BHMS Weekly Update

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Dear Families,

Spring Athletics

As we enter into our spring sports season, I wanted to invite all of our parents to come out and support our athletic department. Please see our spring sports schedule Here

Principal’s Coffee Chat

Mark your calendars for a phenomenal Principal’s Coffee Chat held on March 3, 2023 at 9:00am in the Beacon Hill Media Center.

Highlighted below are events, activities, and learning that has been happening in our school!

Derrick L. Thomas, Principal,

Beacon Hill Middle School

• Friday, Feb 24th 4pm -5:30pm at the BHMS Cafeteria
• Tickets are $5 and you can buy them here: https://givebutter.com/BHMS8thgradedance
• There will be a DJ, snacks for sale and a fun photo wall to capture the moment.

We would love volunteers and snack donations to help make this event the best one yet. Please sign up using the link below.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f084babaa2ca6fc1-8thgrade/1445134#/

The Beacon Hill Middle School Safe Routes to School (SRTS) parent representatives are taking this opportunity to recognize and celebrate our wonderful bus drivers, who safely get our kids to and from school every day, regardless of the weather or how much traffic is on our streets!

As we did for our crossing guards, we are collecting contributions for our CSD bus drivers until February 21st. Any donations will be converted to gift cards and distributed to our bus drivers in the last week of February.

If your children ride the bus to and/or from school and you would like to contribute, please reach out to Patricia Liscio (pliscio@gmail.com) or Laura Spriggs (gospriggs@gmail.com) or Venmo/PayPal us directly.

You can also drop off gift cards at the BHMS front office, or deliver your own notes of kindness to your bus driver. Please also remind your children to greet and thank their driver!

Venmo: @gospriggs

PayPal: @pliscio

Let’s show our love and appreciation! Thank you for all your support.

BHMS SRTS Committee

Student Led Conferences have been happening this week. We want to give a big shout out to our 6th and 7th grade students who prepared and presented to their families. Also a big shout out to the teachers who guided and led lessons to help students prepare for these conferences. Thank you parents for participating. The IB learner profile attribute "Reflective" was clear and evident throughout the building all week.

Last week information went out about course registration for DHS. The information can be found here.

Be on the lookout for upcoming activities for the spring! The spring is a busy time for our 8th grade class that is filled with celebration, events, and excitement about moving on to high school. To read more about those events click here.

Kenneth “Kenny” Jackson appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show (5:20) last week for his efforts in a neat service project he did for his 13th birthday. Kenny chose a non-profit called Eco Sneakers, an organization that recycles, reduces, and reuses shoes to donate to those in need as well as repurpose shoes to make athletic surfaces. Being really into sneakers himself and seeing a need, Kenny jumped right into supporting this effort. He raised over $1,200 in one month from family and friends, exceeding his goal. This is a fantastic way to implement the IB Learner Profile trait of Caring. Great job, Kenny! We are so proud of you!

https://www.nbc.com/.../atlanta-man.../ACCN157125970

Students in 7th grade enjoyed kick starting Black History Month last week while connecting their learning about Africa to an African Drumming performance by Giwayen Mata!

Spanish 2 students wrote children's books for their unit 'Cuando Era Niño' (When I was a Kid). They went to Winonna Park, Oakhurst and Glenwood Spanish classes to share their stories.

Thank you to all who submitted entries for the Young Ga Authors Contest. We are so excited to congratulate the grade level winners for BHMS for this school year:

Carolyn Devereaux- 6th grade

Katherine Henry- 7th grade

Cam Guerrieri- 8th grade

These entries will be submitted to the District Coordinator to be judged for our district representative.

Wish our team luck this weekend as they compete in the Metro Regional Helen Ruffin Reading Ruffin Bowl! They’ve been practicing in the media center on Tuesdays all year with their long time coach, Ms. Tammie Willis. They’ll be competing against teams from across the metro Atlanta region, while Mr. Lynch, the media specialist, will be one of the online judges this Saturday.

Fab lab The February BHMS FAB LAB Makerspace Workshop has been announced! This month all participants will get to make and take home their very own BHMS Bulldog apparel customized to their liking! Participants will bring their own article of clothing and choose from the several options that will be made available to show off their BHMS School Spirit with options to choose from such as images and text to personalize their apparel. Please see the registration form for more info or reach out to the BHMS FAB LAB Club Director Mr. Matt Heuser at mheuser@csdecatur.net. See you in the Lab!

Black Student Union members enjoyed a fantastic field trip to the Hammonds House in the West End.

We enjoyed a walking tour, tour of the museum and an amazing photo exhibit.

If you are able to visit the Hammonds house and enjoy the walking tour please do, it was very informative.

https://www.hammondshouse.org/

BHMS French club participated in the Mead Road Mardi Gras parade on Saturday, February 4th. Our crew had a blast sharing candy and other trinkets along the parade route!

Every Thursday, each grade level will publish its newsletter. Please check them out after you read the school Eblast. Here are the links:

6th Grade Website

7th Grade Website

8th Grade Website

Decatur Bulldog Boosters (DBB) will host our annual Bulldog Bash on March 18 at Legacy Park to support athletics at DHS and BHMS. The adult-only event features food trucks, bands and an online, silent auction – all to raise money for the Decatur Athletics. Please save the date and look for more information to come. In the meantime, we are looking for donations for the silent auction, including anything from gift cards and gift baskets to products, services, trips and experiences. This is a great way to market your business while supporting DBB. Please email Diana Yassanye with questions or complete our online form here.

Over the weekend, our Decatur Wrestling Dawgs competed in the Area 4 5A-Region Tournament at Chamblee High school. All of our wrestlers did a great job! Ronin Simms placed 2nd overall for his weight class, Abram Porter, Zain Sidor, and Ahleia Young placed 3rd, and Jake Baskerville placed 4th. Each wrestler qualified for sectionals this weekend. Moving forward, wrestlers who place in the top six for their weight class will earn a place in the State Meet in Macon, GA next week. Ahleia will travel to Stephens County for the girls' meet and the guys will travel to Locust Grove.

Wish them well as they compete to become state qualifiers. Go Bulldogs!!

ALL CSD students, staff, families, and community members are invited to participate in CSD Black History Spirit Week, February 20-24!

We want to hear from you! As part of the CSD strategic planning process, we are reviewing and updating our vision and mission statements. The survey is now open and we want to hear what you like and what you think we should change or add to these foundational parts of our strategic plan.

Why are we doing this? Vision and mission statements help ground the work school districts do and represent the shared values and goals that everyone in the school community is committed to working toward. They form the foundation for developing and implementing policies and practices to support staff members, families, and students.

Call to Action: Please take 5-7 minutes to complete the CSD Vision & Mission Survey, review the current vision and mission statements (both are included in the survey for your reference), and share your thoughts with us. Don’t delay and complete by March 5th!

Launchpad for Learning

CSD Parents:

It’s time to register for Launchpad for Learning Summer Camp hosted by CSD! Registration ends July 3rd at midnight. Spaces will fill up quickly so register soon.

Launchpad for Learning is an exciting, 1-week summer camp hosted by the City Schools of Decatur for students in grades K-8 in the 2023-24 school year. The Launchpad for Learning Summer Camp will be held July 10-13. Launchpad for Learning Summer Camp is a great opportunity for students to be introduced to upcoming grade-level standards with hands-on activities and fun experiences. This year our activities will have a S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Music) focus for $225 per student.

Attached is a Registration Help Form that will guide you through the registration process, and there is a video showing how to register posted here. We are excited about Launchpad and the possibility of helping our students transition into the new school year! If you have any questions, please feel free to email Eddie Johnson, District Launchpad for Learning Coordinator at ejohnson@csdecatur.net.

ALL CSD students, PK-12, are invited to apply for their school's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King Awards. This joint award recognizes student teams who best demonstrate the beliefs and visions of two great Civil Rights leaders. Complete this application (one per team) by Monday, February 27, at 4 PM EST. Contact Anthony Downer at adowner@csdecatur.net for more information.

Join the Atlanta Hawks on March 3, for City Schools of Decatur Night at State Farm Arena. Each ticket includes $10 worth of food and beverage credit that can be used at our restaurants inside the arena the night of the game. Special pregame performance by the BHMS Chorus!

To purchase tickets, click here. See flyer for details.

Decatur Launches 200 Stories Initiative

In celebration of City of Decatur’s bicentennial, the City has launched the 200 Stories Project- a community story vault- to preserve and document the history of those who are and have been part of the Decatur community. Through the power of storytelling, participants will help shape a shared vision for the future of Decatur.

Whether you are new to Decatur or have been around for a while, the City invites you to contribute to this historical moment by sharing your experiences. There is no script – simply volunteer to sit down and talk with an interviewer.

Interested in connecting with other community members? There is also an opportunity to volunteer as an interviewer. To participate, email 200stories@decaturga.com, or call Aileen de la Torre at 678-553-6596 or Renae Jackson at 678-553-6561.

Don’t Cook, It’s Break Week: Dine out with NaanStop for DEF next Thursday, February 16th! To place your order in advance, click here: https://naanstop-decatur.square.site/. Order by 8:00 pm on Wednesday, February 15th, and pick up between 5:00 pm and 5:45 pm on Thursday, February 16th. Pick-up at Avery/Bucher in Winnona Park. 20% of proceeds will be donated to DEF, thanks to Naan Stop and Greg Kodesh Realty.

MERCI MILLE FOIS (A Thousand Thank Yous!) to every student and parent who came out to represent their school at the Mead Road Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday! We were thrilled to see EVERY elementary school participate, and the French Club and DHS theatre troupe represented the middle and high school. Best School Krewe was awarded to Talley Street, with an Honorable Mention to Oakhurst Elementary for their drum performance. You ALL helped make this a tradition worth continuing. We will announce the total amount raised for DEF music grants soon, so stay tuned.

Donations Needed: The coffers are getting low: Our BHMS snack pantry and weekend backpack programs need replenishing. You can help by donating directly to them using these links:

Beacon Hill Middle Snack Program: /a.co/d0HJHTr

Weekend Backpack Program: https://a.co/6Etc74W

Volunteers Needed: We are also in need of a snacks coordinator/committee to organize and deliver the snacks once per month. This would be a fun, easy way for a couple of friends to volunteer together for a couple of hours each month. For more information, please contact marie@decatureducationfoundation.org

Registration for the 21st Annual Tour deCatur is NOW OPEN at www.tourdecatur.com. Decatur’s favorite 5K and one-mile fun run is scheduled for Saturday, March 11th. All adult participants who register on or before February 18th will receive a race t-shirt. Youth participants for both the Fun Run and the 5K will receive a participation medal. As DEF’s biggest fundraiser, your participation helps fund everything we do to help our students learn and thrive. Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, Mathnasium of Decatur, who will be at the race with math games and giveaways!