The Boeckman Buzz

BMS Families,

This week, you will recieve an email from your child's Tiger Connections teacher detailing conference information. We encourage all families to find a time that works to join us for a conference time. Conferences will be learner-led with your child's TC teacher and we will provide drop-in times to connect with other staff as needed. Learners will be completing a reflection and setting goals for the school year in Transitions class to share with families during this conference. The conference schedule and information can be found below:

BMS Conference Schedule

Our fundraiser is off to a great start and our school community has raised an incredible $20,000 through online donations! A big thank you to everyone who has contributed to our school, it is greatly appreciated!

Not registered yet? No problem!

How to Register:

• Visit https://www.stepitupkids.com/Boeckman55024/
• Follow the simple steps to register your student and send out at least 10 emails
• Return your Golden Ticket by tomorrow to receive prizes and entry into the upcoming drawings!

As always, thank you for your support and partnership!

This week we recognize our amazing custodians for National Custodian Day. We want to extend our gratitude to the amazing individuals who keep our spaces clean and safe. They play an invaluable role in maintaining our facilities and we greatly appreciate them. Thank you to Tim Bixby and the entire team for all you do! Please find some time to thank these amazing individuals this week!

Have a great week!

-Joe Sage, Principal

A huge shoutout to this week’s BMS Tiger Stripe winners! These amazing students have stood out for their leadership, showing compassion, integrity, and responsibility.

We’re incredibly proud of the positive example they set for our school community.

#WeAre192 #BMSPride

We are thrilled to celebrate Christina Shidla as our BMS Staff Member of the Week! Christina works in our Special Education Department and has already made a tremendous impact on our learners! Her ability to build meaningful relationships has made a huge impact on our learning community!

Thank you, Christina, for your dedication, positivity, and for joining the BMS family!

#WeAre192 #BMSPride

Name: Jakalyn Arendt

Position at BMS: 7th Grade Language Arts Teacher

Hometown: Mazeppa, MN

Tell us about you: My favorite hobbies include spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, staying active, watching shows, and reading. I am new to the area and LOVE trying new places to eat—so please send any recommendations! I grew up on a dairy farm with my three siblings just outside of Mazeppa, MN. After high school, I attended South Dakota State University with the dream of becoming an English teacher. Now, I am so grateful to be part of the Boeckman Middle School team, doing what I love every day!

Something people are surprised to learn about you: One thing that surprises people is that I constantly rewatch shows. Currently, I’m on my sixth rewatch of Gilmore Girls (at least). It’s just that good!

What excites you most about working at BMS: I am most excited to collaborate with the wonderful staff at BMS! I look forward to building meaningful connections and making a positive impact together.

Favorite memory from middle school:One of my favorite middle school memories is the puppet show in 6th grade. We wrote a play in small groups, crafted our puppets out of felt, and performed in front of the class and parents!

One big goal for this school year: My goal is to create a positive classroom environment that fosters continuous learning and growth!

The Boeckman Book Fair is going on from October 8th to October 15th. The Book Fair will be open during conferences. Students will also be coming down during the school day in their LA classes if they would like to purchase books. Students can pay for books in cash or use their ‘e-wallet’ for cashless purchases. Please visit our Book Fair website to put money in your student’s e-wallet account or to make an online purchase.

If you want to check progress of your student’s learning, the best way to that this year is through the Grade Book Updates tab in Infinite Campus. All classes in both middle schools this year are reporting learning through competencies. These competencies will be updated five times throughout the year and will be based on evidence a learner has submitted – these can be found in the Grades tab in Campus and are currently set to NY or Not Yet. The Grade Book Updates tab will show the most recent assignments for all classes and will have a score or learning level connected to it. It may also have a flag if it is missing or a comment. Please see the graphic below for additional information.

As a district we have realigned $4+ million dollars to balance our budget. The board also made a decision to use assigned fund balance dollars to balance the $2.7 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year. However, the district still faces a budget deficit in 2025-26 of $4-5 million. In addition, the current operating levy that was passed in 2015 will expire after the 2025-26 school year. Expiration of this levy would result in a loss of approximately $5 million per year.

To address our financial challenges, the board voted unanimously to schedule an operating levy referendum election for November 5, 2024. The proposal on the ballot will ask voters to revoke the district’s existing operating levy of $696.15 per pupil and replace it with a new levy of $1,556.15 per pupil. The new levy will provide approximately $11 million ($5 million from the previous levy and $6 million from the new levy) per year for 10 years.

For more information on the 2024 Referendum follow this link.

The NWEA MAP tests are adaptive computer delivered assessments that are administered to more than 11 million students across the country, which provides a large National Norm sample for comparison. Farmington Schools chooses to administer tests in reading and math to students in grades 2 through 8. The adaptive nature of the tests means that the test adjusts to the student's responses. As a student answers correctly, the test gets more challenging. As they get items wrong, the test presents easier items. The purpose of the assessment is to identify the student's academic level in the specific content area, regardless of age, grade level or prior achievement.

To read more about the NWEA test, please visit the school website, linked here. There is a link to the Opt Out information for the NWEA tests on the left side of the webpage. Here is a direct link to the form. Please complete the form and return it to the front office.

Specific Dates:

• Week of Sept. 16 - NWEA Math in regular math classes
• Week of Sept. 30 - NWEA Reading in regular LA classes

*If a learner misses a test, they will make it up upon return.

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Farmington Area Public Schools has partnered with TEACHERS ON CALL for the hiring of our substitute teachers and paraprofessionals.

If you would like to sign up to sub as a teacher or paraprofessional for the Farmington Schools you will have to apply through TOC. Please email or call TOC directly to sign up as we will no longer be filling these positions through Farmington Schools. TOC also offers many benefits including, weekly paychecks, ability to easily sub at multiple districts and many insurance benefit options.

To Apply: teachersoncall.com

For more information contact Teachers On Call (TOC): 800-713-4439

Email: Jsage@farmington.k12.mn.us
Website: https://bms.farmington.k12.mn.us/
Location: 800 Denmark Avenue, Farmington, MN, USA
Phone: 651-460-1400
Facebook: facebook.com/boeckmantigers
Twitter: @BoeckmanTigers