Blackhawk Banner

You can translate this newsletter to any language! You can also change the size of the text and use a high contrast mode!

• If you are reading this on a computer, the feature is on the top right by the heading.
• If you are reading this on a phone, the feature is the round icon in the bottom right corner.
• ¡Puedes traducir este boletín a cualquier idioma! ¡También puede cambiar el tamaño del texto y usar un modo de alto contraste!
• Możesz przetłumaczyć ten biuletyn/gazetkę na dowolny język! Możesz
  także zmienić rozmiar tekstu i użyć trybu wysokiego kontrastu!

Thank you to all of the families who have provided feedback to us regarding our school through the annual Illinois 5Essential Survey. We are hoping to get as many of our families to complete the survey as we can. As previously advertised, we have incentivised this survey completion through a competition within our grade-level advisory classes.

Please report your completion of the survey to the school office or your child's advisory teacher to qualify for prizes!

Click here to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey.

Advisory Pizza Party Contest

One Advisory Per Grade-Level Will Win A Pizza Party

Highest Family Participation on Survey Wins!

Students Get to Eat Outside

Pizza Lunch Is In the Spring

This year we have a new incentive for our families to participate in the survey. We are so grateful for our partner in this effort--the Bensenville Park District.

Park District Family Pool Pass Raffle

One family of four pass will be raffled off to survey participants

Unlimited admission to the Water Park & Splash Pad

Free and unlimited admission to lap swim 11AM-12 PM Monday-Thursday

Free and unlimited admission to Aqua Fitness Classes

Discount admission to Water Park Events

Three free guest passes

$240 value

More Info on Park District Survey Incentive

Please report your completion of the survey to the school office or your child's advisory teacher to qualify for prizes!

Click here to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey.

There are many resources and events for our families this month. If you wish to increase your understanding of your child's NWEA MAP test results, consider attending a parent information session:

Wednesday, March 22

SESSION 1: 1-2 p.m. BSD2 Educational Administration Center

SESSION 2: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Blackhawk Middle School

If you want to learn how to track your child's academic performance in PowerSchool, District 2 has resources to help you set up a parent portal to do so. Literature and videos to support families with this important communication tool can be found below:

Creating PowerSchool Parent Portal Accounts

Bensenville School District 2 and Fenton High School's Padres Unidos are partnering this year to present a yearlong parent education series. The sixth offering in the series is entitled: “Can Video Games and the Internet Create Addictions in Children?”

Tuesday, March 14

6-8 p.m.

Blackhawk Middle School

3/7 8th Grade Picture Retakes

3/8 Fenton Women's Empowerment Day (8th grade girls)

3/8 "Beauty and the Beast" preview; Blackhawk all-school assembly

3/9 "Beauty and the Beast" preview; 1st and 3rd graders at Blackhawk

3/9 Volleyball vs. Jackson

3/10 Volleyball vs. Sandburg

3/10 Blackhawk musical "Beauty and the Beast" 7:00 PM

3/11 Blackhawk musical "Beauty and the Beast" 7:00 PM

3/12 Daylight Savings Time 2:00 AM

3/12 Blackhawk musical "Beauty and the Beast" 2:00 PM

3/13-3/17 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) Testing

3/13 Volleyball vs. Churchville

3/15 Volleyball Conference Playoffs

3/18 IGSMA District Band Contest

3/22 Understanding MAP test parent presentations 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM

3/25-4/2 Spring Break

4/3 Blackhawk classes resume

The cast and crew are ready. The costumes and set are prepped. Come out and see the curtain rise on Blackhawk Middle School's presentation of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast Jr." We welcome all to come out to see the show and be our guest, be our guest, be our guest.

• Friday, March 10, at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, March 11, at 7 p.m.
• Sunday, March 12, at 2 p.m.

More Info on Beauty and the Beast

We are very excited to introduce another Blackhawk Middle School alumni and share their "where are they now story." Vicky Stella, or as she was known in her Blackhawk days, Vicky Poelsterl, was promoted from Blackhawk in 1985 to Fenton High School where she graduated in 1989.

Ms. Stella shared that a favorite memory or aspect of attending Blackhawk involved the ways she could get involved at Blackhawk. The things she remembers the most about middle school included being the treasurer of the Student Council, and also being the student director of the 8th-grade play. She shared she had some great teachers too - junior high was the only time she was involved in a Science Fair. She also remembers being able to smell the bread being baked in the cafeteria kitchen at least one or two mornings per week -- she could smell it throughout the school, and everyone always took a piece of freshly baked bread at lunch. She says it was delicious!

Ms. Stella expressed her time at Fenton was great. She was involved in theater, band, choir, student council, pom pons, and speech team during her time in high school. She feels very lucky to still keep in touch with many of the friends that she made during her four years there. After graduating from Fenton, she went to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for a couple of years to study Elementary Education. In her junior year, she transferred to Illinois State University and finished her degree at that school. While at ISU she was placed for student teaching at a school in District 25 in Arlington Heights. She got her first teaching job there and never left. Ms. Stella has been an elementary educator in District 25 for the past 29 years, teaching 2nd to 4th grade. Currently, she's an instructional coach at the school where she teaches.

When asked if she has any advice for our current Blackhawk students, she shared:

"I highly recommend getting involved in your school, both at Blackhawk and when you go on to high school. Being in a club or on a team connects you to people you might not meet in class and helps you to enjoy your time at school that much more. My best memories of junior high and high school definitely include amazing teachers, but the ones that always stick out are the memories of the extracurricular activities that I was involved in before and after school hours. Join a team or a club, you won't regret it!"

The Blackhawk Middle School Scholastic Bowl team’s season is underway. Scholastic Bowl is an accelerated trivia team that competes against other schools in matches designed to test students' understanding of all types of topics that might include history, math, literature, or current events. The Blackhawk Scholastic Bowl Team performed great earlier this year at Elm Middle School in Elmwood Park on Wednesday, February 22. This week the team had an exhibition match in Schiller Park on Thursday March 2nd. These valuable experiences are preparing them for the big tournament yet to come.

The team's final contest is a big multi-school match at the Leyden-Norwood Tournament in Rosemont on Thursday, March 9th. The Scholastic Bowl team is made up of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who take pride in representing their school and sharing all of the knowledge they have in these fun and competitive events. Go Hawks!