West Week in Review
June 5, 2020
Connect with us!
Please check your email weekly for our West Week in Review! In order to help us connect with you and make sure you are not missing any important information, please add messenger@boyertownpa.mg.infinitecampus.org to your trusted senders in your email so that you don’t miss out on important information. Infinite Campus is now open. Also, be sure to follow us on the Boyertown Middle School West Facebook page and our Twitter/Instagram accounts @WhatsUp_West.
We Made It!!! Happy Summer!
Materials Drop Off/Pick Up - Follow Up Information
We still have some families that need to drop off and/or pick up items. Mrs. Landis and/or Mr. Schmaldienst will be available at the West gym entrance this coming Monday through Thursday, June 8-11, from 8am-5pm to give students their locker bags as well as to collect any items that need to be dropped back off to school. Please note that the nurse and the IT department will NOT be available at this time. If you still have a laptop to return, the IT department will be scheduling appointments to collect devices on Tuesday, June 9, between 12pm and 8pm at door 31 of the high school. This will be the only remaining opportunity to return laptops. For more information, call the IT Helpdesk at 610-473-3500 option 1.
Summer Wellness Challenge for BASD Families
Check out the link below for a Summer Wellness Bingo card. We ran this challenge last summer and it was very successful. All activities are updated to follow current regulations and we also added some SEL activities. All information is also posted on our Wellness website: https://www.boyertownasd.org/Domain/47
Grab 'n Go Meals Continuing this Summer!
Report Cards
Report cards will be available for view on June 12 in Infinite Campus. Paper copies will not be mailed home.
End of Year Video
We shared our last Be Awesome video of the school year this week. Please enjoy it at the link here. https://youtu.be/gijj2d6eFOk We will miss you all this summer!
Academic Awards
While this year has brought many challenges, we did not want to overlook the great work of our students. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our annual end-of-year awards assemblies. However, we will still be issuing our academic, athletic, and community service/citizenship awards that are given to our students. Award winners' guardians received a phone call from us last week. We will also be issuing President's Awards for Academic Excellence to qualifying 8th graders via U.S. Mail this summer. Congratulations to all!
Summer Reading Requirement Information
Sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth graders have one book to read over the summer. See our website for the letter, book list, and book summaries for grades 7, 8, and 9.
Immunization requirements for 7th grade entry
Attention Parent(s)/Guardian(s) of students entering 7th grade; your child is required to have 1 dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acelluar pertussis (Tdap) AND 1 dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) by the first day of school or risk exclusion. At this time, the Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has not made any changes to the state immunization requirements. This information can be found in 28 Pa. CODE CH.23 (School Immunization) http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/Immunizations/School/Pages/default.aspx or https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/programs/immunizations/Pages/Immunizations.aspx. Please email Mrs. Moser cmoser@boyertownasd.org with any questions.
Field Trip Refunds
Thank you for being patient with us as we have been working to identify which field trip funds had already been deposited and distributed for payment and which ones were still in the queue. We have determined what refunds we are able to get from our trip vendors. We recently completed the process of final documentation of student payments received. Checks that had not yet been deposited were mailed out last week. Field trip checks that were already deposited, as well as cash payments and money orders, will be refunded by check. Because the district is in the process of making thousands of refunds, we cannot give a specific date of when you might expect your refund. The business office has a goal of getting all refunds processed by June 30.
Summer Reading Goes Virtual at Boyertown Community Library
This Summer will look a little different at the Boyertown Community Library. We will reopen eventually, with dates announced when they are available, and we will have measures in place to address safety concerns related to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Announcements about changes to the library schedule, as well as e-resources available during the closure, can be found on the library website . We are excited to be using Beanstack, a digital platform where participants can log their reading and find activity challenges designed by library staff. We have activities for all ages, babies to adults, that can be completed at home. As users log their reading and activities, they will earn digital badges. Each badge will act as a virtual raffle ticket for an end of summer drawing. The library also will offer a selection of live events via Zoom. Watch the library website for an announcement of when the Beanstack site goes live (scheduled for June 8).
Throughout the Summer, library staff will continue to share announcements and activities on social media. Readers are encouraged to check Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter for library posts.
Transition Information Available
Please note that we are resuming work on our transition plans for the 20-21 school year. Families with a student coming to Grade 6 next year should have received an email with information. Current sixth and seventh graders who are getting “rightsized” to the other middle school received information as well. A link to the transition documents can be found here. https://www.boyertownasd.org/Domain/1773 Thanks for your patience with this process.
Have You Moved or Changed Residence Since March 12?
If you have moved or changed residence since March 12, please contact Mrs. Covaleski at 610-473-3701 or lcovaleski@boyertownasd.org. She will be happy to help you navigate the change.
Take Care and Be Well
On behalf of the entire West staff, our very best wishes that this finds you and your family in good health. We feel blessed to serve this wonderful district!
Where can I find more information?
Support for Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
As a district, we have begun a 3-year implementation plan focused on Social Emotional Learning. Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. At this link, https://sel4us.org/blog/social-emotional-learning-supports-around-covid-19/, you will find a post from the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for the United States, that offers SEL supports around COVID-19. The post offers suggestions for families to reinforce each of the 5 SEL Core Competencies which include: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Thank you for partnering with us to prioritize safety and well-being during this school closure.
Student Services - School Counselor Contact Information
We are here for you! School Counselors are only an email or phone call away. If you would like to reach out to your child’s school counselor, please feel free to do so. Counselors are monitoring email messages and receive phone messages through their district email.
https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/632
The Middle School Counseling Department wanted to reach out to parents/guardians during this unprecedented time to keep you updated on the counseling services that we are providing. At this time our counselors are working to connect with students on various levels. Some of the ways we are connecting with our students:
- Emailing students to set up times to video conferences with students using zoom. It is important to note that because it is an online platform, we cannot guarantee the same level of confidentiality that we could in our offices. We ask that parents, siblings, etc. provide students with as much privacy as possible when they are video conferencing.
- Students may also conference via telephone with counselors.
- The best way to reach counselors is via email. Counselors will be available for support at various hours; please see the office hours document on the Middle School West’s main webpage.
We understand that families are experiencing financial and emotional stress right now. Below is a list of local resources that may be helpful for you and your family during this difficult time.
- Salvation Army 409 S Reading Ave Boyertown PA 19512 (610) 367-4089
- Boyertown Area Multi-Service 301 Spring St Boyertown PA 19512 (610) 367-6957
*Please also reach out to your school counselor if you need any assistance with food, clothing, etc. as they have a more extensive community resource list.
If your family is experiencing a crisis, local county crisis services are still available for families who need these services. If there is an emergency, it is still recommended to call 911.
- Montgomery County Crisis Unit: (888) HEL-P414
- Berks County Crisis Unit: 610-236-0530
Community Assistance Needed
The COVID-19 outbreak has produced an increased need for donations at two of our local assistance agencies. Boyertown Area Multi-Service and the Salvation Army of Boyertown are in need of personal care items, paper products, cleaning supplies, and foods such as granola bars, peanut butter, jelly, bread, pancake mix, syrup, oatmeal, cereal, canned meat, and canned soup. They would greatly appreciate any support you can give.
Be safe, be well, be awesome!
IXL Log-In Instructions for Students
IXL is cuurently available to BASD students through June 15. Feel free to continue practicing your skills!
You can access the IXL site using the IXL BASD LINK and the “Sign in with Google” button.
Once you click on the “Sign in with Google” tab, you can use your regular BASD credentials to log in.
You can also sign in to your Google account first, then try the “Sign in with Google” button for IXL. You should automatically get in to IXL.
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If you are having trouble with IXL telling you that you have "timed out":
○Student must be sure to be logging in to the Boyertown IXL site at: https://www.ixl.com/signin/boyertownasd
○They will see "Welcome, NAME" at top right of the screen when successfully signed in
○If this link is lost, a quick Google search using ‘IXL Boyertown’ will lead you to the site.
○Students will need to log-in to the district IXL site BEFORE following links provided by teachers in Google classroom
○The ‘Remember Me’ box on the log-in page may also remedy this
Boyertown Middle School West
Email: sllandis@boyertownasd.org
Website: http://www.boyertownasd.org
Location: 380 South Madison Street, Boyertown, PA, USA
Phone: 610-369-7471