Hello BBMS families!!! We had an outstanding week of teaching and learning. A special thank you to our families that attended our School Improvement Plan session on Tuesday. Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week from Monday, October 21st through Friday, October 26th. A Mental Health Resource Fair and Student Forum will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Seneca Valley High School, 19401 Crystal Rock Drive in Germantown.

The event is open to students, families and staff and will include MCPS and community partners sharing information about mental health and wellness, as well as a student-lead forum focused on issues impacting Montgomery County youth. Students may earn Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for participating in the resource fair. For more information, visit the Mental Health Awareness Week website. Below are some of the activities scheduled for the week:

Monday, 10/21: Mindful Coloring

Tuesday, 10/22: What are you thankful for?

Wednesday, 10/23:Positive Affirmation Station?

Thursday, 10/24:Mental Health Bingo

Friday, 10/25: Mindful Lunchtime Walk

Monday, October 21st: School Picture Day

Tuesday, October 22nd: Paint Branch Open House 6:30 p.m. (8th Grade Families Only)

Thursday, October 24th: Cluster Concert Blake High School (8th Grade Families Only)

Tuesday, October 29th: Blake Open House 6:30 p.m.

Friday, November 1st: End of 1st Marking Period

Benjamin Banneker Middle

Classic Photography is excited to be your official school photographer
and capture these special memories for you!

Classic Photography se complace en ser el fotógrafo oficial de su escuela

¡Y captura estos recuerdos especiales para ti!

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Your Picture Day is:

El día de tu foto es
10/21/2024

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Don't forget to be dressed in your best and mark your calendars today!

¡No olvides vestirte con tus mejores galas y marcar tus calendarios hoy!

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FREE SHIPPING on all pre-orders! (a $5 value)

All pre-orders will be returned to the school and sent home with your student.

¡ENVÍO GRATIS en todos los pedidos anticipados! (un valor de $5)

Todos los pedidos anticipados serán devueltos a la escuela y enviados a casa con su estudiante.

Click Here to Pre-Order

Online Code: 24benbann25

Pre-ordering expires 48 hours after picture day
El pedido anticipado caduca 48 horas después del día de la foto

Questions? | ¿Preguntas?
(800)869-9515 x112

The former Principal of BBMS Ida Lou Polcari recently passed away. She retired form BBMS in 2003 as an award winning Principal of the school for 8 years, preceded by 7 years as an Assistant Principal. Over the many years employed by MCPS, she amassed numerous awards in various educational roles. Her 15 years of service resulted in BBMS being selected as an Honorable Mention Maryland Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Below are a few words of remembrance from BBMS staff members who knew her:

"Mrs. Polcari worked passionately as an administrator and advocate for the students and Burtonsville Community. She was very caring towards all students and staff. I am forever grateful to her for supporting me as I began my journey as a teacher, and for being a tru example of excellence, patience, and compassion."

Cherrie Van Hook

"A committed leader; who made you feel important. She would constantly spread positivity throughout the community. She made you feel like you were a part of her family. She believed in you and always supported you personally and professionally. She lifted you up when you were down. She was hardworking and such a selfless person. She made a difference in the lives of many; she loved everyone and so many people looked up to her and admired her".

Danielle Prietz

"I had the privilege of working under the leadership of Ida Lou for 2 years. When I think of Ida Lou she was a dedicated principal with a big smile that sent a message to her students, staff, and community "We Care". Her presence was always visible in the hallways displaying love and support for our students. Occasionally, when Ida Lou returned to the building, she still wore a big smile and showed commitment to all educators and support for our Banneker community. Thank you for your dedicated service and I knew this was home when I was hired by you".

Mrs. Pearl Vails

"Ms. Ida Lou was my elementary school teacher. She was alway so kind. As a security assistant, she hired my at Banneker 23 years ago. I am forever grateful to her for the opportunity to serve our students and community".

Ralph Crawford

The Choice form bit.ly is now open for families beginning October 07, 2024. Directions have been mailed to all families eligible to participate in the Choice process. For round 1, these are students who reside in the NEC. (Students who reside in the DCC will participate in round 1 of the Choice process with the DCC and have also been mailed letters).

Families will access the choice form by typing bit.ly/choiceNEC into their browser. It's important students complete the form with their guardian and by the November 1st deadline.

Families may change their submission by resubmitting the form up until the deadline. Families may not change choices after the deadline. We highly encourage 8th grade families to attend the open house based on the schedule below:

• October 15, 2024 - Springbrook Open House 6:30 p.m.

• October 22, 2024 - Paint Branch Open House 6:30 p.m.

• October 29, 2024 - Blake Open House 6:30 p.m.

The BBMS FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT is going to NEW YORK CITY on April 25th through April 27th 2025. Students will compete in an international music competition and engage in art from around the world. The first payment is due by Tuesday, October 15th. Families can make up to 6 payments of $92.33 between Now and March 1st. Payments can be made via School Cash Online (SCO). Or in person from 8:15-8:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Total Cost of $554 per person Includes:

Festival Competition at Riverside Church

Hotel Accommodations

Museo del Barrio

Broadway Show

Time Square

911 Memorial

Central Park

Walking Tour of ChinaTown and Little Italy

Ellen’s Stardust Diner

Dinner Dance and Cruise around the Statue of Liberty

Benjamin Banneker Middle School After-School Activity Programs will begin on September 24th. See attached schedules and website for specific dates of activities. New clubs may be added so check back from time to time.

Signing the Permission Form acknowledges that you are agreeing to the terms and conditions set by the Montgomery County Public Schools and Benjamin Banneker Middle School regarding every student’s rights and responsibilities to participate in activities after school hours.

Signing the Permission Form also acknowledges that you are permitting your student to attend an activity or activities sponsored by Benjamin Banneker Middle School, Montgomery County Public Schools and their staff members.

The Holiday Giving Project has provided Thanksgiving and December holiday assistance to low-income households for over 30 years. Local non-profits, faith-based organizations, and public agencies serve Holiday Giving recipients, as donations are available. If you and your family are in need and would like to be referred for possible assistance for the holiday season, please fill out the Holiday Giving Project Referral and Consent form with the required information. Please return the completed form to BBMS Counseling Office or email to Taryn_E_richards@mcpsmd.org by October 25th. Paper copies will be available in the counseling office as well. Resources are limited: please apply only if you and your family are truly in need. While a referral is not a guarantee of assistance, the Project helps as many families in need as donations allow. Please contact Taryn_E_richards@mcpsmd.org with any questions.

• Students must submit all responses using the Google Form by October 22, 2024. They will answer the following questions
• What does Maryland Emancipation Day mean to you?
• What should other students around the world learn from Maryland Emancipation Day?
• Do you think Maryland Emancipation Day still matters 160 years later? Why?
• Students will earn 2 SSL hours for submitting responses.
• Participating students' parents/caregivers must sign a media release form, and students must upload it to the Google reflection form.

If any students want help recording their videos, i.e. someone recording them as they talk, please let the social studies team know. There is a space in the form for this request.

We’re always looking for student volunteers on Saturdays to help us in various capacities. If interested,

they should contact, Lakesha_N_McMillian@mcpsmd.org

We are excited to share that Benjamin Banneker Middle School will become a federally-funded Title I school in the 2024–2025 school year. Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) requires that schools with the highest poverty in the district receive supplemental Title I funding. Please see the community letter below for more details.

Our school is fortunate to receive supplemental funding through Title I, a federal grant program for schools that serve communities with students who have high economic needs. The federal legislation that establishes Title I regulations is known as the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). ESSA requires Montgomery County Public Schools to inform you that you have the right to request information about the professional licensure qualifications of your child’s teacher, long-term substitute teacher, or paraeducator (formerly titled instructional assistant).

If you wish to request licensure information about your child’s teacher, paraeducator, or long-term substitute teacher, please submit a written request to the principal at your school. Your written inquiry may include information about the following qualifications:

• Degree status and subject area of licensure.

• State of Maryland licensure status, including conditional licensure status.

• Qualifications of paraeducators or long-term substitute teachers who may be working with your student.

Your request will be forwarded to OHRD and you will receive a written response from that office within thirty (30) business days.

Please contact the principal if you have any questions.

Nuestra escuela es afortunada en recibir fondos suplementarios a través de Título I, un programa federal que concede fondos para escuelas que sirven a comunidades con estudiantes que tienen altas necesidades económicas. La legislación federal que establece las normas del Título I es conocida como Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). ESSA requiere que Montgomery County Public Schools le informe que usted tiene derecho a saber acerca de los requisitos de certificación profesional del maestro/a de su hijo/a, maestro/a sustituto a largo plazo o paraeducador (anteriormente titulado a asistente de instrucción).

Si usted desea solicitar información sobre la certificación del maestro/a de su hijo/a, el paraeducador o el substituto a largo plazo, por favor, someta una petición por escrito al director de su escuela. Su solicitud escrita puede incluir información sobre las siguientes cualificaciones:

• Título universitario y materia de la licenciatura.

• Licenciatura del Estado de Maryland, incluyendo licenciatura condicional.

• Cualificaciones de los paraeducadores o substitutos a largo plazo que pueden estar trabajando con su estudiante.

Su solicitud será enviada a Office of Human Resources (Oficina de Recursos Humanos) y usted recibirá una respuesta de ellos dentro de los próximos 30 días laborales.

Por favor, contacte al director si tiene preguntas.

Food Pantry at Sharp Street United Methodist Church

Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024,

Time: 10am – 12pm

Location: 1310 Olney-Sandy Spring Road Sandy Spring, MD 20860

Contact Name: Rev. Diane Dixon-Proctor Phone #: (301) 774-7047

Email: sharppraise@verizon.net

Weekly Food Distribution

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Time: 1:30 – 3:30pm
Location: The People's Community Baptist Church 31 Norwood Road Silver Spring, MD 20905

Contact Name: Jacqueline E. Dennard Phone #: 3014671562
Email: jacky327@cs.com

English Version:

PBSB Newsletter

Spanish Version:

PBSB Boletin

The Capital Area Food Bank will be at Paint Branch High School inside the back of the cafeteria, Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024, from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm to host a food market. This is a free event, and all families are welcome to attend. Fresh produce and food items will be provided to families at no cost until supplies run out. Please be sure to join us and remember to bring bags/carts to pick up food.

Below is the schedule for the year. Please mark your calendar.

Please complete the Capital Area Food Bank Distribution Report Form before you enter the Food Bank.

The D.C. chapter of INTEGIRLS is hosting a beginner-friendly, in-person math competition Saturday, December 14th from 9 am - 4 pm at the Bioscience Education Center at Montgomery College Germantown Campus! Our mission at INTEGIRLS is to encourage girls and non-binaries in STEM fields through math competitions and events. This year, we will have math competition rounds (individual and team), an estimathon, a speaker event, awards ceremony, provided lunch, and lots of fun STEM activities. Teams of up to 4 students will be able to connect with and enjoy math with other girls and non-binaries around the DMV. There will be a lot of prizes and fun swag for all participants.

Register here directly or go to the INTEGIRLS D.C. website (dc.integirls.org) to learn more about the competition.

***

Thank you for your time, and please let me know if you have any questions at all!

Isha

isha@integirls.org

Hello Banneker Family. My name is Dr. Augustina Bryan and I am the Pupil Personnel Worker for Banneker MS. Pupil Personnel Workers (PPWs) are educators trained to determine student needs through a collaborative process, to serve as advocates for students and their families, and to facilitate appropriate services. Please scan or use the link below if you would like assistance for requesting a change of school, homelessness, attendance, student engagement, intervention, residency, help with school policies, and/or social emotional support.

Link to form: https://forms.gle/eMXDtz7bxzG8XEV3A

Remind is a messaging platform that has been implemented in all schools this year for communication among MCPS schools, teachers, students and parents. School staff, central office staff, students and parents all have Remind accounts to enable them to send and/or receive messages using a preferred mode of communication, such as text message, email or phone call in their preferred language.

Parents don’t have to sign up for Remind or download an app to receive messages. Messages will be sent to the email and phone number registered with the school, and parents will automatically receive messages when they are sent. If parents wish to respond to a message, they will need to download the app or create an account on the website. See below for information on how to download the app.

YouTube video on how to use Remind

Parent Quick Guides

English, Spanish, French, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Amharic

For the 2024 - 2025 school year Benjamin Banneker Middle School is adopting the Cell Phone "Away All Day" policy. This policy includes additional personal media devices that distract from the teaching and learning process. Students received information in their homeroom classes during the first week of school regarding updated policies and procedures for the school year. Please see linked an article which explains why we are taking this step.

Please see Chromebook information below:

• BBMS will continue to be 1 to 1 device school

• 6th grade students received their chromebooks during the first week of school.

• BBMS Family Chromebook Agreement states that

“Each student is financially responsible for damage caused or loss of any Chromebook and charger checked out to the student. The device is loaned and for instructional purposes only. No cost is associated with a student borrowing, possessing, or using an MCPS Chromebook. A family is only financially responsible when there is avoidable damage to the device. There is a charge for any lost or stolen devices or chargers.” Charges range from $25 to $300”.

This portal will help you find solutions to your questions about MCPS programs. You can use this page to search for guides, videos, or get your questions answered through a virtual agent. Please click on the portal's support guide for additional information. If you need support using the portal, we have provided the support guide.

Benjamin Banneker Middle School and the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County are excited to continue our partnership to support the Well-Being of our school community. The purpose of this school-based conflict resolution program is to provide the students and staff of Benjamin Banneker Middle School the opportunity to address and resolve student disputes with an “on-site” conflict resolution professional. The program will empower students to use the on-site Conflict Resolution Office to address and resolve disputes in constructive ways supporting a positive and safe learning environment. Additionally, students will practice restorative discipline principles that focus on: strengthening relationships, collaborative problem-solving, and student accountability. For more information regarding this partnership, please read the attached letter.

The attachment below includes the 2024-2025 BBMS Bus Routes. It can also be found on our school website.

As our entire region adjusts to a return to school, MCPS wishes to remind families of the usual impact on traffic and the expectation of typical, but very few, bus route delays on some of our runs. This may be particularly true in areas affected by the Purple Line rail system construction. Due to the size and interconnectedness of our transportation system, we anticipate that the impact may be felt beyond just the immediate schools near the construction. Although delays are the exception, we know that traffic in our area can sometimes be challenging.

Need Help?

To address any concerns or issues with bus delays, we want to introduce the MCPS Transportation Hotline. This service will begin Monday, August 26, starting at 6:00 am to 5:00 pm, and will be available during the first week of school. MCPS transportation staff will be able to support families if questions, concerns or problems with a bus or bus stop need to be addressed. To access this service, call 240-740-7790.

MCPS has implemented a new online service to accept payments for school-sponsored field trips along with other school-related activities School Cash Online (SCO). To help reduce the confusion of remembering PINs, our online service provider no longer requires them. MCPS highly encourages everyone to sign up and use this service. By using this service, it makes it convenient for parents to make payments at their own convenience and minimizes loss of funds which often happens when carrying cash. The online system is a great way to keep track of student payments. Families can easily log into the system and see which activities are being offered to students and discuss which ones they would like to participate in.

For approved guardian(s) who do not currently have an SCO account, you will receive an automated email with an invitation to create an account.

For approved guardian(s) who already have a SCO account, but who have not yet linked their student(s) to their account. An automated email from SCO for each unlinked student will be sent to the guardian. The email will have an “Accept” button. If the guardian clicks the button, the system will attach that guardian’s child to their account automatically based on the student Information data.

SchoolCash Online: Subscription Process for Guardians

SchoolCash Online: Registration Instructions