BMS Media Newsletter

The Accelerated Reader program is the computer based program used by Atlanta Public Schools and BMS to measure a student's reading comprehension. Under normal circumstances, students are only able to take AR quizzes while they are on an Atlanta Public School campus. Because of the COVID-19 school closure, the restriction has been lifted and students are strongly encouraged to take AR quizzes at home.

Students are encouraged to read loads of books, take and pass AR quizzes with no less than 80% accuracy. Research tells us that when a reader passes an AR quiz with 80% or more accuracy, they really understood what they read. The program can be accessed by logging into mybackpack.apsk12.org. The student can log in using their network ID and their lunch number. Click on the Renaissance thumbnail. Let's Read and Take AR Quizzes!

1. Go to Renaissance Accelerated Reader Book Finder at this link: www.arbookfind.com

2. Once there, click on student, parent or teacher
3. In "Quick Search," type the title of the book
4. If the book is indeed an AR title, information about the book will appear, if it is not an AR title, it will say, "No AR Quiz"

Beginning Monday, April 13, Weekly Food Distribution will take place on Mondays ONLY at our 10 Anchor Sites listed below. Bus delivery will still occur 10 a.m. to Noon, also on Mondays only.

• Food is available via drive thru and walk up
• Food distribution includes five-day meal bags with five breakfast meals and five lunch meals. Food will also be delivered using the bus schedule here.
• A bag of weekly groceries will be available at the five anchor sites below.

Food distribution is from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mondays ONLY beginning April 13 at these anchor sites:

• Bunche Middle School - 1925 Niskey Lake Rd., SW, Atlanta, GA 30331
• Cleveland Avenue Elementary School - 2672 Old Hapeville Rd., SW, Atlanta, GA 30315
• Douglass High School - 225 Hamilton E Holmes Dr., NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
• Phoenix Academy (formerly Alonzo Crim High School) - 256 Clifton St., SE, Atlanta, GA 30317
• Sylvan Hills Middle School - 1461 Sylvan Rd., SW, Atlanta, GA 30310
• Booker T. Washington High School - 45 Whitehouse Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 3031
• Hope-Hill Elementary School - 112 Boulevard NE, Atlanta, GA 30312
• King Middle School - 545 Hill St SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
• Thomasville Heights Elementary School - 1820 Henry Thomas Dr. SE, Atlanta, GA 30315
• Young Middle School - 3116 Benjamin E Mays Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30311

*Our North Atlanta Cluster and Briarcliff communities will continue to receive distribution support by the ESOL office. For questions contact 404-802-7580.

Lots of us are scrambling to get our kids set up for remote learning. And for many, that means Google Classroom. This free-to-schools platform is super popular and highly rated. But if your kid needs to use it for school, it's a good idea to bone up on its features so you can help your kid use it safely.

Learn how to set up Google Classroom—from using privacy settings to preventing cheating—to maximize your kid’s learning experience at home.

Take Me To The Guide: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-google-classroom j=7724979&sfmc_sub=179579842&l=2048712_HTML&u=144227822&mid=6409703&jb=352&utm_source=consumer_GoogleClassroomPUG_20200402&utm_medium=email

APS District eBook Shelf

To access the APS eBook shelf, students should log into MyBackpack. Select the eBooks tile. From here, all apps are accessible for student use.

To access apps requiring username/password, use the following credentials:

TumbleBook Library/Cloud

Username: atlantaps

Password: books

Big Timber Books

Username: atlantaps

Password: readmore

APS eResources

To access APS eResources, students should log into MyBackpack. Select the eResources tile. From here, all apps are accessible for student use.

To access apps requiring username/password, use the following credentials:

World Almanac (Elem, Middle & HS) - no additional log in required

Vocabulary.com - no additional log in required

National Geographic Kids: Password: readmore

Infobits - Password: readmore

Learn360: no additional log in required

Britannica Image Quest - no additional log in required

Blooms Literature - no additional log in required

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is offering its eNewspaper to everyone while we are away from school.

How can your students access MyOn?

• Students simply log into MyBackpack and select MyOn
• There are assignments that have been assigned for students. Have them check it out!

Free Educational Apps, Games, and Websites

You don't always have to pay big bucks for great educational games, apps, and websites: Lots of outstanding free options are only a click away. Since the subjects here range from reading to math skills, kids can find all sorts of fun practice for all kinds of topics. The best part is that kids can check them out and move on if a title isn't a great fit -- and it won't impact your wallet! These resources are either completely free or full of quality free content for kids to explore.

Click here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/free-educational-apps-games-and-websites

Check out the website below. Click on any of Robert Munsch's books and there will be a link to listen to him read the story (no images just audio.) He has 50 books listed on the website that students can listen to without any logging in or password or anything. Munsch was a storyteller before becoming an author and does a fantastic job telling these stories.

Happy Reading! https://robertmunsch.com/books

If your students are having issues with logging into sites or issues with their devices, please email me - nbivins@atlanta.k12.ga.us. Once I receive your email, I immediately contact Client Support, however, there are extremely long wait times. Once the matter is resolved, I will contact you and the student promptly. If a student reports that they are unable to log into MyBackPack, Google Classroom, or Edgenuity, please log in with the student's credentials before reporting the issue. In most cases, we are finding that students are typing incorrectly or using the wrong url.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/video-games-you-can-say-yes-to-after-school?utm_source=edu_nl_20200310_quarterly_family_engagement&utm_medium=email

50 Educational Video Games That Home schoolers Love https://oedb.org/ilibrarian/50-educational-video-games-that-homeschoolers-love/

The Most Amazing Virtual Field trips

Click Here: https://www.areavibes.com/library/online-field-trips-for-students/

GA PBS: https://www.gpb.org/education/georgia-studies/virtual-field-trips

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/virtual-field-trips/

Tutor ATL is a free on demand tutoring service for all Atlanta Public School students.

Keep on logging those minutes! Try 20 minutes/day enter the minutes into Beanstack to earn your next badge!

Happy Reading!

AFPLS

Username: network ID Password: lunch number

Teachers: Lawson ID Password: CHANGEME

Beanstack

Username: Network ID Password: race2read

Teachers: network ID Password: beanstackreads

Race2Read click here: https://www.beanstack.com/race2read

Don't forget that thanks to a partnership with the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, all Atlanta Public School students are patrons of the public library! Click here: http://www.afpls.org/class

1. There is no card involved. Students use the APS username and password.

2. There are no late fees.

3. If student loses a book, the fee is a writing assignment.

Class Pass allows the following checkouts:

Print checkouts:

50 books, 10 CDs, 5 DVDs

Digital checkouts:

Hoopla - 10 downloads per month

Overdrive - 10 items every 30 days

Axis 360 - 5 titles per month

Email: nbivins@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Location: 765 Peeples Street Southwest, Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone: (404)802-6800
Twitter: @BMS_MED_Center