THE BECKWITH CHRONICLE D.L. BECKWITH MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS

Website: www.drregional.org

February 2020

Dates to Remember 2/17-2/21 Winter Recess

2/25 School Committee 6:30pm DRRHS

3/4 Play for Heart fund raiser gr 7&8

3/4 PTSA Meeting at PRES 6:30pm

3/5 Play for Heart fund raiser gr 5&6

3/9 Spring Picture Day

3/10 School Committee 6:30pm DRRHS

3/11 Early Release at 11:30 a.m.

3/19 Faculty Basketball Game

3/24 School Committee 6:30pm DRRHS

3/21 Steamposium at DRRHS 10am-2pm

Learning in Action!

Students in Mr. Camillo’s Grade 7 Science class work

together to complete a lab

Mrs. Santoro’s grade 5 students work together to

identify evidence that supports a stated claim in ELA

Students work together in Miss Simmons’ grade 8

ELA class to identify sentence parts

Students of the Month The following students were

presented with Student of the

Month Certificates for the month of

January:

Gr. 8 – Juliana Dias/Liam Dee

Gr. 7 – Winni Lin/Alex Verma

Gr. 6 – Maggie Kazanjian/Josh Auricchio

Gr. 5 – Cadence Pham/Ryan Avila

Related Arts – Juliana Dias/Alex DaSilva

BMS Geography Bee 2020 Congratulations to all of the geography

bee contestants who competed in the

school-level bee! Out of hundreds of

students who took the qualifying test, the

top ten students faced off on January 23rd

in order to determine the school winner.

The following students were part of the

competition: Nathan Barriere, Joseph

DiGirolamo, Emily Marquis, Bryce

Dowdall, Victoria D’Aiello, Haleigh

Kelley, Bridget Dee, Jonah Hebda, Avery

Botelho, and Andrew Gilliatt. Finishing in

third place was Jonah Hebda. Bryce

Dowdall placed second. Nathan Barriere

earned the title of school champion and will

take a qualifying test in order to move to

the state-level competition where he may

compete with students from all over the

State of Massachusetts. Congratulations

Nathan! Best of luck with the state

qualifying test!

Beckwith's Geography Bee Top Three with Principal

Pirraglia

Winter Math Team On January 24 the following members of

our math team traveled to Middleboro

where they competed against eight other

Massasoit League schools in the winter

math meet and brought back the second

place trophy: Sean Callaghan, Lily

Charlonne, Travis Chartier, Caraline Corvi,

Juliana Dias, Jane Kostka, Sophia Lin, Jeff

McNaughton, Kylie Mirra, Sydney Pestana,

Malakai Risotti, Alex Verma, Kaelyn

Whitaker, Rowan Whittaker, and Timothy

Zibrida. Sean Callaghan and Caraline

Corvi each placed 3rd and Jane

Kostka placed 2nd in the

individual high score category.

It was an entire team effort with

many members scoring in the

double digits! Our Math Team

advisor is Ms. Tina Freeman.

BMS Math Team returned with the second place

trophy!

BMS Student Art on Display Congratulations to the following students

whose artwork was displayed at the

SMARTS Art Show in January: 5th grade:

Noah Silva, Hayden Silva, Allison

Mandeville; 6th Grade: Angelina Chaves,

Isabella Bouchard, Henry Murdock, Riley

Clement, Molly Fortin, Avery Brown; 7th

Grade: Aubree Miller, Kiley Miranda,

Olivia Visinho, Sophie Pequeneza, Patipan

Sintorn, Hailey McCracken, Sophie

DiRenzo, Skyla Perry ; 8th Grade: Ava

Wasylow, Nevaeh Sullivan, Luke

Lindberg, Riley D'Alessio, Juliana Dias,

Jaylin Gaudreau, Aidan LeBlanc, Rowan

Whittaker

A reception for teachers, students, and their

families was held on Sunday, January 12,

2020, at the Yamawaki Art Center. The

exhibit was on display through January 26.

Several pieces from each school were also

selected to be part of the traveling art show.

Those selected pieces will be displayed at

each of the participating schools for one

week following the opening reception.

Beckwith’s Great Debaters On January 30, 2020, Beckwith’s Debate

Team competed in the Massasoit League

winter tournament hosted at Berkley

Middle School.

Our debate team, which is comprised of

students in grades seven and eight, have

been researching and preparing their

contentions and debate skills for the past

three months. Our teams paired up and

were excited to be part of the robust

discourse that included social media,

current events, and school-relevant topics

such as YouTube, Recess, Instagram and

Plastic Straws.

We were proud to see that every BMS team

won at least one round, with some winning

a second round. Seventh graders Ella

Malinowski with Aubree Miller made it all

the way to the semi-finals where they

debated “banning plastic straws” as

they finished just four points below the

team that won the final competition.

Way to go Great Debaters!

Students who won the first round, debating

“mandatory recess for middle schools in

the State of Massachusetts,” included

Donny Azar with Jocelyn Borkowski,

Charlie Roth with Brendan Henneous, Ben

Pray with Anthony Mercer, Ella

Malinowski with Aubree Miller, and Sarah

Lima with Hazel Thomas. The second

round topic “Instagram discontinuing

likes” was won by Charlie Roth with

Brendan Henneous and Ella Malinowski

with Aubree Miller. In the true spirit of

D-R district collaboration, Zach Thompson

combined with a Dighton student to

compete and won for his opening speech of

the second round topic.

Congratulations to each Beckwith Debate

Team member: Jocelyn Borkowski, Hazel

Thomas, Sarah Lima, Aubree Miller, Ella

Malinowski, Charlie Roth, Brendan

Henneous, Ben Pray, Anthony Mercer,

Donny Azar, and Zach Thompson. They

did an outstanding job representing

Beckwith from professional dress to

kindness, confidence and respect. Our

Debate Team coach is Ms. Dawn Houlker.

Beckwith’s Debate Team participated in the Massasoit

League Tournament on January 30

Beckwith Believers – Unified Team Our unified team, the Beckwith Believers,

will be playing two home games this year:

February 25 and March 10. We will also

be playing a Blue vs. White game on

March 3. Come out and support our

Beckwith Believers.

Beckwith Bookmark Contest Congratulations to grade 6 student Laura

Breault and grade 7 student Aubree Miller

whose bookmark designs were chosen to

represent Beckwith Middle School in the

2020 Massachusetts School Library

Association's Bookmark Contest. This

year’s bookmark theme is “School

Libraries Build Strong Communities.” The

Related Arts team of teachers selected

finalists for Division III (Grades 4 to 6),

and Division IV (Grades 7 to 12) from the

entries submitted by Beckwith students for

the school-level contest. Now, our

Beckwith students’ winning designs have

moved on to the statewide competition.

Award winners for the entire state will be

announced on March 30, 2020. Good luck

Laura and Aubree!

Laura and Aubree’s winning bookmark designs.

AHA Play for Heart The American Heart Association

Fundraiser has just kicked off at Beckwith

Middle School! Students in all grades have

been asked to raise money and awareness

for research, education, medical training,

and community programs involving heart

health and heart disease. Our school has

ranked #1 in raising money in our region

over the past three years and we expect

nothing less this year! We will also be

hosting the Play for Heart Event on March

4th for 7th and 8th graders and March 5th

for 5th and 6th graders, which includes 3 v

3 dodge ball, 3 v 3 basketball, 4-square,

and corn hole. It's always a great time and

shows our students and staff that being

active is important to heart health. All

students have been provided with a family

letter and donation envelope as well as

information to donate online. It couldn't be

any easier! Please consider donating to this

very worthy cause to help our school keep

its #1 status in fighting heart disease.

Donations will be accepted through the

month of February.

Beckwith is AHA Number 1 School Fund Raiser in

Region

Lady Raiders It was another successful year for the Lady

Raiders basketball team. The team finished

14-2 and are Champions of their division!

The team also repeated as Hurley

Tournament Champions with the team

beating Warren, Somerset, and Freetown-

Lakeville. Laura DeGirolamo was named

tournament MVP. The 2019-2020 Lady

Raiders team was led by 8th

graders Ava

Wasylow, Gianna Viola, Kaelyn Whitaker,

Elaina Flood, Maddie Gomes, Caraline

Corvi, and Laura DeGirolamo. This class

of girls ended their career with a combined

two-year record of 36 wins and just 3

losses. Congratulations ladies on another

great season and a great career at

D.L. Beckwith Middle School. The girls

were coached by Mrs. Carol Jerauld.

8th grade Lady Raiders Basketball Team

2019-2020 Lady Raiders Julia Chaves, Caraline Corvi,

Laura DeGirolamo, Keira DePalo, Elaina Flood,

Avery Gomes, Maddie Gomes, Haleigh Kelley, Emily,

Marquis, Isabella Silva, Gianna Viola, Ava Wasylow,

Kaelyn Whitaker

Raiders Basketball Season It was a slow start to the season for the

Beckwith Raiders (5-10). We had a great

group of boys who practiced hard and

played with heart. Every player was a very

important part of the success that we had

towards the end of the season, due to

playing as one team. We had a strong

eighth grade group that led the team. Evan

Dunn showed a tremendous amount of skill

on the offensive and defensive ends. His

ability to shoot and distribute the ball as a

guard made it tough for opponents to guard

him. Ricky Deppisch, a skillful shooter,

could hit shots from inside as well as

perimeter shots from outside. Adam

Freitas, an athletic guard, used his

athleticism and speed to create many

turnovers with his quick hands on defense

which led to transition opportunities. Dylan

Andreozzi, a skillful guard, possessed great

basketball knowledge and could really

shoot the ball. Sean Callaghan was an

athletic big man whose rebounding power

made him an important asset to the team.

Liam O’Neill was a true team player and

contributed to the team in a multitude of

ways. Whether it was to play guard, bring

the ball up, or grab those rebounds, he did

what was asked of him without a single

complaint. Nick Conte was another team

player that did whatever was needed. He

rebounded the ball very well and became a

better player throughout the season as his

confidence grew. Kevin Gousie, an athletic

player, gave the opposing offenses trouble

with his stingy defense and his ability to

rebound as a guard. Kevin was often

assigned one of the better players on the

opposing team. Evan Sampson did a great

job for us on the shooting end of the game.

He always worked hard at improving his

shot which was an important part of our

team. Matty Suprenard got better and better

as the season continued. Matty was a role

player to start the season and by the end he

was one of the most important starters. His

defensive tenacity was like no other. It

didn’t matter who his assignment was he

was always ready for the challenge. Matty

didn’t score a lot but by the end of the

season he was a great facilitator and

unselfish player. The Beckwith Raiders

look forward to an exciting future with

seventh graders Ben Miller, Brennan Silva,

and Tiago Conceicao. All players

contributed a great deal to the successful

season. The boys were coached by

Mr. Isaiah Brewster.

2019-2020 Raiders Basketball Team with Coach Isaiah

Brewster: Dylan Andreozzi, Sean Callaghan, Tiago

Conceicao, Nicholas Conte, Ricky Deppisch, Evan

Dunn, Adam Freitas, Kevin Gousie, Ben Miller, Liam

O’Neill, Evan Sampson, Brennan Silva, and Matty

Suprenard

Peace Poster Contest Winners of this year’s Rehoboth Lions and

Rehoboth Anawan Lions Club Peace Poster

Contests are sixth graders Molly House and

Lexi Hyder. This year’s theme was Journey

through Peace. Special thanks to the Lions

and art teacher Miss Faletra for making this

opportunity possible for our students.

Winners of the Rehoboth Lions and Rehoboth Anawan

Lions Clubs’ Peace Poster Contests

App Update-

TikTok from smartsocial.com

What Is TikTok?

TikTok is an app that allows users to watch

and upload 15 second videos of everything

from dancing to lip syncing to funny

animal videos.

A “For You” page is curated for each user,

based on the interests you choose when you

make a profile. Users can follow, comment,

and like each video.

The accounts you follow are then collected

in your “Following” feed, which you can

swipe through to watch. The Discover

feature allows you to search for accounts

and hashtags that you are interested in.

What Can Parents Do?

Know your child’s username and follow

them

Keep an open dialogue about the types of

videos they watch and post

Become a TikTok expert and learn the

app’s safety settings

Advise your students that negative posts

can come back to hurt their reputation in

the future, especially with colleges and

future employers

Remind your teen it’s okay to be silly

and have fun on social media as long as

they are positive and kind to others

Potential Negative Effects of TikTok

Addiction: Since the app boasts an

“endless stream” of material, students are

likely to spend a long time in the app and

might even become addicted to watching

the videos for hours at a time.

Bullying: A high school principal in New

York tells Smart Social Founder Josh Ochs

that students are being bullied on TikTok.

Some students are making fun of each

other’s videos, while others are making

videos just to ridicule their fellow students.

Comparison: Some students make

outrageous, and even dangerous, videos to

get more likes and followers. Hashtag

challenges are an easy way to gain likes,

but some of the challenges are not

appropriate for tweens and teens.

Safety Concerns: Apps like TikTok can

easily be used by predators to solicit minors

because the app makes it easy for strangers

to direct message children. “There are no

restrictions as to who can join the app and

it is used internationally, connecting

virtually everyone,” explained Digital

Family Expert Theresa Desuyo, at

the parental control software company

Qustodio.

Mental Health: Some experts report it can

be easy to come across triggering content

on the app that could promote issues like

self-harm or eating disorders.

Conclusion

TikTok is a fun and creative outlet for users

to post dance compilations, tell funny

jokes, and show off their talents. But some

of the content users post can contain

explicit language, suggestive themes, and

lewd gestures. There’s no way for users or

their parents to block specific content from

the video feed without blocking individual

users.

Smart Social recommends monitoring your

student’s account and talking with them

about safe and smart social media practices,

if you allow them to use the TikTok app.

Principal’s Message Dear families,

Effort is identified as a crucial aspect of

growth mindset, a term popularized by

Carol Dweck in her book Mindset: The

New Psychology of Success. In Mindset,

Dweck explains that success, in school,

work, sports, the arts, etc., is not innate, but

rather earned through practice and

commitment.

At Beckwith we routinely use growth

mindset language in and out of the

classroom to inspire students to commit to

learning. We do this because we

understand the importance of practice.

Brain research supports the necessity of

practice when learning a new skill. As a

student practices a skill, his/her brain

establishes connections that lead to

memory and learning. We are not born

with connections in our brain that make us

“good at math” or “good writers.” These

pathways in the brain are created by

repetition, and using information multiple

ways multiple times. The best example of

this is learning a language. Babies are not

born with language. They learn language

by listening, considering non-verbal cues,

making sounds, repeating, and practicing

over and over. The immersion in language

makes babies learn language. When adults

try and learn a second language, they often

download apps that immerse the user in

language. Often the apps require users to

say a word, read a word, listen to a word,

and use a word in a sentence in some

context. The apps also have incentives for

practicing. The apps are usually made by

experts in language and brain science

particularly in regard to learning new skills.

What does this mean for our students? To

truly learn a new skill or new content, our

students must commit to practice. They

should be following our guidelines for

homework which are listed below for

reference. And, they should be learning the

organizational skills to ensure they can

practice effectively. The importance of

homework is to teach students the

importance of effort. Brain science

demonstrates the significance of practice in

regard to learning. If we want our students

to be “good at math” or be “good writers,”

we need to acknowledge that homework is

critical. It is more than something that

https://smartsocial.com/parental-control-software/https://www.qustodio.com/en/

needs to be completed. Its completion

leads to improvement.

Research-Based Homework Guidelines

for Parents

Research provides strong evidence that,

when used appropriately, homework

benefits student achievement. At

Beckwith Middle School the commonly

practiced “10-minute rule” is followed

(daily homework assignments combined

should take about as long to complete as 10

minutes multiplied by the student’s grade

level- 15 minutes if required reading is

included). If your child is consistently

surpassing the general guidelines as

outlined in the “10-minute rule,” you are

encouraged to contact your child’s

teacher(s).

Parents do have a role in supporting

homework completion and should follow

these guidelines:

Parents are encouraged to … Ask their child about what the child is

studying in school.

Ask their child to show them any

homework assignments.

Assist their child in organizing

homework materials.

Help their child formulate a plan for

completing homework.

Provide an appropriate space for their

child to do homework.

Parents may, if they wish … Help their child interpret assignment

directions.

Proofread their child's work, pointing

out errors.

Read aloud required reading to their

child.

Give practice quizzes to their child to

help prepare for tests.

Help their child brainstorm ideas for

papers or projects.

Praise their child for completing

homework.

Parents should not … Attempt to teach their child concepts or

skills the child is unfamiliar with.

Complete assignments for their child.

Allow their child to sacrifice sleep to

complete homework.

Vatterott, C. (2013). How to Guide

Parents in Homework Help. ASCD

Express, volume 9 (5).

http://www.ascd.org/ascd-

express/vol9/905-vatterott.aspx

Sincerely,

Joe Pirraglia