Good Afternoon Students, Parents, and Community Members: Please click here for the Aggie Weekly!
This week we had a short week due to our teacher's having a half day for professional development. We are always refining our craft to ensure that we meet our student needs. Our students continued to work on Fall Show projects which are 3 weeks away. We have been working on creating a map and schedule of all the events, so stay tuned!
Congratulations to this Week’s High Five Club Winner, Kelly Roveredo
Kelly Roveredo pictured above with Dr. DiGioia.
State Releases 2018 Assessment and Accountability Results
(adapted from the MCAS Press Release)
MCAS Results
Next-generation MCAS scores fall into four categories: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations and Not Meeting Expectations.
In 2018, high school students took the legacy MCAS tests. Compared to 2017, the percentage of students statewide who scored Proficient or higher dipped 1 percentage point each in English language arts (91 to 90 percent), math (79 to 78 percent) and science and technology/engineering (74 to 73 percent). The next-generation tests will be introduced at the high school level in English language arts and math in spring 2019, but the minimum passing level will not change until at least the class of 2023. Parents of students who were in grade 10 in spring 2018 should receive their child’s scores from their school district in the coming weeks.
Assessment results will be posted at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/statereport/nextgenmcas.aspx and http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/statereport/mcas.aspx. For more information on the next-generation MCAS, visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/parents/results-faq.html.
Accountability and Assistance Levels
The new accountability system is designed to measure how a school or district is doing and what kind of support it may need, is more comprehensive than the previous system and complies with the 2015 federal Every Student Succeeds Act. Given that this is the first year under a new accountability system, Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley is not designating any new schools as underperforming this year.
“I will continue to do a thoughtful review of the accountability results statewide and monitor how well the new system is providing useful information to districts, schools, parents, and the public about how well a school or district is serving its students and where it might need help,” Commissioner Riley said.
“The new accountability system is a complex measure of how schools and districts are improving, and I am glad that the commissioner and DESE are taking a year to analyze this new system before making any new designations of underperformance,” said Thomas Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.
Under the new accountability system, the Commissioner commended 52 schools of recognition for high achievement, high growth, or significantly exceeding their targets. The schools are from across the Commonwealth and include urban, suburban and rural schools.
“I’m happy to recognize the work of the teachers, students, staff, and families at these schools,” Commissioner Riley said.
Commissioner Riley also announced today that four schools that were designated underperforming under the old accountability system will exit that status. That change will place the three schools in the Partially Meeting Expectations category of the new accountability system. The four schools exiting underperforming status are Chestnut Accelerated Middle School and Milton Bradley Elementary School in Springfield, Elm Park Community School in Worcester and John Winthrop Elementary School in Boston.
With the data being run through a new accountability system, there are no new schools designated underperforming this year. Schools that have not exited underperforming status will be placed in the Focused/Targeted Support category under the new accountability system and will continue to receive targeted assistance from DESE.
The new accountability system designated the vast majority of schools and districts as not requiring assistance or intervention (they fell in the Meeting Targets or Partially Meeting Targets categories), while other schools and districts were designated as in need of Focused/Targeted Support or Broad/Comprehensive Support. The accountability system considers:
· Student achievement,
· Student growth,
· High school completion,
· English proficiency,
· Chronic absenteeism, and
· Advanced coursework.
Accountability data will be included in school and district profiles (http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/) and at http://www.doe.mass.edu/accountability/lists-tools.html.
Here is a breakdown of our last 3 years of MCAS Data.
ELA
|
MATH
|
SCIENCE
| ||||
YEAR
|
Pro/Adv
|
Pts above State
|
Pro/Adv
|
Pts above State
|
Pro/Adv
|
Pts above State
|
2018
|
96%
|
5
|
85%
|
7
|
90%
|
16
|
2017
|
96%
|
5
|
88%
|
9
|
87%
|
13
|
2016
|
96%
|
5
|
78%
|
0
|
86%
|
13
|
We want to remind students and parents that although MCAS is a graduation requirement, it is only one measurement of student achievement. We are proud of our MCAS data as we are continually achieving above the state in all categories. We have many opportunities to validate our student achievement, as we will showcase in a few weeks, with Fall Show. #BAPride
Bristol Aggie Foundation Dinner: Click here for the full article in the Herald News
Bristol Aggie Foundation Dinner: Click here for the full article in the Herald News
DIGHTON — On Sept. 22, the Bristol Aggie Educational Foundation, Inc. hosted its second annual Farm to Table Feast on the grounds of Bristol Aggie surrounded by twinkling lights, music by DeJa Blu Trio and local foods.
The funds raised by the dinner benefit the staff and students, but it was important to the foundation that the agricultural community in Massachusetts — particularly the SouthCoast — were featured. Many of the harvest vegetables, as well as the chicken, was raised just across the field from where the event was held, on the grounds of Bristol Aggie. Aside from the school, the following local businesses donated products to ensure the success of the event: Somerset Creamery, Ocean Spray, River Rock Farm, Portugalia Marketplace, Naukabout Beer Company, Kyler’s Catch Seafood Market, Eastern Fisheries, Inc., Cabot, and Black Hat Brew Works. Food was prepared by Janice Dey of The Westporter.
The tables, adorned with product harvested on campus and designed by the school’s Floriculture Department, accompanied candles to give a warm and welcoming feeling to the crisp fall evening. This year’s event exceeded the expectation of the foundation’s board. John Mitchell, president of the foundation, thanked all of the attendees for their support and shared examples of how their support impacts the school and the students.
Bristol Aggie Superintendent Adele Sands said that it was “inspiring to see the support of the local community. Bristol Aggie is such a special place and it nice to see that so many people value the school and the education that we provide here.”
The Bristol Aggie Educational Foundation was established in 2016 to support the students, faculty and administration of Bristol County Agricultural High School by raising funds through private sources to build on tradition, instill pride in the Aggie and cultivate excellence for the students. Last year, both students and student organizations earned scholarships to either expand their knowledge or purchase equipment to help in the establishment of businesses.
The following businesses helped support of the Farm to Table Fest: BOND, BayCoast, Walsh Pharmacy, HMFH Architects, John R. Mitchell Law Office, Colliers International, Cranberry Growers Service, Bayside Agricultural, Bristol County Savings Bank, Bank5, Gilbane, Joseph R. Crespi, and Merrill Lynch.
Activities and Athletics:
Bristol Aggie Athletic Booster Club: HELP SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL SPORTS!!
Please join our Athletic Booster Club Booth and Support the Sports Programs and sell our Delicious STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES and RAFFLE BASKETS at our biggest fundraiser event during the 2018 Fall Show on October 19-21, 2018 11am-5pm. Please Sign up to help work the booth, parents and students welcome or donate a Raffle Basket! We're using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming SignUps. http://signup.com/go/QebfGWb
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/QebfGWb
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.
Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact President of the Bristol Aggie Athletic Booster Club Kimberly Lacaillade to sign you up manually at klaca@comcast.net.
Bristol Aggie’s Cool To be Kind Club!!!
Bristol Aggie held the first Cool To be Kind Club meeting on September 26th. Thank you to all the students who joined and helped brainstorm activities and events for the year! Next Cool to be Kind Meeting will be held on October 10th in Room 215 with Mrs. Ciolfi and Dr. DiGioia
Bristol Aggie’s Extends Program!
Extends will begin on October 1st and will be Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30-4pm.
All students are welcomed to attend.
Purpose of Extends:
- Academic Assistance and Support
- Pre-teaching and Re-teaching
- Individualized/Small group instruction
- Support with Organization
- Support with Studying/Developing Study Skills
- Structured Homework setting
- Technology available for research, word processing, and online projects
- Finish assessments/classwork as determined by individual teachers in a monitored setting
- Vocational make-up hours can be monitored with the completion of vocational packets
- Peer tutoring for volunteer hours/resume building activities may be supervised
- Instructors will communicate with classroom teachers as needed
- Instructors will communicate with home/family as needed
- MCAS Preparation
Transportation:
Transportation access will be available through the athletic/after school buses that run during the
duration of the program. Listen to announcements for information on bussing.
Cross County/Girls Soccer: On Tuesday, Cross Country and Girls Soccer got together to train in the gym since the meet and the game was cancelled due to rain. #BAWork #BAPride
Volleyball: Girls Volleyball had a nail biter game at South Shore Voc Tech on Tuesday! Bristol Aggie fought hard and was able to take away wins in the second and fourth set, falling behind in the fifth set to SSVT. Captain Emma Duarte had 4 pivotal blocks and 3 kills in the second set to change the pace of the game, and major serving relief was seen from Junior outside hitter Kasey Culhane’s 4 consecutive aces. We will be hosting SSVT 10/12, come check out a great match!
International Coastal Cleanup!
Last Saturday, as part of International Coastal Cleanup, we collected over 40lbs of trash- including several shoes, diapers, shotgun shells and lots of plastic and fishing gear. Travis Nevins, Kai Milroy, Shelly Buckley, Grey Buckley, Elliott Civitarese, Camden DeMedeiros, and Nicole Simas helped make Horseneck Beach a better place for humans and marine life alike!
In the Classroom: Today in Mr. Flynn’s Large Animal Science, students celebrate “Dairy Day.” Students brought in different types of food to demonstrate how dairy is essential to our everyday meals.
Bus Evacuations: On Thursday, students conducted school bus evacuation drills. These are mandatory drills to ensure students can evacuate in the case of an emergency. #BASafety!
