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Let's Talk Tuesdays
BASD - Home of the Bears
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Evi Frain, a 6th-grader at MSW, created this year’s holiday card.
Here is Evi’s artist statement:
“I created this candle to symbolize hope and warmth during the cold winter. After being inspired by a chalk pastel project with Mrs. Robbins, the NHUF art teacher, I decided to do a candle in this style. I really enjoyed working on this project and am really proud of the way it turned out.”
Evi had Mrs. Wagner as her elementary art teacher at BES. She is currently in 6th grade at MSW and just started art class with Mrs. Harner. She also takes private art lessons with Mrs. Robbins.
Evi, Thank you for sharing your talent with all of us! Congratulations on a job beautifully done.
~ Mrs. Torchia
IMPORTANT Scholarship Message for Seniors
Opening Friday, December 22, 2023
Hi Seniors!
Local scholarships are now available! All applications may be found on the counseling page under the scholarship tab. https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/1332
Please be sure to read over the requirements for the applications. BASH local scholarship applications are available from December 22nd – February 15th. All completed applications are due to the counseling office no later than February 15th at 4:00 pm. Late applications will not be accepted for any reason. Please stop by the counseling office with any questions.
Also found on our counseling page are scholarships that are not local, as well as scholarship search engines. Be on the lookout for any that may apply to you.
Please note that the link to the local scholarship information will not be available to students until Friday, December 22, 2023.
BASH School Counseling Department
Tonight's Board of School Directors' Meeting
Please join us for tonight's Board of School Directors' Meeting at 7 PM at the Education Center.
Full details are available on Board Docs using the link below.
Be sure to reserve your tickets for Victor Hugo’s epic masterpiece.
Buy your tickets today at
https://www.boyertownmusic.com/bash-hunchback/
Contact Jeff Brunner with any questions, jbrunner@boyertownasd.org
The students and staff on the BASH Musicals team wishes you all a wonderful holiday season,
John Hazel & Jeff Brunner
Celebrating BASH Show Choir
As most of you know, BASD is well known for its incredible musical talent. During this magical season, our Show Choir has been hard at work " making seasons bright" for the district, our families, our community, and beyond.
On Saturday, December 9th, the Show Choir performed with the Reading Symphony Orchestra. The choir performed two numbers, Carol of the Bells and the Hallelujah Chorus.
The choir and their director, Mr. Brunner, were featured in the program for the evening.
Mrs. Torchia had the pleasure of attending the performance. "Watching Mr. Brunner and our Select Choir perform with The Reading Symphony Orchestra was a thrill. Their performance was spectacular and made me proud to be connected to this talented group of students and their choir director."
Congratulations to all! #BASHBEARSMakeBeautifulMusic
Yesterday the Show Choir spent the day spreading cheer throughout the community. They kicked-off the day at our Education Center, and then traveled throughout the day singing AND dancing for residents from ages 4 to 84 ages beyond. Be sure to check out two of their Ed Center performances below.
#BASHShowChoirSpreadsJoy
Thank you to Amy Muzopappa, Executive Director of the
Foundation for Boyertown Education, for sharing these videos.
BASD Team Facilitates Sessions at the BCIU's Stem Showcase
Mrs. Bennett (6th grade math at East), Mrs. Roberts (1st grade at GES), and Mrs. Hester (Instructional Coach) facilitated sessions at the BCIU’s Stem Showcase on December 8th.
Mrs. Bennett shared about how to utilize Ozobots in the classroom in all grade levels. Specifically, she shared a 6th grade math lesson on Statistics where students code the path to “Go Bowling” and analyze their collected data.
Mrs. Roberts LOVES Makedo!!! Makedo is a set of student safe tools for construction with cardboard. The tools empower students to build and put their ideas into play because THEY can safely cut, score, and fasten cardboard. Students of ALL ages can use these tools to help them create on a small or large scale. The tools allow us to repurpose all of those cardboard boxes so many of us are accumulating at this time of the year.
Mrs. Hester shared about Makey-Makey where students design and code circuits. As teachers visited her table at the showcase, she demonstrated how students can use MakeyMakey and the coding platform, Scratch, to create interactive writing. This activity can reinforce learning around circuits, too, as in order for the writing to become interactive, students need to "become" part of the circuit.
All of the resources used in their presentations are now available for teachers across Berks County to borrow from the BCIU.
#BASDTEACHERSImpactOtherTeachers
HUGE Thank You to a Beloved Local Business!
Brakeman’s Café held a fundraiser for the Middle School East and West libraries through the months of September and October. With the proceeds, the librarians purchased non-book items for students to use in the library. Middle School East purchased 35 Rubik’s Cubes for their Rubik’s cube mosaics. Middle School West purchased puzzles & a puzzle board, Cra-Z-Loom bracelet making kits, Connect 4 games, chess/checkers/tic-tac-toe boards, and knitting/crocheting supplies. We want to give a huge shout out to Brakeman’s for their support and generosity!
BCTC November Highlights
Seven BCTC Horticulture students competed at the FFA Eastern Region Nursery Landscape Career Development Events (CDE) competition on November 14, 2023. Rylan LeVan, BASH 11th-grader, placed 19th in Nursery/Landscape CDE. Congratulations!
Level 3 Health Occupations students organized a Miller-Keystone blood drive on 11/30/23 for their senior project and collected 24 units for the community. Kendall Pritchard, BASH senior, was among the participating students. Thank you for your community service.
#BCTCBEARSAreCrushingIt
8 BASH Students Attend Conference
Written by Liiana Myers, BASH Junior
On Wednesday, November 29th, eight students, accompanied by Mrs. Bergeyova and Mrs. Sebro, attended the 17th annual Anti Defamation League Conference in Philadelphia. This conference was centered around exploring diversity and challenging hate. Abigail Fretz, Alyssa Hadfield, Paul Kennedy, Liliana Myers, Connor Ogilvie, Livia Rodrigues, Taylor Rosen, and Christine Villette
heard a keynote speech from Holocaust survivor Ruth Kapp Hartz and participated in a Q&A regarding her experiences during the Holocaust.
Following the keynote, students traveled to their morning workshops, where they were introduced to students from other school districts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. In these morning workshops, participants formed connections with their peers, discussed school culture, diversity, personal experiences, and bias. In the afternoon, students regrouped as a school and were able to discuss what they had learned and ways they could create change in their school.
This experience was impactful and educational for all of us! We would especially like to thank Mrs. Bergeyova and Mrs. Sebro for providing us with this opportunity, as well as fostering engaging small group discussion.
#BASHBEARSHaveIMPACT
Attention: All 8th Grade Students - 2023-2024 Writing Contest
The Boyertown Bulletin is sponsoring a writing contest for all eighth graders. We ask that you share this information with your eighth graders and encourage them to enter this contest. Their ELA teacher will have this information as well.
2023 Writing Contest rules:
1. The contest began on October 23, 2023, with the deadline for submission on January 8, 2024. We want to present certificates and prizes to the winning students in late February or early March at a date agreeable to both the judges and the school. Last year, the judges went to the schools and personally announced the winners and gave them a certificate of achievement plus their prizes.
2. This contest is open to all eighth-grade students in The Boyertown Area School District. (Eighth-grade Oley Valley School District students will also participate in this contest. Each School (Oley Valley Middle School, Boyertown East, and Boyertown West) will be judged individually.)
3. The written stories are to be the sole work of the student and may be on any topic they desire.
4. Stories should not exceed 500-600 words.
5. Stories will only be judged on the content of the story. The judges will not judge grammar, spelling, or punctuation. However, at their discretion, the judges may consider grammar, spelling, and punctuation in the event of a tie.
6. We will not accept stories that are not appropriate, such as stories containing vulgarity or explicit sexuality.
7. Stories should be submitted to the student’s ELA teacher, who will send them to me to forward to the judges. Please submit stories as a Word Document. We prefer stories not to be submitted in PDF because they must be copied and sent to the other judges.
8. The Boyertown Bulletin requests written permission from the parent(s) or guardian(s) of each student who is entering the contest. Permission will be for the student’s name (first and last), photo, and story to be published in a future edition of The Boyertown Bulletin. A permission form is attached to this email. The permission form should be submitted directly to me at patmoser102@gmail.com. Please do not submit the permission form to the school.
If you have any questions about the contest or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you,
Patricia Moser
patmoser102@gmail.com
Editor of Composition
The Boyertown Bulletin
Internship Showcase
Meet Julia, a senior at BASH. Julia spends 15 hours per week at Main Street Vet learning all about veterinary medicine and care. Her experiences include sitting in for surgeries , shadowing appointments, helping clean, and so much more. Julia hopes that what she learns in this internship
will help with a future goal of becoming a vet.
For more information about the Internship Program, please contact Natalie Warren at nwarren@boyertown asd.org.
Team Attends Keystone State Literacy Assoc. Conference
Photo and Article Courtesy of Stephanie Landis, Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning
During the week of November 29th, eight members of our BASD instructional staff participated in the Keystone State Literacy Association conference held in Hershey, PA. Funding for conference participation was primarily supported through our federal grants. A variety of sessions were held which educated our team on the shifts in literacy instruction that are being implemented in Pennsylvania. These sessions highlighted topics such as gaining tips to effectively structure classroom instruction and provide tiered support, building tools to collaborate on STEELs instruction, understanding the impact of AI in education, and implementing strategies for teaching reading and writing in grades K-12.
In addition to conference participants, Boyertown was also well represented by two presenters. Their session topics were:
Dana Kramaroff – Author & Classroom Teacher, Boyertown Area School District
Writing About What Makes You Different
Join teacher and author Dana Kramaroff to explore how “writing about what makes you different,” an idea often spoken about by author Sandra Cisneros, can be brought into the work we do with children. Dana will share how her choice to write about what makes her different propelled her into drafting her debut novel. She will also provide ideas you can take back to your classroom right away. Please bring a writer’s notebook and pens or pencils!
Aileen Hower – Assistant Professor of Literacy, Millersville University
Lynne Dorman – Author & Adjunct Professor, Arcadia University
Perside Himmele – Author
Catherine Gehman – Teacher, Boyertown Area School District
Purposeful Reflection: Everyday Habits to Strengthen Student Performance
Reflection is an important yet often neglected part of meaningful learning. This presentation will give educators practical advice and teacher-tested tools to help them embed reflection routines across their day. It will provide them with structures and frameworks that will give students the capacity to pause in the learning process and examine their learning experience from all angles.
Our reading specialists who attended had the opportunity to provide updates on the new knowledge they gained to their colleagues in our monthly reading specialists and intervention teacher meeting. Ongoing learning for our staff provides valuable opportunities for supporting the needs of our students.
#BEARTEACHERSLearnToo
Important Information from Food Services
School Breakfast Program and Locating Meals During the Holidays
As per federal regulations of the School Nutrition Program and the PA Department of Education Division of Food and Nutrition, the School Food Authority (SFA) is required to give periodic notifications regarding the School Breakfast Program and its offerings.
In addition, The Healthy Hunger – Free Kids Act of 2010 requires all School Food Authorities (SFAs) to inform families about the availability and location of free meals for students during time away from school over the summer months or holidays. While schools are closed for the winter holiday, families seeking food assistance for their children can contact The USDA National Hunger Hotline, operated by Hunger Free America. Information is included in the attached PDF titled Meal Locator During the Holidays.
The information regarding both items is attached below.
Emergency Closing and Flexible Instructional Days
Foundation for Boyertown Education
Celebrating 10 Years of Service to BASD! 2013-2023
The Wizards are Returning to BASD and Tix are On Sale Now!
Get 'em while they're hot! Tickets ON SALE NOW for the Wizards vs. Foundation All Stars
game on January 20, 2024.
To purchase yours today, please use the link below.
Community Bulletin Board
BASD is proud to host our online Community Bulletin Board. The electronic bulletin board features district and community activities, events, clubs, resources, and more. The board is updated regularly and is an excellent source of information regarding things happening throughout our community and beyond. Be sure to check it out regularly!
#BASDBEARSCareAboutOurCommunity
Clipart images used throughout this newsletter
template were purchased through Can Stock Photo.
The online clipart vendor is no longer in business.
This picture is a modified version of our BASD logo.
The BASD logo is protected under copyright law.
(C) This is the official BASD bear logo. This logo is protected under copyright law.
Boyertown Area School District
Education Center
911 Montgomery Avenue
Boyertown, PA 19512
(610) 367-6031
www.boyertownasd.org