Weekly Update

As you prepare to enjoy Fall Break next week, we encourage you to spend some time exploring nature with your students. The changing of the seasons provides many stories and lessons that tie into what they are learning at school. Be sure to check your teams' newsletters for a preview of upcoming units and topics that will be covered after the break. Have a wonderful and restful break!

Warm regards,

Derrick Thomas, Principal

🎉📚10 Reasons to Celebrate Our Literacy Team at BHMS 🎉📚

• Preparing ALL Students for Success Through:
• Collaborative Innovation
• Personalized Learning
• Creating Inclusive Learning Communities
• Developing Critical Thinkers
• Data-Driven Instruction
• Inspiring Students
• Nurturing a Love for Reading
• Cultivating a Culture of Caring
• Building Confident and Knowledgeable Writers
• Inspiring Creativity

This month, we celebrate our exceptional ELA teachers, MTSS specialists, and media center staff for their unwavering dedication to literacy and student success.

Let's make this month a page-turner! 📖✨

Students kick-started Hispanic Heritage Month with a school-wide avocado hunt. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to honor the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans, World Language Spanish teachers hid avocados all around BHMS. When students find one, they answer a trivia question, and win a prize! What a fun way to learn about Hispanic culture from September 15th to October 15th. 🥑🎉

Last week's coffee chat was all about how to understand how your child is doing at BHMS. Thank you to so many parents who came out. If you missed the chat you can find the slides here and the video recording below.

Important Information about Gifted Review

Each fall semester, the Gifted Review Team looks at existing student data to discuss students’ needs and determine if further evaluation for gifted identification is needed. If you are interested in having the team discuss your child’s needs, you may complete a Recommendation for Review Form and turn it in to one of our Gifted & Talented Specialist before Wednesday, October 2. No additional information is needed.

The Gifted & Talented Specialists for BHMS are Laura Gary, Jessica Nicks, and Robyn Tibbetts. For more detailed information about the review process and to obtain a copy of the Recommendation for Review Form, please contact the Gifted & Talented Specialist for your school or visit the Gifted and Talented Service webpage.

Seventh Grade families…Mark your calendars. Buy your student a ticket (and maybe donate one to a fellow seventh grader). Tell them to wear their NEON and be prepared to GLOW!

Date/Time: Friday, October 4 • 4 pm to 5:30 pm

Location: BHMS Cafeteria

Admission: $5 per student (All attendees must be BHMS seventh graders.) Purchase tickets at https://givebutter.com/AEr2EX.

Snacks will be sold for $1 each. Please send small bills.

Interested in helping out at the dance, purchasing snacks/decorations or sending in a cooler/ice? Sign up here: https://bit.ly/NEONGLOWsignup.

Our PBIS store for teachers and staff is gearing up for kick off. Help show appreciation for the extra time our dedicated faculty spends tutoring students, sponsoring a club, staying late to supervise a dance and undertaking other activities that help our students beyond their regular school day. Please sign up to donate gift cards or snacks at https://bit.ly/PBIS-Store-Staff.

“Bark points are a great way to get rewarded in school. They motivate students to work harder. I look forward to using my Bark points to buy snacks and candy.” — Angel

Our weekly PBIS store for students will resume on Friday, October 4. Donations are needed to stock the store, and volunteers are needed to oversee distribution during lunch periods. Sign up at https://bit.ly/PBIS-Store.

From September 15 to October 15 each year, the United States observes National Hispanic Heritage Month to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions and impact of Hispanic Americans on the nation’s history, culture and accomplishments. Following is our weekly highlight.

Planning is underway for the 2024 Diwali celebration. If you’d like to help in any way, then please let us know. More details to follow. Thank you for your support!

We appreciate all you do to support the BHMS community. Interested in joining our generous supporters? Learn more about sponsorship levels here. Questions? Reach out to Laura Spriggs, our fundraising chair at fundraising@bhmspta.org.

As fall break approaches, we're reminded of how DEF's Lighten the Load program began -- with an elementary school teacher who told us that one of her students dreaded school breaks because he and his siblings counted on having two meals a day at school. Our Lighten the Load program has evolved since then, but we're still committed to helping remove obstacles - like food insecurity - for our kids.

The number of weekend food bags we provide has DOUBLED this year, and we need your help to ensure we're able to continue to meet this need. This is our community, and these are OUR kids. Please consider donating to DEF, or purchasing items from our Lighten the Load wish list today.

You probably know that September is Suicide Prevention Month -- but do you know that through Joe’s Fund, DEF’s behavioral health fund, we provide ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) workshops multiple times each year? These two-day workshops are open to ANY CSD staff member or Decatur community member. We held a refresher course just this week, and the next trainings will be: October 10-11, February 27-28, and March 13-14. Help us make Decatur a suicide-safe community - sign up using the QR code. Interested in supporting this important work? Donate here: https://decatureducationfoundation.org/donate/.

A Season of Giving is a neighbor-led organization that brings joy to local children and seniors through gift-giving.

For Assistance: To apply for gift assistance, please complete our online application at Apply by October 31st. We are excited to support children through 12th grade again this year.

Sponsor a Gift: Donors can purchase gifts based on individual wish lists for children or seniors. If you would like to be a sponsor, please fill out the form at Sponsor.

Donate Directly: If you prefer, you can make a donation, and we will do the shopping for you. Simply Donate at our website!

Volunteer: We would greatly appreciate your help! If you're interested in volunteering, please go to Volunteer and sign up.

Need Help or Have Questions? If you encounter any issues with the forms or have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at aseasonofgivingdecatur@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support and generosity of the Season of Giving!