BHMS Weekly Update
Thursday, August 17, 2023
December 14, 2023
Upcoming Events
12/14: Honors Course Webinar 6:30pm: link
12/14: Virtual Track & Field Parent Informational Meeting 7:30 pm
12/16: Saturday School
12/18: BHMS Spelling Bee 8:00am
12/20: Early Release Day
1/23/24: Pizza with The Principals 5:00pm at BHMS (Media Center)
Semester Break is December 21-January 3, 2024
Principal's Corner
Dear Beacon Hill Students and Families,
As we approach the semester break, we are honored to recognize the accomplishments of our BHMS students. It's also the ideal time to encourage participation in all of the incredible opportunities that are available. Our school has been buzzing with activity, ranging from competitions and performances to learning new things! We'd like to extend our gratitude to our staff and parent volunteers who have offered invaluable support in numerous ways. Our Music Department, Debate Team, Academic Bowl Scholars, and Swim Team all put on a fantastic show last week, making our Beacon Hill community proud. A special thanks to our sponsors and coaches who make these experiences possible. Join us tonight for the Honors Course Webinar - the link is available on the calendar and below!
See you soon!!!
Derrick L. Thomas, Principal
Beacon Hill Middle School
“It Only Takes One”
📰 BHMS News You Can Use 📰
🌟 Spotlight on Coach Fenn - A Compassionate Educator and Coach! 🌟
This week, we shine the spotlight on Reco Fenn, an exceptional coach, mentor, and teacher, who goes above and beyond to support students and staff at BHMS. You can spot him in the hallways, coaching football, motivating, and encouraging children in ISS and in the halls. Coach Fenn is a true champion of motivation and encouragement. He's always making sure students understand the importance of learning and how their choices today shape their future. He is always stepping up for BHMS and stepping into any role that needs to be filled. His caring spirit and compassion make him the perfect example of the IB learner attribute of caring. Way to go,coach Fenn!
Math and ELA Honors Classes Webinar Tonight!
Honors courses will be an option for all students in 6th-10th grade in ELA and Math next school year!
These Honors classes aim to provide an enriched and challenging academic experience for students who seek to excel in these subjects. They will also help prepare students for the rigor of AP and IB course opportunities in 10th-12th grades, though they are not required to take AP and IB courses.
To facilitate a better understanding of the Honors course offerings, we will be hosting an Honors Courses Webinar for families on Thursday, December 14th, at 6:30 pm.
We understand the importance of making informed decisions regarding your child's education, and we would like to encourage you to participate in this webinar to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities available. For those unable to attend the webinar, the recorded session and frequently asked questions will be available on the district website for later viewing.
Webinar Link: Honors Courses Webinar
Saturday School Upcoming Dates for 6th-12th
Does your child need tutoring, or time to complete make-up work? Sign up for Saturday School today! CSD teachers will provide academic support to students in grades 6-12. This program is free to CSD families. The time is from 9a - 12p at Beacon Hill Middle School.
Literacy at Home
BHMS and DHS recently hosted a "Pizza with the Principal" event, focusing on literacy in our district. The district's instructional coaches were present to provide strategies for supporting children at home, with ELA/SS instructional coach Angie Prophet offering resources and techniques for middle schoolers. As the break approaches, we wanted to share these resources with you once again!
Check out these strategies for fostering literacy at home and supporting academic success at school.
If you're looking for inspiration or assistance when it comes to helping your child choose a book to read, take a look at Mrs. Prophet's "Mrs. Prophet is Reading..." padlet. Mrs. Prophet continually updates this resource with reviews of the books she's read. She's currently up to 42 books – do you have a competitive reader on your hands? Encourage them to see if they can beat her record!
A Week In the Life of a BHMS Bulldog
Beacon Hill's Debate Team is Crushing it!
We have had 4 tournaments since the start of the season and have won first or second place overall at each one.
Individual Beacon Hill students have taken home more than 80 medals for outstanding debating this year. This past Saturday, we won 2nd place overall, with 16 different Beacon Hill students getting recognized with an award for outstanding debating, including:
- Gia Saindane/Mathilda LaFond - 2nd place Varsity team, Gia 6th speaker
- Elsa Chapman - 3rd Varsity Speaker
- Daniel Biniyam/John Stearns - 5th place JV team, Daniel 13th speaker
- Adele Boudreau - 8th JV Speaker
- Kuzey Durace/Zeren Irier - 2nd place Novice team, Zeren 8th speaker/ Kuzey 37th speaker
- Mila Gisler/Olivia Wilke - 4th place Novice team, Olivia 31st speaker
- Sylvia Medina/Annalyn Hawkins - 5th place Novice team, Sylvia 1st place speaker/Annalyn 7th speaker
- Jackson King/Sajan Shah - 12th place Novice team, Jackson 26th speaker/Sajan 39th speaker
- Frances Sibley/Mila Hepburn - 14th place Novice team, Mila 40th speaker
Social Justice Club Takes Action to Help the Community!
The newly formed Social Justice Club will be collecting items to give to our school social workers to distribute to students and their families who might need extra support. We will be collecting items throughout the month until Wednesday, December 20. All items can be dropped off in Mr. Johnson’s classroom 1608.
Academic Bowl Continues with Success!
Our Beacon Hill Academic Bowl team competed in Regionals on Saturday, our first in person competition! The team tied for first in the region, ranking 3rd overall, and beating rival rival school Howard. The team played well, but more importantly they were gracious in their wins, supported each other, and had fun.
Our amazing competitors:
Sam Charen
Ben Corcoran
M Eastman
Sebastian Katz
Alex Levy
Asher Lewin
Avinah Rathod
Odin Smith
Everett Stinson
Chorus Sings at the Georgia Capitol
Last Friday, the sixth grade Cambiata and Treble choirs performed several songs at the Georgia State Capitol (see photo), including two songs with the Fifth Avenue Chorus. Tomorrow the seventh grade Treble Chorus performs at the High Museum!
Grade Level Newsletters
Every Thursday, each grade level will publish its newsletter. Please check them out after you read the school Eblast. Here are the links:
📚From Our Media Center📚
The PTA Little Shop of Stories Fall Book Fair sold over six thousand dollars worth of books! Once again, I’d like to thank everyone that helped make it a success!
Also, if anyone is looking for a book to read, “Seven Voyages: How China’s Treasure Fleet Conquered the Sea” is an excellent introduction to Admiral Zheng He’s voyages across the Pacific and Indian Oceans during the Ming dynasty. It will have giant fleets, pirates, and struggles for power that resonate even now. You can check it out from the media center!
💙💛From Our PTA💙💛
Thank You to All Our Donate-a-Thon Supporters
The BHMS PTA offers its gratitude to all the members of our community (and beyond!) who supported this year’s Donate-a-Thon. This includes the following new Pawtastic families:
Anonymous
The Bennett Family
The Cobb Family
The Collins Family
The Gabor Family
The Harris-Edgerton Family
The Holt Family
The Kalarickal Family
The Miller Family
The Roberts Family
The Sollie Family
The Versaggi Family
The Wingfield Family
If you did not get a chance to donate (or if you would like to contribute more), it’s not too late!
Give today at https://tinyurl.com/DonateBHMS. Thank you to Imtyaz and Shamsha Isani for their incredible matching donation!
Quest Shows Its Bulldog Pride
BHMS PTA sponsor Quest Orthodontics helped cheer on our middle school girls and boys basketball teams at the December 9 game. Parents and students could spin the Quest wheel for prizes and discounts on treatments. Thank you to Quest for being a supporter of Beacon Hill!
Volunteers Needed for BHMS Staff Holiday Party
The PTA Hospitality Committee needs volunteers to provide sweet treats for the BHMS staff holiday party to be held this Friday and to help clean up afterward. Follow the link to sign up: https://bit.ly/BHMShospitality.
PTA Spotlight on the Arts
It has been a very busy week of performances for our BHMS musicians. Last Friday, the sixth grade Cambiata and Treble choirs performed several songs at the Georgia State Capitol (see photo), including two songs with the Fifth Avenue Chorus. This is an annual event for BHMS, where students perform for an audience of Capitol staff and visitors and tour the inside of the beautiful Capitol building. Also, all BHMS choral students and BHMS orchestra students performed at their Winter Concerts earlier this week. The final concert for December will be Friday, December 15, when the seventh grade Treble Chorus performs at the High Museum at 11 am.
CSD News and Announcements
City Schools of Decatur's upcoming Early Release Day is Wednesday, December 20.
Pre-K - 12:15 PM
Lower Elementary - 12:50 PM
Upper Elementary - 12:15 PM
Middle School - 1:45 PM
High School - 1:35 PM
College Heights' infant through preschool program will remain on its normal schedule.
The remaining schedule of Early Release Days includes the following dates:
Wednesday, December 20
Wednesday, January 31
Wednesday, February 28
Wednesday, March 27
Wednesday, April 24
Schools will communicate more specific details related to the schedule for the day, dismissal, and extracurricular activities.
Community Partner Announcements and Updates
Create Something AWESOME with DEF's Student Challenge Series!
Educators & Parents — The Decatur Education Foundation challenges YOUR ARTISTIC SUPERSTARS to design the next iconic sticker that screams Decatur pride! Introducing DEF’s Student Challenge Series, kicking off in December with our first Sticker Design Contest. Here's what your brilliant students should do:
Capture the essence of Decatur schools' uniqueness.
Splash it with color! Make it eye-catching and crazy fun!
Squeeze your masterpiece into a 3" by 5" space (the size of an index card).
Don't forget to incorporate "Decatur Education Foundation" into your design!
Submit your artistic brilliance in PDF or JPG form to meg@decatureducationfoundation.org before Friday, December 15. Winners will snag professionally printed stickers, a local arts & crafts store gift card, and the spotlight on DEF's social media platforms. For full contest details, please visit DecaturEducationFoundation.org/DEFstickercontest. Let’s showcase what makes Decatur schools extraordinary! #DEFStudentChallenge #DecaturCreativityUnleashed #ForOurKids