August 2021
Dear Parents and Guardians,
It is an understatement to say that we are very excited for the first day of school with ALL of our scholars back together this Monday, August 30, 2021! The past two weeks have been filled with the return to some of our opening of school traditions. We welcomed the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern Classes of 2025 to their respective high schools, offered Boost summer sessions for returning middle and elementary students, and held several Open House activities at our elementary and middle-grade schools. We also welcomed over sixty new energetic and committed educators and support staff to the Bristol Public Schools family and we are excited for you to meet our new staff. On Tuesday, August 24, 2021, we kicked off the new year with this year’s theme, “Better Together, Stronger than Ever,” with all of our administrators, teachers, and staff at Convocation 2021 at Muzzy Field. It was evident from the energy, the celebration, and the commitments that we reaffirmed to our students and families that BPS staff are entering the 2021-2022 school year stronger than ever!
As you know, we will continue to uphold a statewide mandate that all individuals wear masks in school buildings, regardless of their vaccination status. We will continue to monitor, update, and adapt to new health and safety protocols and operational efficiencies to meet the needs of our students, teachers, and staff. Please click here to review the updated BPS Innovate and Elevate Continuation Plan that I shared with you last week. We have addressed the use of masks, quarantines, and mitigation strategies that we will implement during the school year. We attempted to address each potential scenario within the guidance (e.g., spot quarantine for a single student, classroom quarantine, etc.) and hope that adjustments will be limited as the school year unfolds. I say this optimistically while remaining flexible and fully prepared to modify if necessary.
ParentSquare
We are excited to announce that we transitioned to a new form of school-to-home communication at Bristol Public Schools called ParentSquare. This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection with our district and schools. It provides a safe way for district administrators, school principals, teachers, staff, and parents to send and receive school and class information, share pictures and files, see calendar items, sign-up to volunteer, and schedule parent-teacher conferences all in one centralized place. For even more convenience, please download the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices). Your child’s principal and teachers will follow up with the next steps.
Dr. Dietter and I look forward to working with you and to serving our students.
In Partnership,
Catherine M. Carbone, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools