Bristol County Agricultural High School: Aggie Weekly-June 5th

Aggie Weekly

Good Afternoon Students, Parents, and Community Members: Please click here for the Aggie Weekly

This week our students continued their distance learning. Next week is the last week for new assignments and the last week of school will be used for make up work. If you have any questions about which assignments are owed, please check PowerSchool first, then contact your teacher. Good luck and continue to work hard for the next two weeks!

Bristol Aggie Student Services

Resources for Tolerance, Inclusion & Racism

We have compiled a list of resources for families and students who need a place when starting and/or processing conversations about race, racial injustice, inclusion and tolerance. We hope you find them helpful and enjoy reading through them.

For Parents:

For Students:

For Everyone:

Last Week of School: There will be NO new assignments after Thursday June 11th. The reminder of the time will be allowed for make-up work, which will be due to your teacher no later than Wednesday, June 17th at 3:00. Final grades will be posted on Friday, June 19th. Let us know if you have any questions.

Class of 2020 Tribute Video: Students, staff, administration, parents, and members of our community recorded brief messages for the Class of 2020. #BAPride

Bristol Aggie's "Country Roads": Staff members (Mr. Carr, Mrs. Coderre, Ms. Cronin, Mrs. Noel, and Mr. Rose) came together virtually to create a remix of “Country Roads” with some added Bristol Aggie flair.

2020 Bristol Aggie Prom and Graduation Update:

Dear Class of 2021 and Class of 2020,

Thank you for your continued patience as we tried to delay the announcement of 2020 Prom. Last week, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) issued guidance for schools planning to host graduation ceremonies this summer. No specific guidance has been issued for proms and I do not anticipate we will receive additional information as most proms have been canceled across the Commonwealth. In our effort to have as many of the events for our students as possible but do so safely, we have tried to balance the need to be patient, delaying any decision, with trying to respect the need for families to plan their summer and finances as prom is an expensive event. Ticket sales for the prom were supposed to begin next week, June 8th.

In my effort to try to apply the restrictions that have been established for graduation ceremonies by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Governor Baker’s four-phase re-opening plan to the 2020 Bristol Aggie Prom, I have come to the following conclusions:

A prom would have to be held outside in an unconfined outdoor space that can accommodate social distancing and the flow of air. Tents or other enclosed spaces are not permitted. This would mean the prom could not be held at the Taunton Holiday Inn.
Even if the prom was held outdoors in a venue that would accommodate social distances and the flow of air (for instance on site at Bristol Aggie), prom attendees would need to remain six feet apart and wear a face covering. This restriction would create difficulty for students to have an enjoyable evening as it significantly limits the student’s ability to eat safely, socialize freely, and dance together. Furthermore, monitoring the guidelines would not be feasible.
A prom is an expensive event for students and families, especially, if students were not able to enjoy the evening with these restrictions. These restrictions are intended for all graduations throughout the summer, so it is safe to assume these restrictions will be intended for any other events held throughout the summer.
Even under phase 4 (final phase) of Governor Baker’s reopening plan, we need to be socially distant six feet apart and wear face coverings.

I realize the Bristol Aggie Prom is an event our students (and families) look forward to. I very much wanted our students to enjoy this event on July 17th, however, I am canceling the Prom that had been scheduled this summer. Unfortunately, there is no way to safely monitor a prom with students wearing face coverings and remaining six feet apart. Please know that we wanted nothing more than to see everyone enjoy this special evening this summer.

While the Bristol Aggie Prom is canceled for this summer, we are excited to announce that the Board of Trustees and the local Board of Health has approved an outdoor graduation ceremony on Sunday July 19th. We are still working on the details of the event, but wanted to inform you of the date change (from Saturday, July 18th) due to the guidance provided by Governor Baker and the Commissioner of Education. More information will be provided in the next week or two. I appreciate everyone’s understanding and please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely, Kevin P. Braga, Assistant Superintendent/Principal

Rochester Council on Aging Board of Directors: The Board of Directors provided a message to the Class of 2020. Click here to view the message.

Animal Science Alumni Update: 2018 Animal Science Graduate Noah Carello

I am a 2018 BCAHS graduate from Large Animal Science. Following graduation, I attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where I majored in Animal Science, with a concentration in Animal Management. In March of 2019, I received an offer to study veterinary medicine at the University of Bristol in England.

The University of Bristol School of Veterinary Sciences is one of eight veterinary schools currently established in the UK, and is ranked 15th internationally. The course is a 5 year bachelor’s degree that, when completed, will grant me the ability to practice veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australasia.

In September of 2019, I moved to the city of Bristol, which is on the southwestern coast of England. My first year curriculum consisted of anatomy, physiology, histology (anatomy under the microscope) and biochemistry. In addition to health sciences, topics also included Professional Studies and Animal Management. Four days a week teaching is at the main university campus in the city, while one day a week pre-clinical students venture 45 minutes into the countryside to the Langford campus. At Langford, we complete all of our animal handling practicals and most lectures relating to management. The course is great fun with about half of teaching being hands on, lab style classes which really encourages students to get involved and to learn by doing. Over our Easter break, I spent two weeks lambing in Exmoor national park, in North Devon. Here, I helped care for and deliver over 400 lambs while gaining great experience on a large scale sheep production farm. This week, I am sitting my last two exams for first year, after which will progress me onto my second year of veterinary school.

MSBA Update: The construction project is in full swing. We have brick on CSE and the walls are going up fast in the Student Commons. #BAPride #BAFuture