Woodbridge School District Principal's Message
Dear BRS Community, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
- John F. Kennedy A few weeks ago we celebrated Bus Driver Appreciation week. The parent community and the PTO put together gift bags for all of the drivers. Our students also created cards for the drivers. Finally, we also completed our bus evacuation drill and invited all of the drivers in for a breakfast. This year breakfast items were donated by a few local businesses. Starbucks donated coffee (and even wrote kind messages!) and Blue Check Deli donated bagels and cream cheese. Many thanks to these two businesses who are supporting our school! We are so very grateful to our drivers for keeping our students safe every day!
Attendance policy Per BOE Policy 5113 student absences 1-9 count as excused if the parent or guardian approves the absence and provides appropriate documentation. Documentation includes calling the student attendance line (203-389-2195 option 1). Students who have four unexcused absences in one month or ten in one academic year are considered truant. A chronically absent student is defined as "An enrolled student whose total number of absences at any time during a school year is equal to or greater than ten percent of the total number of days that such student has been enrolled at such school during such school year." Given this information, it is very important that we are notified of any absences and the reasons. Please notify the front office if your child is going to be absent.
Veterans Day Every year, we honor our veterans on November 11th in a very special way! If you have a veteran in your family, and you have not yet added their name to our Wall of Honor, please complete the attached sheet and return it to Ellen Tolliver (etolliver@woodbridgeps.org) Our students are also creating cards and members of Student Council will be delivering them to local vets. Red, white and blue attire is welcome for this day! Click HERE to view the flyer!
Outdoor Time As colder weather starts arriving, I'd like to remind you that our students go outside every day for their outdoor time. Conditions that keep us indoors include snow or rain and frigid temperatures. As such, it is important that your child is dressed appropriately for an extended period of outdoor time. Please be sure your child has appropriate clothing and accessories to be outside.
Month of Gratitude The Jesse Lewis Choose Love organization launched it's annual 30 days of Gratitude for the month of November! Each day, a gratitude challenge will be shared and you are encouraged to participate by yourself, with a friend or with your family! More information, and a calendar of the month, can be found here.
News from the Nurse The Nurses office is looking for clothes donations! If you have any clean, gently used clothing items in all sizes we will gladly accept them! Please send them to school with your child! We are also accepting donations of brand new undergarments, primarily in sizes for our younger students. Thank you so much for your assistance with this need within our school!
News from Recreation Registration for the Winter Woodbridge Recreation Department after school programs will begin on Monday, November 8th. Register online at woodbridgect.org or stop by the Rec. Dept. office, in the Beecher South School.
PTO News Due to the bad weather on 10/30 and inability to use the rain date of 10/31, The Drive-Thru Halloween Hoot was cancelled. All of the goody bags were distributed to the community during the Firehouse Truck or Treat event. We are quite saddened by the course of the weather but we will be back next year stronger than before. While the Drive thru did not happen, rain could not stop the Online Silent Auction, which was a roaring success. Thank you to all the participants, sponsors, donors and volunteers who showed school spirit and good will. Halloween Hoot committee welcomes any suggestions or feedback from the community. Please contact us at hootcoordinator@gmail.com.
In order to thank & celebrate the community, we ran a Beecherwear Sale Week (10/31-11/5) offering 20% off on all Beecherwear. Local pick up for parents will be available in 2 weeks. Teacher Orders will be delivered to the school.
Thanksgiving BRS PTO Food Drive: This Thanksgiving BRS PTO will continue its tradition of supporting BRS families in need of assistance to meet their basic needs. Last year we raised nearly $2000 to buy Stop 'n Shop gift cards for BRS families, and in prior years food was directly donated and shared with families. Food insecurity has been on the rise through the COVID-19 pandemic, and it knows no geographic boundaries, so please consider donating money to support our neighbors, classmates, and friends in this way. BRS PTO appreciates all of your generous contributions to this and to all our endeavors through the school year. Families who would like to inquire about qualifying for assistance may contact the BRS front office to do so.
Donations can be made via the BRS PTO PayPal link below through Tuesday, November 23rd. 100% of these funds will be used to purchase grocery gift cards to help reduce food insecurity in our community. https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=KZNPMW6K9FXWU
School Pictures will go out by Monday, November 8th and Picture Retake Day will be November 15th.
Spotlight on: Physical Education and Health Department (affectionately known as the AAA team: Andrew Lavaway, Anthony Taddei and Arianne Buzzard)
Quicklinks
Parent Information
Dates to Remember: 11/7 - Daylight Savings time ends 11/11 - Veterans Day 11/15 - Board of Education Meeting 11/19 - Spirit Day! 11/24 - No School: Teacher Workshop Day 11/25 - No School: Building Closed 11/26 - No School: Building Closed
My name is Andrew Lavaway, and this is my 6th teaching year here at Beecher Road School. Previously I taught Physical Education and Health for grades Prek-8 at Side by Side Charter School in Norwalk for 8 1/2 years. I obtained my undergraduate degree from Central Connecticut State University in Physical Education and Health in 2007. I then completed my Masters degree also in Physical Education and Health through Emporia State University in 2011, and earned my 6th year degree in Educational Leadership and Administration, through the University of Bridgeport in 2016. Currently I live in Prospect, CT with my wife Rebecca, 3 children (Tyler (9), Jack (8), Benjamin (6), and our dog Lola. My hobbies include all types of different sports and physical activities with my family (currently we just wrapped up soccer and baseball for the season) but my favorites are by far playing basketball and golf. I also continue to teach myself acoustic guitar in my spare time. My goal is to make sure that every student in my class feels safe, included, and learns the value of daily physical activity.
In 1989 I graduated with a Physical Education Degree from Eastern Connecticut State University. In 1990 I was hired at Beecher Road School and have been blessed to be teaching here ever since (32 years). In 1995 I met by wife Susan at Beecher Road School where she was teaching in the MAG program, and we were married in 1997. We live in Bethany and have three wonderful children, Anthony Andrews Taddei (22 years young), Amelia Mary Taddei (20 years young), and Matthew Richard Taddei (16 years young) and dog Charlie. In 2000 I completed my Master's Degree in Exercise from Southern Connecticut State University. In 2011 I was presented with the Woodbridge Teacher of the Year Award. My greatest personal accomplishment is my family. My greatest two professional accomplishments are, one, assisting and helping build our Kucinskas loop honoring my friend and colleague Kevin Kucinskas, two, starting our Adapted Swimming program here at Beecher in 2012. In addition to working at Beecher Road School I currently known as the "Smiling Director' of the Woodbridge Club in Town.
Ms. Buzzard has been at BRS since 2000. She has taught grades 2, 3 and 6 and is currently the health teacher for grades K-6. Ms. Buzzard holds a degree in Psychology and Public Health, a Masters Of Education in Elementary Education K-6 and a Sixth Year in Health Education K-12. Arianne Buzzard lives on the shoreline where she loves to spend time with her two daughters and husband. Her greatest personal accomplishment is her family. She enjoys reading, running and biking. AAA team works closely together to deliver a collaborative health and physical education program.
Our Mission Beecher Road School is a caring, creative community that models and inspires the joy of life-long learning, embraces diversity, and celebrates the unique qualities of each person. Woodbridge School District, Beecher Road School
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