Our students and school community were honored to participate in this year's Memorial Day Parade this past Tuesday, and it was a powerful learning experience for all.  I had a chance to connect with BTMES, BCEMS, and SHS marching bands to hear their thoughts on participating in the ceremony, and we also go to catch up with the SHS J.R.O.T.C. program.

Command Sgt. Major Arianna Little (Junior, SHS) said it best:  "It's so important to honor those that have served our country and to show our patriotism."  Indeed it is, and all of our students respectfully honored our veterans on this perfect day for a parade!  Many thanks to our Band Directors Bobby Booth (SHS), Ally Tarwater (BTMES), and Angela Garcelon (BCEMS) for providing this opportunity for our students to shine on such an important day.  And of course, thank you to SHS J.R.O.T.C. Instructors Sgt. Danny Boone and Lt. Colonel Paul Stafford for leading our efforts in having our students be such an integral part of these events that honor our veterans.  It was a day to be truly proud of our school community!

This week's school showcase highlights a recent Math Night at BCEMS that brought the Barre Town and Barre City elementary communities together last Thursday night. BUUSD Math Coordinator Jen Bisson and Director of Curriculum Karen Fredericks put together a fun night for students and families, and this is just one example of how wonderful it has been to get the community back in our schools this year! Here is Karen's take on the night:

"We had an excellent turn out for our first post COVID Barre Math Night (with a count of 175 attendees). Jen Bisson, Barre UUSD PrK-8 Math Coordinator, organized the event in partnership with All Learners Network. It was such a pleasure to see equal representation of both Barre City and Barre Town families and teachers! Thank you for supporting our students, and the learning that is happening in the classroom."

On behalf of all of us in the Barre Unified Union School District, a sincere thank you to the Barre community for supporting our school budget!  As you can see here, the fact that the passing of our budget occurred in the middle of Teacher Appreciation Week was a big deal to us!

SHS teachers Margo Austin and Pam Smith shared just two of many examples of the community stepping up to support our schools this year!  We've been saying all along that we don't take your support for granted and that your voice matters. You can count on that continuing!

Finally, many thanks to the BUUSD School Board for joining us and providing delicious breakfasts to the faculty and staff at all of our schools this week.  The support has been truly appreciated!

Happy Spring!  The month of April has been a remarkable one for the performing arts in the BUUSD.  Among many highlights, last Friday saw the first drama production at BCEMS in 15 years!  For those who got to see the kids' production of "Barre Poppins'' last Friday night in a packed house, it was a treat indeed!  First year BCEMS 5th grade ELA teacher Adam Jacobs saw an opportunity to get a drama club together this year, and he took it!

For the second Showcase in a row, we are happy to welcome back an SHS alum into our schools!  Last week, 2010 SHS grad and BCEMS dad Steve Rich visited BCEMS Art Teacher Kate Hawley's 1st grade class.  Steve was interested in sharing his experiences as an artist in the granite trades with these young learners, and it was a great visit!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  BTMES and BCEMS had a special visit today from Aldrich Library Children's Librarian Ian Gauthier, who doubles among many other talents as a gifted player of the bagpipes!  Ian put on a spirited performance for students at both schools this morning, and it was a treat for all.

We had a great visit with the SHS Interact Club yesterday, and I can promise that you will be impressed with the leadership skills of these Tide students!  Club Advisor and SHS Flexible Pathways Coordinator Margo Austin joined us with four of her club officers to talk about a "Tree Plenish" project they are conducting for the second year in a row.

For this week's School Showcase, we honor and celebrate our SHS Winter Sports teams.  What a fun and incredibly successful season this has been!  I will let you watch and listen to the team captains in the showcase below to hear all of the highlights instead of sharing them here, but many of our teams and athletes are among the top in the state.

Earlier this morning, we went to BTMES to prepare a school showcase updating the community on this weekend's water line break.  Though we're still going to share that with you, we also had an unplanned visit in Charlotte Baribault's 3rd-grade class and we wanted to share that with you too!

Last night we attended the Varsity Boys Basketball game against Hazen and spoke with four students to hear their thoughts on the past two weeks and how proud they are of their community for stepping up and showing their support.

As many of you know, young students in the BUUSD are very fortunate to have the opportunity to build positive relationships with our local police officers.  This week, new Barre City Chief of Police Braedon Vail joined BCEMS Special Educator Allison Courtemanche for a Q & A with a group of 7th and 8th graders on the PEAK team.  It was an informative and enlightening experience for all! 

For this week's showcase, you are in for a real treat!  I got to spend this morning with BTMES Physical Education teacher Laura Thygesen's 2nd graders, and you will be mighty impressed with what you see here.  Mrs. Thygesen has put together an impressive gymnastics unit that really encourages these students of varying skills and abilities to challenge themselves and move their bodies in healthy ways!  Every student was engaged, highly physically active, and having fun!  This was their first class of the day - what a terrific start to a full day of learning. 

Happy New Year!  Our first School Showcase of 2023 brings us to Barre City Elementary and Middle School and 5th Grade teacher Jody Leone's WIN group.  Ms. Leone's 5th graders participated in a BUILD Design Challenge in December, and their work resulted in a $500 award for their classroom! 

I got to visit SHS Art Teacher Brendan Eaton's Digital Photography class yesterday, and we were able to hear all about some of the studio portraits his students have been working on in recent weeks. These juniors and seniors are combining use of the latest digital technology along with their own artistic skills to create some truly beautiful pieces. Mr. Eaton has allowed for a very collaborative and creative artistic community in his classroom with these students, and I was grateful to be able to share in their work.

For those who don't know, last week was "Computer Science Education Week", and all of our schools are participating in the nationwide Hour of Code event this month!  We got to spend time with all three of our district's Technology Integrationists the last three days as they collaborated with their colleagues to bring basic coding skills into the classroom.  First, BTMES's Jess Van Orman joined band teacher Ally Tarwater and her 6th graders coding "Edison" robots to play their musical pieces.  We then joined SHS's Angelique Fairbrother at the SEA program to hear how she is teaching their students to use Minecraft with their history lessons.  Finally, we joined BCEMS's Mike Martin in the 4th grade classes of Roberta Melnick and Charlotte Murphy to learn how to move Angry Birds through a maze.