W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School
Week at a Glance, News and Notes
Feb. 14 – Feb. 18, 2022
Note from the Principal:
A sunshiny Friday to end a busy week! Just a few reminders this week.
The W.E.B Du Bois Legacy Festival will start next week, ahead of the 154th Birthday of Du Bois on February 23. Here is a great article from the Berkshire Edge on the festival activities. See below for more info on the festival. We are also hosting the Great Grandson of Du Bois, Jeffery Peck, next Friday in some classes to meet students and find out about the legacy of his great grandfather for our school. Very exciting!
This is still winter, and we have kids out from being sick. We have also seen an uptick in students being out of school for family vacations. This is a reminder that when when kids return from extended absences and vacations they should be
- checking in with teachers,
- getting make up assignments,
- staying in or after school for help, and
- checking their email and online class sites.
We continue to be vigilant about safety for the pandemic. It is a blessing that we are in school, and able to run school as close to a normal school as possible. Please see below for reminders about signing up for pool testing and helping us make the middle school as safe as possible.
Please drop me a note if you have other feedback or questions at ben.doren@bhrsd.org.
Have a good weekend!
Ben Doren
Principal
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Monday, February 14
Regular School Day
Tuesday, February 15
Regular School Day
Wednesday, February 16
Regular School Day
Thursday, February 17
Regular School Day
Friday, February 18
Regular School Day
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REMINDERS:
PE:
Sneakers must be worn for all PE classes. Please remember to pack sneakers on PE days!
Pool Testing
We strongly encourage your student’s participation, and anyone can participate in the pool testing regardless of vaccination status. Please use this LINK for more details and to complete the electronic consent form. Each student in your household will require an individual consent. The link defaults to Muddy Brook. Select the drop down for your child’s school — Muddy Brook, Du Bois, or Monument Mountain. The video is available in multiple languages–click the link on the top right to choose the language you want.
Celebrating Du Bois!
Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on February 23, 1868, so his 154th Birthday is coming up soon! The town of Great Barrington created the Du Bois Legacy Committee to celebrate Du Bois around his birthday every year. Here are some links to events that are happening later this month to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Du Bois that you and your family can watch and join. One of the events is a celebration at the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington. Because of the pandemic they will be streaming the event on the internet so everyone can see it. Part of the event is a streaming of recordings of students from our school, the Du Bois Regional Middle School. In addition, the great-grandson of Dr. Du Bois, Mr. Jeffrey Peck, will be visiting our school on February 18, the day before vacation.
Lost and Found
Our Lost and Found boxes are overflowing! Please ask your child to stop by the main entrance to check for any lost items. I also still have a phone that belongs to someone. Students should stop by the office to identify phones or small items like jewelry or glasses. After break we will be donating the items in the lost and found to community organizations, so please come by as soon as possible if you know your child is missing something they left at school.
Pre-order your yearbook today!
https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A03463230
Safety and the Pandemic: How to navigate symptoms at home
We are serious about safety here at Du Bois, and appreciate all you do to coach the students on how to keep it safe while here at school and in the community. So far we are in school and able to come every day. Much of that depends on you abiding by our community safety norms–thank you for your help so far and in the future! One way you can do that is to check in with the school nurse, Hilary Bashara, if you are not sure about symptoms and whether to keep your kid home. She can advise on covid protocols, testing and other health questions. When your kid is home sick, please make sure they rest, and we will catch them up on school work when they return: the best cure for being sick is rest, and not worrying about falling behind. For unvaccinated students, if there is a concern about exposure to Covid and the student is symptomless, we are able to support learning during quarantine with materials as the school is directing the student to be home. If a vaccinated student is a close contact they can continue to attend school, while connecting with pediatricians and our health office to ensure the safety of all. If a student, regardless of vaccination status, is positive for Covid we are able to support learning remotely until quarantine is complete and they can safely return.
Long Term Absences
Long term absences are difficult to manage as our curriculum depends on students being present for instruction every day. If you take a student on vacation or on an extended family visit it really interrupts the learning cycle, as we are set up for in-person, community based learning. Please let us know if you are planning a longer absence, as there are Massachusetts rules about extended absences and attendance laws that we have to follow. If a student is out of school for a non-medical reason we will support as best we can when they return. We are not set up to provide learning materials for this as we are an in-person learning community.
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Flyers and School Letters
Flyers and School letters are available on our website at this link: https://mvrms.bhrsd.org/category/families/flyers/
This week’s flyers:
- No new flyers this week
Recent flyers:
- MMRHS Ski Team Dine to Donate Event at Marketplace Wed. 2/9/22
- Young People and Anxiety, Depression and Stress Free Forum Tues., 2/15 6:30pm
- Young People and Anxiety, Depression and Stress Forum–Spanish version
- Community Health Programs: Virtual Parent Workshop
- FREE Family Social-Emotional-Learning Session (Virtual): 2/17/22 at 12 pm
- FREE Glee Club Class–Grades 1-5
- YMCA Camp Hi-Rock Virtual Information Session Flyer
- BRIDGE: Lesson Plan and Project for MLK Day 2022
- Winter Project Connection Packet
- Winter Project Connection Packet – en Espanol
- Stateline Youth Wrestling
- Du Bois Middle School 2022 Musical: THE WIZARD OF OZ! (English & Spanish versions)
- Winter Farmer’s Market
- Hancock Holiday Nights
Older flyers:
- Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine Information Session
- Community Thanks Supper: BSRCC
- Participate in a Williams College Study on Children’s Thinking
- Girls Basketball Free Clinic Grades 5 and 6
- Fall Arts & Crafts Festival – BSRCC
- Yearbook Club
- Casting Untitled Annie Baker Film
- Housatonic Youth Basketball Registration
- 27th Annual Winter Outerwear Drive
- Ski Butternut Student Application
- FUNK BOX BREAKING: Berkshire Pulse
- Golden Knights House League Registration
- American Red Cross Swim Lessons: BSRCC
- Oct. 2 ThinkFOOD Conference FREE for all students
- Talking to Teens so that they Talk Back
- Flying Cloud Institute: SMArt Kit Flyer
- Parent Child+: Equal Possibilities from the Start
- Yearbook Cover Contest
- Project Connection Fall Packet
- Action Adventures Out of School @ BSRCC
- Ballet Ages 5-8 @ BSRCC
- Berkshire Hills Youth Soccer House League Registration
- Ski Butternut Student & Family Season Pass Application