5/29/20
Hello Belmont High School Students and Families!
Well, the weather has certainly responded to our collective need for some sunshine and to leave the chilly days behind! We are excited to communicate our evolving plans for Year-End events as well as academic offerings extending into the summer months. Great work is being done by our faculty/staff and student body as we enter the last stretch of the 2019-20 school year!
As I alluded to last week, our professional community's mantra continues to be FINISH STRONG. Work with us, because the payoff is worth the investment. As of this afternoon, senior courses have come to an official close, and underclassmen have reached the final week wherein no new assignments/content will be delivered. Next week for grades 9-11 is about taking those final steps toward standard proficiency and course credits through final presentations, reassessments, and end-of-semester due dates.
Today (5/29) marks:
Senior classes have concluded; for students who are in need to take advantage of extended time/opportunities to complete course requirements, senior credit recovery begins Monday (during the standard professional hours that have been set for remote learning)! We will be reaching out to those senior students as soon as possible to make sure you know what needs to be done.
One remaining week for underclassman courses!
Updates and Reminders of Great Things to Come!
Class of 2020 Commencement Plans!
The vote is in! As of noon today, and after last night's Senior Class Meeting/Presentation of the two possible options, the Class of 2020 has voted to hold our 6/13 Commencement Ceremony at BHS, on the Lower Soccer Field! I've attached a video of the 5/28 Class Meeting HERE so that you can see/reacquaint yourself with the anticipated details of that day. Please note: as alluded to last night, this plan is now being sent to the NHDOE for their review and feedback; we do anticipate that it will be deemed to fall within the guidelines. If there are recommendations/required revisions, we will work to adjust the plans to meet those standards versus not executing that option, if at all possible.
So - lots of work to be done to arrange all of those Lower Field components, but we look forward to a busy two weeks of collaborating with students, parents, and community partners to make this end-of-year event one to remember!
A Possible Addition to the Credit Recovery Sessions Structure!
In last week's update, you saw some information regarding earning course credits, Credit Recovery Plans, and anticipated timelines. Because understanding this is so crucial as students work to wrap up courses and earn credit toward their diplomas, the details have been added to the section of important information from the past (found toward the bottom of this document). The newest information is that we are working to create a third summer session that would be geared toward offering students who did gain course credit during the semester an opportunity to demonstrate further/deeper learning to potentially increase their standard/course scores. If a student elects to take advantage of that opportunity, he/she would be highly involved and engaged in the creation of such a plan/structure, and we are working to outline how a collaborative process would allow students to propose to classroom teachers how they may further/more deeply express their understanding/skill. Should this project come to fruition, we will reach out with details on how to take advantage of that unique and student-centered opportunity!
Our Upcoming Week at BHS
Seniors who have not yet earned course credit: get in touch with the teachers of those courses ASAP so you can get on any recovery work that might be available to you now!
Underclassmen - one more week of courses in which no new assignments/content are coming your way. Instead, you have this last week to pass in due materials, work on any reassessment opportunities, etc.
Reminders from Past Week(s)
Some Important Dates
Chromebooks/School Material Returns
In the coming days/weeks, we will establish and communicate our end of year plans for such tasks as returning school materials to BHS. While our approach to do so is still in the planning stage, we anticipate that seniors' Chromebooks and all students' classroom materials will be due to return to BHS on 6/10 and 6/11. We will follow a similar schedule as when students picked up class materials at the onset of remote learning; more to come!
Earning Course Credits and Notes on Credit Recovery
Qualifier scores for earning course credits and/or qualifying for credit recovery remain consistent in terms of what was implemented for the conclusion of semester one. This means that a student must earn a minimum of 1.75 as a course score (the average of all course standards) to qualify for recovery. In order to successfully earn course credit, there are really two "checks" to make sure this is a student's outcome:
He/She has at least a 2.5 overall course score (again, this is the average of all reported course standards).
Each course standard must reach a minimum score of a 2.0.
Think of it this way:
A (hypothetical) class has four standards. At the semester's conclusion, the teacher, having reviewed the student's cumulative body of evidence (work that was submitted throughout the semester), comes to the conclusion that the student has earned two 2's and two 3's. The student will earn credit for the course, and his/her transcript will reflect a 2.5 overall course score.
What's the Recovery Plan?
If a student does not meet the credit-earning requirements listed above, he/she would qualify for credit recovery (as long as the course score is at least a 1.75). In the next week, BHS teachers will be communicating to counseling and administration which students will likely be recovery eligible, and we will then work to communicate this information out to students and families as quickly as possible. However, if you are looking for course-specific details, please email the teacher directly for insight(s)!
Remote Recovery for BHS Students
Due to our ongoing (and ever-evolving) circumstances, credit recovery at BHS will be done remotely. We are working to decide which qualified teachers will be staffing recovery sessions, and we anticipate that underclassman credit recovery will be held during two, two-week sessions. Senior credit recovery will begin the week of 6/1 in order to provide those students an opportunity to complete their high school diploma requirements and participate in end-of-year recognition ceremonies!
For unclassman recovery, we currently anticipate that sessions will run on the following timeline:
Session One: The weeks of 6/15-6/19 and 6/22-6/26
Note: That following week (of July 4th) would be off for all!
Session Two: The weeks of 7/6-7/10 and 7/13-7/17
Session Three: A third two-week session may be arranged at a later time, but this will be dependent on student need and staffing availability.
If you have questions about credit recovery, here are your go-to sources of information:
For course-specific questions (including regarding student grades), contact the teacher directly (through email).
For recovery scheduling and/or questions about the program or grading system, contact (through email) a member of our counseling or admin teams!
Students - one final push through next week and/or in a recovery session to wrap up well-earned course credit(s).
You're almost there - you've got this!
Be well, all the best to you and yours, and…GO BHS!
Mr. Matthew Finch
Principal, Belmont High School
