Bookcliff Middle School

Hello Bookcliff Families,

Our final few weeks of the first semester are upon us. There are three weeks of school between Thanksgiving and Winter breaks, and then we'll return for the third quarter on January 8th, 2025. As we enter this very busy time, I'd like to wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season, and I'd like to thank you for your ongoing support of our efforts to make Bookcliff an even better school for our students.

This month's newsletter features more good things happening here at Bookcliff, additional information from our student handbook, a message from our counselors, and other important reminders. And of course, don't forget to order your BMS merch by December 2nd!

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Brian Dickes, BMS Principal

brian.dickes@d51schools.org

970-254-6220 x32104

Our fabulous PIT crew has put together a BMS merchandise website, featuring short and long sleeve t-shirts, as well as hoodies, at very reasonable prices. All are available in either red or black, and all feature our BMS logo.

Check it out here! https://bookcliff-middle.spiritsale.com

All orders are due by December 2nd and will be delivered to students at school the week of December 16th.

Our Mustangs raised $334.00 for our adopt a family fundraiser. The biggest winners were Mrs. Brown and Mr. Lamble!

Mr. McLaughlin, Mrs. McLaughlin, Mrs. Muniz, Mrs. Rewold, Mrs. Mejia, and I attended the La Cosecha conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico last week. All of us left with a lot more knowledge and enthusiasm for dual language instruction. It was a fabulous learning experience which will positively affect our all of our students.

Our efforts to increase access to learning for our students is paying off. Since October 22, when we implemented our increased classroom behavioral expectations, just over 10% of our students have faced disciplinary action, and only a handful of those students have repeated their poor behavior choices. Our Mustangs are proving that with direct reminders, they can make good choices, which increases the learning for themselves and their classmates. Students and teachers are reporting fewer classroom disruptions and more learning time in their classes.

We recently polled our Mustangs and asked, "Overall, how much do you feel like you belong at your school?" 25% of our students responded that they completely belong, and 47% responded that they belong quite a bit. We're very pleased with a 72% favorable response rate, which is a significant increase over previous years. Our goal is to better that number when we poll the students again in the spring.

Thanks to Ms. Screws and her students for displaying their gratitude project! There are three of these posters around the school where students drew something they are grateful for.

Our next Parent Involvement Team/School Accountability Committee meeting will be held January 15th from 3:30-4:15 in the school library. Come find out about school initiatives and ways you can support Bookcliff staff and students!

Students will be issued a chromebook to be used every day throughout the school day. It is the student’s responsibility to take care of their chromebook. Students that purposely damage their chromebooks will face disciplinary action and may face payment for the cost of repairs.

Inappropriate consensual contact is not allowed. PDA should be limited to hand holding and brief hugs. Students will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension.

The school counselors have been in 8th grade classrooms delivering ICAP (Individual Career and Academic Plan) lessons which focus on career exploration. Students have been engaging with the Schoolinks platform which allows them to explore career clusters, set goals, and build resumes. The counselors will be delivering ICAP lessons to the 6th and 7th graders in December and January.

Also, the 8th grade students attended the D51 Options Fair. At this event, the 8th graders were able to visit with representatives from local high schools and higher education partners to learn about unique classes, programming, and leadership experiences such as Career & Technical Education, Advanced Placement, Work Based Learning, Concurrent Enrollment, PTECH, STEM, Career Center, International Baccalaureate, CMU Tech and more!

This week, we held our first required lockdown drill. The D51 security team praised our staff for being well prepared for such an event. We will hold another drill in the third quarter.

Unfortunately, middle school students often speak before they think. This was the case recently when a student overheard another student mention a gun at school. We are thankful that the student immediately reported the concern and we are even more thankful that there was no gun on campus and that no one was in any danger at any time. Nevertheless, we have to take every threat seriously, so we work closely with District 51 Security and the Grand Junction Police Department to ensure the safety of all of our students and staff.

• November 23-December 1----Thanksgiving Break
• December 2----BMS Merchandise orders due!
• December 7----Bingo at Gold Mine Bingo, hosted by BMS DIA @ 1:00pm
• December 9----Choir Concert
• December 11----Orchestra Concert
• December 10-12----Winter NWEA Testing in the morning
• December 16----Band Concert
• December 21-January 7----Winter Break
• January 15----PIT/SAC Meeting, 3:30
• January 29----Parent-Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7:30

With the drop in temperature comes the increased need for our students to come to school dressed appropriately for the weather. Please encourage your student to bring a coat so they aren't too cold during their 15 minute outside lunch recess.

Staff supervision and breakfast service begin at 7:40am.