Community Members wanted for Task Force

Bedford School District seeks two community members to serve on the newly formed Technology Responsible Use and Student Privacy Task Force.  The task force will present a report that identifies and addresses the issues and challenges with the use of social media and other online educational services by students and staff and the impact it has on student privacy. The report will be completed by May 2016 when it will be presented to the School Board.  The commitment will include monthly late afternoon meetings between January and May of 2016.  

Letters of interest will be accepted until Wednesday January 13, 2016 and should be directed to:

Chip McGee

Superintendent of Schools

Bedford School District

103 County Road

Bedford, NH  03110

Senior Projects 2015 on BCTV

Senior Projects are in depth research projects on a topic of the students' choice.  They culminate with a presentation.  All students are required to complete a Senior Project to graduate from Bedford High School.  Thanks to BCTV, five of them are being broadcast this week on BCTV Channel 23.  Here is the link if you want to stream them on your computer.  Five Bedford High School Senior Project Presentations 2015

Testing the School Messenger Alert System

With winter weather surely headed our way, I think it is time to test our School Messenger Alert System.

​If severe weather causes me to delay or cancel school, I will contact parents with a phone message and text message. I have sent ​those messages on Sunday, November 22​ to test the system. Parents, please make sure that you received those message​s.

If you did not get the phone message or the phone message went to the wrong number, you can fix this in two ways.

1. Log onto PowerSchool, click on Demographic Change, and type in the preferred number as your "Primary School Messenger Alert Phone.​"​
2. Call or visit the main office at your child's school and provide them with your preferred number.

​P​lease note that ​you will need to make this change for each child in your family.​ I will be calling just the ​Primary​ School Messenger Alert Phone for weather delays​ and cancellations​. Only in an urgent emergency would I send messages to all of the phone​ numbers we have on record for parents.  The call will come from this number - (855) 344-6323.​ You may want to ​store this number ​in your caller ID to remember that it is really from the Bedford School District's Alert System.

If you did not get a text message and you would like to get one,​ log onto PowerSchool, click on Demographic Change, and ​make sure the correct cell phone number is included. Once that is complete, text "yes" to 68453.

​Finally, I want to review the process I will follow to make the decision regarding delaying or cancelling school due to weather.

• I consider variables including the state of the roads and school campuses, the number of power outages, and the upcoming weather predictions. 
• I ​consult with with the Bedford Police, the Bedford Department of Public Works, our bus company, and our maintenance director. I also talk with a weather service and superintendents in other districts. 
• I try to balance the needs of families to know sooner rather than later with the need to get accurate weather forecasting information, which changes frequently. I plan on deciding in the morning to post the decision by 5:30 and make the phone call to parents by 6:00 AM. I know families really appreciate knowing the night before so I try to do that, if possible. 

​Here is looking to a lot of Saturday afternoon ​snowstorms this winter!

Sincerely,
Chip McGee, Superintendent of Schools

Smarter Balanced Assessment Results

Click here to view information regarding the Bedford School District 2014-2015 Smarter Balanced Assessment Results.

Thank you for the Bedford Community Summit on Substance Abuse on November 10!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Bedford Community Summit on Substance Abuse last night.  I am proud to be a part of a community that is willing to face this challenge head on.

I was profoundly moved by the parents who spoke last night about their own children's battles with substance abuse.  I came away convinced that we must overcome the shame and guilt associated with substance abuse.  We need to talk about it.  Substance abuse a serious and very real issue among our children.  In our community.  And in our schools.

As a modest next step, I ask that those who see this post (and are willing and ready to take the risk), share it with others on social media.  Talk about it with your friends.  Talk about these issues with your children.

If you need help getting the conversation going, the Partnership for a Drug Free New Hampshire is a great starting point.

This is a good start!

Sincerely,

Chip McGee
Superintendent of Schools

Bedford Substance Abuse Summit

Parents and Staff,

In response to the threat posed to our community by the substance abuse epidemic, the Bedford Police Department in conjunction with the Bedford School District will host a community-wide meeting on Tuesday, November 10th, from 7P to 10P at the Manchester Christian Church, 56 Old Bedford Road, Bedford (across from Memorial School).  We want to thank Manchester Christian Church for graciously donating the use of their facility for this important endeavor.

The goal is to involve individuals and groups from throughout our community.  The focus is to first de-stigmatize this issue to encourage parent(s), student(s), loved one(s), friends and family to seek assistance for not only those suffering from substance abuse but also for guidance in education and treatment (agenda).  To accomplish this, we plan to have some gallant members of the community discuss their struggle with abuse in their families followed by a panel discussion and, most importantly, community engagement that we hope will lead to an action plan.

Anyone seeking more information about the meeting may contact the Police Department or the Superintendent's Office in person, by telephone or email.  On behalf of the Bedford Police Department and the Bedford School District, we want to thank you all for your assistance and whatever level of participation you are able to offer.

John J. Bryfonski
Chief of Police
55 Constitution Drive
Bedford, NH  03110
Office:  603-792-1330

Chip McGee
Superintendent of Schools
103 County Road
Bedford, NH  03110
Office:  603-472-3755
Email:  mcgeec@sau25.net

Traffic at BHS/RAL

Principals Ed Joyce and Bill Hagen, along with Superintendent Chip McGee continue to hear concerns raised by parents about traffic at the Middle School High School.  It is a busy place with many pedestrians and cars, especially at the beginning and end of the day.  We ask that everyone who drives be extremely cautious and follow these rules:

1.) Follow the new traffic pattern.
2.) Yield to pedestrians.
3.) Take turns at the main intersections.

In addition, we are working on ways to ease congestion. We have already taken these actions:

-Had coaches remind players to follow the specified safe paths to their sports fields after school.
-Reminded all students to use the crosswalks and sidewalks when available.
-Reviewed these expectations with the teachers who monitor students at the end of the day.

Later this fall, we will post additional signs to assist traffic flow during the busiest times of day.

  In the longer term, we are taking these additional actions:

-Exploring traffic flow options suggested by parents and community members.
-Working with the Town of Bedford Highway Safety Committee to research the challenges faced at the intersection of Nashua and County Road and possible solutions.

If you have questions or concerns, feel free contact any of us.  Ed Joyce joycee@sau25.net, Bill Hagen hagenb@say25.net, and Chip McGee mcgeec@sau25.net

Community Driven Roundtable on Substance Abuse Prevention

Presentation on Drug and Alcohol Abuse

The Superintendent and Chief of Police have developed this presentation on drug and alcohol abuse.  In it, they ask that parents consider beginning the conversation with their children about these difficult issues.  As a guide to help this conversation, they suggest this handout for parents from Partnership for a Drug Free America.

Classroom Recording- Categories of Use

The School Board invites feedback on the District's use of recordings in classrooms.  You can review this memo that explains the uses of recordings in classrooms and provides examples.  The board will make a decision regarding these uses at the Sept 21, 2015 School Board Meeting (at Riddle Brook School).  If you have feedback for the Board, they can be reached at bedfordschoolboard@sau25.net. I can be reached atmcgeec@sau25.net -- Chip McGee

                 Categories of Use of Recording in Classrooms

Bus Routes Have Been Posted for the 2015/2016 School Year

Bus Routes for the 2015/2016 School Year are now available on the Bedford School District Website by clicking on the Departments Tab and then the Transportation Tab.

New Traffic Pattern BHS/RAL Complex

Dear Parents and Staff,

I hope you are enjoying the last glorious weeks of summer.  Before your first trip "up the hill," I want to remind you that we are changing the traffic pattern around Bedford High School and Lurgio Middle School (map). There are several key changes:

• As you come up the main driveway, all traffic must go ONE WAY and CLOCKWISE around the schools starting at the small loop driveway.  This should ease congestion.  We opted for the clockwise direction so the passenger doors of our busses would be facing to curb when picking up students. Also, all the parking lots are now one way.
• Parent Pick Up/Drop Off for the high school and middle school is now located in front of Lurgio. This should improve the speed at which parents can get in and out.
• Late arrivals for the middle school and high school should come through the small loop driveway.  Parents and community members can still use this loop for pick up and drop off when it does not coincide with the beginning or end of the school day.
• The Bus Pick Up and Drop Off locations have not changed.

Also, pedestrians have additional crosswalks throughout the campus.  The purpose is to improve safety for all students, staff, parents, and visitors.  Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.

Sincerely,

Chip McGee

PS If each driver could do these three things, it will make this transition much smoother and safer. 

1. Please be patient as you and other drivers learn about these changes.
2. Please yield to pedestrians at all times when on campus.
3. Please take turns at the main intersections in order to avoid delays and backups.

Additional K+ Section (AM) for 2015/2016

Additional K+ Section (AM) for 2015/2016

Due to the increased enrollment in our K+ Program at Peter Woodbury School  we are able to offer an additional section of the program for the 2015/2016 school year.  This will take place in the morning (opposite PM Kindergarten) at Peter Woodbury School.  This is open to any Bedford School District Kindergarten eligible student.

Students who were placed on our waiting lists for K+ will be given priority.  From there, we will open registration up to all eligible students. Packets can be picked up at any of the three elementary schools or downloaded/printed from the district website (under the parents tab).  Applications are due as soon a possible and can be dropped off at the Peter Woodbury main office.  In addition, applications will be taken on a first come first serve basis.  Please call our main office at 622-0431 if you have any questions. 

BHS 1-to-1 Chromebook Program Website

Parents of 9th and 10th graders can access information regarding the 2015-2016 BHS 1-to-1 Chromebook program by clicking here.

Summer Hours for all School Offices

Between June 29, 2015 and August 7, 2015 all school offices will be open between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.
This does not apply to the SAU office which will continue to be open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Welcome to the new Bedford School District Website.

Beginning on July 1, 2015, the Bedford School District has migrated to a new website design to better serve the Bedford Community.