Banks Middle School

Dear Students and Families,

I'm writing this today having just completed our first full school assembly of the year! The energy in the room was palpable, and Ms. King and her Leadership students did a fabulous job planning our first assembly and Spirit day (Ducks vs. Beavers)! I'd also like to thank all the parents that came to our information night, it was wonderful to see so many parents and get to answer their questions (here are the slides if you missed it!). I'm going to keep this part of the newsletter short so you can review the important topics below before you lose steam (or maybe it's just me feeling a little email fatigue on a Friday afternoon...). Below, you can read about the following topics:

• Upcoming events (picture retake day coming soon on Sept. 24)
• Slides from Parent Information Night
• School Expectations you can reinforce at home (including notes on language, dress code, and energy drinks)
• Our Tardy Policy
• Information from our Counselor, Ms. Del Villar
• PTO volunteer opportunity for 9/18 (we still need help!)
• Mental Health resources from our Washington County Liasion Nanuette Lundeen
• Standards-Based Assessment pilot implementation at BMS
• And more!

Best wishes,

Caitlin Everett

BMS Principal

Best wishes,

Caitlin Everett

caitline@banks.k12.or.us

Principal, Banks Middle School

September 13 - Spirit day and Assembly

September 24 - Picture Retake Day

October 8 - PTO meeting from 4:30-5:30 in the BMS Library - all are welcome!

October 10 - BHS Homecoming Parade at the end of the school day.

Every Tuesday and Thursday after school from 3:15-4:00 - Homework Club

If you missed our school information night, you can access our slide deck here! We were thrilled to meet with the families who came and are happy to answer any additional questions.

Mrs. Everett and Mrs. Gallien spent time in all BMS classes over the last couple weeks going over school wide expectations. We have asked students to follow all our school rules, which are clearly outline in our newly revised Student Handbook, and also in the front pages of their student day planners. Here are the slides we used with students to review those rules. The main focus of this lesson was how we can all be a part of creating a school culture where everyone feels safe and feels like the belong to our community. We also talked about using inclusive language, and how to stand up for ourselves and peers if someone is being disrespectful or unkind. We encourage you to review these slides with your students and practice these important leadership and advocacy skills!

We have noticed some students are struggling to follow a few specific rules, one being the dress code. Please review the dress code with your child and make sure their clothing meets our community dress code guidelines. We ask that students are adequately covered and don't have any prohibited images (guns, drugs, and alcohol imagery, etc.). "Adequately covered" means that we would like students to have shirts that cover their entire torso (so no crop tops, or "muscle tanks" with large arm openings).

Another common issue we are seeing is students bringing energy drinks for lunch. We ask that students not consume energy drinks at school as it often presents a problem with their behavior in classes after consumption.

We have very few passing times this year at BMS, only 3 a day. Passing times are 5 minutes long, and allow enough time for students to get to and from class on time. Our tardy policy is outlined below. Please take a moment to review this with your child and encourage them to get to class on time!

1. A student is considered tardy if they are 15 minutes or less late to class.

2. A student is considered to be skipping if they are 15 minutes or more late to class.

3. Students who are tardy to a class 3 times will receive a minor referral and a lunch detention. Additional tardies may result in after school detention.

4. Students who are found to be skipping but report ot the office for a back to plass pass, and will receive an office referral and a detention.

My name is Cory Del Villar and I am the counselor at BMS. I am available to meet with students and families to support academic, social, and emotional development. As the counselor here at MBS, I also manage our school TAG and 504 Program.

This year I will be sharing a School Counselor Intern with the High School. Ms. Josie will be at the middle school one day a week. During her time at BMS, she will be meeting with students individually and in groups. We look forward to having Josie with us this year. If you have any questions, please let me know.

As a reminder, if you are needing teachers to fill out any paperwork from your child's doctor, please reach out to me first to get a ROI (Release of Information) filled out first. Once we get that signed, I will make sure to get the forms to the teachers, collected, and returned back to you.

Feel free to contact me if you need any additional support for your student this year.

coryd@banks.k12.or.us

503.324.5683

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.

This year we are expanding our partnership with Washington County in an effort to support the youth mental health. We have Ms. Nanuette Lundeen, Washington County Children's System of Care Liaison, in our district once a week. Please see her attached letter of introduction and list of local mental health and behavioral resources!

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

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.

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.

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.