The Friday Flyer

What a way to start our foggy Friday! We thoroughly enjoyed a delicious coffee bar with donuts provided by the BME PTO! Thank you, thank you PTO! You never cease to amaze us!

I am excited to announce that ZEF awarded the Elementary STEM Team $13,000 to purchase robotics equipment for use in kindergarten and first grade classes district-wide! Thank you ZEF! Boone Meadow now has Bee Bots to use with kindergarten and Kubo Robots to use with first grade. We’ll start robotics with these classes in the 2nd semester. Currently, our 3rd grade students are in the midst of a robotics unit and are getting two robotics sessions each week. The students are using their math skills to measure precisely and to make reasonable estimates while they learn how to program the robot to move forward and backward and to make accurate turns. Other grades (K, 1, 2, and 4) are scheduled to do robotics later in the year.

During 1st-4th grade enrichment STEM classes students are using their knowledge of block based coding to create! Classes this week could code their own dance party on the code.org website. RACE Day STEM was Eve Bunting focused during the month of November. We made bridges and engineered ways to rescue rubber ducks based on problems found in Eve Bunting books.

Family STEM Projects – Thanks to those families that made family STEM projects last month. Those moving creations have been on display in the media center since they arrived at school. It was so much fun to see the different ways motion was interpreted from project to project. In December, we’ll introduce our next Family STEM Challenge – The Cardboard Challenge. These projects will be displayed and used by families at family STEM Night in January. Mark your calendar for Family STEM Night which will be Wednesday, January 23 from 6-7:30 p.m.

Many thanks goes to Liz Keiper, Chairperson, and all of her volunteers

for a successful BME Talent Show.

There were 21 acts in total, and everyone did an OUTSTANDING JOB!

Such talented young people here at the Meadow!

Click on the link below to view the show!

Next week, Body Safety Programs will be presented to all kindergarten through fourth grade students, as mandated by State legislation. An informational parent meeting occurred earlier this month at the ESC. If you would prefer for your child/children to not participate in the Think First and Stay Safe program, please complete the official Parent Opt-Out Form. It can be requested from the office or your classroom teacher. The Parent Opt-Out forms are due by Monday, December 3, 2018.

Please watch for the Parent Guide to come home with your child next Thursday.

BME collected 1674 can goods for the annual food drive. Congratulations to Mrs. Sarpa's class for collecting the most to help combat food insecurity in our community. The ZCS football team came to pick-up the canned goods and congratulate Mrs. Sarpa's class!

Kindy-A few weeks ago we read the beautifully illustrated Historical Fiction book: “Magnus at the Fire” by Jennifer Armstrong. We have also read “Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson; a silly book and a crowd favorite. “Stone Soup” by Marcia Brown brought an opportunity to discuss teamwork and sharing. This week for all of those picky eaters out there, we read “I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato!” by Lauren Child. The reader is reminded in a gentle and amusing way that we can’t possibly know what something tastes like just by looking at it!

1st grade-Recently we read “The Furry Animal Alphabet Book” by Jerry Pallatta. It is chocked full of interesting animals and interesting facts! Also, we read “Stone Soup” by Marcia Brown and “Stone Pizza” by Susan Mitchell. The latter is a modern day remake of “Stone Soup”. After the stories we had a compare/contrast discussion about the 2 stories. This week we read “Bread and Jam for Frances” by Russell Hoban and “I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato” by Lauren Child. C’mon, just take a tiny bite. You might love it!

2nd grade-We are currently reading, the 1st book in the “Boxcar Children” series by Gertrude Chandler Warner. Always a favorite!

3rd grade-We are reading, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl. I love watching our student’s faces as they joyfully listen to this silly story!

4th grade-We are reading, “Out of my Mind” by Sharon Draper. This award winning book about a young girl with cerebral palsy is eye opening and a great book to read as a family!

It is such a joy to spend time each week with our BME students! Happy Reading!

(If anyone out there has an hour to spare on Tuesdays from 8AM – 9AM, please give me a shout. I am in need of some help at that time in our beautiful BME library!) jleeds@zcs.k12.in.us

December

3rd-6th - Body Safety lessons (K-4th)

6th - Dine to Donate at Noble Roman's 5:00-8:00

13th - Boone Meadow Voices concert @ 7:00

20th - Holiday Parties

21st- Holiday Parties, Last Day of School before Winter Break

January

7th - Students return to school

21st - Dr. MLK, jr Day (no school)

23rd - Family STEM Night "Cardboard Challenge" 6:00-7:30

Since we incurred our school closing on Thursday, November 15th, the last student day is now, Tuesday, May 28th.

Elementary fee payments for the 2018-19 school year were due in September.

Didn’t receive your statement? Good news, as textbook rental fee statements can now be viewed in PowerSchool!

• Simply log in to your PowerSchool parent account or your student’s PowerSchool account, and click on the BALANCE tab on the left side of the screen. You will see your student’s itemized statement, payments made, and current account balance.
  
• NEW – for a flat fee of $3.80 per transaction, save time and the hassle of writing/mailing a check and make your payment online via SchoolPay.
  

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding Textbook Rental, please visit

https://www.zcs.k12.in.us/apps/pages/textbook_rental

From time to time Boone Meadow uses SchoolMessenger to send a text to all of the families. If you haven't been receiving texts from us, you may need to opt-in by sending YES to the SchoolMessenger short code of 68453. Contact Beth Kiel in the front office if you have any questions!

bkiel@zcs.k12.in.us

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VOLUNTEERS

We value partnerships with our families and welcome parents and guardians to serve as volunteers in our schools. Each ZCS building offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities.

Examples include:

• Field Trip Chaperones
• Out of Town/Overnight Chaperones
• Tutors
• Volunteer Coaches
• Classroom Helpers (PTO parties/room parents)
• Library Helpers
• After Prom Workers
• Field Day/Jog-A-Thon Volunteers
• Book Fair Sales/Athletic Ticket Sales

During the school day, all volunteers are expected to sign in at the front office. Prior to the volunteer opportunity, all volunteers must sign a Non-disclosure Acknowledgement Form and have successfully completed a Full Criminal History Background Check. Necessary background check paperwork is available on the ZCS website at the Volunteers/BRAVO link and should be submitted at least 10 days prior to the intended volunteer date. Volunteers must also view the state mandated confidentiality/bullying video, provided on the Volunteer/BRAVO website. The volunteer will pay the fee* for the full background check which will expire after 5 years. The link to apply for the full background check can be accessed on the Volunteers/BRAVO link on the ZCS main webpage. For more information, contact the Volunteer/BRAVO Coordinator.

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VISITORS

During the school day, all visitors must enter via the front door and sign-in at the front office. Visitors need to be prepared to present a government issued photo ID which will be scanned against the National Sex Offender Registry. All visitors will be issued a visitor badge/tag to be worn inside the building at all times.

Examples Include:

• Lunch Guests
• Classroom Guest Speakers
• Classroom Special Events (Grandparent Day/Famous Hoosiers/etc.)
• Parent/Teacher Conferences

We ask that all visitors schedule an appointment to meet with teachers, counselors, administrators and all other staff members so that we may best serve everyone. Visitors other than parents/guardians must be prearranged and organized through the main office.

*ZCS thanks all volunteers for generous support of our youth and schools. Thank you, too, for supporting assurance of student and staff safety by completing and paying for a volunteer background check.

Email: thundley@zcs.k12.in.us
Website: http://www.zcs.k12.in.us/bme/
Location: 5555 S Main St, Whitestown, IN, United States
Phone: 3178732226
Twitter: @ZCSBoone_Meadow