Belmont High School

From the Principal's Desk

Friday, October 11th, 2024

Dear BHS Students and Families,

I hope you are all able to step away over the Indigenous Peoples’ day long weekend, which is a homework free weekend for students. 

Parent/teacher conferences are coming up on the following dates: 10/30 12:20-2:40, 11/6 12:20-2:40, and 11/13 6:30 - 8:30. Families will be emailed information on how to sign up for conferences closer to the time. A reminder that each teacher only has enough slots for approximately half of the students they teach. With this in mind, please be thoughtful about which teachers you book appointments with, and prioritize classes where you have questions or concerns. If you need to meet with a teacher, and there are no slots available, please reach out to that teacher by email, and they will schedule a time to meet during the school day.

Isaac Taylor, Principal

Compassion
Clothes

After School Access

After 3:00pm, students returning to the building for athletics or after school activities should use Door 21 by the field house. The main doors to the HS will be closed after 3pm. Students are welcome to use the library for study space until 5pm.

Picture retake day will be Thursday, October 24, 2024.  Flyer will be forwarded next week to families.

GUIDANCE NEWS

Senior Parent Future Planning Night:  Thank you all for attending our Senior Planning night on 9/26. If you weren't able to attend, we have a recording of the event located here:  https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/o/bhs/page/webinars-and-presentations

Please reach out to your student's guidance counselor if you have any additional questions!

Virtual College Visits:  Virtual college visits have started..  All junior/senior students are invited to attend.  Please look at the schedule on naviance under tab “College Visits” for the date and time that each college will visit.  Students can attend the meetings anywhere in the building; you do not come to guidance.  If the student does not have a free period the student will need to be called out by the parents.  Please call the attendance line and leave the student’s name and the specific time the student will be absent from class.  Students should let teachers know in advance if they will be missing class.

This week’s schedule:

Guidance 1
Guidance 2

AP Tests:  

AP Test Payment Information: The AP Payment Window will open on October 1st and will stay open until midnight on October 31st. Payment can be made through MySchoolBucks or by check or cash.  If you are paying through MySchoolBucks, please click here. If you need assistance with online payments or registration, please contact MySchoolBucks at 855-832-5226 or log into your account to start a chat conversation.

If you are paying by check or cash please bring it to Mrs. Sceppa in Room A106 in the Guidance Office. Each AP exam costs $100. All checks are made payable to Belmont High School.  Please remind your student that, in addition to payment, they must have joined their AP Classroom through College Board (see AP teacher for more information).  BHS will be ordering tests the first week in November. Any tests ordered or canceled after November 15th will incur a $40.00 late fee from the College Board. Please get all course sign-ups and payments in by Tuesday, October 31st. After October 31st, all payments can only be done by check or cash.

If a student is eligible for free or reduced lunch they can qualify for a fee waiver. If you feel your student qualifies, please reach out to Mr. Brown or Ms King before completing payment.

Also, if you are currently enrolled in a BHS AP class, your teacher should have given you a class code to go in and register on the College Board in AP Classroom. You will need to set up a College Board account if you do not already have one at collegboard.org( this should be done by the student- please use your official name)This is really the first part of the process and then paying on-line through my School Bucks is the second. If you are registering for an AP exam and not enrolled in the class, please see Ms. King or Mr Brown for a special code during the registration window of 10/1-10/31; you will need to pay by check made out to Belmont High School in order to receive the code.

AP Coordinators: Mr. James Brown- jmbrown@belmontschools.net

Ms. Brittany King- bking@belmontschools.net

AP Registrar: Ms. Carole Sceppa- csceppa@belmontschools.net

PSAT Signups:  PSAT signups are now complete.  PSAT testing will be done digitally.  All students will need to test on their chromebooks.  An email will be sent to the registered students on their school emails by the end of next week with final details and room assignments.  Please ask your student to check their school emails.  The PSAT date is October 26, 2024 at 8 am at BHS for JUNIORS ONLY.   Your student will be receiving an email with the details for October 26 in the next few weeks.   Sophomores will have an opportunity to take the PSAT test in the spring.  More information will be provided at a later date.

Upcoming PSAT 101 Strategy Session

We invite students to join Revolution Prep for an introductory strategy session for the official PSAT! This free hour-long session is designed to give students insight into the PSAT exam as well as provide tips and tricks for test day. In this session, one of their professional tutors will teach core test-taking strategies including a dive into the exam content and digital structure, how to avoid common traps, and how to create the best plan for success.

SAT Practice Exam:

When: Saturday, November 2, 2024

Time: 9:00 am -12:00 pm ET

Where: Proctored online via Zoom

*Please note that this live exam is proctored in standard time only. If you have been approved for an extended time accommodation, please reach out to your Academic Advisor, Vasilios Kostakis, whose information is below.

Step 1: Register here: https://www.revolutionprep.com/partners/626    

Step 2: Schedule a free 30-minute score report review with a Revolution Prep testing expert to help you interpret the results and develop a customized plan to prepare. Please schedule this appointment for the few days after the exam. You can pre-schedule this Score Report Review here: https://www.revolutionprep.com/vasilios-kostakis

Step 3: Attend the mock exam and get your results immediately with Revolution Prep’s mobile scoring app!

Questions? If you have questions or want to learn more about Revolution Prep, you can reach out to Vasilios Kostakis at (781) 916-8668 or by email at vasilios.kostakis@revolutionprep.com.

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Athletics

 https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/o/bps/page/athletics 

BELMONT ATHLETIC SCHEDULES

FAN BEHAVIOR and SPORTSMANSHIP POLICY 

  MIAA POWER RANKINGS

BOOSTER “B” Drive the Belmont Booster B Drive made close to $15,000 with more donations coming in! Thank you to all the BHS student athletes who participated!

Athletics

Football

I am thrilled to share some exciting news with you all! After a tough 0-4 start, our football team secured their first win of the season by defeating Lexington 9-6.

The victory was made possible by some incredible plays from junior Casey Regan, including an impressive 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a crucial interception that saved a Lexington touchdown.
It has been a challenging season with multiple injuries and tough league play, but our players have shown immense dedication and perseverance.

I could not be more proud of their hard work and determination. Be sure to come and support our seniors next Friday night home at Harris field for “Senior Night”.

Football

Cheer

After a 6 hour Sunday practice, the cheer team has completed their competition routine for this season and are so excited to be able to showcase their hard work!

Cheer
Cheer 2

Golf

The golf team finished the regular season strong.  We had road wins against Stoneham and Lexington.  The final match of the season against Lexington was probably the team’s best match of the year as we won 50-22.  The final record is 12 wins and 2 losses with a league record of 10-1.  This league record was good enough for second best in the Middlesex League.  It’s on to the State Sectionals Golf Tournament next Wednesday.

Girls Soccer

Girls Varsity Soccer continue to be undefeated with a 9-0-4 Record. 


Girls Soccer

Boys Soccer

Boys Varsity Soccer continued their unbeaten run with a Senior Night win on Wednesday defeating Reading 2-1. It was their seventh match without a loss and they have only allowed two goals over that time. JV and Freshmen have continued to improve and develop their games while supporting the program both on and off the field.

Soccer
Boys Soccer

Girls Volleyball

The volleyball team hosted their first Dig Pink Charity match raising over $2000 for breast cancer research.  The team is on a 4 game winning streak bringing their record to 8-6.

Girls Swimming and Diving

Four in a row for Belmont Swim and Dive.  Now 5-2.  Next week we are hosting a Dive meet

Pool

Boys Cross Country

The so-called “Antelopes of Belmont” left it all on the pavement/trails/gravel/grass/bridges/hills/flats/dirt/packed-limestone this past Tuesday, with a 25-26 win over Woburn.  The team is 4-1 (!!!) with only one regular-season meet left, vs. Lexy-Town of the 22nd.  And, to add to the excitement, the gents are to Cape Cod this weekend for the famous Twilight Invitational.  Fortunately, Great White Sharks were recently banned from participating in cross country meets, due to obvious reasons. 

Girls Cross Country

Girls cross country faced Woburn at Horn Pond this past Tuesday. Runners on both teams stepped up their performances in anticipation of a close meet and the girls narrowly lost 25-30  to the strong Woburn squad. Kira van Kelsted and Reece Bundy led the Belmont team which celebrated many season bests at this race. Some team members will race this coming Sunday at the MSTCA Twilight meet in Falmouth before an off week from league competition.

Field Hockey

Varsity field hockey is now 11-2 after a huge 2-1 win over #4 ranked Division 2 Reading on Harris field.  Mackenzie Clarke scored both goals unassisted. We had a fantastic Breast Cancer Game on Tuesday where we raised about $1,500 for Dana Farber.

The Freshman field hockey team is 6-4-1. The forwards have been putting the ball in the net and scoring goals! Our defense has been working on stepping to the ball, possessing it and making accurate passes to complete the play.

The JV field hockey team is 9-2-2. We are stopping the ball well on defense, and working to cut in front of the opponent on offense. We just won a big game against Reading, who beat us earlier this season.

Field Hockey

Marauder of the Week

Marauders of the Week: The Marauders of the Week are outstanding BHS seniors nominated by their teachers for a wide variety of contributions in and out of the classroom. This week, we are recognizing Emily Caputo, Douglas Dambo, and Parker Brookins.  To read their profiles, please visit https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/o/bhs/page/marauders-of-the-week-2024