

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 1, 2023, from 7:00 AM- 2:00 PM Bedford High School will be hosting the Twentieth Annual Women of Science Scholarship Competition! The competition involves about forty teams of junior and senior high school women scientists competing in four science and engineering events.  All events involve knowledge based in the areas of biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental science, math, and physics.  Teams compete as a group in each of the four events. The idea of creating a competition for female students, only, is guided by the interest to have more women enter science-related fields by celebrating women in science and spawning interest in science-related fields.  For more information about the program please free to explore The Women of Science Website 

27th Annual Regional High School Exhibit

The Visual Arts Department is excited to announce their participation in the 27th Annual Regional HS Art Exhibition to take place at the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society (LexArt) building at 130 Waltham Street in Lexington from Saturday, March 4, 2023, through Sunday, April 2, 2023. The show will feature the work of students from Bedford, Burlington, Lexington, Minuteman, Waltham, and Winchester high schools.

Dollars for Scholars Fundraiser

The Citizens Scholarship of Bedford is proud to announce the 58th Annual Dollars for Scholars Fundraising Campaign. The campaign is now underway. Bedford High students have recently prepared the Mail-a-thon letters. The letters have recently been mailed to Bedford neighbors in hopes that we will all support the Mail-a-thon as we have in the past. Please continue your wonderful support to help make this year’s scholarships for the Class of 2023 the largest awards yet. In May 2022, CSF of Bedford Dollars for Scholars awarded almost $165,000 to graduating seniors. Thank you to everyone at CSF of Bedford for all that they do to support our students! For additional information, please see their website, bedfordma.dollarsforscholars.org

Bedford Destination Imagination

Bedford Destination Imagination is excited to announce that three of our teams (5th grade, 7th grade, and 11th grade) won first place in the annual statewide Destination Imagination tournament in their respective age groups!  Now, for the first time ever, Bedford is sending three teams to compete in the international global tournament for Destination Imagination, which takes place in Kansas City, Missouri May 20-23.

Bedford Destination Imagination is raising money to help fund the registration and equipment transportation costs to send these teams to the Global Finals competition in Kansas City!  Please consider buying a shirt or hoodie to support these kids who have worked hard all year for this honor: https://www.bonfire.com/store/bedford-ma-destination-imagination/

The Science of Well-being for Teens FREE Online Course

As many of you know, our RULER program at JGMS is based on the work of Marc Brackett, a professor at Yale University. Dr. Brackett is the founder of Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence. One of Dr. Brackett’s colleagues Dr. Laurie Santos, the professor who created Yale’s most popular class Psychology and the Good Life has retooled her course into a free online course for teenagers. The six-week course The Science of Well-being for Teens uses short videos to highlight common misconceptions about happiness and teaches teens about the behaviors, feelings, and thoughts that produce mental well-being. The course is free and available to all. While I have not taken the course I do expect that many teens and families may be interested in this important topic. Enrollment opened on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. For more information about the course please visit a Washington Post article about the course or the course enrollment page at The Science of Well-being for Teens

Spring Paving

We’ve received an alert from the Bedford DPW about the schedule for the first paving project of the year. The paving project will take place on South Road from Railroad Avenue to the south of Hartwell Road. The work is tentatively scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The project involves reclaiming (pulverizing) the existing pavement, grading, and putting down the first (binder) course of asphalt. The project should take about a week to complete. The road will be closed during work days except for emergency vehicles and local traffic. The good news is that the time period is during April School Vacation Week. For more information please go to the DPW Website at https://www.bedfordma.gov/378/Public-Works

Town Manager’s Announcement

On Tuesday, Town Manager Sarah Stanton announced that she was stepping away from the position of Town Manager. I have deeply appreciated Sarah’s support of me and our schools over my tenure here in Bedford. She has been an incredible partner through the pandemic and beyond. Her support of our needs was incredible and I will be forever grateful for her leadership. On behalf of the Bedford Public Schools, our administrators, teachers, staff, students, and families I wish her the very best in her future pursuits and hope that you will too.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the passing of Mel King this week at age 94. Mr. King was a longtime activist in the city of Boston where he fought for racial equality. Mr. King was a politician, who ran for Mayor of Boston in 1983. He was a State Representative, the Director of the Urban League of Greater Boston, a teacher at MIT, and a poet. His poem Struggle has long stayed with me and I am deeply saddened by his passing. For more about Mr. King please navigate to The City of Boston Biography of Mr. King 

I leave you this week with his poem Struggle

Struggle,
It’s a struggle
Developing Solidarity.
It’s a struggle
Being Positive
It’s a struggle
Making Common Unity.
It’s a struggle
LIVING.
It’s a struggle
Because it’s slow
But if we Struggle
At developing Solidarity,
Being Positive
Shaping Reality,
Making Common Unity,
We will all Grow
Because to struggle
Is to work for Change,
and Change is the focus of Education,
and Education is the Basis of Knowledge,
and Knowledge is the Basis for Growth
and Growth is the Basis for
Being Positive and Being Positive
is the Basis for Building Solidarity
Building solidarity is a way to shape
Reality and Shaping Reality is Living
and Living is Loving,
So Struggle

MEL KING

As always, thank you for your patience, your participation, and your continued commitment to our schools.

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