Weekly Update
A Back to School Newsletter Template 2023-2024
Dear Beacon Hill Families,
October is already shaping up to be an exciting month at Beacon Hill Middle School! With so many upcoming events and opportunities, there's always something to look forward to.
Be sure to check the calendar frequently to stay up-to-date on all the happenings. You won't want to miss seeing our talented students shine in various academic and extracurricular activities.
🌟Speaking of shining🌟
- 🏐Our Beacon Hill Middle School Bulldogs Volleyball teams are headed to the playoffs! Both the A-Team and B-Team finished the season with: A-Team: 11-1/B-Team: 5-1
- 🥎Our Beacon Hill Middle Softball Team finished the season 11-0!
Warm regards,
Derrick Thomas, Principal
Student-produced web series "Principal of the Matter"
Beacon Hill Middle School proudly presents Season 2 of the student-produced web series, "Principal of the Matter," hosted by Derrick Thomas. In this season's premiere, Mr. Thomas sits down with the Beacon Hill Middle School counseling team: Ragan Hudson, Sidney Minor, Jordan Muse, Kate Passin, Dr. Melvin Ratcliff, and Qushon Taylor-Bertram. Don’t miss out on insightful conversations and upcoming episodes that highlight key issues and developments within our school community! Click below to watch!
FRECKLE:
Our district has adopted Freckle, a Renaissance computer software program that lets your child explore ELA and Math at their own pace. It's like having a personal learning guide right at their fingertips!
How does it work?
Log in and Launch: Your child can access Freckle through Launchpad.
Personalized Practice: Freckle tailors lessons based on their ELA and Math STAR data, and teachers can assign specific standard-based lessons.
Independent Exploration: Let your child dive into the program on their own. If they get stuck, they can watch helpful video tutorials or try a different activity.
Remember: Freckle is all about independent learning. Let your child take the reins and discover the joy of learning on their own! We do not recommend more than 20 minutes of practice at home or more than 2-3 times a week.
Need more help? Reach out to your child's ELA or Math teacher for extra support.
REMINDER…Seventh Grade Dance Party
The Seventh Grade Fall Dance is this Friday, October 4 from 4 pm to 5:30 pm in the BHMS Cafeteria. Admission is $5 per student. (All attendees must be BHMS seventh graders.) Purchase tickets at https://givebutter.com/AEr2EX. Snacks will be sold for $1 each. Please send small bills. Parents, interested in helping out at the dance, purchasing snacks/decorations or sending in a cooler/ice? Sign up here: https://bit.ly/NEONGLOWsignup.
Eighth Graders…Save the date: Friday, October 18.
PBIS Store Open This Friday
Our weekly PBIS store for students resumes on Friday, October 4. Donations are needed to stock the store, and volunteers are needed to oversee distribution during lunch periods. Sign up at https://bit.ly/PBIS-Store.
“Bark points are a great way to get rewarded in school. They motivate students to work harder. I look forward to using my Bark points to buy snacks and candy.” — Angel
Our PBIS store for teachers and staff also is gearing up for kick off. Help show appreciation for the extra time our dedicated faculty spends tutoring students, sponsoring a club, staying late to supervise a dance and undertaking other activities that help our students beyond their regular school day. Please sign up to donate gift cards or snacks at https://bit.ly/PBIS-Store-Staff.
Mark Your Calendars: PTA Board Meeting
Tuesday, October 15 • 5:30 pm
Although this will be a board meeting, all BHMS families are invited to attend. Learn about upcoming events and ways to get involved. Can’t attend in person? Join through our Zoom link.
Lighten the Load for CSD Families
DEF's Lighten the Load program began with an elementary school teacher who told us that one of her students dreaded school breaks because he and his siblings counted on having two meals a day at school. Our Lighten the Load program has evolved since then, but we're still committed to helping remove obstacles - like food insecurity - for our kids.
The number of weekend food bags we provide has DOUBLED this year, and we need your help to ensure we're able to continue to meet this need. This is our community, and these are OUR kids. Please consider donating to DEF, or purchasing items from our Lighten the Load wish list today.
DEF Provides Suicide Intervention Training for Anyone Interested!
Joe’s Fund, DEF’s behavioral health fund, provides ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) workshops multiple times each year. These two-day workshops are open to ANY CSD staff member or Decatur community member. We held a refresher course just this week, and the next trainings will be: October 10-11, February 27-28, and March 13-14. Help us make Decatur a suicide-safe community - sign up using the QR code. Interested in supporting this important work? Donate here: https://decatureducationfoundation.org/donate/.
A Season of Giving
A Season of Giving is a neighbor-led organization that brings joy to local children and seniors through gift-giving.
For Assistance: To apply for gift assistance, please complete our online application at Apply by October 31st. We are excited to support children through 12th grade again this year.
Sponsor a Gift: Donors can purchase gifts based on individual wish lists for children or seniors. If you would like to be a sponsor, please fill out the form at Sponsor.
Donate Directly: If you prefer, you can make a donation, and we will do the shopping for you. Simply Donate at our website!
Volunteer: We would greatly appreciate your help! If you're interested in volunteering, please go to Volunteer and sign up.
Need Help or Have Questions? If you encounter any issues with the forms or have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at aseasonofgivingdecatur@gmail.com.
Thank you for your support and generosity of the Season of Giving!