BHMS Weekly Update

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Thursday Night Insight

We invite all parents to come out tonight, March 2, 2023 at 6:30pm to hear the Math Pathways presentation by Dr. McFaddin. This presentation will provide you with details regarding how your child will chart their path through math beginning next year and through high school. The presentation will be held in the Beacon Hill Media Center.

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. The presentation, "Safe for Now: Suicide Prevention and Awareness" is one that every parent will get some helpful insights from. We invite you to attend in person on Friday, March 3, 2023 at 9:00AM in the Beacon Hill Media Center or online at meet.google.com/kgu-cftq-iun

Derrick L. Thomas, Principal,

Beacon Hill Middle School

This week's teacher spotlight is on the math department for going the extra mile this year with professional learning! The department, as a whole, has shown the learner profile attributes of inquirers, knowledgeable, and reflective. As the department prepares to implement new standards next school year, they have engaged in professional development outside of the CSDU time. All attended a full day training from the Georgia Department of Education.

The 6th Grade PTA sponsored spring dance is around the corner !Get your Tickets today!

Date: Fri, Mar 10th

Time: 4-5:30pm in cafeteria

Please sign up to volunteer and make a snack donation.

BHMS 6th Grade Spring Dance Party, 4:00pm - 5:30pm on March 10, 2023

Many of you have likely heard that with new math standards rolling out in SY 23-24, the math pathways are changing. We have had one meeting earlier in the year to discuss the shifts here in CSD. Tonight @ 6:30, we will host another informational meeting about the options for students in their math trajectory. You can join us in person or virtually.

To join the video meeting, click this link:

https://meet.google.com/fbj-dxki-pjd

Otherwise, to join by phone, dial +1 361-360-8440 and enter this PIN: 955 886 313#
To view more phone numbers, click this link: https://tel.meet/fbj-dxki-pjd?hs=5

The annual Beacon Hill Stacey Daniel Poetry Slam is open to all Beacon Hill students (6th, 7th, & 8th grades) and will take place on April 26th at 6 PM. All students who would like to take part will have the opportunity to be coached by professional teaching artists/Slam Poets. To sign up, students should contact their ELA teacher OR email Holly Lanford (hlanford@csdecatur.net).

Slam Poetry is a unique style of spoken-word poetry that combines the elements of writing, performance, competition, and audience participation. It is spoken-word ‘riffing’ on contemporary issues - and in the hands of Beacon Hill students, it is an opportunity for our community to see the depth of passion and insight that these kids have to offer. Preparation for this event kicks off each year with a week-long Poetry Residency for all 7th graders in their ELA classes. Then all students from all grade levels are invited to participate in twice weekly coaching sessions starting Wednesday, March 22nd from 3:50-4:50 in Ms. Wicks room. Coaching sessions will continue Tuesdays and Wednesdays until the actual Slam. If you are a parent that would like to volunteer to help with the Poetry Slam, please email Holly Lanford (hlanford@csdecatur.net), the faculty sponsor.

The Beacon Hill PTA generously supplies funds for the residency and for several coaching sessions to help students who have elected to participate in the Poetry Slam. This year Beacon Hill has again partnered with Paint Love, a local arts organization that provides the teaching artists for the residency and the coaching sessions.

On Feb. 23-24 Y.L.O.E. & G.E.N.T.S. hosted a Career Symposium at Beacon Hill Middle School. This unique career symposium gathered African American professionals from across Georgia to educate students about careers in academia, industry, communications, business, and beyond. In addition, the speakers shared their experiences to inspire and motivate students to persevere to achieve their career goals. After attending this event, Y.L.O.E. & G.E.N.T.S. students better understood how they fit into the world and the positive changes they could make. Way to go, Y.L.O.E. & G.E.N.T.S.!!

Thank you to everyone who supported and came out to enjoy this event, it was a wonderful culmination event of all the ways in which BHMS celebrated Black History Month.

8th Grade Service Learning Project is partnering with Funds2Orgs for a shoe donation drive. From March 6-March 17, 2023, 8th grade students will be collecting your new or gently worn used shoes (or you may drop off at the school in the designated team box). Funds2Orgs will collect the donations from us and send them to other countries in hopes to spur entrepreneurship and support. In turn, Funds2Orgs will provide us with funds for the shoes we donate. Each 8th grade team will then decide where they want to donate the funds within our own community. Please support us if you can!

Please reach out to Shani Vickery (svickery@csdecatur.net) with any questions.

Order your Yearbook before they run out!

This past Thursday evening was our monthly FAB LAB workshop led by Mr. Heuser! This month students got to come make & take home their very own BHMS themed apparel! We had a great turn out and attached are a few pictures from the evening including the "Beacon Hill Lightbulb" that one student cleverly came up with.

Stay tuned for next month's workshop in March as we will be doing a laser engraving project now that the BHMS laser is up and running!

The BHMS team (perhaps the only middle school team in a sea of high school teams) at the state championships did AWESOME last week! Students finished the qualifiers in 5th place in the entire state, and made it to the semifinal playoffs where their alliance lost in a hard fought competition, with a score of 2 to 1. Congratulations BHMS Robotics team!

BHMS Junior Beta now accepting requests for membership from students only!

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

On March 18, Boosters is hosting our annual Bulldog Bash at Legacy Park from 7-11 p.m. to support Decatur Athletics. The adult-only event features a food truck, bar, live music (by The Dammages and The Thrillbillies), an online silent auction (featuring art, sport tickets, braces, experiences, restaurant gift cards, etc.), 50/50 raffle, Coaches’ Wish List Funds, Coach of the Year Award and more. All proceeds go to support our coaches and athletes at DHS and BHMS. Come out and support your Bulldogs! (You can still contribute and bid on items even if you can’t make it to the event.)

Our Flag Football coaching staff will hold an interest meeting on March 9 for all students who would like to participate on the JV and Varsity teams next school year. The meeting is open to all high school and rising 9th-grade students. Students should meet Coach Paul in the Hospitality Suite of the PAC. If you have questions, please contact Coach Paul (apaul@csdecatur.net)

Please join us to help celebrate Decatur’s graduating senior soccer players on March 10, 2023, at the Decatur High School stadium. The evening will begin at 5:30 pm with Las Tres Salsas providing delicious tacos. The girls’ game starts at 6 PM and the boys’ game starts at 8 PM. The player celebration will begin around 7:30 pm. Children ages 14 and under who wear their club jerseys get in free with a paying adult. Go Bulldogs!

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!

CSD, in partnership with The Dekalb County Coalition and The Decatur Education Foundation, is excited to host our inaugural Spring Resource Fair! The Community Resource Fair will take place on March 16 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at 105 Electric Avenue (in the green space across the Wilson Center and Ebster Gym). We have 20+ vendors and organizations planning to come out to connect with families. The vendors and organizations will be offering mental health resources, physical health resources, food resources, and housing resources. We will also have fun activities on-site for families. For any questions, please contact Madison Bobbitt at mbobbit@csdecatur.net or 470-421-2279.

The ESOL & Federal Programs Department is hosting a Title III Parent Meeting March 9 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at the Wilson Center, 125 Electric Avenue. You don’t want to miss this event!

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.

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 Town Center Plan 2.0 Community Meeting #2

Downtown is the heart of our community, and we want you to continue to be a part of guiding its future. Join us for the second of three Community Meetings for the Decatur Town Center Plan 2.0 - the first comprehensive look at downtown since the 1982 Town Center Plan. Whether you live, learn, work, or visit Downtown Decatur, your input is critical to the success of this plan.

This meeting will allow the planning team to share what they’ve learned from the community and introduce plan objectives. The event will take place tonight, Thursday, March 2, from 5:30- 7:30 p.m. at Decatur Recreation Center- 231 Sycamore St.- with a presentation starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by additional input activities. Visit www.decaturtowncenterplan.com to learn more about the project, participate in online activities, and to RSVP for the event. We look forward to seeing you there!

You can donate food to our Lighten the Load BHMS snack pantry and weekend backpack programs to help food-insecure families in Decatur. Click on the following links to help complete the monthly wishlists:

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

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

ColorWheel Art Studio is hosting an Empty Bowls fundraiser TONIGHT from 6-8pm that benefits our Lighten the Load program. For $25 you receive a hand-made bowl to enjoy soup from Leon’s Full Service and Brick Store Pub. Tickets are available HERE.

The Tour deCatur is coming up soon on Saturday, March 11th! You can still register at www.tourdecatur.com to run the 5K (a Peachtree Road Race qualifier), the one-mile Fun Run and the Tot Trot for the 4 and under set. As DEF’s biggest fundraiser, your participation helps fund everything we do to help our students learn and thrive. Presenting Sponsor Mathnasium of Decatur and Platinum Sponsor Realtor Amy Widener will be there at the race with giveaways!

Amplify Decatur is hosting their Spring Concert in the Square on Saturday, April 29th and DEF is so pleased to be one of the beneficiaries. The line-up is chock full of some amazing musicians – check them out and purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amplify-decatur-music-festival-tickets-527859721637. Your evening of live music will support DEF, Decatur Cooperative Ministry and Giving Kitchen.