Bobcat News

Oct 15, 2023

School Site Council Update

Congratulations to Manojna Potru, our one parent nominee for School Site Council! You are now a SSC member.

Parents you are represented by:

Rachel Ashcraft

Manojna Potru

Joseph Robinson

Next Week is Digital Citizenship Week - Make Screen Time Safe and Positive

Use these Common Sense Media Family Tech Planners to inspire conversations about tech use as a family.

Entertainment and tech have the potential to spark meaningful conversations. And tech planners are a great way for kids to have a shared understanding of how your family makes the most out of entertainment and tech time.

10 Ways to Survive The Zombie Apocalypse at BHMS

Welcome to the zombie apocalypse. You must find a way to stay alive. Romance the zombies? Join the zombies? Raise genetically modified killer dogs that can attack and destroy zombies? Watch and see which one of these intriguing methods will save the group from the zombies.

Dear Theatregoer,

We’re thrilled to have you join us for 10 Ways to Survive The Zombie Apocalypse at BHMS. A play about a zombie apocalypse and finding methods to survive this.

Come along with us on the exciting journey through BHMS and the apocalypse.

Thank you,

BHMS Adv. Drama

A Night in Wonderland!

Coming up is our semi-formal dance on October 27th from 5-7pm. A Night in Wonderland! Tickets will be sold at the student store for both lunches next week. Ticket price is $20 and includes dinner, drinks, dancing, and all activities for the night! You don’t want to miss it!

Students, reserve your spot at the Student Center today!

Parents, we are also seeking volunteers to help chaperone our event. Please contact Meera Navarro @mnavarro@powayusd.com if you are interested.

Purple Heart Committee

Hello Bobcat Community,

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health and high spirits. Our BHMS Purple Star Committee is reaching out to share an exciting opportunity for our school community.

We are currently applying to receive a Purple Star Designation for our school through the California Purple Star School Designation Program. This program aims to provide support and resources to military-connected students and their families, ensuring a smooth transition and a welcoming environment for all.

To achieve this designation, we need the support and involvement of dedicated parents like you. We would like to invite you to join our Purple Star Designation Committee, where we will work together to meet the requirements and implement initiatives that will benefit our military-connected students.

As a committee member, you will have the opportunity to contribute your ideas, expertise, and time to create a supportive and inclusive environment for our military families. Your involvement could include attending meetings, participating in discussions, and helping organize events and activities.

Currently, some of the initiatives we are planning include:

Welcome Bobcat Care Package

The establishment of a military-connected Student Club

Family Military Month Celebrations (Week of Veteran's Day)

Yearbook spread showcasing stories and pictures of our military families

Training for Staff to better support our military connected students.

Your contributions and insights will be invaluable in making these initiatives successful and ensuring that our school receives the Purple Star Designation. Together, we can create a positive and nurturing environment for our military-connected students and their families.

If you are interested in joining the committee or would like more information, please let us know by filling out this PURPLE STAR COMMITTEE VOLUNTEER FORM. We would be delighted to provide you with further details and answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our military-connected students. Your support means the world to us.

MILITARY SERVICE FORM - Please fill out this form if you or one of your children are active or retired from the military.

HALLOWEEN COSTUME DRIVE

Do you have old costumes laying around your house that don't fit you or that you don’t wear? Well the Halloween Costume Drive is your solution! Leadership Crew is hosting a Halloween Drive where we collect costumes and donate them to underprivileged youth and families. There are many people that don’t have the luxury of buying costumes and celebrating Halloween, so come and help!

New or gently used, clean costumes
Costumes are for all ages (infant to adult)
Costumes must be school appropriate
Please no weapons, even if they are fake
If there are accessories, please put in a bag together with the costume so it doesn’t get mixed up with other donations
Students can bring them to their bobcat class during the following days → Monday 10/9 to Friday 10/20

Thank you for your donation! Happy Haunting!

Pick up and Drop Off Concerns

We are continuing to see various violations of California driving laws during pick up and drop off time which is a danger to both our students and the local community. Please demonstrate PRIDE and kindness as you interact with all members in our BHMS community. We have over 1500 students so pick up and drop off will be busy and all need to remember to be patient during this busy time.

Please:

1 - Do not make a U-turn in the middle of Calle Pueblito

2 - Do not double park on Paseo Lucido

3 - Do not drop your student off in the middle of the street.

In addition, there is no stopping (parking) on Via Machena from 7am-4pm.

Classroom Supplies Online Donation (CSOLD)

Parents can donate directly to their child’s classroom teacher(s), department, grade level or school using the donation website Classroom Supplies Online Donation (CSOLD). The website sponsored by the Poway Federation of Teachers (PFT), PUSD Foundation and the District was designed to provide parents with an easy and convenient way to make donations.

Some of the benefits of utilizing the CSOLD are:

• Parents have the option of donating directly to their child’s teacher(s), program, department, grade level, or the school site’s.

• Credit card donations are deposited directly to the site’s donation account and teachers access their donations the same way they access their site supply budget account.

• Teachers receive an email confirmation when the donation is made, and parents receive a tax deduction and email confirmation when donating.

Please use the website for Classroom Supplies Online Donations by going to http://www.pusddonate.org. It is safe, transparent, and efficient.

For website questions, please contact Kelly Hamm at our PUSD Foundation, kehamm@powayusd.com or Patrick Keough at the Poway Federation of Teachers, pkeough@powayteachers.org.

Inventors Club

Our Inventor’s Club will be returning to Tuesday afternoons starting next week so we wanted to make sure everyone knows about this adjustment. The announcement is as follows: “ASES Inventor’s Club Announcement: The ASES Inventor's Club will be holding their meetings on Tuesday afternoons, beginning on 10/10 in the MPR from 2:30 – 3:15 pm. We anticipate this being the weekly date going forward, and we appreciate your understanding as we transition back into our regularly scheduled date of Tuesday afternoons. We hope to see you there!”

E-Bikes

We are seeing some concerning behavior by our students on E-Bikes. Please make sure they are:

1 - Wearing a helmet

2 - Riding solo - no passengers

3 - Riding in the bike lane/on the road - not on our sidewalks or in the middle of traffic.

Please help us to keep our students safe and talk to your student about the appropriate way to ride an E-Bike. Thank you!

Math Homework Helper Program

Sponsored by Kaminski’s BBQ & Sports Lounge in Poway, San Diego, we at InteractiveMathTutor will be offering The Math Homework Helper Program during the first semester of the 2023-2024 academic school year (September to December) to K-12 students in the Poway School District. During scheduled weekly office hours, students from Bernardo Heights Middle School will have the opportunity to enter our Zoom classrooms to receive help in all levels of math and statistics from highly qualified instructors at InteractiveMathTutor.

Students at Bernardo Heights Middle School should click the link below and fill out the necessary contact information for FREE membership to the program:

https://protect-usb.mimecast.com/s/wHNZCk6WQDskE9kKc2mhzP?domain=interactivemathtutor.com/

http://www.interactivemathtutor.com/homework-helper-program/

InteractiveMathTutor was formed in New York City in 1999 and has established a strong reputation on a national level for providing superior online tutoring services in all levels of mathematics, statistics, accounting, economics, finance, and actuarial science.

College Sign-Up Genius Donation Page:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4BA9A823A3FE3-44360981-college

BHMS Amazon wish list

Over the years, Bernardo Heights Middle School has received many unique and thoughtful gifts from students and families. The kindness and generosity have always been greatly appreciated each year.

As we continue to build on family connections and a culture of belonging for our home away from home, we are working on redesigning our Family Waiting Room (located in the Administration building) as a comfortable hub of information that will highlight student achievements, share PTSA information, BHMS and PUSD information.

When purchasing an item for our Family Waiting Room, your name will be included on a one-of-a-kind sponsorship plaque to show our Bobcat Appreciation for your donation to Bernardo Heights Middle School. This plaque will be hung in the BHMS Family waiting room.

Shop the Amazon wish list here

Thank you again for your continued partnership to BHMS!!

Snack Donations

Dear Parents,

We hope this message finds you well!

As you may know, our counseling department works hard to support the social/emotional and mental well-being of our students. As part of our efforts to provide a supportive environment, we are looking for your help in providing snacks for our students who utilize the counseling center throughout the day.

We kindly request that parents bring in individually wrapped snacks such as granola bars, trail mix, chips, crackers, fruit snacks, and bottled water. Your contributions will make a difference in helping us support the needs of our students and we appreciate any donations you can provide. Snacks will be dropped off at the main office, and we will make sure they are delivered to the counseling department.

Thank you for your continued support!

The BHMS Counseling Team

More than a Meal (formerly called FREE & REDUCED LUNCH APPLICATION)

Although all students now receive school breakfast and lunch at no charge, families are still encouraged to complete the Free and Reduced Price Meal Application. Families may qualify for assistance in a variety of other ways beyond breakfast and lunch. Even though all students receive free breakfast and lunch at BHMS and throughout PUSD, if you think you may qualify, please click the link to apply.

More Than a Meal

Our district receives additional funding based on the percentages of students who qualify through this process. Please help BHMS by applying.