Music Education

Music education is important to the development of the students. Students in grades PreK—8 participate in music class throughout the year.  Opportunities for performance will be appropriately scheduled during the school year.

Some classes are devoted to preparing for the Annual Christmas Program and the Arts and Music Festival, which is held in May.  Other classes develop the students' appreciation of various forms of music, including classical, contemporary Christian, and praise and worship.

The final student evaluation for the elementary music curriculum is usually two public music performances. Those music programs, even though usually scheduled in the evening hours, are a part of the required class time, therefore attendance is not optional. An unexcused absence will result in an unsatisfactory (U) on the Report Card for that 9-week grade. Absences otherwise will be handled according to the attendance policy. The dates of these performances will be announced at the beginning of each school year.

Instrumental Music

Students in grades 4 – 8 are given the opportunity for instrumental music lessons and band class.  There is an additional charge for this class.  Students meet for small class lessons during the school day, and prepare for concerts and special performances.  Students participating in instrumental music lessons are expected to make up any class work that they may miss during the lesson.

Effort will be made for providing beginning instruction as well as a band program allowing for students to learn together. Opportunities for performances will be appropriately scheduled during the year

Art Class

Students in grades K - 8 participate in weekly art classes.  Students are given the opportunity to explore various art forms and develop skills throughout the year.

Physical Education

Students in grades K – 8 participate in weekly physical education class.  Junior High classes are divided by gender.  Students are required to wear sneakers for participation in Physical Education class.  The goal in Physical Education is to help provide a healthy, active lifestyle along with team sports and games. 

Students will have P.E. outdoors or indoors depending upon the weather and the teacher’s discretion. Every student is required to participate during P.E. unless there is a note from a physician indicating that a student is not to participate. If such a note is received, the student will be excused from P.E. class until a note from the physician indicates otherwise.

All students in grades K - 8 must wear a school gym uniform, purchased through Harvey Uniforms.  A blue school sweatshirt, purchased through Harvey Uniforms, may be worn during gym classes in colder months.

Library

The school library is available to students throughout the week, when accompanied by a teacher.  Scheduled library times are assigned for grades K - 5, when books may be checked out for home or classroom use. 

Specials Grades

Participation in special classes is considered an important facet of your child’s education.  Grades received in these classes will affect the overall grade point average for each semester, as well as Honor Roll.  In situations where homework is assigned, the student should give it the same level of consideration as any other academic subject.

Report Cards

BCS is on a nine-week reporting period. A report card is sent home at the end of each quarter stating the academic progress as well as showing areas of conduct that need to be improved.  Formal and informal evaluation is an ongoing process. The means of evaluation will vary with the importance and nature of the subject. Teachers should evaluate the children’s learning frequently enough so that a grade is a reflection of an accumulation of tests, quizzes, homework and class participation. A record of these must be kept in the teacher’s planning book so the grades are supported by documentation.

If an account is delinquent at the end of the year, the report card will be held until an arrangement for payment has been made with the office.

The purpose of a reporting system is to give parents an accurate indication of the progress achieved by their children. Each child’s ability, attitude, and application are taken into account in the grading system.

Mid-quarter Reports

In addition to regular report cards, elementary and middle school teachers will send special notices home to parents whose children are failing or doing poorly in any subject area.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences are required at the end of the first 9-week marking period in November and again mid-way through the third marking period in March. Conferences are optional for the remaining marking periods. Four report cards are issued as the primary means for academic and behavior reporting to parents. In addition to these scheduled report cards and conferences, parents are free to request a conference as needed. A conference should be scheduled at a time convenient for both the parents and the teacher. It is expected that parents communicate with the teacher before contacting the school principal The school principal is available for parent-teacher conferences following the initial parent-teacher contact/conference.

Promotion

Students are promoted to the next grade level on the basis of academic achievement.  Students in Kindergarten are also evaluated by emotional and social growth for readiness for first grade.  If, by the fourth quarter, there has not been adequate progress, a conference will be held with the teacher, parents, and the principal to consider the best possible placement for the child.

Permanent Records

The school maintains a permanent cumulative file on all BCS students.  Records of health, grades, standardized test scores, and disciplinary reports make up most of the content.  Parents may view their child’s permanent record at any time by making an appointment for this purpose.

Transfer of records to another school is provided by mail or fax directly to the receiving school only.  Records that are carried by the parent are not typically viewed as official records.

Withdrawing Students

Although BCS would like students to spend their entire academic career here, due to a great variety of circumstances, parents sometimes find it necessary to withdraw their child from BCS.  Realizing that this is a natural occurrence, the following procedure is required to have a child withdrawn from BCS and records transferred to a new school setting:

A release form is signed by the parent, which gives BCS permission to forward the child's permanent file to the new school setting.

School records will not be released if a student’s tuition and/or fees account is not “paid in full” at the end of a school year, or if an account is delinquent during the school year.

When these two items have been completed, student records will be forwarded.  In addition, the Massachusetts Transfer Card and health record will be released to facilitate immediate student placement. 

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