THE BECKWITH CHRONICLE - D.L. BECKWITH MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS

December 2019

Dates to Remember

1/14    School Committee Meeting at 6:30pm at DRRHS library
1/15   Early Release at 11:30 a.m.
1/20   No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1/ 22   PTSA Meeting at PRES 6:30
1/28   School Committee Meeting at 6:30pm at DRRHS library
Feb. 17-21  No School - Winter Recess

Students of the Month
The following students were presented with Student of the Month Certificates for the month of November: 

Gr. 8 – Lorelei Kellum/William Kendall
Gr. 7 – Isabel Bonin/Jack Swan
Gr. 6 – Peyton Auger/Mackinley Garcia
Gr. 5 – Arianna Daggett/Mason Pacheco
Related Arts – Rachel Albernaz/Luca Seccareccia

 Winter Concerts
Beckwith Middle School’s Winter Band Concert was held on December 12th. Under the direction of Mr. Francese, band students performed a variety of selections of different styles of winter-themed music. Some pieces from the concert included "Down By The Station" for 5th Grade Band, a compilation of 13 traditional American songs called "Name Those Tunes" for 6th Grade Band, and an arrangement of two Celtic folk songs titled "Celtic Air and Dance No. 3" for 7th and 8th Grade Combined Band. Congratulations to all band students on a wonderful performance!

The annual Beckwith Middle School Winter Chorus Concert was held on December 16th.  Choral students, under the direction of Ms. Lynnette Lopez and accompanied by Ms. Melissa Grossi, performed an exciting program of holiday music.  Memorable selections throughout the night included “My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music, “Dominick the Donkey”, “Believe” from the 2004 film The Polar Express, and "Let It Go" from the popular Disney movie, Frozen.  Congratulations to all choral students on a fantastic performance!  

Beckwith Robotics Teams Qualify
On Sunday, December 15th, Beckwith’s two robotics teams traveled to The Gordon School in East Providence, Rhode Island, for their qualifying tournament. Both teams, unaware of their standing from the morning judging, entered the afternoon robot game competition with high hopes.

The City Croissants, a team of six 6th graders and one 7th grader who are all rookies with FIRST LEGO League, scored 215 points in each of their last two rounds to place fourth and earn a spot at States.   Chase and Connor did an excellent job at the board running the team’s programs. The City Croissants are: Jaelyn Johnson, Anders Nicholson, Kylee Berwick, Riley Clement, Alex Verma, Connor Bessette and Chase Cooper.

Meanwhile the City Sluggos, a team of five veterans and two rookies from 7th and 8th grade, struggled with their robot performance due to mechanical issues. Their second round score of 50 points was the lowest of the tournament and with just 20 minutes between their 2nd and 3rd rounds they had a decision to make; they chose not to throw in the towel and to fight on. Malakai and Jack quickly and efficiently swapped out their motors, some wires and their battery pack. With band teacher, and keeper of the Mascot ‘Cityslugbungus’, Mr. Francese rooting them on, they rebounded and scored 155 points which was enough for the team to qualify for the State tournament. The City Sluggos are: Evan Watts, Malakai Risotti, Jonah ‘Johah’ Hebda, Landon Paquette, Aidan Benjamin, Cyrus Duczkowski, and Jack Swan.

Both teams will look at the judging rubrics and spend the next few weeks trying to improve in all four aspects of the FLL  Competition Robot Design, Innovative Project, Core Values and the Robot Game. The RI State Championship will take place on Saturday January 11th at Roger Williams University. We applaud their achievements so far and wish them continuing success at States.

Beckwith Library Awarded Hour of Code Mini-Grant
We live in a world surrounded by technology, and we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works. That’s why every Beckwith Middle School student was invited to join in on the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (December 9-15). More than 100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code. "The Hour of Code is designed to demystify code and show that computer science is not rocket science—anybody can learn the basics," said Hadi Partovi, founder and CEO of Code.org. "Over 100 million students worldwide have tried an Hour of Code. The demand for relevant 21st-century computer science education crosses all borders and knows no boundaries."

Because Beckwith Middle School’s library is hosting multiple Hour of Code events throughout the month of December it has been awarded a $300 mini-grant from the Public Policy and Advocacy Office of the American Library Association with sponsorship from Google. These funds will be used to sustain the excitement students have for coding.

App Update (from smartsocial.com)

What is the Signal app?

• The Signal app is a free, secure messaging app (previously called TextSecure). Chats are protected from spying eyes
• It’s available in the iOS App Store, Google Play, and on Chrome
• Users can text, have group chats, and make free voice calls and video calls (nationally and internationally)
• The app promises end-to-end encryption for all communication so only the sender and recipient can access messages
• The app’s developer is a 501c3 nonprofit and there are no in-app purchases available
• The company says it doesn’t collect metadata on its users (this includes a user’s identity and location)
• The app asks for permission to access the user’s contacts
• Users can set the Signal app to make all messages automatically disappear
• Signal app users can take screenshots of messages they receive before they disappear, just like on Snapchat

Why should parents care?

• The Signal app is widely recognized as one of the safest private messaging apps
• Using any private messaging app could lead to negative behavior because students might feel they can hide their actions from their parents
• Some teens might post riskier content on the Signal app than they would post on other social networks. This is because messages disappear and aren’t meant to be permanent
• Sometimes kids use apps like this to hide activity from their parents’ phone bill
• Parents need to know that trusted sources are urging teens to use this app. This could make them feel like it’s safe and they should be using it

What can parents do?

• Parents can chat with their kids about the Signal app to decide if it’s a good fit for their family
• Teach teens that they should never send messages that a parent wouldn’t approve of
• It’s okay for students to have fun and message their friends. But they should be using the classic SMS feature built into their phones. They don’t need an encrypted app used by government officials and security agencies
• Remind your students that messages and photos aren’t really totally private (since anyone can take screenshots)
• Ensure your teen knows what’s appropriate to send in a message and who they can message

Principal’s Message
Dear Families,

Get your kids outside.  According to Harvard Medical School, spending time outside benefits both our physical and mental health.  It can be challenging in the winter to go outside because of the low temperatures and limited day light.  However, with proper planning and appropriate apparel, getting outside is just a threshold away.  Encourage kids to go out and play, explore, and enjoy the fresh air by setting limits on screen time, planning outdoor activities as a family, and giving kids permission to be out until the street lights come on.

As a kid, my best winter memories were sledding with my friends, building snow forts, and watching ice form on the stream in the nearby woods.  I also remember going out for walks at night and thinking that the cold makes for brilliant stargazing. 

Being outdoors generally gets us moving and exercising and it also makes us happier, two things we all could use more of.  So this vacation, send the kids out! 

Joe Pirraglia