Bethany Community School

It has been a busy and exciting week at Bethany Community School! Our Scholastic Book Fair was a wonderful success, and we hope there are lots of new bedtime stories waiting to be read! Thank you to everyone who supported the fair and helped bring the joy of reading into our students’ homes.

We also want to thank our families for joining us for parent-teacher conferences. The home/school partnership here at BCS is amazing, and we appreciate the conversations, shared ideas, and teamwork that help our students learn and grow.

Friday brought another opportunity to come together for our Pink Walk to School and Community Meeting. Our students shared thoughtful presentations about helping the Earth, developing a growth mindset, setting goals, and learning about Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day. We are proud of their preparation and willingness to share their learning with our school community!

We also unveiled our campground’s name… drumroll, please… CAMP BCS! Check out our new badge below!

The fun continues next week! We look forward to seeing everyone at our Halloween Parade on Friday, October 30th, at 9:15 AM.

A HUGE thank you to Mr. Moyer & the PTO Volunteers for their time and work in setting up and running the Scholastic Book Fair! Mr. Moyer even came to the rescue for a student when the item he wanted ran out. He used his expertise and his 3D Printer!

We did it BCS. Our community came together for our "Gabriela Strong" T-Shirt fundraiser to raise over $3,000 for the Hom Family! We cannot wait until BCS has our "Gabriela Strong" Day! The date will be announced soon. Thank you BCS, what an amazing community!

Our very own BCS kindergarten student, Gabriela “Gabby” Hom has been diagnosed with leukemia and is hospitalized after also developing complications. We are encouraged to hear that her condition is improving everyday. With her family’s permission, we are sharing this news and asking our BCS community to surround Gabby and her family with care. A donation, a message of encouragement, or simply keeping them in your thoughts can offer support during this difficult time. Thank you BCS 💙

If you would like to submit a Wall of Honor picture, don't forget to email a picture of your Veteran and the following information:

Military Branch

BCS student's name & their relation to our BCS student

Additional information: Rank, job, awards

email: ahubball@bethany-ed.org

We are thrilled to share that the ESS Art Contest 2027 is officially live and we are taking submissions for your students’ creative artwork and ideas!

Contest Details at a Glance:

• Who Can Enter: Public and charter school students in grades K–12 across the continental United States.
• This Year’s Theme: “Once upon a school day, a fairy tale came to life. What happened next?” This theme can be interpreted anyway students like and in any media they choose!
• How to Enter: Students can submit an original traditional or digital drawing or painting inspired by the theme.
• Submission Deadline: December 13th at 8:00 PM ET.
• Public Voting: The top five finalists in each grade group will be featured on ESS’ Facebook and Instagram during the week of January 25th, with voting closing January 31st at 8:00 PM ET.
• Winners Announced: February 3rd!

And the best part? Winning students will receive a $500 American Express gift card, and their school will receive an additional $500!

Mrs. Hubball's email: ahubball@bethany-ed.org

Treasurer Erick Russell, Trustee of the Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET), has announced that the 2026 CHET Dream Big! Competition will run from August 19, 2026, through November 6, 2026. The competition is open to all Connecticut residents in grades K-12. As part of the Dream Big! Competition, students in grades K-12 submit essays, videos, and artwork based on a question about their dreams or how they can help their communities. This year, $350,000 in prizes will be awarded as CHET 529 College Savings Plan Account contributions, along with technology prizes to Connecticut schools. Three students will each be awarded $20,000 prizes, 24 will each be awarded $5,000 prizes, and 240 will each be awarded $500 prizes. Please visit chetdreambig.com and click on Official Contest Rules (PDF) for more information on prize structure and awards.

The PTO has a wide variety of fun events planned this year—and we’d love for you to be part of it! Whether you're looking to volunteer, meet other families, or just stay in the loop, there are so many ways to get involved.

To stay up to date on upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, be sure to sign up on our PTO Board: https://bcspto.ptboard.com/, and follow us on Facebook.

If you’re interested in volunteering or have an idea to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to hear from you and help you find opportunities that match your interests and availability.

Thank you to everyone who supports our PTO by staying involved—we truly appreciate you!

Bethany Community School

44 Peck Road

Bethany, CT 06524

Phone (203) 393-3350

Website - https://www.bethany-ed.org/

Principal - Jackie Nathman jnathman@bethany-ed.org

Assistant Principal - Alesha Hubball ahubball@bethany-ed.org