Banks Middle School

Dear Students and Families,

It's hard to express how wonderful it has been to see all of our students returning to BMS this week. It has been a very busy and fun week! I'd like to thank our amazing staff for setting such a positive tone, and our students are off to a strong start! When Ms. Carson announced they were going to the library to check out books today, the whole class cheered. I love this enthusiasm for reading, and I've seen so many other moments to be proud of this week! Our vision for our students at BMS is to feel happy and proud, happy in how they feel at school and proud of their growth and accomplishments. I'm feeling so optimistic about the year to come and I believe in our community that we can make huge strides towards this lofty vision for each and every one of our students.

As always, there are a number of different topics I'd like to communicate. Below are a few brief topics, and further down this newsletter you will find more information such as important dates, homework club, a PTO fundraiser selling Braves gear, high school football games, volunteer opportunities, and more.

Free Lunch: As communicated before school, lunch is free this year for all students. This first week of school, we've had a few hiccups as we adjusted to slightly higher numbers of student accessing school meals than we had planned for. I want to assure families that all students were offered food each day if they wanted it, and more meals were made as we adjusted to a higher meal count. Today, the lunch line went even faster than yesterday and we are running smoothly.

Standards-Based Assessment Practices: This year, some of our teachers are piloting new assessment practices that research shows promote student ownership of learning and lead to better learning outcomes. These practices are referred to as "standards-based," meaning that student assessments and grades are organized around their performance on standards (rather than assignment types like "test/quiz" or "project"). The purposes of these practices are primarily to promote student ownership of their learning and to enhance feedback and communication to families as to the progress of their student's learning. Read on below to learn more about these practices.

Supporting your student at home: The best way to help your student at home, especially for our 6th graders who are new to middle school, is to support them in staying organized and on track with their learning. Here are a few helpful tips to do that:

• Remind them to check and use their planner each night to track assignments and due dates
• Set aside time to work on homework, and provide a place they can do it that works for them.
• If you don't know what is assigned, or where to access materials, have your student login to Google Classroom and open the teacher's agenda where assignment and learning materials are linked.
• Check ParentVue regularly so you know if your student is completing work and how they are doing on their assessments. Encourage them to practice (do homework) and/or ask for help if they are struggling to understand the material.

Thank you for your support, we always appreciate parent partnership, so don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns about your student.

Here's to an AMAZING start to our 24-25 school year at BMS!

Best wishes,

Caitlin Everett

caitline@banks.k12.or.us

Principal, Banks Middle School

August 30-September 2- No School Labor Day

September 10 - Parent Information Night (6:00-7:00 pm)

September 24 - Picture Retake Day

Standards-Based Assessment and Grading practices are designed to offer greater clarity for students and families regarding their grades, and to increase student involvement in the assessment process. The core beliefs behind these practices are the following:

We believe…

• Grades measure current knowledge and skills, while communicating to the student, family, and other stakeholders a student’s areas for growth.

• Students’ involvement, agency, and understanding of the assessment and grading process allows them to create and adjust their learning goals.

• Grades are a tool to help school systems identify needed interventions or extensions.

To align our practices with these beliefs, our pilot teachers are using the following principles to guide their assessment and grading practices:

• Communicating clear learning targets aligned to assessments
• Providing multiple opportunities for students to show growth over time.
• Being flexible based on individual student strengths and needs
• Valuing teacher judgment, expertise, and collaboration
• Creating a balanced assessment system
• Clearly communicating about student learning
• Providing opportunities for students to be involved in the assessment process.

You can learn more about the above items by reading our Principles and Purpose of Standards Based Assessment document, as well as this FAQ for Families.

To find out which teachers are doing standards-based assessment practices, you can look at their syllabi (located on google classroom as well as paper). I am so excited to begin this journey with our students and educators, and I am confident that it will allow us to even better support the growth and learning of each one of our students. This is the third district I have worked with to implement these practices as an instructional leader, and have been so impressed with how BMS teachers have begun their own classroom implementations this year.

In addition to the above documents, there will be an opportunity to ask questions at our Back to School Information Night, as well as other forms of communication to me.

Thank you for your engagement!

Caitlin Everett

BMS shares a parking lot with BHS, and it is also where all our busses drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon students in grades 6-12. We need to keep traffic moving and keep our students safe in the lot before and after school. We ask that drivers in the parking lot follow these instructions:

1. Do not park to wait for your student.

2. Please pull forward to the crosswalk to drop off or pick up at the curb. Pick up and drop off at the curb only- do not ask your child to cross the parking lot outside the crosswalk to get to your car.

3. Pull forward past the crosswalk and follow the lane around to exit the parking lot.

4. If possible, pick up your child at Sunset Park or Greenville Park to alleviate congestion in our lot and on Main street.

Thank you for your support!

View this Traffic Flow Pattern Chart of visual of drop off/pick up

Please note that this season there are changes to supervision of students during football games. Here are the highlights, you can see the full memo below.

• To ensure the safety and enjoyment of games by all spectators, students in 5th grade and below must be supervised by an adult. This means they must enter the stadium with an adult, and caregivers are expected to supervise their children throughout the entire game.
• Middle school students must show their school ID to enter the game.
• Elementary and middle school students are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and safe manner.
• Children are not permitted to play football or catch, or other games in the grassy areas, track, backsides or sideline areas of the field.
• Children who are unsupervised and/or playing in these areas will be asked to leave the stadium.

Homework club will be starting next week. 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.

BMS PTO is raising funds for our school by selling Braves gear. and decals. The first round of ordering closes Sept 6th. Customers can pick up at the first home middle school football game or at the school!

Click here to Order.

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.

Please join us for a parent information night at BMS on September 10th from 6:00-7:00. At this informational meeting our administrators will share information about the school year and how parents can best support their middle schoolers ongoing success!

Our district level team worked hard last year to update our student handbook and code of conduct to make it clear, concise and cohesive across the district. We will be presenting this to students in classes to make sure we all understand how to make BMS a place where students feel safe and included. Please take a moment to review these guidelines and discuss it with your child!

We are looking for volunteers to help with concessions at the home middle school football game Sept 18th. All the proceeds during these games support Banks Middle School PTO. It doesn't have to be football families helping in the concessions. We welcome any middle school families and friends, but the hours do count toward the football volunteer hours! You can sign up using the this link.

Thank you for your patience as we work out the amount of food we need each day with the high participation in this new program! We have almost doubled the size of our lunch meal service during the first week of school and are working with our food service provider to ensure provision of nutritious meals for every student.

We are pleased to announce that Banks School District now qualifies for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, which allows all students to receive free breakfast and lunch at school every day.

What is the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)?

The CEP is a federal program that enables schools in high-poverty areas to offer nutritious meals to all students at no cost to their families or the district. This program is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and ensures that every student has access to healthy meals without the need for individual applications or eligibility determinations.

How Does This Benefit Your Family?

1. Free Meals for All Students: Every student in the Banks School District is entitled to receive free breakfast and lunch each school day. There is no need to submit applications or qualify based on income.
2. No Cost to Families: There are absolutely no costs involved for families. Your child can enjoy nutritious meals at school without any financial burden on your household.
3. No Cost to the District: The CEP program is fully funded by the USDA, meaning that our district does not incur any additional expenses for providing these meals.
4. Encouragement to Participate: We strongly encourage all students to take advantage of this program. Ensuring that students have access to nutritious meals is crucial for their academic success and overall well-being.

Why is Participation Important?

Participating in the meal program helps our district maintain the funding and support needed to continue providing these services. By ensuring your child enjoys these meals, you help us demonstrate the need and effectiveness of the CEP, securing its benefits for the future.

We believe that the CEP program is a tremendous opportunity for our community, and we are committed to ensuring that every student has access to the nutritious food they need to thrive. We encourage you to discuss this with your children and make the most of this beneficial program.

It must be noted that this program begins in the Fall of 2024 and does not clear any unpaid balances from prior school years. Families with unpaid balances should contact the district as soon as possible to make arrangements. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact our Business Office at 503-324-8591 or dusting@banks.k12.or.us. Thank you for your continued support and for being a vital part of the Banks School District community.

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.