BWMS Family Update

9/6/24

Keep SOARing!

I must say it was another fantastic week at BWMS.

Students are now getting into the time when summative assessments and monitoring of progress occurs. In fact if you can believe it, the mid-point of the 1st quarter is just weeks away. We call these Grade Update Days and we work to have an updated progress in PowerSchool for families to review student work. With conferences just around the corner, this will be a great time for you to check marks and monitor specific goals you may have set with your child before the school year began. As a quick reminder for those new to grades, we have a phrase to help us remember what is our main goal: BWMS cares more about the Learning and less about the Grade. Meaning, students have multiple opportunities for success throughout the quarter to demonstrate what they know and are able to do. Mr. Frame will be hosting a parent information meeting during the first conference night about how to help your student navigate the new world of grades. More details to come.

At BWMS, we will have two nights of conferences in the 1st quarter scheduled for Tuesday 9/24/24 and Thursday 10/3/24. We have designated 3:00PM-5:00PM conferences to be virtual and 5:30PM-7:00PM conferences to be in-person on 9/24/24. For your convenience, we will flip this rotation for our next conference night on 10/3/24. We will be sharing the online sign up by this Wednesday at 3pm. Overall, we look forward to partnering with you to support your student's growth in 2024!

Sincerely,

Mr. Josh Frame

Important Information to Start the Year

School Updates

STAR reports in reading and math will be mailed home which indicate any tiered supports. Please reach out to your content teacher, grade-level school counselor or middle school office with any questions.
The next BWMS PTO Meeting will be on Tuesday 9/10/24 at 7 PM.
The last day to guarantee a t-shirt from the Big Nut Strut is 9/13/24. See sign up details below to support our BWMS PTO on 10/13/24.
BWMS will use a randomized selection process to select the 125 7th grade students who will have a unique opportunity to visit the "The Wall That Heals," a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica and mobile education center at Havener Park, Liberty Township. The field trip will take place on Thursday 9/12/24 at 10:00am. Please know that students will miss some regular class time for this trip. In the event that your student is not selected, details about this public event can be found here.
Fair Day / Teacher PD Waiver Day is Monday 9/16/24. Students do not have school.
Mid point of the 1st quarter is Friday 9/20/24. We call these Grade Update Days and we encourage all parents to log into PowerSchool to check the progress of their student's performance. We will share out the link to sign up for the first Parent Teacher Conference Night soon. If your student needs help getting into PowerSchool, please reference this document.
The 1st School Dance for 7th and 8th graders is Friday 9/20/24 and for 6th graders is Friday 9/27/24 from 6:00 - 8:00 in the commons. We will have a DJ play some good tunes and the kids will have a great time eating snacks from the concession stand. School Dances at BWMS are limited to our students and chaperoned by school staff. They are causal so no need to purchase a new outfit just for this occasion. The cost is $5.00 at the door.
Picture Day is Tuesday 9/24/24. Students will have their pictures taken out of Science Classes. Forms have already been emailed to families and a hardcopy will also be available.

Art Club Sign Ups - Click Here

BWMS is excited for 6-8th grade art club this year. The purpose of art club is to give students a chance outside of class to work on art. Art club will begin on 9/11 from 2:20 - 3:20. Art Club will meet most Wednesday afternoons. All parts of the application must be filled out to be considered to be a part of the club. A student must also be able to be picked up by a parent/guardian or walk home at 3:20. Please reach out to Mrs. Briant at ericabriant@bwls.net or Mrs. Butler at haleybutler@bwls.net with any questions.

Click Here to Sign Up

Builders Club Starting

Support BWMS PTO at the Big Nut Strut - 10/13/24

Have you registered for the Big Nut Strut 5k?

This fun, family-friendly event helps raise money for all 8 Big Walnut Schools! This was one of the biggest fundraisers in 2023, and we need your help. The more participants from our school, the more money our school gets!

https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/Sunbury/BigNutStrut

**Sign up by September 13th to be guaranteed a shirt!

**Not a runner?!? Sign up for the Virtual race, and still get the awesome race shirt!

Future Educational Tours

BW will be traveling again with EF Educational Tours as an extended learning opportunity to Japan and Greece during summer of 2026. This opportunity is for students current 4th-6th graders! There will be informational meetings Thursday, September 17 for Japan and Wednesday, September 18 for Greece. See details below.

Middle School Japan: https://bit.ly/3yJMxHc

Middle School Greece: https://bit.ly/45Zph3Q

Reminder for 7th Grade Families

All 7th grade students are required to have an updated Tdap and meningitis vaccine. We would ask that parents provide written proof of immunization or a letter of objection to the school within the first two weeks of school. Please contact our School Nurse at MeganTruax@bwls.net or the office with any questions.

Important BWMS Dates

September

6 STAR reports sent Home

10 BWMS PTO Meeting, 7:00

16 Teacher PD Day / Fair Day

20 Grade Update Day

20 7th & 8th Grade Dance 6PM-8PM

24 Picture Day 7:45-2:20

24 Conferences, 3:00-7:00

27 6th Grade Dance 6PM-8PM

30 Art Contest for Yearbook begins

October

30-3 Spirit Week

3 Conferences, 3:00-7:00

4 Homecoming

8 BWMS PTO Meeting, 7:00 PM

10 DC Parent Meeting 5:30 pm in Auditorium

7-11 STOMP out Bullying Week

11 What I Need (WIN) Day

11 SC spirit - Stomp Out Bullying Day

14 Yearbook Art contest ends

17 End of 1st quarter

18 No School Conf Comp Day

25 Report Cards Posted 8am

Month View Calendar Link

iCalendar Link

BWMS SOARing Staff Member Award

The SOARing Staff Award and used to recognize a Big Walnut Middle School Staff Member who goes above and beyond to support the mission of BWLS to inspire and guide each student to his or her maximum potential. If you would love to recognize a staff member, please submit their name and reason on the following form... HERE.