Burlingame Intermediate School
Friday, December 16, 2022
Dear BIS Family & Friends,
We are almost at the 2022 finish line. Just 4 more days of school. We do have school Monday through Thursday next week, Friday is our first day of the Winter Break. We know that we do not align with the high school district, but your child's middle school education is important too. If your child is absent, please be sure to call (650-259-3830) or email (BISattendance@burlingameschools.org) each day your child is not in school. We are an Average Daily Attendance (ADA) School District and every child in their seat is what the district gets paid by the state to pay for people and programs.Attendance is important!
We are adding a new button below to our Weekly Parent Communication with the week's Advisory Slides students are seeing at school. We want you to know what is happening at BIS in Advisory class and beyond.
School Site Council (SSC) met this week and we discussed our Safety Plan and the CAASPP Scores. We have some work to do on both, but know we are practicing drills every month. There are 5 different drills we do. See Big 5 information here. You should have a plan at home too!
Looking at the CAASPP Scores, we need to work together to help our students fill in the holes they missed during the lockdown. Both ELA and Math suffered, but Math is certainly an area of concern with our scores. It is more important for our students to do the grade-level math and get their foundations solid for high school, rather than pushing them to do accelerated math. Please make sure your student is actually understanding the concepts (Understanding), has fluency in adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing (Computing), Strategic Competence (Able to formulate problems), able to justify solutions (Reasoning), and they have a good attitude about math (Engaging). It is always fun to play simple games with your children to help them with foundational skills. Card Games, Dice Games, Mastermind, and more. Have some fun over the Winter Break.
I am excited for tonight's Blue & White Bash, celebrating our National Blue Ribbon Award. I hope to see you there!
Warmly,
“The most important feature of mathematical proficiency is that these five strands are interwoven and interdependent.”(page 9, Helping ChildrenLearn Mathematics, NRC, 2002)
SPRING MUSICAL ANNOUNCED!
BIS Performing Arts is honored to celebrate their 15th Anniversary musical with the spring production of Fiddler on the Roof, Jr! This special adaptation of the classic 11-time Tony award-winning Broadway musical tackles the universal theme of tradition in ways that reach across barriers of race, class, nationality and religion.
Students interested in a Cast or Crew role should visit the BIS Performing Arts website to obtain general information, production requirements, and steps to be considered for a role. Applications are due January 16th.
Trobots - The BIS Robotics Team
The BIS robotics team is working on a project to conserve energy.
Their mission is to inform people about this crisis, and how to save energy without spending any money. If you are interested in saving energy, click the button below to get some information on how much energy you are wasting, and tips on how to save energy."
Are you keeping Your Child Home from School?
- You MUST notify us of your child's absence. You can email BISattendance@burlingameschools.org or call (650) 259-3830.
- If you receive an automated call about your child's absence mid-morning, that means you need to call us to let us know why. When we do not receive a call, it becomes an automatic unexcused absence.
- We must submit attendance reports to the state on a regular basis. Once we send it in, we cannot change whether an absence or tardy is excused/unexcused. It is important that you communicate with the school the day-of, or as soon as possible.
- Please avoid unexcused absences. It affects both your child's academic success, and our funding. When students are in attendance they are present for invaluable real-time teacher instruction and our district gets our per-pupil funding.
- The California Education Code explicitly states what are excused tardies and absences. (Here is also the Burlingame School District Board Policy)
FREE COVID Tests Available at School Next Week
Please pick up FREE COVID tests from school site next week in order to test your children before returning from the break.
AMC 8 and MATHCOUNTS Announcement
This year BIS will be hosting at least two math competitions: AMC 8 and MATHCOUNTS. If your child is interested in participating in either of these competitions, please have them use the appropriate Google forms to register. Note: each competition has its own registration form. To participate in both, your child will need to complete two separate registration forms.
There are a couple of other competitions that we are considering participating in: MathLeague.org (monthly) and the Berkeley mini-Math Tournament (April). If your child is interested in either of these last two competitions, please fill out the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSca0Dj60LfQbUku0SLOWeXbJ7pFsHKLmpGj8Rt4t4Jlh744Tg/viewform?usp=sf_link
AMC 8
A Creative Problem Solving Challenge! Every year, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) runs AMC 8 (American Mathematics Competition 8), a nationwide math contest for middle school students. During the 40-minute contest, participants try their best to find (or guess) solutions to 25 multiple-choice problems. The problems can all be solved using ideas, concepts, and approaches from a typical middle school mathematics curriculum ... but some creative thinking is usually needed. MAA AMC gives national recognition to high-scoring students and schools. This year, the contest will take place between January 17 and January 24 (exact date TBD).
AMC 8 Registration Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdg7oTxizBDYcOBJRZ4FiQxzqbRyGvZJa0IMTrxWwXiaWT0_g/viewform?usp=sf_link
MATHCOUNTS
MATHCOUNTS is a series of competitions at the school, chapter, state, and national levels. Each contest consists of 4 rounds: Sprint, Target, Team and Countdown. In the Sprint round, competitors have 40 minutes to answer 30 short-answer questions. In the Target round, competitors are given pairs of questions that take a little mathematical creativity to solve (but you get to use a calculator). In the Team round, a team of 4 students have 20 minutes to work together on 10 problems. In the Countdown round, participants compete head-to head against each other to see who can answer a question first. This year, the school contest will be held in January (exact date TBD) and the chapter contest will be held in February (exact date and location TBD).
MATHCOUNTS Registration Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQZky5NYbqzCCdnjFJWuvFMBu1byU2haaZjqXVUSoFPYi0hg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Do You Have Instruments Gathering Dust?
We are also looking for violins and violas for students to participate in orchestra.
Thank you so much for your consideration donating to the BIS Music Department.
Generations School Photography
It's not too late to order Fall Pictures from Generations School Photography! In an effort to make your Holiday season a little easier, Generations School Photography would like to provide all families with a 10% off coupon code on portrait purchases. The 10% coupon code expires on 1/1/2023.
Coupon Code: 10OFF22!
Ordering Link: https://vando.imagequix.com/K9EXQ9Q
Find Your Online Code: https://www.generationsschoolphotography.com/online
Questions? Please contact Generations at orders@gsp-photos.com
Lunch Menus and Lunch Applications for 2022-23
What's on the menu next week? Go to this Link.
Please fill out the Lunch Application for 2022-23The application is in English and Spanish: Lunch Application Link
Once the form is filled out and turned into the BIS School Office, you will be eligible for a SamTrans Bus Pass (while supplies last) and many other county perks.
More than one student in the district? Only one application per family. Be sure to list all children on the same application.
Questions? Email Don at dkyu@burlingameschools.org
Transitioning to High School Begins...Class of 2027
The San Mateo High School District has shared the information nights with us for all 6-high schools in the district. Each school offers unique advantages.
Be sure to mark your calendars for the schools you are interested in hearing about.
The meetings will include Highlights:
- Learn about academic programs, and extracurricular clubs and activities.
- Meet the staff who will help to guide your soon-to-be 9th Grader.
- Learn important pre-enrollment and registration dates.
- Each school will have a unique and informative evening planned for you.
San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) Enrollment
Priority Enrollment (P1) is OPEN! P1 will be from Nov 7, 2022 - Feb 10, 2023. Here are the documents and tutorials to assist you with the enrollment process (ie: tutorial videos, flyers, slides, pamphlets, etc.). All items are available in 3 languages (English, Spanish, Chinese). Families can complete the entire process electronically, appts are NOT necessary unless they are missing documents or need assistance with completing the enrollment.
Please note: The form will be available on our District website starting Nov 7. The Intra District Transfer/Sibling Transfer form will also be available starting Nov 7.
Families can contact our office at enrollment@smuhsd.org if they have any questions.
Enrollment Information English
Enrollment Information Spanish
Enrollment Information Chinese
Mark Your Calendars
- SPIRIT WEEK December 19-22
Monday 12/19: Holi-Day
Tuesday 12/20: Snow Day
Wednesday 12/21: Ugly Sweater DAy
Thursday 12/22: New Years Day
- WINTER Break December 23 through January 8
- School Re-Opens Mon., January 9th
- Thurs., January 12: Spelling Bee 5:30 pm TBD
- Mon., January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday - No School
- Tues., January 17: BSD Board Meeting 6:00 pm
- Weds., January 18: PTA/Staff Bunco Night 7:00 pm TBD
- Thurs., January 19: STEM Fair 6:00pm MPR
- BCE Read-a-Thon January 30th to February 3rd