November 2 Newsletter

Last week, our district celebrated the many successes of our students and Beloit Memorial High School. I want to highlight a few of these in my newsletter.

• Local television reporter Dillon Valencia spent the morning with our students at our Automotive Training Center. He interviewed our instructor, Mr. Guy Olson, and several automotive students. Our automotive students have hands-on learning and access to one of the premier automotive training facilities in the region. Our students can earn certifications in Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) with ten specialized automobile series certifications; preparing them for their future plans. To view the interview, please click here.

• Beloit Memorial High School senior Sarah Ramsden was named a Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Sarah was recognized nationally for her exceptional academic promise. She placed among the top 50,000 students in the country. Sarah was also recognized by the Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin with an All-State Second Team placement. Congratulations to Sarah.

• Our 2023 Boys Baseball Team was recognized by The American Baseball Coaches Association with a Team Academic Excellence Award for their commitment to their academic success. These student-athletes were the only Big-8 Conference team to earn this award, and no Southern Lakes Conference team qualified. We commend our students for their hard work on and off the field and for elevating our district’s academic recognition.

• We thanked and recognized Coach Brian Denu for earning his 200th career win. Mr. Denu has coached soccer for the last 15 seasons in our district. He has helped dozens of student-athletes excel academically and with their soccer aspirations beyond high school. He goes above and beyond on and off the soccer field, and we congratulate him on 200 wins.

• Beloit Memorial High School sophomore James Ford received Week 4’s Football Player of the Week after a state-wide vote on WisSports. James helped our football team to a 24-21 victory over Union Grove. He had an outstanding game, rushing 27 times for 287 yards and a touchdown. We acknowledge the hard work and dedication it takes to be a student-athlete.

There are so many opportunities for our high school students to thrive and succeed. If you would like to learn more about what Beloit Memorial High School offers, we invite you to attend our upcoming Beloit Memorial High School Expo on Wednesday, December 6, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We have more than 75 community and business partners joining us, student performances, tours of the high school, and much more. I hope to see you there.

In service,

Dr. Willie E. Garrison II

School District of Beloit Superintendent

At Monday evening's Board of Education final budget meeting, the Board of Education approved a balanced budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Through diligent and hard work by our district and the Board of Education, we were able to overcome previous deficit budgets. This year is only the fourth time in 20 years that a balanced budget was adopted and approved.

In addition, we recently shared a news release highlighting the many positive aspects of the start of our 2023-2024 school year. Highlights include enrollment, reconfiguration, transportation, attendance, and an expected balanced budget. Please click on this link to read the complete news release.

What to Wear to School: Our elementary and middle school students should come to school with winter coats, hats, scarves, mittens/gloves, and boots. Students will have recess if the temperature is 10°, or above. If the temperature drops below 10° all students will have indoor recess.

If your student needs winter gear, please reach out to your child's student services team.

School Closings: While we will make every effort to keep our schools open throughout the school year, situations such as severe weather may make it necessary to close schools for the overall safety of our students and staff. If weather conditions require that we close our schools, you will receive notification via voice, text, and email. Please ensure that your contact information is updated and accurate in Skyward.

In addition to voice, text, and email, we will send a push notification to our SDB App, post an alert on our website, update the phone lines at each school, post on our Facebook page, and alert local radio and TV stations.

Thank you Daniel Baker, Ronald Bartow, Anthony Bosco, Tommy Bricco, Carie Champany-Johns, Haley Cliffe, Monte Eldert, Adam Ferger, Mia Hearns, Jason Knoll, James Krajeck, Teresa LaMar, Regina McAlister, Mary McNulty, Carl Newton Jr., David Ortiz, Andrei Sullivan, Kurt Wald, and Glenn Wilfong.

HealthNet of Rock County has visited all our schools to provide free, high-quality, school-based oral health prevention services through the Wisconsin Seal-A-Smile program. We appreciate our partnership with these two organizations.

Almost 1,000 students took advantage of this dental care opportunity. If you have any questions about Seal-A-Smile reach out to our Director of School Health, Michelle Babilius, at mbabilius@sdb.k12.wi.us. If your student did not participate earlier this year, HealthNet will return to our schools this Winter. Make sure to sign your student up for this free dental care by accessing the link below.

Each month, we host a celebration to honor our students, staff, and community partners. Congratulations to our outstanding students, James Ford, Sarah Ramsden, and our 2023 Boys Baseball Team; staff, Bilingual Home School Liaisons, Tulio Duran, Doralis Cederberg, and Brian Denu; and community partner FoodWIse.

Read all about our October Award Recipients.

End of Term 1: Friday, November 3 - No School

Upcoming Wednesday Early Release Dates: November 15, December 6 and 20, January 3

Thanksgiving Break: Wednesday, November 22 through Friday, November 24

Winter Break: Friday, December 22 through Tuesday, January 2

School Resumes: Wednesday, January 3 (early release)

Access our 2023-2024 school calendar for all the details.

At the School District of Beloit, we enjoy sharing events, achievements, and recognitions highlighting our students, staff, and community partners. We provide transparent and up-to-date information and communication through our social media platforms, our SDB App, website, weekly school newsletters, and my weekly newsletter. We appreciate the positive engagement by everyone who follows us on on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and stays connected with us by downloading our SDB App or accessing our News Tab.

We believe in respectful, truthful, and encouraging messaging and communication. We will continue to communicate in that manner with our students, staff, families, and community.

Thank you for taking the time to read my bi-monthly newsletter. I always appreciate the opportunity to connect with our students and families. Email me at superintendentnewsletter@sdb.k12.wi.us and let me know what you think of the information I am sharing in my newsletter. Your name will be entered into a random drawing to win a SDB swag bag.