Bobcat Blast
June 15, 2023
October 3, 2024
Principal Message
Dear Bethany Families,
THANK YOU for making our Jog-a-thon not only a successful fundraising event, but also an incredible community experience! I hope your child(ren) came home tired and happy after running their little hearts out! I can only imagine how many volunteer hours were spent leading up to and on the day of the jog-a-thon (and the work continues as donations are counted, prizes are being organized, highlight video is created, and so on). Countless hours of love and dedication are being poured into our school to make it the special place that it is. Thank you to all of our spectators and even the Taco Man who ran 58 laps throughout the day! 🌮 🏃♂️
On a more serious note, tomorrow we will have our first LOCKDOWN drill of the year at 8:35 am. During the drill no one will be allowed to enter or leave the school (for about 7-10 minutes). In this drill there is NO fire alarm and students do not evacuate the school. There will be an intercom voice that repeats the phrase, "The school is in Lockdown. Locks, Lights, Out of Sight." Teachers will prepare their students in the morning before the drill. After the drill they will debrief the experience to answer student questions and provide reassurance as needed. This is a protocol that we hope we never have to use in real life, however, drills like this provide common language and muscle memory to keep people safe in a real emergency. The safety of your children and our staff is our highest priority.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns prior to or following the drill. I appreciate all of the support you provide at home and recognize that we all wish we lived in a world where Lockdowns wouldn't be necessary.
Take care of yourself and each other. ❤️
Ms. Rosenquist
Important Events
October
- 9 - Walk & Bike To School
- 9 - PTO Meeting, 7:00 pm
- 11 - No School: Staff Development
- 15 - Picture Day
- 24 - World Dwarfism Awareness, Wear Green
- 24 - Haunted Hallway, 5:30pm
- 25 - No School: Grading Day
Click on the Link Below for the full school year calendar
Jog-A-Thon Update!
We had an amazing Jog-a-thon day! Bethany’s Bobcats ran 2,127 lap! That’s 531.75 miles. We could have run several miles beyond the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco!
We are currently tallying all donations - remember the last day for donations to count towards prizes is October 7th. We will accept donations past that date, but they won’t count towards individual or experience prizes. We’ll have more information next week on when individual prizes will be distributed and when the experience prizes will be scheduled.
Most importantly THANK YOU to all the volunteers, parents, visitors, staff, sponsors, and everyone in the Bethany community who helped make the day a huge success!!!
International Walk + Roll Day Is Next Wednesday
Win This Scooter
Next Wednesday is International Walk + Roll to School Day! What a great way to start the Day! Make a plan now for how your family will participate:
- Coordinate with a friend for a walk to school
- Ride bikes as a family
- Meet up with friends and ride your scooter.
We will have a raffle for this scooter and also the green backpacks as part of this fun event.
If you would like to create a fun environment by handing out prizes to all walkers and rollers at all school entrances from 7:20 to 7:50am please contact Parentgreenteamlead@bspto.org
5th Grade Families - Fall Carnival
Does your 5th grade student want to participate?
Now that the Jog-a-thon is finished, we are ramping up planning for the Fall Carnival and Haunted Hallway event! Please fill out the Google Form to ensure that your student can participate! We have an FAQ sheet here to answer any initial questions you may have. Those who are interested in volunteering will receive an email with Zoom details for upcoming planning meetings.
If you have items you would like to donate for the raffle baskets, please reach out to Jami at jamiryan79@yahoo.com. She has also put together a wish list that you can use to get donation ideas as well.
School Picture Day - October 15th
How Do I Order Pictures?
There are two ways to purchase pictures:
- We will be sending home picture packets next week. You can send in the packet with payment on picture day.
- Pay online, See instructions below
All Families are Welcome
Author Visit , Order Your Autographed Book by Oct. 16th
Award-winning, bestselling author Chanel Miller is coming to Bethany!
In Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All, Chanel Miller tells a fun, funny, and poignant story of friendship and community starring Magnolia Wu, a ten-year-old sock detective bent on returning all the lonely only socks left behind in her parents’ NYC laundromat.
We will be hosting an assembly for Bethany's 2nd - 5th graders on Friday, November 1.
Preorder your signed copy of this instant bestseller. Books are being purchased through local independent bookstore Green Bean Books and will be distributed after the assembly.
Ordering Instructions.: To order your copy, please complete the form below, and then follow the directions for placing your order through BSD's online payment system (the same site you used for school supplies). Please make sure you follow the link in order to complete payment.
The deadline for ordering is October 16th. Thank you for supporting our young readers!
OBOB News From The Library
We have kicked off the 2024-25 Oregon Battle of the books (OBOB) competition at Bethany to grades 3,4 and 5 . I am reading four of the OBOB books to grades 3-5. There is a great interest in the competition this year, especially because our students want to keep our State Champions trophy at Bethany! Students are discussing team formation and strategies to read and note taking during recess and coming to me with questions about the books as well as resources.
I have updated all available resources at this time to the OBOB Information tab on our Bethany Elementary website. I will add more resources, practice questions, author name pronunciation guides etc. in the next couple months . Parents can help teams by facilitating OBOB discussion meetings at home, quizzing their student on small details from the books, guide them to take notes on the details of the books, registering to participate/ observe practice battles at various Washington County libraries during winter break etc.
I will have a presentation about the competition for all 3rd,4th and 5th grade students next week. Before the winter break, all students registering as teams will get an opportunity to observe a mock battle between two 5th grade teams.
Registration for this year's teams will be done through a Google form available below, and on the OBOB Information tab on our school website. Registration runs October 1-31, 2024. Each member of the team should register individually.
The competition at Bethany will start after Winter break. I will communicate the schedule to parents of registered students(from the Google form) in January. We will aim to determine the school's winner by the end of February. The winning team from Bethany will compete at one of the Regional Tournament that happens March 1 through March 22, 2025.
OBOB State Tournament: April 12, 2025, at
Chemeketa Community College,
Salem, OR
For 2024-25 OBOB book list, more information about OBOB, and other resources click below:
* * PTO NEWS * *
PTO Meeting Next Wednesday, Oct. 9th
Join us Online For Our October Meeting
Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 341 749 4608
Passcode: Bobcats22
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After School Classes Offered from Outside Groups
During the year we will have different outside organizations offer classes after school at Bethany. We will put a link to their fliers in the Bobcat Blast. You can also find them on the Bethany website. (Click on the Bethany Drop-Down)
Please click on the banners below for more information on Play Fit Fun and TGA Multi-Sport Classes.
Mondays
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Wednesdays
* * Repeats and Reminders * *
CogAT Screener Information
In October or November, all 3rd grade students in Beaverton will be administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Screener. This 30-minute test measures students’ learned reasoning abilities through verbal/picture analogies, number analogies and figure matrices. Families whose student scores in the 90th percentile or above on the CogAT screener will be notified and invited to give permission for their students to take the remainder of the test. There will be post-screener testing and full CogAT testing happening in elementary schools up until winter break. For more information about testing, please contact your school’s TAG facilitator. If you would like to read more about the CogAT for students older than 2nd grade, click here.
If your student is on vacation or ill during the 3rd grade screener, we will not be able to accommodate a testing session in advance. When you return, check in with the building TAG Facilitators to see if there is an easy way to add your student to a future testing session.
If your 4th or 5th grade student did not attend a Beaverton school in 3rd grade, or missed the screener for whatever reason, you can tell your student’s classroom teacher that you would like your child to be tested. Students cannot be tested with the CogAT in consecutive years. For example, a 4th grader cannot take the CogAT if they took the screener in 3rd grade.
Parents of 5th grade students, whose students did not take the CogAT as 4th graders, who would like to request their children take the CogAT again can fill out this google form. Parents need to sign up on the google form at least 5 days before the testing is scheduled to happen at their specific school.
Volunteering At Bethany
We currently have 457 Approved Volunteers.
We want to thank all of our parents who have signed up in the new volunteer system. If you still need to sign-up please use the link below.
School Supplies
Please click on the links below and help us by donating.
You will not find a school supply list for Bethany. Rather than every family having to do their own shopping, we collect money for supplies. We began this a few years ago and it has worked well. This year we are asking for a donation of $35.00 per student.
These donations are flexible, and confidential--only the office knows who donates and how much.
We understand that some families are not able to afford the cost of supplies. All children will receive the same supplies, regardless if they are able to contribute towards the cost. Some families may be in the position to make an extra donation towards helping others. If you would like to help by giving extra money, please click on the "Donations" tab that appears on your child's grade level page.
School Meals
Free Meals for All
Starting this school year, all BSD students will be eligible to receive one free breakfast and one free lunch at school daily.
Families do not have to apply, and there are no income requirements. This change is due, in part, to more generous eligibility requirements at the federal level and more funding through the state’s Student Success Act. Research indicates that universal free meals improve student health and attendance in addition to reducing bullying and behavioral issues.
Student meals include an entree, sides and a milk. Students must take the entire meal to be eligible for the no-cost option; students who only opt for milk do not qualify for free milk. This is a federal requirement meant to encourage students to eat a well-balanced, school-made meal.
The district will continue to charge for à la carte items such as milk, second entrees and snack items.
Bethany Elementary School
Bethany Elementary
Email: BTHY-Communications@beaverton.k12.or.us
- School Office Hours: 7:15am - 3:30pm
School Hours: 7:45am - 2:20pm
Phone: 503-356-2030
Attendance Line: Call the school number and push 1 when prompted for Attendance
Website: https://bethany.beaverton.k12.or.us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethanyBSD