As communicated by Superintendent Boothby last week, classroom instruction will not resume in RSU 25 during this school year. Knowing that we will not see students again before the fall is a very difficult reality to accept for all of the staff at BMS who love working with our students every day. We know that this also continues to place a great amount of responsibility on families who are already dealing with so much. We appreciate all of the flexibility, patience, and perseverance that students and families have demonstrated throughout this challenge- we know it is not easy!
Grading
Remote learning at BMS started on March 17th, which was the second day of the 3rd trimester. Given the challenges of remote learning, students will not receive a promotion standard [grades 5-6] or numeric 1-100 grade [grades 7-8] grade on their 3rd trimester report card. All students in grades 5-8 will be scored only on Habits of Mind during remote learning. The
Habits of Mind rubric has been revised to reflect remote learning. Teachers have designed grading agreements and protocols to ensure that Habits of Mind scores acknowledge the hard work and effort students are demonstrating during remote learning but do not penalize students who find themselves in situations that make remote learning difficult.
Starting the week of 4/13, students will receive a weekly Habits of Mind score in their ELA, math, science, and social studies classes and every other week in their Unified Arts classes. These will be used to calculate a final Habits of Mind grade for each class, which will be the only grades reported on the 3rd trimester report card. If you have any questions about your student’s grade in a particular class, please contact the teacher directly.
Spring & End of Year Activities
The decision to finish the school year remotely also means that many of our traditional spring activities will not be taking place, at least not in their traditional formats and settings. BMS and district staff are working to determine what traditional rights of passage such as 8th grade promotion, step up day, and the yearbook might look given our current situation. We will communicate plans for these activities and other traditional spring events as we finalize them. While we will not be able to do everything that we would normally do at the end of a school year, we are committed to recognizing important milestones in our student’s educational journey and also providing a sense of closure to this school year before starting the next one.
If you have any questions about remote learning, grading in the 3rd trimester, or anything else please do not hesitate to contact the main office.