Banks Middle School

Dear Students and Families,

It's hard to believe, but the end of quarter 1 is almost upon us! Our Leadership students have been hard at work planning the Dance tonight with the PTO. Additionally, Leadership is doing the Haunted Hallway tonight and it is open to the public from 6:15-7:45.

Next week, we have no school on Friday so teachers can work on progress reports. For our 6th graders, the progress reports may be their very first experience with letter grades. We also have students who feel anxiety or a lack of motivation regarding letter grades. If your child met their goals, progress reports are a great time to recognize their hard work and affirm their skills and achievements! However, if your child is not yet where they want to be, it is helpful to sit down with them and have a supportive discussion. Talk to your student about how they can improve, encourage a growth mindset, and make goals as a family. Studies show that how we talk to students about their performance matters. For example, you might say, "I noticed that your math grade is lower than we hoped it would be, can you help me understand what happened?" The phrase "I noticed" shows your child you are paying attention without being in judgement, and "help me understand," gives your student a chance to explain. Next, you can sit down and make a plan together. For example, you might decide on a new homework routine, make a study plan, remind them to schedule a test retake with their teacher, or help them start using their planner daily to track assignments. If you need support with how to help your child, please don't hesitate to reach out to individual teachers, or our counselor Ms. del Villar. There is still lots of time to bring grades up before the final end of semester grades, and we are here to help!

Along with progress reports, we will also be mailing home your student's fall math and reading diagnostic results from iReady. We do these diagnostic tests three times per year to monitor our students' progress and design supports and interventions. Please take a moment to review these reports with your student, to celebrate growth and achievements, and to set goals with them to address areas they can improve on.

Conferences are also coming up soon, on November 6th and 7th. Conferences will be open arena style in the gym on November 6th from 4:30-5:45 and on November 7th grom 4:30-8:00. We will also have invitation conferences on 11/6 from 6-8 pm for parents of students we are hoping to have more time with. We will call individual families to schedule those. Whether you come to the open arena time or an invitation conference, we hope to see you all on one of those two nights!

Finally, if you want a quick dinner idea for Nov. 6 conferences, stop in or order online at MOD Pizza and 20% of your payment will go to the BMS PTO to support our school! See the flyer below for details.

Best wishes,

Caitlin Everett

caitline@banks.k12.or.us

Principal, Banks Middle School

Every Tuesday and Thursday after school from 3:15-4:00 - Homework Club

October 25- Fall Dance at BMS @ 6-8 pm

October 25- Concert Band Assembly @ BHS (Choir and Beginning Band will not participate in this one)

November 1- No School Quarter 1 Grading Day

November 6- 4:30-5:50 Open Arena Style Parent Teacher Conferences. 6:00-8:00 Invitation Confernces

November 7- 4:30-8:00 Open Arena Style Parent Teacher Conferences

November 8-11- No School Veterans Day Weekend

November 25-29- No School Fall Break

Parents and students can now go onto our BMS Library website and see all the books we have in the library, It also shows which textbooks our learners are using on a daily basis. There are also quick links to books, options to write reviews, and to request holds. This month, it has some great spooky stories and a poem read by Edgar Allan Poe. There is also a PBS Monstrum to learn history and legends with stories written by Emily Zarka PH.D. Next month, we will highlight Indigenous History Month with links to Native American texts.

At BMS, we know how important it is for students to be in class regularly to succeed. When we say "regular attendance," we mean missing no more than 10 days of school each year. Missing more than that can create gaps in learning and make it tough for students to keep up with their classmates.

We understand that life happens, and there may be challenges affecting your child’s attendance. That’s why we’re here to help! If your child is missing a lot of school, we’ll reach out to see how we can support you and work together to improve their attendance.

Take a look at the flier below to learn more about attendance and how to prioritize it with your teen or tween! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need support. We’re here to help make sure your child stays on track and is ready to learn!

Fall Dance is today! Friday October 25: Fall Dance will be from 6-8pm in the BMS Gym. This dance is only for students enrolled at BMS (no outside guests are allowed). Students will be asked to check in their phones at the entrance and pick them up upon leaving. Phones are secure with an adult for the whole dance. Students are expected to stay the full 2 hours unless their parent or guardian comes to pick them up; students may not leave early without parental permission. We are looking forward to this fun event!

Fall Spirit Week: Leadership students are planning a Fall Spirit week from October 28-31. Stay tuned for themed days. On Thursday, Oct 31 students can wear their costumes as long as they meet the following guidelines:

• No masks, face paint, or anything that completely disguises their identity.

• No weapons, props or anything that requires items to be carried around.

• No blood or gore

• No inflatable costumes

• No mid-drift shirts or undergarments exposed

• No inappropriate language or symbols on costumes

• Please keep costumes culturally respectful.

We want students to have a fun day but also acknowledge that we have learning to do as well. :) If you have any questions about costumes, please ask!

Leadership is kicking off our first fundraiser of the year! We are now a BottleDrop Give organization and participating using “blue bags”.

Once you fill the bag, you can:

1) Have your student pick up a blue bag with QR code sticker from Ms. King

2) Return it to Mrs. King full of cans/bottles and she will take it to a BottleDrop

3) You can also return it to a BottleDrop location and make sure they scan the BMS Leadership QR code.

Yearbooks are now on sale!

We want to feature many amazing students and staff, so we are increasing the size of the book!

The cost is $25 and money can be turned in to Mrs. Turner in the office or online at Jostens. Books are on sale until February 28, 2025

Homework club is an after school activity where students can work on school work in a supervised setting. Homework club is from 3:15-4:00 on Tuesday and Thursday in the library beginning 9/3/24. Permission slips are required, students can get a permission slip in the office. Please note, a student needs to have work to do during homework club. It is not a place to "hang out" or pass time after school. Also note that attendance is not taken, please be aware of your child's homework club attendance plans ahead of time and ensure they have a way home, as transportation is not provided.

If you would like a refresher on the criteria the Oregon Health Department uses to determine whether a student should stay home from school due to illness, here is a helpful chart detailing the symptoms and criteria for exclusion. Thank you for your attention to this so we can help prevent the spread of communicable illnesses.

If you shop at Fred Meyer you are now able to support our PTO by enrolling in the Community Rewards program with Fred Meyer. Once enrolled, they will contribute $ to the PTO for all eligible purchases.

Signing up is easy. Visit https://www.fredmeyer.com. Once logged into your Fred Meyer account, you can search for Banks Middle School PTO either by name or "VI069" and then click "Enroll". New users will need to create an account, which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a rewards card.