Hour Of Code 1

Students of the

Month 2

Helping Hands 3

Spirit Week 4

Inside this issue:

BETA BAYOU

December 2016

HOUR OF CODE!!!

December 5-11 was Computer Science Education week.

BETA students joined over 30 million students by partici-

pating in the Hour of Code. Students used Code.org to

work through challenging activities using Minecraft De-

veloper. Hour of Code is a broad based movement using

free tutorials that cover a wide range of programming

languages, from Python and JavaScript to Swift, Lua, and

CoffeeScript. According to the Bureau of Labor Statis-

tics, the U.S. will generate 1.4 million computing jobs by

2020.

Student of the Month- October

Page 2 BETA BAYOU

Student of the Month– November Student of the Month– September

Kiearha R

Meet Kiearha, she is a junior at BOCES

BETA. She was happy to be chosen for

this honor and admits she was a bit sur-

prised. She said, “It feels good to know

someone is acknowledging my efforts.”

Kiearha has been working hard and feels

the help she gets from her teachers and

counselor has helped her keep focused

and continuing to move forward. She

prides herself on the efforts she has put

forth to reach her goal of attending CTI,

where she is now studying Computer Re-

pair. She said she would love to have a

career as a Computer Repair Technician

one day. Kiearha is proud to say she will

not only be able to fix computers, but also

cell phones and tablets when she com-

pletes her program. Being a 2018 Gradu-

ate is the plan and then on to college to

study computer engineering.

Here at BETA Kiearha’s favorite subject

is math. She is a member of Helping

Hands and will be getting involved in two

projects, Shoeboxes for the Homeless and

Holiday Cards. She volunteers in her

community as a tutor to grade school stu-

dents. She said, “I help them in math,

S.S. or whatever subjects they need help

in.”

Kieraha is very proud to say, “I have been

told by my teachers that I am an inspira-

tion to others.” She prides herself on

being helpful, responsible and kind; and

in addition, she is happy to say, “I do not

judge others.”

Andrew H.

Andrew is a senior at BOCES Alternative

High School. Currently he has completed

all his academic classes and is working on

earning his art credits so he can graduate in

January. His plan is to attend Dutchess

Community College for his Associate’s De-

gree. Then he plans to move on to Cornell

or another four-year school to study crimi-

nal justice or business.

When asked how it feels to be chosen Stu-

dent of the Month, he said, “It’s a good

feeling having people recognize me for what

I am doing and how hard I am working.”

He also stated, “My teachers and staff have

encouraged me to keep going to get to my

goal.”

His advice as Student of the Month would

be, “Work your hardest, don’t worry about

others, only worry about yourself and it will

ultimately benefit you and get you to your

goal.”

In addition to earning Student of the

Month, Andrew earned the Student of Dis-

tinction Award. He was honored at the Red

Hook School Board Meeting in October.

Mr. Jeffrey, BETA Principal, presented

him with this prestigious award.

CONGRATS & GOOD LUCK AN-

DREW!!!

Melanie T.

Congratulations Melanie!!! Not many students get

chosen for this honor as a freshman. Melanie said

she feels happy to be Student of the Month and

admits she was a little surprised. She also feels

what has helped her most here at BETA is having a

smaller class setting and individual help she re-

ceives from her teachers.

Melanie has recently joined the Helping Hands

Knitting Club, and will be working on creating lap

blankets for the elderly. She is also Vice President

of the Anime Club and enjoys Ms. White’s Gam-

ing Club. She is also in charge of writing Anime

Club news for the BETA Bayou newsletter club.

Her favorite subject overall is math. Melanie at-

tends math and English classes at Arlington High

School where her day starts at 7:20 AM. This

makes for an extra-long school day, but she is will-

ing to do this to reach her goal of transitioning back

to her home district.

In the future, Melanie hopes to attend college in

Japan, where she would like to study Manga. Man-

ga is the art form of anime comic writing. Her

dream is to one day live in Japan and have a career

in Manga.

December 2016 Page 3

Helping Hands Trip to the Veterans Home

By: Amanda M.

On December 16th 2016 seven students from helping hands and student council went to the

Hudson River Housing to help set up for their holiday party. Those seven students were me, Katie F,

Evan P, Destiny P, Collin R, Alana C, and Andrew L. These students along with Mrs. Vonderau and

Mrs. Sharpe decorated the building, set up chairs and tables, and wrapped presents. The staff at the

home were very appreciative and wouldn’t have been able to set up the party without the help of the

volunteers. Going on this trip really helped remind us of the true meaning of Christmas, that during

this time it is all about what you give to others, and not what you receive yourself. I know this sounds

cheesy but a lot of people tend to forget this.

The students at the Veterans home in

Poughkeepsie.

Walk the Edge by: Katie McGarry

***** 5 of 5 stars

Katie McGarry’s latest book, “Walk the Edge” is fast paced,

fun, with a dash of romance. Her books usually deal with the hardships

of being a teenager today, and the different stereotypes that we go

through. The two main characters are a perfect example of the stereo-

types that others see before they see the person behind the label.

Breanna’s brain is wired differently, she remembers things in a

different way and she has stayed in the shadows since middle school

because being invisible is better than being ridiculed. Razor is consid-

ered a thug because he belongs to the Reign of Terror, a local motorcy-

cle club. After Razor saves Breanna, and a compromising picture is used

to black mail her into writing papers, the pair team up to stop the black

mailer. In between school, romance, and the problems of being a teen-

ager in Snowflake, Kentucky, Breanna and Razor find each other and

learn to trust.

Crazy Hat Day 12/19/16

Band T-shirt Day 12/20/16

Helping Hands made bags of “Candy Cane Seeds” and cards for the pa-

tients at Lutheran Care Center this past week. Evan P, Kiearha R,

Amanda M, Caroline M, Destiny P, Jake H, and Katie F helped Mrs.

Santini and Mrs. Anderson.

Spirit Week

By: Amanda M

From Monday December 19th to Friday December 23rd

is Spirit Week. On Monday was Crazy hair and hat

day. On Tuesday was band T-shirt day. On Wednesday

was character day, which students and staff were able

to dress as their favorite character from any book,

movie, or TV show. Thursday was sports team day.

And Friday is ugly holiday sweater day. At the end of

each day every student and staff who participated took

a group picture together so everyone could show off

their school spirit. This week has been fun and really

brought our whole school together. Hopefully even

more people will participate during our next spirit

week!

Max Grecke

By: Caroline M

Max Grecke is a 24 year old Swedish freelance il-

lustrator who takes a cartoonish spin on life. From

grayscale to beautifully colored paintings, he has a

full range of art techniques, and applies them mas-

terfully. Not only does he do fabulous paintings, he

can also do amazing line work. He creates diverse

characters, something that I admire greatly about

him because it’s something you don’t see very often

now a days. All in all Max Grecke is a diverse,

highly talented freelance illustrator and I recom-

mend you check him out. His Instagram is

maxgrecke and his DeviantArt is MaxGrecke.

A sample of Max Grecke’s work