Oct. 3: LISA Showcase - 5:30pm to 6:00pm
Oct. 11: No School For Students Only - Teacher Work Day
Oct. 15: Student Picture Retakes
Oct. 16: Parent/Teacher Conferences - more info to come
Oct. 17: Parent/Teacher Conferences - more info to come
Oct. 18: No School
Oct. 25 - Fall/Halloween Dance - 4:15pm to 6:00pm
BRMS Families,
The question: Does a four-day week feel shorter, perhaps a week that ends with energy left over? NOPE! There is always something about the short week that just feels… a bit eternal! But hey! When that four-day week is in a school like this (insert Boston accent), "Forget about it!" It’s a great way to spend four amazing days.
Some highlights from the week:
Our Cross Country Team competed with style yesterday in Greeley! I received several messages from folks I know in other schools across the county and to our east how well our students did. We're so proud of those runners!
The volleyball games were fire on 9/3!! The volleyball players were hitting the ground to dig hits with no regard to their body! Every team took their match to 3 games and all were nail-biter! 8th grade came away with the win. I am personally proud to see how many staff and students came to cheer the Wolfpack on!! A ginormous shout out to our Boy Cheer Squad, Bodi, Ashton, Mason and Jed who came up with their cheer and stayed for almost 5 hours to support the Wolfpack teams!
I am exceedingly proud to announce some great news BRMS received in our annual school performance framework (I’ll dig into this deeper next week) which is a “report card” if you will based on the results of our state assessments we took last spring. BRMS is on an amazing trajectory of growth! This staff and these students are getting the job done, and those results are more and more a reflection of the students we know we have, and what they can do!
Our students are wrapping up their fall iReady assessments. These assessments inform our instructional priorities and help students set some growth goals for themselves. We expect all students to make at least one years growth in one years time (logical), but we dig into how that happens, and keep them in the drivers seat and taking ownership.
This week was my 3rd installment of the “Make Today Matter” video series that was shared with students on Wednesday during their advisory time. I’ve shared the video with you below. This week I spent some time talking about the BRMS Student Howler, Tardies, Chromebooks and Expectations for Participation. What do I want you as parents to know about these topics?
The BRMS Student Howler:
Students get the opportunity every Wednesday (and truly, whenever they want) to send positive recognition to staff or students here at BRMS. It’s an incredible way to celebrate classmates and spread positivity and celebration in our school.
Did you know that there is a Howler for you too!!!! THERE IS! Last year, our parents sent 117 positive “Howlers” to the staff here at BRMS. I want to invite you and challenge you to keep this going for this year!
Your Challenge: Let’s hit 150 positive messages sent from our parent group to the talented and outstanding educators and professionals at BRMS
How: It’s really simple- Just click here. You can choose to remain anonymous, all you need to do is provide a name and a message of positivity. I’ll take care of the rest.
Positivity is an intentional choice. Think of somebody at this school who has taken the extra minute to see you or your student. Or perhaps, someone you see working hard for this community and school. Send your parent howler today!
Tardies:
They may seem like small things, but just like anything, something small repeated over and over has an impact. On the individual student, missing the beginning of school, or the beginning of class leads to missed learning. To the class, late students to a classroom often means a delay for every student in the room (A cost of 2 minutes for a classroom of 24 students is 48 minutes. EXPENSIVE).
We’re taking a positive approach, and celebrating and rewarding students who are on time. If we find we have students who are routinely or habitually tardy, we’ll collaborate with you to determine a plan of action.
Chromebooks
Keep remind students that having a charged chromebook at school every day is a big step in being prepared for school.
Write a reminder on the bathroom mirror with an expo marker if you must (I’ll provide the marker) “Remember your Chromebook! I love you, have a great day.”
Expectations for Participation
At BRMS we don’t opt out.
Opting out looks like showing up to class unprepared
Opting out is a student who has quit, or failed to engage.
We’ll commit to engaging teaching and learning. We’ll commit to arts integration, relevancy, challenge, humor, feedback and excellent teaching. We need out students to commit to opting in, and giving their best
I asked the students if the video was “cringe” enough to hold a middle schoolers attention. A few of my favorite teenage critics out there have given me some good advice, and I’ll keep working at informative and celebratory videos for you and our students.
Next week, we’re back to a full, typical week. Here is what to expect.
Monday 9/9- Normal Day
It’s National Teddy Bear Day- So… find yours at home and bring it to dinner?
Tuesday 9/10-
Q1 LISA AAA class 4:05-5:30
Swim- BRMS will host @ TVHS (4:30-6:30)
Wednesday 9/11
Late start Wednesday schedule (school doors open at 9:40 AM)
VB: BRMS Vs. Erwin @ Bill Reed 4:15-7:15
Thursday 9/12
Arts Academy After School (4:05-5:30)
XC Host @ WCMS
Friday 9/13- Friday the 13th??? Really?!?!
JV Volleyball games 4:14-5:15
This was in my letter last week, but I want to put it out there one more time. I am so excited to invite you and your family to this unique and AWESOME event. See below.
I want to invite you to join us for a family movie night (see flyer below)! We’ll be viewing (at Crossroads Church) Disney’s McFarland USA and be hearing from Thomas Valles, a motivational speaker, and a person the McFalrand USA story is based on. The evening is free, and will include free popcorn, drinks and pizza. Here are the details!
BRMS Family Movie Night!
Wednesday, September 18th
House opens at 5:30- The movie begins at 6:00
Location 5420 N Taft Avenue (Crossroads Church has been gracious in giving us space for the event)
Movie: McFarland, USA- PG-13
I hope you have a wonderful (extended) weekend BRMS!
Sincerely,
John Kleiber
Principal
970-613-7206
Hey Wolfpack!
This week our VB teams travel to High Plains on Monday, 9/9 and have a home game Wednesday, 9/11 against Erwin. Playing order is 8,6,7. JV will have a home game Friday, 9/13 against New Vision. Come check out how great the teams are playing!
Swim and dive host at Thompson Valley Tuesday, 9/10, and XC will run at Walt Clark on Thursday, 9/12.
Boys interested in playing basketball need to start getting their Big Teams registration done, along with a current sports physical. It starts the first week of October.
REMINDER: Please take care of all athletic fees by going to Infinite Campus and selecting FEES (not school store). Athletic fees are $75!
GO PACK!
Jayna Custer
Physical Education/Health
Athletic Director
Bill Reed MS
The Thompson School District Nutrition Services department is dedicated to providing delicious meals that support student growth and achievement.
Great care is taken by highly qualified staff to ensure Thompson School District’s breakfast and lunch menus meet or exceed United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) quality and nutrition standards. We source clean label, fresh and local items to include in our recipes and menus. Our department adheres to strict food safety standards and practices to keep customers safe and healthy.
With the passage of Healthy School Meals for All in Colorado, we are excited to be able to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to students, regardless of income or meal benefit status.
All families are still asked to fill out an application. Why? The Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program is funded in partnership with federal nutrition programs that rely on income information to support meals for all students. Other state and federal grants are awarded based on free and reduced meal eligibility rates. Additionally, families that qualify may receive discounted or waived fees for programs inside and outside of the school district. Applications are available to all households at school sites and online at https://linqconnect.com/main.
Applications need to be completed annually (after mid-July) for the new school year. The information provided on the application is confidential and is not shared without your consent. If you would like to share the information with the school, please be sure to check the box on the application. This will help us in ensuring fees are cleared as applicable.
While meals are free for all students this year you may want to have funds available for additional meal components and / or a la carte purchases like snacks or milk.
Nutrition Services is excited to share that we have contracted with a new software company to manage our meal and application program. My School Bucks is no longer active but the new software is called LINQ Connect and all student balances have been moved to the new software. There are many new features that this program offers which weren't available before so we're sure you're going to love it!
Please visit the link below to register and create an account along with frequently asked questions.
LINQ Website: https://linqconnect.com/main
LINQ FAQ's: https://linqconnect.com/main/faq
We also accept cash and checks at each school’s cafeteria; please give cash or checks directly to your school’s cafeteria staff.
Please help sustain the meal programs by keeping your student’s account current or filling out an application for benefits.
Bill Reed Middle School
Email: tracy.ubrun@tsd.org
Website: https://www.thompsonschools.org/BillReed
Location: 370 West 4th Street, Loveland, CO, USA
Phone: (970) 613-7200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillReedMiddleSchool