Bristol County Agricultural High School: December 2019

Friday, December 20, 2019

1/2: Welcome Back to school
1/2: B Week
1/2: 5:00 buses
1/2: Lunch: Chicken Nuggets Or Grab n Go Options, Brown Rice Pilaf, Green Beans, Fresh Garden Salad, Assorted Fresh & Canned Fruits

Aggie Weekly-Holiday Edition

Good Afternoon Students, Parents, and Community Members:

This week we held our annual Toy Drive. We appreciate everyone’s generosity as we raised over $5,600. With everyone’s donation, we were able to purchase gifts for countless families within the Bristol County community. We would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday break.

Dear Teacher/Dear Student: During Freshman Academy this year, the freshman class composed a slideshow (our students did the voice over titled “Dear Teacher” for our staff (the slideshow itself is from the internet, but our students provided the voice over). In the slideshow, it discusses the challenges that so many students face on a day to day basis, which ultimately impacts their learning experience. Our staff was appreciative of the message and thus wanted to repay the favor. Many staff members led by Mrs. Coderre created a message to the students called “Dear Student”. Click the links below to see and hear the presentations. NOTE: You will have to download the video in order to watch it.

Dear Teacher- Freshman students recorded their message

Dear Student- Our staff’s response (original)

Click here for the full article in the Herald News

Click here for the full article in the Herald News

Congratulations!

Throughout this past year our Small Animal majors have groomed hundreds of dogs. A few that they do groom need special attention since they are show dogs. Milo, one of Ms. Blanchette’s English Cocker Spaniels is one of those dogs. Our students have learned the simple differences they can provide that can make a dog like Milo excel in the ring. Last week Ms. Blanchette and Milo competed in the National Owner Handler Finals. The top 10 owner handled dogs from each breed were invited to the National Dog Show in Orlando on December 14, 2019 to vie for the title of Best in Show. The National Dog Show brought over 4800 dogs to Orlando, of those 791 dogs competed in the Owner Handler Finals which marks the highest entry in the competition’s history. After intense competition Milo won the top spot for his breed, winning Best of Breed for the top 10 owner handled English Cocker Spaniels in the country.

A special thank you goes out to all the Small Animal students who have worked hard this year preparing Milo. They have worked so diligently on his grooming and socializing to make him successful in the show ring.

In the Classroom:

Animal Science: On Tuesday, students in Ms. Gagne’s Animal Science class were getting a lesson in eqine dentistry. #BAPRIDE

Flori: On Thursday, Junior Flori student Sean McCoy sang Noel for his peers at a class holiday celebration. Click here for our Twitter of the video. Nice work Sean!

Ag Mechanics: In Mr. Howard's Ag Mechanic class students made this frosty as a project. #BAPRIDE

Science and the Holidays: Each year, Science teacher Mr. Johnson puts on demonstrations for our student body in the gym. Bravo!

Student Services: Come by student services to lend a hand against bullying. #BAPRIDE

Activities and Athletics:

Girls Basketball: On Tuesday, the girls basketball team loss a hard fought battle against Sacred Heart. Keep up the great work ladies!

Ski Club:

Dear Parents,

As part of our effort to provide additional extracurricular activities for your child, we have scheduled a ski trip to Gunstock Mountain in Gilford, NH on Friday, January 31st. Please see the enclosed information pertaining to costs.

The goal of the trip is to provide the skiing/snowboarding experience for any child that may have an interest. We are welcoming skiers and snowboarders of all levels to join us on our trip.

New or inexperienced skier/snowboarder must take the lesson offered by the ski school. There is no additional charge for these lessons, however learning the proper techniques involved in this sport will diminish the risk of injury. The goal is to have fun while staying safe.

The trip will leave from school at 12:00pm and return around 11:30 pm. PARENTS MUST PICK UP THEIR CHILDREN AT BRISTOL AGGIE AT THAT TIME. All equipment and proper clothing should be brought to the school that morning.

It is the student’s responsibility to maintain eligibility for this trip. They must follow the skier/snowboarder responsibility code developed by Gunstock, and may forfeit their lift pass if they do not.

Forms must be completed and returned to me by January 15th. There are limited amounts of seats, so it will be a first come first serve basis. Permission slips and forms are available from Mr. Surdi, the Main Office and will be emailed to students.

If you have any questions about this activity you may contact via email at gsurdi@bcahs.com

Sincerely,

Gregg Surdi

MSBA Update: We continued our steel work on the north campus this week. As you can see the steel structure is starting to take shape!

The Week After Break-B Week

Monday, December 30- No School

Tuesday, December 31- No School

Wednesday, January 1- No School

Thursday, January 2- Back to school

Friday, January 3

Thursday, December 19, 2019

12/20: Early Dismissal at 11:47
12/20: 5:00 late buses
12/20: Lunch: Quesadilla, Green Beans, Or Grab n Go Options, Fresh Garden Salad,Assorted Fresh & Canned Fruits

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

12/19: 5:00 late buses
12/19: Boys' Basketball @ Norfolk Aggie
12/19: Girls' Basketball vs. Norfolk Aggie
12/19: Lunch: Hot Turkey Sandwich, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes Or Grab n Go Options, Corn, Fresh Garden Salad, Assorted Fresh & Canned Fruits

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

12/18: 5:00 late buses
12/18: Lunch: Pasta Bar w/assorted sauces “Aggie” meat sauce Or Grab n Go Options, Steamed Broccoli, Fresh Garden Salad, Assorted Fresh & Canned Fruits

Monday, December 16, 2019

12/17: 5:00 late buses
12/17: Wrestling @ South Shore,
12/17: Boys' Basketball @ Calvery Chapel (Varsity only)
12/17: Girls' Basketball vs. Sacred Heart
12/17: Lunch: Asian Chicken Chow Mein Noodles Oriental Vegetables Or Grab n Go Options Fresh Garden Salad, Assorted Fresh & Canned Fruits

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Aggie Weekly-December 14th

Good Afternoon Students, Parents, and Community Members:
This week we finished up our Toy Drive. We do not have the total from Friday, but see below as NRM took a commanding lead on Thursday with double points. We look forward to announcing the winner of the the Toy Drive at assembly on Tuesday. We are fortunate to have such a generous and supportive community. All of the funds raised for donations will go toward families in Bristol County.

Next Phase for Seniors: We are proud to share with you our senior’s plans for their next step in their college and career exploration. Based on the knowledge and skills learned during their 4 years at BA, we are excited to publish acceptances into colleges, universities, military plans, and any career pathways each week. Please let Ms. Dias or Ms. Costa know in Student Services, so we can update our list weekly. Thank you for your dedication to excellence and drive to maintain Bristol Aggie Excellence.

Hannah Araujo - Rivier University, Nashua, NH
Gabriella Costa - University of Findlay, Findlay, OH
Isabella Costa - Becker College, Leicester, MA
Trent George - UMaine at Machias, Machias, ME
Skyler Harper - UMaine, Orono, ME

Becker College, Leicester, MA
Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA

Arianna Lachance - Becker College, Leicester, MA
Savanah Moniz - Becker College, Leicester, MA
Abigail Rebello - Stetson University, DeLand, FL
Hannah Smith - UMaine, Orono, ME
Aaliyah Soto - Curry College, Milton, MA

Plymouth State University - Plymouth, NH
Paul Smith’s College, Paul Smiths, NY
University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT

Student Services:

In the Classroom:
NRM: Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) is a national organization that fosters networking and cooperation between all of those working for the herpetological conservation. For twenty years PARC has brought together professionals from government agencies, universities, zoos, aquaria, museums, nature centers, related industries and nonprofit organizations. Several regional and state chapters of PARC foster the organization’s mission of forging productive partnerships through organization of various regional and state chapters across the US and Canada. The second annual MassPARC meeting was held on December 11th, 2019 at the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife in Westborough, MA.

The MassPARC meeting was filled with outstanding presentations about conservation herpetology happening from Nantucket to the Berkshires. I was quite thankful to attend the meeting and was proud to hear Bristol Aggie NRM cited as a partner in the presentation of at least half a dozen presentations. However, I was beaming with pride about my table. The table at which I sat was populated with Bristol Aggie NRM graduates.

The Bristol Aggie NRM table at the 2019 MassPARC meeting including Patty Levassuer of the MA Audubon Society, (front left), Connor Hughs (rear left) and George Bancroft (rear right) both undergraduates at UMASS Amherst and Kourtnie Bouley (front right) of the MA Military Reservation Natural Resources Department.

Such meetings are wonderful events. The herpetology community is extensively interconnected “small world.” It’s quite nice to see mentors, partners and old friends. However, it was amazing to stand back and watch our alumni with the crowd that is now filled with their mentors, partners and friends. Our kids (i.e., alumni) were interacting with their own professional networks and this was a great sign that they are on their way to becoming the young professionals, themselves. The highlight of the day was listening to two of our NRM alumni present their own research to the crowd.

Geroge Bancroft presenting his work for the Taunton River Watershed Alliance on the population survey of the threatened Northern Diamondback Terrapins of the Lower Taunton River.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the MassPARC meeting before the last presentation and have more invaluable, informal chats that lead to future partnerships. However, the loss was tempered by the swell of pride in our NRM graduates that I felt. I am delighted to include them into my professional network.

Patty Levasseur presenting her master’s degree thesis work to develop rapid population assessment methods for surveying coastal wetland for threatened Northern Diamondback Terrapins.

Flori: As an extension of their Holidays around the World multi-disciplinary unit, students in Ms. Pereira's class at Westport JSHS visited Bristol Aggie and worked collaboratively with students in the Floriculture department. The groups of students worked together to make various holiday decor. Thank you so much for your continuous welcome and support! Students did a great job!

CONGRATULATIONS DAIRY BARN: On Wednesday, December 11th at the Agrimark Annual Meeting for Region 2 Bristol County Agricultural High School was awarded a milk quality award for 2019. We have received this award in the past, and it is not easily awarded year after year. We would like to congratulate all of our Animal Science department and student workers on everyone’s hard work and dedication to quality milk and animal care that we are able to continually get this accolade. Thanks for every 5:30, weekend, holiday, and attention to detail every single day that goes into making the highest quality product we can.

We wanted to create an online Student Job posting to help you get started. Please click the link(s) below to view the job posting(s).

Bristol Aggie Education Foundation

The Bristol Aggie Educational Foundation, Inc had released the application in November and the 2019-2020 grant cycle is underway! This grant is for students enrolled in Bristol County Agricultural High School. Funds from this grant can be used for expansion of knowledge related to their chosen field, equipment and/or software. If purchasing equipment, the requested funds should focus on capital items (things that can be used year after year and do not need to be re-purchased or expire/diminish) that will sustain in the future.The maximum grant award will be in the sum of $3,000. The application selection process is highly competitive with many more applicants than available grants, so submit early and do your best work. Grant recipients are announced in mid-January.

The Foundation grant committee evaluates each application, which must be submitted online and show that the project fits in a Plant Science, Animal Science, Natural Resource Management or Agricultural Mechanics pathways or be aligned with a Bristol Aggie club or organization. You can view the judging rubric at the following link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Mx3OuZ6QFeMOSokpvTPaeDUsaG9q7d0R

All applications must be submitted electronically, through Google Docs. The Budget Form and Signature Approval Page must be passed into the Main Office by the close of school on December 20, 2019 (links can be found on the online application).

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. VanRotz at rvanrotz@bcahs.com.

Activities and Athletics:

Girls Basketball: On Tuesday, the girls basketball team held its first scrimmage of the season against Blue Hills. A lot of lessons learned and the girls are working to improve. Keep up the great work ladies! BAPride

Cool to be Kind Club

From the Cafeteria

Friday, students had the option to participate in “Sea to School” day by feasting on fresh Pollock caught off the coast of New Bedford by Fisherman William McCann. The pollock was baked with a crunchy crumb topping and seasoned with lemon zest.

MSBA Update: We continued our steel work on the north campus and continued the water line on north campus. Added additional fill on east side of Student Commons and completed
concrete foundations.